Krushing the Giro: Stage 17

"My cojones are THIS BIG"

I'm making today's post shorter than usual because I'd rather you spend the time downloading and listening to the new episode of the podcast.

A few years ago when Giovanni Visconti first came into my radar while riding with ISD-Neri I could see the dude had balls, but I didn't think they were this big. Only a few days after winning the unbelievably trying stage to the Galibier, Visconti makes it three in a row for Movistar. After a difficult year the Italian comes back swinging. Simply Amazing.

And speaking of amazing, my infatuation with the left side podium girl and her wide array of hair-dos has hit the cyber-web with full force. Everyone is talking about it. (No one is).

Left Side Podium Girl sporting a bun

Nothing to do with this Giro, but plenty to do with the Colombian Conspiracy are rumors that Uran is headed to Omega Pharma-Quick Step for 2014. I'd heard some murmurs here and there, but this morning L'Equipe joined the other media outlets making noise. Some of the bigger Colombian cycling journalists have already said it's a done deal, but until the team, or in fact Uran make an statement, I won't believe it. For a while Movistar were the team a lot of folks were talking about for Uran. It made sense. Valverde isn't as young as he used to be and Uran already knows the team, from his three years with Caisse d'Epargne. Also, it's a team built for GC contention, while OPQS is not. The Belgian team's main objectives are the classics and during stage races they work 100% for Cavendish. Did we not learn anything from the Wiggo / Cav soap opera last year? I guess we will have to wait and see.


Randomness:

- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 5
- Helmet talk counter: 17
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 3
- Stage winner wearing
     Cycling cap: 1 (Uran)
     Baseball hat: 12
     No hat: 1
     Visor: 1

Episode 63: Playing Cycling Risk

The Colombian Conspiracy?

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In my head: Maiko at the ToC

 WTF WERE WE TALKING ABOUT?
- Intro and outro music by Asesino

- Carlos Betancur's newsponsor?

- Today's RAI Processo alla Tappa featuring Uran and a crappy "ska" band

- G+D Fantasy Giro page

- Order Cycling Anthology Vol. 2

Mike's photo of a genuine NYC douche

MAIKO'S IMAGES OF THE TOUR OF CALIFORNIA

Asian lady camped out in front of the BMC bus

Large murder scene perimeter around the RadioShack bus area

Cannondale had a plate of cheese cubes out. IN THE SUN.

David de la Cruz warming up under a tree next to Garmin 'cuz NetApp had no tent

Westra accosted by Asian tourists in front of porta potties.

  
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Krushing the Giro: Stage 16

Beñat Intxausti dedicated today's to the memories of Xavi Tondo and his grandfather

Today's stage reminded me of an old school Welterweight fight. It was scrappy, messy and unpredictable with lots of attacking and sudden bursts of speed. Of note Pirazzi's apparent complete lack of restraint. And thank God for that. I absolutely love tough, head-strong, stubborn riders like that. Reminds me of Ludo Dierckxsens in the Classics of the 90s. A guy who'd look dead one minute and would be out the front the next, just to get dropped again, only to attack again 10 kilometers after. That type of passion is what attracted me to cycling in the 80s and I'm glad it's still out there.

At the end, only one acceleration mattered, and that was Beñat Intxausti's. The Basque outsmarted Kangert and Niemiec to take his first stage in a Grand Tour and climb one step in the GC to ninth, leaping over a struggling Pozzovivo.

The big loser today was Santambrogio. As I write this, I still don't know if he lost time because he had an off day or because he had some sort of a mechanical. Either way, he fell down to sixth in the general classification.

Santambrogio and his doppelgänger, wrestler Matt Stricker

Uran, who did a good job of following wheels today, was a guest on RAI's post stage show along with teammate Dario Cataldo. Alessandra de Stefano took the opportunity to make fun of Rigo's awesome mane, which looked especially amazing exploding out of his Rapha winter cap. When asked how the mood in the team had changed since Sir Wigg-a-lot's departure Uran said that the first thing that changed was the language of conversation within the team. I'm sure Hey-now was happy, since I've heard his English is terrible. Cataldo added that the team is much more relaxed and that riding for Uran is easier, since he doesn't require Sky making tempo the way Wiggins did. Besides, he pointed out, Uran is a bit of a jokester in the bus. I don't see Wiggo cracking any jokes on the way to the start line.

Uran, his hair and Cataldo laugh it up during RAI's post stage show

Speaking of cycling caps, Cavendish was wearing one before the stage, when blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. Happy birthday, Mark, and thank you for not wearing a baseball hat. Now, if we can just get you to do the same after stage wins...

Happy birthday, Mark

Finally, my dear brother and podcast co-host, The Almighty Klaus is landing in Italy later today. He will be there for the rest of the Giro working on a few assignments. I wish him the best of luck and hopefully he can send me some images I can use in the blog.


