Decent stage finish again today. Woods and Yates attacked on the final climb with Thomas the first to get across. Most of the other favorites then joined before Lucas Hamilton and Vendrame attacked. Hamilton made an excellent long sprint to open up a clear gap and the stage. Woods leading in a group of favourites including Thomas, Yates and Majka 10 seconds behind to retain his overall lead. Mitchelton Scott having a very good race with 3 riders in the top 10 today. James Knox also doing very well and finished with the Woods group.
Just watched the final 30 kms on catch up. That was a decent finish.
My PTP pick, Nibali, was way off the pace,
just in front of teammate Peter Weening who I'd assumed had retired from Pro-Cycling a while ago.
Pross's concerns about climbing support for Thomas in the Giro are looking justified. With Dunbar gone, he really only has TGH left to provide climbing help. Not sure who Ineos have to bring in that could significantly bolster that support.
That said, Thomas looks to be in decent form. I have no doubt that, where he is right now, riding as a domestique, he would have been a huge asset for Bernal in the Tour. I wonder whether Brailsford is beginning to regret his decision to exclude him?
Balancing the teams for the Giro, Vuelta and Classics is going to be a nightmare for everyone. The Vuelta climbers will probably do the 'Ardennes' classics and will probably include most of the Tour squad. That said, I was surprised when I looked at the Ineos squad and realised how many young, inexperienced riders they now have. They're going to have to blood a few of them in the Giro and / or Vuelta.
Hamilton went clear with Masnada, then played him like a cheap fiddle in the sprint.
Did very well for an inexperienced rider. Did enough work to help keep them away whilst having the backing of team mates behind to allow him to bluff. I think the thing he did well was take a turn quite late on that may have made Masnada think he was going to keep riding through. He looked like he had the legs to win even if he'd got pushed into leading out.
Stephens and Magnus seemed to think the tactics weren't the best for MS as he was helping Masnada leapfrog Yates but for a stage win losing a few seconds on GC isn't a big issue especially as Yates is unlikely to win overall with the TT to come.
Indeed. Plus, Hamilton took the white jersey. All in all, I think M-S will be pretty happy with their day.
Team My Man 2022:
Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
“Road racing was over and the UCI had banned my riding positions on the track, so it was like ‘Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab, what do I do now? I know, I’ll go away and be depressed for 10 years’.”
With 3 British riders in the top 10 of this race, perhaps they should forget about the French race also on at the moment, especially as most of the good riders there are South East European or Colombian.
With 3 British riders in the top 10 of this race, perhaps they should forget about the French race also on at the moment, especially as most of the good riders there are South East European or Colombian.
There's a chance that the Giro may turn out to be a British carve up like the Tour is a Slovene carve up.
With 3 British riders in the top 10 of this race, perhaps they should forget about the French race also on at the moment, especially as most of the good riders there are South East European or Colombian.
There's a chance that the Giro may turn out to be a British carve up like the Tour is a Slovene carve up.
That would put an end to the cool kids claiming the Giro is better than the Tour.
So, how many seconds do we reckon Thomas can put into Yates on a 10km pan flat TT?
“Road racing was over and the UCI had banned my riding positions on the track, so it was like ‘Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab, what do I do now? I know, I’ll go away and be depressed for 10 years’.”
In the 2018 Tirreno, where Thomas finished third, he put 31 seconds into Adam Yates in the closing time trial over the same course. Is Simon Yates any better as a short distant TT rider compared to his brother?
That said, today's stage is a tricky one with some short, punchy climbs, including one to the finish, and is likely to give Simon Yates an opportunity to extend his lead.
That said, today's stage is a tricky one with some short, punchy climbs, including one to the finish, and is likely to give Simon Yates an opportunity to extend his lead.
PCS have a bit more info in their profile. Looks to be rolling rather than "walling". Although the Loreto lump is testing.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
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You mean Carapaz
Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
Knoxs in top ten as well. Woods looses well over 1 minute.
Woods lost 1:46
I hope that isn't going to be a problem in a month and three weeks.
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
Although the Loreto lump is testing.
The course record was Cancellara's 11:08. 26 seconds down
Edit - 12.15 over 1.30 behind Ganna.