Giro D'Italia- Stage 18 ***Spoilers***
Comments
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inseine wrote:Cunego abandons, no reason why as yet.
Shame. Even if he was unlikely to show something.
He crashed with that amateur, Ferrari.Contador is the Greatest0 -
This is why it's good he's doing it, because it keeps the season long narrative more interesting.0
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There was a Ferrari on the Giro course for a few days not sure why.
Contador is the Greatest0 -
Eurosport still showing tennis. Maybe this means nothing is going on at the Giro0
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TheBigBean wrote:Eurosport still showing tennis. Maybe this means nothing is going on at the Giro
In fairness, French open is a bigger deal than the Giro.0 -
5 weeks is plenty enough to recover for someone like Contador. He will be at his best for the Tour.
Rather an odd point of view. I don't think anyone is saying it's impossible for Contador to do the double but you're suggesting that the Giro will have taken nothing out of him at all? Presumably he could then go on and ride the Vuelta at his best a month later as well?
I saw Dan Lloyd say somewhere that when he finished the Giro in 2010 his max heart rate had fallen and his resting heart rate had risen dramatically compared to when he started. Obviously Contador will have a much better ability to recover from a GT than Dan Lloyd but it shows the physiological effects.
Like I said I think Contador will still go pretty close, but having a Grand Tour already in his legs will have an effect when it comes to the second and third weeks of the Tour.0 -
Maybe it means something is going on at the Giro, but Eurosport don't care.TheBigBean wrote:Eurosport still showing tennis. Maybe this means nothing is going on at the Giro
Their highlights show yesterday was laughable.0 -
ManOfKent wrote:
Maybe it means something is going on at the Giro, but Eurosport don't care.TheBigBean wrote:Eurosport still showing tennis. Maybe this means nothing is going on at the Giro
Their highlights show yesterday was laughable.
Breakaway with 9 minutes. Good chane of making it.0 -
DeVlaeminck wrote:inseine wrote:Paulie W wrote:DeVlaeminck wrote:Well to state the obvious time will tell but there are enough examples of riders who have gone well in consecutive Grand Tours to suggest it needn't affect their form.
There are a lot more examples to the contrary.
Funny that no one has ever won all three in a year. Ever.
Not really funny.
For most of their history the timing of the 3 grand tours made that impossible, it's only since 1995 that it could have been done because that is when the Vuelta moved to late Summer, and for a lot of that time riders who won the Tour had no interest in a race like the Vuelta or in some cases the Giro either.
In any case my point is that it is possible to race the Giro and Tour on pretty much peak form, I think the difficulty in doing so is overstated, not that it's impossible for the Giro to affect a rider at the Tour, clearly attempting the triple makes it more difficult to hit peak form for all three but even then if a sufficiently dominant rider tried it I doubt it's impossible. The history of the races, team politics, the relative value of each race and luck means that it is something that has rarely been attempted.
After winning the first two and going for the turd, you'd do well to drop a *hit!!0 -
Philippe Gilbert (BMC), Amael Moinard (BMC), Chad Haga (Giant Alpecin), Davide Villella (Cannondale Garmin), Matteo Busato (SouthEast), Pieter Weening (Orica GreenEdge), Sylvain Chavanel (IAM), David De La Cruz (Etixx - Quick Step), Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Bardiani CSF), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2r La Mondiale), Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Kantastsin Siutsou (Team Sky) Roberto Ferrari (Lampre Merida), Jesus Herrada (Movistar) and Fabio Felline (Trek)0
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He rode full on did he, yup he sat on wiggins back wheel for most of the time without the worry of team leadership then he was allowed to show off on a couple of mountains. CushtiPaulie W wrote:Look at Froome in 2012, rode the Tour pretty much full-on, went to the Vuelta and was visibly below his Tour form and dropped off over the 3 weeks.
It's going to be interesting this year if Porte isn't there. :roll: very interesting.Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 19720 -
TheBigBean wrote:Philippe Gilbert (BMC), Amael Moinard (BMC), Chad Haga (Giant Alpecin), Davide Villella (Cannondale Garmin), Matteo Busato (SouthEast), Pieter Weening (Orica GreenEdge), Sylvain Chavanel (IAM), David De La Cruz (Etixx - Quick Step), Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Bardiani CSF), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2r La Mondiale), Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Kantastsin Siutsou (Team Sky) Roberto Ferrari (Lampre Merida), Jesus Herrada (Movistar) and Fabio Felline (Trek)
Finally Bongiorno makes an appearance.
They are at 12mins with 72km to race.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Big break that should make it. I'd like to see Felline or Weening get the win.0
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I hate it when a rider takes a mussette then throws 75% of the contents on the floor.Contador is the Greatest0
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deejay wrote:
He rode full on did he, yup he sat on wiggins back wheel for most of the time without the worry of team leadership then he was allowed to show off on a couple of mountains. CushtiPaulie W wrote:Look at Froome in 2012, rode the Tour pretty much full-on, went to the Vuelta and was visibly below his Tour form and dropped off over the 3 weeks.
