Pro-cycling thread

Memory lapses are allowed. Not everyone is a pro cycling nerd.

I think both Thomas and Landa have a point to prove in this race; Thomas needs to show he can last three weeks at the sharp end and Landa needs to show that is 2015 results weren't a one off.

FWIW, I think a lot of riders struggle when they move to Sky as the training regime appears to be quite different to what other teams are doing, i.e. lots more altitude camps, more race simulation in training, and less racing. If they are going to adapt they usually do so in their second season, as Kwiatkowski has shown this spring, so Landa could surprise. He's always been a rider who only really shows strong form in GTs, so his relative lack of results this spring might not be relevant.

From what I read Kwia has gone back to his old coach and or old training regime. That's what the rouleur interview seemed to imply, as the sky way didn't work for him.

I am excite: three weeks of this ahead! Such a strong field and it's the Giro, not the Tour. Mmm

I'm joining in the excitement, hoping for a great GC contest, plus we'll see if Gaviria and Ewen are ready as the next generation of top tier sprinters.

I just read the rebuttal to that stupid secret pro puff piece. Well written and well said.
Cycling tips has become a joke. It's the daily mail of cycling.

And who gives a F is there are lesbians in cycling. I can't say it's something I ever thought about. Why cycling tips would allow such gossip tosh to be posted in the first place bemused me. I followed them quite a while back.

The well written and good article; https://cyclingtips.com/2017/05/much-ado-nothing-cares-sexual-orientation-pro-peloton/

If the race opened with a TT, Thomas and Landa could establish a natural pecking order.

As things stand, we'll have to wait until stage 4 to see who's strongest and who gets the most protection. Who is Rosa dedicated to?

It's such a poor way of allocating resources to a major race that I suspect Sky knows neither can win.

But, in the past 4 seasons, their sole leader strategy has failed and left them scrabbling around for crumbs (although to be fair to Uran, he did finish 2nd for Sky in 2013 after Wiggins abandoned).

Going with two leaders gives them a back up should one falter. Given the course, it also makes sense to have two different types of rider leading, one for the climbs in the final week, and one for the TTs, because, at the moment, no-one is quite sure how the race will unfold.

Gonna have to remember not to check this thread (or Twitter) during the afternoon for the next three weeks

It may prove a masterstroke but it looks like a team trying to keep two riders happy.

I can't say I've ever really heard or read any gossip into any cyclists being gay or not, so found it a bit out the blue in the original article.

Likewise.
I wonder if the original article author is a bit of a homophobe (with an axe to grin) and wanted to gossip. Either way, it should have never been published.

I can see it working. I think Thomas being British Sky will look to him first and wait to see if he falters and use Landa as a Plan B, so early on they can be each other's super dom. Deciding the leader on the road is an old tradition, with varying degrees of success: we can only hope for a repeat of Visentini vs Roche.

However Sky do have an old tradition of royally fucking up in the Giro, so I expect them both to crash out on the first stage.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/no-sign-of-a-giro-ditalia-rivalry-between-landa-and-thomas/

Just spotted

Thomas is turning 31. It's sky giving him the chance to shoot himself in the foot. Then they can say, look mate you fucked the giro up, you're not a GC contender, just take the money we pay you and be a good domestic dog huh.

Come on Tim!

Twice 15th in the Tour whilst working his bollocks off for Froome, would suggest he does have what it takes if he gets to ride as a leader. The course suits him so, if he can hold it together in the final week, then he has a good chance of finishing in the top ten, possibly higher.

Yeah but top 10?
That's not in skys manifesto.

He needs to leave Sky.

Would he suffer the same fate as Porte if he left Sky though?

What, like achieve his best ever GT result at the Tour in his first year away from the team?

Ha! More memory loss. I'm sure I remember things not going well for him post Sky in a GT (the Giro??) but I should check these things before posting. It's not like I don't have the whole of the internet at my fingers tips....

I think Thomas' big issue is his jack-of-all-trades nature: he can climb a bit, he can roll a bit, he can sprint a bit, his TTing is pretty good. He looked on the brink of becoming a really good classic specialist once he stopped crashing But he needs a weapon, something he really excels at. Wiggins' weapon was his TT and his ability to grind out the mountains, other GT winners generally are climbers that can TT. So when I look at Thomas in terms of a GT I don't see where he can really hurt his rivals, I hope the Giro proves me wrong.

Any good live feeds for the giro please post here! (For iPhone!)

Same problem he had in the classics, he didn't really have a race winning ability - he didn't have the power to solo, or the sprint to win after a selection.
Seems to have found his niche in one week tours though which seem to suit his more general abilities where he can grind it out for a week.

Loved to be proved wrong, but suspect he'll fall apart in the week 3 mountain stages.

Which is where Landa can potentially fly, so Sky better make sure they do give both equal protection.