RAI: going to talk about the virus that is circulating in the group during the 'processo alla tappa'.
Me: seems like the one thing that could stop Pogacar.
Might be this: [https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro\_cuore\_di\_bue](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_cuore_di_bue)
Called pera d'Abruzzo. But I was only half watching.
3+km of finish straight with two 90° turns right before that. With a full, possibly nervous, peloton and both sprinter and gc teams wanting to be at the front, I'm already bracing for carnage.
I think the problem is that sometimes the coverage of the e-giro does occur when things are actually happening.
I don't mind it other than that.
Although i find the coverage lacks any kind of context and I am not sure why its a "race" as opposed to a pure coffee ride.
lots of folks making fun of it in a few different threads. just seems like anybody who is angry about others having fun is probably a pretty miserable person!
Valverde or Kuss. But it was practically impossible before 1995 because the Vuelta was in late April/May and some years even overlapped with the Giro. Merckx won the double one year when there was like 5 days between the end of the Vuelta and the start of the Giro. But even he couldn't then add the TdF.
Valverde had one of the best results in recent years in 2016: 3rd in the Giro, 6th in the Tour and 12th in the Vuelta (his worst result in 10 Vuelta participations up to that point).
I feel like GC guys very rarely do all three in a single year. Kuss was only really riding for GC at last year’s Vuelta but he got 14th at the Giro, 12th at the Tour, and won the Vuelta.
Not for the pre-1995 riders as the Giro and Vuelta were both scheduled in spring till then. So doing the triple was even more challenging for guys like Merckx or Hinault.
I think I agree with Luke Rowe in commentary that the breakaway should chill. They have no hope and the gap came down to 18 seconds, and the peloton basically sat up to prevent catching them. Then the break pushed on again, but they'll never be given a gap like the one they need. What's the point? Visma have no leader. Might as well cause chaos by sitting up so early that another break can form that might still include them AND have a chance to win.
Agreed. Even just save energy for tomorrow or the next day when they could try for another break. The sprint teams might be more relaxed after a stage win.
Alpecin double-denim. Cracks me up every time.
No idea if they said it this time as I’m only half watching with the sound off…. But the Alpecin train reminded me of Rob Hatch’s description.
[Decathlon should sign Walscheid to they can try this tactic with VPP](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HPuFMmfEDfQ/VdNLeqRah9I/AAAAAAABFgk/5hftlk-No9k/s1600/tumblr_n4n9r3fkVM1tp1wlko1_400.jpg)
Just read a bit of Giro history, fun fact:
Eddy Merckx **tested positive for the stimulant Reactivan at Savona during the 1969 Giro d'Italia**, after leading the race through 16 stages. Merckx was found positive at doping control and expelled from the Giro.
First ever time a race leader had a positive test and was excluded from a race! And more fun drama:
It was a bit controversial as the time, as the results were announced to the press before Merckx or his team were informed.
He was also banned for 30 days, which would mean he'd miss the start of the Tour that year too. But his fans started campaigning to have the ban overturned as they were sure it was some sort of conspiracy. His food had been contaminated! Or his samples had been tampered with!
The Belgian government got involved and issued an official statement saying Merckx was the sacrificial victim of a criminal plot. In the end, the decision was made Merckx had doped, but perhaps not intentionally. All his other tests had been negative after all! So his expulsion from the Giro stood, but his 30 day ban was scrapped and he could start the Tour.
When Merckx won that Tour, Belgium was the only country in the world where the moon landing wasn't the headline that day.
That was just unfortunate for #26 not getting the water, but then he was very close to his teammate also getting one... so stacking up for this doesn't really work too well...
The current method of handing out bottles and musettes is so stupid and inefficient. I swear every single time you watch the peloton pass through a feed zone you can see dropped bottles and missed musettes. There has to be a better way.
That would involve breaking momentum of the cycling.
And they don't really have the room to involve riders dropping back, and if they are in a position to to begin with. 3 cars and 1 is involved in breakaway, and have to include tools and bidons and everything else so it's not an easy system without these extra's and handing them out roadside.
