Giro d' Italia 2021

[lechatnoir]

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.

[W@nted]

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.

[dsw]

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.  

 

[lechatnoir]

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.

[dsw]

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. 

[FootballingCyclist]

Tim Merlier has pulled out of the Giro due to fatigue saying admitting he is "unable to sprint for the win".

[FootballingCyclist]

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.

[Vetplant]

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...?

[Gen]

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

[dsw]

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. 

[Kranswurm]

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.

['Dale]

Subdued. Strangely without the brown shorts. Is there a surprise appearance of note in week 3? I hope so.

 

[TNT1]

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.

[Kranswurm]

 

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.

[Gen]

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

[TheoG]

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