Month: May 2014
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Stage eight was too difficult for Diego Ulissi
His words, not mine. I wouldn’t dream of describing it that way being as he won. A fast finisher, Ulissi is an even better climber than I thought he was, for this was a proper mountain stage. It was officially classed as ‘medium mountains’ but this was the day when the Giro reverted to type.…
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Apparently Nacer Bouhanni won another stage
I’ll be honest, I didn’t see this one, but it appears to have underlined the sprint pecking order. Marcel Kittel was fastest, but in his absence, Nacer Bouhanni is fastest. To be honest, the sprint competition in this Giro’s a bit second-rate. Bouhanni’s up-and-coming rather than being a major name and one of his main…
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Cadel Evans stays upright
A weird, intriguing, but ultimately unsatisfying stage. Crashes late on separated the bunch, leading to significant time gaps and abandons. Half the peloton decking it isn’t the way you want to see the general classification take shape really. Broken bones It was nasty stuff. Moving at pace in the wet, merely touching the brakes appeared…
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You were already watching Diego Ulissi of course
I’m slightly annoyed at myself for not explicitly tipping Diego Ulissi for yesterday’s stage, despite having said that he might be worth watching this season. Or could I just say that the instruction to watch him still stood? Yeah, that’s right. I’d already tipped him back in January so you can’t have your money back.…
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Nacer Bouhanni manages to sprint
After the Giro’s stint in Ireland, several riders had said they were looking forward to the warmer, drier weather of Italy. Well, the joke’s on them because stage four was so wet and dangerous that everyone was forced to dawdle along without racing. It was decided that times would be taken after the penultimate lap…
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Bradley Wiggins performs on the rest day
That kind of sounds like he gathered all the riders together and did a stand-up routine or sang I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor for them. But no, he’s actually elsewhere, racing on his bicycle. Specifically, he’s at the Tour of California, an eight-day stage race which isn’t quite as important as it thinks it…
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Have you got used to Marcel Kittel finishing first in this year’s Giro yet?
Stage two: Marcel Kittel wins. Stage three: Marcel Kittel wins. This time, he gave everyone a head start, sprinting from way back in the bunch. But it didn’t really affect things. He is very, very fast. Kittel did at least have the decency to be really tired afterwards, having a little bit of a lie…
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Get used to Marcel Kittel finishing first in this year’s Giro
I get the impression this is going to be the norm on the flat stages. In winning stage two, Marcel Kittel looked a notch above t’others. Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni was second and that might also become a regular thing. Will Kittel take the red jersey? That’s the Giro’s equivalent of the Tour’s green jersey and…
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Weird old Svein Tuft takes the lead after a surprisingly eventful team time trial
Team time trials aren’t usually too thrilling, but stage one of the Giro saw Dan Martin crash out, Ryder Hesjedal lose three minutes and Joaquim Rodriguez lose a minute. Of the other main contenders, Rigoberto Uran and Cadel Evans are already well placed, while Nairo Quintana’s getting on for a minute back. The race leader…
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The second-best 2014 Giro d’Italia preview on this website
This article was originally entitled ‘the best Giro d’Italia preview on this website’ but then I thought: No, I probably did an okay preview last year, so that’s not accurate. So I changed it to ‘the best 2014 Giro d’Italia preview on this website’ but then realised that I’d already highlighted some of the main…