Road Bike Racing - Lets talk Dave Z (spoiler)

Yesterday the big break got away and Dave Z droped out of the top ten on GC. Today I see he is 24th on GC, 5:15 back from the leader. What I want to know is does he have a shot at making that time up in the mountains. I know he is noted for his TT ability and not his climbing. Then I see big George with a 2 min advantage who is a climber and can TT it makes me wonder about his chances. Thats not even mentioning the Italians who will be giving it their all. My question is does DZ have a chance?

A chance to win? No. No way. But Z does have a chance for a top 10 finish if he is the CSC team leader going into the mountains. He's going to need team support, though.

--Steve

to many strong climbers to have a chance but there is always hope.

Not a chance, same for Hincapie. The TT is a climb, stages 15 and 17 could be the two hardest climbs in the grand tours. If your specialty is not mountains, you have no hope for the Giro.

If your specialty is not mountains, you have no hope for the Giro. I'd be amazed if Rasmussen made up 33 minutes on the GC ;)

It is how far back from the favorites he is that counts at this point, not from current leader. That said, no chance to win, slight chance for a top 10.

I think the better question is what stage does he crash and and get into the car.

Then I see big George with a 2 min advantage who is a climber

Incorrect.

Zabriskie or Hincapie for the overall???

WTF???

Incorrect.

+1 Yeah, I thought Hincapie was basically a sprinter and classics guy, who just happens to be
doing better at climbing after years of working on it.

so far, one climbing(ish) stage, right? zabriskie finished 10th, ahead of simoni, and almost 2 minutes ahead of george. unless george gets in a periero style break, it's not gonna happen. i have much more faith in dz for a gc top 10 then big george--> working for yaroslav.

What's up with Rasmussen? I thought he was supposed to be a climber?
Is he:
(1) Racing clean and now has results that suck
(2) got force fed cheeseburgers by people too disgusted to look at him and now he is too fat to climb
(3) What Vino said about him was true and he really does have a threshold power of 30W but due to (2) his weight has gone from 5 kg to 10 kg so he only climbs at 3.0 W/kg instead of 6.0 W/kg ?

Has anyone noticed if George looks like his weight is any different this year. I would have expected him to stay a few lbs heavier this year. I know he missed the classics but with no Basso why bust a gut to put Levi in 6th place at the Tour?

That's just what George does. Much respec' for that mo fo.

And FYI, Levi is going to podium. Mark my words.

That's just what George does. Much respec' for that mo fo.

And FYI, Levi is going to podium. Mark my words.

and if OP busts any more potential GC contenders then by the time the TdF rolls around, I'll see myself on the podium too.

What's up with Rasmussen? I thought he was supposed to be a climber?
Is he:
(1) Racing clean and now has results that suck
(2) got force fed cheeseburgers by people too disgusted to look at him and now he is too fat to climb
(3) What Vino said about him was true and he really does have a threshold power of 30W but due to (2) his weight has gone from 5 kg to 10 kg so he only climbs at 3.0 W/kg instead of 6.0 W/kg ?

Rasmussen is probably gearing up for the Tour, as are a lot of guys, and as such, isn't down to his (disturbingly low) race weight just yet.

Zabriskie or Hincapie for the overall???

WTF???

Correct!

A few months from now the original winner of the '07 Giro will be be busted for doping and the prize will be awarded to the second place finisher. Unfortunately he too (whoever it is) will also get busted before the end of the '07 season. After another year, 10-20 more riders will get busted. Then finally, by the end of '08 the circus will have died down and Zabriskie will be awarded the overall for the '07 race.

I love Davey Sprocket but he's a fairly one dimensional rider. CSC's best GC guy at the end of this is going to be Andy Schleck, barring a crash or illness.

Skeletor only shows form for two weeks once a year, within the boundary of the country known as France.

Jorge Grande is not now, nor shall ever be a GC contender. This does not mean he hasn't been noble in his work.

Take some money down to the local bookie and throw some on this kid to show:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/teamtech04.php?id=tech/2004/probikes/panaria_battaglin2

My dark horse pick that they gave a nice chunk of time to in that break.

Le Tour:

If enough people are chucked out of the tour, Levi could podium. So could I. If you watched the Borat's destruction of Valverde in last year's Vuelta, and add one Klodi, then you know who will win this year's tour. We might well have an all powder blue podium, which would be an affront to fashion, but not out of the question.

Levi shall not be in that sandwich. If he rides conservatively like he has in the past and wheelsucks, he might make the top five, though probably not. If he rides aggressively he'll have one or two horrible melt downs and finish where he did last year, out of the top ten. Can't climb with Sastre, can't keep up with the Kazakh wrecking crew. He's sort of Cadel without the accent.

The real climbing in the Giro is yet to come BTW.

I love Davey Sprocket but he's a fairly one dimensional rider. CSC's best GC guy at the end of this is going to be Andy Schleck, barring a crash or illness.

Skeletor only shows form for two weeks once a year, within the boundary of the country known as France.

Jorge Grande is not now, nor shall ever be a GC contender. This does not mean he hasn't been noble in his work.

Take some money down to the local bookie and throw some on this kid to show:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/teamtech04.php?id=tech/2004/probikes/panaria_battaglin2

My dark horse pick that they gave a nice chunk of time to in that break.

Le Tour:

If enough people are chucked out of the tour, Levi could podium. So could I. If you watched the Borat's destruction of Valverde in last year's Vuelta, and add one Klodi, then you know who will win this year's tour. We might well have an all powder blue podium, which would be an affront to fashion, but not out of the question.

