Krushing the Giro: Stage 13

Cav assures RAI he won't pull a Bouhanni and will finish the Giro

I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday for stage 12. You see, I have a life outside of cycling. Not an exciting and glamorous life, mind you, but sometimes I got shit to do. Anyway, here's what I would have posted yesterday:

It rained. There was a breakaway. OPQS chased. Cavendish won. The end.

Wet Cav

Today? Well, it didn't rain. There was a breakaway. OPQS chased. Cavendish won. The end.

I know, I know. There was a bit more than that. It seemed that every team tried to attack at some point, and there was a bit of cross winds that could have caused a lot of problems, but at the end OPQS delivered and helped Cav get his 101st pro victory.


Still, I think we can agree that the big news today was Wiggins leaving the 2013 Giro. So many questions to be answered: Can Uran, who tends to fade toward the end of three week races, keep it up? Will Sky ride for Uran with the same obedience and dedication that they would have for Wiggins? What does this mean for Sky and Froome in the Tour? Will Wiggins want to ride the Vuelta now screwing Porter over? Some of the answers we'll know this weekend, some we won't. My prediction? Well, I have a horrible track record with these, so feel free to dismiss the next few sentences. I think Uran will have a strong showing over the weekend, but not enough to shake Evans or Nibali off his tail. Gesink may lose his spot to Scarponi and even to Niemiek. Lampre haven't really used much energy and I think tomorrow and Sunday will be big days for them. Betancur will win the stage Saturday.

One thing is for sure, the Giro continues to be exciting and, as always, making the Tour look as dull as a roller coaster with no loops.

Randomness:

- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 5
- Helmet talk counter: 12
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 3
- Stage winner wearing cycling cap / baseball hat / no hat counter: 1 / 10 / 1