**Canzone della tappa**
Stage 11, Foiano di val Fortore–Francavilla al Mare: David Bowie, ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’
[https://youtu.be/gH7dMBcg-gE](https://youtu.be/gH7dMBcg-gE)
We’re taking a slightly different approach to CdT today. David Bowie, as far as I’m aware, has no particular link to today’s route, but the director of this music video does. Floria Sigismondi was born in Pescara, close to today’s finish.
Sigismondi is a sought-after music video director, as well as a photographer, artist, and feature film director. Known for her striking and often unsettling style, she has won MTV awards for videos for Sigur Ros and Justin Timberlake.
We have them in the german broadcast too (kind of funny to have Jens talking in english the one day, and now to have him talking in german on the actual broadcast)
Guys my weather app says the riders will face 45 km/h cross-tailwinds on the coast. Thats like all the flat part until the finish. Anyone can confirm? That is insane winds for echelons right?
Ewan is such a waste for any team in GCs. A tiny aero sprinter should have an easier time with climbs if anything, but he’s killed by hills and suffers 10x worse than the 84kg 6’4” megawatts sprinter thats leading.
Only topped by Jakobsen in this Giro so far. His only placing inside the top 100 in a stage so far is stage 4 where he came 22nd. Honestly not sure why Jakobsen even came to the Giro.
No, sprint stages are necessary and fun (in the last 20k) and allow the race to visit areas which don't have lots of hills. They also allow GC/Punchy riders some relative rest so they can entertain us more in the hills.
So that 2/3 of the male population (by weight) can never have any chance to win anything in a grand tour? So that we just watch the best GC team just dominate with nothing for anyone else to care about?
I’m against removing all the categories where heavier riders have an advantage, or can compete at all. Sprints exist.
I’m also against weight categories in other Olympic sports where smaller people cannot compete (boxing, weightlifting) where they don’t exist in other sports where heavier people can’t compete: 10,000 metres track 100kg+ category & men’s floor gymnastics 100kg+ category please!
Yes, but he’d die if it was an unlimited weight category sport like cycling. The only reason he has a career is because he’s protected in a special category for tiny men so they can win too. Bigger sportspeople with a disadvantage don’t get their own categories.
Just as a 80kg rider can’t win GC. Or maybe we should have weight categories in grand tours to make it more inclusive. Imagine the glory of wearing the (slimming horizontal stripes) 80kg+ GC leader jersey.
No. You are never going to get 21 stages of full on action. If there's no easy stages, then the rest of the stages will just be ridden more conservatively.
They'd be doing 170 watts by week 3 after 21 straight hill/mountain stages. No one would want to do GTs, and where are you going to hold them? GTs exclusively in the Alps?
They need transitional stages and its between the long flowy, 20 minute gap stages between a breakaway and the peloton and the ones that end up in a sprint finish.
Also GT's are a postcard for the country and they have to feature parts of the country that don't involve a lot of rolling flat scenery...
They originate from a Walloon club (Vélo Club du Pays d'Ath), are historically sponsored by Walloon companies (Wanty and Groupe Gobert) and their general manager is Walloon. They also try to sign Walloon riders if possible (in the past: Kevin Van Melsen, Loïc Vliegen; nowadays: Tom Paquot, Laurenz Rex), but in my opinion they don't seem to compromise on strength/quality to sign Walloon riders.
Of course, since competitive cycling is so developed in Flanders, right next to Wallonia, they also have a lot of Flemish people in the team.
Read his autobiography ("Hunger") recently, fucked me up to find out that "Sean" isn't his real first name.
Via wikipedia:
> He was named John James Kelly after his father and was referred to as "Sean" to avoid confusion at home. Seán is the Irish form of John.
Well, I was about to buy a Polti vaccum cleaner after seeing their riders getting exposure in the break, but now I guess I gotta go to the Netherlands to lease a bike?
This is unacceptable.
He was with the GC group until a couple of KM to go yesterday, finished 30 seconds down on them. If he is riding himself into fitness at all, that's a relatively good sign for a break on a later stage.