Randomness:

- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 5
- Helmet talk counter: 16
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 3
- Stage winner wearing
     Cycling cap: 1 (Uran)
     Baseball hat: 11
     No hat: 1
     Visor: 1

Krushing the Giro: Stage 14

Tomorrow's stage will finish at the Marco Pantani memorial that marks the spot where he attacked in the '98 Tour

I delayed today's post in hopes that we'd get some sort of official word on tomorrow's stage. Well, RCS has now announced that tomorrow's stage will in fact take place and that it will climb the Col du Mont Cenis, but that it will not go all the way to the summit of the Col du Galibier. Instead the stage will finish at the Marco Pantani memorial about 4 kilometers from the original finish line. There were rumors that the stage might be scrapped altogether, so this is better than nothing.


It's really too bad that we had such limited live pictures of today's stage. Sounds like the last 5k were pretty exciting. Henao attacked at some point as did Pellizotti, and Rosa, but all attacks were neutralized by Nibali. The Italian, along with Santambrogio and Betancur, dropped Evans and Uran. Santambrogio took the stage and the bonus seconds, while Nibali took second. He continues to show great form and at this point it's hard to bet against him. The battle for the other two podium positions, however is still very much alive. Santambrogio had a great day, and is now a real contender. Uran, Evans, Santambrogio: Three riders, two places on either side of Nibali.

Absolute shit weather didn't stop Betancur from finishing an impressive third

Yesterday I had predicted that Carlos Betancur would win the stage, and I wasn't far off. He continues to have an amazing Giro. The Colombian came in third and moved to 9th in the GC. He is now only three seconds behind Majka in the race for the Maglia Bianca. The potentially bad news for him, and Pozzovivo, is that AG2R may be pulling out of the Dauphine because of all this doping nonsense. The Dauphine was race that Betancur was targeting.

Oh, something else... Vini Fantini has all their guys wearing visors. People: NOT BASEBALL, NOT TENNIS, NOT GOLF! IT'S CYCLING!

Phew... Anyway, I'm relieved that we will have a stage tomorrow, now I just hope we'll get some sort of live pictures of it.

Randomness:

- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 5
- Helmet talk counter: 13
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 3
- Stage winner wearing cycling cap / baseball hat / no hat counter:  1 / 10 / 1 - Santambrogio had a visor! WTF?

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

Krushing the Giro: Stage 10

Uran proudly wearing the Colombian flag and a cycling cap

Wow. I don't know where to start. Another great day for Colombian cycling. Uran and Betancur had amazing performances. Team Colombia and the other Colombians didn't do too well, but I'll happily take the one-two.

Final results of stage 10. The Colombian tricolor way up there, twice

Sky took over the pace-setting pretty early in the stage on the climb to the Passo Cason di Lanza. Was that a good idea? I guess depends on who you ask. Henao and Wiggo were in trouble, but Uran went on to win the stage. Is Uran the leader for Sky? Well, he told RAI (in excellent Italian, to my surprise) that Wiggins and Henao are still strong and that now Sky will have two leaders. He added that he recuperated better during the rest day than Wiggins. I don't know, the Englishman did not look good to me, but we will have to wait and see. I would not be the SkullKrusher if I didn't point out, once again, that if Uran wouldn't have been asked to wait for Wiggins on Friday, he'd be 2nd in the GC 26" behind Nibali.

AG2R are also having a great Giro. Pozzovivo and Betancur played the one-two punch perfectly up the last climb. That's two second places for Betancur in this Giro and he continues to crawl his way up the Maglia Bianca classification. AG2R has to be very happy with their two new signings. Maybe Mike Spriggs has the right idea with buying their jersey and putting it in the freezer for future enjoyment.

Mike's real refrigerator with a real AG2R jersey in it

On the other side of the spectrum, Hesjedal lost contact with 54k to go and finished over 20 minutes down. Needless to say his Giro is over. What a shame. He looked very racey at the beginning of the race last week.

How many times have I said "keep an eye on Evans"? This is the last time I say it, because everyone now realizes I was right all along.

Finally, a special and heartfelt THANK YOU to Rapha for remembering that the Giro is a cycling race and not a baseball game. Rapha (yes, I'm kissing their ass) provides Team Sky with cycling caps and it was very nice to see Uran not only wearing a cycling cap on the podium, but a winter cycling cap. Thank you Rapha!

Uran answering question in Italian wearing a proper Rapha cycling cap

Randomness:

- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 3
- Helmet talk counter: 10
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 3
- Stage winner wearing cycling cap / baseball hat / no hat counter: 1 / 8 / 1 (Finally!)

