Giro d' Italia 2014

[GrumpyOldGuy]

The rest looks strong too.

 

But I doubt he'll take to the boxing ring. When he put the bike away and was asked whether he would continue his involvement with cycling, he responded that he has a role : he would be auditioning the podium girls......

 

Yah, that skin suit with the anatomy one of his "semi official last races" but only Cippo could pull that off and not look silly, and Saeco been the tremendous sponsor they were was quite happy to allow it.

 

Back in the day Saeco had such a strong team with Cippo, Simoni and Cunego, another controversial thing Saeco and Cannondale did was if you remember in one of the grand tours, think it was the Giro, they all abandoned their official Saeco team outfits and rode in a prisoners dress code with little fishing weights hanging on their Cannondales handlebars to bring them up to the required official weight. A sort of an advert of how light Cannondales were that they needed additional weights to get to the official race weight.

 

Cannondale got a fine and so did Saeco, but of course they paid it with a smile.....Aaah, those were the days, of real characters in the sport, both riders and sponsors, sadly one dont see this anymore.!

['Dale]

Bit of climbing tomorrow and Sunday on the cards, I expect Matthews will give up the jersey tomorrow to Evans....worse luck.!

 

Cuddles won't like the burden of pink on his back this early but it's inevitable

[tombeej]

The fantasy league adds a whole spin on being a spectator/supporter, because we soon find ourselves pretty emotionally attached to the ups and downs of riders we might normally not pay that much attention to. I feel a lot more invested in the Giro because of it. Bags of fun

 

But: I'm going to try and find another fantasy league for the TDF. One that allows you to swop players during the tour. Otherwise it becomes more of a lottery than a game of strategy.

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Cuddles won't like the burden of pink on his back this early but it's inevitable

 

Yah, he should of thought of that before he took advantage of the crash, now sitting in a comfortable second position, as you say its inevitable. I dont feel sorry for him.

[tombeej]

IF the other riders feel the same as all those pundits in the social media who've been claiming Evans should have waited that day, then I won't be surprised to see other GC contenders seemingly combining their team efforts to isolate and break him in the big mountains. And if that is the case then BMC will need to bring their A-game every day when the road starts heading to the skies. That is where Mr. Golden Shoes will need to earn his salary to protect his leader.

['Dale]

 

 

Yah, he should of thought of that before he took advantage of the crash, now sitting in a comfortable second position, as you say its inevitable. I dont feel sorry for him.

 

:-O

[tombeej]

Ultimate Dream Teams is a SA-based Fantasy League site. I've played their TDF fantasy league over the past couple of years, and it's a good one. Lots of prizes to be won too.

 

Best thing about it is that you have a budget of 15 player transfers during the tour, which means you can choose a team of sprinters for the first week, then transfer them out for climbers and GC riders for the last 2 weeks. Also, if a rider crashes out, you have a chance to replace them. Much better system.

 

Their 2014 TDF league hasn't opened yet, but I reckon this is the one to go with, come July.

[tombeej]

The rest looks strong too.

 

But I doubt he'll take to the boxing ring...

 

I'm sure he wasn't being literal, but was referring to a certain German sprinter who's klapping all his competition at the moment and who in a past life gave Balboa a bit of a klap too. Easily recognised by the hairstyle...

['Dale]

Today sees the first category one climbs of the race, with the Cippo di Carpegna and Montecopiolo.

['Dale]

1 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica Greenedge 29:34:19

2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:21

3 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:01:18

4 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:01:25

5 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team

6 Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Neri Sottoli - Yellow Fluo

7 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Orica Greenedge 0:01:47

8 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:01:51

9 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:01:52

10 Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale 0:02:06

['Dale]

Italian national champion Ivan Santaromita joined the Orica-GreenEdge team this year and he has been instrumental in helping Matthews defend his pink jersey.

['Dale]

There is some bad news for GreenEdge this morning, however. Cameron Meyer won't be starting today. He said this on twitter this morning:

 

"Unfortunately the sickness got the better of me. Huge thanks to my @ORICA_GreenEDGE teammates and staff for amazing Giro week. Legends and they still have two weeks of winning to go. Good luck guys."

['Dale]

A quick reminder of who is wearing what today. Michael Matthews is currently the leader of three competitions. He is wearing the pink jersey of race leader, but he he is also the leader of the young rider's and mountains classifications. Keeping the young rider's jersey safe for him is Rafal Majka. Maarten Tjallingii continues to wear the blue jersey, sitting second in the classification. After his victory yesterday, Nacer Bouhanni is in the red points jersey today.

['Dale]

 

Today is one of three stages dedicated to the late Marco Pantani. Il Pirata used to use the Cippo di Carpegna - today's first climb - for training. His link to the short and puncy ascent is marked by a cutout of him on the righthand side of the climb.

['Dale]

 

The road up the Cippo di Carpegna is narrow and with little in the way of climbing beforehand, we're likely to see the peloton arrive together. Positioning will be key for the GC contenders, as they could lose time if they're not near the front when they hit the bottom of the Carpegna.

['Dale]

 

There is more to the Carpegna than Marco Pantani's training ground. In 1974 José Manuel Fuente attacked Eddy Merckx on the climb, dropping the Cannibal in the process. Fuente want on to beat Merckx by more than a minute on the stage. The Belgian would get the last laugh though, as Fuentes bonked on stage 14 to San Remo and Merckx would go on to win the general classification. Fuente did, however, the mountains classification.