55th Tirreno-Adriatico, September 7th to 14th 2020 *Spoilers*

13

Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,441
    DeadCalm said:

    Pross said:

    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.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,147
    50x11 said:

    I assumed Sivakov would still be doing the Giro, seeing as it was his main race before being drafted to france last minute.


    You mean Carapaz
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • 50x11
    50x11 Posts: 408
    RichN95. said:

    50x11 said:

    I assumed Sivakov would still be doing the Giro, seeing as it was his main race before being drafted to france last minute.


    You mean Carapaz
    I meant Sivakov as I believe his main pencilled race was the Giro, but yeah same rules apply with Carapaz.
  • Today's final climb and finish, where the GC battle should play out.


    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,099
    Pross said:

    andyp said:

    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.
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  • 50x11
    50x11 Posts: 408
    edited September 2020
    That was a good finish, Yates from G with about 30 seconds.

    Knoxs in top ten as well. Woods looses well over 1 minute.
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,461
    That climb looks a cracker from the helicopter shots
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • 50x11
    50x11 Posts: 408
    gsk82 said:

    That climb looks a cracker from the helicopter shots

    It did I think Italian climbs are the most beautiful of them all. Really looking forward to seeing the Giro in Autumn light.
  • Yates looking great a month ahead of the Giro.
    I hope that isn't going to be a problem in a month and three weeks.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Thomas starting to look handy as well.
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  • ocdupalais
    ocdupalais Posts: 4,229
    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.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,147

    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.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,441
    RichN95. said:

    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?
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  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Yates isn't a terrible TTer. Obviously Thomas is better but Yates isn't going to completely collapse.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,441

    So, how many seconds do we reckon Thomas can put into Yates on a 10km pan flat TT?

    37 seconds in Stage 1 of the 2017 Tour over 9 flat miles so potentially very close.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,096
    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?
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,096
    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.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,811
    edited September 2020
    andyp said:

    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.
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 6,916
    Looks like Mathieu made it back to back stage wins for Alpecin Fenix.
  • Matti66
    Matti66 Posts: 190
    Fillippo Ganna with a 10:42 on the TTcourse 56.6kph phew! Looks great on the bike too.
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,786
    Stunning TT by Ganna in his fabulous Italian champs skinsuit. What a ride
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,461
    30 to 40 second faster than the winning times on the same course for the past 3 years.
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,441
    It's going to be a big ask for Thomas to take back over 30 seconds in a race taking around 11 minutes.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,147
    gsk82 said:

    30 to 40 second faster than the winning times on the same course for the past 3 years.


    The course record was Cancellara's 11:08. 26 seconds down
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  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,441
    Campenaerts about 20 seconds slower. Dennis 5 seconds down at the checkpoint.
  • Matti66
    Matti66 Posts: 190
    Fast day and or later in the year.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,441
    edited September 2020
    Froome either not really bothering or still a long way off his best form.

    Edit - 12.15 over 1.30 behind Ganna.