Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Trial and Error: Giro d'Italia 2019

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Trial and Error: Giro d'Italia 2019

    I've not been taking many turns at the front of the peloton this season so apologies for that, but let's get the first Grand Tour thread up and running.

    Interesting times, these. Roglic is really on fire this year and has had the best of Dumoulin so far. Simon Yates has been relatively quiet but has peppered his year so far with a couple of wins - including a time trial of all things - that show the Vuelta winner is probably keeping something back at the moment.

    And the route is time trial heavy. A short one to start, a long uphill one on stage 9, and a grand finale in Verona.

    #2
    It's live on Eurosport and, according to Steephill.tv, viewers in the UK can watch daily highlights from 10-11pm on Quest. (EDIT - generally 7pm, see longeared's post below)

    As always, the place to go for some top insights regarding the corsa is The Inner Ring. Here's their quick guide to Giro #102.

    http://inrng.com/2019/05/giro-italia...de/#more-35463

    "The unmissable stages
    Anything can happen during the Giro but there are some stages that matter more than others.

    Stage 7 – Friday 17 May: the L’Aquila finish, a mini classic
    Stage 9 – Sunday 19 May: the San Marino time trial, maybe not great TV but decisive
    Stage 12 – Thursday 23 May: the first mountain pass
    Stage 13 – Friday 24 May: the first summit finish and the cobbled wall in the finish
    Stage 14 – Saturday 25 May: a big mountain stage in the Aosta valley
    Stage 15 – Sunday 26 May: the Lombardia classic as a stage, all the breakaway specialists will go for it
    Stage 16 – : the Alps with the Gavia and Mortirolo
    Stage 20 – Saturday 1 June: the final mountain stage"
    Last edited by Kevin S; 08-05-2019, 13:35.

    Comment


      #3
      Is it still sponsored by the Israeli tourist board? If so, they can do one.

      Comment


        #4
        Not sure - the official site lists these race sponsors?

        Comment


          #5
          The Israeli thing was a one year special, funded by a Canadian

          Comment


            #6
            BTW, Frackin' INEOS (tm FIGS) have sent Moscon to California, the latest sign of his precipitous loss of form

            Comment


              #7
              Quest highlights are at 10pm on Saturday only (presumably because of the late afternoon start) then 7pm otherwise. A nightly dose of Kirby to look forward to there.

              Roglic appears to be the bookies favourite based on performance but I'm a bit doubtful as to his recovery powers over a full Grand Tour given how badly he faded in the time trial in last year's Tour - this is going to be particularly important given how backloaded the route is. Dumoulin has been very low key so far this year but he's familiar with the Giro and he'll like all that time trialling. Yates will doubtless have to field endless questions about whether he'll collapse as he did last year. Nibali has been quietly near the front in a lot of races but he's 34 now, he's likely to go to Trek-Segafredo in the winter and he gave the sense last year that he's starting to tip past his best now. Miguel Angel Lopez has got a good team for support, Astana have been winning races for fun this season and I'd expect him to podium, though the overall win feels like it might be a step too far given the route.

              Five British riders on the start sheet - Yates, TGH at INEOS, Hugh Carthy at EF Education First, Welshman Scott Davies at Dimension Data and James Knox at Deceuninck.

              Moscon's lack of form is highly enjoyable. Long may it continue.

              Comment


                #8
                Yeah, Lopez definitely has to be in the mix, especially with Cataldo and Izagirre in the team.

                Movistar have got Landa, Carapaz and Amador going to this - feels like they're really telling Landa, "Now you have to deliver something and show everyone what we signed you from Sky for." Whilst he was 7th at the Tour, it never really felt like he was threatening.

                Should probably also name-check Mollema at Trek, Zakarin at Katusha and Majka at Bora as others targeting the GC. I can't see Majka troubling the podium as he didn't really make the step up after some good performances in GTs from around 2013-2016; a couple of weak seasons for him. Mollema often has one really bad day where it all goes wrong. Zakarin, though, might figure somehow in the final reckoning here. Possibly.

