Giro d'Italia

Now we have something / quite-a-lot to discuss and celebrate.
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cycleruk
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by cycleruk »

Fabulous stage today over the Stelvio. Brought on the shivers just to watch it and on the rivet right to the end. Best stage of the race so far.
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pwa
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by pwa »

cycleruk wrote:Fabulous stage today over the Stelvio. Brought on the shivers just to watch it and on the rivet right to the end. Best stage of the race so far.

I will watch the highlights later. The Missus and I went over the Stelvio in the opposite direction in 1993 with all the camping gear on the bikes. Forget the Tourmalet, the Gallibier and all the French mountain roads, the Stelvio is supreme.
reohn2
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by reohn2 »

cycleruk wrote:Fabulous stage today over the Stelvio. Brought on the shivers just to watch it and on the rivet right to the end. Best stage of the race so far.

It was one of,if not the best stage of any of the grand tours I've watched.

And IMHO the Giro is always the best grand tour,this year's been spectacular!
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kylecycler
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by kylecycler »

Never having been very good at riding 'no hands' I was wincing when they were trying to put their jackets on before the descent after the Stelvio - took one or two of them far too long and the others could have attacked while they were preoccupied, or they could even have fallen.

Makes you think they should have jackets that do up with velcro, not zips, seriously - they could even be closer fitting once they're on because velcro strips are just about infinitely adjustable. I know it was the wind that was the main problem - it kept catching the sleeves when they were trying to put the jackets on - but it was still more of a palaver than it should have been.

Sorry, that sounds silly after such an epic stage, don't mean to diminish it, but sometimes the silly things matter too.
reohn2
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by reohn2 »

A velcro front full length jacket is harder to do up than a zip.

It didn't go unnoticed (by me at least)that both INEOS riders found it easy to ride no hands and zip up their jackets than either Sunweb rider,better bike steering geometry or better easier zips perhaps?
Maybe one of the small details that all add up to a less stressful ride?
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thirdcrank
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by thirdcrank »

I remember Stephen Roche - as a Eurosport commentator before Sean Kelly - saying it was a better idea to put a racing cape on back-to-front as it was easier to get on and protected the chest without fastening up, but I've never seen anybody do it that way
Norman H
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by Norman H »

cycleruk wrote:Fabulous stage today over the Stelvio. Brought on the shivers just to watch it and on the rivet right to the end. Best stage of the race so far.


Yes, there was a big levelling up of the GC on today's stage. With more climbing to come on Saturday's Sestriere stage the final TT on Sunday could be another cliffhanger.
reohn2
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by reohn2 »

thirdcrank wrote:I remember Stephen Roche - as a Eurosport commentator before Sean Kelly - saying it was a better idea to put a racing cape on back-to-front as it was easier to get on and protected the chest without fastening up, but I've never seen anybody do it that way

It was mentioned in today's stage by(the mostly annoying as a commentator)Rob Hatch.
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kylecycler
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by kylecycler »

reohn2 wrote:A velcro front full length jacket is harder to do up than a zip.

It didn't go unnoticed (by me at least)that both INEOS riders found it easy to ride no hands and zip up their jackets than either Sunweb rider, better bike steering geometry or better easier zips perhaps?
Maybe one of the small details that all add up to a less stressful ride?

Yeah, on second thoughts I guess you're right - the velcro would keep catching. Maybe bigger, wider zips, right enough?

Steering geometry is a whole other subject - we could derail the thread - not so much in the men's peloton but in the women's where some of them are riding XS or XXS frame sizes with shallow head angles to shorten the reach, even with short stems, but the same fork offset as the larger sizes with steeper head angles; consequently there's too much wheel flop at low speeds (some manufacturers rightly compensate with larger-offset forks in the smaller sizes but a few don't). But like I said maybe a subject for another thread - I don't actually know if it's an issue but it certainly might be.
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kylecycler
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by kylecycler »

thirdcrank wrote:I remember Stephen Roche - as a Eurosport commentator before Sean Kelly - saying it was a better idea to put a racing cape on back-to-front as it was easier to get on and protected the chest without fastening up, but I've never seen anybody do it that way

I mis-read that the first time as 'racing cap', not cape! :) I can see how it makes sense, though.

Irishman walks into his LBS and says, "Have ye got one o' dem racin' caps wi' de skip at de back?" :D
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mjr
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by mjr »

reohn2 wrote:It didn't go unnoticed (by me at least)that both INEOS riders found it easy to ride no hands and zip up their jackets than either Sunweb rider,better bike steering geometry or better easier zips perhaps?
Maybe one of the small details that all add up to a less stressful ride?

Adds up to a big time difference, according to Brian Smith on the highlights, who reckoned that ditching his flapping rain jacket led to Kelderman getting cold on the descent and losing time on the flat before the next climb.

The Castelli Gabba that Ineos use is reportedly good enough that other teams sometimes use debranded versions in preference to their own jackets. Sunweb normally wear Craft and today wasn't a great ad for them.
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rjb
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by rjb »

reohn2 wrote:A velcro front full length jacket is harder to do up than a zip.

It didn't go unnoticed (by me at least)that both INEOS riders found it easy to ride no hands and zip up their jackets than either Sunweb rider,better bike steering geometry or better easier zips perhaps?
Maybe one of the small details that all add up to a less stressful ride?


They should have had the newspaper sellers handing out yesterday's news for stuffing up your jumper. I miss those old times. :lol:

Some riders would put those tops on back to front as it's easier to put your arms in first. :wink: sorry I see TC has already mentioned this. I've even known riders use a supermarket bag, head through the handle and stuff down your front, and only 5p :lol:
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
Brucey
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by Brucey »

well that is all quite exciting!

I've never been over the Stelvio at this time of year; I think they were lucky with the weather.

All set for a good GC battle; 25 years since it has been this close, apparently.

cheers
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FerociousDog
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by FerociousDog »

mjr wrote:The Castelli Gabba that Ineos use is reportedly good enough that other teams sometimes use debranded versions in preference to their own jackets. Sunweb normally wear Craft and today wasn't a great ad for them.

I have the Long-sleeve Castelli Gabba(although they're now called Perfetto) and it's basically a very tight fitting soft shell.Very warm even when wet but you don't get over warm.I wouldn't want to try to get it on whilst riding uphill though!They are a fantastic jersey/jacket.Costly though.
Postboxer
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Re: Giro d'Italia

Post by Postboxer »

They're getting the bus today!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/54640116
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