Giro 2018, Stage 19: Turin - Monte Jafferau - 184 kilometres. *Spoilers*

tailwindhome

Great stage. Great spoiler thread too. Well done everyone.



DNF Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Team Sunweb
DNF Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Ben O'Connor (Aus) Dimension Data
DNF Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky
DNF Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates

above_the_cows

RichN95 wrote:

mfin wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

As I said at the time, he's really put some effort into that. He deserves some credit. Certainly better than the p1ss poor dinosaur.

I agree, I actually like people doing things like that, it's proper humour and doing it well.

Some copycat of the boar man a few weeks ago I'd rather see trip up and smash his face in, the original boar man was only good cos it was just a plain weird thing to do.

The two good things about boar man were:

1. He never got close to Quintana
2. He looked exactly like Silvio Berlusconi

3. Silvio Berlusconi in tight hot pants.
4. The boar had lost a leg and Silvio Berlusconi boar man was waving it manically around his head like a leg of Parma ham.

The fact that you will be able to say the words "boar man" to me in 2050 and I'll know exactly what it refers to and still laugh is just wonderful.

Coach H

Another Kirby classic was when there was a close up of a drivetrain with the chain bouncing on the unpaved section. Kirby came out with in his opinion it was made worse by Osemetric chainrings despite the fact it wasn’t Froome (Ellisonde I think) and the round chainring was clearly in shot!

above_the_cows

Oh and boar man wasn't wearing any shoes. The soles of his feet must be like leather.

kleinstroker

kleinstroker wrote:

Coach H wrote:

https://mobile.twitter.com/LottoJumbo_road/status/1000105610489286662/video/1

No doubt he will make a full apology in the morning

and here it is

"Disclaimer to avoid any misinterpretation: this is not an insinuation, but a way to express the admiration for an exceptional achievement. Congratulations to Chris Froome and Team Sky."

https://twitter.com/LottoJumbo_road/status/1000133284301623297

above_the_cows

Coach H wrote:

Another Kirby classic was when there was a close up of a drivetrain with the chain bouncing on the unpaved section. Kirby came out with in his opinion it was made worse by Osemetric chainrings despite the fact it wasn’t Froome (Ellisonde I think) and the round chainring was clearly in shot!

Yes that annoyed me at the time, but it's Carlton so we'll let it go.

Hatch kept calling the descent down from Cesana to Oulx the Susa valley. It isn't, that was really annoying me.

the article don

kleinstroker wrote:

kleinstroker wrote:

Coach H wrote:

https://mobile.twitter.com/LottoJumbo_road/status/1000105610489286662/video/1

No doubt he will make a full apology in the morning

and here it is

"Disclaimer to avoid any misinterpretation: this is not an insinuation, but a way to express the admiration for an exceptional achievement. Congratulations to Chris Froome and Team Sky."

Think it’s clear it was a heat of the moment reaction, and I took it more like Landis the crazy suicide breakaway rather than Landis the testosterone fuelled lunatic
https://twitter.com/LottoJumbo_road/status/1000133284301623297

kleinstroker

So many heart wringing stories this morning on Twitter from people who feel betrayed by Chris Froome. It's a really rather bizarre situation, I can't say I get it at all.
What Froome did yesterday was spectacular for sure, epic in its scope, but he wouldn't have got 500m against any decent climber in form.
In reality all he did right was to peak when everyone else was waning, and bravo to him & Sky for doing just that.

ddraver

...against a chase whose heads dropped almost immediately...

No_Ta_Doctor

The pure cycling simplicty of what Sky and Froome did yesterday seems to have eluded all those that think it was literally unbelievable. He didn't just attack on Finestre, he didn't drop the peloton and stay away, they shredded the peloton right from the start. First they pushed Poels towards the break, forcing Once Were Orica to chase from the get-go. Then they absolutely hammered it up the start of Finestre, breaking Yates completely, dropping Pozzovivo and getting rid of almost all the domestiques. Ellissondo in particular mas magnificent in that last pull.

That left Froome attacking a knackered TTer who can climb a bit, a knackered climber who can sometimes TT (and whose form has been dubious so far) and a few others that had no reason to do anything other than sit in.

Froome didn't do 80km against the peloton, he did 80km against three riders, one of whom can't descend but had to be waited for, as his teammate had to keep something back against a guy sitting in who could hurt him at the end. That 80km is in no way unrealistic, particularly if you factor in that Dumoulin tends to ride conservatively, wary of going too deep too soon. It was on terrain that favoured Froome over Dumoulin as well. But it all came from the team effort and stage strategy.

rick_chasey

kleinstroker wrote:

kleinstroker wrote:

Coach H wrote:

https://mobile.twitter.com/LottoJumbo_road/status/1000105610489286662/video/1

No doubt he will make a full apology in the morning

and here it is

"Disclaimer to avoid any misinterpretation: this is not an insinuation, but a way to express the admiration for an exceptional achievement. Congratulations to Chris Froome and Team Sky."

https://twitter.com/LottoJumbo_road/status/1000133284301623297

All this sh!t does is make him less likely to say what he actually thinks.

