I will pick Innur "The Russian Surprise" Zakarin for every stage and the overall. He can sprint, he can climb and he can smack around Tony Martin in a TT. He must be the most talented, most perfectly trained and fed specimen not donning a black and blue jersey. Can't go wrong...

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I have the same GC podium except Uran in 2nd. I think his TT ability has surpassed Contador at this stage of their careers. Seems like on paper there are less summit finishes (6 instead of 9) compared to last year, and no uphill TT, so Contador's climbing ability and attacking may not yield as much time gaps over Uran as one would think.

But what do I know...I'm fairly n00b when it comes to following pro cycling.

Contador for the win, uran for second and some complete surprise for third....'cuz it almost always happens at the Giro.

Porte will blow on at least one day....he always does in a GT.

AC will also dig too deep to win the Giro and be soundly trounced by Quintana in July.

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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

What's everyone's take on Aru this season? I also like Pozzovivo myself, not for the win, but for a podium maybe. I'm also keeping my eye on Zakarin, especially since Katusha doesn't really have any other GC contenders. What about Niemiec? And Paterski seems to be doing quite well over at the CCC squad. With Rebellin not going to the Giro (which seems ironic to me, him on that squad must have been the only reason they got the invite in the first place) he could be their go to man. I was also impressed by Jurgen van den Broeck in Romandie, especially the time trial. It's hard to put your chips on him because he always finds a way to stuff it up but he's seriously overdue for a good result. A lousy TTT is what cost him a good placing in the Romandie GC. The Giro TTT will hopefully (for him) result in smaller time differences. Some riders for stage wins: Acevedo, Chavez, Slagter, Geschke, and maybe Küng again?

First stage I'm going with Orica, and Gerrans taking the first Maglia Rosa in hopes of passing it onto Matthews in a subsequent stage.

Porte.........if he doesn't fall off his bike..........

Zakarin got spanked by Joe D in the Baby Giro after getting busted the first time at 19 so he was riding clean. Then rides Katusha's farm team, loses 10 kg that's 20 pounds to you and me and beats Tony Martin....TONY FOOKIN MARTIN in a tt. Yeah.........no.
Aru, same deal. Porte too. Froome, of course.
Whatever they're doing for weight loss, it ain't Jenny Craig.
And yes, I am biased towards Eastern Euro teams and riders. It's the Dominican Republic of cycling. They'll do whatever to get to the show and make some dough and get that pad in Girona. Can hardly blame them.
I'll go with AC for the win because Oleg says so and, well, say no more.

Aru will be wicked fast uphill after a recent stomach virus that resulted in him loosing 5 kilos. Uh huh.

That leaves Ryder. No, wait.

AC, Uran, Aru.

WC: anyone on Team Sky since they sprout GC guys like GMO wheat.

I've got Contador for my fantasy team. Of course, every other time I've picked him he gets mauled by a Russian goon and/or crashes while eating a Power Bar. But he knows this is his race to lose, and it's about time someone delivered a win for Tinkov. So I'm going with Contador for the win, with Aru and Uran taking the other two podium spots.

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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'll go BMC, Sky, Orica in the TTT.
Greipel in stage 2.

I'm not disagreeing with you McNulty, but did you see the Romandie TT? (I'm assuming you're referring to him beating Martin there) There were some steep (but short) climbs and the weather was a lot better for the later guys. For sure there's a more than a fair share of controversy surrounding his meteoric rise. Seems a bit unjust to single out Eastern European riders though especially in regard with the Giro as it's been mostly Italian riders being busted in their home race with bans for high profile Italian riders DiLuca, Ullisi, Santambrogio in the last two editions.

actually, I'm Eastern European (Slovenskoooooo! Peto Sagain ides ides ides!) and I don't even take offense at his assessment/perception. We're a pretty pragmatic people. Interpret that as you may. If the smart folks say that the only way to keep up is to have a half of a beetroot every night between 11pm and 6am then I bet you a lot of riders will choose to have that beetroot to make ends meet. I suspect individual economic circumstances may have a larger impact on that decision than someone's country of origin but there's a pretty strong correlation between poor economic conditions and Eastern Europe so of course the incentives there are, on average, stronger for those boys.

I'm in the "it is what it is" camp and follow this show for the spectacle and not for moral and ethical heroes. At least it seems that it's a bit cleaner than in the 90s. But then again, watching dudes BREAK uphill for corners was pretty damn spectacular too!

Oh...and as far as the Giro goes - I want to see some sparks! Not so sure Porte is ready for a GC win but what do I know.

Oh and on the topic of Tinkoff. Have you seen his blog post on Cyclingnews? He certainly does not hold anything back. One bombshell after another. I wonder how his riders feel about his statements:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/...tion-for-bjarne-riis

agreed, if i was sagan i wouldnt exactly be motivated to win for Oleg. I can see sagan moving on from tinkoff

Hey everyone, excited for the Giro, will be watching at work on Eurosport and on BEIN Sports at home!

I created a velogames league, get your picks in by tonight.

League Name: Slowtwitch
League Code: 08160242

My picks
1. Porte- great year so far, I think he has matured & will win
2. Contador- he is underestimating Porte
3. Uran- has a chance to win, good team
4. Pozzovivo- good year so far
5. Aru

Greipel will win the points classification if he sticks around for the entire race
Aru will win young riders
Pozzovivo will win mountain classification

I also created a league for the tour of California on velogames

League Name: Slowtwitch
League Code: 08163951

I'm in for the Giro fantasy league!

Yet here we all are focusing on the latest $x,xxx upgrade... Don't wanna leave non of that free speed on the table... I'm gonna save some money and skip some dinners! Get FOMOP, or maybe BOFOP!

I don't think it's skipping dinners McNulty is talking about :)

You make some very good points re the ITT at Romandie. I'm just hugely skeptical these days as I've gotten my hopes up for a clean peloton, for the young American riders especially who I believe to be clean and who I hope will not succumb. But they're up against it. Too much asked of them and too much $ at stake. Like young thoroughbred race horses.

And what they're doing for weight loss may not even be banned yet.

Oddly, I miss Denny Menchov. The guy just never said a word to anyone about anything. Ever. He came, doped, won, banked it and left. Hincapie almost pulled it off.

I thought Tinkov's comments were refreshing. I'm sure Sagan wasn't pleased, but Tinkov seems to agree with a lot of folks that there's something not quite right with Sagan. I don't think "your boss" ought to criticize you in public. But it was fun to read his comments vs. the normal bland thoughts you get from managers and owners.

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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.

One prediction - it will be exciting. It always is. The Tour de France get's more and bigger press, but the Giro is the real heart and soul of bike racing. The crazy routes/roads. The fans. The weather. The unpredictability. It's got it all.

I've never been a huge fan of El Pistolero. I think he'll be over extending himself for the win here - and there is fine crop of up-and comers who could take a real run at him. Contador can't just ride away from everyone in the mountains like he used to, when he was . . . . . well . . .never mind!

The form chart says, Uran is next in line, but then there is the unpredictability of it all!

It's going to be fun. Thanks SportsNet for picking up the live morning coverage in Canada.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

...no shit

You know, Zakarin reminds me a little of Menchov, with their emaciated look, and utter lack of ability to speak English. I watched the post race interview at Romandie and it was classic stuff. Used all of the 2 words he knew before defaulting back to Russian without an interpreter present.

Added the video, the footage goes to black but the audio keeps going: http://www.steephill.tv/...7Rcppiis&yr=2015