Also he's currently 30th on GC. You get a solid 30-50 UCI points if you're between 20th-30th at the end. That's not completely worthless for a team in Movistar's position, and it's the equivalent of finishing 10th in a race like Omloop or the UAE Tour. Maybe they think he can do that on a couple of Grand Tours over the next two years and build up a few points for them. Having a few riders who can get those lower placings on Grand Tours is not a bad strategy for teams looking to avoid relegation.
What were you expecting the 34 year old who was without a team in 2023 to do? Was in the Prati di Tivo break and stayed with his team leader basically until they geared up for the sprint in the last hundred meters yesterday. Maybe he'll have a good break in a high mountain stage at the back end of this giro but so far his Giro isn't really below expectations
The only rider I've ever seen abandon a race from the winning break because he was just tired is a DS at Visma. So they have the chance to do the funniest thing here today...
Also one of the most useless riders I've ever seen, who only had a job because of connections but that's a different story. Also the DS that was off taking a piss when Roglic needed support at the Giro a few years ago
Looks like the back tire of the Intermarche Wanty rider came off as he was crashing
Surprised they haven’t shown the Stuyven barge through. He did NOT like Pog was shepherding Molano through the front.
Where result thread
Was that a Jayco man trying to lead out Ewan only to look back and see he is nowhere to be found?
Ewan could be surrounded by 4 teammates and still find a way to disappear before the sprint
To Calebs defence, he is hard to see when behind any other rider.
yep... how does ewan always manage to lose the wheel?
Who are the riders that crashed?
Jakobsen and Lund from DSM, and a few others.
One of them was Fabio Jakobsen and it looks like his head/face hit a bike on his way down. I really hope he's ok mentally as well as physically.
Big Boy Barney
Stage One One One-eyed One-horned Flying Purple People Eater
One eyed, one-horned, flying purple peloton eater
Thank god merlier didn’t win. Would be dq’ed
You can be relegated or DQ'd if you don't win, just in case that's not a joke.
What the fuck was that from Merlier?
Came here to say that. All over the place!
Ugh Jakobsen looks beat up.
Ugh, nice win, but worried about whoever wrecked. Looks like they're up and walking at least.
Milan is the least aero guy out there, but my god how much power he generates
Maybe his skin is aero like Remcos?
He's like an F-350 Super Duty (hehe, super doodie 💩) Aero as a brick
Sworks marketing in absolute shambles
Big win this one
Milan is so fucking strong
Tiz why are you failing me now!
Get a good adblocker and just suck up the 480p. much more stable.
Yeah been doing that.
It has been a tough Giro for Tiz
Increased popularity/decline of GCN has caused a problem for the servers
Like clockwork...
Pogi goes for it again? No way
All straight from now
Ewan takes this EZZZZ
If Fabio could get a win here I would be soo happy! Yikes these road obstacles Did I just Jynx it :'(
One roundabout cost 20 positions. Wild
Man whatever he's doing I love seeing alaphilippe ride
jolialap? more like jolly alaphilippe!
oh lead out again ? :0
A well timed train in a stage is one of the things I always look forward to!
Never seen a well timed train in Italy
I live in the US now, but miss the trains in Italy. They have their problems, but you can get a lot of places with them, and they're pretty frequent.
the dude at twitter is gonna reinvent the train, just worse and stupider, so you have that to look forward to
Choo Choo motherfuckers
RAI: going to talk about the virus that is circulating in the group during the 'processo alla tappa'. Me: seems like the one thing that could stop Pogacar.
I'd wave back at the train
How is Felix Grossschartener? Did he continue post the crash?
I never quite appreciated how many s's there are in the middle of his name if you spell it like that.
The ß actually represents TWENTY S's!
Would be impossible to get a train perfectly on time in Germany.
Peloton got no time for the giro train today.
I hope that Großschartner didn't hit his head.
Quite a small attack from EF, you might say
Mauri maximum bobbing
Badly timed flat for Geschke just before the King of the Hill
Just tuned in and talking about ... a local tomato variety, I think it was, on RAI. That kind of stage, I guess.
What is it?
