dstrong 

Well...after today I think I'll focus on the TOC At least I can watch that on my NBC Gold App.

Gallo

tiz cycling has it streaming

kind of sad that both Vuleta and ZGiro get no love when it comes to coverage

diphthong

picked carapaz (and mollema) as more of a cumulative top 5 or 6 gc guy but i’ll take the points from an unexpected stage win. bummer about dumou but hoping he remains in the race. without racing strictly for the gc, he’s probably got two stage wins in him if the crash wasn’t too serious. lopez is already overdue for a wipeout. hafta believe roglic and team would be happy to let a breakaway w/o overall contenders succeed in the next few stages so they’re not forced to expend extra energy defending the maglia rosa till the mountains.

diphthong

stage five-viviani (again). finished second and won/lost. if he doesn’t fall victim to a crash in another crazy finishing stretch (someone’s going down-again. thank you giro organizers for your continued support/efforts in designing ridiculous sprint finishes year after year), i think he finally gets it right. there is going to be a bleep-ton of pressure for sprint/gc contenders to be at the front at the end as per usual but i don’t think the last few km’s will support that. expecting two separate crashfests one inside/one outside the 3 km range to further bungle things.

*edit* good call for the organizers to neutralize the gc for this stage. with all the giant puddles on the road, it could have gotten really really ugly. a little surprised it still wasn't slightly more chaotic.

dstrong 

Dumou's injury looks awful...looks like he took a chain ring to the lower thigh and it punctured just above the knee cap. Ick.

diphthong

^hope he’s okay. almost like racing stripes. i kid i kid. the giro will be a better race with him in it. if he bounces, i’d rather see him in the vuelta vs the tour but you know how demanding sponsors are...

slcbob

I am late to the party. Groggy but not unconscious.

I squeaked in with a spontaneous, 1-pass team. Given my recent results when I perseverate and make a bazillion tweaks (as some here seem to have done), this may bode relatively well. However, I have not been brushing up this spring and have almost no idea who has game right now.

Glad to be in the mix in the thread here. However, I am appalled that I dropped in to the slot right behind ooga booga when I joined the league just now.

I've got some catching up to do -- on the race action! it's all over but the crying in the velorankings -- but I look forward to dropping in for some trash talk in the next few days.

Happy 2019 all, and may it be an epic season for the lads out there pedaling their hearts out, as well as those of us who voyeur along with them.

diphthong

(horrible) stage six prediction...only names coming to mind are ulissi, battaglin and kangert. i'll take ulissi.

diphthong

well well well...as i semi-live and mouth-breathe...slcbob hath emerged.

diphthong

stage eight-weird. could end in a sprint finish and as much as i'd like to take viviani (again!!), it is hard not to tag ackermann for another sprint win here.
if a breakaway succeeds, thinking an opportunist such as ulissi, battaglin or gallopin. astana could look to double double with an izagirre flyer or
ineos could throw sosa out there. polanc might be given a little latitude to run away but need to show said initiative. i woulda thrown campanaerts name
out there but he doesn't seem like he's recovered from the hour attempt just yet. clearly, when on, he has the power to stay away. this is one of those stages
where absolutely nothing would surprise me. with all that said, i'm gonna pick nibbles for the stage win going on the offensive to put the fear of merckx into
everyone and something to think about the next two weeks. a stretch, i know, but i'm 0-fer and usually only end up hitting 2 stage picks a tour. i'm due, dammit!

...ps...total bummer gaviria is out as well.

slcbob

^ crystal clear.

I'm going to bet on Mr. Bojangles over the shark, and all else above will certainly happen exactly as prognosticated. Maybe.

I am deep in regrets, flashing back to the time when I had a belly full of brew, was making my picks on my smartphone, couldn't remember Ackerman's name, and somehow registered Brambilla when I was going for Majka.

I am disappointed my Dumoulin-free team is benefiting from the race situation.

Gallo

well my score is not all that but what a great first week of racing. its why I like the Giro. Breakaways by Italians from different teams and giving one another full support. Racing for stages. Pink Jersey be passed around like a joint. The format first week sprint second week mid mountains Final week high mountains. Its a great format

Ackerman was not on my radar at all and wow he is looking very strong. Dumb of me but of all the rider I put on my team took off my team he was not one of them

Primo is riding smart so far and Lotto is a good club letting the Jersey go and not wasting energy was the right call

Losing Dumo is bad he would be fun to watch animate the climbs and he has proven to be a true champion

Right now my front runners are Primo Simon and Vincenzo

But the third week is crazy so who knows

diphthong

me neither but yah...good first week other than dumou and gaviria leaving. considering the weather + questionable finishing km's on a
few stages, we're fortunate to still have this many favorites actually in the race and still in contention for a podium spot.

diphthong

stage nine...the uphill finishing tt. i feel like it's roglic's to lose. if dumou were still there, i'd probably have picked dumou by a few seconds.
some other riders i think-in order-that have an outside shot at winning the stage: bojangles, yates and zakarin. anyone else with a shot here?

Gallo

The Shark is swimming well and it the Giro Don't know when the shark will draw blood but he will. He is often overlooked in TT but does quite well. With an uphill finish it might suit him better than the flat ones

Not sure he can beat Primo at his best but in a gran tour you have some off days

And I am sure Dumo looked at this stage as a way to gain time too bad we will not see him race.

diphthong

about 600 points behind my most positive points projection taking two sprinters on the team. demare's done decently and about what i
expected at this point but viviani's had a tough go so far. now that sprinter's week is over, fully expecting to plummet down the standings
w/o that expected/wishful thinking/prayer of those 600 points.

slcbob

Campanaerts!

Fresh off his 1 hr record. Undaunted by the pitch. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

one4smoke

Can't believe I'm still at the top with two major riders out.

diphthong

rest day analysis:

just another reminder that i loathe gt rest days...

sprinters have two more stages before the party (for them) goes dark for a week. the final run in on stage ten
looks like another usual sketchy giro finish in the last 10 km or so. haven't checked the weather report but if the roads
are wet, it'll just compound the shenanigans. unfortunately, i think we lose another impact rider or two. thinking ackermann
for both stages but viviani, ewan and demare should all be in the running for stages ten and eleven.
the fact that some of the crazies taking two sprinters to maximize early points should be buoyed somewhat by
a few teams not having 2 sprinters and instead having dumou. gaviria also out kinda levels the playing field for the last week.
expecting three or four fantasy teams in the running to win it all unless we lose another 2-3 big riders.

slcbob

The one eyed man is truly king in our little land of the veloblind.

slcbob

I would normally advocate vindictively for "or four" but I can read the writing on the wall. Time to begin simulations for Le Gran Boucle.

one4smoke

diphthong

wondering to what degree yates + team are analyzing yates' power numbers from last year's giro-pre and post collapse? he's going to have to dial it
up to comparable numbers for 7-8 big stages w/o redlining too long while trying to goad/cajole roglic into a yatesian collapse in order to win
(unless roglic crashes out/gets food poisoning/catches a bug).

slcbob

Mr. Christian!!!!!

There goes the Bounty.

diphthong

burn the ships. burn them all.