I wouldn't say Goss has had a bad season. He only raced Qatar where he picked up 2nd in the GC, a stage win, and a podium on every other road stage against Kittel, Cav & co.
Consternation at the start of the 2013 Giro d'Italia, as IAM was not allowed to start pending an investigation. The rest of the week was very interesting though, reporter Shonak with the overview of week 1:
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?
The Giro continued in week 2. The winner is still unknown, but the time trial and mountain stages did eliminate some potential candidates. And for the first time the breakaways got some room. Reporter Shonak with the overview of week 2:
Giro d’Italia Second Week Wrap Up
Basque Breakaways, the two sides of Quintana and Italian frustration
After a troublesome first week, the Giro hoped to be the cause of further, positive excitement for its viewers and riders. How much things can change in merely some days, is shown by the fact of the reactivation of Team Euskaltel – Euskadi and the highlighting performances by Nairo Quintana and Richie Porte. Nibali took over Maglia Rosa in the Time Trial and hasn’t lost it since.
With the Time Trial from Gabice to Saltara, many GT contenders had to ride a 54 kilometer long parcour that saw their ambitions diminished. Nairo Quintana lost further time, just like race leader Carlos Betancur. Vincenzo Nibali rode into the leader’s jersey, but it came maybe a bit surprising that he finished behind riders such as Kreuziger and Porte. The stage was won by none other than Fabian Cancellara, whose team Radioshack is aiming for a second stage win to fulfill their mid-season goals here at the Giro d’Italia.
On the next day, after the long, demanding Time Trial, the signs stood well for a potential breakaway win. In the rainy scene of Firenze, Simon Geschke claimed the win against his fellow breakaway companions by attacking late and having the strongest legs. Surprisingly, a similar stage win was accomplished by him merely weeks ago at the Tirreno – Adriatico, where he too won a stage out of the breakaway – in the rain. He certainly likes racing here and under such weather. People supposed that the GC contenders would take it lighty today, but Quintana and Hesjedal did some excellent, attacking racing alongside Betancur. Only Nibali himself managed to get across to them; he paid a heavy price for it though.
The mountain stage upAltopiano del Montasio then, was the first true terrain for climbers and GC contenders. No more hilly breakaway stuff, but the pure class of climbing. This was meant to be the scene to confirm Nibali’s domination, but it came differently, when Nairo Quintana performed a great solo-run up the mountain, and beat Nibali by over a minute. Betancur, able to hang on for surprisingly long onto the Shark’s wheel, came in third and confirmed his podium aspirations. Meanwhile, Cadel Evans finally had found some great legs at last and beat guys like Kreuziger and Porte on the way up the mountain. He rode a persistent race at his own rhythm instead of following energy-wasting attacks. The virtues of experience.
Always one man in the breakaway: Euskaltel - Euskadi
Some may have hoped for similar performances on the next day from their riders, however the ride up Vajont didn’t prove enough challenging to make a true selection, albeit there were time gaps recorded. The win went to Gorka Verdugo, his first professional win in his career. A true reason to celebrate for Euskaltel – Euskadi after an abysmal first week.
The next two stages were then meant to be a bit for both potential breakaway wins as much as for hilly sprinter-puncheurs. Eventually, the breakaway escapes prevailed. By a narrowly margin, Jakob Rathe took home the win out of the break ahead of Matthew Goss. It was a bit clearer the next day, where Eros Capecchi won the stage for Movistar. However, they didn’t had much to celebrate, since Nairo Quintana had a bad day and couldn’t keep with the ensuing attacks of GC contenders and lost precious time in the fight for overall – once again. It seems the young Colombian can only win time or lose time, but never finish with the pack.
Truly Giro-esque
The great highlight of Giro d’Italia came on day 14, where the rather short, 155 kilometer long stage from Cervere to Jafferau saw not only the Giro coming close to France, but also extreme weather conditions and myriads of suffering faces all-throughout the peloton. The climb up to Sestriere set the stage with its snowflakes, fog and rain, and the Giro truly became the Giro there. However, the real decider was of course the ultimate climb up Monte Jafferau. Richie Porte profited from some smart tactics, in where Rigoberto Uran finally recovered from his crash and was featured in the breakaway. Together they rode clear and Porte took a great victory for the team. Quintana couldn’t drop the other contenders but moved back into the Top 10, of which Franco Pellizotti fell out after a brave downhill-attack alongside Nibali in Sestriere.
