Can we now officially state that the race for first loser is officially confirmed and we can paint a Pink Jersey on TD's bike, paint his bike and helmet pink and convert the Dutch national flag to pink for the rest of the week? Now we're watching stage hunting and how the 2-5th GC spots shuffle around between now and the end of the ITT.

While I understand TD's frustration and was barking at the TV for them to pull through, it may have been they just didn't have anything left. Nibali and Quintana's attacks, and subsequent having to chase down TD's accelerations, may have drained them.

No - they think (correctly) that they can still break him on stage 19 and 20.

LOL. More likely that TD gets two more stage wins before this is over.

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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

Anyone else think TD is doors to the hills? How can he stink with the mountain goats?

though it raises eyebrows, what he has done wasnt too surprising.

Nibbles is about 10lbs lighter and is hardly mountain goat, and Quintana may not have yet hit peak form. Dumoulin's weight is not too different from Froomes's, though that there is another can of worms. So who knows

He said he's not in GC. That's a perfect sense of reality.

I don't understand this constant crap about TVG and how half the Internet seems to revel in parsing his every word and expression for evidence of some kind of horrible character flaw.

He won the ToC and Pro Challenge then followed it up quickly with two 5th places at the TdF at a young age, at one point nearly dropping his GC guy in the TdF in the same way that Froome nearly dropped Wiggins. 4th in Olympic TT. That's a REALLY good reason to think you're candidate to be a really good GC guy. I'd have thought the same thing about myself.

Yes, that promise hasn't panned out. He's really struggled. I don't know why, and I don't think he nor BMC does either. But the dude trains and races really hard. He's a good guy, and a good racer. And possibly completely clean. Deserves none of the armchair vitriol.

with the stares at the others, the trolling, the size/build, overcoming the dysentery and getting back on, the no jour sans,...yeah, it has me wondering...looks a bit like some other guy with shoulders from back in the day....anyone know if he has a TUE or two in his jersey?

x2
I cheer this and wish him success.

Nibbles, Quintana - would like to win.
They didn't go for it today. (They just tested things a bit).

My guess is that they think their chances might be better later on.

TJ, finally!

TD looked good today, barring the unforseen [this the Giro afterall], he will win on sunday.
Quintana was on the radio a lot, attcked half-heartedly on the run towards Val Gardena but he was suffering big time, as was Nibbles.

Will friday & sat be the replay of today?

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res, non verba

Stage 19
Who would win a 15k hill climb time trial?
My guess:
Quintana- 32 seconds ahead
Nibbles - 15 seconds
Dumoulin- 0

That means that ignoring team dynamics, stage 20 and stage 21.
Quintana and Dumoulin are essentially even odds at this point.

The more I think about it the more convinced I am....

The smartest move today for Quintana was to watch, maybe test, but NOT to go for it.

Stage 20 won't be optimal for Quintana either. The flat 15 K at the end will allow everyone to catch back up if Quintana or nibbles try to get away.

Stage 19 is thus Quintana's best shot at the win. And I think 30 seconds is definitely achievable.

He has been a pretty vocal opponent of TUE use by Sky, so I would be surprised if he had any of the more nepharious ones.

Do you think Quintana has any chance of making up 2.5 minutes BEFORE Sunday? Without a bonk, a mechanical at the wrong time, or an unfortunate crash, I don't see how it is humanly possible to make up that much time on Dumoulin. They basically have the same loaded down watts per kilo (when you add in bike, helmet, shoes, electronics, clothing and bottle). On top of that Quintana basically gave away a full minute to Pinot today. Basically within a minute of Quintana you have Pinot and Nibali, both of who could make up a minute on the final ITT and push Quintana off the podium, forget about the win. I get it that he is going for the win, in which case rolling with Pinot's attack would have been beneficial anyway than sitting on Dumoulin's wheel.

Dumoulin can make it, riding GC today means riding scientifically and they all learned how to. TvG raced nice today ..

