so i can't seem to find a TV listing for the Giro in the US. how are people watching it here? live streaming I suppose?

Unless Nibali is off form or has bad luck, I'm not sure who can take him. He has home field advantage, is cagey and most of all, knows how to manage a GT. Landa will be formidable in the mountains but he hasn't had the weight of leadership on him.

Nibali, Valverde, Landa. Majka for KOM.

I know, I can't believe I'm not picking Nibali....but what the hell. I'm going with "something" happening to him....bad day, mechanical, crash, strategy error....something. 'Cuz otherwise, you are right...it should be a relative layup for him.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Land beat the hell out of him at Giro del Trentino a couple weeks ago. Also he's got Nieve as domestique, Henao... Although Nibali's got Fulgslang and a better TT strength, I don't think it's going to be enough.
Question is how much will Landa loose on TT and if he'll make it up on the mountains, which he's got plenty, even a MTT.

True, but not the same as a the third week of a GT. Nibali always seems to look lousy heading into GTs and then lights it up. The bigger fight might be after he wins the Giro and then wants shared leadership in an attempt to do the TdF double.

I've been watching a lot of stages for other races on YouTube. Usually a few hours after the stage ends it'll be uploaded.

Nibali gives less than zero shits about the Giro del Trentino. He's going to be ready, always is.

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I don't think Nibali has any illusions about the Tour anymore (hence his focus on the Giro this year). He had a perfect storm two years ago with great form, an early course profile that suited him and his major rivals crashing out. I think he knows that, in July, he can't match Froome or Contador when they are on form.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

And watch out for Ilnur Zakarin. This guy is a beast. Horrible riding style but fun to watch. You will never know when he attacks and he rides with plenty cojones.

Unfortunaly I don't like him too much as he was caught with PD before he even turned 20.

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10k - 30:48 / half - 1:06:40

I think Uran is ready to win a Grand Tour, he is a climber, has improved in TTs, and will do well if the Cannondale squad gives him strong support.
Nibili, Landa, Majka, and Valverde will round out the top 5

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res, non verba

Haven't followed cycling as closely over last few years. I remember when Giro seemed to have a lot of very very tough days. Is that still the case, or have they created more reasonable stages? I cant remember was it 2 years ago some complaints on the conditions. Cant remember if it was the cold/altitude/snow or the duration or number of mt top finishes. Or may have just mis remembered. Always thought the Giro seemed to be a "tougher" race but the Tour just has that clout of being the hardest or maybe just most popular endurance event.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Oh, I agree he can't win it. But if he bags the Giro, I can't see him not taking a shot, just in case the stars align again

Or maybe he saves himself for Rio at that point?

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

I think the Tour is known for being "The Tour", the Giro is known for its variety, unpredictability and bad weather and the Vuelta is known for having the toughest, hottest, climbiest routes around.

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I'm going with

Uran, Landa, Valverde,
Nibali and Doumoulin as outsiders

I have put faith in Uran to do something too many times for him to fail spectacularly at some point to have any confidence in him any more.

Podium:
Nibali, Valverde, Majka

Outsiders:
Landa, Ryder, and I think Betancur will have a bounce-back showing even in a support role

I think his cojones may have fallen completely off from roids. Used em to get strong, used em to get light. There is little doubt. But he's not alone.

I went ahead and picked a team and I won't win bc I've picked clean, or at least unbusted or less suspect riders. So no Zacharin or Valverde or Nibs. Nibs may be racing clean now, but his team should have been banned last year. Same with Astana.

I'm just not believing much of anything when it comes to the Giro. I'll add to the rant, but I have visions of Astana having 4 unknowns smashing the best climbers in the world, Katusha is always suspect, etc. I don't think it's a tightly run ship, the Giro. Crazy fun but that field will not be in compliance, so to speak.

Go Cannondale?

or alternatively, Giant-Alpecin

no one has mentioned mega-watt smile Estaban Chavez yet. I'd think he can do some serious damage

Just made a team, really excited to watch this one unfold. Would love to see Chaves put in a big ride, really easy to cheer for OGE.

Nibali, Landa, Uran

Dumoulin and Valverde for WC

Ryder for a top 6 because I'm Canadian and i hope Orica do well because I love backstage pass

Dumoulin to be in Pink; Cancellara tweede; van Emden driede

shut your whore mouth!

Fabian
Tom
Whoever

:D

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The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

Anybody else sign up for FuboTV and watch the Prologue? Video quality was excellent. However, I am either missing something or you can only watch live (DVR function only works for soccer matches).

general question, anyone know how i can record stages from what's streaming online? i would assume it could be done...

One and the same? The pacing last year was off the charts crazy. Like back in the day when 3 guys from the same team TTT'd away for a podium sweep at some spring classic - what team was it again? It was so sad it was hilarious.

