Bianchi Ben

Its on! And I'm stoked!

So the TT is today. I was just curios, does anyone know what gearing these guys are running? I assume they're on a standard crankset, but how about the cassette? I can't imagine they need anything bigger than 23t, if that? What's the smallest cog 10t, 9t, less?

mollusk

Porkponey

The close up of Cav's cassette looked an awful lot like an 11-21. Chain rings were probably about 6 billion teeth. Commentator said at one point the riders were doing approx 58kmh. You don't really need massive gears for that at 90-100rpm.

Hiro11

Watched live online. The first 2 kilometers of this course were technical, it almost seemed like the route was doubling back on itself.

Phinney's pedaling technique is one of the cleanest I've seen. Like a lot of former track riders, his upper body does. not. move. Ever. Once the course opened up, his ability to hammer in the flats was unmatched. I'd say that was a fairly dominant win. He'll get beaten in the mountains, but the serious climbs don't come for a while. He could easily be in pink for a long time depending on how much BMC is willing to defend.

It's very early to make this comparison, but Phinney reminds me a bit of Indurain: extremely powerful, great time trialist, tall and lanky, not such a good climber but not too bad either, not much of a sprinter. He might be the real deal.

chasm54

Too early to know about Phinney. Today was excellent - to put 9 seconds into Thomas, in the form he is currently in from the track, is very impressive - but he's a very big guy and as things stand I can't see him doing a Wiggins and getting the power/weight ratio that would let him climb well enough to be a GC contender. Might be a hell of a Classics rider, though.

chasm54

Stage 2. Routine win for Cavendish, despite the finish becoming chaotic. Bos demonstrating his inexperience by causing the crash.

Cav to win again tomorrow, if anyone wants a bet?

echotraveler

Gotta Love Phinney for his comeback. i got worried there, such a stupid fail could cost him the Pink jersey! Cav wearing his white champion jersey looks like a cursed soul, everybody expects too much, his being targeted by all...but yeah today he performed very cleanly great work from his teammates

Hiro11

Typically nervous early grand tour flat stage last 5K yesterday. Lots of road furniture, very narrow route. Riders were constantly jumping curbs, riding in the ditch etc. The shoulder bumping in the pack was pretty intense, I'm sure a novice like Phinney was a little unsettled by just how physical it was getting.

Speaking of which, what exactly happened to Phinney? I believe he actually fell and knocked his chain off, but it seemed like a single bike issue and no one hit him. It's a bit suspicious. I'd like to give hime benefit of the doubt, but I'll bet it was novice squirrelly-ness. He grew up racing track, to overstate matters a bit, he's basically a Cat 4 (albeit with enormous power) out there riding in a European pro peloton.

Paul01

Phinney crossed the line an an ambulance, so, technically, he's still in the race. He told Cycling news that he'll continue tomorrow.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-3/results

chasm54

Ferrari's move in the sprint today was a disgrace, he simply took Cavendish out. Very very lucky if nobody is seriously injured as a result.

fly:yes/land:no

elia favilli bunny hopped mark cavendish's rolling torso in the sprint after cav went down. pretty impressive view from the helicopter replay.

as to ferrari, it reminds me of this sprint from the 2007 tour of qatar. i wonder if cav will get a chorus of cyclists to chant go home on the train ride to italy.

Paul01

Ferrari needs to be suspended from the Giro of even the rest of the year.

dstrong 

I was not aware that riding across the finish in an ambulance counts as finishing.

Paul01

He crossed in the ambulance and then made it to the podium to accept another pink jersey.

echotraveler

Hope Cav gets better.. Ge was my favorite! And im sorry for Phinney... Intense racing!

Ferrari needs to apologize imo

Jakedatc

Ferrari needs to come down with the "flu" and sneak his way out. I can't believe he isn't getting more penalized than that.

eduardo76

the view from the helicpoter was quite something...you could see Cav sense Ferrari was about to do something stupid a fraction of a second before the crash (cav stops sprinting and his right leg lifts out before ferrari starts to really shift right)...just brutal...Cav's sense/instinct/bravado of when and where to be and attack in a sprint is as much a key to his success as his sprinting power...(5 seconds before the crash, when cav shifts right and starts to attack, he also has to lift on a kind of close call) - i am amazed that there aren't more crashes during sprints when i watch those replays...

canam73

I'm not Cavandish's biggest fan, but I did enjoy the business like manner he had in scooping up his bike, hoofing it across the line, and congratulating the winner all the while with half his ass hanging out. I also have hand it to all of them but Cav in particular for having the nerves to keep going back at it after crashes like that.

chasm54

These guys have balls so big it's amazing they can sit on a saddle. And their bike-handling skills are superb. That's why it's so exasperating when a joker like Ferrari pulls a stunt like that. It's just unprofessional.

Paul01

It's more than unprofessional. It could have caused a season or career ending injury. For egregious violations like that, I think a season ban would be reasonable.

wabbit

that was grisly! cav looked ok though...
apparently ferrari was relegated. Poor Phinney though, he is just having such sh*tty luck! i wonder if he'll even manage to stay in!
Cav wasn't planning on finishing the Giro anyways, he wants stage wins and would probably be gone by the 3rd week...but i hope he manages to get another stage win!

echotraveler

Phinney went down in Pink...this crash imo, while tragic, could be good for his carrier PR wise...

Hiro11

I know what you're saying, Phinney comes out looking tough and a non-complainer. Insisting on showing up on the podium is a good way to win fans. Not complaining about the crash gets him the support of fellow riders. He certainly doesn't come off as a 21 year old.

Also, Cav has a bit of an ego, but you can't deny his courage and explosiveness. Track breeding really helps in those departments.

wabbit

he's a sprinter, they have to have that bravado. Mario Cipollini was like that too, but it's really just part of psyching out your opponents and being intimidating.

Reynolds 

Amazing reflexes! Can't imagine doing that at 40kph, let alone at 60+ like in a pro level sprint.