Krushing the Giro: Stage 9

Chalapud and Pirazzi fighting for KOM points

Once again, the Giro didn't disappoint. Today's stage was full of drama, attacks, and Colombians on bikes. The type of stage I love. That's why I'm so pissed I missed it. The GF guilt-tripped me into going to a flea market. It turned out to be pretty cool, but I had to enjoy a Colombian 2-3 (including Betancur's awesome attack) via twitter. Fortunately I also missed his celebration as he thought he'd won and the stage. I feel sorry for the riders when that happens.

Also saw that Evans finished an impressive 5th. I keep telling you people, keep an eye on the 2011 Tour de France winner.

What I did get to see live was pretty exciting, tho. Chalapud and Pirazzi going head to head for the KOM points the way that classification should always be fought for. Great cycling. In the last 15 years so much emphasis has been put on the points classification (especially the Green Jersey at the Tour), that it's nice to see people fighting for what I consider to be a way better jersey. I trust the battle for the Maglia Azzurra will continue to be this awesome. As it stands right now Stefano Pirazzi leads with 38 points and Robinson Chalapud is second with 23. Visconti drops to third with 16. If Team Colombia is serious about pursuing this jersey, they'll have to get Chalapud or Pantano in the breakaway Tuesday and hope to cross the Passo del Cason di Lanza in first place. I'm sure Bardiani know this and will also try to get in there. Tuesday is going to be a great stage from the get go.

Colombian Conspiracy (aka Wiggo needs to grow some balls)
What is going on with this dude? He looks scared to ride fast. I know the streets were wet and it was dangerous, but if you can't take the heat, get out of cycling. Fortunately, this time Henao and Uran stayed in the main group. I'm guessing they where told to do so, but who knows. Maybe they decided on their own and who could blame them.

Tomorrow we get to sleep in (in the US...if you don't have a job), but Tuesday will be the first real test of legs and guess what? My prediction is that Sir Wigg-a-lot is gonna crack.

See yous then.

Randomness:

- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 3
- Helmet talk counter: 10
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 3
- Stage winner wearing cycling cap / baseball hat / no hat counter: 0 / 8 / 1 (STILL ridiculous)

Krushing the Giro: Stage 8

Hey, everybody, I found a $14,000 bike in the gutter!

By now you know how I feel about TTs. I watched the stage on while cleaning Mr. Beechcroft's cage, so this will be a predictably short post.

I may have been scrubbing hamster poop off plastic tubes, but don't think for a second that I missed Wiggo throwing his Graal around like it was a Dogma.

"Bloody hell, I love throwing bikes about, mate!"

I also caught a peek of Henao and Kelderman riding the TT like it was a breakaway. Tsk tsk, gentlemen...

Elbow flick?

The Colombian Conspiracy
I did some quick math here and figured out that if Uran and Henao would have finished in the front group yesterday (like they should have), Henao would be 2nd in the GC, at 38 seconds form Nibali, and Uran would be 3rd at 1:13. Make of those numbers what you will, but personally, I think Sky threw away a chance to have a 2 or 3 prong attack heading into the big mountains tomorrow.

Tomorrow is gonna rule. I'm cheering for Evans.

Randomness:

- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 3
- Helmet talk counter: 10
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 3 (crazy low, if you ask me)
- Stage winner wearing cycling cap / baseball hat / no hat counter: 0 / 7 / 1 (ridiculous)

Krushing the Giro: Stage 7

Hansen takes a wet, well deserved victory

Yet another stage come and gone. It was a tough parcourse the whole way, making it possible for the break to make it, and I'm very happy for Adam Hansen. As I've said a few times before I met his mother and interviewed her for the podcast a few years back and she was such a nice lady I have become something of a Hansen family fan. Good for them!

Apparently Declan Quigley and I are besties on Twitter and he mentioned one of my tweets talking about not all Colombians being climbers on the air. Yeah, I'm a big deal.

I lost count of how many guys went down, but I can tell you that not a one (of the ones on TV) was an Euskaltel-Euskadi rider. Even Nibali, obviously bored, decided to go for a fun slide.

"Weeeeeeeeee!"

Evens came in 6th, once again and quietly, under the radar, he's now 6th in the GC. We'll have to wait to see how tomorrow goes for him, but I still think Evans is one to watch.

On to the most important topic of the day: What a mess Sky made of the stage. I was VERY angry, not only that Uran was asked to go back to help Wiggins, but that the Brit wasn't even trying. He looked like he didn't wanna ride. So, why ask a guy in second place on the GC to come back and help you go down at 5mph? If Uran would have stayed in the front group he would be in pink right now instead of Intxausti, taking a lot of weight off Wiggo's shoulders. I simply do not get it. Maybe it is time for a real Colombian conspiracy.

Randomness:

- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 3
- Helmet talk counter: 9
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 3
- Stage winner wearing cycling cap / baseball hat / no hat counter: 0 / 6 / 1

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

Krushing the Giro: Stage 4

Battaglin may look like a consenting adult celebrating, but look below and you'll find out the truth

And for the second day in a row: What a stage!

