The Giro, my favourite tour of the year is only 2 weeks....

[Cav']

Looking forward to it!

 

Chaves is also looking good. I think he's going to be one to watch in the mountains as well.

 

The other lighty who I'm expecting to go for it at some stage is Formolo.

Chaves still needs to prove himself to me as a contender (top 5 that is)...

 

How awesome is Sundays ITT going to be!

10.8km on a Cat 1 climb

http://www.procyclingstats.com/uploads/uploads00001/original/Stage-1461667069.jpg

['Dale]

Was quite an enjoyable stage yesterday.

 

Jungels looking good

Valverde looking good

Nibali looking good

Amador looks ok

Kruiswijk really good

 

We're in for a treat in the coming mountain stages for sure.

Yip

Gonna be big

Hard to see who'll reach podium

 

This weekend will be action-packed

Dolomites baby yeah

['Dale]

Chaves's weight

 

 

 

 

 

 

55

 

 

????

[tombeej]

The Small Town With A Big Place in Cycling

 

Today’s stage of the Giro features the sharp climb of the Forcella Mostaccin near the finish. The climb gets the attention because of the race yet the small town of Maser which lies at the foot of the hill is arguably more interesting because it’s central to the sport. 

 

This small town (pop. 5000) and the area around it is host to Pinarello, Sidi, Campagnolo, Selle Italia, Gaerne and more.

 

Also, Segafredo Coffee and Oakley sunglasses all have connections to this small part of Italy.

 

Read the full story here at the Inner Ring.

 

 

Edit: Sorry, this was on yesterday's stage.

[tombeej]

From that article, other famous brands that are all based in this tiny little corner of the world include Diadora, Northwave, Rudy Project and Wilier Triestina.

 

I am amazed  .

[Cav']

From that article, other famous brands that are all based in this tiny little corner of the world include Diadora, Northwave, Rudy Project and Wilier Triestina.

 

I am amazed  .

In other words you'll drive through the town and come out broke.

['Dale]

From that article, other famous brands that are all based in this tiny little corner of the world include Diadora, Northwave, Rudy Project and Wilier Triestina.

 

I am amazed .

That's helluva impressive

Wow

['Dale]

Meanwhile....

 

Team Sky have gone for diamond tread tyre for the rain today. The mechanics told Cyclingnews that they've opted to lower the pressure by a bar but that is more for psychological reasons than necessity. The riders feel like they have much more grip with the lower pressure but due to the different compound of the diamond tyre the one-bar drop equates to just a one per cent increase in grip.

['Dale]

the jersey wearers are on the line. Bob Jungel's pink jersey is wrapped under his rain jacket. Andre Greipel and Damiano Cunego have just opted for arm warmers. Davide Formolo is in the white jersey, as he keeps it warm for Jungels who leads the competition.

['Dale]

While it is pan-flat today, the finish is far from simple with two laps of a very technical course in Bibione. The riders will complete two laps, which will allow them a look at the finish before the real deal. That could be crucial with a tight right-hand bend just meters before the line.

['Dale]

have attacks coming already and it seems Daniel Oss is at the head of affairs at the moment on his own. He did have Matteo Trentin for company but the Etixx-QuickStep rider was brought back. Trentin is keen to lap up as many points As he chases the red jersey.

['Dale]

After 19km, Oss is still on his lonesome at 2:48 ahead of the peloton. He's got Mirco Maestri (Bardiani) hot on his tail at 37 seconds back and Alexandr Kolobnev (Gazprom-Rusvelo) at 1:28 back.

['Dale]

 

We have one non-starter for today's stage and that is Valerio Agnoli, who was involved in that late crash yesterday. Another man who was involved, but who is carrying on regardless, was Evgeni Petrov. The Tinkoff rider suffered a dislocation of his AC joint.

['Dale]

looks like Maestri has managed to catch Oss and the pair now have 3:04 on the peloton. Kolobnev is losing ground on the two and is almost two minutes back.

['Dale]

The escapees are closing in on the town of Mira, which hosted stage 12 of the 1989 Giro d'Italia where Mario Cipolini won the first of his 42 stage wins.

['Dale]

After trying to chase down the leaders for the last 15km, Kolobnev is finally reeled in by the bunch. We now just have two our front with a lead of four minutes.