WTH? How did I not realize the race started today instead of tomorrow? Since when are they starting a GT on a Friday?

Weird....

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Yeah, see? Giro is nuts.

Kollac, I meant Katusha.

If (when, really) Rigo Uran falls out of contention, I hope Joe D gets unleashed and goes after a stage. No knock on Uran, but I'm predicting Astana and Katusha and Movistar blow things up an a lot of studs get dropped.

Until then, I'm going to suspend disbelief and enjoy the racing.

that would be the infamous Gewiss Mur de Huy attack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3rZphEtzSM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsgpMoo7fr0

I gotta dig my old Shamal's out.....those things were baddass. Problem is I had the rear relaced w/ a PT hub (bad idea....too many broken spokes) and I need to find someone who knows how to rebuild those things...not an easy build.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

btw, anyone knows how to embed youtube videos? was browsing in the darkside and saw someone do it (http://forum.slowtwitch.com/.../?page=unread#unread)

Nice turnout on the Velogames league!

My outside pick is Amador on Movistar.

I also think Cancellara will attack either tomorrow/Sunday to get the pink jersey, if there is any type of incline in the last 10KM on either stage,he will make the move to redeem himself from today.

Cycling Hub had an excellent HD feed today, but they were 2-3 minutes behind the other live feeds.

It's due to the extra rest day they're taking on Monday to transfer back to Italy.

actually, i forgot out Museeuw taking Roubaix ahead of teammates Bartolomi and Tafi

Isn't the word that Cancellara has the flue or something. If he can't hack it in a 10k TT, then he won't be able to pull away at the end of a sprinters stage. Besides, I don't think there are any inclines at all in the Netherlands.

Yeah team had said stomach bug but are now calling it the flu--so obviously some type of stomach bug/flu NOT 100% thing....

Yeah, this first Monday rest day (we'll have three in this years Giro) is a major bummer for the staff - 20 hour drive from Holland to the tip of Italy's boot! What a way to start a Grand Tour.

Ian

there was another one where the old Domo guys including Museeuw tripled up in Roubaix when Hincapie ended up just off the podium. The good old times...

Well played

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That was one hell of a leadout from Sabatini. Made it look easy again for Kittel.

Hah...was literally about to post "Kittel is making this look easy". Glad I checked the end of the thread before I did!

First few stages in Italy are supposed to be a bit tougher, so we'll see if that dulls his speed a bit.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

let's see, Wellen, Pirazzi, Ulissi
Cobrelli and Trentin

Ettix was barely hanging on when my boy Joe D went to the front for Cannondale........

all three in the decisive break, too bad two of them couldn't stay out front at the finish

After 4 stages, Dumoulini slides in to pink. Nibili 6th, Valverde 7th, Uran 12th Hesjedal well back




