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The Giro!!!
Last Post 05/30/2017 07:14 AM by Cosmic Kid. 83 Replies.
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 05/02/2017 09:57 AM |
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race starts Friday....course is pretty damn tough this year. Quintana has to be the overwhelming favorite, but is he willing to dig deep and potentially sacrifice the Tour? ,
My guess is yes, since I think he knows he can't beat Froome (and certainly not on this year's course). So going hard to win the Giro gives him a big victory and a bit of a built-in excuse come July.
Unfortunately, what was looking like the THE stage race of the year has dropped to a 2 man race....Quintana and Nibali.
Stage 4 could be a real game changer if someone takes a big lead....in fact, I would think that would be a good idea for someone like Quintana. Rip off a huge ride that day, grab a lead and then follow wheels for the remainder fhe remainder of the race... |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/02/2017 11:16 AM |
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Wait the race hasn't even started and its already down to 2?!?
BTW - what's going on with Froome? He seemed patently sluggish at Romandie. Its early I know but still. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 05/02/2017 11:36 AM |
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| I'm willing to entertain other contenders...but with Aru and others out with injuries, what was once a stacked field really only has two major contenders, IMO....guys like Jungels, Kruijswijk and Dumoulin are in a (distant) second group. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/02/2017 04:12 PM |
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| Could be...but before they crown one of these two I expect major fireworks...the Giro always seems to deliver...rarely boring. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 05/02/2017 08:17 PM |
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The Giro is always explosive!
...and what's with the King of Descents contest this year?
Surely nothing bad will come of that {insert eye roll here} |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 05/02/2017 08:52 PM |
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Dale, the Giro wants to expand their fan base. They've been looking at the NHL and seeing that the fight and beer thirsty hooligans aren't flocking to Italy in May. This is the ticket.
And more seriously; I love the best of pro hockey. Got to see Bobby Orr play for my home-town team. But I never had any use for the fights. Nor do many hockey loving parents I know. They don't bring their kids to NHL games because of the crowds. If the NHL cracked down on fighting, the hooligans would go somewhere else and families would go to watch one of the greatest games there is.
Ben |
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DonnaMobile
Posts:71
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| 05/02/2017 11:32 PM |
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I suspect that the descending competition is a hoax. There's no mention of it on the official Giro site, or on the Gazzetta site, nor has there been any official press release about it (I have press accreditation so I get them all).
You can download the official race bible here: http://www.giroditalia.it/eng/news/il-garibaldi-e-on-line/
If you have a VPN subscription you can watch the live stream on the Rai (Italian network) site (it is geoblocked).
Sure, there are riders I would like to see do well (like local guys, Joe Dombrowski, TJ, and Nibali of course) but I adore all the riders and just want to take in and savor the entire dazzling spectacle: scenery, personalities, narrative, backstories, etc.
The penultimate stage is a few miles from my home, and the penultimate climb is one I know well (from Valstagna to Foza, on the Asiago Plateau). It's an austere WW1 road that is in the Giro for the first time. It's unknown outside the area so it will be fun to see what happens and what the world thinks of it. That's where I will be. |
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huckleberry
Posts:824
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| 05/03/2017 07:46 AM |
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| As usual, I'm jealous of Donna... |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 05/03/2017 07:53 AM |
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The Kamikaze Jersey has been canceled.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/giro-ditalia-cancels-best-downhill-rider-prize/
And what Huck said... |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 05/03/2017 08:33 AM |
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Posted By christopher behrens on 05/03/2017 07:46 AM
As usual, I'm jealous of Donna...
Word. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Nick A
Posts:625
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| 05/03/2017 11:13 AM |
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79. Never was a hockey fan, but I lived in Pittsburgh for five years. My wife's cousins were fans, and I went to several Penguin games. I realized that it's a LOT more interesting when you see the whole ice. But the fighting was so stupid. It's not even like, tempers flare, and they don't tamp it down. To me (granted not a trained eye), it looked more like silly theater. When you see the whole ice, you could see, "oh OK, this guy is going to go beat this other guy". My sister is a pretty level headed gal. She went to university in Canada, and was married to a Canadian for awhile. She tows the "it's part of the game" line.
Nick |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 05/03/2017 11:59 AM |
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Nick, suppose NHL hockey was played in a way that one could not male a living being a "goon". ie paid to take out the premier players of the opposition, where fights would be very detrimental to your income. (Yes, fights will still happen. Hockey is a very physical and dangerous sport. The margins between perfectly legal very hard hits and very dangerous ones small. It is the most dangerous sport of the majors inherently. (Hard ice, 60 MPH closing speeds quite possible, sticks, pucks and skates. A very solid steel pipe cage to slide into.)
But when hockey is played well and clean by the best, it is an incredible sport to watch. Fast, beautiful. The best hockey skaters are something else to watch. Seeing the best defensemen skate backwards so easily. (I mentioned Bobby Orr above. It was 20 years before I ever saw anyone skate as well - in any sport. Kurt Browning, the Canadian figure skater was up there.)
Fun side note: Hockey equipment is a blast to skate in! You can fall any which way and not get hurt. The stuff is totally goofy to see and put on, but man, does it work! And all that padding interferes with skating absolutely zero. (You well dressed pro is wearing - stockings, garters and shorts. All of them.)
Ben |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 05/03/2017 01:34 PM |
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The story of hockey is that of Sidney Crosby. Until they weed that crap out its unworthy of attention.
And yes...what Huck said. Hab is actually out in Venice now but he's peaking too early and gone by time Giro arrives. Plus it sounds like he's not going to be doing any riding...double sacrilege.
Nibali is playing it cool and downplaying his own chances
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nibali-cagey-on-his-chances-at-the-giro-ditalia/
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Red Tornado
Posts:159
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| 05/04/2017 10:00 AM |
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Personally, I would be OK with one of the 2nd tier guys pulling out a surprise win. Gotta keep a stage race interesting and the Giro usually delivers.
I agree with OC about Nibs trying to stay under the radar as much as he can and will let his riding do the talking. We'll see if that tactic works.
Big time hockey fan, also. Up through the 90's or maybe early 2000's was a rougher, "goonier" sport than it needed to be. They have cleaned it up somewhat in recent times. It's not easy to hold your temper in the heat of the game when a guy is taking (what you believe) cheap shots at you. Like Nick A's sister, I just accept it as part of the game, and as I stated earlier it's a cleaner game now than it was. How much cleaner? That's debatable, but it is cleaner.
Remember the old saying, "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out." |
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Nick A
Posts:625
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| 05/04/2017 04:21 PM |
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Giro: Well, two doping pops before it even starts!
Hockey: I once tried to skate on hockey skates, instead of your standard rental figure skates. OMG, that was HARD!
Nick |
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