Giro D'Italia 2016

Guess it's money. Can get a few names but don't have money to get semi names to support them.
Shame for him. If he had a real strong team I'd put money on him winning now.

Let's hope the Dutch reputation for doing deals extends to Lotto-Jumbo's management. I don't know if you saw the Giro in 2005, but Salvodelli got a lot of help from other teams with Sean Yates pulling in favours.

2005?
I didn't know cycling existed.

Yes, lots goes on under the table. I hope he's got some friends. And I'd think quite a few riders will be happy to help a new guard rider win. That said, Chavez and OGE will have friends too. Can't wait for it to unfold.

Taaramae is going well, maybe he can justify his place in my fantasy team...

Gazprom guy sets fastest time by 1min 25... Forgive me for being a tad suspicious.

He's been having a good season so far, so it's not a complete fluke.

Fair enough, I've literally never heard of him before. How do you think the GC guys will do in comparison?

I think the majority of the top ten on the stage will be amongst the final ten starters.

is that a waxed chain on uran's bike?

Think I might be wrong up there ^^, lots of riders going off too fast and suffering on the second half of the climb.

Come on Kruiswijk!

Nibali having a shocker.

Ah, so close!

I wonder too, but that's a luxury, really. Mollema and Ten Dam both moved. Battaglin and Roglic are OK climbers, Gesink will ride the TdF so no Giro. But other than Sky, Tinkoff and Astana, what teams do you see that can deliver decent support with two or three domestiques to their lead man in mountain stages? Money probably is a factor, since Rabobank is no longer the big sponsor

Fantastic, everyone expected Kruijswijk would have a hard time hanging on to his lead over Nibali, Valverde and Chaves, instead he almost wins the TT today (just 0.02 sec) and extends it, by no small margin. His 3rd week was great last year, let's hope his condition/form will keep up like it did then. Forza Steven!

Betancur really not pulling his weight in my fantasy team although my predictions for him were in 3rd week. Chaves is keeping me on top though.

To be fair, Betancur has a lot of weight to pull.

Badum-tish!

Saturday was great racing.

Loving this showing from Kruijswijk, hope he can keep it up

How many gingers have worn the Maglia Rosa?

Sounds like a question for the intrepid Ocelot Gruber...

Just remembered I put a £1 each way on Kruijswijk before the Giro at the handsome odds of 125 / 1!

High roller! Let's hope he brings it home.

:) I'm more suprised that the bookies gave him such long odds considering how he rode it last year. Cue 'if only I had put a tenner on' regrets..

He's Russian so of course he's cheating but the other fast guys, the GC lot, were working hard the day before whereas he was focused on the TT he said, so he'd taken it easy during the queen stage.

Well at the time I posted he'd just put a minute and a half into the next fastest rider, and looked fresher than fresh sprinting over the line too. The suspicion was not just 'cause he's Russian but also because he's a complete unknown from a pro conti team. Just seemed a tad unusual is all.