In the Pink - The Pre Giro Warm Up Thread. News, Views and General Info.

blazing_saddles

Same as for the Tour.
The Worlds are over and it's less than a week to the Grande Partenza, in Sicily, where it was due to start in 2021.Covid wise, Italy is still faring a lot better than France was at the same stage.
So, the game is afoot, as some fictitious bloke in a silly hat said.
Be it team info, local flavour, general discussion, chit chat or idle speculation, pictures, posters tweets or clips, feel free to stick it all here, just so long as it is somehow connected to this:



We will start with a short ITT, then an uphill sprint, then a full mountain top finish, so something for almost everybody. Throughout the first two weeks, there are lots of hilly stages and very few clear sprints, before reaching the heavily back loaded third week, with three mountain stages of 200+ km and 5000m altitude gain. Fingers crossed that the weather gods bless the Giro with similar good fortune to that of the Tour.



This will be the first and probably last Giro edition in October, so as such, with the nights drawing in, stages will start a little earlier and are scheduled to finish around 15-30BST.

shirley_basso

Excellent news.

Can someone tell me where to find who's riding and where I can watch on'tellybox?

blazing_saddles

shirley_basso said:

Excellent news.

Can someone tell me where to find who's riding and where I can watch on'tellybox?

The startlist is still provisional. Most reliable here. Green tick means a team is confirmed.

http://www.cyclingfever.com/editie.html?detp=view&_ap=startlijst&editie_idd=Mjk4MDc=

On the telebox it's only on Eurosport and the opening weekend's coverage is shaky, due to live tennis and super bikes. 2pm - 4pm although scheduled finish is around 3-30pm. Etna stage is 11-25am until the finish, so the whole stage.

On the various players it's all whole stage coverage again, at least until Tuesday.

flite

I am told that in the UK, Quest channel may have Giro highlights - 7pm each evening BST

coopster_the_1st

flite said:

I am told that in the UK, Quest channel may have Giro highlights - 7pm each evening BST

I have just checked my TV guide and 1 hour of highlights are listed at this time. Thanks for the info

phreak

Stating the obvious I suppose, but surely there is a strong chance of the high mountain stages being affected as they'll be run pretty late into October? When do passes usually shut?

pblakeney

phreak said:

Stating the obvious I suppose, but surely there is a strong chance of the high mountain stages being affected as they'll be run pretty late into October? When do passes usually shut?

I'm thinking they should have run it north to south.
Milan wouldn't be happy with that though, and it's too late now.

jimmyjams

phreak said:

Stating the obvious I suppose, but surely there is a strong chance of the high mountain stages being affected as they'll be run pretty late into October? When do passes usually shut?

Permanent pass closures for the Winter usually come into effect during the last week of October or first week of November, depending on conditions.
Col d'Agnel (stage 20 on 24 Oct) was closed as from 20 Oct in 2015 , as from 17 Oct in 2017, and as from 22 Oct last year, each time as from a Tuesday. This year, 20 and 27 Oct are Tuesdays.

The recent sharp drop in temperature has caused snowfalls in the Alps and the temporary closure of roughly 10% of all Alpine passes (incl Col d'Agnel). At passes where it hasn't yet snowed enough to cause closure, it's expected to snow again this coming weekend (incl up the Stelvio = stage 18 on 22 Oct) and this may cause further pass closures.
But all these temporary closures will likely only last a week or so, maybe less.

specialgueststar

Thomas must be looking at that start list like your the only E in a E 1 2

specialgueststar

Last three weekends to the wife. 'Tour, World's, Giro'. I think she thinks I'm lying 🥺

bobmcstuff

specialgueststar said:

Thomas must be looking at that start list like your the only E in a E 1 2

Yates is going well isn't he, beat Thomas at Tirreno. Although there are 3 ITTs, which favours Thomas you would think.

I guess Nibali is there too, although he's been well off the pace...

Are Jumbo Visma riding for Kruijswijk?

davidof

At least they cover most of Italy. 5h30 hours of coverage this Saturday on l'Equipe TV in France starting at 12 CET.

Sorry for the repost but it is a very pretty advert for RAI's coverage

https://youtu.be/3dqh0vxyZGE

the famous bottle pass was in the Tour of course, on Lausanne to Alpe d'Huez stage high on the Galibier pass and was a set-up for the press photographer Carlo Martini. Faustino claims his dad was passing the bottle to Bartali. Fausto's bottle cages are tellingly empty and Bartali's full but why in that case did Bartali need water? If it were the other way around how did Bartali carry the bottle (a glass Perrier bottle)?

pblakeney

davidof said:

the famous bottle pass was in the Tour of course, on Lausanne to Alpe d'Huez stage high on the Galibier pass and was a set-up for the press photographer Carlo Martini. Faustino claims his dad was passing the bottle to Bartali. Fausto's bottle cages are tellingly empty and Bartali's full but why in that case did Bartali need water? If it were the other way around how did Bartali carry the bottle (a glass Perrier bottle)?