Pros:
180° turnaround– Teams like Vacansoleil and Euskaltel – Euskadi have truly turned around their performances after a weak first week. Their constant motivation to have riders featured in the breakaway caused some great racing. Vacansoleil holds currently the Maglia Azzura as a reward and achieved Podium places. Euskaltel – Euskadi got their hoped stage win and had riders featured in every breakaway of the week! This should surely motivate other teams too.
General classification – Nibali has a clear lead and going into third week, he is the prime contender for the overall win, however the General classification has been much more interesting than people gave it credit after the first week. There has been throughout week 2 much talk about Nairo Quintana and if he could come back. His performance up to the Altopiano del Montasio made even rival teams cheer for him. But it’s not only Quintana. The surprising strong riding in the mountains by Betancur sees the Colombian at 2nd place, while Richie Porte made a clear stand for his goal of victory by performing incredibly well up to the Monte Jafferau.
Oldies but Goldies? – It is hard to rate the performances of riders such as Evans, Basso, Scarponi and Zubeldia. While most of them received much heat from the public and their managers after the first week, they did improve in the tougher mountain stages. They surely lack the acceleration of their earlier days, but give them a mountain they can grind their teeth on and odds are, they will prevail. Evans currently holds 6th place, while Scarponi moved finally into Top 10 contention. It's certainly not all shiny and great for the old phalanx, but the form curve is showing up and if they keep it up, week 3 might just be the week where they can finally impress.
Cons:
Quo vadis, Italian teams? – Androni, Bardiani, Lampre and Cannondale, those are the Italian teams but neither of them has so far caused much reason to celebrate. Zero stage wins is a terrifying balance for the Italian teams after two weeks. And except for Bardiani, you can’t say that any of the other teams have done much racing. In fact, Lampre – Merida have been mostly featured in the background, where Scarponi at least improves day upon day in the GC. Their strong squad consisting of Scarponi, Cunego and Niemiec should have shown far more though. It’s even worse for Cannondale, who basically only have Basso as a frequent visitor and shadow in the cameras and that’s mostly thanks to his reputation, not so much because of his riding. The quality is certainly here though in Italy, and Nibali and Capecchi have been so far the main reasons for the tivosi to cheer about. Even much talked future superstar Calzone has so far failed to perform on an outstanding-level against the better competition.
No room for EPIC – The riders of the first week were certainly our very own EPIC riders, however it all has changed in week 2. The weaknesses of them became apparent and none of them even came the slightest to performing on a decent level. Maybe Cristano de las Campos was the closest. He nearly would have got a stage win but he fell in the finale kilometers of the race and thus stood no more chance to catch up to this fellow breakaway companions. The surrounding discussion now comes into new light, as EPIC riders are still too young to impress on this kind of level, maybe this is due to their inexperienced riding and missing recovery ability.
Outlook:
The peloton has for the first time glanced at the current Giro's unforgiving beauty this week and there's much more to come. Week 1 was for the sprinters, week 2 for the breakaways. Week 3 will be all for the Maglia Rosa. It's a pink week with the fight for overall glizzing at every corner and we hope that the racing fulfilles the promise it gives to us. It will start at the foot of the Galibier and end in Tre Cime. The sufferfeast has just begun.
Vincenzo Nibali, Carlos Betancur and Richie Porte are the prime contenders for the podium. However Ryder Hesjedal and Roman Kreuziger have performed very consistent so far. Robert Kiserlovski holds 6th, with quiet some gap onto the Kreuziger, but Top 5 is still possible. Cadel Evans is coming back one step at a time, but also taking a few steps backwards now and then. And of course, there's always Quintana, always ready to throw in that attack to cause some madness along the way.
And finaly the 3rd part of this trilogy, again I give the floor to Shonak for this masterpiece.
EPIC Giro d’Italia 2013
The last week has been raced and every kilometer is behind us, every action is taken: But not every word is yet spoken. Note that this is only a bonus, something like a post-race reportage. There is no new wisdom found here, it's only for fun.
Parts included: Week 3 Summary, Analysis of Classification and some other factors, list of Classifications & list of Stages & Stage Winners, Team Ratings (one or two senteces about each team) and an opinion of various team managers. Last but not least, I collected some rage quotes during the Giro from you guys.
Week 3 Summary
The third week started with a breakaway and the crossing over to France. Out of the group, Robert Gesink proved to be the strongest and climbed ahead of the GT contenders to the top of Col du Galibier. With Nibali, Porte, Quintana and Betancur all arriving at the same time, we had a clear confirmation early on that things weren’t likely to change, compared to the previous two weeks.