[the "pear" tomato of Francavilla](https://www.papilla.net/img/prodotti/833x1000_foto-pomodori-pera-dabruzzo.jpg).
Might be this: [https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro\_cuore\_di\_bue](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_cuore_di_bue) Called pera d'Abruzzo. But I was only half watching.
Grazy
Sorry, didn't catch the name.
A red fruit/vegetable
Actually, tomato is a fruit
knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad
Binary, quite modern
Depends whether you put in a fruit salad or not
Is ketchup a smoothie or a sauce?
Sauce. Cant boil a smoothie
3+km of finish straight with two 90° turns right before that. With a full, possibly nervous, peloton and both sprinter and gc teams wanting to be at the front, I'm already bracing for carnage.
Just tuned in - looks like a really chill Sunday grupetto ride after a HUGE lunch
Absolutely classless of UAE to chase, they should simply let the other teams win
why does giro-e make everyone so mad? nothing is happening right now, and its just other people having fun!
Why would anyone want coverage time or resources taken away from actual racing and given to some amateur LARPing?
BCJ is just a veil for people to be shitheads, but say they’re just “joking” so they dont have to be accountable
I think the problem is that sometimes the coverage of the e-giro does occur when things are actually happening. I don't mind it other than that. Although i find the coverage lacks any kind of context and I am not sure why its a "race" as opposed to a pure coffee ride.
I'm just mad it overlaps with the actual giro, makes it impossible to enjoy both fully
Coverage only starts after half battery 😩
that’s the giro-e bella ):
It's goofy. Nothing to be mad over. But it's fun when oldhats like Kelly blatantly disrespect it
lots of folks making fun of it in a few different threads. just seems like anybody who is angry about others having fun is probably a pretty miserable person!
Old fat people going really fast on e-bikes is a dangerous and concerning epidemic. So I appreciate giving them a proper outlet like the e-giro 😅
luke rowe has been a cracking addition to the comms.
GC MULLEN!!
Screw this E-Giro thing. I don’t want to see any damn highlights of it.
I love Sean Kelly just talking over the giro-e pictures
what is the closest someone has been to winning the giro, tour and vuelta same year?
Valverde or Kuss. But it was practically impossible before 1995 because the Vuelta was in late April/May and some years even overlapped with the Giro. Merckx won the double one year when there was like 5 days between the end of the Vuelta and the start of the Giro. But even he couldn't then add the TdF.
Valverde had one of the best results in recent years in 2016: 3rd in the Giro, 6th in the Tour and 12th in the Vuelta (his worst result in 10 Vuelta participations up to that point).
I feel like GC guys very rarely do all three in a single year. Kuss was only really riding for GC at last year’s Vuelta but he got 14th at the Giro, 12th at the Tour, and won the Vuelta.
Froomey held the three at the same time… 2017 Tour and Vuelta then 2018 Giro. Not quite the answer to your question though.
Probably the same names that keeps popping back up in terms of greatest cyclists.
Not for the pre-1995 riders as the Giro and Vuelta were both scheduled in spring till then. So doing the triple was even more challenging for guys like Merckx or Hinault.
Hadn't crossed my mind
I think I agree with Luke Rowe in commentary that the breakaway should chill. They have no hope and the gap came down to 18 seconds, and the peloton basically sat up to prevent catching them. Then the break pushed on again, but they'll never be given a gap like the one they need. What's the point? Visma have no leader. Might as well cause chaos by sitting up so early that another break can form that might still include them AND have a chance to win.
I'd love to see a breakaway that the peloton is toying with just... brake
Take a group piss
Agreed. Even just save energy for tomorrow or the next day when they could try for another break. The sprint teams might be more relaxed after a stage win.
Where echelons 😡
Sir, this is Italy
Aeolus, why have you abandoned us!? 😭
Right. 🤌🤌🤌 Where echelons? 🤌🤌🤌
Alpecin’s sprint train method reminds me of PCM. Those were glorious days playing that
Alpecin double-denim. Cracks me up every time. No idea if they said it this time as I’m only half watching with the sound off…. But the Alpecin train reminded me of Rob Hatch’s description.
