Nibali Wolf Blood

[DFORD]

Did Nibali just happen to go from getting dropped to dropping everybody or did he have some "help" from Vino and Astana doctors?

[Lovetoclimb]

very reminiscent of Landis' performance ....

[TimAZ]

Did Nibali just happen to go from getting dropped to dropping everybody or did he have some "help" from Vino and Astana doctors?

Sharks blood.

[spiderwj]

Can't say why but I have always been skeptical of Nibali. The extra sticky bottle last year didn't help...


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[carpediemracing]

Did Nibali just happen to go from getting dropped to dropping everybody or did he have some "help" from Vino and Astana doctors?

That was my first thought. It's one thing if he was following, following, following, then pounced. But losing a lot of time and then, at the point in the race where everyone is absolutely suffering like mad, he's fresh as a daisy?

Like when Lance lost time in whatever Tour, 2010?, and then was okay the next day, and his blood values were all wacky.

[cadence90]

very reminiscent of Landis' performance ....

Indeed.
Eerily similar, in fact.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=1981608&postcount=216

:rolleyes:

[CunegoFan]

Did Nibali just happen to go from getting dropped to dropping everybody or did he have some "help" from Vino and Astana doctors?

Maybe he hopped on the same train Sky has been on the last five years. Or maybe he just had a bad day.

[don compton]

I wonder how tough the testing was at the U.S. Nationals?

[bicycletricycle]

I forgot about that landis ride, what was his cover again, he went out and drank a lot or something.

Hope niboli doesn't get busted , I love a good (actual/legal) comeback

[txcid05]

Definitely fishy...and the articles that he was having "medical testing done for illness"? Then he frickin' wins?!?

[colbyh]

I really don't like Nibali but I think the press made his comeback out to be a bigger deal than it actually was. His standings since stage 10:

Stage / GC Rank / Time Behind
10 / 5th / 0:00:52
11 / 5th / 0:01:09
12 / 5th / 0:01:09
13 / 3rd / 0:00:41
14 / 2nd / 0:00:41
15 / 3rd / 0:02:51
16 / 4th / 0:04:43
17 / 4th / 0:04:43
18 / 4th / 0:04:43
19 / 2nd / 0:00:44
20 / 1st / -
21 / 1st / -

If Kruijswijk hadn't crashed he most likely would have won, the gap between Chavez and Nibali was never more than 2 minutes and it's completely understandable that Chavez would lose time on hard mountain stages since his team isn't 100% geared towards the GC. Much love for OGE but they aren't set up to control the race like Astana is.

I think his team is probably full of crooks but if you're looking for obvious signs of something *extra* going on you're looking at the wrong rider.

[rustychisel]

I think his team is probably full of crooks but if you're looking for obvious signs of something *extra* going on you're looking at the wrong rider.

I was with you up until this point.

When looking for a 'crook' might I not focus upon the winningest rider? [or did I learn nothing from the days of you know who?]

[soulspinner]

I was with you up until this point.

When looking for a 'crook' might I not focus upon the winningest rider? [or did I learn nothing from the days of you know who?]

+1 this was no Landis ride at all.

[feFIFO]

The initial Landis defense was glorious. A hard night of whiskey and women skewed his T:E ratio.

I forgot about that landis ride, what was his cover again, he went out and drank a lot or something.

Hope niboli doesn't get busted , I love a good (actual/legal) comeback

[54ny77]

never underestimate the inspiration of good boo-ra-ta & prah-zhoot.

[72gmc]

If an otherwise clean rider uses a dirty team to win, can that rider still claim to be clean?

[colbyh]

I was with you up until this point.

When looking for a 'crook' might I not focus upon the winningest rider? [or did I learn nothing from the days of you know who?]

just saying that Nibali rode a better race (throughout) than most are giving him credit for at the moment. not a fan, just looking at the numbers and seeing what I'd expect from a top GC rider in the grand tour they had been targeting all year.

If an otherwise clean rider uses a dirty team to win, can that rider still claim to be clean?

this is a fantastic point. not sure what testing looks like for a domestique that pulled off 15k from the finish but kept their leader out of the wind for half a day before that.

[denapista]

I was skeptical as well, but then it all made sense once the dutch crashed. Nibali was setup with the prime setting to win the race. All he had to do was give everything on one climb and he had someone in the break to pull him up the mountain and work with him. Nibali is a pure climber and one of the top 5 descender in the race. Once he got to the top of the climb, he pulled away on the descent and turned himself inside out on the climb.

Do I believe the peloton still dopes, yup! Who cares at this point. Every race, we're going to have posts about did someone dope. The casual fans are the ones who are still keeping the doping crap around and alive. Just let it go and appreciate the racing.

