Giro d'Italia 2023 thread (incl velogames)

Ooh nice one @nbt! 🙂
I'm away this weekend so I'll miss the opening stages.

Official Giro website is here:
https://www.giroditalia.it/en/the-route/

There were some pictures on a Twitter thread the other day showing some of the passes still under a lot of snow.

I've already updated my velogames team twice

I'm going to be at the Bergamo stage 🙂

Completely by accident we are in Rome for a (senior) lads weekend at the finish. I'm the only cyclist so my mates are groaning about the city centre being full of "cyclists" but no doubt I'll be able to watch a couple of laps with beers.

Nice!

crazy-legs
Full Member
Ooh nice one @nbt! 🙂
I’m away this weekend so I’ll miss the opening stages.

Official Giro website is here:
https://www.giroditalia.it/en/the-route/

There were some pictures on a Twitter thread the other day showing some of the passes still under a lot of snow.

This is how you tell what time of year it is.

Images of passes with snow, Giro coming up

Cyclists in sunflower fields, time for the tour

No need for calendars or that fancy rubbish

Here's what I wrote on the thread I started at the same time as this:

Of course, inrng has a really detailed course/contender preview here: https://inrng.com/2023/05/giro-italia-2023-contenders/ or you can listen to one of 10 billion giro preview podcasts.

Of course, the headliners are Roglič and Evenepoel who are both looking in *quite* good form. If they both say upright and well for the whole race it should be a good battle. The second-string of riders should provide some good racing as well. Ineos have 9 leaders, UAE have Vine and dropped-not-dropped Almeida, Bahrain and EF have dome some good racing and Thibaut Pinot will be there with his emotional baggage.

Was just pondering to myself about how the Giro winner is often not the favourite, or if a fave wins it's on the back of some significant jeopardy along the way. So lets hope for a Carapaz-style sneak-attack winner or a Froome-style win from the back of the pack. Maybe not a Dumoulin-style drama though.

Right, time of the year when I need to adjust my work schedule to account for background Grand Tour TV....

Have, as usual,picked a team based on my hopes and dreams rather than my expectations!!

here for stages 7,13,16,19 and the utterly ridiculous ITT on stage 20

we all know the drama happens on the random flat sprint days though

So lets hope for a Carapaz-style sneak-attack winner or a Froome-style win from the back of the pack.

I'm really hopeful that Tao will put in a top performance. He won in the (very Covid disrupted) 2020 Giro going from 126th to 1st with the stage only really won on the final day. There were also situations within Ineos like Thomas crashing out and Carapaz being shifted to the Tour which sort of opened the door for him but he won Tour of the Alps the other week and is obviously on good form.

Fingers crossed for him.

Tao is exactly who I had in mind when I thought of a sneaky winner. He's been good this year but not as eye catching as the two favourites. Ineos have a really good team this year as well.

Tao? no chance, zero, be nowhere near remco/roglic in the TT's, 2020 Tao was 58s down on Ganna in the final TT over 15.7km, stage 1 is 19.6km and stage 9 is 35km, so he's going to lose upwards of 3 minutes between them, and Jumbo & Quikstep aren't just going to let him ride away on stages

and the closing stage being the the third TT with a tough climb.

Understatement of the year! 😀

It's a 19km ITT, with an 8km final climb gaining 900m, taken after 3 weeks of terrain mainly described as hilly/mountainous and followed by a 700km transfer to the final stage in Rome. I'll bet the domestiques are so looking forward to that. I am! 😀

https://twitter.com/JumboVismaRoad/status/1654488366304354305

Jumbo visma not having a good start, they've swapped two ridersd due to covid already now Jan Tratnik is injured. I know I had him in my team at one point but I've made so many changes I'll have to go and check if that's still the case...

Evening bump for this, entries must be submitted to velogames by 12.45 UK time, though as long as your team is in by that time you can join the STW mini league at any point. Have a beverage and a read of the articles above and get your teams entered

I'm currently on version 8 of my team, I think. I keep having second thoughts and changing...

Team 'No Gnocchi' is in.

Jan Tratnik is not riding, has been replaced by Tom Gloag

the utterly ridiculous ITT on stage 20

I thought it's not happening now on that road, as they "only just" realised that it's too narrow to get cars up it.

Awesome stuff @nbt. Thanks for setting this up. Bloody annoyed I'm in the office for the next 2 weeks so will have to rely on highlights

25 minutes or so left for last minute changes

I like Orla's socks!