                Comment


                  #9
                  OK, I've been mostly staying off the cycling threads because I'm hugely behind on races and I've managed to stay unspoiled for quite a few of them. So if I'm to join in this thread please don't casually mention who won E3, Paris-Roubaix, Turkey or Itzulia (I do know who won Romandie and Alps). Is that OK? I hope to be watching most of these in ten days or so.

                  One of the things I love about the Giro is that half of the time they don't do that ceremonial final stage bullshit that bedevils the Tour. An ITT to finish the whole thing should be compulsory for all Grand Tours imo, the more technical and punishing the better.

                  I don't think I can improve on longeared's preview. The riders Kev mentions all sound like decent bets for KoM. I also think Masnada of Androni might be worth watching.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I'd put in a word for the opening time trial over the genuinely iconic pilgrimage climb from Bologna to San Luca




                    Comment


                      #11
                      Yes, that ITT looks something like 6km in about 7mins, then an uphill 2km for perhaps another 7mins...

                      Putting that up first should be a good way of quickly seeing who is carrying good form into the race.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        It's Viviani's last race as Italian national champion, so he's got a new jersey for the occasion. It's a bit different.

                        Comment


                          #13

                          Comment


                            #14
                            RAI have colourised footage of the 1940 Giro (feat. F. Coppi) and the results are quite glorious.

                            This is a preview of a longer piece which I hope will not be geo-blocked. I will post a link when it goes up.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Good piece on the history of the climb to San Luca

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Forecast to rain towards the end of tomorrow's opening time trial, so that's led to a right odd start sheet. Dumoulin is going to be the very first rider to start then riders who will follow shortly after include Lopez, Jungels, Nibali, Roglic and Landa. Yates has obviously decided that it's not going to be that bad as he's third last, over two and a half hours after all the other favourites. Last rider to start as the race builds to a thrilling climax will be .... Salvatore Puccio. Some prime Giro weirdness all round there.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  If anyone would like to join the OTF fantasy Giro league, it's here:

                                  http://fantasy.road.cc

                                  League ID: 75488

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    Just been to my local Italian deli/grocery (est. 130 years ago or similar) to get some mouth-watering produce, including bologna, so I can Respect The Giro. I love living in this city sometimes.

                                    Optimistic that I'll be able to watch without too much disruption as I've found that, while takedowns of the main streaming site have become more frequent, I can easily watch Dutch TV using a VPN if necessary.

                                    Happiest sporting day of the year, for me, and it's nice to be able to say that again.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      Roglič!

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        Roglič has been on great form for quite a while now, hope he doesn't blow in the third week.

                                        that's my first look at an Ineos kit, not bad. Hart and Sivakov rode wonderfully in Alps, I hope they buckle their swashes in this race too.

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by ad hoc View Post
                                          Is it still sponsored by the Israeli tourist board? If so, they can do one.
                                          Naw, but the Eurosport ads still feature “Tel Aviv-Jerusalem” tourist enticement

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                                            I'd put in a word for the opening time trial over the genuinely iconic pilgrimage climb from Bologna to San Luca




                                            It’s certainly more interesting so far than the usual prologue procession

                                            plua I did walk up it on my 1st visit to Bologna

                                            Comment


                                              #23
                                              As did I

                                              The weather isn't always this glorious

                                              Comment


                                                #24
                                                In response to delicatemoth-
                                                I, too, have gone Bolognese for my late afternoon meal, though Lidl has an excellent Spanish wine (Gamellón, £6.99) so not authentic dreenks-wise.

                                                Sean Kelly always says “on the rivet...as we say in cycling terms”
                                                Last edited by Felicity, I guess so; 11-05-2019, 16:24.

                                                Comment


                                                  #25
                                                  Ah, I got a Pecorino (to go with my pepper Pecorino cheese, in fact) and am having a very enjoyable afternoon, to be frank.

                                                  Comment

                                                  Working...
                                                  X