Giro d'Italia 2016

[RedFish]

...The Giro d'Italia kicks off today in the Netherlands with a 9.8km TT.

The stages:

Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1 6 May

Apeldoorn 9.8 km (6 mi) Individual time trial
2 7 May

Arnhem –

Nijmegen 190 km (118 mi) Flat stage
3 8 May

Nijmegen –

Arnhem 189 km (117 mi) Flat stage
9 May Rest day
4 10 May Catanzaro – Praia a Mare 191 km (119 mi) Medium-mountain stage
5 11 May Praia a Mare – Benevento 233 km (145 mi) Hilly stage
6 12 May Ponte – Roccaraso 165 km (103 mi) Medium-mountain stage
7 13 May Sulmona – Foligno 210 km (130 mi) Hilly stage
8 14 May Foligno – Arezzo 169 km (105 mi) Medium-mountain stage
9 15 May Chianti Classico Stage
Radda in Chianti – Greve in Chianti 40.4 km (25 mi) Individual time trial
16 May Rest day
10 17 May Campi Bisenzio – Sestola 216 km (134 mi) Medium-mountain stage
11 18 May Modena – Asolo 212 km (132 mi) Medium-mountain stage
12 19 May Noale – Bibione 168 km (104 mi) Flat stage
13 20 May Palmanova – Cividale del Friuli 161 km (100 mi) Medium-mountain stage
14 21 May Alpago (Farra) – Corvara (Alta Badia) 210 km (130 mi) Mountain stage
15 22 May Castelrotto/Kastelruth – Alpe di Siusi/Seiseralm 10.8 km (7 mi) Individual time trial
23 May

Rest day
16 24 May Bressanone/Brixen – Andalo 133 km (83 mi) Medium-mountain stage
17 25 May Molveno – Cassano d'Adda 196 km (122 mi) Flat stage
18 26 May Muggio – Pinerolo 234 km (145 mi) Medium-mountain stage
19 27 May Pinerolo – Risoul 161 km (100 mi) Mountain stage
20 28 May Guillestre – Sant'Anna di Vinadio 134 km (83 mi) Mountain stage
21 29 May Cuneo – Torino 150 km (93 mi) Flat stage


Favourites include Team Sky's Landa and Nibali (Astana). It will be Valverde's first Giro remarkably in a very strong Movistar Team. Notable absentees will be last year's winner Contador, Froome, Aru and Quintana. Should be a cracker, with 9 summit finishes, in what is surely the most beautiful GT of them all.

 

[NM]

Simple question of whether everybody will put enough time into Landa in the TTs as he will destroy them in the mountains.

 

[Red Stone]

Astana and Sky have sent crazy good teams down to Italy, so I have no doubt that the winner will be either Nibali or Landa, but they'll be challenged by Valverde, Uran, Zakarin, Majka and Pozzovivo.

Landa has looked almost superhuman at times during the past year, so I think he'll nick it in the end.

The final week looks brilliant. Always does in the Giro. Looking especially forward to stage 15. Love a good mountain TT.

 

[RedFish]

Largely flat opening TT stage. Dumoulin and Cancellera favourites to take the opening stage. Should be a cracker!

 

[Pexbo]

I imagine a few scouse ears pricked at that title.

 

[RedFish]

Simple question of whether everybody will put enough time into Landa in the TTs as he will destroy them in the mountains.

Agree the TTs will be a big factor but this race is notoriously unpredictable. Nibali in this Astana team will be a force to be reckoned with. Probably make him slight favourite but hoping Landa can pull off a first Giro win for SKY. Henao is a massive asset- For Landa his presence in the mountain stages could be the critical factor.

 

[RedFish]

Astana and Sky have sent crazy good teams down to Italy, so I have no doubt that the winner will be either Nibali or Landa, but they'll be challenged by Valverde, Uran, Zakarin, Majka and Pozzovivo.

Landa has looked almost superhuman at times during the past year, so I think he'll nick it in the end.

The final week looks brilliant. Always does in the Giro. Looking especially forward to stage 15. Love a good mountain TT.

Stage 14 is tough as hell too. 6 climbs above 2000m, hardly a flat section on a long parcours
(210km). Brutal.

Majka I like as a rider, could easily see him take a mountain stage, but don't think Uran has that bit extra needed to challenge for the top 2 steps of the podium. Glad it was he who left SKY rather than Henao who could lead this SKY team in his own right.

