GrainBrain

Outrageously prescient comment and post that has me wondering if there truly are illuminati-lizard people!

I had Taco in version 1ish, no joke! What a beautiful win for him!

Ganna has 308 pts so far, that is probably fast above any other 8 or 6 point choice. Well, aside from Tacos 4 U.

diphthong

this is probably the first time slcbob has ever been tagged as an Illuminati-lizard person. probably. may hafta unearth a few ancient giro scrolls...er...threads just to confirm or deny.

are we talking like gila monster, gecko, komodo dragon, iguana, chuckwalla or what?

taco knows it’s monday-right?’

2cam16

Lol, thanks OB! It won't last long.

slcbob

Like a moth to a flame, 2cam16 , but a mother beautiful moth. Enjoy those fleeting moments! Burn brightly.

ooga-booga , I don't think there has been an Illuminati tag in my AO but I have been accused of speaking in tongues. As have you, my friend. It's truly magnificent when we rub against the truth, however casually and accidentally. And it's important to pretend like you belong there.

GrainBrain , I figure you were having Taco withdrawal. I sure was. I was watching the race and thinking 10 points for a breakaway x 19 or so stages x a few Velobucks for Pelaud and Taco, WTF didn't I?

I think tomorrow we'll see if canam73 & Bernal (<-- edited that, I got our competitors cross threaded here and incorrectly put one4smoke in the autobus) come out of the doldrums but I'm counting on a DQSapalooza for my scorecard. I'm going to be contrarian and say Evenpoel's "softening up for Joao" attack works better than expected. Otherwise my whole master plan falls to pieces. And I'm an optimist. My glass is half full. Usually of piss, but at least I have a glass.

slcbob

P.S. I don't know what bothers me more. That there is a paper trail. Or that there is a cunning artisan to exploit it.

GrainBrain

Love of the game man! So sweet to see a cheap seat beat the heat - those spicy Italians. Lacking any thought whatsoever in the current form, maybe I should've just put all of Intermarch on my team and called 'em Cool Runnings. But yeah probably should shift from the week race thoughts to three weeks. No way Ganna holds pink tomorrow, is he finally back on the leash and thus give me some breathing room? Same goes for Cavagna - and Betiol as well!

Gosh darn it Goosens get out there!

Thinking Soler will make an appearance, he's my bad pick for tomorrow. Rob will continue to crush it.

2cam16

Thanks Bob!

diphthong

we're both fortunate that the adjacent bottle of crozes-hermitage suddenly ran dry (really need to exile the juice fan/significant other during the gt's) else there would
possibly be more hegemony of long-term, fantasy playas.

diphthong

funny...was listening to three talking heads albums in order (more songs, fear, remain) tonite before reading this. didn't make it to the reffed album.

truth...is that what the kids are calling it these daze on the dance floor? "didn't mean to rub against your truth...my bad"

diphthong

horrible prediction for stage four's shenanigans...vlasov was the first name that popped up but going with cepeda for the win since a few of us took the bait.
let's see what he can do. nvmd...gimme vlasov ftw.

slcbob

I have no idea what those kids are doing on the dance floor but I'm sick and tired of them appropriating words the way they have been.

Cepeda? I don't know if our picks have such power, at least for good. I think Cepeda may wind up scoring more points than Ewan by the end -- perhaps straight up, almost certainly on a per Velobuck basis. Counting on a half dozen top 5 or 10 finished from him. I'll be stunned to see him on the podium at any point. But pleasantly surprised. Like a couple of us. Good pick & unpickle.

I was going to throw some prediction juju at Carthy until I saw the downhill and flat at the end.

GrainBrain

USAZorro with Taaramäe and my Herman's hermit out front. Not getting excited yet but lucky to get some breakaway points! slcbob doesn't think quinten can ride in the rain but he's a cyclocross rider gosh darn it.

