Giro D'italia

Now we have something / quite-a-lot to discuss and celebrate.
rualexander
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by rualexander »

Pendodave wrote: 13 May 2021, 9:13pm To strike a more positive note, it was great to see one of Landa's teammates winning today.
The weather and stage difficulty over the last few days has made me very glad to be on my sofa.
But on a more negative note, disgraceful driving by Team Bike Exchange DS, driving into the back of a rider and knocking him off.
The DS has been expelled from the race, rightfully.
Postboxer
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Postboxer »

Not paying enough attention, if any, possibly they had glanced at the road ahead, seen two riders side by side but not noticed one was going much slower than the other. Does anyone know whether the crash victim rider was allowed to hold onto a car to make the time up, seems unfair to lose position because of another team's car.

Perhaps with in road obstructions there could be temporary markings painted on the road surface on the approach, perhaps colour coded so there is a warning followed by a prohibited area? A lot of work though, they would have to be quite long.
Richard Fairhurst
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Richard Fairhurst »

mjr wrote: 13 May 2021, 2:15pm How can they ever protect against what looked like some rider ignoring the warnings? What sort of warning would you suggest for the traffic island that resulted in the crash of Landa and others, besides the giant pedestrian crossing signs hanging above the road, the centre line going solid and then widening into hatching, the huge orange padding strapped to the front of the island, the marshal blowing a whistle and waving a flag and reportedly warnings over race radio?
I'm slightly surprised that, given all the tech on these bikes, their computer/power meter/whathaveyou doesn't give out a warning (beep, flash, whatever) in advance of an obstacle. In other words, basically load a GPX of excerpts from the roadbook onto the unit. As you say, nothing's ever going to be idiot-proof, but it would seem a sensible precaution at least.
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VinceLedge
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by VinceLedge »

I am sure I am getting fitter just watching them climb hills!
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cycleruk
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by cycleruk »

Richard Fairhurst wrote: 14 May 2021, 8:48am
mjr wrote: 13 May 2021, 2:15pm How can they ever protect against what looked like some rider ignoring the warnings? What sort of warning would you suggest for the traffic island that resulted in the crash of Landa and others, besides the giant pedestrian crossing signs hanging above the road, the centre line going solid and then widening into hatching, the huge orange padding strapped to the front of the island, the marshal blowing a whistle and waving a flag and reportedly warnings over race radio?
I'm slightly surprised that, given all the tech on these bikes, their computer/power meter/whathaveyou doesn't give out a warning (beep, flash, whatever) in advance of an obstacle. In other words, basically load a GPX of excerpts from the roadbook onto the unit. As you say, nothing's ever going to be idiot-proof, but it would seem a sensible precaution at least.
I'm not sure that a rider would hear a bleep when traveling at 40mph especially with all the noise of the peloton around him. I know the marshals have a whistle but maybe an air horn and a tall warning sign would help. Or some link into the riders earpiece from GPS?
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mattheus
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by mattheus »

I'm with MJR on this one. The race did an enormous amount to help the riders, and sadly a few made a small mistake which at those speeds was costly. I bet every minor race this year has an obstruction that is less well protected/alerted.

My only question is whether hitting the poor marshall made it worse. But that's a compromise - he's clearly a more effective warning stood a metre in front. Brave job!

Re: GPX alerts. Good idea, but depends on being kept *perfectly* upto date. So this Dragon is out :P
thirdcrank
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by thirdcrank »

I wonder if some riders are more able to keep their heads when all around are losing theirs. In the last few kms of of a bunch finish there's a lot going on requiring quick thinking including not only what we see on screen but also things like shouting between riders and instructions over the radio. It all seems clearer still with the benefit of slo-mo replays especially from overhead cameras. Riders are dealing with all this at the climax of several hours effort. And in real time. Under pressure, some people are able to think much more clearly than others and it doesn't surprise me that that might be so among racing cyclists. Also, the harder somebody is concentrating on, say, following a wheel, the more it may reduce perception of the otherwise obvious - like a race marshal waving a flag in the middle of the road.
mattheus
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by mattheus »

kylecycler wrote: 13 May 2021, 3:56pm Concerning yesterday, Joe Dumbrowski's team UAE Emirates are trying - scandalously and unjustifiably, as you'll see below - to blame the marshal...
According to the teams involved, the clash between Dombrowski and the operator who was signaling the fork four kilometers from Cattolica was caused by the worker with the flag: he hit the UAE runner, who lost his balance and took Landa ahead and Bidard. That person, Filippo Bartolucci, is in charge of carrying the flag to open the track or the blackboard with the differences on a motorcycle, with eight years of experience in the world of cycling, and the Giro organization asked him to stand on the island to indicate to the squad that rolled on both sides of the road.
https://as.com/ciclismo/2021/05/13/giro ... 78482.html

What, seriously?!...

Ah - thanks for this post.

I didn't realise until watching your clip (at the end) that the riders were switching from the left stream to the right stream at the last moment. That's another unlucky factor that contributed :-(

Also didn't know about Filippo Bartolucci.
Pendodave
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Pendodave »

Bernal looking tough to beat at the moment.
An extraordinary head plant (more like a head spring) by mohovic on a descent. Luckily he didn't take the spare bike he was offered, and seems ok under observation this evening.
I just wish that the weather was less British.
The link below is of the prang :
https://youtu.be/zd4VbO3OD7g
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Colin63
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Colin63 »

Pendodave wrote: 16 May 2021, 9:55pm Bernal looking tough to beat at the moment.
An extraordinary head plant (more like a head spring) by mohovic on a descent. Luckily he didn't take the spare bike he was offered, and seems ok under observation this evening.
I just wish that the weather was less British.
The link below is of the prang :
https://youtu.be/zd4VbO3OD7g
A very lucky man to have escaped serious injury - assuming that he has.
I wonder what the final climb would have been like had it been raining. It looked like clay, but perhaps that is just the colour of local gravel roads.
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TrevA
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by TrevA »

If you’ve not already seen it, make sure you watch the highlights of today’s stage. A lot of changes to the GC today.
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mattsccm
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by mattsccm »

Just thinking about the question about safety. Really the throttle works both ways doesn't ?
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Hellhound
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Hellhound »

I see they have taken out the two big guns in the Dolomites today due to adverse weather.Pity as it would have made for an interesting stage.
Postboxer
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by Postboxer »

Do they do this as the descents would be too treacherous? Is there any way they could 'neutralise' the descents in some way and still race the climbs? A bit unfair on good descenders though. Maybe record times at the top of a climb and then stipulate an extended time they are to take to reach a point past the treacherous parts, so they don't have to risk life and limb? Or each group has to follow a motorbike or derny downhill?

I haven't watched the highlights yet, perhaps I'm underestimating how bad the weather was.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Giro D'italia

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Just managed to catch up with the race.
Bit of a white wash in the shortening stage today.
Brits are still there, but Wiggo thinks it's still all to play for.
As we know anything can happen in the closing stages.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
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