Oh yeeeeeaaaaaaaahhh! No win but 2nd and 3rd is outstanding from the boys. Very nice! Although I wish Matthews let Goss come 2nd - for the points of course. Having all 8 riders (excluding Sulzberger who crashed) in the Top 16 during the leadout phase is just magnificent. Now just 5 seconds away from that Top 15 goal
kubys wrote:
Weeee...Shonak, we finally win something under your guidance
The curse is lifted at long last! Now if The Rider wins something with Radioshack then something must be wrong with PCM.
@Stromeon: Majka lost time whenever and wherever it was possible. Many GT riders had an awful first week, but his was just out of this world. Here's hoping for a new start in Week 2 for him.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
This stage’s quality may lay solely in the way it’s being raced. The GC favourites have been very active so far and if they are again, it’s possible for a reduced bunch sprint or even a solo-win. However, with quality sprinters, that can get over a hill, like Bennati, Hanzen or Brouwer, the peloton may be more interested in a sprint of the peloton. In any case, it will be interesting to see how Movistar act after yesterday's drama surrounding Quintana's crash.
After the first hill, a break of the day has been formed. Vrecer (EUS), Casar (FDJ) and Peterson (ARG) form it. No rider from Bardiani you may ask? Pirazzi is further down the road, trying to catch up to Vanmarcke (BEL). It’s unsure yet if they manage to break loose from the peloton.
It’s now a group of six riders after merely 30 kilometers. Vanmarcke (BEL), Westra (VCD) and Pirazzi (BAR) have joined the break. Movistar, Lampre, Cannondale and AG2R La Mondiale all compete riders to early relay work in the peloton though, and the lead never exceeds one minute.
There they come. It’s clear maybe why AG2R La Mondiale are chasing, but Movistar – maybe they are tired of being pushed over and decided today is the day of taking back the control. You can only wish them luck at this task.
With no break being in front now, AG2R La Mondiale decreases the speed and keeps everything solely in check. It’s yet unclear why so many teams didn’t want to let the BOTD go, seeing as they now don’t even try to send a rider themselves up for a breakaway attempt. For the next 20-30 kilometers, basically nothing happens.
Wow! Wow!
The stage has 55 left, we are at the first mountain sprint of the day. Firstly we saw an attack Jelle Vanendert (LTB). Fedrigo (FDJ), Gerrans (OGE) and Dumoulin (ARG) have followed.
The real important riders are the ones behind though. Can you spot them? It’s Quintana, Hesjedal and – granted, unfortunately not that important today – Johnny Hoogerland. How will the peloton react? Betancur isn’t known for sitting tight and decides to go himself. A classic Voekler mistake, like when he wanted to follow Contador right over the Alpes? Hardly, but only Lampre is chasing so far in the peloton.
They have about a minute lead and it looks like they share a good rhythm. Still Lampre and Androni are the only teams chasing. Astana and SKY don’t feel like they have to react yet, despite the Maglia Rosa being at the front of the race. Dumoulin meanwhile dropped from the group and is back within the peloton.
It’s Gerrans again. The luck of the break of the day wasn’t meant to be when Hesjedal and Quintana decided it wasn’t worth the effort to help the Maglia Rosa. This wake-up call just ahead of the peloton may be enough for Quintana to keep pushing forward nonetheless.
With Fedrigo, Vanendert and Hoogerland being dropped for good now, the break of the day is down to its 4 strongest riders and comes back into fruition maybe now that everyone sees chances for himself. Betancur wants to extend his lead, Hesjedal wants to get a gap, Quintana wants to show he’s not finished yet – by far, and Gerrans, well – stage wins and more stage wins obviously.
Unbelieveable effort from the four guys here, mostly Hesjedal and Quintana! It’s still 35 kilometers to the finish and it’s too early to say anything, but they finally have a solid lead of 2 minutes onto the peloton, which can be seen descending the hill in the background. Vanendert, Dumoulin and Fedrigo are between Group Betancur and the peloton with a minute to each.
Alas, it’s a futile dream to cherish and the peloton draws closer again as Quintana and Hesjedal possibly don’t like it that Gerrans, who sat up for the last 10k, took away their bonus seconds and refuse to work now. As a reaction to that, the lead decreases to a minute with Vanmarcke chasing behind.
Kelderman sees his chance to close the gap by his own and attacks. A true tail of riders is on his wheel though, and no favourites included that could possibly help him big time.
It’s a race of favourites now as Hesjedal and Quintana are back in working-mood and Nibali joined Kelderman. Almost instantly Hesjedal and Quintana’s increased work rate shows itself in a increasing lead. At the same time the duo back there, Nibali and Kelderman, struggles as they still have to find common ground.
