Krushing the Giro: Stage 5

Degenkolb

Two less than normal "sprint finishes" in a row. Degenkolb takes the win, but unfortunately wearing a baseball hat on the podium and sporting a mustache, he looks more like an incestuous NASCAR fan than a cyclinst. Shame on you, John. Shame on you, Argos/Shimano. Shame on you, Pearl Izumi.

Before the riders arrived in Matera, however, the town looked like a scene from Waterworld. Interesting to hear Sean Kelly suggest that today's cyclists aren't as tough as they used to be when it comes to weather conditions. Don't worry, Sean, we know. These prima donnas seems to be made out of sugar these days.

Weird to see Cavendish look human today. I felt bad for him. He looked like me going up that 4th category climb, weaving around all over the road. I was actually cheering for him to make it back to the main group. Not it would have mattered as everyone went down to take a nap on the last corner. Especially cruel (from my point of view) was De Kort taking out Colombian sprinter Leo Duque. He was in a great position and could have had a great sprint. Fellow Team Colombia rider Jarlinson Pantano managed to come in 6th in the chaotic finish.

Does anyone really think that there's a "Colombian Conspiracy" between Uran and Henao to take the Giro away from Wiggins? Italian press (not the most reliable of sources, let's remember), have been talking about just that. Well, today Uran had a flat with about 6kms to go and Henao didn't as much as look back and ended up fourth in the stage. If there is a "conspiracy," Henao is doing a terrible job. Unless, of course, it's Henao who leads said "conspiracy," not Uran. Hmmm... still sounds like a load to me.

Pozzovivo Fan Club in full effect

Onto one of my favorite topics: Short cyclists who look like 14-year-olds. Domenico Pozzovivo was born a short 45 minute drive from where the stage finished today, so it was no surprise to see his fan club out in full force. He was presented some sort of maglia bianca award in a most unofficial ceremony during RAI's post stage coverage. The award was presented by the president of his fan club, who apparently ate a few of the other members on his way to Matera earlier today.

Pozzato is laughing at the huge belly

I don't wanna finish today's post without mentioning Marco Canola who almost made it two in a row for Bardiani Valvole. What an effort. I could almost see the smoke coming out of his thighs with 100 meters to go. Hats off to the young Italian.

Do not forget to check out the latest episode of the podcast, where we discuss the Giro up until now.

Dee yous tomorrow.


Randomness:

- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 3
- Helmet talk counter:8
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 2
- Stage winner wearing cycling cap / baseball hat / no hat counter: 0 / 3 / 0