Bardiani Valvole hasnn’t change either and they continued to be very active, and their attacking attitude finally led to their first stage win in form of Enrico Battaghlin. In the hilly stage to Ivrea, he distanced Cancellara and his other fellow breakawayees. With a time gain of over 40 seconds onto Betancur and even more onto other riders, Vincenzo Nibali finally ended all speculation about the overall triumph of the Giro d’Italia.
A breakaway win also came on the next day in form of Pierrick Fedrigo. The french rider from the rather anonymous Team FDJ.fr has done his manager proud by cleverly snatching the wheel of the impatiently ever-attacking Gorka Izagirre and sprinted clear and confidently to the stage win. The GT contenders hadn’t been very active due to the next day’s Mountain Time Trial, however Nairo Quintana lost once again time.
The young Colombian took revenge onto the peloton by destroying everybody in the Mountain Time Trial and claiming his second stage win. Nibali was the only one close with 7 seconds behind. For Quintana, this was the last call for his spectacular hunt for a better placing. He was ranked 6th afterwards, still 3 minutes behind Ryder Hesjedal and two behind Kreuziger.
Quintana’s chase continued up Val Martello. The stage was won by Stefano Pirazzi, taking the second one for Bardiani Valvole. Over 9 minutes later, the first favourite finally arrived on the top of the climb and it was Quintana, who had distanced Nibali and Zubeldia by a small margin. He took more time onto Hesjedal and Kreuziger though, and also Michele Scarponi finally steered clear for a solid 7th overall result by crucially distancing Kiservloski and Evans.
The road up to Tre Cime di Lavaredo saw then the big clash once and for all. Several decisions for the Top 10 and sponsor goals were pushed onto this day. Hesjedal on 4th, Quintana 5th, Kreuziger 6th – they all could switch their places as they were within a minute. Also there was a duel for the tenth spot between Kelderman and Pellizotti, which was clearly decided by a brave early attack by Pellizotti. This move exploded the race and with Nibali and Quintana up the road, the rest of the favourites were fighting for the remaining crumbs. Betancur completely lost ground for the first time, his only really weak day in 3 weeks. He was helped over the finish by Scarponi. Kreuziger was left on the chasing side of things throughout the day but took things in his own hand eventually. His own reward was the 5th place. Meanwhile, Hesjedal lost crucial time. Too much. After being in the Top 5 almost all the time, today saw him crack. The stage win went to the Shark of Messina in a duel against Quintana.
On the last day, stage 21 to Brescia, Johnny Hoogerland, one of the most active riders throughout the past 3 weeks, took his reward by winning the stage narrowly ahead of the peloton. His companions from the breakaway got swallowed but he stayed ahead of the bunch by a late-move. Carlos Betancur, who came in third, stole the points jersey from Vincenzo Nibali by one point on the last day.
With Nibali, Betancur and Porte, we had three man on the top step who basically allowed themselves to have the least weak days. Nibali did rarely lose time and when he did, it was in a fashion that granted him a time lead on other competitors. No matter how the stage panned out, Nibali somehow always came out on top. It was similar executed by Carlos Betancur. The Colombian took two stage wins and the points jersey but coming in 2nd, is something few would have probably believed for the young gun. Richie Porte in third was riding an anonymous race at times, but his staggering performance up Monte Jafferau saw him take the third spot with ease. Also, after missing the attacks on stage 20, he put in another great solo-ride.
While the fight for the podium was somehow basically decided after week 2, the next three ranks were hard fought out. There’s no doubt that Quintana would had podium’ed if it hadn’t be for the crash in week 1. But since the crash has happened and Quintana did lose time on some stages, like the first Time Trial or particularly two hilly stages, it was for the Colombian a fight for stage wins and remaining glory. In competition with Ryder Hesjedal and Roman Kreuziger, whom both were often times tingled together and switched their rankings throughout the race, Quintana eventually came out on top thanks to his superior climbing. Both Hesjedal and Kreuziger havn’t ridden a perfect Grand Tour, as they lost time on several accounts where it would have been easily possible to cut loses. Still, both of them also rode a very active Grand Tour at times, with Hesjedal being a danger to Nibali in the first two weeks and Kreuziger especially taking things in his own hands later on in week 3.