Clever tactic from Coppi, if it was from him. Bartali cannot hold the bars properly, or has to show poor etiquette by throwing the bottle. 😉

davep1

I'm off on Wednesday, hoping to catch stages 10 and 11 on Sunday and Tuesday. There's been a light dusting of snow in Abruzzo already, although it looked like it wouldn't stop the Giro, and probably won't last.
With a bit of luck I'll see them on il Muro di Guardiagrele, and then again near the end of the stage.

gsk82

They consider that a wall?!

jimmyjams

davidof said:

At least they cover most of Italy. 5h30 hours of coverage this Saturday on l'Equipe TV in France starting at 12 CET.

Sorry for the repost but it is a very pretty advert for RAI's coverage

https://youtu.be/3dqh0vxyZGE

the famous bottle pass was in the Tour of course, on Lausanne to Alpe d'Huez stage high on the Galibier pass and was a set-up for the press photographer Carlo Martini. Faustino claims his dad was passing the bottle to Bartali. Fausto's bottle cages are tellingly empty and Bartali's full but why in that case did Bartali need water? If it were the other way around how did Bartali carry the bottle (a glass Perrier bottle)?

Thanks for the RAI Giro advert film; I like it.

Re the bottle pass, a TV film made by RAI about 15 years ago about the incident concluded that Bartali was giving the bottle to Coppi. And I thought it happened on Izouard, not Galibier (as you write).

Also, the bottle may have not been glass. While it doesn't look like a then-common metal bidon, the first plastic bottles did appear in shops during the 1950s (the first plastic cycling bidons in 1954, sponsored by Vittel). As the photo is from 1952, maybe the bottle had been grabbed from a spectator who bought it in a shop?
If a plastic bottle, however, it wouldn't have been Perrier, as Perrier were still only using glass bottles into the mid-1970s, being one of the last French mineral water companies to adopt plastic.

davep1

gsk82 said:

They consider that a wall?!

I'm looking forward to the coverage of it. I have ridden up it...but not without stopping. Just for photos, of course...

There’s a video on youtube of Wiggins and Millar going up it in the Tirreno a few years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnLspDXCkgQ

davidof

jimmyjams said:

Thanks for the RAI Giro advert film; I like it.

Re the bottle pass, a TV film made by RAI about 15 years ago about the incident concluded that Bartali was giving the bottle to Coppi. And I thought it happened on Izouard, not Galibier (as you write)..

obviously the whole affair is shrouded in an aura mystery like Doisneau's Kiss or Capa's Falling Soldier

phreak

davidof said:

jimmyjams said:

Thanks for the RAI Giro advert film; I like it.

Re the bottle pass, a TV film made by RAI about 15 years ago about the incident concluded that Bartali was giving the bottle to Coppi. And I thought it happened on Izouard, not Galibier (as you write)..

obviously the whole affair is shrouded in an aura mystery like Doisneau's Kiss or Capa's Falling Soldier

It's a reflection of cycling as art rather than science, which is in keeping with the Giro as a romantic race.

No_Ta_Doctor

specialgueststar said:

Thomas must be looking at that start list like your the only E in a E 1 2

He's in good form and the field is a bit slim. Fuglsang and Kruijswijk the biggest threats I guess.

DeadCalm

No_Ta_Doctor said:

specialgueststar said:

Thomas must be looking at that start list like your the only E in a E 1 2

He's in good form and the field is a bit slim. Fuglsang and Kruijswijk the biggest threats I guess.

I'd have Vlasov as the bigger threat from Astana. Yates should make a showing too. But, looking at the startlist as it stands at the moment, Thomas should comfortably win it barring calamities.

Edit: Given it seems to be a year for the youngsters and UAE seem to be on a bit of a roll at the moment, I wouldn't be too surprised if Brandon McNulty managed a decent (top 6) finish.

andyp

No_Ta_Doctor said:

specialgueststar said:

Thomas must be looking at that start list like your the only E in a E 1 2

He's in good form and the field is a bit slim. Fuglsang and Kruijswijk the biggest threats I guess.

You don't think the two other GT winners in the race have a chance?

