Giro d' Italia 2014

[jcza]

Preview

 

[AdrianDJ]

Stelvio......no need to say more.

 

http://www.alwaysriding.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/stelviopass.jpg

Had the privilege of riding Stelvio in june 2012 its an amazing place! Was on my mountain bike though. Cant wait too see the guys go up there today !!

[ScottCM]

Had the privilege of riding Stelvio in june 2012 its an amazing place! Was on my mountain bike though. Cant wait too see the guys go up there today !!

 

Call me envious. only in our sport can someone be envious of another for putting themselves through such pain and suffering, go figure.

[jcza]

and in other news today OPQS DS Brian Holm charged with underage sex says Danish paper Ekstrabladet. Not arrested, he's holding press conf.

 

http://ekstrabladet.dk/112/article2293279.ece

[jcza]

Gavia at 11:46

[jcza]

Edvald Boasson Hagen has been forced to withdraw due to injury

[jcza]

Rain at the start and some reports on snow on Stelvio but at this stage going ahead as planned

[kosmonooit]

- anybody know where I can get a sicknote?

 

Will ask my staff, apparently they go for R20 in Soweto

['Dale]

Finish at Val Martello

 

http://inrng.com/medias/giro/valmartello.jpg

 

The final km is in double digits gradient

Gotta keep some matches left for that.

 

Will Arredondo wait this time and exercise patience before he attacks!

['Dale]

Rain at the start and some reports on snow on Stelvio but at this stage going ahead as planned

 

Yikes!

['Dale]

Almost immediately after the start, the field will face the Passo di Gavia, one of the most legendary climbs in the Giro. It tops out only 22 km into the day.

No sooner do they descend, than they start back up again. This time they face the Cima Coppi (the highest point in the race) the Passo dello Stelvio, with its 48 hairpin bends.

The peloton's tired legs will get a short break before heading up the day's final climb, the category one Val Martello. A special feature of this 22 km long climb is the gradient, which hits 14% at the flamme rouge – a final torture which may decide the winner of not only the stage but also the Giro.

['Dale]

It not just the climbing, the weather and the competition that the riders have to face up to today. They have two weeks of racing in their legs and on top of that riders never really know how their legs will respond after a rest day. Some react better than others but there's no gentle warm up with Gavia coming early on in the stage. There's a short descent to the foot of the climb and then it's straight up. Given that Gilberto Simoni once said 'It's one of those climbs that when you arrive at the bottom of it you don’t know if you'll make it to the top," it's going to be a massive early challenge.

 

['Dale]

From Sky

 

"Edvald has been experiencing rib and back pain over the last couple of days, and with the cuts and bruises he's already sustained, the medical team felt the best decision was for him to withdraw from the race at this point...."

['Dale]

And they've started, the peloton have rolled out on stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia.

['Dale]

Rain, clouds, possibly snow later on.... this could be an epic day in the Giro d'Italia.

['Dale]

Brrrrrrrrrr