Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Giro d’Italia

Thought i’d try an early post for some pre race thoughts...so i’ll Start..

https://www.cyclingstage.com/giro-2019-route/

Loving the last stage....for some of us  old timers it’s like Laurent Fignon all over again. Do we approve?..or do we like the procession and sprint?

 

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

Add new comment

261 comments

Avatar
MinardiM189 replied to Dr Winston | 4 years ago
0 likes

Dr Winston wrote:

Tough to sort this one out. Normally the sprinters have the GC points early on to add to the early stage wins...not this time though. I’m wondering wether to back load the race...anybody thinking similar?

The Giro regularly has  a TT on the first stage.

Only question I have is what will happen tomorrow, will we get a sprint. It is forecast to be wet and windy all day.

There could be a possibility of echelons late on.

Avatar
Condor Andy | 4 years ago
0 likes

Bit of a gamble, but maybe they've heard something we haven't? I can't believe they'd go against the other teams intentionally without good reason nor that they'd be missing the weather forecasts.

Avatar
Dr Winston replied to Condor Andy | 4 years ago
0 likes

Condor Andy wrote:

Bit of a gamble, but maybe they've heard something we haven't? I can't believe they'd go against the other teams intentionally without good reason nor that they'd be missing the weather forecasts.

Makes him a better pick if he loses a bit of time. He, Lopez and Nibali having to chase seconds is good news for the race in general.....not too much but just enough to bring a few more stages into play...I'd been hoping Bernal would have been in that position as well.

Avatar
MinardiM189 replied to Condor Andy | 4 years ago
0 likes

Condor Andy wrote:

Bit of a gamble, but maybe they've heard something we haven't? I can't believe they'd go against the other teams intentionally without good reason nor that they'd be missing the weather forecasts.

Perhaps they are looking at humidity. Apparently more humid air is less dense, which means that aerodynamic resistance reduces with increased humidity, humidity is forecast to increase from 40% to 60% between 17:00 and 18:00 tomorrow evening.

 

Avatar
MinardiM189 replied to MinardiM189 | 4 years ago
0 likes

Condor Andy wrote:

Bit of a gamble, but maybe they've heard something we haven't? I can't believe they'd go against the other teams intentionally without good reason nor that they'd be missing the weather forecasts.

Latest forecasts indicate that it should be dry for all the riders.

However the wind will change direction during the stage.

Earlier riders will have a tailwind on the flat section & a crosswind on the climb.

The late riders will have a crosswind on the flat section & a headwind on the climb.

 

Avatar
Sniffer | 4 years ago
0 likes

Start times for tomorrow are interesting.  All the big names up first, except Simon Yates who is last to go for MIS.  Always interesting when one team goes against the others on strategy.

Avatar
MinardiM189 replied to Sniffer | 4 years ago
0 likes

Sniffer wrote:

Start times for tomorrow are interesting.  All the big names up first, except Simon Yates who is last to go for MIS.  Always interesting when one team goes against the others on strategy.

Very odd decision from MIS.

The weather forecast is 10% chance of rain at 17:00 but 20% at 20:00. The wind also due to pick up and change direction making it a head wind on the climb later on.

A chance of thunderstorms all afternoon.

 

Avatar
Condor Andy | 4 years ago
0 likes

Formolo is always an interesting one in the Giro. He won't be allowed as much leeway as when he won his stage a few years back, but he's still looking good for  a top 10.

Sosa wasn't down for this race so his preparation won't have been ideal. It all depends what happens with Hart and Sivakov in the GC. INEOS have said this is training to ride a GT in the INEOS way. So expect them to set tempo occasinally and for Sosa to work for Hart and Sivakov.

Bob will love the TTs, and this is the GT where he performs the best. I expect him to be fighting for a couple of stages and for a top 10 in GC. Zakarin I have no idea about, he's too inconsistent.

Landa's prep hasn't been ideal either, whereas Carapaz' has. I don't expect another 4th from him, but he won't be far off. Landa will probably grow in to the race and have a really good last week. Kind of what I expect from Nibali too.