RIDERTEAMTIMETIME BONUSADVANTAGE1ULISSI DiegoLAMPRE - MERIDA4:46:510:100:002DUMOULIN TomTEAM GIANT - ALPECIN4:46:560:060:053KRUIJSWIJK StevenTEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO4:46:560:040:054VALVERDE AlejandroMOVISTAR TEAM4:46:570:065BRAMBILLA GianlucaETIXX - QUICK-STEP4:46:570:066NIBALI VincenzoASTANA PRO TEAM4:46:570:067ZAKARIN IlnurTEAM KATUSHA4:46:570:068BUSATO MatteoWILIER TRIESTINA - SOUTHEAST4:46:570:069CHAVES EstebanORICA GREENEDGE4:46:570:0610ROCHE NicholasTEAM SKY4:46:570:0611FIRSANOV SergeyGAZPROM - RUSVELO4:46:570:0612MAJKA RafalTINKOFF4:46:570:0613PREIDLER GeorgTEAM GIANT - ALPECIN4:46:570:0614POZZOVIVO DomenicoAG2R LA MONDIALE4:46:570:0615SIUTSOU KanstantsinTEAM DIMENSION DATA4:46:570:0616URAN URAN RigobertoCANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM4:46:570:0617TAARAMAE ReinTEAM KATUSHA4:46:570:0618KOCHETKOV PavelTEAM KATUSHA4:46:570:0619FUGLSANG JakobASTANA PRO TEAM4:46:570:0620LANDA MikelTEAM SKY4:46:570:0621JUNGELS BobETIXX - QUICK-STEP4:46:570:0622SCARPONI MicheleASTANA PRO TEAM4:46:570:0623FORMOLO DavideCANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM4:46:570:0624PIRAZZI StefanoBARDIANI CSF4:46:570:010:0625LOPEZ GARCIA DavidTEAM SKY4:46:570:0626COLBRELLI SonnyBARDIANI CSF4:46:570:0627BATTAGLIN EnricoTEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO4:47:330:4228MCCARTHY JayTINKOFF4:47:330:4229MORI ManueleLAMPRE - MERIDA4:47:330:4230AMADOR AndreyMOVISTAR TEAM4:47:340:4331DE LA CRUZ DavidETIXX - QUICK-STEP4:47:340:4332MOSER MorenoCANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM4:47:340:4333VERONA CarlosETIXX - QUICK-STEP4:47:340:4334VISCONTI GiovanniMOVISTAR TEAM4:47:340:4335ZEITS AndreyASTANA PRO TEAM4:47:340:4336CARDOSO Andre FernandoCANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM4:47:340:4337SBARAGLI KristianTEAM DIMENSION DATA4:47:340:4338POLJANSKI PawelTINKOFF4:47:340:4339ATAPUMA DarwinBMC RACING TEAM4:47:340:4340MONTAGUTI MatteoAG2R LA MONDIALE4:47:340:4341ANTON HERNANDEZ IgorTEAM DIMENSION DATA4:47:340:4342HESJEDAL RyderTREK - SEGAFREDO4:47:340:4343HENAO SebastianTEAM SKY4:47:340:4344BOSWELL IanTEAM SKY4:47:340:4345BONGIORNO Francesco ManuelBARDIANI CSF4:47:340:4346KANGERT TanelASTANA PRO TEAM4:47:340:4347SILIN EgorTEAM KATUSHA4:47:340:4348ROVNY IvanTINKOFF4:47:340:4349MEZGEC LukaORICA GREENEDGE4:47:5901:0850TCATEVITCH AlexeyTEAM KATUSHA4:47:5901:0851CUNEGO DamianoNIPPO - VINI FANTINI4:47:5901:0852MONFORT MaximeLOTTO SOUDAL4:48:0201:1153TRENTIN MatteoETIXX - QUICK-STEP4:48:0201:1154NIZZOLO GiacomoTREK - SEGAFREDO4:48:0201:1155MODOLO SachaLAMPRE - MERIDA4:48:0201:1156CONTI ValerioLAMPRE - MERIDA

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res, non verba

Ulissi, Colbrelli, Viviani
Ewan and Nizzolo

Almost an all-Italian selection

Love the Giro. It's so different than the Tour de France. While the course does change every year, the TDF seems to follow a some-what set and predictable route and format every year. Not so the Giro - the route and course selection always seems much more of a mixed bag - it's more hap-hazard and unpredictable.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

awesome finish today. the second to last 100 meters looked hellish. Wellens did three or four paper boys and I've never seen a winner get off the bike so quickly. he was within a meter of the line.



back to back wins for Lotto and couldn't be more different.

Yeah that finish for Wellens was a bit unusual!!!

Glad to see Joe Dombrowski have a great day on his birthday ('local kid' so see him out riding when he's back home so always cool to see him race!!!)

well, he pulled a Diego Rosa, who decided to get off before the line and walk over the line, hoisting the bike over his head

gutsy tactics and even gutsier ride, dropping his breakmate with still 15k left to go. Loved how he's climbing in the IAB; now there's a new one




i must have forgotten, but you are in Mabra-land?

Yup--NoVA...do most of my riding out by Joe's home and last year while training for Savageman spent all my long rides out on HIS climbs!

Gotcha. though Ben King may want to lay claim to a few of the said climbs ;)

For being coy about GC ambitions, Dumoulin is doing what Nibali did when he won the TdF, piling up bits of time here and there. He could conceivably have 2 minutes or more on contenders after stage 9, which gets close to hail mary territory. Fuglsang throws a wrench in things, and Giant doesn't exactly have a stellar supporting team. Could be a very interesting final week.

True!! They can meet in the middle. I guess bottom line is it's Cannondale/Ride Argyle territory!!!

Stage 9 and 15 are TTs, he'll certainly add time on those days, Dumoulin is sitting pretty.

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res, non verba

A bit early to say anyone is sitting pretty. We have only had one hilltop finish and haven't touched hte high mountains yet.

---

Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Agreed, today wasn't really an MTF by any traditional Giro standards. Much of that final climb was 25-35 kmh in a bunch of 30 riders which suits Dumoulin perfectly. Its going to be different when they are spread out in ones and twos and the gradient is 10%+. Tommy may still have it but there won't be anything pretty about it.

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Yeah, not ready to proclaim Dumoulin the fav but he's got a lot of game. I still think that baring bad luck, Nibali will manage the race the best and take control in last week.

all Lotto, all the time

Too bad Kittel got taken out in the last few K's.....Caleb Ewan was looking to be in the prime position, but just got SWAMPED in the last 150m.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Not following it thoroughly but odd that Nibali's blaming his time loss on the call from the team car. This doesn't look good for him... I remember Cancelara in 2014 Flanders where the DS or the coach in the team car was shouting for him to go, go, go and try to drop the group but he stayed and followed his own thing winning the group sprint....