Nibali dropped Kelderman and is now into a solo-chase effort. Things look good and he made up ground quickly, however shortyl before he reaches the four riders upfront, he begins to weaken. The lead of Group Betancur increases up to 2 minutes again. It’s a hilly course, so you can’t take any time gain for granted but things are looking good for them. When will SKY react? Only Katusha and Saxo, of all teams, are chasing.
And then Nibali joins, with 10 kilometers left. The lead is still solid, so maybe the guys will now start to think about the stage win?
Evans (BMC) tries to escape from the peloton. He’s looking strong and Kiserlovski (RTL) and Hanzen(!) (SKY) are joining him.
Evans is doing a fantastic run here and makes a solo that draws him real close. Is he preparing for tomorrow's Time Trial already? Kiserlovski behind him is chasing with Hanzen on his wheel. So Evans will be likely catched by the two of them, but the peloton, it’s about a minute down now.
The sprint is starting for the group. Likely favourite is Gerrans, but how much power does he have left? Quintana and Hesjedal likely spent the most time in the lead, while Nibali has put on quite a solo-run and it’s unsure if he has recovered yet. This win has Betancur written all over it.
It’s a stage win for Betancur and in what a fashion. There’s no denying him this victory. Gerrans comes in third ahead of Hesjedal, who also takes third in General Classification now. Quintana hasn’t gained a lot of time today for a potential Top 10 result but he has shown that he is now a wildcard, ready for anything. Like breakaway efforts from 50 kilometers out. He also gets rewarded the KoM jersey at the end of the day, maybe this optional goal has become a main target now?
Evans and Kiserlovski gained no time onto the peloton unfortunately for them, but Hanzen clearly outsprinted them. They have definitely hoped for more than just being the leader of the bunch but it’s a good sign of will.
With the Time Trial as Stage 8 it will be interesting to see how the GC favourites have recovered from today's stage. Evans and Kiserlovski did a good run towards the end, while Nibali clearly got nervous in doing his solo-chase for quite some time. Betancur, Hesjedal and Quintana have spent a solid day's work in the break upfront, but they have still looked reasonably sharp.
@Jesleyh: Yes, Brouwer injury seems likely. Don't know where he got it, but this should have been a stage he'd contest in. However, Hanzen's 5th place is more based upon his GC placing rather than him being a sprinter I think?
@Cycleman123: Hehe. I'm so predictable. Nothing like a nice round of PCM early in the morning paired with a cup of tea and horrible weather outside
Yes, Gerrans should have won under normal circumstances, but the guy was on his last legs most of the time during his ride. I don't think he that much left to give honestly.
By the way, Quintana showed really today how to come back. Meanwhile, Uran has been dropped and given all up already. Edited by Shonak on 19-04-2014 08:04
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Dunno, I guess so. Albasini is active and shows some good attacking so far. If he falls out of GT contention, it's possible he will get back time through a breakaway attempt in one of the mountain stages.
With Gerrans... hm, the longer Gerrans keeps himself within the Top 15 the more likely he's stays there (due to the AI) since he will be attacking and trying to make up time anywhere. There wern't any real mountain stages yet and it's highly likely that Gerrans will lose big time there. Either way, once Gerrans falls out of that circle of contenders, he's out for sure.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Pelli 10th, Calzone 15th and Reda 16th. Strong from multiple rders. Pellizotti needs to attack a bit moreand gain some time. However, I think a Top 10 is more than possible for him.
Kreuziger showing signs of worrying inactivity there... needs to be a bit more alert to the attacks on the mountain stages.
That said, it seems that the favourites are particularly active at the moment, so perhaps waiting until the mountains is a better idea after all.
First Week Wrap Up A new type of sprinter, Colombian Crashes & Bardiani on attack
The first week of the Giro d’Italia has been raced and the first Grand Tour of the year has certainly provided quite some fuss and excitement as much as it stirred up discussions. We saw the dominance of the hilly sprinter, crashes, failed breakaways and five times a leader-change in the first five days.
The Giro started in Napoli and on the circuit race along the sea coast, some signs of the future days were to be spotted. Bardiani attacking, Orica GreenEdge doing lots of work and Omega Pharma’s team surrounding Mark Cavendish surprisingly quiet. With the stage win of Matthew Goss, the Giro had his first man in the Maglia Rosa. Four more were to come.
The Australian lost his jersey on the next day to Adrien Hanzen, the first EPIC rider to achieve such a feat in a Grand Tour. Thanks to Team SKY’s team time trial victory, Porte and Uran were placed considerably well. Hanzen #Shindigs was only a mere second ahead of up-and-coming dutch sprinter Willem Brouwer from Team Belkin.
