Giro D'Italia Official Thread

[Pantani]

Sorry to have started another Giro thread, it just seemed a bit crass to use the previous thread dominated by Wouter Weylandt's death for further betting tips.

For today's stage I am predicting a classics type rider to win or one of the darkhorse GC contenders so with that in mind, Jerome Pineau or Thomas Lovkvist. Should be some entertaining racing today especially if it rains like last year on the Strade Bianche.

 

[Pantani]

Lovkvist = not a bad tip, in there until the end, had a dig at it, finished twelfth.
Pineau = who knows where he finished, turns out he was 130th, worst tip ever. I got carried away with his strong finish two days ago.

Weening got handed the victory a little bit with all the big names marking each other for the last km.

Chapeau! to Kohler, to lead a field as strong as this, on your own, for over 150km is phenemonal.

Hats also to Peter Kennaugh (to finish in the top 25 of a stage as tough as this on a grand tour at the age of 21 is fantastic) and David Miller too (for fighting so hard to get back in to the lead group on his own, even if he did fall away in the end).

 

[Stat Brother]

Good call.
I wish ITV4 would do something Giro.
I'd never expect full 'Tour' coverage, but surely there's some kind of highlights packaged they could pick up.

 

[Pantani]

Eurosport £3.99 a month online. With the hours I work it is perfect, watch the Giro all afternoon enough time to make dinner then go to work. Until we have regular gc contenders in the main tours we'll never get much coverage from the domestic broadcasters, unfortunately.

 

[Stat Brother]

Fancy popping up the round to get a pint of milk, on this:-

 

[Pantani]

Fancy popping up the round to get a pint of milk, on this:-

Would the aero helmet and skinsuit be too much for a Saturday morning? And where would you put the newspaper?

 

[Stat Brother]

You'd just bung a basket on the front, wouldn't you.

 

[Lord Bamber]

Fancy popping up the round to get a pint of milk, on this:-

I would have loved to of done my paper round on that.

 

[Stat Brother]

Anyhoo regarding Giro betting with 16 stages left, how many do you actually think we could predict the winner of, (obviously carrying this through to Le Tour thread).
I'm going to very generously say:-

2.

Oh and for the record I had Francesco Chicchi, doing Cav on stage 4.

 

[Pantani]

I reckon 3, maybe 4, once we hit the mountains it will be easier to predict. My prediction for tomorrow will be available soon, once I've done the ten minutes of work I actually need to do tonight.

Or more likely 0 correct predictions

 

[Pantani]

So tomorrow's stage, another lumpy one with an uphill finish or at least a hill relatively near the end. With that in mind again a classics type rider, someone who will be allowed to go away by the leaders too and I have a feeling for an Italian tomorrow. So my tips are Giovanni Visconti 25-1 or drugs cheat Danilo Di Luca 40-1.

 

[Stat Brother]

Lars Bak, short and sweet, although I can't find any odds.

 

[Pantani]

Lars Bak, short and sweet, although I can't find any odds.

66-1, you love these long odds shouts.

 

[Stat Brother]

66-1, you love these long odds shouts.

In all honesty without TV access or my 'Giro 2011 guide' to hand, I read your critique and looked back over the Classics results.
I picked Lars had he'd done well, but not well enough. Working on the theory that he wasn't quite approaching top form then.

 

[Pantani]

So close again, Di Luca was there near the end. 4th at the line. Visconti not so good.

 

[Stat Brother]

My boy was obviously on Cav watch.
I guess that's the price you pay for tipping HTC, the thought did cross my mind at the time.

 

[Pantani]

My boy was obviously on Cav watch.
I guess that's the price you pay for tipping HTC, the thought did cross my mind at the time.

Yeh, watching him fail to keep up on the uphill near the end.

 

[Stat Brother]

That's while even with San Remo on his palmares, I thought Cav would have got turned over on stage 4.

 

[Pantani]

Proper mountains today, although it is a weirdly short stage 110km. So time for the real GC contenders to show their hands.

Two picks as always to try and boost my chances of actually getting one right.

1. Vincenzo Nibali, laying down the gauntlet for the Maglia Rosa
2. Igor Anton, mainly because he is in my fantasy cycling team and I hope he recaptures his form of late last season, hopefully he won't fall off again!

 

[Lord Bamber]

Proper mountains today, although it is a weirdly short stage 110km. So time for the real GC contenders to show their hands.

Two picks as always to try and boost my chances of actually getting one right.

1. Vincenzo Nibali, laying down the gauntlet for the Maglia Rosa - 5TH
2. Igor Anton, mainly because he is in my fantasy cycling team and I hope he recaptures his form of late last season, hopefully he won't fall off again - 21ST

Good shout with Nibali, would not have got the Bartman winning today.