Well, my guess is that Nibali is trying to save a little face here by throwing his team car under the bus. Even if what he says is accurate, it is still his screw-up. The car told him to take a shot if he felt good.....reasonable advice on a hilltop finish.

That does not mean "Attack into a headwind on a downhill section". That was just a bad decision on his part...and even if the team car meant that is what he should do, he shoulda known better and ignored it.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Brambillo!!! What a ride....stage win and the jersey. He has been hinting at results like this for a long time, just never quite got a "big one." Nice to see it come through.

So much for Dumoulin's long run in pink, though.....a bit of a surprise to see him pop based on how well he had been going. Thought it would happen later in the race....

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Nice first week, with tomorrow's TT yet to come. A pleasant weekend in Holland, dominant sprinting by Kittel and Greipel (and no crashes in the sprints), Stage 6 had some good action, the dirt roads today were fun, and the major GC players are still in the hunt. Looking forward to the next two weeks!

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

I think Dumoulin can take back pink with a good TT today.

Agreed....didn't realize at first that his GC gap was only around a minute.

---

Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Great ride by Brambilla to hold GC by slimmest of margins. Not that it makes up for spring classics but Etixx has had a pretty nice Giro so far.

I'm sticking with my original notion that Nibali is in the driver's seat for overall GC.

If Astana can work as a team, yes. But it doesn't appear that Nibs inspires much loyalty.

is it me or was that just a really bad last K for a friggen time trial?

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"one eye doubles my eyesight, so things don't look half bad" John Hiatt

Horrendous final few turns. Even without the rain

Good stage....gutsy ride by Brambilla, even though he lost the jersey. ROde his assos off to catch back on and then set the tempo so Jungels could take the jersey.

Dumoulin is cooked...heard he has been dealing with a nasty saddle sore.

ETA - Whoa....just heard that Landa abandoned. That certainly changes the nature of the race. This may come down to Nibali and Valverde now, with Majka playing the wildcard.

---

Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Good stage, but disappointing to see Landa abandon. It would have been interesting to see what he could do during the last week.

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

tried that FUBO TV......so you pay to watch, then you watch interminable commercials......good for them, bad for you......back to piracy

FUBAR TV

Love listening to Kelly call him Foogalsang.

Movistar has 5 guys up front. Exciting stage.

Jungels riding like a race leader today...exciting race.

Whether he is racing "smart" is a whole different question.

---

Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

given that Amador has closed the gap by two seconds...

really i just don't want to see inhaler puffing Ulissi win

Following at work so I feel like a pirated stream is probably frowned upon.

I follow the cyclingnews ticker and whoever was running it today was doing a terrible job of keeping up with the different groups forming.

Everything they had written indicated it was just Jungels and Amador up the road and then the final post was that Ulissi sprinted around for the win.... Where the F did that guy come from? Slightly frustrating...

yep.......roids.......i have asthma and use albuterol.....had bronchitis and pneumonia a couple of years ago and was given Symbicort....huge difference, performance was indeed enhanced, hence the need for the tue....some of America's most popular riders use it

albuterol isn't banned in competition anymore; i think the threshold is the equivalent of 10 puffs per day, and Signore Ulissi went even above that...

So he was using Albuterol? If he got popped for that, he was basically eating the whole puffer.

yep; at double the limit of the allowed levels. And they didn't even strip his wins...

and @ McNulty, Dombro in the break!

Go Joe Go!

Big smile watching the kid! He does get stronger as the days go by. Thought tomorrow would be his day but maybe still will be.
Anyone know where I can watch the full stage replay? Can only find the last k on Steephill.

Damn good stage today....lots of action.

---

Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Very exciting to see him at the front of the race today. I've been hoping to see him there after watching him tear up the Baby Giro years ago.

thanks, i've gone tunnel bearing.....

Big break with 3 Cannondalers......will the peleton bring it all back and will Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski counter attack on Passo Giau?? so many questions.......

Joe's looking good here; even more impressive after having spent all that time in the break yesterday. Nieve is slipping and sliding off of the GC group. This bodes well for his development

c'mon, i can't have been the only one to have thought this. His results hasn't been there through most of the year, but damn...

also, gutted for Atapuma. so close. Attacking alone on the 2nd category climb with 25k to go may not have been so smart. Was thinking that it may even be better to be caught so he can recover a bit. Instead he got the long, slow burn-out

Well damn....who had Kruijswijk?!?!

Great stage....so close for Attapuma. Looked like he was gonna give it a run in the sprint, but just blew with 250m to go. Gutsy ride...

