2013 Pro-cycling season thread

Froome not looking good at the moment, looks to have lost his teammates?

Since when was Sagan a bloody grimpeur?

yeah not looking good for Fromme (at the moment) ..and Segan just gets better and better

Ouch, big gap to froome. Always enjoy it when people attack on the descents

Rodriguez, Nibali and Segan working very well together..think the writings on the wall for Froome today..

Sagan

Mental.
Sagan is a monster. Again.

Big time gap for Nibali. Overall?
Froome distanced on the descent. Nibali huge skill at descending.

Miserable day though.

Dan Lloyd is so gormless

Wonder what happened to Froome? He and Uran and Henao looked comfortable and then it just exploded and he was nowhere to be seen.

Thirty odd seconds behind, can he pull that back in the TT tomorrow, does it matter? Is winning Tirreno that important to him? Or is it all about getting into form for the Tour?

Sagan was impressive, as were Rodriguez and Nibali, took it to Froome on the ascent and the descent..

Perfect move by Nibali, but the tv director should have done a better job. No idea how Froome lost the rest of the team

I know Sky want to protect Froome for the TT tomorrow, get him home with the other leaders so he doesn't lose anytime, but I feel sometimes they should send someone away in the breaks that form so they aren't the ones who have to do all the work controlling the peloton.
Maybe being slightly more adventurous with their rider resources would pay them back in terms of energy not expended, as other teams have to come to the fore.

In this instance they had the leader's jersey so the responsibility of controlling the break falls on their shoulders alone. The other teams would be less than impressed if a Sky rider got in the break and then sat on.

Surely there's no chance Nibbles can give up 30 seconds in less than 6 miles? Foregone conclusion now, surely?

It's a bike race.
Anything can happen. Anything.

Wow, loads of the grupetto climbed off after 70km but Taylor Phinney rode solo for 130km and still missed the time cut 38 mins down.

Wow, loads of the grupetto climbed off after 70km but Taylor Phinney rode solo for 130km and still missed the time cut 38 mins down.

Yeah http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/03/news/acquarone-tirreno-stage-6-went-too-far_277610

Guess the cycle-mechanics screwed up and forgot to fit compact cassette and chain set.

Wow, loads of the grupetto climbed off after 70km but Taylor Phinney rode solo for 130km and still missed the time cut 38 mins down.

He's done that before at this race. Told to get into the car as he was done but he just rode home (to the finnish) anyway. Despite looking like a football jock he shows some damn class. Fair play young chap.

Will Froome be all that worried? Nibali won this last year and couldn't match him in the Tour.

Wow, loads of the grupetto climbed off after 70km but Taylor Phinney rode solo for 130km and still missed the time cut 38 mins down.

I like the cut of this lad's jib

Brutal day in Italy.

Steeper than hardknott?

Love Phinney. Hope he gets a classic sooner rather than later.

I didn't see it, but reading reports from today makes you remember Froome isn't that greatly seasoned. Also, seems to me like Sagan is now a contender to win in all the monuments (with P-R least likely in my opinion).

Will Froome be all that worried? Nibali won this last year and couldn't match him in the Tour.

He should be, especially seeing as all the contenders will be bringing their A-game to the tour. Its also nice to see that the sky train isn't entirely invincible, hopefully between now and July everyone will be spending time trying to figure out ways to poke holes in them.

Also, seems to me like Sagan is now a contender to win in all the monuments (with P-R least likely in my opinion).

Yep, he seems to be Kelly reborn. In this age of specialisation, the kind of rider we thought we'd never see again. If he can continue to emulate the Kelly model and work on his TT'ing and continue to improve on his Climbing he could become a great stage racer as well a monument/classic/stage specialist.

Big ring climb.