Giro 2017: Stage 16: Rovetta – Bormio 222 km *Spoilers*

hanshotfirst wrote:

I take your point, but they're cyclists, not football players.

I just think it's incredibly unsportsmanlike to take advantage of a situation like this. If your rival cracks then by all means, put the hammer down, but something beyond their control - be sportsmanlike. To be clear, if someone was to take advantage of generosity in the way you are suggesting (holding up the peloton any time it seems to suit a given rider) then I'd see that as completely unacceptable and unsportsmanlike as well.

RichN95 wrote:

And I'm not sure after a couple of decades of EPO we can hold up cycling as a paragon of sportsmanship over any sport.

bobmcstuff wrote:

Article here with interviews from most parties: http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racin ... als-332303

Quintana: “We respected Dumoulin when he had his problem, but other teams made their own race. It’s cycling. He was a gentleman with me [two days ago], we tried to respect him.”

Pozzovivo: “There was a moment of slowing but then there was the hill to climb,but yeah, there was some fair play on the part of Movistar who could’ve pulled straight away and didn’t, in a way they paid back the favour from the other day. It wouldn’t have been possible for them to wait until he returned, the race was that climb in the end, if we didn’t make the final climb hard, then there’s no show.”

Nibali: “at the start we did wait a bit but there was an important escape with Kruijswijk and we couldn’t wait much longer.”

Jungels: “This is always very hard to judge, there are race situations when you have a stage of 220km and you’re entering the last climb, it’s always hard to say wait or not to wait, especially if you have teams pulling. Sometimes that’s racing and I’m convinced that he’ll come back the next days as strong as he was before.”


And finally the man himself:
“No, I don’t think [Movistar should’ve waited],” Dumoulin said. “The chase was on and you cannot give Kruijswijk three minutes, so it’s a difficult situation.

“I heard that Movistar waited a bit, but the race was already on, and they were chasing the break with Kruijswijk, so I can’t see them waiting and giving Kruijswijk three minutes.”

RichN95 wrote:

Pross wrote:

So everyone involved is in agreement yet the armchair experts continue to disagree.

Armchair experts know nothing. Sofa experts are the only ones worth listening to. I don't even own an armchair.

Matthewfalle wrote:

hanshotfirst wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

Didn't Froome do this on a descent in the Tour a couple of years back to allow his domestique to get back to the group after a crash?

Last year, I think.

Also Contador abuses it a bit to change his bike at the base of a final climb.

I was, however, thinking of a rider just faking a problem to get a little respite and/or disrupt the momentum of a rival team on the front.

I take your point, but they're cyclists, not football players.

I just think it's incredibly unsportsmanlike to take advantage of a situation like this. If your rival cracks then by all means, put the hammer down, but something beyond their control - be sportsmanlike. To be clear, if someone was to take advantage of generosity in the way you are suggesting (holding up the peloton any time it seems to suit a given rider) then I'd see that as completely unacceptable and unsportsmanlike as well.

If I remember rightly, it was seen at the by the British cycling media and this forum that it was cunning and great marginal gainage by Froome/Sky and isn't it brilliant how he did it and how dumb the other teams are to have fallen for it...

But Johnny Foreigner doing it - harrummmph.