 

[RedFish]

Tom Dumoulin takes the victory, with Cancellara back in 8th reportedly suffering from illness. Kluge looked well set, possibly for the victory had he not crashed!

Main GC contenders roughly within 30 seconds of each other.

Nibali @ 19s
Valverde @24s
Uran @ 33s
Majka @ 38s
Landa @40s
Pozzovivo @ 47s

 

[Red Stone]

Stage 14 is tough as hell too. 6 climbs above 2000m, hardly a flat section on a long parcours
(210km). Brutal.

Majka I like as a rider, could easily see him take a mountain stage, but don't think Uran has that bit extra needed to challenge for the top 2 steps of the podium. Glad it was he who left SKY rather than Henao who could lead this SKY team in his own right.

If he gets to ride for them after all the biopassport trouble he's been having.

 

[RedFish]

If he gets to ride for them after all the biopassport trouble he's been having.

I guess it was always too optimistic to think that we wouldn't end up talking about doping.

 

[NM]

Henan is out of the team

 

[RedFish]

Henan is out of the team

FFS, I missed that. Saw him at Paris-Nice and missed the news he was withdrawn although I was aware of some biopassport issues.
He'll be badly missed. Still Landa has Nieve and Roche but goddamit I was hoping Sergio was going to be what Porte and Thomas was to Froome.

 

[Red Stone]

Sebastian Henao is there, though. He's an extremely promising rider. Did very well for his age in the Giro two years ago.

 

[RedFish]

Sebastian Henao is there, though. He's an extremely promising rider. Did very well for his age in the Giro two years ago.

True, although I have to admit I haven't seen much of him. I wish Poels or Konig were there, even Kiryienka. I suppose Sky are thinking of the Tour but I'd really like to see the Giro become an equal priority although in reality that will probably never happen.

On a side note,wonder why Daniel Martin isn't riding, thought he might give the GC a good go in one of GT's this year. Always thought he could equal someone like Van Garderen who is so well supported now Cadel is no longer riding.

 

[Badunk]

I imagine a few scouse ears pricked at that title.

 

[RedFish]

After a Kittel victory for Etixx-Quickstep on stage 2, the race moves on to the final stage in the Netherlands. Stage 3, another one for the sprinters before the race moves to southern Italy for some climbing.

 

[RedFish]

Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R) out of race following crash and facial injuries - facebutting the concrete.

 

[Red Stone]

Kittel will take a lot of the flat stages in this Giro, I think. Greipel, Demare, Viviani, Modolo and Ewan are all a level or two below him in the sprints. I reckon he'll end up with five or six stages, as long as he can bother finishing the final week.

 

[RedFish]

Kittel destroys the field to take the stage win and pink jersey. Utterly dominant.

 

[RedFish]

Stage 4 of the Giro sees the return of some climbing in the latter half of the stage. Welcome to Italy.

.
There is a 1.6km climb at 18% around 10km from the finish which could cause some serious attacking for the stage win. A stage for the puncheurs.

 

[RobinLFC]

Will be interesting to see if Kittel can hold on to the pink jersey today.

 

[Revan]

Fun fact: On 18th, the race will be virtually 3m outside of my house. I hope I will be at home to take a photo or two.

 

[NM]

Fun fact: On 18th, the race will be virtually 3m outside of my house. I hope I will be at home to take a photo or two.

For some reason thought you were indian

 

[Revan]

For some reason thought you were indian

You're not the only one who said so. No idea why, to be fair.

 

[RobinLFC]

You're not the only one who said so. No idea why, to be fair.

I thought you were Serbian? No idea why either

 

[Revan]

I thought you were Serbian? No idea why either

Close enough.

I am Kosovan/Albanian, living in Italy in the last few years.

 

[RobinLFC]

Close enough.

I am Kosovan/Albanian, living in Italy in the last few years.

Ah alright. I'd definitely try to check out the stage in front of your home though, I did it with the Tour de France a couple of times and it's a cool experience if the Giro is anything like the Tour. The promo cars and stuff in front of the peloton starts two hours before the riders pass and is really entertaining, loads of free stuff as well.

 

[RedFish]

Dumoulin back in pink jersey as Ulissi takes the stage for Lampre-Merida.

