Giro D'Italia 2024: Chirps, Buzz and Updates

[Spinnekop]

19 hours ago, cadenceblur said:

Just heard yes thanks , but think it is rimless 

Hookless you mean.
Rimless would be a bitch to ride on.

[Bub Marley]

46 minutes ago, SwissVan said:

Interesting word “nonchalantly”

With a bit of bike hub poetic license you get 

“NonchaLAnce”

I don’t ever remember seeing he who should not be mentioned here (LAnce) being so nonchalant about riding away from everyone. 

 

 

To be fair to him, none of his main competition are there. His closest challenger is most likely Thomas who is unlikely to put time on him on any mountain stage. Maybe in the TT, but to be frank Pog will probably smoke him there as well. 

 

Let’s not kid ourselves here, barring any mechanicals or accidents, Pog should win this Giro by quite a substantial margin.

[Irvin85]

43 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

To be fair to him, none of his main competition are there. His closest challenger is most likely Thomas who is unlikely to put time on him on any mountain stage. Maybe in the TT, but to be frank Pog will probably smoke him there as well. 

 

Let’s not kid ourselves here, barring any mechanicals or accidents, Pog should win this Giro by quite a substantial margin.

How is he soo damn good... Is he even human. Thomas knows how to pace himself over 3 weeks but I still can't see him get close to Pog. 

[dexterdent]

He did the final climb, on a relatively easy mountain stage and with a tailwind, in a similar time to famous climber Tom Dumoulin in the 2017 Giro. Lost about 27 seconds to the glowing Pantani record, with 25 years of bike and training/nutrition progress on Poga's side.

I suspect the gap is more due to a lack of top-tier competition than to any superhuman effort.

[Shebeen]

44 minutes ago, dexterdent said:

He did the final climb, on a relatively easy mountain stage and with a tailwind, in a similar time to famous climber Tom Dumoulin in the 2017 Giro. Lost about 27 seconds to the glowing Pantani record, with 25 years of bike and training/nutrition progress on Poga's side.

I suspect the gap is more due to a lack of top-tier competition than to any superhuman effort.

an EPO fuelled pantani is useless to measure against today's peleton. That time has an asterisk against it, and should go into the FloJo 100/200m pile

[Irvin85]

5 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

an EPO fuelled pantani is useless to measure against today's peleton. That time has an asterisk against it, and should go into the FloJo 100/200m pile

You reckon they are currently clean?

[dexterdent]

Completely agree - hence my "glowing" statement. I've just seen some mild language in this thread and on twitter suggesting that Poga is doing something extra, when the data doesn't seem to suggest the same.

[Shebeen]

2 minutes ago, Irvin85 said:

You reckon they are currently clean?

I know what you're insinuating, but we could debate "they" and "clean" till we are blue in the face. I'd be very surprised to see Pog pinged for a structured doping program.

not going to engage beyond that.

[Bub Marley]

12 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

an EPO fuelled pantani is useless to measure against today's peleton. That time has an asterisk against it, and should go into the FloJo 100/200m pile

Hey. Leave Pantani alone please. Thanks.

[Irvin85]

2 minutes ago, dexterdent said:

Completely agree - hence my "glowing" statement. I've just seen some mild language in this thread and on twitter suggesting that Poga is doing something extra, when the data doesn't seem to suggest the same.

unfortunately with the history of cycling it is hard not to question any stand out performance. I want to believe that we are in a new clean era with a level playing field but if I have learned anything from the past, is if it looks to good to be true, then it probably is. 

For cycling I really hope that he is just an exceptional talent that is streets ahead of the rest.

[Bub Marley]

4 minutes ago, Irvin85 said:

unfortunately with the history of cycling it is hard not to question any stand out performance. I want to believe that we are in a new clean era with a level playing field but if I have learned anything from the past, is if it looks to good to be true, then it probably is. 

For cycling I really hope that he is just an exceptional talent that is streets ahead of the rest.

Cycling has taken the brunt of it but let’s not kid ourselves. At the top level of every sport with the money involved, cheating will happen. People will do anything to get an advantage.

[dexterdent]

1 minute ago, Irvin85 said:

unfortunately with the history of cycling it is hard not to question any stand out performance. I want to believe that we are in a new clean era with a level playing field but if I have learned anything from the past, is if it looks to good to be true, then it probably is. 

For cycling I really hope that he is just an exceptional talent that is streets ahead of the rest.

I get it. It's easier for me to assume they are clean and get the enjoyment out of cycling now, and potentially get burned later. You can assume doping now, and have some potential feed-good later.

But what I am trying to say with the post is that it's not a stand-out performance. It's a weakish field that didn't try that hard. That's why I find it easy to like Pogacar, with some notable exceptions, he tends to win many stages but by smaller margins, which is easier for me to explain (as if my explanation carries any real weight - it doesn't of course).

[Irvin85]

17 minutes ago, dexterdent said:

I get it. It's easier for me to assume they are clean and get the enjoyment out of cycling now, and potentially get burned later. You can assume doping now, and have some potential feed-good later.

But what I am trying to say with the post is that it's not a stand-out performance. It's a weakish field that didn't try that hard. That's why I find it easy to like Pogacar, with some notable exceptions, he tends to win many stages but by smaller margins, which is easier for me to explain (as if my explanation carries any real weight - it doesn't of course).

I still enjoy watching it even if I have my doubts. Lance made me lose all the trust. So now whenever I see a guy go on a 60Km + solo attack and completely destroys the rest of a very elite bunch of cyclist, it is really hard for me not to wonder. I guess there where guys in the past like Boonen and Cancellara that was able to do the same, but they had their limits. Pog does not seem to have any. 

[Frosty]

Home of Ferrero - Alba

This is where I stayed when I was there (3 weeks) - Alba hotel.

 

EsteThe (Ice Tea) from Ferrero used to sponsor the Giro a number of years ago.

Edited May 6 by Frosty

[babse]

this thread is getting dope...

[Vetplant]

37 minutes ago, Irvin85 said:

unfortunately with the history of cycling it is hard not to question any stand out performance. I want to believe that we are in a new clean era with a level playing field but if I have learned anything from the past, is if it looks to good to be true, then it probably is. 

For cycling I really hope that he is just an exceptional talent that is streets ahead of the rest.

Not in reply to yours specifically, but in reply to doping insinuations in general.

The top dogs in a sport are prime suspects for doping, but I'd wager that the bottom-of-the-pile riders have more incentive than generational riders like Pog/MvdP to dope because they need results to stay in-the-game.