We got to see Euskatel's Minguez attaching with 87 bottles in his jersey, Leo Duque attacking on the descent, and fellow Team Colombia Quintero showing his face. Let's not forget Chalapud, DiLuca, Felline, Georges and, of course Enrico Battaglin, who took the stage in a wet, slow-motion sprint. While yesterday was heavily animated by the GC contenders, today was obviously everyone else's turn.

If you look a little deeper into today's results, maybe it represents the passing of the proverbial torch in Italy. Old man Danilo DiLuca (37) tried, but couldn't hold off the younger generation of Italians, Battaglin (23, but looks 15), Felline (23) and even Visconti (30). With all the shame that DiLuca, and his generation, have brought Italian cycling, maybe it's all for the best.

Today's winner looks more like a character in a Disney Channel show than a pro cyclist

As I'm typing this Wiggins sits in 6th spot in the GC, because of 17" he lost in today's finish. However, that may change as the day goes by, if the commissars deem that Wiggins lost that time because of a crash within the last 3km. As of now every report on RAI (and you'd think they'd be the first to know) is that he will lose that time and Uran has moved into second place 17" behind Paolini. I'm sure the Colombian media are going ape right around now.

Also of note is Cadel Evans' stage result. Sure, coming in 6th (and moving into the top ten in the GC) in an apparently inconsequential day may seem like no big deal, but it shows two very important things: Evans is motivated, and he's in good form. I knew I should have picked him for my fantasy team.

Randomness:

- Sponsor spotlight: Team Colombia Yup, you read right. Team Colombia is an official "Partner/Supplier" of the Giro.
- Mario Cipollini mention counter: 2
- Helmet talk counter: 7
- Euskaltel guys on the deck counter: 2
- Stage winner wearing cycling cap / baseball hat / no hat counter: 0 / 2 / 0

Episode 60: Ag2r-La Louis Vuitton

Carlos Betancur sports the latest G+D gear

Subscribe to Podcast on iTunes
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The Speed Metal Cycling Podcast is presented by NYC Velo, New York City's Bike Shop.

WTF WERE WE TALKING ABOUT?
- Intro and outro music by Ghost 
- G+D Sold Out Louis Vuitton Bottle
-"Race Coverage on TV a Mess" by Joe Lindsey
- Kreuziger refuses to talk about Ferrari
- Jeff Garlin podcast featuring Zach Galifianakis
- Klaus' Amstel Gold Post
- Uran's Instagram of Henao wearing Cycling Inquisition socks

GET IN TOUCH
Email:
SpeedMetalCycling [at] gmail.com

Links:
Gage+Desoto
Cycling Inquisition

Twitter:
Speed Metal Cycling (@SpeedMetalCycl)
The SkullKrusher (@TheSkullKrusher)
Gage+Desoto (Mike Spriggs) (@GageDesoto)

Other:
Speed Metal Cycling on Facebook
SkullKrusher on Instagram
Speed Metal Cycling YouTube Channel

Those Were the Days - A Look at Colombian Cycling Today

Rigoberto Uran gave Colombia it's 12th medal in Olympic competition history.

There’s little doubt that Colombian cycling has had their best year in recent history. Miguel Ángel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli), Carlos Betancur (Acqua & Sapone), Cayetano Sarmiento (Liquigas), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Fabio Duarte and Darwin Atapuma (Colombia-Coldeportes), and Sergio Henao (Team Sky) all had great seasons.

But the real star of Colombian cycling this year was, of course, Team Sky’s Rigoberto Uran. The young Colombian had an outstanding Volta a Catalunya, where he won a stage, he took the young riders' classification in the Giro d’Italia, he gave Colombia a silver medal in the London Olympics and toped off the season with a victory in  the Giro del Piemonte and a podium in Lombardia.

Podcast Episode 44: Es, es, muy Olimpioso! And Hamsters

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Episode 44
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Mystery lady in Turquoise pants
Shane Archbold's Twitter (@Theflyingmullet)
Shane Archbold's mullet
Gage+Desoto shirts on Competitive Cyclist


 
Email:
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Links:
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Rigoberto Uran's Silver Medal

For a country with only 11 Olympic medals in history, any medal is a big deal, but Rigoberto Uran's is special. First of all, it's in cycling. Cycling is "our" sport. Secondly, Uran is a young athlete, who still has a lot to give. I don't want to get all nationalistic, but it's hard not to. Colombia doesn't get to celebrate very often, so I'm happy and proud.

We will talk a lot more about the race itself and the mix-up that almost prevented Uran from even racing that day, on the podcast tomorrow.

Until then, my brother Klaus re-posted his interview with Rigoberto on his blog. Check it out.