deadly downtube

when he started getting all burly and aiming for the spring classics? or did you mean on one of the first weeks mountain stages when he was dropped like a newb?

deadly downtube

i saw this it was funny...

aidy

: ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
cervélo poo poo

Flatballer

I just ordered cable so I can watch the rest of the Giro and then the Tour and stuff instead of watching it on my computer, which isn't working very well due to my slow connection. It was cheaper to get cable than to get a good internet connection. And I'll get the rest of the Giro in HD (at a time of day I can actually watch it) and the Tour in HD coverage constantly on VS.

bac

That's a highway in rural Italia.

... Brad

bac

Perhaps the most brain-dead move I've seen a DS make in a LONG, LONG time.

There was simply NO tactical advantage to pulling his man away. The only thing accomplished was that he took his sole chance to win the stage away from his team.

Why? That is the real question. It smells to me.

... Brad

mr. rogers

when can we say the little prince's giro win was doped and stop talking about him as a real contender?

seriously... you finish with the guy who hasnt raced in three years and this was supposed to be a race you wanted to win?

bac

To be fair to Cunego, he had a lot of company in terms of doping. To contend that he was the ONLY doper, and that's why he's won is simply not a fair judgement.

I also understand that there is no proof that he doped at all, but I'm simply not that naive.

... Brad

Racer Ex 

Fixed.

I will not comment on the "D" issue other than to say he made a remarkable improvement in his TT skills for one TDF TT when the white jersey was on the line. Reminded me of a certain Kazakh.

Years ago I was saying Dammit I Cannotgo's Giro win was the result of a less than stellar field with all eyes on Cunego's teammate Simoni; I watched the race and didn't see anything that made me believe he was going to dominate anything.

I was derided and told I didn't know what I was talking about and that "Cunego is the future of the Grand Tours".

I believe Laggard was most vociferous and Roadwarrior questioned whether I actually raced a bicycle. I believe that time has provided a rejoinder to both statements, though I'm sure even retirement without another GT win will still bring a litany of excuses and no apologies or mea culpa's. This is the way of BF.

Every year since the press trots him out as one of the favorites, every year he believes it and trots out some excuse about why he didn't do well last year, we're treated to several annoying mag spreads and updates on his every move, and every year he fails to deliver, more often than not in spectacular cracking fashion.

He is a very good rider. I would respect him if he'd just shut up, own his failures rather than blaming this and that, and stick to the one day stuff and support a teammate's GC hopes. He's got a great example with his teammate Ballan. He was almost there then started reading his own press clippings again.

I was done when they rolled out the mono excuse. If he actually had mono during that Giro he should get it again because he rode a lot better with than without. At least he was able to contest a few mountain finishes.

Duke of Kent

So at what point is Garmin going to try to do something in the race besides a TTT or mass sprint?

Have they had anyone in any of the long breaks this year?

Throw someone up the road, for Pete's sake. At least feign interest in actually racing the Giro after Stage 1.

LesMcLuffAlot

Farrar and Millar dropped out today.......

YMCA

I sure hope we get an answer this, because that was Serge's stage all the way.

bbattle

Yeah, it's high time Tommy Danielson to earn his keep.

No reason Danny Pate can't get out there on a breakaway, either.

El Diablo Rojo

Not only should he shut up he should realize he's not a GT contender and focus on one day races..he seems to have some success in those.

FWIW X I for one can back you up on the bike racing thing..I've seen it with my own eyes!!!

obie

Contador pwns these guys.



Seriously, Menchov's a nice all-rounder and such but, really, AC would destroy this field. Lotto, Cervelo, Columbia, Garmin have some decent parts but Cadel, Sastre, Kirchen/Rogers and VdV are going to be crushed by the Astana train in July.

Saxo-Bank and the Schlecks, at full-strength (healthy Cancellara, on-form O'Grady etc) are the only team I can imagine having any chance against Astana and AC.

Lance, Levi, Horner, Popo et al will level the field and AC runs away and hides for last two weeks in TdF.


Ya kno......JUST SAYING... the Giro is weak sauce at the top.






Nice race tho. Getting up early to watch. Good racing anyways.

El Diablo Rojo

You can only race against who shows up. This has been a great race with five or six guys with a legit shot at winning.

deadly downtube

I'd rather watch these guys contest this very exciting Giro than watch astana and AC destroy everyone like it's the easiest thing.
Can Levi beat Menchov? Menchov is looking tough, and Levi isn't looking as tough as I thought he was. Di Luca is riding like he replaced all of his blood with EPO (with red food coloring to fool the testers), so I won't be surprised if he just takes off and drops everyone in the mountain stages.

