|
Giro d'Italia Discussion
|
| Fabianski |
Posted on 19-12-2023 21:06
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5234
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
|
Looks like I completely misjudged the profile, thinking it would be a stage for the puncheurs 
Well, Stüssi knew it better, and he was in the right place when it mattered. Losing those couple of seconds to the best isn't surprising by any means - in the end it's a job very well done by him to not lose more time on a hilly rated stage.
On the other hand, Schmid was rather disappointing, given that Pidcock finished much higher up - but then Pidcock is Pidcock, no-one can be compared to that monster  Losing more time than expected isn't that bad for Mauro, as I'm hoping to see him in breakaways anyway.
Thanks for the report, and congrats to the race favourites to deliver early on - especially Dombrowski of course!
|
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 06-12-2025 23:02
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| jandal7 |
Posted on 19-12-2023 21:21
|
World Champion
Posts: 11621
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1120.00
|
Missed opportunity for a stage win, given Bennett usually can take it to the PT opposition on those finishes, but when it becomes the first GC rattling third on the same time as the winner and gaining time on everyone below is a pretty good way to eliminate the prologue losses. Blockhaus will be a big test of how he can go in the real mountains and then we'll go tumbling back down on Stage 8 - but all road stages (plus the Etna MTT) from then on.
Horrendous effort from Fouche in terms of his U25 ambitions but seeing Pidcock take the jersey even just for a day is pretty neat.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[PT]  Xero Racing
5x  x5
1x  x1
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
| |
|
|
| whitejersey |
Posted on 19-12-2023 22:36
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3221
Joined: 07-08-2011
PCM$: 300.00
|
Nice to see Batti chase the KoM for a bit there, here's hoping he manages get it for a few days!
|
| |
|
|
| tsmoha |
Posted on 19-12-2023 22:51
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11786
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Nice result for Haig, didn't see that coming in that stage, but obviously good to see him attacking and getting a good GC position early into the race. Dombrowski already proving that he's the top favorite, which is fine ofc. If Haig can limit the damage in the "real" mountains, maybe he will get a shot at pink in the TT though?
|
| |
|
|
| redordead |
Posted on 20-12-2023 06:45
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5511
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
|
That's more like it. Bouchard with a nice effort in the breakaway to finish 7th on the stage. This is what he is best at. Hopefully Habtemichael kicks into gear also as there is no benefit to him riding passive for a top 30 GC.
Dombrowski is gonna take the points jersey as well by the end?
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
|
| |
|
|
| Marcovdw |
Posted on 20-12-2023 07:20
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7773
Joined: 04-07-2012
PCM$: 20845.00
|
Well done Vosekalns! Top 10 from the break and the first signs of a KoM assault. Looking forward to what the next mountain stages have in store for him.
|
| |
|
|
| Croatia14 |
Posted on 20-12-2023 08:10
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 9137
Joined: 13-03-2013
PCM$: 2100.00
|
What a shame for Bouchard  great ride by Dombo though!
|
| |
|
|
| tsmoha |
Posted on 20-12-2023 09:31
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11786
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Quite a good ride from Haig again, who missed that early attack from Dombrowski, but kept going/chasing to finish 2nd yet again. Looked like Dombrowski would fly away, so I'm okay with the numbers eventually. Obviously not ideal to lose more seconds though and I'm not too confident, that Haig will be able to close that gap in the TT now. Surely would need a stellar performance to slip into pink, which would be valuable points ofc..
|
| |
|
|
| ember |
Posted on 20-12-2023 09:53
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7058
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 900.00
|
Thank you for the report, Abhi!
Great to see us put three riders in the breakaway! Very encouraging for the rest of the race, that we went aggressive immediately in the mountains. Hoping we can continue when we get to the mountains again.
Amezawa, though, I must admit I hoped for more from. Hopefully his energy stats will make him more of a contender for a stage top 5/10 when the favourites have a go at it in the third week/later in the race.
Very good win by Dombrowski again! Double congratulations, DD  Though, Haig must be the favourite to wear pink after the TT as it stands right now, which will hopefully make for an even bigger fight for pink as we move on. |
| |
|
|
| cunego59 |
Posted on 20-12-2023 12:31
|
Team Manager
Posts: 6546
Joined: 14-09-2008
PCM$: 1290.00
|
Great to see Galta with such a strong performance! I've always enjoyed reporting on his breakaway exploits in races with a stronger startlist, so having him straight up compete for a podium spot is a nice change of pace and could be very valuable to Carlsberg, which I also love to see. Hopefully, Haig can make it close or even take pink in the time trial, would be nice to not have Dombrowski run away with this one early, as a spectator. Though I'm sure DD would disagree
Also, very nice reports so far, Abhi! Fun to follow for sure.
|
| |
|
|
| tastasol |
Posted on 20-12-2023 12:45
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3030
Joined: 11-09-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
It's been a quiet, but so far a very solid race from Nesset. Hope he can continue that, and there's also been quite decent from our other climbers. Now just to try and get in some more breaks, as Bazkhou certainly wasn't our best option today.
Cool to see how good Galta has been this year!
|
| |
|
|
| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 20-12-2023 13:47
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16554
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 13638.70
|
Terrific stage for the team! I'll admit I was worried in a few of the screenshots where Galta and others looked cooked and there were still a lot of riders in front, but he recovered really nicely and just chugged away to the finish when others seemed completely wiped. That's pretty much the exact strategy I want him to take in the high mountains like this given his lack of acceleration and strong energy stats. It suits his skillset and prevents him from blowing up. Quite the opposite of watching Guldhammer here a couple of years ago, but I'm not a wildcard anymore. I care about results.
