[Other Sport] Cycling geeks

[Tyrone Biggums]

But for the TT rider to be competitive in his discipline he has to bust even more of a gut over 6 days.

He's following wheels 98% of the time.

They showed him yesterday towards the end of the stage throwing his hands up at the other riders when they chose to sit back and make him work at the front to try and pull Yates back.

It was like he expected them to pull him back up to Yates.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

To me seeing Dumoulin hanging on and thereby at his limit, trying to minimise time given away to Yates (as well as work with the group he was in), was fascinating and far from boring, and if he does win overall, would be a worthy winner, as would be Yates.


Also don't forget Yates MAY have a day where he pays for his efforts yet...

That's my fear.

Then the shitty TT times win an absolute bore of a rider another Grand Tour. As all he'll have done is follow other riders wheels for 6 days of the mountains and contribted next to nothing in them.

 

[Gritt23]

That's my fear.

Then the shitty TT times win an absolute bore of a rider another Grand Tour. As all he'll have done is follow other riders wheels for 6 days of the mountains and contribted next to nothing in them.

Don't agree that TD is a boring rider. That's the magic of this sport that there are different sizes and shapes and specialties all competing against each other, trying to make gains when it suits them and hanging on for grim death in the stages that do not. While sprinters cannot gain the times to make them GC contenders, it's a fascinating battle for me between a climber who has to minimise losses in the TT, against a TT man (and TD is one of the best we've ever seen) trying to get himself up the mountains with the minimal of loss. Class ic battle.

While I always prefer the mountain riders, dancing on the pedals and flying up the mountain, I was absolutely willing Dumoulin to hang on in La Vuelta a couple of seasons back, and thought he rode a magnificent Giro last year.

To say he just sits on someones wheel all day is just plain wrong. Pinot was sat on HIS wheel all the way up Zoncolan on Saturday, and still lost time to him at the top.

 

[1066familyman]

Don't agree that TD is a boring rider. That's the magic of this sport that there are different sizes and shapes and specialties all competing against each other, trying to make gains when it suits them and hanging on for grim death in the stages that do not. While sprinters cannot gain the times to make them GC contenders, it's a fascinating battle for me between a climber who has to minimise losses in the TT, against a TT man (and TD is one of the best we've ever seen) trying to get himself up the mountains with the minimal of loss. Class ic battle.

While I always prefer the mountain riders, dancing on the pedals and flying up the mountain, I was absolutely willing Dumoulin to hang on in La Vuelta a couple of seasons back, and thought he rode a magnificent Giro last year.

To say he just sits on someones wheel all day is just plain wrong. Pinot was sat on HIS wheel all the way up Zoncolan on Saturday, and still lost time to him at the top.

Very nearly all of this ^ for me.

From here I want Yates to win over Tom D. I've enjoyed watching the Yates brothers progress in a team that's handled them really well, and Simon has ridden this Giro superbly. I'll also happily draw for the patriotic vote on this one too.

From the beginning of the Giro I actually wanted Pozzovivo or Lopez to win. Up until this Giro, their two teams have been really exciting to watch this season. Pozzovivo deserves better than 5th at a Giro before he bows out, and Lopez looks like a great young talent. Both were unlikely winners too, so rooting for the underdogs a bit as well.

But I too like Tom D. Just like SB and Gritt23 have said, he's got to ride to his strengths. He'd be very race foolish not to! He's hardly going to attack the pure climbers on their own patch and risk blowing up, even less so, against explosive climbers like Yates on some of the steep gradients we've seen here. Added to that, he also once again has a weak team compared to his main rivals, so he's done bloody well to limit his losses to what he currently has. It's up to the climbers to put time into him, not him to attack them.

Having said that, Tyrone is spot on about how pathetic it was for Tom D to be moaning at everyone else to work with him to catch Yates yesterday. Yes, Pinot and Pozzo should, and Pinot especially did, but the two South American youngsters showed a maturity beyond their years not to be bullied there. Lopez and Carapaz know they aren't catching Yates in this Giro, and even if they work, they're only helping the other three maintain their GC gaps over them anyway. It's for Tom D, Pinot and Pozzo to work, and quite right for Lopez & Carapaz to just watch each other in their battle for the Young rider comp and each others place on GC. I could understand why Pinot singled those two out in the heat of the moment after the race, but Pinot, like Tom D, needs to concentrate on getting time back himself, not moaning about others not helping.

 

[Saunders]

He's following wheels 98% of the time.

They showed him yesterday towards the end of the stage throwing his hands up at the other riders when they chose to sit back and make him work at the front to try and pull Yates back.

It was like he expected them to pull him back up to Yates.

If they had all worked together they would have easily caught Yates thats why he did that only he and Pinot tried to work together. They even managed to drop TD but couldnt even work together to keep him dropped thats how badly they worked tactically.

As for having a TT stage it has been tried to remove it. Then we had teams dominating and controlling the mountain stages and squeezing the life out of a tour because there was no way of an individual rider breaking the vice grip of a team dragging up thier mountain goat to the last 5k of a mountain stage sucking on his teams wheels. The TT is man on man with no help from anyone else and should not be so despised. 35k is not that long.

Having said that i really hope Yates smashes the TT and goes on to record one of the best tours in history.