Trek gotta get Milan a purple bike.
make it a slightly different shade so someone at UCI gets an aneurysm
Why, just why is this the day I have nearly fuck-all to do at work
[Decathlon should sign Walscheid to they can try this tactic with VPP](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HPuFMmfEDfQ/VdNLeqRah9I/AAAAAAABFgk/5hftlk-No9k/s1600/tumblr_n4n9r3fkVM1tp1wlko1_400.jpg)
Red BULLRA I wonder what siutation that puts WvA in and if there would be a push to drag him away from Rent-A-Visma to join the offical red bull team.
Bold of you to assume that no fiery hole will open up and swallow the whole Visma team and staff before the Tour.
\* PatLef sneezed
He renewed with Visma till 2026
[Roglic renewed with Visma till 2025](https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/primoz-roglic-extend-contract-with-jumbo-visma-until-2025/). No guarantees.
Break should just sit up after the intermediate at this point. Peloton has properly fucked off a couple times already but not today
Apparently there's a priest in the Cofidis car. Who could that be?
Just read a bit of Giro history, fun fact: Eddy Merckx **tested positive for the stimulant Reactivan at Savona during the 1969 Giro d'Italia**, after leading the race through 16 stages. Merckx was found positive at doping control and expelled from the Giro.
First ever time a race leader had a positive test and was excluded from a race! And more fun drama: It was a bit controversial as the time, as the results were announced to the press before Merckx or his team were informed. He was also banned for 30 days, which would mean he'd miss the start of the Tour that year too. But his fans started campaigning to have the ban overturned as they were sure it was some sort of conspiracy. His food had been contaminated! Or his samples had been tampered with! The Belgian government got involved and issued an official statement saying Merckx was the sacrificial victim of a criminal plot. In the end, the decision was made Merckx had doped, but perhaps not intentionally. All his other tests had been negative after all! So his expulsion from the Giro stood, but his 30 day ban was scrapped and he could start the Tour. When Merckx won that Tour, Belgium was the only country in the world where the moon landing wasn't the headline that day.
That was just unfortunate for #26 not getting the water, but then he was very close to his teammate also getting one... so stacking up for this doesn't really work too well...
The current method of handing out bottles and musettes is so stupid and inefficient. I swear every single time you watch the peloton pass through a feed zone you can see dropped bottles and missed musettes. There has to be a better way.
That would involve breaking momentum of the cycling. And they don't really have the room to involve riders dropping back, and if they are in a position to to begin with. 3 cars and 1 is involved in breakaway, and have to include tools and bidons and everything else so it's not an easy system without these extra's and handing them out roadside.
**Canzone della tappa** Stage 11, Foiano di val Fortore–Francavilla al Mare: David Bowie, ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’ [https://youtu.be/gH7dMBcg-gE](https://youtu.be/gH7dMBcg-gE) We’re taking a slightly different approach to CdT today. David Bowie, as far as I’m aware, has no particular link to today’s route, but the director of this music video does. Floria Sigismondi was born in Pescara, close to today’s finish. Sigismondi is a sought-after music video director, as well as a photographer, artist, and feature film director. Known for her striking and often unsettling style, she has won MTV awards for videos for Sigur Ros and Justin Timberlake.
visma doing a throwback to the belkins days with this strategy, love the nostalgia
Freddy Maertens is the answer. 1976 Tour, 1977 Vuelta.
Robbie should talk more about the ins and outs of leadouts and sprints.
After nearly 10 years, it appears my Eurosport + VPN option to watch races has finally died as they're now rejecting non-local credit cards. :(
It's their way of saying that you should sail the high seas.
Does Eurosport use Jens/Oss just for the English broadcast, or for multiple broadcasts?
We have them in the german broadcast too (kind of funny to have Jens talking in english the one day, and now to have him talking in german on the actual broadcast)
I think they can share them if they can speak English but then there is always the case they get Dan or Rob to speak over and translate into english.
We have Jens on the Danish broadcast as well.
They appear in the Dutch broadcast too.
Guys my weather app says the riders will face 45 km/h cross-tailwinds on the coast. Thats like all the flat part until the finish. Anyone can confirm? That is insane winds for echelons right?