DeadCalm

andyp said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

specialgueststar said:

Thomas must be looking at that start list like your the only E in a E 1 2

He's in good form and the field is a bit slim. Fuglsang and Kruijswijk the biggest threats I guess.

You don't think the two other GT winners in the race have a chance?

Yates has a slim one. Nibali has better than a cat in Hell's chance, but not much IMO.

I have just noticed that Lopez is down to ride according to PCS. Fuglsang, Vlasov and Lopez are a pretty strong triumvirate even if Lopez is coming straight from the Tour.

phreak

I'd have thought Yates chances rest largely on just how many of the mountain stages get completed. I'd be utterly amazed if they made it over the Stelvio and Agnello in October.

bobmcstuff

DeadCalm said:

andyp said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

specialgueststar said:

Thomas must be looking at that start list like your the only E in a E 1 2

He's in good form and the field is a bit slim. Fuglsang and Kruijswijk the biggest threats I guess.

You don't think the two other GT winners in the race have a chance?

Yates has a slim one. Nibali has better than a cat in Hell's chance, but not much IMO.

I have just noticed that Lopez is down to ride according to PCS. Fuglsang, Vlasov and Lopez are a pretty strong triumvirate even if Lopez is coming straight from the Tour.

Yates beat Thomas at Tirreno. What am I missing?

I know there's 3 TTs in the Giro but they are pretty short (2 of them are). I agree Thomas is the favourite but I would have thought Yates should be up there with Fuglsang and Kruijswijk certainly.

pblakeney

bobmcstuff said:

DeadCalm said:

andyp said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

specialgueststar said:

Thomas must be looking at that start list like your the only E in a E 1 2

He's in good form and the field is a bit slim. Fuglsang and Kruijswijk the biggest threats I guess.

You don't think the two other GT winners in the race have a chance?

Yates has a slim one. Nibali has better than a cat in Hell's chance, but not much IMO.

I have just noticed that Lopez is down to ride according to PCS. Fuglsang, Vlasov and Lopez are a pretty strong triumvirate even if Lopez is coming straight from the Tour.

Yates beat Thomas at Tirreno. What am I missing?

I know there's 3 TTs in the Giro but they are pretty short (2 of them are). I agree Thomas is the favourite but I would have thought Yates should be up there with Fuglsang and Kruijswijk certainly.

The bookies would agree with Yates second and Fulsang/Kruijswijk equal third. Decent jump in odds too.

blazing_saddles

Yates has much better climbing support with Jack Haig and Lucas Hamilton.
On the other hand Geraint has a load of powerful support but only TGH for the hills and he hasn't been in great form.

Ineos Grenadiers squad for the Giro d’Italia 2020

Geraint Thomas
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Ben Swift
Rohan Dennis
Filippo Ganna
Jonathan Castroviejo
Salvatore Puccio
Jhonatan Narváez

phreak

I'd have thought the key is just how many of the mountains they actually manage to squeeze in. Yates needs the race to get over the Stelvio et al to really have a chance, and with those climbs being ridden in mid-October, I can just see re-routes all over the place and those three time trials being decisive as a result.

DeadCalm

blazing_saddles said:

Yates has much better climbing support with Jack Haig and Lucas Hamilton.
On the other hand Geraint has a load of powerful support but only TGH for the hills and he hasn't been in great form.

Ineos Grenadiers squad for the Giro d’Italia 2020

Geraint Thomas
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Ben Swift
Rohan Dennis
Filippo Ganna
Jonathan Castroviejo
Salvatore Puccio
Jhonatan Narváez

To me, that doesn't look ideal support for Thomas in the mountains. Maybe Dennis has been concentrating on his climbing? Might explain his disappointing showing in the World's ITT.

jam1e

There's only really TGH who you'd hope to be climbing in a select group but Puccio, Castroviejo and Navarez will no doubt be doing the lion's share on the low-mid slopes. Particularly if Dennis & Ganna are there to control things on the flats.

As much as I like Ben Swift (former "my man") I think a better lightweight climber would have been a better shot, maybe Dunbar.

Edit - if there's any potential crosswind stages that team looks very capable?

gsk82

jam1e said:

There's only really TGH who you'd hope to be climbing in a select group but Puccio, Castroviejo and Navarez will no doubt be doing the lion's share on the low-mid slopes. Particularly if Dennis & Ganna are there to control things on the flats.

As much as I like Ben Swift (former "my man") I think a better lightweight climber would have been a better shot, maybe Dunbar.

Edit - if there's any potential crosswind stages that team looks very capable?

Dunbar broke his collarbone at Tirreno-Adriatico, otherwise he'd be there.

Castraviejo should go well with the lower overall standard at the giro.