Bilbao has Izagirre and Lopez ahead in the pecking order. I don't really expect a repeat of last year's heroics, but he should have a decent race.

Hugh is probably EF's best bet for GC. The big question here is whether he can hang on the final week.

Avatar
sparco | 4 years ago
0 likes

Has anyone able to load the rider rankings, sems incomplete? Im trying to plan out my team for the next stages, the rider ranking list has helped  with this previously.

Avatar
Condor Andy replied to sparco | 4 years ago
0 likes

sparco wrote:

Has anyone able to load the rider rankings, sems incomplete? Im trying to plan out my team for the next stages, the rider ranking list has helped  with this previously.

Dave's working on it.

Avatar
Dr Winston | 4 years ago
0 likes

Who do we fancy to do well as an outsider?....

For me Formolo intrigues me, depending upon Majka going KOM or GC....also Hugh Carthy looks really strong on the climbs and appears to be in a good place in the team...and Bilbao going totally under the radar...

I can see all three challenging for top ten...

 

Avatar
MikaelLie replied to Dr Winston | 4 years ago
1 like

Dr Winston wrote:

Who do we fancy to do well as an outsider?....

For me Formolo intrigues me, depending upon Majka going KOM or GC....also Hugh Carthy looks really strong on the climbs and appears to be in a good place in the team...and Bilbao going totally under the radar...

I can see all three challenging for top ten...

 

Formolo yes I agree. He will indeed be the overall leader from Bora.

And then we have Ivan Ramiro Sosa, who can suprise big this year! But it’s the 1st GT so maybe he will loose time on some stages. But Sosa is stronger in the mountains then Hart & Sivakov.

Theres also Bob Jungels who can end higher then Zakarin, Biblbao & Izaguirre f.x..

Bob will be in the top 5 in the first 2weeks, an then he must hang on as long as possible in the CRAZY 3rd week! But I think he actualy has really good chances at being in top 7-10.

Landa & Carapaz will also both go nuts in the mountains! They will be super strong both of them, and looks stronger then Nibali in MY eyes.

The last one I will write down is, Laurens De Plus.

That young belgian is really looking super strong this year, and could might as well end in the top 10, as a super domestique for Roglic!

He will hang on as the very last 10-15 people in the mountains I think. Watch out for De Plus!

Avatar
Dr Winston replied to MikaelLie | 4 years ago
0 likes

MikaelLie wrote:

Dr Winston wrote:

Who do we fancy to do well as an outsider?....

For me Formolo intrigues me, depending upon Majka going KOM or GC....also Hugh Carthy looks really strong on the climbs and appears to be in a good place in the team...and Bilbao going totally under the radar...

I can see all three challenging for top ten...

 

Formolo yes I agree. He will indeed be the overall leader from Bora.

And then we have Ivan Ramiro Sosa, who can suprise big this year! But it’s the 1st GT so maybe he will loose time on some stages. But Sosa is stronger in the mountains then Hart & Sivakov.

Theres also Bob Jungels who can end higher then Zakarin, Biblbao & Izaguirre f.x..

Bob will be in the top 5 in the first 2weeks, an then he must hang on as long as possible in the CRAZY 3rd week! But I think he actualy has really good chances at being in top 7-10.

Landa & Carapaz will also both go nuts in the mountains! They will be super strong both of them, and looks stronger then Nibali in MY eyes.

The last one I will write down is, Laurens De Plus.

That young belgian is really looking super strong this year, and could might as well end in the top 10, as a super domestique for Roglic!

He will hang on as the very last 10-15 people in the mountains I think. Watch out for De Plus!

Sosa can definitely surprise big at some point...and this could be the point....Anybody who watched the tour of Colombia where he went toe to toe with Lopez and Quintana knows that. Sadly I suspect he may be something of a pts dodger for the game...even if he does well...Carapaz, like Sosa, will also do well...but just like Sosa may not get as many pts for us as many others....Nibali on the other hand may find himself having to compete in stages further down from the mountains to nick seconds back from the TT’s...