Adrien Hanzen: First EPIC rider in the Maglia Rosa.
This mere second as the last stepping stone was easily pushed away when Brouwer won the hilly stage to Marina di Ascea. In an intense finish, where Simon Gerrans was caught only in the last kilometer, Brouwer prevailed. It was also the first time that Mark Cavendish has shown his face on the podium of this year’s Giro d’Italia.
Belkin led then the peloton into stage 4, the first real test for GT contenders, and some of them quite disappointend. The Shark of Messina, Vincenzo Nibali (AST), could celebrate a solo-victory, when some of the more illustrious riders such as Quintana (MOV), Evans (BMC) and Basso (CAN) lost up to two minutes onto him. A group containing Porte and Uran (both SKY), Kreuziger (TST), Kiserlovski (RTL), Hesjedal (GRS), Betancur (ALM) and Pellizotti (AND) kept their time loss in check and put themselves into a great position.
On stage 5, it was proven that the fight for pink was taken out on all sorts of terrain. It was considered a perfect finish for riders such as Hanzen, Brouwer and Bennati, but the favourites kicked their game up a notch and Betancur stole away pink from Nibali’s shoulders by taking some seconds out of all riders and claiming his first stage win.
Drama wherever you look.
Much controversy was surrounding Mark Cavendish at that point, because the Omega Pharma manager was angry with The Manx Missile’s performances thus far and even called him openly a moron. Surely, Cavendish doesn’t need to prove anything to anybody but his sprint on stage 6 was a spectacular answer to all doubters and jesters. Still, Cavendish’s return to winning ways wasn’t the most talked about event that day: Giro favourite Nairo Quintana crashed, and his face of fighting agony in order to get back to the peloton became quickly one of the most hunting images of the Giro. Had it not been for the crash of Rigoberto Uran (SKY), he probably would have even made it back into the peloton.
However, despite the crash, Quintana was eager to show that he was on form. On stage 7, a rather hilly parcour, he attacked from early out. Easily 50 kilometers. He got joined by Hesjedal, Gerrans and Betancur, and together they set out to make a supposed calm day in a hot Sunday. In the peloton there was tactical confusion, and many riders tried to bridge the gap on their own. Only Vincenzo Nibali succeeded and thus kept himself close to the Maglia Rosa, while Richie Porte and Roman Kreuziger lost once again time.
Currently the man at the top: Carlos Betancur.
Tops: Carlos Betancur – Snatching two stages wins and the Maglia Rosa, the Colombian is certainly performing, while his countrymen are behind expectations. With the Time Trial tomorrow, it’s unlikely he will stay in Maglia Rosa, but who’s not to say that the Colombians spell in pink may continue at some later point? Orica GreenEdge – Hardly any team has been so active and has done so much so far. Their just reward was received already on stage 1 and since then they have been collecting numerous podium finishes and Top 10 results. Not bad for a team, that many doubted before. Bardiani – The many faces of the breakaway attempts so far. First weeks are not the stuff for breakaways wins, but Bardiani showed an impressive resilience in trying it over and over again. Each one of their riders is ready to pick up the torch, where they left off. Adrien Hanzen – Although the Briton has not won a stage yet, his consistency turns him quickly into a Jack of all Trades and a dark horse even for hilly finishes. The stage win should be merely a matter of time now.
Flops: Tactical confusion – it’s one thing to lose the Giro because of bad luck, worse legs or other unfortunate circumstances, but it truly hurts when you could have done so much against it. After stage 3 many riders have already lost considerably amounts of time. That may be good for some teams, but it's unlucky for the overall excitement and thrill of the Giro. Foreshadowing of Nibali’s dominance – Although the stages were intense and apparently no rider is safe, Vincenzo Nibali is arguably the biggest winner of the first week. His biggest rivals, Quintana and – to a lesser extent – Porte, are already out of podium ranks and will probably race for a good result. Meanwhile his closest contenders Hesjedal and Betancur won’t hold up with Nibali in the high mountains. The stage is all set for Nibali’s first Giro triumph.
Outlook:
Next up will be the Time Trial and it’s the long flat one. With Cancellara hoping to snatch the longed stage win for Radioshack, the General Classification is likely to see its first major overhaul – finally some may say. We can hope for more aggressive and also defensive riding in the coming days then. Eventually the first mountain stages will be up for grabs, however there are also plenty of chances for sprinters to score points for their ranking
What are your tops and flops, any favourite part or stage of week 1? Or do you wait for the next two weeks for the racing to really begin and your riders to shine?
Here's hoping for a new start in Week 2 for him.
Lovely work from Gerrans, but he really should've won in the sprint.
