The race heads away from the mountains for the Rhone valley but takes a winding route over several small climbs. If the race took a straight line it would head over the awkward Vercors mountains, instead it avoids such testing roads but still, this is an awkward stage for riders and teams alike, none more than Luke Durbridge and Orica-Greenedge.
Today’s opening 5.7km prologue stage of the Dauphiné is straightforward. As the map shows the route has five corners but each turn is predictable, for example there’s no fast downhill section with a bend that tightens up. Instead the route is flat – the total vertical gain is just 11 metres – and should be a series of efforts of the corners to reach maximum speed before the next corner appears after a minute or so.
Several readers have been asking for a list of past book reviews. There is a search box on the right of the screen but it can bring up other results. So here is the list and I’ll try to keep this updated as more are reviewed. As well as the list I’ve added a few … Read more
The race starts this Sunday with a prologue but we’ll need to wait for the high mountains the following weekend to decide the winnner.
Bradley Wiggins is a favourite but he’ll face Tony Martin in the time trials and Cadel Evans and others in the mountains. Here’s a look at the overall contenders for the race plus some thoughts on the likely stage winners along the way.
There are reports in La Gazzetta Dello Sport that Vincenzo Nibali has signed with Astana for 2013 and beyond. The Sicilian apparently has a €2.3 million contract and will move to the Kazako-Italian team with loyal helpers Alessandro Vanotti and Valerio Agnoli.
Astana needs a big signing. They have only five wins this year, although other teams would welcome two spring classics, two stages of the Giro and one in the Tour of Catalonia. Still, the team needs more points to avoid relegation troubles.
For months now Nibali has been linked to Astana but nobody can confirm any move because the rules prevent formal contracts from being signed and any related news must be kept quiet until 1 September. However Nibali is a big name rider and his move from one team to another is equivalent to a significant move on a chessboard, for rival teams must respond with their moves. The transfer of a top rider can destabilise a team and upset a sponsor. But these moves are happening right now. The transfer season lasts all year
A look at a few small stories today, from the Dauphiné preview to Andy Schleck’s private victory ceremony, plus new motivation techniques, a new competition in Switzerland and the Italian doping scandal that was supposed to erupt again this week. And more on the stunning image above too.
We’ve all seen the cross-section stage profiles used to depict the route of a race. For example here’s the graphic for the Stage 20 of the Giro from Caldes to the finish on the Stelvio, one of the most mountainous days of the season.
These graphics image slices across the countryside to produce a representation of the landscape, to show where the climbs come. But they’re not to scale. If you look at the image above it shows a stage that is 219km long in the horizontal scale but the vertical scale peaks at 2.75km. The Mortirolo looks like a cliff rather than a one-in-ten road. If a stage profile was drawn to scale what would it look like?
Many seem to have enjoyed the Giro, especially with the final week and the suspense that went all the way to the last moments of the final stage. Sport offers highs and lows and in reality there can be many moments of boredom. Indeed lest we forget the Giro had its siesta moments too, inevitable during three weeks.
So what’s next? We’re right in the middle of the pro cycling season. April and its spring classics offer plenty of excitement but this time of year has plenty to offer as well. Many from the Giro will take a break but many big names are starting their approach to the Tour de France.
Three weeks and 3,500km make it hard to pick one moment. But when Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) attacked on Stage 14 from Cherasco to Cervinia he rode away and took 26 seconds from Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha). In simple arithmetic this gave him the advantage to win today but crucially he showed he was able to attack the others in the mountains and take time. This was the moment he won the Giro.
The final stage of the race is a time trial and the overall result is not yet certain. Three weeks of racing across Italy with numerous mountain passes and Joaquim Rodriguez leads Ryder Hesjedal by just 31 seconds. It seems likely that Hesjedal will take time on Rodriguez, enough to win the race outright. Is this possible?