For the next 3 riders, Scarponi, Kiserlovski and Evans, the situation was hardly the same, but still at some point, they had all shared one fate: Their ranks were earlier than usual relatively set and secure. Scarponi was by far the best rider of the so-called “Oldie Generation”. He started off abysmal and lost big time onto his competition from the get-go, however Scarponi and his Lampre Team fought themselves back. From the background up ahead. They missed out on a stage win and generally speaking, they have invested too much into the General Classification for a mere 7th place, but Scarponi had the fans on his seat with him being a featured main-protagonist in the most important stages of the Giro. Robert Kiserlovski enjoyed a fantastic first half of the Giro but he lost ground in the second one. Certainly the Radioshack goal of two stage wins hasn’t really helped his cause since much of the energy was invested into breakaways. Though the team close, it wasn’t quite meant to be. And it wasn’t meant to be either for Cadel Evans, who may been put under the value considerably (looking at his rather low stats in comparison to other lesser riders). Evans had his moments of glory but those were so rare and just glimpses, hardly anything was gained from them except for the false hope that things might just turn around one of those days. It didn’t, and Evans finishes on a secure, but disappointing 9th place.
A whole other story was the fight for 10th. While the ranks 7 to 9 were around week 3, relatively clear, two guys fought it out until stage 20. Kelderman eventually lost against Pellizotti. Italy’s National Champion put in some brave attacks, the biggest probably on that 20th day. Quite a day to celebrate since Androni had Top 10 as a goal.
Going deeper in the rankings, there follows Basso alone in no man’s land. Some gap onto the 11th, quite a lead onto the 13th. It wasn’t the Giro meant for Ivan and Cannondale’s manager does right when he questions the overall performance of his team, who barely have shown themselves in the course of the past 3 weeks.
Following Basso, we see Trofimov, who had his great days but overall, didn’t have the quality to achieve a Top 10 here. Against a lesser competition, the plan might have had worked but for now, Katusha’s manager Vodkakov played it too easy and missed out on the Top 10 goal. Up then follows Col du Galibier winner, Robert Gesink, who repeatedly has been called an idiot by his manager. Considering the mental torture and mobbing he had to endure, he rode quite a good Giro himself.
Domenico Pozzovivo, Przemyslaw Niemiec, Giovanni Visconti and Diego Ulissi then have all been great helpers and might had a shot for a stage win now and then, but they certainly were needed by their captains. Weirdly enough, the third AG2R La Mondiale rider John Gadret ranks 19th, still ahead of Haimar Zubeldia from Radioshack, who thus claimed the last GC UCI points. It’s obvious that Radioshack profited quite a lot from the generous approach towards breakaways and thus took the team ranking.
Noticeable riders: Rafal Majka came in 21 after an awful first week, Rigoberto Uran recovered from his crash and climbed onto a 37th rank Evegeny Shalunov is the best ranked EPIC rider in the GC at 29th.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
-Vincenzo, Vincenzo, Vincenzo! (Video)
The town square was Vincenzo’s for the taking. His excellent performance brings the joy back to the cycling-tormented Italy. The Italians had their hard-times and much enthusiasm has been lost in the last years, but Vincenzo is here to bring it back, and with his first Giro triumph, he has made a huge step towards it.
-Sprinters, sprinter… no sprinters left?
No sprinter has taken more than a stage win. All sprinters combined, they have only achieved a total of 3 stages! One for Goss, one for Brouwer, one for Cavendish. That has been it. Two times Goss missed out closely to the last breakaway riders. On other occasions, the GT contenders claimed the win or the breakaway got too far away. How can this be explained? Were the sprinter teams generally too weak to accomplish more, was the field too equal so nobody wanted to do too much work for the opposition? Are the sprinters just generally lacking form (like apparently Cavendish) or aren’t really there yet to be consistent at a Grand Tour, because they are maybe too young? Whatever the reason is, we can be sure, that the sprinter equips will want to prove their worth at le Tour.
-Attack is the best defense
Viewers certainly couldn’t complain about stages being dull. Though the high-mountains were fought out harshly, the battle started and continued especially on hilly stages. There the first decisive time gaps were recorded and eventually, those were the stages that made or broke the riders. With time gaps sometimes not recorded, it was still a bit of a gamble and there was plenty to be furious about. At the end of the day, every stage provided at least some action thanks to a very active bunch of Overall Contenders.
-Most aggressive rider of the Giro 2013: Johnny Hoogerland
There has been some tough competiton. Many riders have been featured frequently in a breakaway, but the winner has been the most consistent with stirring up the race and causing excitement. Thus, this award goes rightly to Johnny Hoogerland. The Dutch has been featured in so many breakaways, and always ended up on the losing side. He went for the King of the Mountain jersey, he went for the stage wins, he was active and willing to work… and it’s bittersweet as he took the desired stage win on the last stage. There in Brescia, he got the change to stand on the podium and enjoy his spell in the sun. There in Brescia, he took a stage win that shouldn't have been even possible.
