diphthong

this is the thread for all things 2023 giro-except for tales of fantasy spinners. that's a segregated/separate thread filled with delusions of grandeur.

stoked the first gt of the year is finally upon us. looks like some solid rosters and an interesting course.

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race...stage-profiles

that penultimate mountain itt looks like a doozy. ouch. guaranteed to reshuffle the top ten. thoughts?

diphthong

was hoping that ayuso would ride both this and la vuelta. oh well. at least we've got healy and arensman.

GrainBrain

COVID spookiness is around again, hoping the riders will all be well. So one and two are Roglic/Evenepoel, who's on third? Bahrain have a bunch of potential leaders, I read Haig is the chosen GC guy? Fortunato is riding super well.

Could we see a miraculous GC Kuss? Third week is barbaric I've heard. Still have plenty of studying up to do.

So much time trialing... No Foss that's a big disappointment ... but Ganna is climbing well!

GrainBrain

I bet Ayuso's big win in Romandie helped really smooth the path back in, less pressure hopefully big results later? How about Matthew Riccitello on IPT - that's going to be really interesting I hope.

diphthong

had foss as a podium darling (thought he would finish 2nd or 3rd) in the not so insignificant chance roglic goes pavement surfing. with the covid stuff swirling around again, hopefully the teams can keep all the guys free and clear of dns status.

diphthong

it's here. finally. horrible, twitchy prediction for stage one: roglic.

MinnMan

Would like to see Almeida/Vine give the big two a run for their money.

GrainBrain

Whoa looks like that's going to be the case! Vine's result super impressive!

OBoile

Wow! Remco was insane.

MinnMan

That was pretty cool - McNulty, Vine, Almeida....and then the heavy hitters. Remco is in the drivers seat.

BTW, La Vuelta Feminina has been great racing. Stage 5 yesterday and Stage 6 today. Tomorrow should be fantastic. Just sayin...

OBoile

Yes, looking forward to La Veulta. AvV up, but not looking as strong as DV. Can she keep her close enough? It's set up to be an exciting final stage.

diphthong

daily horrible prediction (dhp) for stage two...kaden groves.

Shadco 

it seems that Groves did play a part.

.

diphthong

horrible prediction for stage 4...maybe remco lets taaramae or oscar rodriguez or conti get away for the breakaway win but otherwise, those two, flattish km's to the finish after the summit speak to his strengths.

too early to let jay vine, pinot, haig, vlasov or cattaneo escape. remco for stage 4.

GrainBrain

^^ No one's letting McNulty go, what a shame! Kamna finished in the main group today, that's interesting. Hope Vlasov is ok.

Nice job Zoccarato! I think something magic could've happened if not for his gears going awol at 15km, what a shame! Not a great look for electronic systems. The Giro must really test the electronic shifting with the weather.

Ridiculous crashes, get well vendrame! What a shame.

diphthong

stage 6 could have more interesting weather and there are plenty of wiggles and curves about. hoping everyone makes it to the stage finish in one piece but that may be overly optimistic.

diphthong

horrible prediction for stage 7...jay vine.

slcbob

Not a bad SWAG, diphthong , since Jay had some extra cushion with his unfortunate time loss the day prior. Somehow the miracle fell upon the Holy Trinity instead.

Did anyone else see the Hugh Carthy interview before he got on the cable car to descend the mountain? He's scared of heights. I hope he held his mud. I'm counting on Hugh in the near future.

Interesting picks in our little league. Let's see how this sorts out over the ups and downs to come.

As for stage 8. Fairydust for Paret-Peintre? Unrealistic VG optimism for Konrad? Regrets that I didn't pick Healey? Heck, I think Albanese is mad and will pick him. Sorry, lad.

diphthong

stage eight...interesting...back in the day, would say tales of brave ulissi without compunction or hesitation. now? thinking (very very quiet) cort, matthews or pedersen with some of the biggies
looking forward to the stage number nine, number nine, number nine itt. ah bleep, let's go with cort for the (nearly) dhp.

USAZorro

The near blackout of this race to those who aren't going to pay extra to one of the few outlets with live video coverage really takes away any enthusiasm I wanted to have for the race.

Live commentary without images just doesn't cut it. Shame on you Peacock.

GrainBrain

I hate that I can't watch it on my TV, but $9 USD a month will give you full access on GCN+ in North America without a VPN. Pretty nice for the 40 minute extended highlight reels.

surak

GCN+ has the Giro in all territories, no VPN needed for the full thing. Cast it if you want to watch on TV. GCN+ is well worth the subscription, doubly so with a VPN although watching on TV is harder.

GrainBrain

Tuned in just now to see a wet TT day, Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier just starting. Interesting to see more riders from the African continent. 2025 worlds in Rwanda will be incredible to watch! Great terrain, great fan base.

I'm mixed about wet TTs, hate the crashes but love when that bad weather specialist wins.

Mathew's chain issue triggered both Sean and I. I love 1x but never ran it with anything larger then a 34t front ring. 2x is nice to downshift and regrab the chain. Lol Puccio just had a mechanical, no team car behind. Yikes!

Nice attacking yesterday by Bora, but bummer to still lose time. Roglic and Geraint are seasoned veterans, Remco worries me in the third week.

GrainBrain

Yeah McNulty get it! He was churning that gear starting out compared to Healy who started next.

OBoile

Roglic looking very good after today. I think the crashes affected Remco. He certainly hasn't seemed good since.