today will be epic, even more than yesterday’s ride over the mortirolo, about 20,000’ of climbing, and deliciously nasty weather. your archetypal scene of riders in summer wear riding on roads cut through 20 foot snowdrifts. they’re halfway up the gavia. vino, sastre, and a half dozen have about a minute on the liquigas train, with the nasty part still ahead.
this is the sort of day where sastre historically does well.
edit: coverage here.
Sastre who? 
I don’t know about todays stage (watching the end now) but yesterdays stage 19 was fantastic what with David Arroyo’s technical decent, just bombing it on the wet roads, making up a minute…? what? you don’t see that any more. just too bad he’s not the best climber as that minute gained was smashed by basso who was riding like a champ all day and company on that last climb. What a great race!
Where’s Rappstar, I want to race him in the mountains …today!
I’m following pro cycling since 1985. This year’s Giro is the best grand tour in years. Definitely better than anything TdF 1992 and later.
outside of lance armstrong at the Tours, I would agree with you.
Has Lance ever raced the Giro? I know he has trained on that “mystic” climb of yesterday, saying it was the hardest ride he has done…
How is it interesting when a tour is basically over after the first mountain stage? Even you can’t be that Armstrong-centric.
Or can you?
Scary. 
But then again, you would know that he tried and failed at last year’s Giro.
Has Lance ever raced the Giro?
Yes
Has Lance ever raced the Giro?
Yes
when and how did he do and is this that schroeder, from you know where? yup, it is.
Lance raced the Giro last year. That was his one and only time at the Giro. We went to the TT stage in the Cinque Terre about a year.
Levi…
http://i46.tinypic.com/xml7o5.jpg
Sastre
http://i49.tinypic.com/ejg41d.jpg
DiLuca (doper)
http://i48.tinypic.com/2na0m6r.jpg
The Tifosi went bananas when Lance went by. Only have video of that…
Pretty awesome stage. Slowman, have you ever ridden Gavia?
I need to go back to Europe and do Gavia-Stelvio-Mortirola and I really want to do the climb up Vesuvius like they did last year in the Giro…too many things to do in this life, not enough vacation time. Maybe next year, do the Alpe d’Huez tri and follow it up in the next week with some riding in the Dolomites.
Most of us dream of climbing Gavia on vacation. Basso gets Gavia as his office address today!
Uli, can you post your pictures from when you did Gavia (or was that Galibier)?
Agreed, best Grand Tour in ages. As much as “Floyd-gate” is turning cycling upside down, you gotta admit that the 2006 edition of the TdF was also pretty exciting!
“I’m following pro cycling since 1985. This year’s Giro is the best grand tour in years. Definitely better than anything TdF 1992 and later”
x2.
Here is some pics from my Gavia adventure in 2008, climbing it from the steeper side where they descended today:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1866072;search_string=gavia;#1866072
Going to Italy next year, will probably do Stevlio but not Gavia…looking forward to it!
I’m sure you will have a great time, Stelvio is supposed to be really painful as well - enjoy!
“I’m following pro cycling since 1985. This year’s Giro is the best grand tour in years. Definitely better than anything TdF 1992 and later”
x2.
x3
It’s amazing what a (hopefully) clean peleton does to race dynamics.
Does anyone know where/if there is a place to re-watch stages online for either the Giro or the TD Cali?
Giro highlights from the different stages are here:
http://video.gazzetta.it/?vxChannel=Giro2010_Arrivi
.
Uli, can you post your pictures from when you did Gavia (or was that Galibier)?
Gavia was pre digicam and I didn’t carry a camera. All I know is that after Mortirolo it was a little tougher than I would have liked. Hence, I opted (was it a choice?) to skip Stelvio (the odd-side) that time around.
I guess you talk about Galibier. Did I post pics of that before?
What gives, I’m in Italy right now, here you go.
Maybe after you see this video you’ll want to do Gavia (or maybe not):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnJvU0ofskc&feature=related
One of the greatest stages of all time (as long as you were not a rider and just a fan).
Maybe after you see this video you’ll want to do Gavia (or maybe not):
http://www.youtube.com/...&feature=related
One of the greatest stages of all time (as long as you were not a rider and just a fan).
Yeah, I want to do it, but its my wife’s vacation, so I get 2 days to cycle. 1 in Tuscany, and 1 in the Dolomites. She was born in Italy and hasn’t been there in 30 years…
Dev_Paul brought to my attention that I might have mispoken in my earlier question, I fully know that Lance Armstrong merely RODE in the Giro as a team captain out on a training ride with his new team to feel them out and in no way was it anything other than that for him last year but has he ever really raced it over the entirety of his career?
Dev_Paul brought to my attention that I might have mispoken in my earlier question, I fully know that Lance Armstrong merely RODE in the Giro as a team captain out on a training ride with his new team to feel them out and in no way was it anything other than that for him last year but has he ever really raced it over the entirety of his career?
Yeah it was such a great training ride that he told the best rider in the world that he doesnt ride for anyone and that “the roads decide the leader”.