TD
NQ +31
Nib +40

Pinot + 1:17

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

Thanks for the link. Any sources of an on-demand replay? My google-fu is weak from fear of spoilers.

Scott

LOL, so even with that Nibali did not pass back Quintana? I am really surprised by Pinot being so "slow"

I live about 50m from the 5km to go point of this TT - first time I've seen pro tour riders live.

Thing that really struck me was how big most of them are! I thought they would be tiny - but the majority are very, very strong looking units.

The speed was ridiculous.

I think the best man won overall.

Anyone know power #'s between NQ or TD?

I know - armchair quarterbacking and such, but:
NQ looked a little shaky on the TT bike today... he almost lost his rear wheel twice (didn't keep his weight back when braking ) and sat up on at least one high speed corner that TD was going through in aero....plus another couple of not so great lines.....and these little things add up.

It wasn't the engine that costed him the Giro Today.

First important business

I AM GOING THROUGH GIRO WITHDRAWL


ok, now let's get to the Monday morning QBing.....Jim at Erosports on the other thread, I believe said he could easily save Quintana 2 seconds per km with a better position....that's 140 seconds over the Giro, but let's cut that down to 100 second since some of it you can't hold a full on stretched out aero shrug.

It's just maddening that these teams are willing to give that much away on TT's when those 2 days out of 21 are the most important and you have a guy with an engine who can win, whose set up is non optimized. Every pro triathlete in his right mind knows you can't give away free time on the bike and win it back on the run, because the guys who can run like Frodo are optimized on the bike. Why do the climbers (the equivalent of runners) just accept that they will give away time on the "timed legs" and magically gain it back on larger guys who have almost the same watts per kilo. This is a fools strategy.

Movistar lost this Giro for Quintana, because their technical strategy for TT's sucks. The rest of their strategy for mountain stages was stellar. They were everywhere they had to be EVERY TIME. The only tactical mistake was not chasing Pinot when Pinot took off and gained a minute, but in hindsight, that had no effect other than give Pinot hope and we could say had NQ chased Pinot, he would have pulled TD with him and TD would have then taken the time bonus.

"Big", but skinny and very light. Heaviest dude is only like 79-80 kgs. Most under 70.

Movistar lost this Giro for Quintana, because their technical strategy for TT's sucks. The rest of their strategy for mountain stages was stellar. They were everywhere they had to be EVERY TIME.
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Except he wasn't as brilliant as needed in his speciality- the mountains. This is his own DS words from cyclingnews article:

For the rest of the week – and even when he tracked Nibali atop the Umbrailpass – Quintana’s accelerations lacked the bite and conviction of the final week of the 2014 Giro, say, or his breakout Tour de France of 2013. Has the world changed or has Nairo Quintana changed?

“I think Nairo was missing that percentage point of brilliance he’s had in the past,” Unzue said. “On this Giro, apart from the day of the Blockhaus, he hasn’t been able to make the difference. The level of the favourites has been very even.”

So then when you aren't on your "A" game when you need and of course when your B- level TT'er and you leave it to that, you likely ain't getting top step.


But then again NQ has even said because of the double he left some top end fitness st home so he wouldn't be too fit simply for the Giro. It was a calculated risk and he almost pulled it off.

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

Quintana said he was sick on stage 19- that is why he didn't put a huge amount of time into TD on that stage.

Curious as to how much time he lost with the race provided Skinsuit? Also..noticed lots of tri-spokes across the entire field..seemed more than normal.

Yes but that is the bigger issue for him. When you cant capitalize on your A strength, it's silly to say it was your B- quality that lost it. No he lost it because he had to ride more than he was capable of in the TT because he couldn't capitalize on his mountain riding (for various reasons).

ETA: Everyone in cycling was saying that NQ needed what 3-4 mins in mts. after the 1st itt. He *only* achieved what 2:30 mins gained on TD after that stage and that was with toilet gate. So he didnt ride the mountains to his ultimate need. That was pretty evident even before last stage as his own DS knew it wasn't enough heading into itt.

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

Hey Brooks, I was focused on Movistar as a team and their execution. They did everything they could correctly for Quintana on road stages, but my personal view is they failed him on the TT. In terms of Quintana's own execution, he was not at 100% in the last week due to sickness, but everyone has tough days in a 3 week tour and he still never really imploded. In any case his team management got it all done for road stages, but in my view left time on the table for the TT's and they lost it there.

Dev

Do you guys think the race provided suit is that bad? Can't be more than a few seconds over Dumoulin's suit?

And I was focusing on the actual athlete execution results. Or shall I say if NQ rides to 4 min in mountains and wins by 38s, with same TT results would you be saying same thing? My guess is no.

But because he *struggled* in the mts his TT issues became more apparent.

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

Actually Brooks, see the other thread I raised the day AFTER Quintana was on fire on Blockhaus, so yes, I was critical of Movistar management even when he was performing in the mountains. If you are an elite organization there is no good reason to leave any available time on the table due to organizational giveaways. It's one thing if an athletes does not execute on the field in the thick of the action (ex Quintana not responding to, or unable to chase down Pinot). Its another thing for the team to give away gains that are available to everyone. In another sport, no way team Michael Phelps gives away any tiny gain. That's often the delta between the gold medal and first loser.

What specifics did he leave on the table and how did Movistar not address them.

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

Ask Jim on the other thread. He's a pro fitter and aerodynamics guy and is a better position to say the time that Movistar squandered. He'd convinced that Movistar left time on the table in the ITT stages.

You mean the guy who said this in same thread:


Now, it's not something that I would do with Quntana because it takes a lot of work to get fast in a position like Dean's, and WorldTour guys just simply don't put that much time into their TT position, nor should they.


Like I said, I wanted to know specifically from you who called out Movistar for lack of itt prep, what exactly they did wrong and how they did it wrong.

ETA: And this is what he said would make him go faster:

Still, more reach, not lower is what would make Nairo faster. That, and shorter cranks if he truly is on 172.5's.

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