Quintana, Rodriguez, Evans, Uran et al are the talk of town in Belfast and rightly so since the Giro has 38,000 vertical metres of climbing. All the mountains are backloaded into the race and the overall contenders and pretenders will merely hope to finish first week feel fresh and without losing any time. In short they’re sleeper agents until Stage 8.
The first week is all about the sprinters with a series of flat finishes and the time bonuses to allow them to take the race lead.
With 48 hours to go time for a look at the contenders for the 2014 Giro. Nairo Quintana seems to be everyone’s pick but a lot of this is based on his ride in the Tour de France, an event now 40 weeks ago and plenty has changed in his life since. After Quintana comes the in-form Cadel Evans with Joaquim Rodriguez and Rigoberto Urán as the main pretenders for the podium and behind them a longer list.
But predictions are there to be demolished. Last year nobody could predict the weather and the racing was varied and often dramatic.
Want to see Alberto Contador, Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali in action together? You could wait for the Critérium du Dauphiné in June but, as today’s L’Equipe shows, they will all meet up this month in Tenerife for training camps on Mount Teide. Quite probably they will all stay in the same hotel, setting up an intriguing atmosphere with the three great rivals for the Tour de France sitting down for dinner together, albeit at different tables.
It’s easy to spend hours reviewing the tactics in a race but very little time and coverage is given to what a rider’s job really involves: training.
Simon Špilak outsprints Chris Froome to win the Queen Stage of the Tour de Romandie last Friday. The exact same thing happened this time last year in Les Diablerets, just 20km away. With this Froome distanced his rivals and used the final time trial to seal the race overall.
But not everything is the same. Froome’s had different challenges. Here’s a look back at the race with a look ahead to the Giro and beyond.
Here’s a road that’s almost never raced yet memorable for thousands of European cyclists, from amateurs to the best on Team Sky or Quick Step. Mallorca’s Sa Calobra is a road to ride in both directions and an experience notable for the roads, challenge and views alike.
The post below is old. For the version that gets updated daily visit inrng.com/giro
Here’s a guide to the 2014 Giro d’Italia with stage profiles and accompanying summaries plus all the technical information on race rules, time bonuses, TV schedules and more.
When is a shoe not a shoe? When it’s an elaborate Sidi trompe l’oeil. Look at the image above and it looks like a Sidi Wire but look again. Those ratchet dials are flat and it’s an elaborate shoe cover made to look like a Sidi. The next photo reveals another version, this time with perforations to help on a hot day.
With the spring classics done it’s time for the stage races. But there’s no immediate switch from embrocation to Ambre Solaire as this year’s Tour de Romandie offers similar conditions to last year with snow and rain forecast
With Cadel Evans in 2011, Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and Chris Froome in 2013 the race winner has gone on to win the Tour de France. This year’s edition is probably important to Team Sky in terms of recovering from a disastrous April rather than staking claims to the future. It’s also a race that serves a final tune-up for those riding the Giro.
Every site sponsor gets thank-you note and Trek are the sponsor for April. It’s an auspicious month given the focus on the classics for the Trek Factory Racing team. The ad is there to show Fabian Cancellara’s cobble-eating Trek Domane. Within days of the ad appearing on here the Swiss won the Tour of Flanders.
As well as the thank-you note since we’re talking site sponsorship there’s a quick housekeeping note where the elusive INRNG t-shirt gets an airing.
Katusha’s Giampolo Caruso is the the last attacker of the day. He led into the final bend but a trio of Simon Gerrans, Alejandro Valverde and Michał Kwiatkowski storm past to sweep the podium. This was the moment the race was won.
It marked a thrilling finish but it was a moment that might have had rattled millions of television viewers out of their siesta after they’d fallen asleep during Sunday afternoon’s coverage.