😂 Jesus

Jesus

That's one way to describe Remco! 😱

Tao? no chance, zero, be nowhere near remco/roglic in the TT’s,

How's that prediction panning out for you...?

😉

Go Tao!!

No highlights on ITV 4 this year then? Shame I was looking forward to it!

No highlights on ITV 4 this year then? Shame I was looking forward to it!

It's on DMAX at 19:00

I like Orla’s socks

In their own way Orla’s legs are as impressive as Remco’s

It’s on DMAX at 19:00

DMAX is Discovery, so it's the Eurosport coverage, but often in super low resolution, weirdly. I like switching to ITV for a little bit of calm for a change!

Looks like ITV won't be covering the Vuelta, unless it's announced later in the season:

https://www.itv.com/itvcycling/articles/2023-cycling-on-itv4

How’s that prediction panning out for you…?

fine, ganna underperformed, i assumed he might beat remco by around 10 seconds, roglic not at the races, and remco still ahead of Tao by 40 seconds, will still ship more time on stage 9

One of my favourite things about cycling is that it can look at a generational talent like Remco, see his impeccable position on a bike, his beautiful pedalling style, his efficiency and say: Here you go, here's a fruit bowl and a snood to wear, lad.

There’s a highlights hour on S4C as well. You might not speak Welsh but there’s always the universal language of the road!

One of my favourite things about cycling is that it can look at a generational talent like Remco, see his impeccable position on a bike, his beautiful pedalling style, his efficiency and say: Here you go, here’s a fruit bowl and a snood to wear, lad.

🤣🤣🤣👏👏👏

In their own way Orla’s legs are as impressive as Remco’s

She had to try really hard not to give us a Basic Instinct moment today.

Here you go, here’s a fruit bowl and a snood to wear, lad.

Should be banned as an affront to elegance.

Looks like a sprinty day today.

https://inrng.com/2023/05/giro-stage-2-preview-san-salvo/

I think a win from cav is unlikely as he’s got no leadout, but it will be interesting to see how he fares.

we all know the drama happens on the random flat sprint days though

quite

How’s that prediction panning out for you…?

anyone hazard a guess why Ineos didn't get Ganna to pace Tao back? shipped 19 seconds?

good win by Kittel Milan

I know this is the Giro thread, and I couldn't find a women's Vuelta thread, but blimey, what a finish to that race on a foggy summit!! AVV's 99th victory at 40 years old!

@fazzini I was just coming on here to say just that. That was an incredible bike race - I was rooting for Vollering all the way up. I think she's the moral victor here cos she didn't have to attack AVV while she was pissing to make time.

Yes the Vuelta was brilliant.

I’ve watched and re-watched the crash and I can’t help thinking that it was largely down to Jumbo Visma sweeping across to the right, and yet it’s Ackerman who got the abuse from Evenepoel and the GCN presenters. Am I missing something?

I think she’s the moral victor here cos she didn’t have to attack AVV while she was pissing to make time.

”Hilarious ”

I think there was an element of karma as apparently DV has previous in attacking AVV when she had a mechanical on TdF

Aaaand - crossover from the Crap Design thread, but how do women take a pee break during a race? It’s difficult enough when you have an integral tune-shaped appendage.

I’ve watched and re-watched the crash and I can’t help thinking that it was largely down to Jumbo Visma sweeping across to the right, and yet it’s Ackerman who got the abuse from Evenepoel and the GCN presenters. Am I missing something?

I thought so to, but I think they are saying it was Ackermann who caused them to sweep across the road like that after touching wheels.

It looked like at least one spectator took a very nasty direct hit in the crash, presumably survived without serious injury or we would have heard about it? Those gaps in the hedges should have been barriered at that point in the stage. Giro innit.

Gilbert's analysis, it was all started from a forceful elbow from Groves.

Which is what they are saying on today's coverage and Grove's fessed up. He was getting closed into the barrier.

Still hard to see even here!

https://twitter.com/mcewenrobbie/status/1655281939056656384?s=20

Some very dubious bike repair attempts by Sepp Kuss this afternoon.

AXS battery swap, it seems:

https://escapecollective.cc/what-on-earth-was-sepp-kuss-doing-to-his-rear-derailleur/

He didn't seem at all flusrered by it, which is impressive.

Good finish by Matthews today - he looked like he was having a lot of fun.