No_Ta_Doctor

Rick Chasey wrote:

kleinstroker wrote:

kleinstroker wrote:

Coach H wrote:

https://mobile.twitter.com/LottoJumbo_road/status/1000105610489286662/video/1

No doubt he will make a full apology in the morning

and here it is

"Disclaimer to avoid any misinterpretation: this is not an insinuation, but a way to express the admiration for an exceptional achievement. Congratulations to Chris Froome and Team Sky."

https://twitter.com/LottoJumbo_road/status/1000133284301623297

All this sh!t does is make him less likely to say what he actually thinks.

I think we forget that while we've watched in detail how something went down, the riders who weren't at the sharp end of it only get info about time gaps, while they're suffering. I don't see him as having any real insight into the stage, not nearly as much as we've gathered here. I mean, he's warming down and doesn't even know the result?

gsk82

He's just another young kiwi with a big gob.

norvernrob

No tA Doctor wrote:

The pure cycling simplicty of what Sky and Froome did yesterday seems to have eluded all those that think it was literally unbelievable. He didn't just attack on Finestre, he didn't drop the peloton and stay away, they shredded the peloton right from the start. First they pushed Poels towards the break, forcing Once Were Orica to chase from the get-go. Then they absolutely hammered it up the start of Finestre, breaking Yates completely, dropping Pozzovivo and getting rid of almost all the domestiques. Ellissondo in particular mas magnificent in that last pull.

That left Froome attacking a knackered TTer who can climb a bit, a knackered climber who can sometimes TT (and whose form has been dubious so far) and a few others that had no reason to do anything other than sit in.

Froome didn't do 80km against the peloton, he did 80km against three riders, one of whom can't descend but had to be waited for, as his teammate had to keep something back against a guy sitting in who could hurt him at the end. That 80km is in no way unrealistic, particularly if you factor in that Dumoulin tends to ride conservatively, wary of going too deep too soon. It was on terrain that favoured Froome over Dumoulin as well. But it all came from the team effort and stage strategy.

Exactly. I bet not even anybody in the Sky camp can believe that the whole thing actually came off, that the right people cracked when they needed to, and that the chase group would consist of mostly people who had no reason to chase. That’s not to take anything from Sky and Froome, as the whole thing was absolutely spectacular, but to make an attack from that distance stick you need a bit of luck behind you.

andytee87

kleinstroker wrote:

So many heart wringing stories this morning on Twitter from people who feel betrayed by Chris Froome. It's a really rather bizarre situation, I can't say I get it at all.
What Froome did yesterday was spectacular for sure, epic in its scope, but he wouldn't have got 500m against any decent climber in form.

Plus Dumoulin could definitely have climbed the Finestre quicker, but was keeping within himself and trying to keep the group together- telling Pinot to relax after he broke a spoke and then sitting up for Reichenbach (rightly @ the time, looks like a huge mistake in hindsight). Like others have said, he ended up in a group with 2 guys who can't descend and 2.5 passengers (Pinot did help a bit).

Pinot really panicked though a couple times- sprinting back up to the Dumoulin group before the Cima Coppi, then nearly losing the back end & stacking it into Lopez going over the top. Wonder how much energy he wasted having a bash at Lopez & Carapaz for sitting on when they were never going to work whilst Reichenbach was in the group- he had to close gaps a few times after handbags. Then they get to the Jafferau and Reichenbach does his final turn and breaks the group instead of a steady pull.

Then you look at Pozzovivo- think Brian Smith said before the stage that he is known as a follower and that he was going to have to step up. He rolled to the front of the group and started drinking on the front!!! No wonder Bennett was getting annoyed with him.

Whether you like Froome or not, believe in him or not, all yesterday was him putting a time into people he has plenty of times when they've been fresh. 50 seconds on the Finestre over Dumoulin not going full gas isn't ridiculous.

No_Ta_Doctor

Think how different it might have been had Lopez not made it into the chasers.
Karapaz might have done some work to overhaul Lopez, Pinot would have been free to give a bit more without having to worry about getting mugged and they wouldn't have waited for Reichenbach (at least not twice).

But Lopez and Carapaz have been stuck to each other for so long it was almost a surprise they didn't ride the TT together.

mididoctors

Td said he was nailed going up the Finestra.

mididoctors

Blazing Saddles wrote:

As for Froome looking ugly on a bike, Tom Dumoulin is hardly Mr Pédaleur de Charme.

froome make TD look like valverde

mamil314

gsk82 wrote:

He's just another young kiwi with a big gob.

I had not heard such a bitter laughter for a long time.

above_the_cows

ddraver wrote:

...against a chase whose heads dropped almost immediately...