Avatar
Dr Winston | 4 years ago
0 likes

EFEducation have finally released their team. Who is going for GC ?....Hugh Carthy ?

Avatar
MikaelLie replied to Dr Winston | 4 years ago
0 likes

Dr Winston wrote:

EFEducation have finally released their team. Who is going for GC ?....Hugh Carthy ?

 

how many transfers do I’ve got in the standard game?

only 8 transfers in the hole giro?

I’ve been making some changes in my team and now it says I’ve only got 2 transfers left..

I thought that you could make free transfers until the deadline on saturday..?

Avatar
MinardiM189 replied to MikaelLie | 4 years ago
0 likes

MikaelLie wrote:

how many transfers do I’ve got in the standard game?

only 8 transfers in the hole giro?

I’ve been making some changes in my team and now it says I’ve only got 2 transfers left..

I thought that you could make free transfers until the deadline on saturday..?

You have 45 total transfers for the standard game.

Before the race start transfers are UNLIMITED

Avatar
Condor Andy | 4 years ago
0 likes

There's not much left for the sprinters after stage 11. Stage 18 will probably be a sprint, but people like Viviani and Gaviria are planning on doing the Tour as well. So there's not much point in suffering along unless they really want the points jersey.

Good point Tony, I was wondering if that was categorised and I couldn't spot it.

Yeah PCS have provided more climb profiles for things like uphill uncategorised finishes. Just some extra information.

Avatar
Dr Winston replied to Condor Andy | 4 years ago
0 likes

Condor Andy wrote:

There's not much left for the sprinters after stage 11. Stage 18 will probably be a sprint, but people like Viviani and Gaviria are planning on doing the Tour as well. So there's not much point in suffering along unless they really want the points jersey.

Good point Tony, I was wondering if that was categorised and I couldn't spot it.

Yeah PCS have provided more climb profiles for things like uphill uncategorised finishes. Just some extra information.

Have you looked at the stages?....an awful lot of them only have KOM pts towards the end of the stages for th first half of the race. Seems quite odd really....they’re so far down that most breaks will get swallowed up before them. Any thoughts?

Avatar
MinardiM189 replied to Dr Winston | 4 years ago
0 likes

Dr Winston wrote:

Have you looked at the stages?....an awful lot of them only have KOM pts towards the end of the stages for th first half of the race. Seems quite odd really....they’re so far down that most breaks will get swallowed up before them. Any thoughts?

It isn't unusual for more climbs to be situated near the end of stages.

Breaks only won 2 stages last year but I think we will see more this year particulalry if a GC rider drops out of contention early.

I think TDG will struggle to win the KoM in Italy and will possibly have to make do with a stage win.

Late attacks are often more successful in the Giro and some of the finishes this year look ideal for a late attack.

Avatar
Dr Winston replied to MinardiM189 | 4 years ago
0 likes

MinardiM189 wrote:

Dr Winston wrote:

Have you looked at the stages?....an awful lot of them only have KOM pts towards the end of the stages for th first half of the race. Seems quite odd really....they’re so far down that most breaks will get swallowed up before them. Any thoughts?

It isn't unusual for more climbs to be situated near the end of stages.

Breaks only won 2 stages last year but I think we will see more this year particulalry if a GC rider drops out of contention early.

I think TDG will struggle to win the KoM in Italy and will possibly have to make do with a stage win.

Late attacks are often more successful in the Giro and some of the finishes this year look ideal for a late attack.

Aye. ...exactly why I asked. Looks like he’d have to spend an awful lot of energy for not many points in the first half of the race.

Avatar
tony kappler | 4 years ago
0 likes

Andy,

Stage 1 finish is a cat 3 climb. Should you therefore score the mountains jersey for stage 1?

Avatar
Dr Winston replied to tony kappler | 4 years ago
0 likes

tony kappler wrote:

Andy,

Stage 1 finish is a cat 3 climb. Should you therefore score the mountains jersey for stage 1?