Speaking of which, this was as good as it gets. 3rd place on the stage, and vaulting us into 3rd overall. We gained a nice chunk of time on some of the other competitors too. A lot of the guys closest to us, like Carthy, Godoy, and Bennett, should lose time to us in the TT as well, giving us something of an early buffer for the top 5. There will certainly be bad days down the road during a 3 week journey, but at least we've capitalized on a good one.
Also satisfied with depth for once at the moment. Nobody in the break, but not complaining about that at all given the randomness of scoring that way. Gregaard and Eg are right in line with their abilities or even slightly higher placed at the moment, which is great to see. Not sure we have the ability to hold the team classification all the way to Milan, but it's a good sign of our strategy at least.
Right now Dombrowski looks by far the strongest in the mountains, having attacked early and powered in front all the way to the finish. But he's also expended a lot of energy, and the TT can easily flip him into second overall, after which the dynamic of the whole race changes.
Thanks for the consistently great week 1 reports Abhi!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
| |
|
|
| ryant |
Posted on 20-12-2023 19:52
|
Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2388
Joined: 15-08-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Carthy has navigated the early going well and that sees us up to 4th overall which is great to see. I could want him to be more proactive in stages but he seems to have done well by chugging along at his own pace. We should lose time in the TT but I hope it won't be too much compared some of our other rivals like Galta, Shikai and Hirt. With a little luck we could maybe even fight for a podium but more realistic aims will probably be a top 5 after the damage of tomorrow's stage.
 John St Ledger in Team Bunzl-Centrica and Team U25Red Bull Driver in RFactor
|
| |
|
|
| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 20-12-2023 20:03
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 2797
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
|
Nice win! Dombrowski must've felt he had good legs because he just set a huge pace at the front of the group and never looked back. Glad he could make his move stick. Haig looked strong as well and for a moment it seemed like he was clawing his way back.
Also good job by the support team. The break was huge and we were only one of four teams not in it. We have some decent climbers in support and they all finished in place 70 and up, which tells me they probably put in a big effort to reel in the break. That's a valuable effort because it gives Dombrowski extra bonus seconds and a solid amount of points.
Now we move to the 42KM Time Trial, which is way too long for Dombrowski to defend 34 seconds against a 77 TT rider. So we restart the pink jersey chase in a few days on the climb to Montevergine di Mercogliano.
Great job reporting so far, Abhi
|
| |
|
|
| Fabianski |
Posted on 20-12-2023 21:43
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5234
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
|
Another strong day by Stüssi, like to see it! 12th may not sound like an exceptional result, but he only has eight 81+ climbers plus three breakaway riders ahead of him, being "best of the rest" - which must be the target in this race. Very solid racing so far - which could even see me slightly optimistic for some of our PTHC races later on.
I don't really know what to expect from the TT, but 42km definitely is long. I remember e.g. Bennett losing over 2 minutes in a 25km TT last year in ToA (despite quite some bumps) - you obviously can't compare day 7 to day 20, but still, I expect the gaps to be pretty big. So I'd say on a good day, Stüssi could gain up to 3 positions, overtaking Bennett, Godoy and Carthy. We'll see...
However, I don't doubt that Haig will take over the Maglia Rosa - I'd not even be surprised to see him a minute ahead after the TT. But nothing that Dombrowski couldn't get back in the high mountains, if he delivers like he did these last two days... Congrats again to DD, by the way.
Schmid also sticked to the breakaway plan - he just was unlucky to have so many strong climbers joining him already in the first week of racing. He'll get some more chances, though. To be rewarded with the white jersey is awesome - we'll see for how long he can defend it!
And with Bol keeping the Ciclamino, it's even two jerseys for us - great racing so far by the boys!
Thanks for the report, Abhi, interesting mountain stage
|
| |
|
|
| cio93 |
Posted on 21-12-2023 00:02
|
World Champion
Posts: 10616
Joined: 29-10-2007
PCM$: 500.00
|
THJ losing TWENTY minutes to finish alongside Steimle for some reason is definitely our "brainfart of the year" moment so far...
It's truly a shame since we had a decent shot at actually winning a classification here, but I guess at least this comes on the first mountain stage and not the last.
Still, it's a major disappointment and inexplicable.
On the other hand, Zwiehoff and Fortunato started doing what we're here for which is mountain breaks, and Zwiehoff did very well from such a massive group to finish this high up.
Sadly the favorites wanted this stage and somehow reeled everyone back in, but this is confidence-inspiring from Ben despite not really earning significant points for the effort.
Zimmermann also stays in contention for the hybrid of KoM assault - GC placing, let's see how that continues.
|
| |
|
|
| redordead |
Posted on 21-12-2023 10:32
|
Team Leader
Posts: 5511
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
|
One of the rare races where I don't care about time-trials
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
|
| |
|
|
| ember |
Posted on 21-12-2023 10:41
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7058
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 900.00
|
Right, we've found our starting position. Onwards and upwards, Amezawa! |
| |
|
|
| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 21-12-2023 13:53
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16554
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 13638.70
|
Not a good or bad day for Galta. Just about right. It sucks to lose some significant time on Rodrigues in particular (Shikai was expected), but in the end we're still in the driver's seat of 3rd place overall, with only mountain ahead of us. A ton of racing still to do, and several of the guys behind us could gain minutes on a good day, but you'd always rather have the time in hand than be hoping to snag it later on.
I might get a little impatient about the couple of easier days coming up now, but probably good for the boys to get some rest in their legs!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
| |
|
|
| DubbelDekker |
Posted on 21-12-2023 16:55
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 2797
Joined: 20-04-2008
PCM$: 200.00
|
Pretty much the loss I expected. Now we have 5 mountain stages and a mountain TT to win back that minute.
|
| |
|