-Most aggressive team of the Giro 2013: Euskaltel – Euskadi
It has been certainly between Bardiani Valvole and Euskaltel – Euskadi, but Bardiani had a bit of a dry spell between their very active first week and their two late stage wins. However, more impressively, Euskaltel – Euskadi attacked an outstanding total of 11 times in 12 stages. There has been one off-day for the basque team, except for that the motto was: All attack! And with the first professional win in Gorka Verdugo’s career, they might just had the right person celebrating their stage win!
On the paper, I didn’t expect too much. Sestriere seemd to be too long of a climb to truly matter and I wasn’t sure that Jafferau was enough to cause serious selection. Given, Altopiano might have been more brutal in the selection and Tre Cime more important, but stage 14 had it all. Sestriere with the fog and the snow surprised me and the Giro got really giro-esque up there for a while. I was positively surprised then when Pellizotti and Nibali attacked in the downhill from Sestriere and caused some mayhem in the fog & rain. Later on, in Jafferau it was then a true sufferfeast, with various top contender struggling and everybody just riding some on to the finish line. Also, there were some great tactics for once, for example by Team SKY who had Uran upfront and who helped later on Porte to the stage win.
Based upon a RCS jury, viewership feedback and a commentator jury, consisting all of myself, here’s a point scale from 1 to 5, 5 being the best. This is only a subjective ranking. It’s based upon the squad strength, the general team roster, the goals, the contributions during the past 3 weeks, performances and of course… other subjective stuff:
Radioshack – Leopard: Cancellara’s win was a strong individual performance, the Team Time Trial should have meant the second stage win but it wasn't enough. Strong: Kiserlovski on 8th and first in the team rankings! 4 out of 5
AG2R La Mondiale: Two stage wins, 2nd in Podium. A squad selection that could have achieved breakaway wins in case of Betancur’s failure as back-up plan. With Pozzovivo probably one the strongest helper on the squad. Additionally the point’s jersey and second in the team rankings.. Almost perfectly played by this squad. 5 out 5
SKY Procycling: Early on, the sponsor goal was basically secure already, but they also lost Uran in the first week. The Colombian recovered though just in time to help Porte to his great stage win. Also, Hanzen was a consistetn point scorer and Team SKY won the TTT. 5 out 5
Team Saxo – Tinkoff: Achieved sponsor goal but missing a stage although Bennati came close twice or three times. Kreuziger with some great support from Majka, who secured Kreuziger’s Top 5 in the last week. 4 out of 5
Lampre – Merida: Way more should have been expected of that squad of Scarponi, Cunego, Ulissi and Niemiec. Not active in breakaways, cautious in the mountains. Only Scarponi on 7th and - to some lesser extend - Niemiec have performed, but Lampre seemed to be too comfortable in their mid-region. 3 out 5
Astana: They got what they wanted and they did it great. Nibali was the champ and he had the team to support him. By all means a flawless team performance, really strong without any really weak day. 5 out 5
Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela: Pellizotti had Italy’s support and a great bang for the buck for the Italian team. The team was featured in various breakaways, but misses a stage win. Pellizotti leading out Felline and Calzone was probably one of the best AI mess-ups in the Giro. 4 out 5
Movistar Team: Three stage wins, Mountain jersey, and basically all the coverage in the world. Movistar has been at the forefront of Media attention and even other team managers pressed their thumbs for Quintana. Still, Quintana was one of the main favourites right from the start and the team hasn’t achieved its sponsor goal. 4 out 5
Belkin Pro Cycling Team: Achieved sponsor goal, two stage wins and some good media coverage. In another world, Kelderman might have had the Top 10. Bad luck with Brouwer’s weakness in week 2. 4 out 5
Euskaltel – Euskadi: First week hardly any good, but an amazing comeback. The basque showed where their strengths lay and what they can be proud for. A stage win is probably what they wanted when they went into this Grand Tour. De Las Campos may have been disappointing, but considering his weak Time Trial skills, it’s hardly surprising. 4 out 5
Katusha Team: Good active team, with both ambitions for breakaways and General Classification. Unfortuantely for them both failed. Still, some good media coverage ensures a 2 out 5.
