Frosty

It was mentioned here that DStv isn't showing it.

Venaria Reale, the start of the Giro for the second time in my living memory, is always special for me. My first of three (business) trips to Italy took me to the company's head office in Venaria, in the same street that the race starts. Columbia HTC won the Team TT that year (2011) which started in Venaria and ended in the Piazza Vittorio (largest square in Torino). Then of course, there's the Superga (just one ascent this time, compared to 2022 which had two), a symbol of the plane that crashed with Juve players on board; visible from Piazza Vittorio. But it doesn't stop there. Stage 3 passes by Alba, home to another Italian company I've worked for, and visited twice. They stay north of the river, so viewers probably won't even know it when they pass by. 2011 2024 2022 Stage 3 (Alba) Home of Ferrero (Nutella, Rocher and lot more).

Is the Pope Catholic? Unless the Giro rides on the white sections, the answer is... Si

For me, the Edge 530 (and newer) works seamlessly with navigation as well as integration with most 3rd party applications: Garmin Strava Intervals.icu TrainingPeaks Discovery Vitality Watt Bike at the gym indieVelo/Zwift My Kickr RidewithGPS Not forgetting some custom apps/widgets.

All went well, don’t remember anything from when “the sedator” told me to breathe (deep) in and out. The guy next to me asked if they put tippex in the drip, as his memory was erased for the 20-mins while sedated. A sedative was administered, and I must say I felt like I’d slept for days… was in some la-la-land. Colon also normal, pink and clean. The two days leading up to yesterday afternoon was torture… I could never go on a hunger strike.

See what someone started... https://minesweeper.online/game/3311521480

The top contenders' list is based on recent performances, aka points earned. Wout Poels has the potential to podium, if he rides within himself and keeps his powder dry. However, I see Antonio Tiberi has been designated bib #211 (team leader), and there's also Damiano Caruso, so Wout has less chance. Let's see. Ben O'Conner and Bardet would be the other notable podium contenders, along with the older man in Geraint Thomas (who also needs to keep away from trouble). As I say, let's see.

The energy requirement vs expenditure bit was mind blowing, especially the average (360W) and normalised (420W) power on a 3h45-4h Epic stage. Then bottom of Z2 is 800 calories per hour. I’m guessing at that “easy” level of power, 9g/calorie of fat makes it doable. However, it’s the race pace efforts that stands out more.

Another 32 knocked off the list (red marks).

If there was a regional, national and world champs for packing a dishwasher, I would definitely be the one representing my household.

10:53 Anyone know what that white thingy-ma-jig is that he stuck behind the BB?

I never thought I’d be edging The Gunners on, to win the League, even on 12 May 🫣

While this may not be directly related to Stages, it would apply to the industry in general. And it's been discussed on another thread. Supply chains have been disrupted in the last 4 years due to Covid, the Russia/Ukraine war and tensions in the Middle East. Shipping lines are coming around the Southern tip of Africa instead of through the Suez Canal to avoid the tensions in the Middle East, Durban harbour isn't the greatest port, and many shipping lines are skipping Durban as a result. Container prices went up about 300% in the pandemic times, and while they've come down, they haven't returned to pre-covid levels. It doesn't justify these higher prices, but it's certainly worth knowing/understanding all the inputs to costing, many of which we assume we know. The terms greedflation and shrinkflation come to mind. Google it, if you don't know what it means. Perhaps some links in the supply chain have increased their price based on the last 4 years, and not reduced the prices since input costs have stabilised (like shipping).

Was curious to see what the (serious) answer was... The time of 2:59:21 is a shortish stage in today's racing. 1903 was the biggest margin; have a look at last place... 60 hours behind. And it was only a 6 stage Tour... the last being 18 hours long.

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Women's race was a little less predictable... FDJ get their 4th race win (excl. national champs) for 2024.

Into the top 15, today, and could be top 10 by year/season end.

Côte de la Redoute 💥

LBL and indieVelo today

Echoing some comments on being unsure of “investing” in a gravel bike, I bought a friend’s bike, for a bargain (last year). Give it’s an alu frame, has cable to disk brakes, and as heavy as 🤐, it serves its purpose. The TCX2 is a cross frame, and not gravel, so I’m guessing it’s not the ideal setup, but memories have been created while riding it.

Perfect conditions to ride today… cloudless, wind-free and mild temperatures.

If done in the doctor’s room, the medical aid would most likely cover it. Obviously it depends on the cover, but mine is covered for someone on a plan that is network-specific. The doc putting me to sleep might not be covered fully. I need to ask.

My colonoscopy is booked for the end of the month; prevention measure, not problematic. Can’t say I’m looking forward to having something inserted into the exhaust port. 😊

Quality comparable to ‘Dale

indieVelo syncs with 3rd party training apps, eg. Intervals.icu workout of the day, whereas Zwift only does TrainingPeak (as far as I know).