Giro 2022 - Stage 3: Kaposvár – Balatonfüred 201 km ***Spoilers***

blazing_saddles
blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730
Stage 3: Kaposvár – Balatonfüred 201 km
Sunday, May 8th, 11:25 BST

A stage around Lake Balaton, the Hungarian sea. The landscape is called the Provence of Hungary.
It is predominantly flat, with a few undulations along the way and a single, minor climb Tihany (GPM4, 2.7 km at 2.5%). A bunch sprint is next to certain.



The stage will be one of the longest in the race at 201km. At first, the route approaches the lake on mildly rolling roads. Past Nagykanizsa, the route heads markedly towards the Balaton, undulating all the way to the shore. Skirting along the lakeshore for the final 50 km, the route takes in one last, short climb by the Tihany Abbey. The stage finale is mostly straight, with just a few mild bends.



Final kms.

The climb tops at 12.6 km to go, but should just barely be noticed by the peloton. The final kilometres are virtually flat. The final 500 metres rise almost imperceptibly all the way to the home straight, on tarmac.





What to expect
A very small breakaway and a very fast finish. Not much else to be said, other than the scenery around the lake should be nice.

Favourites 3rd stage 2022 Giro d’Italia

Caleb Ewan took two sprint vitories in last year’s Giro before he dropped out on stage 8 with a knee injury. The others sprints were won by Tim Merlier and Giacomo Nizzolo. He has 4 Giro stages to his name, Mark Cavendish has 5...

***** Caleb Ewan, Mark Cavendish
**** Arnaud Démare, Fernando Gaviria
*** Giacomo Nizzolo, Phil Bauhaus, Matthew van der Poel
** Biniam Girmay, Jakub Mareczko, Cees Bol, Alberto Dainese
* Edward Theuns, Simone Consonni, Davide Cimolai, Magnus Cort, Andrea Vendrame

Kaposvár

Only 1.5 hours by car from Lake Balaton, Kaposvár is considered one-of-a-kind throughout Europe in terms of architecture and guarantees you’ll not have a moment without being surrounded by magical sights in its city centre, which boasts more than 220 eclectic and Secessionist buildings. It is unrivaled on the continent in terms of the number of fabulous historical sites packed into such a small area.





Balatonfüred

Balatonfüred is a resort town in Veszprém county, in Hungary, with a population of 13,000, situated on the northern shore of Lake Balaton. Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and the canalised Sió is the only outflow.



Fried hake
Eating fish in general is popular near basically any body of water, but for some reason, hake has become the most popular fish at Lake Balaton. The dish is very simple: the hake is coated in flour then fried in oil. It is easy to eat because it has relatively few and small bones.



Balaton holds an annual Beach Food of the Year contest.

The Discovery of the Year award:Tortizza

A cross between a waffle and a latkes potato pancake. The dough is grilled in a waffle iron and topped with Emmental and goats' cheeses, dried tomatoes, a dollop of sour-cream mousse, then sprinkled with sausage crumbs and duck crackling.











"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
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Comments

  • jimmyjams
    jimmyjams Posts: 781


    Fried hake

    Eating fish in general is popular near basically any body of water, but for some reason, hake has become the most popular fish at Lake Balaton. The dish is very simple: the hake is coated in flour then fried in oil. It is easy to eat because it has relatively few and small bones.


    Hake (a saltwater fish) became popular in Hungary during the 1960s, when freshwater fish like bream became scarce in the lakes and rivers of Hungary, while carp and perch/pike were mainly farmed and caught for export, and the Hungarian government had the bright idea of importing large quantities of cheap frozen hake from Argentina as substitute. Hake then became very popular and has stayed so, even though it all still needs importing.
    The fish is coated not just with flour but also good amounts of paprika powder, thus its reddish colour when cooked.

  • notquite6foot
    notquite6foot Posts: 248
    Today's break - the same pair as on stage 1 plus Samuele Rivi
  • JimD666
    JimD666 Posts: 2,293
    I know that it's a nailed on sprint stage but I'm not sure I've ever seen such a lack of enthusiasm for riders to get into the break.

    Filippo Tagliani (DH) and Mattia Bais (DH) have been joined by Samuele Rivi (EOLO)
  • notquite6foot
    notquite6foot Posts: 248
    For some reason the ES2 Sky EPG schedule is duplicated on ES1, so any recordings of today's stage could be rather short.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730

    For some reason the ES2 Sky EPG schedule is duplicated on ES1, so any recordings of today's stage could be rather short.

    The Giro is on ES1 even though what you said is true.

    These starts are absolutely riveting! :p
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730
    Bahrain take a hit as Jan Tratnik becomes the first rider to abandon the race.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,909
    Total snooze so far I take it ?
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • JimD666
    JimD666 Posts: 2,293
    yes
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730
    This snooze fest would have been ideal, next Sunday, as it’s Tro Bro Leon.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Anyone else getting big crash vibes for the finish?
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,909
    edited May 2022

    Anyone else getting big crash vibes for the finish?

    This ☝️
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730

    Anyone else getting big crash vibes for the finish?

    Often the way these pointless processions end….
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730
    Cav wins with a long sprint
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,259
    I thought he'd gone way too early there
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 7,592
    Get in!
    That was a seriously long sprint. A lot of time in the wind for Cav but no one else looked like they could get to him.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,909
    Pro max ....knows what they are doing at dqs ...long way out down hill sprint
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,909
    You have to go early and go aero
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • JimD666
    JimD666 Posts: 2,293
    edited May 2022
    Thought it was going to be too long a sprint but he just kept going. Well done that man :)
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,909
    RichN95. said:

    I thought he'd gone way too early there

    Down hill
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • JimD666
    JimD666 Posts: 2,293
    Likelihood for Cav swearing during his interview?
  • carbonclem
    carbonclem Posts: 1,792
    Looked pretty well set up and executed. Good job.
    2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,730
    edited May 2022
    Given the incredible length of that sprint, I think Alpecin should have gone with MvDP.
    Mareczko manages 5th, but had Theuns and Consonni in 6th and 7th.

    (Cav's just said in interview that he went with 300 metres to go.)
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Great work from QS, and a long finish from Cav. Can’t argue with that result.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,527
    Morkov was superb in that lead out, a little burst when they were in danger of getting swamped after their third man pulled off and then another to start the lead out. He also pulled off to the side where the threats were coming through.
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,183
    Was a perfect stage to have on in the background while I got on with some (not too painful) DIY. The pros on the gcn commentary team made a decent job of keeping it going with self-depreciating jokes & anecdotes.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Victory over Ewan is always a sweet day ✌🏻
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,909
    edited May 2022
    You have to go and go aero

    Victory over Ewan is always a sweet day ✌🏻

    You're such a hater 🤣
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,440

    You have to go and go aero

    Victory over Ewan is always a sweet day ✌🏻

    You're such a hater 🤣
    I like Ewan more because of how much Rick hates him... I don't think I'd have any opinion about him otherwise!
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,909

    You have to go and go aero

    Victory over Ewan is always a sweet day ✌🏻

    You're such a hater 🤣
    I like Ewan more because of how much Rick hates him... I don't think I'd have any opinion about him otherwise!
    Me neither ...I think he a good sprinter who hasn't done anything worth to hate on .... If anything a bit boring drama wise . Left the giro early gate was not that captivating.
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    We all have irrational dislikes of riders.