I could see if Nibali rode Kruijswijk off of his wheel after bad day followed by another bad day... Nibali just took advantage of Kruijswijk crashing and had the team to help him win on the last tough climb. It worked out in his favor. That's why you never give up in a stage race, as you never know what may happen. Like when Schleck dropped his chain and Contador pounced.

[bobswire]

I was skeptical as well, but then it all made sense once the dutch crashed. Nibali was setup with the prime setting to win the race. All he had to do was give everything on one climb and he had someone in the break to pull him up the mountain and work with him. Nibali is a pure climber and one of the top 5 descender in the race. Once he got to the top of the climb, he pulled away on the descent and turned himself inside out on the climb.

Do I believe the peloton still dopes, yup! Who cares at this point. Every race, we're going to have posts about did someone dope. The casual fans are the ones who are still keeping the doping crap around and alive. Just let it go and appreciate the racing.

I could see if Nibali rode Kruijswijk off of his wheel after bad day followed by another bad day... Nibali just took advantage of Kruijswijk crashing and had the team to help him win on the last tough climb. It worked out in his favor. That's why you never give up in a stage race, as you never know what may happen. Like when Schleck dropped his chain and Contador pounced.

Agreed. That calls for a beer :beer: http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/6/1/11828474/mlb-video-foul-ball-and-a-beer-cup

[soulspinner]

I was skeptical as well, but then it all made sense once the dutch crashed. Nibali was setup with the prime setting to win the race. All he had to do was give everything on one climb and he had someone in the break to pull him up the mountain and work with him. Nibali is a pure climber and one of the top 5 descender in the race. Once he got to the top of the climb, he pulled away on the descent and turned himself inside out on the climb.

Do I believe the peloton still dopes, yup! Who cares at this point. Every race, we're going to have posts about did someone dope. The casual fans are the ones who are still keeping the doping crap around and alive. Just let it go and appreciate the racing.

I could see if Nibali rode Kruijswijk off of his wheel after bad day followed by another bad day... Nibali just took advantage of Kruijswijk crashing and had the team to help him win on the last tough climb. It worked out in his favor. That's why you never give up in a stage race, as you never know what may happen. Like when Schleck dropped his chain and Contador pounced.

well thought out response.

[fignon's barber]

just saying that Nibali rode a better race (throughout) than most are giving him credit for at the moment. not a fan, just looking at the numbers and seeing what I'd expect from a top GC rider in the grand tour they had been targeting all year.


first off, I really assumed pros always doped, wasn't surprised in the least when it all came out, and still credit Lance with all his Tour victories. That's my stance.
With regard to this Giro, I think it's important to not just look at the time gained or lost in each stage, but how it went down. Nibali got dropped on every acceleration in the mountains, even small ones, in the first 2.5 weeks. And it was getting worse. Then miraculously, in the last 3 days, he's a different rider. This simply defies physiology, or more accurately natural physiology. I know Astana has access to the finest energy bars and the team chef prepares the best pasta, but please.....

[denapista]

If Nibali did dope, would it matter? The entire sport is tainted from years of controlled doping, which was probably allowed by the UCI and every other entity that reaped financial gains from the popularity.

You see it one way, and I see it another. Nibali was mentally defeated more so than him having no talent at all. When you're losing time and mentally defeating yourself, it looks worse to the casual fan. He wasn't losing minutes and minutes. He saw an opportunity with the pink jersey crashing and realistically only needed a 1 day effort to win the race. I mean, he was given the greatest layup pass in pro tour cycling history.

[bobswire]

first off, I really assumed pros always doped, wasn't surprised in the least when it all came out, and still credit Lance with all his Tour victories. That's my stance.
With regard to this Giro, I think it's important to not just look at the time gained or lost in each stage, but how it went down. Nibali got dropped on every acceleration in the mountains, even small ones, in the first 2.5 weeks. And it was getting worse. Then miraculously, in the last 3 days, he's a different rider. This simply defies physiology, or more accurately natural physiology. I know Astana has access to the finest energy bars and the team chef prepares the best pasta, but please.....

He lost 4 minutes in two and a half weeks to a guy who was riding out of his mind. Fate caught up with Kruijswijk and the shark pounced. He's not called the shark for nothing. I think it was more about Nibali's competition overexerting themselves than Nibali's supposedly amazing recovery.

[guido]

A good chunk of Nibali's time debt was incurred on the uphill timetrial held on a day when he reportedly was having serious intestinal issues. After a day off, he recovers enough to restrict his loss to 1:47 in the mountains and then gets a two flat stages to recover further. Only then did he climb away from the field...

[denapista]

Nibali won that race more on the Giro course and that crash, versus blood doping and blowing the race open mid Giro and cruising into the last day in pink.

It was a good race to watch. Would watch again! I love the Giro versus the Tour because the course is just better for good tactical back and forth racing. The Tour can be won in the first week. A GC guy can build a lead and have a team like SKY control the entire race at the front and mark any attack. Snooze fest 2016!