Giro d'Italia

[reohn2]

at last the GC race begins; I wish Yates well but attacking is one thing and defending is quite another. It may well be that over the next couple of weeks his team exhaust themselves in defending; at this stage in the race no-one is going to settle for a placing, so allies in other teams are going to be few and far between.

Sprinter's stage today....

cheers

That's my concern too,whether the team have enough depth to defend the Pink.Doumolin is playing it canny as is Froome IMO.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

Do we think Yatesy can win it?

No.

[reohn2]

Hi,

Do we think Yatesy can win it?

No.

Why?

[Si]

Don't know how he did that, or why they let him

Not sure that they had a lot of choice!

Anyway, every time I see that Esteban Chaves in an interview he always comes across as a really really nice bloke...so I'm glad he won the stage.

Mrs Si's reaction when she walked in and looked at the TV..."cor, it looks really hot in Yorkshire!"

[Postboxer]

It did look really hot in Yorkshire.

[Cyril Haearn]

Bearing in mind that these big races frequently have stages outside their homeland - TdeF came to Yorkshire - what have you in mind here? I can see there's probably no Buttertubs but what's your point?

Well Israel isn't exactly the centre of the cycling universe
It's a bit Tour of Oman,etc,from a scenic perspective compared to Italy.

TBH it's all getting a bit money centric IMO,if Iceland could put up the right money and thought it would gain from having a couple of stages around Reykjavik,any major tour would gladly oblige I dare say........

Cycle sport is all about money and a bit about sport

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

Hi,

Do we think Yatesy can win it?

No.

Why?

He's a great cyclist, but I am not sure he can hack it on all terrains, age is on his side though in the future as Froome came good at 25.........
Seen him go for the top finish many times and does not quite carry on till the finish, I wish him luck.
He has to get by Froome, Doumolin, Pinot, Aru, etc, whats the odds they will just move over.

Fever pitch is mounting as froome is not near the top but who knows, its his 1st entry for eight year in the Giro.

[reohn2]

Don't know how he did that, or why they let him

Not sure that they had a lot of choice!

Anyway, every time I see that Esteban Chaves in an interview he always comes across as a really really nice bloke...so I'm glad he won the stage.

Agreed,Mrs R2 says he isn't old enough to be racing with all those men!

Mrs Si's reaction when she walked in and looked at the TV..."cor, it looks really hot in Yorkshire!"

Wimmin eh?
I hope you told her it was Lancashire

[reohn2]

Hi,
He's a great cyclist, but I am not sure he can hack it on all terrains, age is on his side though in the future as Froome came good at 25.........
Seen him go for the top finish many times and does not quite carry on till the finish, I wish him luck.
He has to get by Froome, Doumolin, Pinot, Aru, etc, whats the odds they will just move over.

He's good enough alright unless they deflate an air bridge
The problem as I see it is Chavez,in that he's one less team member because he's a bit small for looking after Yates on the flat stages.I could be wrong though.
As for the other GC contenders,I reckon he can had hem OK.

Fever pitch is mounting as froome is not near the top but who knows, its his 1st entry for eight year in the Giro.

Froome seems to be coming to form slowly after his fall before the prolong.
Whatever,the Giro has all the makings of a close and interesting race.

[Brucey]

just caught up with some recorded highlights and boy they were going for it on the run-in to the finish of stage 7; the bunch was like an angry swarm of bees, reaching ~75kph on a (presumably slightly downhill) part of the run in about four miles from the finish.

Froome looks, er, vulnerable, after another spill that most folk reckon was avoidable... and I'm not sure that Yates has the team he needs.

It is quite an exciting race, this....

cheers

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Today is the stage to watch, even Yates says it will be hard................er than stage 8, so it will be harder for Yates to do anything to day unless he is banking on another froomey wobble.

I always thought Froomeys history of mtb racing must have been a misprint or its was on a games machine, his bike control despite his sporting prowess is crap. Even without the presenters comments.

Will we see and it will kick off today..........two weeks left for Yates...........will it all stay together..............optimism he has, I wish him good luck.

P.S. - I predict that Yates will loose GC by 30 - 60 seconds, today.

[rjb]

Chavez is the team leader so he will just allow Simon to field all the pressure and keep a low profile until the final week.

[Paulatic]

Carlton Kirby is definitely passed it.
Pictures showing Froome rocking like a chair, right knee heavily bandaged and his hips rocking to ease the pain. Carlton says Froome is looking good and riding into form
I wonder how many days he has to do to claim his appearance money?

[cycleruk]

Another good stage today. Hugh Carthy is a (young) friend of mine so willing him on to good things. Just hasn't got the stamina/power yet.
I think Froome is out of it for this years Giro as now nearly 2.5 minutes down. ( hat ready to eat )
Yates, another Lancashire lad, we will just have to wait and see.

[Paulatic]

Another good stage today. Hugh Carthy is a (young) friend of mine so willing him on to good things. Just hasn't got the stamina/power yet.
I think Froome is out of it for this years Giro as now nearly 2.5 minutes down. ( hat ready to eat )
Yates, another Lancashire lad, we will just have to wait and see.

It was a cracking stage and finish. Thankfully my assessment earlier in the day proved more accurate than Carlton’s. My hats safe for the day