oh, man...

[thwart]

Just reading a bit about the Giro (weather here today: cloudy, scattered rain, NW wind at 18 mph, 47 degrees... so some downtime).

I'd forgotten how truly evil the Zoncolan is...

[93legendti]

That looks like a staircase, not a mountain.

[dancinkozmo]

that looks like a graph of "how good i think amy winehouse looks vs. number of beers consumed"

[gone]

Those 18%, 20% and 22% "kickers" on top of the average gradient look particularly nasty - bet they hurt.

[Volant]

Any one know what gearing the pros use on something like this? There's a metric near me that runs a 2 miler uphill at 14% average with some short runs up to 25%. I've always had to walk that steep run with 39x27 as it's near the end and I'm spent by then. I'll probably ride it with a compact set up this year which should make it doable for me.

[Louis]

For that section what % of the time is the typical rider seated vs. standing?

I've never seen it on TV or video. (no broadband here, so no youtube)

[thwart]

Any one know what gearing the pros use on something like this? this is a day for the compacts. Expect to find a fair number of 34x28s in use that day. Contador used a 34x28 on both the Angliru and the Kronplatz in his 2008 Giro-Vuelta double.

According to Pez...

[Ray]

this is a day for the compacts. Expect to find a fair number of 34x28s in use that day. Contador used a 34x28 on both the Angliru and the Kronplatz in his 2008 Giro-Vuelta double.

According to Pez...
And that's CONTADOR!!! Imagine what someone like Boonen or Cavendish needs to struggle over that climb. I'd need mtb gearing, probably something like a 24x28 and I still might not make it.

Those guys are a different species.

-Ray

[Kevan]

Glad that ain't my driveway.

[Climb01742]

"Craig rode with a 52x36 and an 11x27, a set up he says he'll use during the Giro during stages 19 & 20. In passing he referred to the crank as a "Dolomiti Compact" and he was surprised to learn that the US market basically doesn’t support 52x36. Nary a bike is equipped with it as OE equipment, and if you look at QBP or other distributors, the ratio of 52x36 cranksets available vs. 53x39 and 50x34 is about 1:500. That might be a change we'll need to champion here at Competitive Cyclist…"

from http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/whats-new/zero-tolerance-descent.360.html

[retrogrouchy]

that looks like a graph of "how good i think amy winehouse looks vs. number of beers consumed"

LOL - best laugh of the day, so far. :beer:

[Kevan]

"Craig rode with a 52x36 and an 11x27, a set up he says he'll use during the Giro during stages 19 & 20. In passing he referred to the crank as a "Dolomiti Compact" and he was surprised to learn that the US market basically doesn’t support 52x36. Nary a bike is equipped with it as OE equipment, and if you look at QBP or other distributors, the ratio of 52x36 cranksets available vs. 53x39 and 50x34 is about 1:500. That might be a change we'll need to champion here at Competitive Cyclist…"

from http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/whats-new/zero-tolerance-descent.360.html

I'd opt in using my compact triple drive. Or just walking it.

[NRRider]

I seriously thought that graph was posted sideways at first.