Anarchy at the Giro
Amazing news overnight from the Giro dItalia. A split in the peleton, with more than 50 riders in the front group, and Vino, Cadel, Nibali and Basso, i.e. those previously thought to be the main contenders, all missing the move.
At the end of the day, the favourites lost 12 minutes, a massive amount of time. Plenty of finger pointing about who messed up, but it doesn’t really matter. Richie Porte, from Tasmania, a neo-pro in his first Grand Tour, has the maglia rosa, and a minute and some over David Arroyo, a Spanish climber.
Although the day was terrible from Cadel’s point of view, it’s making for a great race. And I think there are some positives for cycling as well.
A race in which there are no dominant teams, means that riders are more willing to attack, which absolutely makes for exciting racing. But it may also show that the peleton is racing cleaner than previous years.
One of the big advantages of an EPO-fuelled rider is quick recovery. They can ride day after day at the same level. Without it, riders are mere mortals like the rest of us. Super-fit and superb athletes, but not automatons. They get tired.
And combine that with rainy weather in Italy, and the demanding parcours of the Giro, and this is what you get.
So now there’s no clear favourite to win this Giro. Porte is untested, Arroyo has never been a GC contender before either. You have good all-rounders like Efimkin and Gerdemann in the top 10, but they are minutes back.
And Sastre, Wiggins, Vino and Cadel all have major minutes to catch up. Who knows how it will end? Not me, that’s for sure. But it’s going to be fascinating!