 

[Stat Brother]

I know it's a long shot, but the effort TD has had to put in chasing Yates up the mountains might take the edge off his TT'ing ability.

 

[1066familyman]

I'm going for a time gap of 1' 32”

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Very nearly all of this ^ for me.

From here I want Yates to win over Tom D. I've enjoyed watching the Yates brothers progress in a team that's handled them really well, and Simon has ridden this Giro superbly. I'll also happily draw for the patriotic vote on this one too.

From the beginning of the Giro I actually wanted Pozzovivo or Lopez to win. Up until this Giro, their two teams have been really exciting to watch this season. Pozzovivo deserves better than 5th at a Giro before he bows out, and Lopez looks like a great young talent. Both were unlikely winners too, so rooting for the underdogs a bit as well.

But I too like Tom D. Just like SB and Gritt23 have said, he's got to ride to his strengths. He'd be very race foolish not to! He's hardly going to attack the pure climbers on their own patch and risk blowing up, even less so, against explosive climbers like Yates on some of the steep gradients we've seen here. Added to that, he also once again has a weak team compared to his main rivals, so he's done bloody well to limit his losses to what he currently has. It's up to the climbers to put time into him, not him to attack them.

Having said that, Tyrone is spot on about how pathetic it was for Tom D to be moaning at everyone else to work with him to catch Yates yesterday. Yes, Pinot and Pozzo should, and Pinot especially did, but the two South American youngsters showed a maturity beyond their years not to be bullied there. Lopez and Carapaz know they aren't catching Yates in this Giro, and even if they work, they're only helping the other three maintain their GC gaps over them anyway. It's for Tom D, Pinot and Pozzo to work, and quite right for Lopez & Carapaz to just watch each other in their battle for the Young rider comp and each others place on GC. I could understand why Pinot singled those two out in the heat of the moment after the race, but Pinot, like Tom D, needs to concentrate on getting time back himself, not moaning about others not helping.

I'm not having a go personally at TD.

My beef is with making the TT such a significant part of the race. If TTs have to be in the race make them short so that they don't have massive impacts on the results.

Winning a mountain top stage carries far more prestige in the sport, yet they allow the TT to play such a big part in determining the result. Don't like that at all.

 

[1066familyman]

I'm not having a go personally at TD.

My beef is with making the TT such a significant part of the race. If TTs have to be in the race make them short so that they don't have massive impacts on the results.

Winning a mountain top stage carries far more prestige in the sport, yet they allow the TT to play such a big part in determining the result. Don't like that at all.

To be fair, with the prologue and the 34km distance today, they've got the balance here absolutely spot on.

Now what I would be glad to see the back of is TTT's. They are a complete load of bollox!

 

[Gritt23]

I know it's a long shot, but the effort TD has had to put in chasing Yates up the mountains might take the edge off his TT'ing ability.

That is a long shot with the rest day in between.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Go on Yates!!

 

[Stat Brother]

Well that was an awful lot of pantie-pissing over nothing.

 

[pb21]

Impressive stuff from Yates!

 

[1066familyman]

Impressive still from Yates. Just like we said before the TT - his race to lose.

 

[1066familyman]

A win from the break tomorrow for Alessandro de Marchi would be lovely to see rather than a Viviani v Bennett battle again.

Round out the week with Yates able to defend pink despite attacks from Tom D and some long range craziness from Froome. Chuck in a stage win for Pozzovivo and Ciccone too and this Giro will have been perfect!

 

[armchairclubber]

...well If I was a bit disgruntled by some of the cheating going on in the TT .. I'm seething at the extra 15/20 mins of Italian tourist film being shown at start of today's stage. Poor way for steppers to control the climb. Very Poor.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Well that was an awful lot of pantie-pissing over nothing.

At least it got people talking about the event

C'mon Yatsey you magnificent *******!

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Game on....!

Re: Fantasy - Only I could've picked someone who had a huge time gap in the break heading to the final climb today, only to have him finish 140th & 27 mins down at the end.
Did he stop for a gelato then walk the rest of the way?!?

Thank you Mr Fonzi.

 

[1066familyman]

Game on....!

Re: Fantasy - Only I could've picked someone who had a huge time gap in the break heading to the final climb today, only to have him finish 140th & 27 mins down at the end.
Did he stop for a gelato then walk the rest of the way?!?

Thank you Mr Fonzi.

Be proud, you've got the maglia nera in your team, and have had for some time. That's not an easy pick to get right

Question of the day:

Could Froome end up inadvertently fecking this Giro up for Simon Yates and in so doing let Tom D in through the back door?

 

[Bold Seagull]

Be proud, you've got the maglia nera in your team, and have had for some time. That's not an easy pick to get right

Question of the day:
Could Froome end up inadvertently fecking this Giro up for Simon Yates and in so doing let Tom D in through the back door?

Thought TD attacked first and was the one who put Yates properly in trouble, then had the legs to go again when Froome went. Sky pretty much telegraphed what they were going to do with Puels up the road, but even though he would have known it was coming, Yates couldn't respond, and couldn't even hold the wheel of the group he was with, he was in trouble whether Froome went or not. Think Tom went through the front door today. Massive 2 days now.