Nibali still has a good shot at this, but he is clearly lacking just that little bit he needs to dominate. He has to hope others continue to crack and he stays consistent.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Yes. Apparently some chain derailleur issue. He was right there.

Whatever problem Joe had, one minute he was right there and then he ended up nine minutes behind, I wonder if it was the bike or his legs.

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http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise

he was in the front group on the penultimate (the cat 2) climb. Nibali attacked, and it dislodged Dombrowski from the front. Dombrowski had the mechanical issue later on while descending, and probably couldn't get a team car to support him

Joe's SRM file here: https://www.strava.com/...analysis/22402/23112. Seems like he had to stop for 3 min; doing the last bit on your own effort (as opposed to being in a group) certainly doesnt help. He was riding in the Valverde group when he had the mechanical

Kruijswijk Has been a revelation this Giro, but how will he fare in the TT? Nibili was 2 sec faster in the prologue, and 10 sec faster in the Stage 9, you have to think the shark will reel in a handfull of seconds tomorrow
Nibili is still in a good position to win next week, but it has been such an unpredictable race so far, one of the most entertaining Gran Tours in recent memory

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res, non verba

Joe had a mechanical.

Kruijswijk- Call me cynical, but I don't trust any guy with shoulders like that who drops the best climbers in the world. Or maybe I'm just envious. Judgement suspended, it was a great ride and happy to see Valverde human.

uphill TT. unless your name is tim wellens, doubt anyone would be on aerobars

man, all these Russian second division riders bossing it. yeah i'm not skeptical at all...

Joe did another good ride

Great to see Boz up there early as well.

Nibali for stage win. I think yesterday he started tightening his grasp on race, and today will take some time back from Chaves and Kruijswijk. It would truly be a relevation if either can manage the last week of a GT like Nibali can.

Uh-oh....Nibali just ripped his RD off his bike. Gonna lose some time there, but looks like he handled it as well as he could have.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

So much for that prediction!

Wow...what a crazy stage! I'm not even certain where to start!

Nibali took a big hit and Kruijswijk just made a major statement.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Did Kruijwijk grew up swimming? Those aren't the shoulders of a cyclist.

LOL, i had Nibali standing on his rivals' throats after today. he was poised.

and then, today happened

Bike racing...........sheet.

Joe D top ten today!

Holy Smoley, that Kruijswijk absolutely killed the other GC riders today!
His nearest rival is now Chaves, down by 2' 12"; Nibili down 2' 51".
Even without that mechanical [Specialized] Nibili was going to lose a couple minutes.
Can't wait for the final week- what drama

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res, non verba

Yeah I was thinking the exact same thing....
These are guys that we never heard of and all of a sudden they are beating the best guys in the world, hmmmm Russian hmmmm

Indeed Joe is looking better every day, and a pretty good ride by Ian Boswell as well.

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http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise

Such mixed emotions/reaction to watching today's TT--really pumped to see Joe D's plan coming together--waiting for the 'race to start' in the mountains; really sceptical of the Russians just dominating the uphill TT.

Moving on though-rest day tomorrow and then with decent time gaps at the top of the GC it should really be an exciting final week!!! With Uran's GC hopes falling off the mountain today I would really love to see Joe do something special and get his first grand tour stage win!!!!

if Nibali and Valverde can find their legs this could be an outstanding last week. with their strong teams they could make life very difficult for Kruijswijk and Chaves who despite seeming the strongest climbers have relatively weak teams to support them. Amador and Fuglsang are still close enough that they will need to be marked so we could see 4 riders attacking to force Kruijswijk to chase. i just hope we don't get others chasing to defend their own 5-10th positions like so often happens in le tour

last years giro featured a strong Contador prevailing over the strong Astana team. then the vuelta saw Dumoulin isolated once too often by the stronger teams working against him (admittedly he wasn't the strongest climber). which way will this one go?

While I agree with you that the last week should be awesome and I do believe that Astana (and to a lesser degree Movistar) are going to throw the kitchen sink and perhaps the refrigerator as well at Kruijswijk, I still fail to see how that will matter much if he has good legs, it really matters little how hard the team rides all he has to do is stay glued to Nibals wheel and he will be fine, and I also think that Orica/Green edge will be doing lots of turns at the front along with Lotto Jumbo to help defend Chavez's podium, I agree that Astana and Movistar are much stronger teams then OGE and Lotto but at this point in the race where the gaps are already pretty big I don't see it mattering that much.

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Its going to be great racing. So many going on the offensive v defending. Lots of wtf riding. Lots of green lights. No dominant team.
Although if the Russian kids keep eating at that same pre race buffet, it could be over quickly. Ain't no way, no how I'm believing that. Was Menchovian.

Yeah, you can have all the teamwork in the world, but at some point the team leader has to finish it off....and up to this point, all the team leaders have shown they don't have it so far.