BMC Racing Team: Evans in Top 10, but hardly that’s enough. There should have been far more possible. BMC team manager can rightly be angry with his squad. Only rider to perform were Evans and Santamorita, while Bookwalter tried at least. 2 out 5
FDJ.fr: Stage win, not much more was asked from the team manager. He got what he wanted. Team wasn’t particularly active but tried its luck sometimes. 3 out 5
Cannondale Pro Cycling: Disappointing for the manager and for Basso. It was just not enough, especially considering this was their Home Grand Tour. Hardly any breakaway action, Basso missing out on Top 10 early on and thus missing out on later media coverage. The team had potential but the riders' neglicence didn't produce anything worthwhile unfortunately. 1 out 5
Vacansoleil – DCM Pro Cycling Team: Very active team with a late consolation prize for Hoogerland. Westra and Hoogerland were featured often in breaks and snatched some much, much needed points for UCI World Tour status, which seems still out of reach for now. 3 out 5
Team Argos – Shimano: The team has achieved a stage win early on with Simon Geschke, then they kept themselves a bit more in the background. Some action from Josh Burton to be seen in the mountains but team and the rider are missing quality for a Grand Tour for now. 3 out 5
Garmin – Sharp: Hesjedal is one of the tragic figures and they closely missed the sponsor goal. But there’s a stage win and some great action from the team during the past 3 weeks. 3 out 5
Bardiani Valvole – CSF Inox: Very active team, two stage wins in the late week. Probably rescuing the Italian team’s attacking team reputation all by themselves. 5 out 5
Omega Pharma – Quick Step Cycling Team: Only one stage win for the Manx Missile, and thus he secured the sponsor goal. But that's too little and there should have been far more possible. Disappointing on all fronts otherwise, although Brambilla came close to winning the KoM jersey. Additionally they are losing the lead in the UCI Team Ranking. 3 out 5
Orica GreenEdge: Strong first week with OGE being everywhere over the place, but then faded in the continuing two weeks. However, Goss was still very active and came in close 2nd various times. Probably the strongest sprinter in the bunch at the Giro. Missed out on their goal though. 3 out 5
Lotto Belisol: They didn’t want anything from this Giro, and nothing is what they got. Though Jelle Vanendert was sometimes featured in the breakaway, the team manager will be happy to finally see an end to this Grand Tour. Surely, le Tour will go more in their favour. 1 out 5
Team manager review
Knockout, Manager of Team Movistar:
This year's Giro was marked by a better TV coverage than ever. With all stages shown in Free TV right from the start it was a brilliant way to follow the action in TV all over the world. The commentator was better than ever and the pictures were broadcasted in HD all over the world. It was a pleasure to follow it.
And the race itself was a good race, too. With several riders capable of beating themself it was a open race for the stage wins at any day. The magglia rosa went fully deserved to Nibali who was the most consistent rider. Unfortunatelly, Quintana crashed so early so that he could not prove how good he could perform if it wasnt for the crash.
This caused our team tactics to change quite a lot as Quintana had to attack way earlier than usual and with a bigger concentration on the stage wins. After this crash we can be quite happy with three stage wins and the KoM classification. But we hoped for more and are also hit hard by the ranking point allocation as the difference between 4th and 3th is 200p but the difference between 4th and 10th there isnt a difference. But we will not complain too much about that.
Favourite other riders: All shitty BMC riders for sure. Always fun to see them failing. If it is one single rider then propably Kelderman. It is always fun to see fans or manager support a rider (Jesleyh, you own me something ) ....
Favourite moment: The moment when Quintana attacked. (cant be more specific)
Pierre Neilly, DS of AG2R:
'It's been a really fantastic race for us. To get Carlos onto the podium was better than we could have expected. He rode a flawless race across the 3 weeks, and we couldn't have asked for anymore.'
'Taking the points jersey really was the icing on the cake. We were slightly disappointed that he lost it on the penultimate stage, but to come back and reclaim it is such a way, by 1 point on the final day. Truly outstanding!'
Carlos Betancur:
'Well first of all I've got to thank the team, they did a really top notch job for me these past few weeks. The fact that we've got 3 riders in the top 20 says a lot about how good this squad is.
I'm absolutely extatic for finishing on the podium. Of course I wanted to win, and I rode to win, but when you're beaten by a better rider, you've just got to be happy with where you end up. I think I'm quite fortunate to end up where I am. Nairo showed just how strong he was in the mountains, and without the bad luck he had, he probably would have been challenging for top spot. But hey, that's how cycling goes, and I've certainly benefitted from it.'