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In order for Quintana to win the Giro he will need atleast a 2 minute lead going into the ITT finale, AND ride the best TT of his life AND hope Dumoulin has to take another mid-race dump!
I'm not saying its impossible, but the way Dumoulin is climbing & TTing these days, its highly improbable

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Doubtful. Likely more of Dumoulin's teammates will be around as it's not as hard a stage. Final climb eases up toward the top, just the sort of finish Dumoulin likes.

Oops forgot stage 21 was downhill TT.

No..... Quintana is screwed.

If his last TT tells us anything ..,
Quintana might need 30 seconds just to maintain 2nd.

So Quintana's best hope is something happens to leave Dumoulin isolated before tomorrow's climb.

I was hoping he would win and think riding in front and racing a stage to win will be great for him.

Certainly he has showed talent (though one can argue that the two 5ths are a bit misleading based on circumstances those years). This is only his third win (other than TT) in Europe and his first grand tour stage. Excellent step for him.

I've always just thought it weird that he has been hyped as a GC contender for years when he has never won a stage before. I can't think of any others, though probably there are some. Of course that is not his fault.

He showed great emotion at the finish line. However, in his interview he seemed downcast and the first things out of his mouth are disappointment about the GC and his lack of form earlier. I just kind feel he has the cart before the horse. Be a winner first and then start thinking about GC contention.

I'd be more of a fan if, for instance, he targeted Lombardia now.

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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

I think Nibali and Quintana realize that the only way they are going to jump TD by the end of the week is if he cracks hard. Last time TD was leading a grand tour heading into the final weekend, he cracked hard and lost 4 minutes to the GC during stage 20 of the 2015 Vuelta...so they know its possible. They aren't just going to ride away and put 2+ minutes while he's still capable of riding a strong tempo. They just don't have that much of a superior w/kg right now.

So I think they are putting in some short digs to see if TD is on the ropes. When they realize he's not in trouble, there is no point in continuing the move thus burying themselves to gain 10-15 seconds...so they let it come back together.

When they got to the crest of the last climb, they were in TD territory with 3km to go...again, no point in them using any energy and see if TD would burn some energy chasing Pinot while they sit in the draft...hoping it will add up to his fatigue in the event they can crack him tomorrow or Saturday. TD was smart enough not to go too hard...pretty textbook all the way around if you ask me.

TD may or may not crack in the last 2 stages...but I think it's the only card Nibali and Quintana can play at this point.

Boom.Tejay battles and he battles clean and does the best he can at the highest level. He could have mailed it in or gone and raced in Cali with Rally and been big fish little pond. But he's now a GT stage winner out of a break- that was caught. Hell of a ride.

I am curious to see what his plans are for the rest of the year. If he can pull off another great ride at the Giro I can see him changing his role for the rest of the year to build some confidence.

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2020 Team Zoot MTN

I think Nibali and Quintana realize that the only way they are going to jump TD by the end of the week is if he cracks hard. Last time TD was leading a grand tour heading into the final weekend, he cracked hard and lost 4 minutes to the GC during stage 20 of the 2015 Vuelta...so they know its possible. They aren't just going to ride away and put 2+ minutes while he's still capable of riding a strong tempo. They just don't have that much of a superior w/kg right now.

So I think they are putting in some short digs to see if TD is on the ropes. When they realize he's not in trouble, there is no point in continuing the move thus burying themselves to gain 10-15 seconds...so they let it come back together.

When they got to the crest of the last climb, they were in TD territory with 3km to go...again, no point in them using any energy and see if TD would burn some energy chasing Pinot while they sit in the draft...hoping it will add up to his fatigue in the event they can crack him tomorrow or Saturday. TD was smart enough not to go too hard...pretty textbook all the way around if you ask me.

TD may or may not crack in the last 2 stages...but I think it's the only card Nibali and Quintana can play at this point.[/quote]
difference is that the last stage of the 2015 Vuelta was exceedingly hilly and similar to today's Giro stage. The next two mountain stages are nothing alike. Best thing Nibbles and Quintana could do is to send riders up and hope that they make the rendez-vous toward the top of the climb on the last day and have their teammates pull them away (15 km of flat from top of GPM to finish).

Something must have been wrong with Tejay the first week. It's been a reverse TdF for him, really shining in the last week!