Preview of today's stages, early fireworks for the GC anyone?

https://inrng.com/2023/05/giro-stage-4-preview-lago-laceno/

AXS battery swap, it seems:

It’d probably take me about half an hour to do that with the bike on a stand 🙂

cracking stage in the tour of Wales.

Into the final 10km now, looking like a win for the breakaway unless it goes ballistic behind. Potentially the Maglia Rosa going to someone in the breakaway as well.

tour de wales looking well grim, can see this being called off.

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Can someone explain the logic behind wanting to "give away" the Maglia Rosa? If you think it gives your team an obligation to work hard to "defend" it, you can just pretend that someone else has it, and ride accordingly. Seems to me that a lot of pro cycling lore is absolute BS !!

You have all the hassle at the end of each stage ie interviews and doping controls. Also the Team of the pink jersey will be duty bound to try and control the race thereby saving your team from having to do too much work.

You have all the hassle at the end of each stage ie interviews and doping controls.

Fair point.

Also the Team of the pink jersey will be duty bound to try and control the race thereby saving your team from having to do too much work.

Or they could just decide not to bother !

 

Or they could just decide not to bother !

Well that's really what they did. THey controlled the peloton continaing those with a reasonable chance of GC over a 3 week race, and allowed a win from a breakaway continaing riders who they don't judge to be a threat to the overall. They now expect Leknessund to hold it for a while but eventually fall away. If they'd not bothered at all, then the win could have come from someone from whom they would s maybe struggle to take it back

Rotten weather today, already seen 2 of the riders in the early break go down on a corner. Thankfully both got straight back up, the slippiness mean they just slid. Thibaut Pinot in the break alongside Champion (Cofidis) and Zoccarato (Green Bardiani I think), looke like he's aiming for the Maglia Azzura

remco taken out by a dog

I'm about 20 minutes behind live coverage so just seen it. well that's crap. at least he's back on the bike and being paced back into the pelotno (whic is about to catch Pinot, who has droped out of the break having bagged the first KOM).

The first guy to go down in the dog incident must have slid over 100 metres on the wet road. really crappy.

https://twitter.com/writebikerepeat/status/1656263542008434695

Those roads are slippery - couldn't believe how far that guy slid!

bloody horrible descent ! arrrghhhh wheres the road oh **** a hairpin 🙁

that's one miserable looking peloton 🙂

peloton looks like an angry mob all desperate for a warm shower.

Remco down like a sack of spuds

Cav wiped out

For a boring stage lots of incidents even camera bike crashed.
Cav crosses the line on his arse! Looked like a horrible day.

Cav crosses the line on his arse!

5th position, has anyone ever finished higher while sliding across the line on their arse?

Nightmare stage

At least 4 mobile phones taken out in that finish . . .

WTAF was Cav doing in that sprint?!

crazy-legs
Full Member
WTAF was Cav doing in that sprint?!

Spun his back wheel so just pulled back in. Unfortunately Dainese (sp?) then pulled out across him and it all fell apart

WTAF was Cav doing in that sprint?!

Lost the back end on the white line, he was lucky not to go down due to that tbh

Yeah, I saw a second angle later - the first video I saw it looks like he's just swerving like a pillock but the other angle shows the wheel going.

He's not doing great so far, poor lad. 4 stages, 2 crashes. ☹️

I see the DSM rider has been relegated for his part in it.

@avdave2

The record for people sliding over the line is most likely this one

That stage had more crashes than windows vista.

https://inrng.com/2023/05/giro-stage-6-preview-napoli/

Preview for today's stage, a relatively straightforward loop - same town for start and finish. Weather forecast is drier today at least so I can see this being a general recovery day after the chaos of yesterday.

Let a keen break go, have a steady day, then pull it back on the fast run in.

Maybe... 😉

Edit: posting glitch

Edit: posting glitch

NOT a criticism (obviously) but I still can't get my head around how fast and how often these guys go down in the wet.

It just shows the difference in a 90kg plodder on 75psi tyres doing 30km/h and these guys doing a bazillion km/h on (presumably) higher psi.

Looking forward to today, we had our honeymoon in Sorrento, might even get my wife interested in the stage, briefly at least 😆

Edit: another bad day for electric gears it seems after Kuss's heroics, frustrated break away rider kicking the rear mech and bashing his lever. Would love to know if the pro peleton really benefits from them.