Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spring. Now it’s the seclusion of Mount Doom of Tenerife, his coach and his watt meter his only competition. Team Sky is supporting Wig with a very strong squad, including superman, Kanstantsin Siutsou and with Cav no longer a teammate, it’s all the knights of the round table for Sir Twig.
Will the curse of the god-awful Astana kit continue to haunt non-Kazahk riders? Can Vincenzo’s Italian mojo overpower its powerful pale blue and yellow aura? Roman Kreuziger was finally able to win a big race once he shed that kit and pulled on one of Bjarne’s Saxo jerseys. Maybe it was more Bjarne and less jersey that made the difference.
Ryder gets no respect as the defending champion. His little dance at the end of Liége-Bastogne-Liége showed he is fit and ready for a fight. He can time trial, he can climb. Personally I have to back the local boy. And I always hate the overpowered, overwhelming favorite (read Team Sky here) in any race, unless that racer is Fabian Cancellara. No one can say Fabs has won a race this year surrounded with a team as strong as Sky’s. The Shack is just the Shack or a shack. Once Cancellara leaves for the Swiss “I AM” team, it’s lights out in the shack. Frandy, don’t forget to turn out ’em out when you leave.
If Cavendish wins the first day’s sprinter’s stage he will be in pink. He may be out of it after stage two, a team time trial.
But this is the Giro: crazy, unexpected, beautiful things can happen. The spinning wheels of fortuna are less predictable in Italy as they are in France in July. The betting window is now open. The complete start list is not yet available, an incomplete one is here and shall be updated soon. So sleep on your picks, wait for all the teams to make it official, unless you want to go with the obvious all Sky podium. The race begins Saturday so don’t Delgado away a Grand Tour opportunity.
[vsp_results id=”23343″/]
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
VSP PICKS:
1. Hesjedal
2. Wiggins
3. Nibali
4. Gesink
5. Henao
VSP PICKS:
1. Wiggins
2. Nibali
3. Intxausti
4. Hesjedal
5. Gesink
@frank
and talking of demented...Gesink, really?
VSP PICKS:
1. Wiggins
2. Nibbles
3. Hesjedal
4. Scarponi
5. Sanchez
Sadly Nibali to beat Wiggo. Hesjedal to be best of the rest. Scarponi leads at some point, but looses time on the TTs. Henao is sky's well placed back-up... Or thats my guess...
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibali
2. Sir Wiggo
3. Hesjedal
4. Scarponi
5. Henao
VSP PICKS:
1. Vincenzo Nibali
2. Bradley Wiggins
3. Ryder Hesjedal
4. Cadel Evans
5. Michele Scarponi
VSP PICKS:
1. Hesjedal
2. Nibali
3. Wiggins
4. Henao
5. Scarponi
Is there a prize for the hardest-to-map picks? I thought my top 3 were pretty bad, but some are positively artful
@Al__S
Yes, in the form of it not being mapped at all and you getting zero points.
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibali
2. Scarponi
3. Wiggins
4. Ryder
5. Polini
Lots can happen in 3 weeks......the ability to move riders on the rest days will be closely monitored. Now that the picks are submitted and it's Friday, let the carbo loading begin. But first, a drink.....
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibbs
2. Wiggo
3. Red Ryder
4. R. Gesinko
5. Sharponi