Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

[ursus arctos]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Brambilla, who is the virtual maglia rosa, breaks away on the gravel slopes of the Alpe de Poti with 24 km left.

This finish is going to be good.

[Kevin S]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Yeah, chapeau Brambilla. And a bad weekend for Dumoulin, who didn't make up any ground on a rough ITT and is basically out of GC contention now.

Kevchenko wrote: Etixx-QuickStep
I don't really know what they are trying to do with this selection. Kittel and Trentin are there but otherwise I can't make much of it.

Top two riders on GC. Never listen to me.

[longeared]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

longeared wrote: apparently Landa was absolutely dominant there in what is the traditional Giro warm up race. Therefore I think he'll win, assuming he hasn't peaked too soon.

Don't listen to me either. Dropped on the first climb this morning, fell about ten minutes back, and now he's abandoned.

[delicatemoth]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Sky's Giro travails entertain again. Landa can now retire to a luxury motorhome to contemplate.

[Kevin S]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Oof. Leaves them with Nieve and Viviani to salvage some pride with stage wins, but otherwise that's that for another year.

Bob Jungels, eh? Hadn't really had him down as a threat on GC, so that got me wondering if he has it in him. He's won some small GCs but, looking back, he had some creditable finishes in the Alps in last year's TdF. I wonder how long he can sustain this.

Should be a stage for the break today, I think. Visconti and Boem look decent up there. For the GC, it's a long steady climb but with visibility restricted by corners and trees. Should suit Valverde to claw back some seconds.

[ursus arctos]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Might Cunego do this?

It's been twelve years since he won a stage

[Incandenza]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Ciccone youth.

[ursus arctos]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Pro Continental teams virtually always win stages in the Giro

[Kevin S]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

The similarity of the Gazprom jersey to the climber's jersey is very bothersome.

Got my money on Trentin for today; the way he came out of the pack with the FDJ train for the intermediate suggests he backs himself for the red jersey, and today's finish is tough enough to suit him.

GC shaping up nicely for the mountains, isn't it?

[ursus arctos]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Jungels is for real

[delicatemoth]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Bob-a-job Bob does the blooming job. That was reaaaally good, watching the last 5 km with Dutch commentary didn't matter in the slightest. Been having terrible stream trouble lately.

[longeared]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Lupo not going to cross into France at the request of local farmers. Bet they didn't have that problem with the dormouse.

[ursus arctos]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Greipel wins the stage and then announces he's retiring from the race, which hasn't gone down well with the organisers or the Italian press.

[ursus arctos]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Asked whether he can retain the pink jersey all the way, Jungels responds to La Gazzetta with "Me? Win the Giro? You must be nuts!"

[longeared]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

At least Greipel's being honest, would have been very easy for him to claim a stomach bug / chest infection or the like. Doesn't do the race much good mind.

[Kevin S]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

It's peculiar, really. The Giro is always going to suffer now in profile terms to the Tour. Certainly since the days of US P****l dominance the French race has been the much greater draw.

The Giro responds by marketing itself as 'the hardest race in the most beautiful place' or somesuch. And indeed it is. But if they want to attract the A-List riders, then really they need to make it easier rather than harder. Because a rider like Froome isn't going to jeopardise his shot at the MJ by doing the double as Contador tried last year.

As for the sprinters, they have back-loaded the hardest climbs in the route this year, so it's all too easy for the sprinters to pull out now. There's also no 'glamour of the Champs' style stage to aim for at the end either.

I do like the way Italian races do sprint finishes though. A bit like you get on Milan-Sanremo as well, there was that very late, sharp corner. It basically negates the use of trains, and utterly emphasises the importance of positioning and then power on that final straight section. Caleb Ewan just didn't have the experience to get the former as right as Greipel, and isn't yet quite powerful enough to beat him in a drag race.

[delicatemoth]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

I really don't see much of a problem here. This way we get many of the best sprinters at the Giro and the Tour. It diminishes the Giro points jersey, but I think that's an acceptable compromise. The Giro will always be affected by premature withdrawers as long as it ends a month before the Tour starts.

But if they want to attract the A-List riders, then really they need to make it easier rather than harder. Because a rider like Froome isn't going to jeopardise his shot at the MJ by doing the double as Contador tried last year.

Froome and Sagan are the only A-list riders the Giro hasn't attracted in recent years. It can live without them. Given the huge Tour-centrism of British cycling culture I doubt that any changes would be enough to pique Froome/Sky's interest tbh.

[longeared]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Froome talked about doing the Giro last year as he didn't initially like the Tour route. Sky basically told him as team leader he wasn't being given the option and he would be off to France in July. Which worked out OK in the end, to be fair.

[delicatemoth]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

That's what I was getting at. My impression is that Sky's sponsors care about the Tour about ten times as much as the Giro. I think if Froome really wanted to do it he might have to move teams. Though their rumoured signing of Pinot (boo!) could affect that, I suppose.

I confess Froome's Tour ride didn't just cure me of residual dislike, it almost turned me into a fan. It was admirable.

[delicatemoth]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Eek, it's on already!

[longeared]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

I think it's Sky being Brit-centric rather than direct business interests that lead them to prioritise the Tour. Italy (Sky Italia) is a much bigger Murdoch market than France.

I hadn't heard about Sky possibly signing Pinot. They'd better bloody not, I rather like him.

[ursus arctos]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

Though the Giro is free to air in Italy, and Sky Italia tends not to pay much attention to cycling. Rather like ESPN here, its overall news and commentary coverage is tilted heavily towards those sports for which it holds broadcast rights

[Kevin S]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

That was a fabulous race. Gotta love a GC sprint, and Nibali got the better of Valverde in it! Jungels had to go deep to minimise his losses; he won't be winning this Giro.

[ad hoc]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

How many Ticos have ever led a grand tour?

[ad hoc]

Never say Nether again - Giro d'Italia 2016

FElt a bit sorry for the bloke who finished second. He gotknocked off at speed by Cunego at the top of the first climb and still managed to challenge all the way