have we all underestimated Yates? At what point is this too much of a fairy tale?

Pozzovivo looks like Sanders from behind, both with the wide legs!

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Terrible Tuesday’s Triathlon

What would Aru have split if he wasnt sucking wheel the whole time? Not impressed.

1 min 15 seconds of difference...


winner winner

not a bad call


also a good call

I was far off on prediction of :70; he gave up a whole 75 seconds. *Remarkable*

Not an expert and some here are, but I think they are on smaller frames than ideal due to the UCI regulations. They all want the saddle further forward than they are allowed, so they go with a small frame to reduce the reach. The pedestals on the bars increase the stack.

I thought you were only 5 seconds off? Or did it read it wrong?


---------------------------

I hope TD still has something left in the tank, but this looks a bit much like a procession already.

That said, grand tours are never over until they are over. Anton and Quintana at the Vuelta, Kruiswijk at the Giro; all in the lead when something bad befell them.

Thanks for that, makes enough sense for my simple mind!

This edition does bring into question the role of time bonuses. Love them or hate them, they really help the climbers. But, even if you remove yates bonuses he would still be in the lead.

70 seconds was my guess, was off by 5.

This Tweet made me laugh

https://twitter.com/MRasmussen1974/status/998951653347876865


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Unless it turns out that Aru was pacing behind a motorbike or was riding on one, he will be my pick for every mountain stage to come in this Giro.

If/when he starts riding away from everyone in stages 18-20. As you mentioned, it's not over yet, but they guy's form is remarkable. Either that or Dumoulin, Froome, Aru, Pinot, and Pozzovivo are complete duds right now. If he doesn't have any issues the rest of the week, does he go for the double?

Rohan Dennis is quietly having himself a pretty darn good tour. Up to 6th overall now in the GC.

If Max Schachmann had been Aru's 30 second guy, Aru would have caught and passed him.

One more time: Fabio Aru would have caught and passed Max Schachmann.

No, still doesn't sound right. I'll try again later.

Somebody needs to get ahold of him and tell him to tone it down a bit. /pink?

That was eye-opening too. Not as wide as his grill, but still...

At this point the most intriguing narrative is battle for 3rd podium spot, and how many more stages Yates wins.

LOL...I know your comment is in sarcasm, but seriously...public speculation isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Probably a good thing for the sponsors actually as it brings more attention to the team. Yates is going to get tested no matter what. I don't think he'll get tested *more* just because he unleashes hell in week 3, or would get tested *less* if he tones it down. If you're clean and having the Grand Tour of your life...who cares what anyone thinks. And if you're doping...well...people aren't going to fell less sorry for you if you only won by a reasonable margin so you may as go for maximum glory and hope you don't ever get caught.

I don't think that Yate's performance is out of line relative to Rohan Dennis. I believe Dumoulin and Froome are relatively duds in that they underperformed relative to Dennis. At the moment and Yates has peaked reasonably well. I would have expected Dumoulin to be 45 seconds faster today, but he may just be fried. Defending is a hard job, but it is possible that Quintana and Pinot last year were not at the form of Yates (plus Yates being heavier is a better TTer than Quintana). Froome is not at peak fitness. Aru had a good TT, but he's relatively been a dud since the TdF last year aside from one early stage where he exploded!!!

I think the VAM data on Zoncolan while not conclusive may be useful. Zoncolan unlike Alpe d'Huez, Ventoux or Galibier is treed the entire way making it less susceptible to late afternoon thermals (which are generally massive tailwinds....if you want a fast time on Alpe d'Huez you hit is late afternoon in July when all the hang glider dudes are out)....Zoncolan VAM should be useful....other than it being at the end of a stage it was a pretty steady drag race.

Dev

 




I'm just quoting this here so I can tell my friends I finished 20 seconds behind Spackler in a 32k TT.

Dumoulin underperformed compared to Dennis, who lost the opening TT by only 2 seconds? They're not even in same race; wouldn't have been surprising for he and Martin to have an even bigger gap.

That's a good point...that I suppose I should have pointed myself to. LOL.

Dumoulin and Froome are targeting the TdF. Pinot I assume is doing the same being French. Aru and Pozzovivo are hit and miss sometimes. Mitchelton Scott has said that Adam is going to be the team leader for the TdF, not Simon...which is why they sent him to the Giro. So maybe it's just the perfect storm for him. He dialed in his peak for the Giro, and all the other big dogs are trying to dial in their peak for July.

All in all though...I really don't care if his performances are viewed as suspicious or not. I watch pro cycling for entertainment purposes...so here's to hoping that Yates keeps going on the attack!

One of the most remarkable and questionable rides in any GT ever.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/...econds-for-drafting/

This. TD has been having to chase every single break.. it is impressive that he kept the gap down as low as he did.

yeah, its interesting that recently there has been a lot of comment that the less consistent performances (froome pre-giro excepted) are an indication of greater "humanity" in the peloton rather than the juiced up super heroes of days gone. yates is being questioned because he is dominating day in, day out, though in his case its not unreasonable to ask the question since he's never shown this level before.
now we're also seeing the opposite - questions being asked as a result of erratic performances. again though quite reasonably - how does a climber crack badly on a climbing stage and then come out and do a great TT? he was only penalised 20 secs for drafting whereas others got 2 minutes so either he wasn't getting enough benefit to explain his fast time or more likely he got off lightly due to being an italian in italy - either way something is well off here.

disappointing that TD couldn't close it up to make the last week interesting, i guess its not so surprising though given the amount of work he's had to do combined with yates' spectacular form

also disappointed to see george bennett losing time due to more mechanical issues. it always amazes me how many mechanical issues world tour riders seem to get given the level of mechanical support they have - bikes checked by mechanics every day and TT bike prepared specifically for this 34Km ride. i know they push their equipment hard but really?

Could also have to do with perceived intent and circumstances. Aru was flagged for drafting a cop, who "should" know to keep their distance from a rider, as the rider has the right to pick whatever line they want. Ulissi and Conti seems like they were penalized for working together in some capacity after Ulissi bridged the 1 minute gap. That shows a different form of intent, and Ulissi can't claim he didn't have a choice but to draft, where to a certain extent, Aru could make that case.