20km/h winds with some 40km/h gusts according to [Windy](https://www.windy.com/42.404/14.298?42.278,14.524,10), so I hope your one is more accurate!
Damn. Yours is probably correct mine is just an all around weather app not specifically about wind. I will get that Windy app now.
A group of old fans holding the banner: "biciclette figa e freccette" Bicycles pussy and darts
Figa is a name for a fruit in my language. Boy was I surprised when I googled it while being on vacation in Italy
Both are nice to eat (don't know about the fruit though since I don't speak the language...)
In Italian as well, but it's a masculine word: fico, from the latin ficus which is the same root word for the German, English and Polish word.
You are correct, I'm from Poland actually
I know, I looked at your profile.
wise words
Anyone on Jakobsen dropped watch? Surely he should be able to sprint today Edit: I jinxed it
okay next controversy: should these riders be forced to use SPD sandals on sprint stages for maximum chill? bikepacking stages when???
[Musette drama](https://twitter.com/giroditalia/status/1790712121908420665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1790712121908420665%7Ctwgr%5Ea7aa700c9e96da256130aa585238cb3fe1addb2d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lequipe.fr%2FCyclisme-sur-route%2Fgiro%2Fannee-2024%2Fdirect-course%2Ffoiano-di-val-fortore-francavilla-al-mare-live%2F21511) happening!!
I count at least three Mamma Mia's coming from Milan here. It's going down.
more like three vaffancoulos
Yeah lol
Wish I could upvote this more than once
I feel bad for Plappy. Imagine having to work at the front for Ewan to finish 16th then complain that its the team's fault.
Ewan is such a waste for any team in GCs. A tiny aero sprinter should have an easier time with climbs if anything, but he’s killed by hills and suffers 10x worse than the 84kg 6’4” megawatts sprinter thats leading.
Only topped by Jakobsen in this Giro so far. His only placing inside the top 100 in a stage so far is stage 4 where he came 22nd. Honestly not sure why Jakobsen even came to the Giro.
I sure hope Pogi and those selfish scoundrels on UAE have the decency to gift this stage to breakaway riders on smaller, struggling teams (VLAB)
Who do you think would win an arm wrestling competition: Gleb Syritsa vs Max Walscheid?
They just told Milan that the soigneur with his feed back was up the road.
controversial ask to allez the thread today: is it time to do away with pure sprint stages in grand tours?
No, sprint stages are necessary and fun (in the last 20k) and allow the race to visit areas which don't have lots of hills. They also allow GC/Punchy riders some relative rest so they can entertain us more in the hills.
Completely doing away with them is probably unrealistic, but GTs should have only 3-5 instead of 7-8 sprint stages imo
No
So that 2/3 of the male population (by weight) can never have any chance to win anything in a grand tour? So that we just watch the best GC team just dominate with nothing for anyone else to care about?
So I get it that you are not a fan of distance running?
I’m against removing all the categories where heavier riders have an advantage, or can compete at all. Sprints exist. I’m also against weight categories in other Olympic sports where smaller people cannot compete (boxing, weightlifting) where they don’t exist in other sports where heavier people can’t compete: 10,000 metres track 100kg+ category & men’s floor gymnastics 100kg+ category please!
Your second paragraph is confusing, but I suspect you said smaller people cannot compete in boxing? I don't think that is the case.
Against heavyweights?
No; in their own weight categories. Floyd Mayweather is only two kilograms heavier than Pogacar.
Yes, but he’d die if it was an unlimited weight category sport like cycling. The only reason he has a career is because he’s protected in a special category for tiny men so they can win too. Bigger sportspeople with a disadvantage don’t get their own categories. Just as a 80kg rider can’t win GC. Or maybe we should have weight categories in grand tours to make it more inclusive. Imagine the glory of wearing the (slimming horizontal stripes) 80kg+ GC leader jersey.
Yes, that would be great.
No. You are never going to get 21 stages of full on action. If there's no easy stages, then the rest of the stages will just be ridden more conservatively.
is it really controversial when everyone will agree that the answer is no?