Now, Kruijswijk is very much an unproven rider in GT's and his breaking is certainly possible, but so far, he has looked very consistent and strong.

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Menchov at least had some pedigree; these guys are like this dope

How can we really, honestly, believe that two Russian continental riders finished in the top four on this stage with this field? All I could think of while watching was 'not natural.' Results like this should throw up a ton of red flags and further add to the debate on whether Russia should be allowed to field a team at the Olympics this year.

You should be watching this stage. Awesome.

JOE!

the race completely blown apart

He's looking great. Was smiling and not letting Valverde bait him. He said last night this would happen. Boom!

yikes, what happened there? Poor Joe... another mechanical?

WTF VAUGHTERS???

I am just following the ticker and can't see what is going on but judging by your post, cyclingnews' suggestion that they brought him back to help pull is what is actually happening?

Uran is over 8 minutes down and they are pulling for 30 seconds?? Seems completely messed up to me.

+1, don't pull JoeD back. WTF are you doing? Maybe its genius somehow, but I don't see how. We will see how it plays out.

ETA: Ok, looks like he says he blew it himself and got dropped in a moment of inattention on the flats. That at least seems like a reasonable explanation.

doubt that they're pulling back 30 seconds for Uran. I think they realize that Joe ain't winning the stage from that break.

Wasn't Vaughters. It's their Italian DS. Bullshit. Joe got hosed. Or maybe flatted. He was looking for a team car.

The experts on the cyclingnews forums are saying he was dropped on a false flat.

Again I have no idea but those are also the same people that gripe every race because riders don't attack every second of every race.

Also...

15:59:27 CEST
Kruijswijk now gives Zakarin a pat on the back. Why is he patting everyone on the back?!

wth is going on there? :) I wish I was watching this instead of filling out FATCA reports at work...

might just be possible that the broken clocks at the cyclingnews forums chimed the correct time. Joe wasnt able to respond again... though he was out in the break for a while, albeit downhill

They share the same doctor. Okay, that was sour grapes. Maybe.

As much as I don't want to believe it, Joe may have gotten popped off. He got gapped earlier. Who knows. Either way, he's at the pointy end of a GT. Hell of a year so far.

indeed; i think he has more potential than the perennially hyped TJVG

It seems to me that Joe was dropped on the flat section between the 2 climbs.
Still makes absolutely no sense why Cannondale was chasing.
But then again this isn't the first time we have seen some boneheaded moves/chases by that team.

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So, kind of off topic, but is anyone else disappointed by the news that Peter Sagan is in talks with Astana? Or, am I just showing an incredible amount of naiveté

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"one eye doubles my eyesight, so things don't look half bad" John Hiatt

oh, i definitely am. at least go to EQS as opposed to Astana...

I think he is sort of stuck in some ways. Specialized wants him on their bikes, he can't stay at Tinkoff, EQS has way too many classics riders and a history of having no clue how to race (not to mention they are trying to get GVA). Astana is really the only other choice if he stays with specialized. My guess is specialized has facilitated a lot of this and is paying a large percent of his salary next year. He is bringing over a lot of his riders, support staff etc so not a lot changes for him. I was thinking that he might actually end up at Trek, with FC leaving and a long classics legacy they need to fill the void.

In the end he will end up on a team like Trek or EQS in a year or two. This is just an extension of his current contract.

As far as doping, look at the astana riders who have tested positive, almost all are from the same place, using the same doctors etc. I think this is less of a team orchestrated thing than just a few individuals using the same doping network.

Great to see the old guy win, Valverde is riding the Giro for the 1st time.
Kruisjwijk continues to impress, put time between him and the GC contenders, now 3 mins. up on Chaves, 3' 23" on Valverde, 4' 43" on Nibili.

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res, non verba

yea, the trek marketing team would love that. easy transition.

GvA actually renewed his contract with BMC

Interesting, was i thinking about Kiwat leaving Sky?

whaddya know, Etixx actually leveraged advantage in numbers to an actual win. Though kinda sad to see Moser getting bamboozled...

So which stage does Joe go for--Friday or Saturday?? Any thoughts on Uran saying he wants the stage win one of those days?

I think I prefer the Giro to the Tour as far as excitement goes. There have been some awesome stages so far. Riding through the snow is always epic too.

Kruijswick just came off on a descent and crashed into the snow lining the side of the road. Bike went flying up about 5 feet in the air, and he lost some time fixing it, but is back up and riding. Does not seem to be hurt.

ETA - Kruijswick stopped to make a bike change further down the descent once his team car got up to him.

Also, Zakarin appears to have crashed heavily on the descent. Didn;t look to be moving at first, but then his legs moved. He may be out of the race.

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cyclingnews ticker says broken collarbone. Nasty descent apparently. I hope Kruijswijk doesn't lose too much time from that. Would be shame to go down that way after the race he has had.