Prodigy4299

+1. I am madly Googling it now to see what the official line is and if there is a mea culpa from Von Poppel.

Prodigy4299

From the Cervelo Test Team website:

24-May-2009: A disappointing day for all in the Giro.

The 15th stage of the Giro started well for the Cervélo TestTeam. "The mandate was clear," said Sports Director Jean-Paul van Poppel. "Make the race hard, go in the breakaways and get somebody in the break who could help Carlos at the end. Same strategy as yesterday. Today the boys did well again, we had Serge in the breakaway 16 km from the start and he did a marvellous job, ending up with Bertagnolli at the top of the last climb.

At that time, Basso had escaped and Carlos asked Serge to wait. Of course this is something that happens hundreds of times a year in cycling, nothing special. In fact, a little earlier Basso had his teammate Stangelj drop back from Serge’s breakaway to help him. Maybe Serge didn't understand, but we let him know a couple of times that he really had to wait. Unfortunately Serge didn’t stop at the top of the last climb, as he was told. If he had done that, he would have rejoined the Sastre group while it was still 40 seconds behind Basso and it would have made perfect sense. Now what happened was that Sastre's group gets closer to Basso's group even without the help of Serge.

Instead he slowed down at the bottom of the hill, and by that time it wasn’t necessary anymore as the Basso group had been caught already, so it looked silly. Of course, looking back it’s easy to say that if Serge doesn’t get called back he may win the stage, and he certainly looked to have the strength to do that, but at the time the call was made Carlos really thought he needed the help. At the time Serge actually slowed down, the situation had already changed and it was no longer necessary. A tough pill to swallow for the team, especially Serge, but his time will come.

“I was so torn”, explains Serge Pauwels. “I know that my job is to help Carlos, that’s what I signed up for when I started this Giro. So I know that I should drop back to help him immediately when he asks, that’s part of the game. But it was so difficult, because I could see that I had a chance to win this stage, and that would have been so amazing. By delaying the moment where I waited, we look pretty stupid. Lesson learned.”

“It was bad timing for us,” reports Jean-Paul van Poppel. “It’s not easy for a small team like ours to try and put a rider on the final podium in the Giro. Sacrifices have to be made to make that happen, but everybody agreed that was our goal at the start. Of course it is easy to say that Serge deserves the chance to go for the victory, but it is also fair to say that over the past 10 years, Carlos has earned the right to have the team support him when he feels he needs it.

Today, a sacrifice was made that in retrospect wasn’t needed. The whole team would have loved to see Serge win a stage, and if the final information about the Sastre group catching Basso had reached the front team car a few seconds earlier, it might all have ended differently. But that shows the highs and lows of the sport, yesterday we get a brilliant victory by Simon Gerrans, today we’re the losers of the day.”

grolby

There is not enough "incorrect," in the entire universe for this laughable drivel. Contador is not here. WTF cares what he hypothetically would or would not do to this field? Damn, he must be a great rider if he can destroy the Giro without even showing up! I hate this phrase, but if Contador were to take a hint from Menchov and 'man up,' by riding the Giro AND the Tour, and win both, then I might begin to believe your sycophantic press. Menchov is going to finish, at absolute worst, in third position at this Giro. Chances are better than even that he will win or take second. And then he's going to go to the Tour and, mark my words, he's going to be in the top 5. He's got a good shot at the podium, too.

Contador is an amazing rider, and he's the hot favorite for the TdF win this year, no doubt, but all the posturing in the world about how he would eat the Giro for lunch doesn't amount to a hill of beans when he doesn't show the F up. He's not here, since he (evidently) feels that doing this race would hurt his chances at the Tour. There's some good racing going on, and the current Maglia Rosa is going to be one of the guys that Contador will be watching closely in July. He's not going to win the Tour by drinking Champagne and eating bon-bons. He's got some real competition, including some of the riders in this Giro.

erader

contador has won all three grand tours. menchov only the vuelta.

like him or not contador is the man. menchov has a lot more to prove than contador. i do think menchov is the man to beat in this race but i also wouldn't be shocked if he didn't make the podium.

ed rader

botto 

take your idiotic dope crap to the 'professional cycling' forum.

YMCA

Why is there a "pro cycling" forum?
What's wrong with this forum?
This is the only one I frequent.
Do I need to check out all the others as well?
Why?
Do they just talk about the same things over there, that we talk about here?
I'm too lazy to look.

botto 

it's the renamed tour de france forum, populated by newbs and rubes who think they know something about bike racing.

i could provide a link, but i like you too much.

USAZorro

No, no. You must pronounce it like the Universal Sports butcher of names: "Cher-a-vel-o."