lechatnoir Posted May 18, 2021 Share 46 minutes ago, HdB said: Didn't the team confirm Ewan withdrew due to knee pain? There are something like two sprint stages left, plus the one yesterday - dragging himself over all those mountains with a sore knee to try and finish the tour, he would just have finished outside of the time-cut at some point, and done more harm than it was worth, surely? Yes, very true - a few days after saying he'd do exactly that. Without knee pain of course. Kinda like bunking, saying you're sick. Then actually getting sick. FootballingCyclist and Long Wheel Base 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W@nted Posted May 18, 2021 Share We will have to wait and see if his knee pain returns in the other grand tours ahead of the mountains.???? As mentioned, many sprinters have done this before, and many will do it in the future. Especially with the concentrated racing calendar these days, they need to pick their battles carefully. Vetplant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsw Posted May 18, 2021 Share Like someone posted earlier on this thread Caleb is aiming to win stages in all 3 grand tours during a single season. It has been done only 3 times in cycling's history and only one of the 3 riders who achieved it completed all three of the tours. It was during the 1950's. FootballingCyclist and Vetplant 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lechatnoir Posted May 18, 2021 Share 3 minutes ago, dsw said: Like someone posted earlier on this thread Caleb is aiming to win stages in all 3 grand tours during a single season. It has been done only 3 times in cycling's history and only one of the 3 riders who achieved it completed all three of the tours. It was during the 1950's. Back in the days when bicycle gearing was not what is is today. Ewan's knees would self-combust if he rode one of those bikes. They probably weighed 2x today's bikes and riders probably had to fix their own punctures. Not for the faint-of-heart. And arguably a bigger achievement than those who cherry-pick what they are or are not capable of Not even Coppi or Merckx tackled all 3 in a season. FootballingCyclist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsw Posted May 18, 2021 Share Tim Merlier has now also gone home due to fatigue. If it carries on like this the GC riders will end up contesting the last flat sprint stage. Vetplant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FootballingCyclist Posted May 18, 2021 Share Tim Merlier has pulled out of the Giro due to fatigue saying admitting he is "unable to sprint for the win". Vetplant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FootballingCyclist Posted May 18, 2021 Share 1 minute ago, dsw said: Tim Merlier has now also gone home due to fatigue. If it carries on like this the GC riders will end up contesting the last flat sprint stage. Beat me to it. dsw 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vetplant Posted May 18, 2021 Share 4 minutes ago, dsw said: Tim Merlier has now also gone home due to fatigue. If it carries on like this the GC riders will end up contesting the last flat sprint stage. 3 minutes ago, FootballingCyclist said: Tim Merlier has pulled out of the Giro due to fatigue saying admitting he is "unable to sprint for the win". Is he going to cop the same amount of flak as Ewan for this move...? dsw 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen Posted May 18, 2021 Share 19 minutes ago, Vetplant said: Is he going to cop the same amount of flak as Ewan for this move...? Lols.. The Giro is hard.. I'd also develop stomach issues if I saw the profiles that await. Sprinters have been withdrawing from the Giro for ages depending on their schedule (and the TDF is so close after the Giro) and their team's goals for the year ..HELL Cipo used to be out of the TDF the moment he saw a speedbump in the road.. .. Of course we'd like to see them suffer through the mountains cause we are sadistic like that. It is what it is???? Edited May 18, 2021 by Gen Vetplant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsw Posted May 18, 2021 Share 33 minutes ago, Vetplant said: Is he going to cop the same amount of flak as Ewan for this move...? haha.. he is probably not famous enough to cop that kind of flak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kranswurm Posted May 18, 2021 Share 54 minutes ago, Gen said: Lols.. The Giro is hard.. I'd also develop stomach issues if I saw the profiles that await. Sprinters have been withdrawing from the Giro for ages depending on their schedule (and the TDF is so close after the Giro) and their team's goals for the year ..HELL Cipo used to be out of the TDF the moment he saw a speedbump in the road.. .. Of course we'd like to see them suffer through the mountains cause we are sadistic like that. It is what it is???? I just checked Big Mario's results on the Giro and they were amazing.He tried to finish every one he rode in from what I can see Cipollini's 42 Giro d'Italia stage wins is the record, just beating Alfredo Binda's 41. Cipollini thrived in the Giro d'Italia, willing to suffer in the mountains to make it to the finish in Milano. That dedication yielded him three purple jerseys, given to the Giro's points classification winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted May 18, 2021 Share Subdued. Strangely without the brown shorts. Is there a surprise appearance of note in week 3? I hope so. Jakkals. and Vetplant 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT1 Posted May 18, 2021 Share 1 hour ago, dsw said: If it carries on like this the GC riders will end up contesting the last flat sprint stage. No chance. The organisers pay Sagan far too much for him to quit, so he'll be there till the end. TheoG and Vetplant 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kranswurm Posted May 18, 2021 Share An interesting fact re the Tour considering the current discussion He never finished the Tour, generally leaving before the high mountain stages. The Tour felt riders should start the race with the intention of finishing, so it refused to invite Cipollini's teams in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Vetplant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen Posted May 18, 2021 Share 39 minutes ago, Kranswurm said: I just checked Big Mario's results on the Giro and they were amazing.He tried to finish every one he rode in from what I can see Cipollini's 42 Giro d'Italia stage wins is the record, just beating Alfredo Binda's 41. Cipollini thrived in the Giro d'Italia, willing to suffer in the mountains to make it to the finish in Milano. That dedication yielded him three purple jerseys, given to the Giro's points classification winner. Yep Edited May 18, 2021 by Gen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoG Posted May 18, 2021 Share 31 minutes ago, TNT1 said: No chance. The organisers pay Sagan far too much for him to quit, so he'll be there till the end. True, he's a fighter, will not quit unless left with no other choice. Edited May 18, 2021 by TheoG Gen and Vetplant 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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