First time check since Kruijswick crashed...he is donw ~1:30 on Valverde / Nibali.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

And he doesn't look comfortable at all descending. That gap could go way out between climbs if he's solo. Wonder if he'll get any help from Valverde group or they'll wait to crack him.

He's screwed now, Scarponi sat up to wait, and now they'll drive it hard. Chaves could end up stealing this.

Edit: the time splits are off, more of a race than it appeared to be

Well holy s***. Came back from a hard workout on the ITT and i missed all this...

at 14K to go looks like Chaves and Nibbles are 45 seconds back, pink jersey is 2:45 back...

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"one eye doubles my eyesight, so things don't look half bad" John Hiatt

Uh-oh...Kruijswick just popped and Nibali and Chavez are uppng their pace. Not looking good....

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Shades of last year's Vuelta. He's done, but what a ride it was. The way he looks like now, will be lucky to stay on podium.

You can't really expect Dutch guys to climb, right?

really feel bad for Kruijswijk. all due to a fall, and we aren't talking about an Andy Schleck type descender either...

c'est dommage

For sure, but it seemed a little bit like a fairly tale to bag a GT so easily. Three- week races are just a different animal.

Nibali is going to make this interesting. Not going to get it all back today but might get enough time to set up a serious cafe match tomorrow.

Damn, Nibali took 5 minutes back in one stage, and only :44 down on Chaves. I think he takes it tomorrow

Had to feel terrible for Kruijswijk. He just looked empty physically and emotionally as he crossed the line. It does setup a pretty interesting day tomorrow. Top three are pretty close. Hard to imagine Kruijswijk being the one to pull back time tomorrow, but you never know.

Wow....he goes from looking like he has no chance for the overall to in with a shout in one stage.

Crazy race....Kruijswick isn't necessarily out of it, either, but he took a big hit today....don't know if he can recover by tomorrow (both psychologically and psychologically)

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

The last 2.3km tomorrow are gonna be crazy....had a long run planned for the morning but I clearly will have to reshuffle my schedule!

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

didn't Nibali undergo a battery of "tests" yesterday?

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"one eye doubles my eyesight, so things don't look half bad" John Hiatt

Wow what a stage

Kruijswijk is going to feel that fall later today/tomorrow.
It also looks like he bumped his head, possible concussion?


Zakarin TV coverage post fall was scary, at least wait until he moves, I thought we were looking at a really bad situation at first.


I am pulling away with the velogames lead!


Always love the Giro/Vuelta more than TDF. Its easier to watch TDF on US TV!

That stage is perfectly suited for one of the Shark's ambushes with massive descent before final climb. You can bet he'll put everyone on the limit both down and uphill.

Yup, exactly. Go a bit before the summit to maybe take some zip out of Cavez's legs, bomb the descent and hit the final 2.3k like a mofo for the finish.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

This race has been amazing!
Chaves now in Pink, Nibili right on his tail, Kruijswijk down [in a snowbank] by 1' 05", Valverde 4th at 1' 48"
Tomorrow is another mountain stage, tougher than today, the race will prolly get decided Saturday!
I predict Chaves stays in pink FTW

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res, non verba

Not a response to Power13 specifically, but how do the unwritten rules apply in the case of Kruijswijk's crash?
I recall a few times in the past where someone involved in the GC fight crashed and everyone sat up to allow him to rejoin the group he was with. Wasn't Contador criticized for attacking when Schleck dropped his chain?

Any input?

I'm not seeing much criticism on cycling forums. Nibali had previously attacked and put SK in trouble as well as having dropped Valverde who was sitting third, ahead of him. If he waits, he lets Valverde catch up and potentially gives up a chance at a spot on the podium. Further, the race was on -- there was a stage and overall to be decided and who knows whether SK can even continue (indeed, he has cracked rib and won't decide till morning whether he continues).

Further, dropping a chain (Schleck) or getting handlebar caught in handbag (LA) are different that losing concentration while descending. Nibali's standard race tactic is to push hard on downhill and see if others can keep up. SK failed (sadly) in a basic race skill.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Gotta add that as much as I despise Scarponi's checkered past, he was one hell of a teammate today. He clearly had a shot at stage but seemed to willingly follow instructions to drop back. Without that, it might not have set up tomorrow's epic showdown.

Can someone help me find a rebroadcast / stream of stage 19 online?

Scott

Schleck dropping that chain was his own doing, and is just part of cycling. You'll note the there are always cyclists who spend more time than others with mechanicals and you can't always blame the mechanics. This is why some athletes still ride mechanical group sets because the believe it is more reliable etc. Equipment choice is part of it, as is skill in doing the most basic of shifts in the heat of the moment. He was shifting to launch an attack, misses the shift, and then took 3 tries to put it back on. Now I've done that more times than I can count, but I'm also not gunning for the tdf.