--- and there he goes ..., I tuned in to see quinten rocking and rolling for Taaramäe ---

Geeze 8 minutes infront of the peloton ...

slcbob

I don't think I have an opinion on your man Quinten, GrainBrain , certainly not anything as precise as his wet weather abilities.

I will say that the breakaway points are always a longshot but they're nothing to sneeze at in the classics. However, they aren't as generous in the Grand Tours. Unless you sweep up some sprint and mountain points while you're at it.

That's three surprise winners in a row. Well, at least two, Merlier was not a bolt of lighting like Taco & Joe.

Tomorrow should be a predictable result compliant with Rule #87. But will it be? And speaking of sneezing at things, how many chest colds will we see in a week? It's probably good that they're all Covid protocoled up to keep down the exposure to the riff-raff viruses. We have not seen the last of the curve balls this Giro.

dstrong 

Dang...I thought about choosing an American rider but couldn't pull the trigger. Great ride by JoeD!

diphthong

always think about picking joe d. when he pops up in the games. he held the strava kom for years on the must-do, iconic
22-mile glendora mtn rd>glendora ridge rd>mt. baldy climb here in socal. some current teammate of his named tadej
currently holds it and a handful of other top level pros have pushed joe down the board a little but not much. always
nice to see him fly in the giro and the vuelta.

diphthong

in the feeble and transparent attempt not to jinx the guy on my team, picking/issuing the kiss of death to nizzolo as the giro stage 5 winner.

will be interesting to see what transpires on the drag strip tomorrow. merlier in the thick of it again? could be #2...or do we have remco
pull his best fabian impersonation and hold off the sprinters after launching from 1.5 kms or so...?

GrainBrain

I dunno, less of a drag strip more of a go-kart track in that last 5km! Mercier seemed to handle that last time. Vivianni's sprint train seems capable but he couldn't seem to follow the wheels last time.

I think we might see another surprise. Going to be nuts to watch!

dstrong 

A real fuster cluck for my team..Sivakov AND Landa on the ground and possibly out? Sad to see JoeD go down also. Ugh.

slcbob

OK, Sivakov is out. I rarely finish with 9 riders. I can handle that. And at least I didn't pick Landa. Sorry, dstrong

I'm taking it much harder that Bernal finished in front of Bevin in the all out sprint stage. So much for mopping up some cheap Unclassed points. That seems to rub some salt in the wound.

diphthong

happy rule #87 got invoked for stage five. unhappy rule #87 may be moving on much sooner than stage 17.

slcbob

If there is enough attrition, Nizzolo is going to find it hard to keep managing a second place. I'm happy enough with my sprinter pick. 1 out of 9?

GrainBrain

Nizzolo almost had it! But it's magical how Ewan can ride up along the pack.

Really, really bummed about Dombrowski clipping the signaler and hitting Landa. The UCI should be investing more into those elevated LED signs or something.

Bernie Eisel thinks the last 10km should be neutralized for GC ambitions on a sprint stage, Horner very much disagrees. I don't know, it is bike racing it should be hard.

Looked like Joe was following a wheel and just didn't realize it would split like that or something. Like I said earlier those heads up signs really work and I think adding more should be a priority that wouldn't take away from the spirit/difficulty/prestige that comes from participating in that top level.

From tours past I remember Porte crashing out from hitting a pot hole while taking a drink. I was very bummed when Uran had his wheel knocked out at the '19 tour after placing second the year prior. Ugh watching Geraint hit that bottle in last year's Giro. Not to mention when a car is on the course or an idiot spectator hooks a rider. On and on and on.

USAZorro

I think I'm mathematically eliminated - seeing as I only have one legit GC threat remaining, and just about everyone else has him as well. Was playing the angle of two well placed GC riders, a top sprinter, and stage hunters. Unless Ineos has a bunch more crash out, leaving Narvaez as their GC guy, it's all over.

GrainBrain

Challenge accepted. You have Taaramäe which will probably be like hi-vis kryptonite to me.

dstrong 

Straight to the caboose for me!