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Giro D'Italia

PrinceofClydes's picture
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started by PrinceofClydes on May 30, 2009

I've been watching the Giro live every morning this month on Universal Sports dot com.

It has been exciting and the scenery from the helicopters has been at times breathtaking. The Amalfi coast and the shots from Vesuvius particularly.
Tomorrow is the final stage the TT in Rome that finishes in front of the Colisseum.

Menchov has a firm grasp on the lead and is time trialing well having won the long individual TT last week but he could crash / flat and DiLuca is only 20 seconds behind so..

Rogers is going to be riding the new Scott Plasma TT bike which looks hot in the fotos / writeup I saw.

Thoughts?

PoC

"It was a joke folks...I know what a "brazilian" is..."
- Anton

chekmarks's picture
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chekmarks posted 42 weeks ago.

the giro is AMAZING! danilo di luca may not win, but he became my favorite rider over the course of the past 20 days. he is relentless, just attack, attack, attack.

the only problem with the giro is that i've been tapering the past week, and after watching i just want to get on the bike, find hills and pretend di luca is attacking me...

CadenceGuy's picture
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CadenceGuy posted 42 weeks ago.

The new Scott looks whicked!

Anton's picture
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Anton posted 42 weeks ago.

Been watching @ US sports too...I've always been a fan of "The Giro." Well, at least since "Breaking Away." ("The Italians are coming" and all that) I believe the Giro to be the best of the Grand Tours and the includes TdF. If someone offered me either a ticket to The Giro or one to TdF...I'd go to The Giro.

"A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men."

http://antonspath.blogspot.com

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kylie posted 42 weeks ago.

I've really been enjoying the US sports coverage on TV. Some great shots of the places and the riding, and fun to see :)

Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV

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kylie posted 42 weeks ago.

Oh, and Anton, this makes me want to see Breaking Away :)

Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV

Anton's picture
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Anton posted 42 weeks ago.

YOU"VE NEVER SEEN IT! Shame on you. Shame. ;)
Mind you, it takes place in Indiana, but the protagonist perseverates on the "the Italians"...Lives on his bike, shaves his legs, even affecting an accent. When 'The Italians" do come to ride in a local race...the outcome is not what he expected.
There is redemption as he finds himself and comes to discover who he is (at least for a 19 year old!)

"A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men."

http://antonspath.blogspot.com

gfd's picture
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gfd posted 42 weeks ago.

I've been following it online when I can. Cycling is such an amazing sport and the Giro is every bit as good or better than the TdF. I like the coverage of the TdF better though. Universal did a nice job, but I want to hear Ligget.

"If we help someone else up a steep hill, we get nearer to the top ourselves." ~Unknown~
~Garen~
http://baldhungariantriproject.blogspot.com/

Anton's picture
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Anton posted 42 weeks ago.

"Oh, he's dancing on the pedals!"
"The elastic has snapped!"
Oh! Those legs have gone!"
"Tough climb, that!"
"He looks into the eyes of Ulrich and says: 'Are you coming or not?" and the answer is... 'Not!'"
I'll pick up the DVD...just gotta have my Ligget!

Hey...Have a great sprint tomorrow, Garen!

"A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men."

http://antonspath.blogspot.com

cjhoffmn's picture
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cjhoffmn posted 42 weeks ago.

I've watched every stage - often on the computer while I'm on my trainer. I do find that I ride harder while I'm watching it! I've thought it was has been a great race to watch.

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Tamara posted 41 weeks ago.

gfd wrote:
Universal did a nice job, but I want to hear Ligget.

It's not the same, but I did hear one of the commentators say "well that sucks" when referencing something earlier this week. Not something you typically hear from Phil and Paul!

PrinceofClydes's picture
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PrinceofClydes posted 41 weeks ago.

and as I suggested could happen.. Menchov fell on the TT only 600m from the finish, but he had enough seconds in hand to stay ahead of DiLuca and take the Giro title.

Terrific race, terrific drama and excellent coverage by Rai TV on Universal. I've definitely bookmarked that site!

PoC

"It was a joke folks...I know what a "brazilian" is..."
- Anton

jsk85's picture
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jsk85 posted 41 weeks ago.

Great job by Menchov...he really tore up the TT's and then just raced tactically smart otherwise. Without the fall he'd have won the stage yesterday, no one else that went off after the rain even came close. I was cheering for an Italian to win it, but it was awesome racing nonetheless.
Unfortunately, I only got to watch replays on Universal Sports since I can't stream the video at work...I was getting the cyclingnews text updates though.

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SueR posted 41 weeks ago.

Oh Anton, everytime a transport truck passes me I hope he's gonna stick a few fingers out the window as I sprint madly to keep up! Love that movie! Kylie you gotta watch it!
Of course, my second fave riding movie features sprints with Eddie!

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tri-ac posted 41 weeks ago.

good for menchov!

after a disappointing fall last year at the TdF, where he attacked on a climb and even snuck past the cameras only to fall and lose any ambition on taking the stage and the yellow jersey...he's clearly one to watch in the grand tours to come...

poor danilo diluca...what an awesome fight he put up...i didn't follow him much, but much respect for him after this giro!

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Sully800 posted 41 weeks ago.

Couple of questions:

What does Di Luca have against aero equipment? No bars at all in the first TT, now he rides a road bike with clip ons on such a short TT? I didn't watch the full coverage of the last stage so I'm not sure how a lot of the earlier guys were kitted, but that seems to be a mistake to me. And no wonder he was ahead at the first time check, he was standing and sprinting for the first quarter! Certainly aggressive and it made the race interesting, but that is no way to win a TT. Much respect nonetheless.

Secondly - how are the bikes attached to the roof racks? The rabobank guy had the bike removed in a fraction of a second. Didn't flip anything, didn't wrestle with it....just picked it up and sprinted it over. The aerial shot is amazing, how quickly the new bike is ready from the time he first goes down.

Finally - Why does Universal Sports have to spoil everything with their online coverage. I was able to watch all of the stages on TV except the final one, so I watched that online. When I get to their website there are hundreds of videos "Menchov wins!" "Menchov battles through crash!" "Armstrong out of top 50" "Di Luca battles but loses". Put those in a link with spoiler alerts, or at least keep the results out of the title :roll:

Beyond my complaining - that was an AWESOME giro. Definitely more entertaining than the last couple of TdF's in my opinion. Good coverage!

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Elise posted 41 weeks ago.

My husband and I just got back from our bike tour through Italy. We started in Venice and biked to Rome. We stayed in Rome for a few days and made Sunday (the final day of the Giro) our last day in Italy. We spent all of Sunday at the race and it was amazing! I met Lance (I didn't realize how popular he is with non-Americans too!) and we watched all of the racers do the time trial through Rome. Sully asked why Di Luca rode a road bike in the last TT. We actually heard many racers talk about how they weren't sure if they should ride road or TT bikes. The weather was threatening rain and the course was pretty crazy, lots of turns and cobblestone roads. It pretty much only rained during Mechov and Di Luca's turns. If I were riding, I would have chosen a road bike. It was an exciting race and was something I would love to see again! Too bad I won't be in France for the Tour.