And then fannied about on the descent.

above_the_cows

No tA Doctor wrote:

The pure cycling simplicty of what Sky and Froome did yesterday seems to have eluded all those that think it was literally unbelievable. He didn't just attack on Finestre, he didn't drop the peloton and stay away, they shredded the peloton right from the start. First they pushed Poels towards the break, forcing Once Were Orica to chase from the get-go. Then they absolutely hammered it up the start of Finestre, breaking Yates completely, dropping Pozzovivo and getting rid of almost all the domestiques. Ellissondo in particular mas magnificent in that last pull.

That left Froome attacking a knackered TTer who can climb a bit, a knackered climber who can sometimes TT (and whose form has been dubious so far) and a few others that had no reason to do anything other than sit in.

Froome didn't do 80km against the peloton, he did 80km against three riders, one of whom can't descend but had to be waited for, as his teammate had to keep something back against a guy sitting in who could hurt him at the end. That 80km is in no way unrealistic, particularly if you factor in that Dumoulin tends to ride conservatively, wary of going too deep too soon. It was on terrain that favoured Froome over Dumoulin as well. But it all came from the team effort and stage strategy.

This kind of measured analysis just won't do.

Report to the outrage prefects with immediate effect.

No_Ta_Doctor

Above The Cows wrote:

No tA Doctor wrote:

The pure cycling simplicty of what Sky and Froome did yesterday seems to have eluded all those that think it was literally unbelievable. He didn't just attack on Finestre, he didn't drop the peloton and stay away, they shredded the peloton right from the start. First they pushed Poels towards the break, forcing Once Were Orica to chase from the get-go. Then they absolutely hammered it up the start of Finestre, breaking Yates completely, dropping Pozzovivo and getting rid of almost all the domestiques. Ellissondo in particular mas magnificent in that last pull.

That left Froome attacking a knackered TTer who can climb a bit, a knackered climber who can sometimes TT (and whose form has been dubious so far) and a few others that had no reason to do anything other than sit in.

Froome didn't do 80km against the peloton, he did 80km against three riders, one of whom can't descend but had to be waited for, as his teammate had to keep something back against a guy sitting in who could hurt him at the end. That 80km is in no way unrealistic, particularly if you factor in that Dumoulin tends to ride conservatively, wary of going too deep too soon. It was on terrain that favoured Froome over Dumoulin as well. But it all came from the team effort and stage strategy.

This kind of measured analysis just won't do.

Report to the outrage prefects with immediate effect.

Sorry maam. Will go straight to Twitter to get my caning.

andyp

gsk82 wrote:

He's just another young kiwi with a big gob.

He's twenty-eight, you can't blame the impetuity of youth when you're nearly thirty.

ShutupJens

andyp wrote:

gsk82 wrote:

He's just another young kiwi with a big gob.

He's twenty-eight, you can't blame the impetuity of youth when you're nearly thirty.

Sounds a bit like he's believed it when someone told him that he's on the same level as the big boys. Didn't have much of an opinion on Bennett but now I think he's a tool

RichN95.

No tA Doctor wrote:

Froome didn't do 80km against the peloton, he did 80km against three riders, one of whom can't descend but had to be waited for, as his teammate had to keep something back against a guy sitting in who could hurt him at the end.

The chasers really were the perfect selection for Froome.
Carapaz, Lopez and Pinot were racing each other.
None of them were racing Froome but Dumoulin thought they should, none of them were racing Dumoulin but he thought they could.
And they were being pulled by someone who had been dropped on the climb and can't descend well.

andyp

ShutupJens wrote:

Sounds a bit like he's believed it when someone told him that he's on the same level as the big boys. Didn't have much of an opinion on Bennett but now I think he's a tool

I like him, tries to improve as a rider and hasn't fallen into the trap of having media training and becoming a repetitive automaton when speaking to the media.

RichN95.

andyp wrote:

ShutupJens wrote:

Sounds a bit like he's believed it when someone told him that he's on the same level as the big boys. Didn't have much of an opinion on Bennett but now I think he's a tool

I like him, tries to improve as a rider and hasn't fallen into the trap of having media training and becoming a repetitive automaton when speaking to the media.

Becoming an automaton isn't just the result of media training, it's also the result of being screwed over the media. This incident will make Bennett more wary, which is a shame - really don't think he meant anything by it.

gsk82

It was his own team recording it. I doubt he'd have said it if it was the media. Shows his true feelings though.

sagalout

gsk82 wrote:

It was his own team recording it. I doubt he'd have said it if it was the media. Shows his true feelings though.

After watching his interview this morning right before the start of the stage I honestly don’t think he was referring to Landis in that way - he seemed frustrated that people on Twitter had latched onto it for their own means.

Bo Duke

Above The Cows wrote:

ddraver wrote:

...against a chase whose heads dropped almost immediately...

And then fannied about on the descent.

This.

Froome probably made more time on the descents than on the climbs. Tom was virtually sitting up as times.... I couldn't work it out hence my comment he didn't appear to go into the red and was saving himself for Saturday.