I called Gilbert's win with 5k to go.
He completely outmanned Voeckler and Popo and the rest of that field.
That's Classics strength. Fantastic.

I guess nobody was real interested in today's stage. It just ended. Not much happened. The TT is gonna be interesting, the margins are still very close.

nice. my pick was ebh. :(

if people would get over their levi/lance man crushes, they would see that this has been a really exciting giro. less than 20 seconds separating the top two going into the final technical time trial, battles everyday for time bonuses, diluca's attacking style, etc. it has been an awesome display of cycling talent.

I agree, it's been a great race. I just wish it was on TV so I didn't have to watch the poorly buffering streams online that start and stop every 2 seconds.

I'm ready for the Tour, at least I get to watch that on TV, in high definition, live, all day long. Gonna be sweet.

Attended a wedding in Ravello in 97. Rode from there to the base of Vesuvius. The climb would have killed me:o

Spent more time sipping limoncello than riding.

:thumb:

Diluca is definitely making Menchov earn it big time. To bad Sastre wasn't up to speed earlier. He looked almost spritely going up Vesuvias; everbody else looked haggard.

Universal hasn't come online yet.

Weather conditions don't sound too good....light rain apparently. Cobbles, crowds, rain....yea, this should be interesting.

Haha, here we go...the gripes about how poor the roads are. Bruyneel: "it's a joke."

Watchingthe guys coming off the ramp you can see the rear slide a bit as they mash....eh, they're pros: HTFU.

They (Universal) split the streams into "TV" and "Web" and the buffering problem seems to have dissipated.

LA driving to TT said there appears to be a Critical Mass rally going. Damn, let's see some Euro hippies and their rides.

Just watched that. Not sure why Yuri even went. 15m in and he was looking back for a way out.

Didn't someone say that a plumber designed the course?

Rain just started, should be interesting

Here comes the rain. This is going to be gnarly for DiLuca...we got some real drama going now.

One crash already likely due to rain. Yes it will be "tricky" for those still to start.

voigt just had a near miss.

Avg.speed for Giro put at 40 Kmh? Damn, these guys are amazing.

Fellini moment there...couple of priest/monks walking down the street in their brown robes and rope/rosary belts. Can't say I've seen too many priests fronting that look in SoCal lately.

I've got the Nino Rota rocking in the background for effect today.

Why is Jens on drop bars? It didn't seem to help him stay on the road.

he did stay on the road.

Interesting to see all the 808s and 1080s instead of discs. Cobbles changing the gear selection.

Should Seeldrayers be wearing his straps under the helmet?

didn't realize what a technical mess this course is.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2009...hics/map21.gif

why is di luca not riding a tt bike?