Davide Appollonio:
'It's been a really hard 3 weeks for me personally. Phoenominal for the team, but for myself, having to drag myself up those climbs alone it was very tough. There were a couple of days when I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it back in time, so I'm really glad that I've been able to finish this race. To be able to last to the end of any GT is an achievement, and I'm certainly pleased that I was able to this time'
Atlantius, Euskaltel - Euskadi:
In our evaluation we refuse to acknowledge the first week so instead I will praise our riders for their amazing attacking spirit resulting in us only missing one breakaway in the last two weeks!
The fact that it resulted in a win and several other good results makes this race an overall success for us.
De las Campos proved that he has a great GT-future by only losing 30 mins to the GC lead in the real mountains of the last two weeks, which would have made him a real contender for a top 15-20 without the bad luck of week 1.
Dippofix, Garmin-Sharp:
First of all, I'm very proud of our team here. We didn't send a top team, and still we performed. A stage win and a constant fight in the mountains are not things every team can boast of. Personally, I was very happy with Ryder. He didn't have any support, and people were already writing him off, and yet he put up a great fight to reach our goal of a Top 5, eventually falling short on stage 20 by mere seconds. Of course that's bitter, but he gave his best, put up a fight, and was narrowly beaten. I was positively surprised by Jakob Rathe, he showed great tactics getting that win from the break, producing Garmins best single moment. I was negativlely surprised by Nicklas Strömberg, who hardly did anything in the sprints. Of course we're far from transfers, but he might do good looking for a new team.
-ALL YOUR FRUSTRATION BELONGS TO US!-
Some of the ragiest posts during the past 3 weeks, right out of the team cars into our living rooms!
Spoiler
Nacho63 wrote:
Mezgec you are shocking...
brewers90 wrote:
Well, at least it can't get any worse. Please.
kubys wrote:
Cav, you moron.
brewers90 wrote:
*Insert comment about frustration and fury*
Yes, Cadel, go and get your own bottles when your lieutenant is still in the group.
mvhoogdalem wrote:
This. Basso only gets mentioned when getting his own bottles, even though Salerno is still there... No wonder only Sagan is scoring points for me.
Atlantius wrote:
After reading the stage 3 report: How the **** did all my boys end up losing more than 4 minutes after being very present near the front of the peloton on the climbs???
brewers90 wrote:
Cadel's obsession with 11th place finishes has got to be dealt with.
Atlantius wrote:
As a guy depending on break I hate the PCM AI when it makes the GC favourites go for every single bloody stage with the slightest hills
brewers90 wrote:
This race is horseshit. The old man revs up his legs, gets a clear gap and the organisers ruin his pension plan.
mvhoogdalem wrote:
Just caught up with this, but nothing to cheer about. As usual.
brewers90 wrote:
As for Cadel, more of the same from him. One step forward, two steps back all the time.
Marcovdw wrote:
Of course, Lotto dead second-a-last in the teams ranking
Cycleman123 wrote:
That stage destroyed my whole Giro...
mvhoogdalem wrote:
Basso should just crash out or something, because this is just embarrassing.
brewers90 wrote:
BMC are just pointless. Can I sack riders mid-race?
knockout wrote:
On which terrain did Quintana NOT lose time yet?
Luis Leon Sanchez wrote:
Pellizotti. Why are you not joining attacks or creating them.
20 seconds!!!!!!!! 20 fricking seconds!!!!!
Ollfardh wrote:
Nordhaug, consider your ass fired! All deciding stage to protect Wilco and you go in the attack!
Marcovdw wrote:
Ohh ffs
Ollfardh wrote:
PS, Gesink is an idiot.
Ollfardh wrote:
Seems like Gesink went back to idiot mode. The victory went to his head and he doesn't help Wilco anymore.
Ollfardh wrote:
And Gesink is only pretending to be a complete retard! We can do this!
…and ever classic:
knockout wrote:
A little bit later, Hoogerland wins the riders sprint, while Quintana arrives with some lead onto Group Nibali at the finish but gets awarded the same time. Movistar officials are...not happy about that.
These fucking motherfuckers from the new UCI. They are absolutely worthless. If that wasnt a fucking clear gap than I eat my fucking hat. It's enough now. The old UCI was already bad with all their fucking doping participation and protection but the new one is thousand time worse. The riders dont dope anymore but they just give some fucking dollars to these shitty squintwillies and they are giving fucking Nibbles the same time. It is completely surprising that fucking Harald Totschnig does not lead the point classification because of some new rule. But perhaps the Austrians are just not rich enough to pay those dumb as sausage sandwich idiots called UCI. Thisrace is fucking ended for me. No shit races I have. You can give me punishment anytime you want or ban us please. Dont want to race which ended for me.
