No I didn’t say he was given a free roll. The opposite in fact. He said before the giro he was there to ensure Simoni wins the Giro. I was hoping for a situation to develop similar to what happened in Le Tour in 1997 when the young Ullrich went in with Riis as leader and ended up being the far stronger rider. On the one stage we have seen so far where both riders have been tested it appears as though Ricco looks stronger than Simoni so it could develop similar to Le Tour 97 or Giro 2004 where Cunego beat Simoni who was team leader.
Stage today finished in a bunch sprint with Danilo Napolitano winning. Am really looking forward to the stage tomorrow which is a tough mountain stage. Although not as hard as Thursday’s stage or other major mountain stages I expect a few of the favourites to suffer tomorrow. Its a huge day for DiLuca and he must prove his capabilities tomorrow if he is to win the rosa.Here is a preview of the stage from cyclingnews.com
Stage 10 could change the look of the Giro d’Italia, with a demanding finale. Starting in Lido di Camaiore, this long stage heads due north along SS1, the via Aurelia through Cinque Terre, over the Passo della Biscia where a break will surely go away, then more up and down to Genova, with a final ascent of 16.3 kilometres to the Santuario Nostra Signora Della Guardia. After over six hours in the saddle, this climb will separate the contenders from the pretenders in the 2007 Corsa Rosa.
18km left. Cunego’s team Lampre at the moment are trying to chase down a break of four riders which is a couple of minutes in front. Included in the four are Hincapie of Discovery and Parra who won two back to back stages two years agi.Mountain top finish coming up after this descent and 9km of flat.
Yeah he got about twenty seconds on Simoni and thirty on forty on Ricco and Cunego. Frustrating day for me as regards Ricco. He kept on looking over his shoulder for Simoni but then Simoni attacked and looked decent gaining time on Ricco. Di Luca attacked with about 5km to go and was caught but then attacked again and looked as if he had blown but then found strength to open up a gap between him and his rivals near the end. Although this isn’t the toughest stage it tells you that Di Luca, Simoni, Cunnego and Ricco all look strong. Cunego had to do a lot of his work on his own in his group trying to limit loses to Di Luca and Simoni. Looking forward to Thursday’s stage now.
Seems like Liquigas looked like the strongest team again. While Ricco and Simoni are doing well together they don’t seem to be getting much help from elsewhere but Liquigas look to be in control at the moment.
Yeah they upped the pace to blow the main bunch up like US Postal used to do for Armstrong during the Tour for years. This prepared the way for Di Luca to attack 5km from the finish. What is surprising is Di Luca had the strength to a attack be caught then attack and stay away all within 5km. Good illustration of his strength though they have yet to hit the real mountains. As regards Saunier Duval Ricco and Simoni didn’t really work well together with Ricco looking stronger for much of the stage and then Simoni popping up at the end. The winner of the stage today was an SD rider and afterwards he said his goal from now on was to ride for Simoni. Highlights at eight on eurosport.
just home now. big big mountains today. two riders out in front who are 5’28 ahead of Simoni, Di Luca, Piiepoli, Schleck. Ricco is in a group 8’30 back Simoni looks strong to me. We have had one major mountain. 35 km with another beast to come.
DiLuca won the stage in a sprint against Simoni. Cunego lost about thirty seconds. Ricco lost about three minutes. While still very early it looks between Di Luca and Simoni now. Short time trial tomorrow over mountains. The big doubt about Di Luca is will he last the three weeks as he is better on short tours like the Basque tour. I think he will be the winner of the pink jersey though.
Reading between the lines I think you’re acknowledging Di Luca was a smashing call from me. I have slight concerns that he thinks he’ll fade and consequently he’s trying to get king of the mountains points - he won that jersey back yesterday by competing in sprints I presume. So I think he might be figuring that’s his best chance of winning something.
You could be right regarding mountains jersey as he attacked at the top of the last mountain today. Dangerous game to play going for it as a back up though as it can waste a lot of energy. This was a big test for Di Luca today and he passed it with flying colours. He is not a great time trialist but his strength should see him through. I really fancy him to go all the way now. Simoni’s sudden speeds of acceleration would be a concern though at 35 Simoni can’t really sustain that throughout a stage without losing considerable energy. Watch highlights tonight if you get a chance rock. They go through cobbles and all at the end and very narrow streets. It looks like some race you’d get in the 60’s. Great viewing though. Cycling is rapidly becoming a favourite sport of mine.
latest odds from paddypower. i think kasheckin looks good value. good value too for schleck though csc participation remains a doubt. anything there that looks good to you rock? i think it could be foolish to bet this far out yet anyway unless on an outsider.
A Vinokourov 7 - 4 Y Popovych 28 - 1 G Hincapie 80 - 1
A Valverde 11 - 4 J A Gomez Marchante 33 - 1 D Millar 80 - 1
A Kloden 6 - 1 T Danielson 33 - 1 B Kohl 80 - 1
C Sastre 10 - 1 S Schumacher 40 - 1 L L Sanchez 80 - 1
L Leipheimer 10 - 1 M Fothen 40 - 1 S Chavanel 80 - 1
D Menchov 16 - 1 M Boogerd 50 - 1 S Casar 100 - 1
C Evans 18 - 1 M Rasmussen 50 - 1 P Caucchioli 100 - 1
F Schleck 20 - 1 O Pereiro Sio 50 - 1 C Dessel 150 - 1
M Rogers 25 - 1 I Mayo 50 - 1 J Voigt 150 - 1
J M Garate 25 - 1 R Ricco 50 - 1 A Merckx 250 - 1
A Contador 25 - 1 C Moreau 66 - 1 T Voeckler 250 - 1
D Cunego 28 - 1 T Valjavec 66 - 1 T Boonen 500 - 1
A Kashechkin 28 - 1 H Zubeldia 66 - 1 R Mcewen 500 - 1
I’ll do some research on it over the next couple of days piper. Form in the classics was a good marker for the Giro but it’s unlikely to hold as true for Le Tour I’d say.
Won’t be touching CSC for a while with their registration still up in the air and even at that 10/1 isn’t a fantastic price for Sastre. Schleck nearly looks better value as you’ve suggested.
In the meantime I hope those who followed my tip for the Giro are enjoying collecting their 10/1 winnings on Di Luca.
Wiggins won the prologue in the Dauphine Libere yesterday. He isn’t even guaranteed a place in Le Tour by Cofidis but if they think he can win the prologue in his home city the sponsors will insist he’s there.