don d.

Been waiting for this. I was beginning to think Fred had lost his edge. Congrats Freddy!

pgreene

what i couldn't figure out is the (lampre?) rider on the right sitting up. he's in about 3rd position there, so it doesn't look like he had done a lead out and pulled off. i watched it today and he just stopped pedalling. glad freddy got the win, but i was confused by that guy. where did he come from, and why is he smiling when he should have his head down and be hammering?

TriDevil

He's looking over like 'wow, bunch sprints are pretty neat, wish I could compete in one of those'. I was pretty excited to see someone get the best of peta, especially an american!

bac

I think he simply ran out of gas. Fast Freddie, however, certainly didn't run out of gas! I thought he'd be caught @ the line by the BIG P, but he had enough to finish strong, and win. What a great ending to watch!!!! Big congrats to FR!

Devil

A very good win for Rodriguez. If it was just a couple more meters, Petacchi would've beaten him. Oh well! There's always tomorrow (or rather, Wednesday).

don d.

Here's Freddy's blow by blow account:

https://www.velonews.com/diaries/ride...es/6097.0.html

Laggard

Am I the only one who finds this years Giro a little boring? The typical stage consists of two or three riders breaking early only to be caught by the Fasa boys. I love a good bunch sprint but come on, is it asking too much to see some diversity on the flat stages?

And yes, I realize that things will pick up next week.

bac

Well, Fassa is going to chase down every break on the flat stages, so don't look for anything different until they hit the mountains. However, it will be interesting watching all the sprinters trying to get the jump on BIG P now that Fast Freddie has found a way to beat him!

parakeethouse

I was thinking you always see his name up there in the top ten, I mean always see his name! But I guess it goes to show you how much these guys wanna win a stage and how persistent they are.
Props to Freddie for not giving up!

roadbuzz

Yeah, I thought Freddy's win was pretty cool.

On a different note, is it just me, or have the finishes just seemed really dicey? Lots of crashes, teams (with the exception of FB) seeming really disorganized. This is my first Giro with OLN, maybe it's always been this way and the print coverage just didn't bring it out?

RainmanP

Crashes are a fact of life in races like this. This one doesn't seem to have any more than others I have watched. Cipo has to accept a lot of blame for the crash that brought him down the other day. He was in full sprint then sat up and drifted back into the onrushing peloton. A rider just can't do that. As soon as he sat up and shot backwards I was afraid a crash was coming.

Let's face it, most of the stages in the big tours are kind of boring on the surface. There's usually the obligatory break involving some young riders from a couple of smaller teams. The peloton lets them hang in the wind until it's time to reel them in, with the sprinters' or leader's team obligated to organize the chase. If you are strictly looking for action, just tune in for the last half hour or so. I enjoy watching it all and listening to Phil, Paul, and Bob comment on what is going on, or the scenery, or whatever. Part of it is watching a few of these things so that you begin to understand what is going on. Most of the time there is some strategy unfolding even when things look boring.
Regards,
Raymond
Bike racing voyeur - too old and slow to do it myself, but I like to watch.

roadbuzz

My take on the Cipo wreck was different... I thought Aug clipped his wheel when he looked back and swerved.

I'm amazed at McEwen. Since he effectively has no team, he's like a loose cannon on steroids. In any case, it's given me a new appreciation for the intensity of a sprint finish.

RainmanP

Roadbuzz,
You are correct; someone clipped him. But it seems to me sitting up and "zooming" back right through the middle of a charging pack wasn't the best move. He didn't fall until he had gone backwards (relative to the front) quite a ways, right into the thick of the herd with riders desperately trying to avoid him. Whoever clipped him may not have been able to avoid it. That was the point I was making.
Cheers,
Raymond

brent_dube

The rider who made him fall was in front of him.
I think Cipo fell without contact from anyone else... he just made a desperate swerve to avoid the mistake of someone in front of him. I think it is dangerous how he sits up like that, at times... but I don't think that his sitting up was the cause here.