Lastly, thanks to everyone who read this little summary piece and the others, especially if you're not active in EPIC itself. I'd like to thank of course everybody who commented and followed the EPIC Giro, and kept me motivated.
Looking forward to the other EPIC Grand Tours,
Shonak
It's that time of the year again, the National Championships. A few were raced already, but the most important ones still need to come. Here are the results so far.
As EPIC is going in to the last part of the season, we are welcoming new managers right before the start of the Tour. Race applications have just started, so if you ever though of joining, now's the time! Just follow the link in my signature to sign up.
EPIC is open to new managers and new young riders. Follow the link in my signature or send me a PM if you have questions. We are about to start the Tour de France, so now would be the perfect time to join!
The UCI announced today that Vacansoleil would not be allowed to start in this year's Vuelte a España. In a short press statement, the UCI said Vacansoleil's results this year have been atrocious, and not worthy of a World Tour team. Including Vacansoleil in the Vuelta would be insulting to the hard working Continental Tour teams.
This decision makes room for wildcards for Caja Rural, MTN-Qhubeka and NetApp-Endura to join the Vuelta. Vacansoleil currently holds the 24th place in the rankings, way below the other World Tour teams. A stage win in the Giro dItalia has been their best result this season.
MTN is looking for a temporary manager for the coming 3 weeks. This is a perfect opportunity for the interested people of EPIC and a perfect step-up for future management. If you're interested, PM Ollfardh. First come first serve!
Stromeon wrote:
Pretty strong field there... it looks like Tour will be Froome, Contador, Purito and Valverde. Fairly confident of achieving goal of top 5 here, would be rather disappointed if Roman finished outside the top 5, but strange things do happen (especially in PCM).
And I have to tip Bennati for a stage win somewhere, don't I? One like that hilly one that Cav surprisingly won irl perhaps.
Nibali is also going to Tour.
The user formerly known as 'The Schleck Fan' Gracias Alberto.
For many the highlight of the year, the 2013 Tour de France will be one to remember. No major injuries this year, meaning there will be a top field starting in Corsica. The first yellow jersey will probably be a sprinter, but with a few hills and a team time trial following, it will be hard to say who will have it after the first week. Two mountain stages follow, before we have our first rest day. Some more sprint stages and an individual time trial follow, and then one final mountain stage to the legendary Mont Ventoux before the second rest day. Needless to say that the third week will be the hardest one by far. Four mountain stages and a very hard time trial before we can finaly end in Paris.
While the 2012 route favoured time trialists, this year's edition will go to a climber. Team Sky decided to leave defending champion Bradley Wiggins home, putting their faith in Chris Froome. The main challenger will be Movistar, with both Quintana and Valverde. Saxo also sends a strong duo with Contador and Kreuziger. Nibali will do the double after his Giro win, and he still looks good enough to win.
Behind those guys; there's a wide field of top 10 candidates. Belkin has Mollema, and with the support of Ten Dam, he seems to be the best of the rest. BMC sends Van Garderen, hoping to do better then their usual 11th place. Euskaltel has Nieve, Garmin has Talansky, and Katusha sends Spilak. Lampre is going all out again With Scarponi, Cunego and Niemiec, let's hope they are watching their race days. RadioShack is going for the team classification with Horner, Schleck, Monfort and Kloden. Then there's Kwiatkowski and De Gendt, both have to do great in the time trials and limit their damage in the mountains. Then we have the French teams. AG2R had Bardet, Hinault and Peraud to try something. FDJ will be counting on Pinot. Europcar did not select Kim, but Voeckler, Rolland and Peeters will be there. Cofidis will have Coppel, but he's definitely not a top 10 contender.
Looking at the sprints, Kittel has a good train, though no Degenkolb. Greipel will be his main opponent, with Henderson as leadout. No Cavendish, so Quick Step relies on Boonen, quite a risk they're taking. FDJ will be interesting to watch as well, Bouhanni/Demare will be a dangerous duo. Cannondale comes with Sagan, not a favourite for mass sprint wins, but the green jersey can be his! Bos or Renshaw could pick up some points for Belkin, as will Farrar for Garmin, Kristoff for Katusha and Goss for Orica. A stage win will be hard for them though.
With the amount of mountains this year, the mountain jersey will most likely go to a true climber, so Froome and Quintana are in pole position again. Always watch Voeckler though.
The white jersey seems to have Quintana writen all over it again, though there's always Van Garderen, Talansky, Kwiatkowski or the young frenchies to watch out for.
) ....
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