It's going to be interesting this year if Porte isn't there. :roll: very interesting.
Yeah, he rode full-on, given that he was at the sharp end of every single mountain stage. Given youve been following cycling since the arc washed up, you dont half talk some sh!t.0 -
Yes, he sat on Wiggins' back wheel most of the time, except when he was towing him up the final few k (or more) of each MTF on his own, aka doing his job rather well. Plus he was still concerned about holding onto 2nd place for himself, so it wasn't as if he was able to coast around each day not making any effort as you seem to be implying! Regardless of the effect his TdF exertions may or may not have had, he was clearly below par in that Vuelta.deejay wrote:
He rode full on did he, yup he sat on wiggins back wheel for most of the time without the worry of team leadership then he was allowed to show off on a couple of mountains. CushtiPaulie W wrote:Look at Froome in 2012, rode the Tour pretty much full-on, went to the Vuelta and was visibly below his Tour form and dropped off over the 3 weeks.
It's going to be interesting this year if Porte isn't there. :roll: very interesting.0 -
DeVlaeminck wrote:inseine wrote:Paulie W wrote:DeVlaeminck wrote:Well to state the obvious time will tell but there are enough examples of riders who have gone well in consecutive Grand Tours to suggest it needn't affect their form.
There are a lot more examples to the contrary.
Funny that no one has ever won all three in a year. Ever.
Not really funny.
For most of their history the timing of the 3 grand tours made that impossible, it's only since 1995 that it could have been done because that is when the Vuelta moved to late Summer, and for a lot of that time riders who won the Tour had no interest in a race like the Vuelta or in some cases the Giro either.
In any case my point is that it is possible to race the Giro and Tour on pretty much peak form, I think the difficulty in doing so is overstated, not that it's impossible for the Giro to affect a rider at the Tour, clearly attempting the triple makes it more difficult to hit peak form for all three but even then if a sufficiently dominant rider tried it I doubt it's impossible. The history of the races, team politics, the relative value of each race and luck means that it is something that has rarely been attempted.
This can't be right because 'Of those 39 who completed 3 tours in one year, only Raphaël Geminiani and Gastone Nencini managed to finish top ten each tour' and both of these guys retired in the 60s!0 -
Moinard is at 26mins in the GC so wonder if some of the other teams ride to preserve their placings.
50km to race, gap 12.45.Contador is the Greatest0 -
“In this Giro even the transition stages like this one have been tough, in this case because of the wind. It’s turning out to be a much harder race than I was expecting. I need to preserve my resources because within five weeks there’s another very tough race in store for me and I’ll pay there for any excesses.”
I like this comment by Martinelli (he knows Contador very well):
Meanwhile, Astana DS Giuseppe Martinelli has acknowledged that he has asked his riders to make the going as tough as possible, although he insists this has not been done primarily to discomfort Contador.
“I’ve been criticised for this, but those critics don’t understand at all. I know, because I know him, that if Contador says he’s going to win a race and he is prepared for it then it is impossible to defeat him. Therefore my tactics, which actually favour rather than trouble him, have been employed to make things more difficult for rival riders who could challenge us for positions of honour,” Martinelli has explained.
This comment from him in 2011 I like as well:
Having worked with Alberto Contador when he was part of the Astana set-up, that team’s sporting director Giuseppe Martinelli has said that the rider is better than Lance Armstrong and Miguel Indurain, who between them won twelve Tours.
“Contador is already bigger than those two and you will see when he reaches the end of his career, only Eddy Merckx will be ahead of him,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Alberto was really too big for me, I felt I had in my hands a treasure, an investment too large to manage,” he said. “When I was a rider I was not a champion, and at this level, that counts for a lot.” He said that in working with Bjarne Riis, Contador now has a directeur who has the necessary experience to guide him.
He believes that he has both physical and mental talents, and that these help him to succeed even when he is not in full fitness. “Alberto has a mind that is out of the ordinary,” he said. “In 2010, even though he was not as strong as now, he has won almost everything. A normal person cannot do what he has achieved in last Sunday [dropping the field on Mount Etna].”Contador is the Greatest0 -
Crash. Lots of Sky. Looks like Kiri and a CCC rider hurt.Contador is the Greatest0
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4 Sky riders just hanging around for a chat at the moment.Contador is the Greatest0
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Landa mechanical. Drafting a team car and with lots of teammates.
Contador's team on the front drilling it.
Suck it.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Landa off the back. Saxo pounding the front. Karmastana chasing....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0
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Unfortunately he got back on.
Gap now 9.45 with 43km to race.Contador is the Greatest0 -
To be honest, Contador's team were likely on the front to put their man at the front leading into the climb which has a narrow entry
Contador is the Greatest0 -
Lobato crash and looks quite panicked.
On the climb now and it is well strung out due to the narrow roads. Kreuziger and Contador dancing off actually.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Wow. Contador riding away....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0
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Hahaha, Landa going to have to do some work here.
Contador and Kreuziger have got a gap.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Boooooom
Contador solo and he looks like he is out for a walk in the park
Who is the champContador is the Greatest0