Levi shall not be in that sandwich. If he rides conservatively like he has in the past and wheelsucks, he might make the top five, though probably not. If he rides aggressively he'll have one or two horrible melt downs and finish where he did last year, out of the top ten. Can't climb with Sastre, can't keep up with the Kazakh wrecking crew. He's sort of Cadel without the accent.

The real climbing in the Giro is yet to come BTW.


translation, anyone?

Skeletor??

translation, anyone?

Skeletor??

He's referring to Rasmussen's sexy, svelte figure.

C'mon, isn't it obvious?
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78/kestrelimc/skeletor.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41921000/jpg/_41921686_ras416.jpg

translation, anyone?

Skeletor??

Davey Sprocket = Zabriskie
Skeletor = Rassmussan
Jorge Grande = Hincapie
Borat's/ Kazahk wrecking crew = Vino and Kashikan
Klodi = Kloden
Cadel = Evans, Australia's answer to Leiphiemer. Sorry mates, it's true. Quite a nice Sheila he's got though, eh?

Sastre = Toughest little beach in racing today

What's up with Rasmussen? I thought he was supposed to be a climber?
Is he:
(1) Racing clean and now has results that suck
(2) got force fed cheeseburgers by people too disgusted to look at him and now he is too fat to climb
(3) What Vino said about him was true and he really does have a threshold power of 30W but due to (2) his weight has gone from 5 kg to 10 kg so he only climbs at 3.0 W/kg instead of 6.0 W/kg ?

sorry to break it to you, but humor is not your strong point.

as far as Rasmussen, keep in mind that:

1. this isn't the Tour, where he's paid to perform.
2. he had a near-career ending injury at the end of last season. give the man a break.

Skeletor = Rassmussan
Jorge Grande = Hincapie
Borat's/ Kazahk wrecking crew = Vino and Kashikan
Klodi = Kloden
Cadel = Evans, Australia's answer to Leiphiemer.Sorry mates, it's true. Quite a nice Sheila he's got though, eh?

Sastre = Toughest little beach in racing today

correct, although LL doesn't have an ass on his chin, doesn't whine all of the time, and isn't as obnoxiously full of himself.

correct, although LL doesn't have an ass on his chin, doesn't whine all of the time, and isn't as obnoxiously full of himself.

Incorrect.

Incorrect.

is LL really as smug as CE? i'll take your word for it.

is LL really as smug as CE? i'll take your word for it.

Ask ed073. He knows Evans from years gone by. From what I know about him (acquaintences who know him) he's not a bad bloke - he's just very exacting and professional in his approach which can come across as being a whiner if things don't go right.

His chin does bear a strong resemblance to an arse crack though.

Ask ed073. He knows Evans from years gone by. From what I know about him (acquaintences who know him) he's not a bad bloke - he's just very exacting and professional in his approach which can come across as being a whiner if things don't go right.

fair enough.


His chin does bear a strong resemblance to an arse crack though.

:roflmao:

http://imagesource.allposters.com/images/HPM/SM1093.jpg

Zabriskie or Hincapie for the overall???

WTF???

george was virtual leader for a while today.. he looks pretty strong.

I am pretty sure you wouldn't jump with 150k to go on a mountian finish if you thought you were a GC contender

What's up with Rasmussen? I thought he was supposed to be a climber?
Is he:
(1) Racing clean and now has results that suck
(2) got force fed cheeseburgers by people too disgusted to look at him and now he is too fat to climb
(3) What Vino said about him was true and he really does have a threshold power of 30W but due to (2) his weight has gone from 5 kg to 10 kg so he only climbs at 3.0 W/kg instead of 6.0 W/kg ?
(4) Deliberately giving up time early so GC teams won't have reason to chase if he goes on an escapade in the mountains.

sorry to break it to you, but humor is not your strong point.

INCORRECT

as far as Rasmussen, keep in mind that:

1. this isn't the Tour, where he's paid to perform.
2. he had a near-career ending injury at the end of last season. give the man a break.

What happened in #2?

What happened in #2?


I believe he sustained a femur fracture in a fall.

My question is does DZ have a chance?

For top 50, sure.

Velonews live text today said Big George would be pulling out of the Giro soon to prep for the Dauphine Libere and wants to pick up a stage first. Does not look good for the GC.

(4) Deliberately giving up time early so GC teams won't have reason to chase if he goes on an escapade in the mountains.
Bingo.

Ask ed073. He knows Evans from years gone by. From what I know about him (acquaintences who know him) he's not a bad bloke - he's just very exacting and professional in his approach which can come across as being a whiner if things don't go right.

His chin does bear a strong resemblance to an arse crack though.

Cadel = top bloke.
Has essentially been a professional since he was a teenager, so knows exactly how to prepare and how he wants things. He has massively high standards in regard to what he expects from himself.

Should be admired, not derided.

If you're looking for a big-time whinger to write a 3 page thread on, look no further than Bettini, P.

Cadel = top bloke.
Has essentially been a professional since he was a teenager, so knows exactly how to prepare and how he wants things.
.
But doesn't know how to get into the top 5.


I am pretty sure you wouldn't jump with 150k to go on a mountian finish if you thought you were a GC contender
Jaja did just that (200K actually) in '95 and found himself in 3rd...at least until Mr. 60% called and said he wanted his podium spot back.

... CSC's best GC guy at the end of this is going to be Andy Schleck, barring a crash or illness...

After Tuesday's stage, good call.

I am pretty sure you wouldn't jump with 150k to go on a mountian finish if you thought you were a GC contender

Unless you got wasted on JD the night before.

Unless you got wasted on JD the night before.
score = bdcheung 1; jrennie 0 :D