Top 10 General Classification after stage 4(Velonews)

• 1. Tom DUMOULIN, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, in 14:00:09

• 2. Bob JUNGELS, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :20

• 3. Diego ULISSI, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at :20

• 4. Steven KRUIJSWIJK, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :24

• 5. Georg PREIDLER, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, at :24

• 6. Vincenzo NIBALI, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :26

• 7. Alejandro VALVERDE BELMONTE, MOVISTAR TEAM, at :31

• 8. Jakob FUGLSANG, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :35

• 9. Nicolas ROCHE, TEAM SKY, at :37

• 10. Jhoan Esteban CHAVES RUBIO, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at :37

 

[RedFish]

Stage 5 sees the second longest stage of this years Giro. Riders are presented with a tough constantly undulating course but with only one categorized climb. Likely to end in a bunch sprint.

 

[RobinLFC]

Kittel behind with 5km to go, this is Greipel's chance.

 

[RedFish]

Kittel behind with 5km to go, this is Greipel's chance.

Just caught up with this stage (been working nights!). Brilliant timing from Griepel to launch the sprint, pulling away all the way to the line. They could have awarded a time gap Dernare in 2nd !!!! Must be an awesome feeling to win like that.

 

[RobinLFC]

Just caught up with this stage (been working nights!). Brilliant timing from Griepel to launch the sprint, pulling away all the way to the line. They could have awarded a time gap Dernare in 2nd !!!! Must be an awesome feeling to win like that.

Yeah it was a very impressive sprint from Greipel, didn't think he was going to win at 500m, was a little bit behind after that one rider went down but saw the gap and definitely went at the right time.

Gutted for Jungels that he didn't get any bonifications, pretty impressive to end 4th in a bunch sprint.

First arrival on a mountain today in Aremogna, pretty sure Dumoulin will be attacked left right and centre from the beginning of that climb. Astana has a very strong team, will be interesting to see what Landa and Majka can do as well.

 

[RedFish]

Stage 6, the first mountain stage of this years Giro. Long climbs with relatively mild gradients.

Agree with @RobinLFC that Dumoulin will get attacked today from everywhere. Most have Valverde and Zakarin (Katusha) as the ones to look out for, and for me although Dumoulin has distanced himself from the GC (no altitude training), the Vuelta has marked him as one hell of a rider and a superstar in the making.

Intriguing to see what Sky does today, whether they try to control the race at the front, mark Astana or just try to keep Landa within shooting distance with the bigger mountains to come later. Bad weather is forecast for this stage, so is a tough, tough test.

 

[RedFish]

After predicting Dumoulin being attacked it was he himself who attacked and gained time over the main GC contenders. The GC is slowly but surely starting to take shape. Today, another undulating course ripe for a breakaway.

 

[NM]

They have to learn from the Vuelta. Ride the first multi-mountain stage hard, and you can drop Dumoulin early and eliminate him. He will have a 2+ minute after the TTs. IF they do the boring attack on the last mountain he will probably win it all

 

[RedFish]

Griepel taking stage 7 (his 2nd) yesterday in assured fashion, with Kittel puncturing in the run in to the sprint.

Today, the first true test of the GC contenders with the 6.4km climb up the Alpe di Poti's gravel/dirt roads the highlght. No rest at the end of it either with the 40.4 km ITT looming large tomorrow before the scheduled rest day. Surely the GC teams will make their moves, or will they save themselves for the ITT, playing into Dumoulin's hands?

 

[RedFish]

Race being blown apart on the Alpe di Poti. Valverde, Nibali, Uran, Chavez and Landa amongst those in the group ahead of Dumoulin group, who will be out of pink by the end of this stage unless he rides the descent possessed. 15 Km to go.

 

[Red Stone]

Zakarin is going to destroy the TT tomorrow. Nailed on for pink.

 

[RedFish]

Zakarin is going to destroy the TT tomorrow. Nailed on for pink.

He's got a chance for sure, but I wouldn't rule out Dumoulin, who I'd still rate as favourite for this stage although not by enough to regain pink. I predict a good finish for Nibali and Valverde too, and expect a strong showing from Uran. Landa needs to finish within 1 minute of Nibali for his GC hopes. Sky seem to be taking the 'under the radar route' for this Giro, which is a sensible approach I feel. Being within touching distance going into the last week would set it up nicely for the high mountains.

 

[RedFish]

The longest of the 3 ITT's in this years Giro. 40.4km on a twisting, rolling parcours. Expect Dumoulin, Zakarin, and the likes of Nibali, Uran to feature heavily. Landa's hopes for the GC will be dependent on limiting losses to within 1-2 minutes of Nibali who I rate as the big GC favourite. Predictions for top 5 GC at the end of this stage: Zakarin, Dumoulin, Nibali, Valverde, Uran.