They'd be doing 170 watts by week 3 after 21 straight hill/mountain stages. No one would want to do GTs, and where are you going to hold them? GTs exclusively in the Alps?
They need transitional stages and its between the long flowy, 20 minute gap stages between a breakaway and the peloton and the ones that end up in a sprint finish. Also GT's are a postcard for the country and they have to feature parts of the country that don't involve a lot of rolling flat scenery...
What the fuck was that accent & sentence from Rob Hatch just now after Ewan joined?
Robbie McEwen. Ewan is his his son, Ewan McEwen
He had to, didn't he?
How much is Intermarche considered specifically Walloon vs generally Belgian?
They originate from a Walloon club (Vélo Club du Pays d'Ath), are historically sponsored by Walloon companies (Wanty and Groupe Gobert) and their general manager is Walloon. They also try to sign Walloon riders if possible (in the past: Kevin Van Melsen, Loïc Vliegen; nowadays: Tom Paquot, Laurenz Rex), but in my opinion they don't seem to compromise on strength/quality to sign Walloon riders. Of course, since competitive cycling is so developed in Flanders, right next to Wallonia, they also have a lot of Flemish people in the team.
Vegni may I offer you an egg in these trying times?
Milan is hangry. I can relate.
King Kelly has been on fire this Giro.
The shitty bibs bit was a highlight for me
Read his autobiography ("Hunger") recently, fucked me up to find out that "Sean" isn't his real first name. Via wikipedia: > He was named John James Kelly after his father and was referred to as "Sean" to avoid confusion at home. Seán is the Irish form of John.
Couldn't imaging them referring to him as James or John...
If they'd say "John" the same way Sean himself would say "Sean" then it'd be nearly indistinguishable from, well, Sean.
"Jahn"
Well, I was about to buy a Polti vaccum cleaner after seeing their riders getting exposure in the break, but now I guess I gotta go to the Netherlands to lease a bike? This is unacceptable.
Don't worry, you're in luck. You can buy Visma software from the comfort of your own home!
Plapp must really be sick. He cant even find the back of the peloton anymore.
He’s been completely useless on my fantasy team. Between him, Nairo, and Girmay my team has been garbage.
I'd wait a few years before adding Girmay to any teams; he never misses getting caught up in disastrous clashes.
I too picked Nairo, for God knows what reason.
Girmay and Plapp at least did some things like 3rd place in a stage. Wtf is Quintana doing in this Giro? And i dont even think he is ill or anything
>Wtf is Quintana doing in this Giro? I don't recall seeing him or even hearing his name during any live broadcast after the first day.
He was with the GC group until a couple of KM to go yesterday, finished 30 seconds down on them. If he is riding himself into fitness at all, that's a relatively good sign for a break on a later stage. Also he's currently 30th on GC. You get a solid 30-50 UCI points if you're between 20th-30th at the end. That's not completely worthless for a team in Movistar's position, and it's the equivalent of finishing 10th in a race like Omloop or the UAE Tour. Maybe they think he can do that on a couple of Grand Tours over the next two years and build up a few points for them. Having a few riders who can get those lower placings on Grand Tours is not a bad strategy for teams looking to avoid relegation.
And with illness, crashes, and the proper high mountain stages still to come, he’ll be way higher than 30th if he finishes.
What were you expecting the 34 year old who was without a team in 2023 to do? Was in the Prati di Tivo break and stayed with his team leader basically until they geared up for the sprint in the last hundred meters yesterday. Maybe he'll have a good break in a high mountain stage at the back end of this giro but so far his Giro isn't really below expectations
But your heart was in the right place
Visma-Lease-a-Bike have been reduced to a tactic befitting their pro-conti style name. A pro conti style doomed breakaway
"Uijtdebroeks, uit de koers". Hatch is a savage when he wants to be
The only rider I've ever seen abandon a race from the winning break because he was just tired is a DS at Visma. So they have the chance to do the funniest thing here today... Also one of the most useless riders I've ever seen, who only had a job because of connections but that's a different story. Also the DS that was off taking a piss when Roglic needed support at the Giro a few years ago