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″/]
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View Comments
@LA Dave
That's what I'm saying. There is nothing to say that what you are watching ISN'T ALREADY great and clean racing. Your doubt is hypothetical.
The only way for you to enjoy, is to suspend your doubt, because it may very well be unfounded! If you can't do that, then your enjoyment is doomed.
@ped
This picture has Rule #10 written all over it.
Just mentioned in the commentary. How good is this gonna be?
@ped
Holy smokes ...even his book title follows rule V.
Speaking of rule V - this guy just showed a fair amount of it riding his wheelchair up di laverado:
@Beers
Innocent until proven guilty doesn't mean people can't have doubts - otherwise how would Armstrong ever have been found out. People like Betsey Andreu were prepared to point fingers and others like Walsh and Kimmage were prepared to voice doubts. If Innocent Until Proven Guilty means putting your fingers in your ears and going La La La then it just reinforces the code of omerta, which we know was how doping thrived for years.
It doesn't mean that every result and every stage leaves a sour taste, but it does mean not being oblivious to the fact that an extraordinary result from a rider in a team with strong doping associations is probably something to have a reasonable doubt over.
Don't forget that even the legal concept of innocence leaves room for doubt. If it meant behaving as if everything was OK then police would never investigate or the press would never ask questions. The question is whether a case has been proven beyond reasonable doubt, not beyond all doubt - a jury might well believe the defendant probably committed a crime but find them not guilty because there is a reasonable doubt.
Movistar making a play another stage victory..what a great Giro for them so far.
There goes Nibbles!
Uran has a gap on Cadel...Come on Rigo, 12 seconds and you can help me get at least a few points out of my VSP!
At least Capecch has shown some life. unfortunately too little too late for my vsp.