GIRO Stage 18 - Spoiler

[TomP]

I really enjoyed the stage today.

[bobswire]

Me too, so far it has been an entertaining Giro for the mountain stages.

[Raffy]

Yep, good for Gilbert winning a 2nd stage. Loved seeing Contador putting the screws onto Astana for revenge too. The Astana Mortirolo attack didn't really bother me as much as it did others but I love it when I see someone exact revenge with their legs instead of their words

[Bostic]

Is there news of any penalty for this yet?

16:45:56 CEST
Astana are chasing back and they're using their team car to do it.

16:47:24 CEST
Astana and Landa should make it back but they're using the draft of their team car to do so. Lets see what the race jury does about that. The gap to the break is down to 9'42 with 42 m to go.

[mhespenheide]

I'm puzzled by Hesjedal's tactics at this point. Is it worth it to fight to climb higher in the mid-top-ten overall? Is he hoping to make up 7 minutes on Aru to make the podium?

Would it be better to hunt for stages at this point?

Not trying to be snarky; I genuinely don't know.

(Good on Gilbert today!)

[chengher87]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

I'm puzzled by Hesjedal's tactics at this point. Is it worth it to fight to climb higher in the mid-top-ten overall? Is he hoping to make up 7 minutes on Aru to make the podium?

Would it be better to hunt for stages at this point?

Not trying to be snarky; I genuinely don't know.

(Good on Gilbert today!)

Stage 16 was a clear indicator that Tinkoff-Saxo sees him as a threat. Hesjadal tried to get away and spent a lot of energy to do so, all the while Tinkoff-Saxo worked hard to keep the gap around 3 minutes. They didn't want that gap ballooning. He's also not punchy enough to win uphill finishes and that's all that's left in the Giro. He complained about Tinkoff-Saxo not giving his breakaway a long leash, but they had no choice. If they gave the breakaway a 6-8 minute buffer, Hesjadal would have made significant gains in the GC on stage 16.

[regularguy412]

Only got to see the last 20 kms today. Rarely get to see a solo attack on the descent actually stay away. Very cool.

Mike in AR

[LJohnny]

Great descent indeed. 3k out he was already celebrating. 😄


Sent from my brain

[ultraman6970]

Not defending anybody ok? But the dude won this race already... he got bad luck at the begining and now he needs to make up for the time, to me a lot of heart in that man. Other guys would have already drop the towel and this is what makes him interesting. Sucks when they just stop fighting. Hinault style, you want to do something you have to go for it.

And honestly? 2nd and 3rd are still for the grabs, nothing is sealed but maybe 1st place. A lot of climbing in the next 2 days, anything can happen, ARU clearly today was riding zombie mode, dont see ARU getting in the podium, he is done for.

Would be interesting if Hesjedal put like 3 minutes each day onto the astana riders, today he got like 2 back today, that can put him in a top 5 finish even higher if a disaster happens the next two days.

Astana's race to manage from now on, Tinkoff needs to just follow wheels the next two days. The other detail from all of the top tens the only other two that are climbing good are hesjedal and landa. Do you think Hasjedal is not using that as incentive?. Yes.

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

I'm puzzled by Hesjedal's tactics at this point. Is it worth it to fight to climb higher in the mid-top-ten overall? Is he hoping to make up 7 minutes on Aru to make the podium?

Would it be better to hunt for stages at this point?

Not trying to be snarky; I genuinely don't know.

(Good on Gilbert today!)

[Waldo]

I've read speculation that Astana is riding hard on flat Giro stages to tire out Contador before the Tour to make things easier for Nibali in July.

[ultraman6970]

Looks like who ever wrote the note dont have a calendar... 1 month to rest. Contador just need maintenance work for a month at this point. Nibali who knows.

[firerescuefin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwlgwRDrdr0

Fun starts at about 20:30

[berserk87]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

I'm puzzled by Hesjedal's tactics at this point. Is it worth it to fight to climb higher in the mid-top-ten overall? Is he hoping to make up 7 minutes on Aru to make the podium?

Would it be better to hunt for stages at this point?

Not trying to be snarky; I genuinely don't know.

(Good on Gilbert today!)

I think it must be worth it to climb the GC, even if not on the podium. I've seen other riders in grand tours do the same to move up a spot in the top 10. I'm sure it pays more for each spot, but I don't know what the difference would be.

[Scuzzer]

Originally Posted by firerescuefin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwlgwRDrdr0

Fun starts at about 20:30

Thanks man. I was looking for something to blow half an hour or so and this was perfect.