Have you also noticed that the stage information on PCS are showing fewer categorised climbs than they’re showing at the foot of each page...Stage 7 for sample is showing only one categorised climb on the profile but three at the foot of the page.

Any idea what’s going on with that?

Avatar
MikaelLie replied to Dr Winston | 4 years ago
0 likes

Dr Winston wrote:

just want to know when you guys are taking Team Ineos “Ivan Ramiro Sosa” in the fantasy game?

I can’t find him In the giro fantasy games..?

tony kappler wrote:

Andy,

Stage 1 finish is a cat 3 climb. Should you therefore score the mountains jersey for stage 1?

Have you also noticed that the stage information on PCS are showing fewer categorised climbs than they’re showing at the foot of each page...Stage 7 for sample is showing only one categorised climb on the profile but three at the foot of the page.

Any idea what’s going on with that?

Avatar
Dr Winston replied to MikaelLie | 4 years ago
0 likes

MikaelLie wrote:

Dr Winston wrote:

just want to know when you guys are taking Team Ineos “Ivan Ramiro Sosa” in the fantasy game?

I can’t find him In the giro fantasy games..?

tony kappler wrote:

Andy,

Stage 1 finish is a cat 3 climb. Should you therefore score the mountains jersey for stage 1?

Have you also noticed that the stage information on PCS are showing fewer categorised climbs than they’re showing at the foot of each page...Stage 7 for sample is showing only one categorised climb on the profile but three at the foot of the page.

Any idea what’s going on with that?

I think you made a bit of a mess of that post MikaelLie....ha....

Not to worry....Go on the transfer page and tick the little box....that will bring all riders up including those not listed by Andy....pick him from there. Andy does changes right up to the deadline because things change sometimes. ..in fact quite often.

Avatar
MikaelLie replied to Dr Winston | 4 years ago
0 likes

How

Dr Winston wrote:

MikaelLie wrote:

Dr Winston wrote:

just want to know when you guys are taking Team Ineos “Ivan Ramiro Sosa” in the fantasy game?

I can’t find him In the giro fantasy games..?

tony kappler wrote:

Andy,

Stage 1 finish is a cat 3 climb. Should you therefore score the mountains jersey for stage 1?

Have you also noticed that the stage information on PCS are showing fewer categorised climbs than they’re showing at the foot of each page...Stage 7 for sample is showing only one categorised climb on the profile but three at the foot of the page.

Any idea what’s going on with that?

I think you made a bit of a mess of that post MikaelLie....ha....

Not to worry....Go on the transfer page and tick the little box....that will bring all riders up including those not listed by Andy....pick him from there. Andy does changes right up to the deadline because things change sometimes. ..in fact quite often.

how many transfers do I’ve got in the standard game?

only 8 transfers in the hole giro?

I’ve been making some changes in my team and now it says I’ve only got 2 transfers left!!!

Shouldn’t you supose to have FREE transfers at least until the game starts at saturday??

It looks strange to me...

Avatar
Dr Winston | 4 years ago
0 likes

Just what sort of a race is this that they’ve dreamed up. A tour of two halves is about right.

Does anybody else think most of the sprinters could be leaving at the end of stage 12?...not much for them after that apart from an awful lot of effort to get to one flat stage.

Avatar
archieboy | 4 years ago
0 likes

Ineos sending a fracking good schoolboy team.

 

Dunbar ftw..

Avatar
Condor Andy | 4 years ago
0 likes

Yep, no transfers. And I don't know what you're talking about, of course he's in the game, I didn't forget to mark that checkbox......*sips tea as if nothing was awry. 

Avatar
Condor Andy | 4 years ago
0 likes

Comp is open!

Avatar
Dr Winston replied to Condor Andy | 4 years ago
0 likes

Condor Andy wrote:

Comp is open!

Yeah....Have you got the right Izagirre in Andy?...

Pages

Latest Comments