Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

[ursus arctos]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

We are fortunate enough to live on the traditional route for the last stage (and less than 200 metres from the finish line), but it never loses its fascination.

The experience in the countryside is even more special, though, because one has the great sense of expectation and then it's all over in a flash. Kuhisek (an erstwhile member of the OTF Peleton who is much missed) wrote something similar about his experience of Le Tour in rural Burgundy last year.

[Sixmartletsandaseagull]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Ursus what a great location!

That's exactly what it was like! We waited ages, chatting excitedly, they swooped round the corner into sight in a mass of colour, whooshed very fast down the hill at us, then swept precariously round a sharp corner and were gone...

We sort of stood there bewildered for a few seconds after.

Mind you we haven't even got a cinema here, so we are easily pleased!!!

[ursus arctos]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Quite a weekend for Sig. Sella.

[Brandenburger Toro]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Indeed! Good to see, he's been there or thereabouts for a good while now without ever getting a big move or making a breakthrough.

Contador in la maglia rosa, bollocks. But I have every faith in Ricco's ability to reel him in by sheer strength of ego.

[ursus arctos]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

And Contador extends his lead on the time trial up to Plan de Corones (which the locals all call Kroenplatz, being that they are German-speaking).

Still only 41 seconds over Ricco, though.

[Brandenburger Toro]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Aye. A great ride for Phillip Deignan, too, he finished within forty seconds of the lead.

He's a properly classy rider, who's had shitty luck with illness the last two years. I think he's due a big breakthrough soon...

[Guest]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Been in London for the past three days and got back to watch the last three stage highlights, back to back. Sella was fantastic. I've been reading David Walsh's "From Lance to Landis", and I can't help but be totally cynical with regard to any of Bruyneel's riders. I don't know if Ricco is clean, but AC is hugely suspect and I want to see him beaten.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

If Sella had won 3 in a row yestaerday I was gonna start a fresh thread called 'Sella, Italia'.

What a great effort. He's my new hero.

I loved Baliani too, when he fell over the cobbles on that breakaway. Forza CSF-Navigare! (since Euskaltel, 'my team' normally are putting very little into it, I don't need to feel guilty about cheating on them).

I'm struck by the fact that the diddy teams invited in for the Giro really have a go, whereas, say, Agritubel and other agriculturally-named invitees in the Tour in the past have tended to be totally outclassed.

Is there just a bigger base of decent cyclists in Italy, even below the Pro-Tour level?

[ursus arctos]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

I think that is basically the answer.

Italy has been more successful at preserving a culture of competitive cycling than France, and one sees the results in the Giro.

It's also my sense (though I have no data) that the logistics of the Giro are significantly less expensive for sponsors than those of Le Tour, which allows the Italian teams to spend relatively more on riders than their French counterparts.

[Guest]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

The French might argue that they are cleaner.

[ursus arctos]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

I'm sure they would, though that doesn't necessarily mean that they are right.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

The French might argue that they are cleaner.

"Cof(idis)"

[Felicity, I guess so]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Or I could've cleared my throat in a way that sounded like 'Virenque'!

Good letter in 'Cycling Weekly' recently about the ASO/Tour taking jerseys and stage wins off various individuals now that their drug use is known/admitted. Tricky Ricky, the weeping crawler seems to have held on to all his polka dots.

[Guest]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Felicity I agree. I was thinking more of their French only protest last year. They can be a little sanctimonious can't they? Then again if many of them are clean, it must be tough to see fat arsed cyclists sailing up hors category climbs.

[ursus arctos]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

The lad does it again



at Locarno and takes over second in the points jersey.

I don't think he can catch Bennatti, but it has been a great Giro already for him and HighRoad.

[Guest]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

That was super confident wasn't it? He was very gracious, but a little bit cheeky wasn't he?
He's a superstar in the making.

[ursus arctos]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

The Italian press is absolutely in love with him, as he embodies all of their notions of "English fair play". He would have been the first Englishman ever to win three stages in a Grand Tour, btw (though I wouldn't bet against him winning the last day).

[Guest]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

What a fantastic couple of days. OTF fave Jans Voight winning a solo breakaway yesterday in the rain and then today a truly titanic struggle up the mountains.
AC was dropped by Ricco and Di Luca dug deep to hang to get second place. AC now leads by 4 seconds with Gavia and Motirolo to come tomorrow. AC was led up by Kloeden but Ricco's attack was superb. He's no doubt kicking himself that he didn't take the pink jersey. Pellizotti didn't have what it takes though did he?
What was the story with Pellizotti and Lance/Simeoni? Did Pellizotti spit at Filippo Simeoni?

[Brandenburger Toro]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

That was Pozzatto.

[Guest]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Ah yeah that's right. Pozzato. I don't like Pellizotti much though. Did you hear that Liquigas are going to sign Ivan Basso? I thought there was some sort of agreement (unwritten) between the pro-teams that they wouldn't sign someone who had been banned, thus effectively banning them for 4 years.

[Brandenburger Toro]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Just after sacking DiLuca for dodginess? Weird.

So, the time trial tomorrow, and four seconds between Ricco and Contador. This could be amazing. Marzio Bruseghin could even conceivably win it - he's one of the best CLM riders in the peloton, though two minutes is almost certainly too far to make up.

Oh, and another win for Sella - what a race he's having!

(ursus - you know it's a TT on the last day this year, rather than the traditional sprint? Not so much chance for Cav...)

[ursus arctos]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

I had forgotten that, which is especially grievous as the stage goes by our flat.

Not yet sure just how we will watch it or what the tifosi reaction will be.

I was hoping that Simoni could catch Sella, but it just wasn't possible. Ricco still thinks he has a shot tomorrow, and it's hard not to think about LeMond pipping Fignon in '89. I just hope that it doesn't rain; the weather here has been pretty bad (though much worse in Piemonte) and they were lucky to get today's stage in under reasonable conditions.

[Guest]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

AC winning is hugely disappointing. Shameless!

[Brandenburger Toro]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Hugely disappointing, but hugely impressive.

In fairness, people have been saying he's this good since he was a teenager. And of all the high-profile riders who were named as his patients, Eufemanio Fuentes went out of his way to say he'd never treated Contador or Allan Davis. Given how unrepentant he was in every other respect, and how little either of them had actually achieved at the time, that should probably count for something, at least until there's solider evidence tying either of them to Puerto. (Though a definitive link to Davis would erode a great deal of Contador's credibility in this regard...)

It's worth saying that, like Pantani, even if he's dirty as all hell, you can probably count on one hand the number of climbers we've seen who are this good. Naturally. And he's still, what, twenty-five? The bastard.

Fucking Bruyneel.

[Guest]

Pretty in Pink (The Giro d'Italia thread)

Exactly it's the Bruyneel link more than the Puerto link for me. Particularly as I've just finished David Walsh's book on doping in American cycling.