Joe D in the break, Masters Nats done and dusted, US Nat Champ RR coming up, coffee is perfect. LIFE BE SWELL.

shoot, that sounds like fun

Well if you want to debate that, there are plenty of people who disagree with you. There wasn't much consensus in that case. However, with regard to yesterday, no reasonably knowledgable cycling fans were saying they should have waited.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Joe D is looking good.

Hostilities are going to commence on next descent. Guess we'll see how well Chaves goes downhill.

Game on!

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Chaves looks to be in big trouble. Not going to catch Nibali going downhill.

Hey, how about that: Uran finally does something in the Giro.

Nibali looking smooth, Chaves not so much

I can't believe Nibbles made me right today. The guy shits excellence.

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Really an unbelievable win....Nibbles was just never that strong, but through attrition, a little luck and smart riding, he came out on top.

Was hoping for a little bit more of a showdown, but Chaves was clearly gassed today when Nibali went for the jugular.

Great race overall....gotta like it when a GT comes down to the final weekend!

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Not going to debate, but the cyclingnews tracker comment just after was "surely they will wait for the pink jersey" so at least one person thought they should. In the end it didn't make a difference for pink, but he might have stayed on the podium.

I saw that. But it was a comment in heat of moment. No follow-up in any articles that I read and no complaints from SK camp. Not even the Dutch fans on the forums complained (that I saw). By the way, kudos to SK as he took the blame on himself completely. Looking forward to seeing him in the future.

Surely there is one person out there that thinks they should have waited -- but I don't see any real controversy.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Great stage. As is often the case, Giro is a fun tour to follow. Much better than the TdF usually. Nibs benefitted from having the strongest team by far (and their strategy was perfectly executed).

Now we have the Sky train to look forward to in July. Wish they would cut the teams to six riders. I think it would make for much more racing in TdF.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

whew! descents to determine the Giro are too much for my old man heart. Nibali was going paint-to-paint-to-paint. that was flat out.

and that final climb was brutal. I thought he cracked, but no, it was simply a wall.

One of the best GTs in a long time; great thing about them is there's not over until it's over. Even though Nibali is subject to bouts of whining, the guy is a brawler to the bitter end. And that's impressive. There's something more epic about being on the ropes but rallying to deliver the knockout blow.

Well take some aspirin for your heart before you watch this: Nibali's descent in Lombardia last year. In addition to four GT victories, winning that he won a monument. And he did it in large part by taking 40 seconds over the group on this descent 11k from the finish.

Further on the subject of whether Nibali or others should have waited for SK after he crashed yesterday: Nibali is known for taking time on descents, it is is MO, thus, to argue that he should wait for others who crash or can't keep up, would take away his strength. Bike racing includes going down as well as going up.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

x2 on that.

2 days ago, it was looking like it was all over for Nibali...and then suddenly fat lady decided to go back behind the curtain and delay the opera singing!!!

when Iglinski won LBL in 2012, Vino said the former did it "the Vino way." How prescient...

not sure what to make of the victory. Obviously the pedigree is there, but man, Astana...

Throw in cobbles, wet roads, technical finales, strade bianche, etc. Otherwise, we could just put everyone on a trainer and check their average watts after five hours.

The Giro was an exciting race with a deserving winner.

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

Nibali pulled out a Vino move from Vino's descent to Gap when Beloki crashed and Lance went cross country (cut the course technically). Without Vino nailing the descent, Beloki never takes the risk and crashes. I agree, it's all fair racing. We could debate that when the yellow/pink jersey crashes the peloton waits, but that's only when the entire peloton is together. Once the race has broken apart, I don't think there is any unwritten code that Nibali violated.

Astana, Katusha. About what we expected.

Thrilled for Joe D. He was super comfortable the whole tour and took it to them. Uran is going to be a heck of a domestique for Joe next year.

I agree with all that you said!!! Great to read Joe talking about feeling better during the 3rd week of a GT than the first 2... I think he really showed up this last week--it's the week of racing I've been waiting for him to have-future looks great.

Great 3 weeks of racing! Some great results coming for American riders.
Thanks to everyone who joined the Velogames league!
I will get one going again for the Tour De France.

Sucks for Nizzolo yesterday, I am mixed on him being relegated.

Kruijswijk falling on Saturday was due to his bike handling, so I expected no one to wait.
When outside source causes a crash, then there is a argument, but Nibali doing what he does best put pressure on Kruijswijk. He took the curve too fast into the snow.

For those counting at home, that's two grand tours in a row for Astana, on the strength of perfectly executed team tactics at the expense of an unexpected competitor with a weak team.

Dopers run by a doper. They're lucky to have a license. Fuck em.