Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 05/09/2019 12:09 PM |
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Arguably the best race of the year is upon us....and with the packed field this year, the Giro will almost surely be a more entertaining race than the Le Tour.
Dumoulin has not shown great form this year, so will he be ready to challenge for the maglia rosa again? Can Roglic sustain his stage race dominance for 3 weeks? Will Simon Yates avenge his collapse in 2018?
For those that want to test themselves aginst the pros, Zwift will have the Prologue stage available to race sometime this week. Tomorrow, all the Continental teams in the Giro will race on the virtual course as a preview of Saturday's start.
The hot rumor right now is that in 2020 or 2021, Zwift will host the actual prologue for the Giro....all the racers will ride the stage "virtually" and not on the actual road. Whiel this would be a MASSIVE marketing coup for Zwift, I am not down with that idea at all. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/09/2019 12:55 PM |
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Dumoulin I think will be in mix for top spot. This is not first time he's started with a less than stellar spring. But he has been consistently on GT podiums wherever he has shown up. Plus its a great course for him.
Agreed on Roglic and Yates. And don't count out Nibali; he is showing great form this year but that said the three iTT will likely hamper him. And then there's Landa who may want to prove a point. Excellent field indeed. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/10/2019 12:28 PM |
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OK, it's official, I don't like Yates, even though I like his riding style.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/simon-yates-im-the-number-one-favourite-for-the-giro-ditalia/ |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 05/10/2019 02:05 PM |
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I'm routing for Nibali, Dumoulin and Roglic in that order. (But not more than two of them will podium.)
Dumoulin will have to come into form but I think that could well happen. Nibali will have to ride smart, with passion and pull off one "crazy". Roglic just needs to do what he's been doing all year, just for three weeks.
Ben |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 05/10/2019 02:50 PM |
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Posted By Orange Crush on 05/10/2019 12:28 PM
OK, it's official, I don't like Yates, even though I like his riding style.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/simon-yates-im-the-number-one-favourite-for-the-giro-ditalia/
Someone is either supremely confident or trying to convince himself of something. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/11/2019 11:13 AM |
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| That's a lot of time in hot seat for Roglic. Bet they didn't think of that in planning start times. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 05/12/2019 07:17 AM |
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Roglic was VERY impressive....Dumoulin was disappointing. But Nibali was the one who surprised me the most.
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/13/2019 10:55 AM |
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Yes, Nibali is rolling well this year. He's the danger man this Giro.
Definitely a sub-par ride by Dumoulin, either because of lack of racing and/or going out to conservative on the flat section, and having no marker by going first. But he's coming into this race fresh, still two iTTs to go so perhaps, time loss to Roglic aside, this is a good thing. Roglic will be spending substantial time with ceremonies, interviews, doping control etc. every day he wears pink. Perhaps it will wear on him. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 05/13/2019 12:39 PM |
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I'll stick to my bets. That Domoulin has lost so little time so far should make the others very nervous. It looks to me like he has timed his season to be on for week three well. Roglic needs every second he can get now. And Nibali needing to pull just 23 seconds out of a hat? Let's look at history. Has he ever done that before?  Now can Yates ride up to his words?
I see Sunday as a very big day. It will shape what must happen when they hit the mountains.
This could be fun to watch!
Ben |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/13/2019 01:12 PM |
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Sunday's TT should be much better for Dumoulin; relative to Nibali, Yates anyway. Should also be a good one for Roglic.
But before we get there, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday are tricky stages that could spring some surprises. That's the beauty of the Giro. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 05/13/2019 04:24 PM |
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Posted By Orange Crush on 05/13/2019 01:12 PM
Sunday's TT should be much better for Dumoulin; relative to Nibali, Yates anyway. Should also be a good one for Roglic.
But before we get there, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday are tricky stages that could spring some surprises. That's the beauty of the Giro.
Tricky could play in to Nibali's hands. I looked at the TT profile. IT's not as steep as Nibali would like but that finish climbs what, 1000'? With Nibali, Italy's favorite son looking at one of his last Giros at his best, he might pull some reserve out of his socks. That won't win him the Giro, but if he stays within 20-30 seconds, who knows what he could pull off later.
Ben
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/13/2019 04:32 PM |
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| My gut feeling is that Nibali will get his socks handed to him in the next iTT; he can fake it in a short prologue with a sharp climb but the long high wattage effort will expose him. I also don't think the next couple tricky stages are best for him (more for Roglic or Yates). Per usual I expect Nibali to lay a trap in the final week; if he can stay reasonably close until then (i.e. within a couple minutes) he'll have a good shot at overall. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 05/13/2019 04:36 PM |
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The progile of the next TT plays to Roglic's favor, not Dumoulin's. I don't expect him to lose any time to Tom then....a few seconds at the most.
Unless the sprinter's teams allow a break to go up the road this week, Roglic is gonna have the kersey for a long time. Jumbo-Wisma doesn't even have to do anything...the sprinter's teams will do all the work for them. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/14/2019 10:44 AM |
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| After today there's only one logical decision by Dumoulin. Let's see if he makes it. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 05/14/2019 12:00 PM |
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| And despite the fact that the Sky has fallen, they're' still falling. |
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