Giro d'Italia / Tour de France

[Knockout Ned]

I'm warming to them, gives riders a little more incentive to race rather than hold wheels.

Enjoyed that last descent today, where did Evans come from for second?!

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Scarponi lost some time with that crash which probably means he is going to have to be a little more aggressive, and that could benefit the race. Nibali looks good as well.

 

[Wombat del combate]

I'm not a huge fan to be honest - say you get a puncture; you've got the delay of getting a new wheel (or taking a team-mate's) to suffer and try to make up but you could also lose an extra chunk of time because of a rival winning. For something so tactically-balanced it doesn't sit all that well with me.

 

[Pompey Wolf]

It's a difficult one really. It feels somewhat unnatural but leads to aggressive racing.

Ryder was really impressive yesterday, carrying on his form from the end of the classics. It was interesting that Astana seemed to be stronger than Sky as well.

 

[Knockout Ned]

Punctures are just bad luck and probably pretty rare in the last few km.

Not so much of a problem further out where the overall pace is lower and there's time for recovery after the chase back on.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Nasty crash in the last kilometre today. Didn't damage the favourites too badly though.

But the RAIN at the finish when they went live on Eurosport was biblical. Had they arrived in that it would have been carnage.

 

[Knockout Ned]

It was pretty shocking, they had the hair dryer on the finish line at one point

 

[From Distant Shores]

I've managed to see the last hour or so of each stage on the TV so far. Wiggo seems a little unsure and a little unprotected and has twice in a row been caught out by crashes in the last 3 km. No damage done yesterday but the judges deemed he lost time on Tuesday. I don't know if Sky are taking it easy with the exception of Uran-Uran this week but they never seem to get more than four riders near the front of the bunch. It seems unusually un co-ordinated the at the moment.

 

[Knockout Ned]

No sprinter, no need to work in flatter stages.

That said I thought they'd learnt a lesson after the ill-fated 2011 Tour...

 

[Wombat del combate]

Wiggo's challenge in tatters after he crashes...

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

If he starts the TT tomorrow and is fit he can make 90 seconds up. Does mean very little margin for error in the big hills though.

 

[Wombat del combate]

BBC reports that he wasn't riding too freely when he crossed the line; hopefully he was just being careful and any injuries are superficial.

 

[Knockout Ned]

Hopefully nothing that can't be fixed, get him right for the TT and see how things stand this time tomorrow.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

mechanical for wiggins in the time trial means a bike change - maybe cost him 10 seconds. not having a lot of luck in this giro.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

turned out to be a great ride from Wiggo but that mechanical cost him the stage. Blown Hesjadal away and taken decent time out of Evans but Nibali looks incredibly good with the mountains to come.

 

[Knockout Ned]

It's Nibali's to lose now, he's been strong all year and looks like he's timed his peak right. I can't see Wiggins catching him without the aid of crash or mechanical.

Lots to go yet though and some incredibly hard riding...

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

The final time trial is uphill and only 20k. Wiggo needs a lot of luck to wipe out 75 seconds on Nibali on that course. The uphill isn't a problem, it is descending that Brad is very poor at by comparison to Nibali.

 

[Knockout Ned]

Nibali may be content to sit in and mark, will need to set a high pace and keep him away from those time bonuses. Maybe high enough to crack him late on?

Will be tough but there's plenty of time...

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

The key for Wiggins is now the support from Uran and Henao. Make the most of Rigoberto, Bradley. Next season he is going to be a team leader elsewhere I reckon.

 

[Knockout Ned]

Eurosport were suggesting during today's stage that Uran was off next year...