A week in Italy - 5 talking points from Giro
Wednesday, 14 May 2008 11:26
A week in Italy sounds like a great idea. But if you're a member of the Pro Tour this week you are seeing the landscape flying by at break neck speeds. This year's edition of the Tour of Italy (Giro) has been one that some riders would love to forget. As so often happens in Grand Tours the opening week is about who can stay upright rather than who can win. Narrow roads, excited crowds and a peloton getting used to the rhythm of the race has meant a stressful week for all. And as the old adage goes, you can't win a tour in the first week but you can certainly lose one.
We thought we would chop down the first week of the Giro d'Italia into five observations;
- What a horrible day for the Australians on Stage Three of the Giro. Stuey O'Grady and Brad Magee, both riding for Danish team CSC, came down on the same stage but in separate crashes. What a shocking bit of bad luck for O'Grady who did his best Barry Sheehan imitation at last year's Tour de France when he hit a bollard at 60kmph. Magee just looks like he may never get back to his best.
- Mark Cavendish's great sprint effort to win Stage Four was masterful. He left many a fading star in his wake as he won his first Grand Tour stage. This kid is 22 years old! He is in great form and looks to be one of the new merchants of speed on the Pro Tour.
- We did mention this group on the Monday Hit List but Team Slipstream completed an outstanding effort on stage one for a non Pro Tour team.
- Speaking about crashes what's up with Dave Zabriske? This guy spends more time on the deck that Alex Zulle. He again left the Giro after another spill dampening Team Slipstream's golden start to the Tour.
- The longest team name we could find for the Giro - Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli. That's got to be one wide jersey!!
Comments
(0)
