Giro Stage Spoiler

[Dr. Doofus]

nice ride savodelli

but

why did your collarbone

break at an

(alleged)

10 mph in training camp?

[saab2000]

Those broken collarbones among pros continue to amaze me.

Look at who was not present - Cunego. The Giro is far from over, but his absence in the top 10 is glaring.

[DreaminJohn]

I agree that Cunego's absence speaks volumes. I suppose that it's ultimately better for team unity as well. I mean, the dude won the race last year and he's quoted as saying that Simoni is the leader and he's here in a support role (paraphrasing).

Then again, maybe they know more about their respective conditioning than me. Or maybe Cunego is TdF focused this year. Or maybe I don't know jack about anything.

[SGP]

[QUOTE=DreaminJohn Or maybe Cunego is TdF focused this year. [/QUOTE]

with the new schedule, mabey he is focused on le tour while simoni goes after the giro

[Onno]

Basso looked very strong today, capable of catching or losing just about everyone, at just about any point he wanted, save Salvodelli at the end. Given that the two of them finished 2-3 in the first ITT, the battle at this point may be for third.

The hills and roads looked very lovely, even on Windows Media. Kind of makes you want to get out there yourself....

Onno

[saab2000]

They all say they are focusing on the Tour but for an Italian the Giro is the only game in town.

Team Unity Schmeem Unity......

Those two guys (Simoni and Cunego) hate each other and believe you me Kids, Simoni is ecstatic right now that Cunego got dropped.

Simoni is the Capo of Italian stage racing and he saw his position usurped last year by this little kid.

That said, Cunego is apparently a big talent and the Giro is far from over. But he won't win it any more this year.

[coylifut]

when asked about Cunego's implosion.

[oracle]

that's a fine speculation, and good gamesmanship on riijs' part, but perhaps no more connected to reality than condoleeza rice saying "the cost of not taking action against Iraq could be another September 11-type attack, but this time with weapons of mass destruction that could kill tens of thousands." equally reasonable speculation would be cunego is not yet running hot, prepping for da tour, not wanting to waste his one oppurtunity to leave lance black and blue...

oracle

[MartyE]

I think Cunego is using the Giro as his warm up for the Tour.
There is no way I see him losing that much time this
early in the Giro if he was a serious GC contender.

Marty

[Keith A]

Basso wasn't too shabby today either. I really liked Savoldelli's comments today as he was gracious and gave credit to Basso -- here's what was stated as reported by CyclingNews...

Talking of his audacious attack on the descent from Passo Duran, Savoldelli explained that, "Basso was stronger than me on the climbs so I tried to get an advantage so I could ride my own pace on the first part of the final climb. It worked out well, then Basso attacked and Simoni was dropped. I did take a few pulls to get rid of Simoni, but I have to apologize to Basso because I sat on his wheel for the last 2km. It was just too important for me to win the stage and he took the Maglia (Rosa). So it worked out well for everyone. I've already achieved my objective here; I wanted to be competitive and win a stage and I've done it."

One question I have been wondering is let's say Basso wins the Giro, do you think he will have anything left to be a real contender at the TdF? I saw that even Lance was impressed with Basso's improved time trialing

[Dr. Doofus]

saab

surely

nothing

helps endurance

but

makes bones

brittle

[coylifut]

looks like the herd thinks Cunego's saving it for the tour.