Have Astana settled for second place? Their pacing on Sunday suggests so. The fast but steady tempo towed Fabio Aru and Mikel Landa up to Madonna di Campiglio and with Alberto Contador riding pillion. If Astana wanted to contest Contador’s maglia rosa they would have surely taken turns to attack and put the isolated team leader under pressure. Barring major upsets and minor incidents the race seems settled now.
“Pantani, Debunking The Murder Myth” by Andrea Rossini, translated by Matt Rendell
The Giro finishes in Madonna di Campiglio today. While we’re all interested in the climb to the finish this is the tale Marco Pantani’s fall from grace which began here, taking him from a national icon to an isolated crack addict found dead in a hotel.
The first Alpine stage of this year’s Giro and a tough summit finish following one of the hardest climbs and the trickiest descents in the race. Yesterday’s time trial has shaken up the pecking order, now what will happen in the mountains?
This year’s Giro might have only one solo time trial but today’s stage compensates with a route so long and challenging that it’s worth two time trials, one flat 30km effort followed by another 30km in the hills.
If the overall classification is still a jumble of jigsaw pieces waiting to be put into place this will give us a better picture. The Alps start tomorrow.
For years Jacques Anquetil didn’t know what to do. As much as he’d win he couldn’t beat the popularity of Raymond Poulidor. The more Anquetil beat Poulidor, the more popular “Pou-Pou” became. The public love an underdog and sometimes Poulidor wasn’t beaten by a superior rider, he was undone by misfortune. He would have won where it not for some random incident like a puncture or a crash. While Anquetil avoided potholes or stayed upright his rival was wiping out but also becoming increasingly popular.
Decade after decade cycling has celebrated the “moral winner”, the rider who should have won but was thwarted by the cruelty of sport.
If a picture says a thousand words the profile above says enough: a day for the sprinters as the race heads to the seaside resort of Jesolo. But this Giro brings a surprise every day and the odds on a breakaway surviving are higher than usual. The biggest obstacle is the tricky finish, described in the roadbook as “sprinkled” with roundabouts.
Look closely at the finish on the profile because the race finishes on Monte Berico where the road rears up to 11% just before the line. Will this be where Fabio Aru give it everything to take over the race lead from Alberto Contador?
As well as Richie Porte and Simon Clarke, Fabio Aru is the latest to say he didn’t know about the rule that bans help from another team. It’s impossible to remember all the UCI rules after all they take enough enough space on a hard drive yet alone your own memory. What’s a rider to do?
Well these rules cover everything from BMX and frame design to media accreditation or World Tour team licence applications, the kind of things that no racer need worry about. So what in-race rules are there to remember if you’ve got a number on your back and your feet clipped into the pedals? Here’s a handy list of do’s and don’ts.
We’re halfway through the Giro and so far fortune favours the brave with over half the stages rewarding breakaway riders. The stage features laps of a tricky finishing circuit with some steep climbs. Will Richie Porte go on a revenge rampage?
Imagine you’re a team manager tasked with assembling a new squad. What do you look for in a rider? Talent? UCI ranking points? Sure but nationality is a big issue and coming from the “right” country helps land a contract and possibly higher pay.