Giro D'Italia 2008 : Stage 2 - Sunday, May 11: Cefalù - Agrigento, 207km

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Wow, that last climb really did split the whole thing up. Nice win by Ricco. Looks like LPR is in pretty good shape.

Wow, that last climb really did split the whole thing up. Nice win by Ricco. Looks like LPR is in pretty good shape.
Agreed with Ricco, very nice win for him! After a hard start of the season, the victory was great.

But I can't stand DiLuca (and his team), amazing that his on paper weak team(except 2 top riders) were able to destroy the peloton single handly today.....
Wonder if we get to read of some child hormone values again from him after his looming mountain victory, and he skates free yet again... Why was he even allowed to race the Giro is beyond me (since he had a doping ban this year), but the Italians are true patriots.

VdV lost the GC by 1 sec, how annoying is that!!!

Not a good day for Slipstream. It seems almost as if they all lost power toward the end of the race (except Vande Velde). If it is because of the disappointing news re Zabriskie, or just the fact they were chasing for most of the day (or both), remains to be seen. Anyway, they should get a break tomorrow with Liquigas doing most of the work.

The TV footage didn't show the Zabriskie crash - just the aftermath.
He was carted off to the ambulance.

I enjoyed todays stage - brave break by Rodriguez in the final km - but Liqi and Duval chased him down.
Di Luca tried his best to Ricco was just too strong.
Pretty select group at the end Rebellin, DiLuca, Rodriguez.

Excellent finish for a stage so early in to a GT - good planning by RCS.
Fair more imagination shown than ASO and the usual sprint finishes causing crashes in week 1.

:)Ricardo Ricco:)

Excellent finish for a stage so early in to a GT - good planning by RCS.
Fair more imagination shown than ASO and the usual sprint finishes causing crashes in week 1.
IMO, the Tour parcours is always the poorest of the Grand Tours. It is so formulaic, they claim they can't have the nice hilltop finishes like the Giro very often does, including today because the logistics of running the course into town on anything other than big boulevards, they need room for the media circus, etc.

Hm, less said about my long shot the better i think:D



Excellent finish for a stage so early in to a GT - good planning by RCS.
Fair more imagination shown than ASO and the usual sprint finishes causing crashes in week 1.True, although stage 1 in the tour this year is similar to today's stage

And Simoni already giving up almost a minute to Di Luca

Yes, Zabriskie crashed badly and is out. Don't know how badly he is injured but he didn't look too serious.Gazzetta website says that Zabriskie has broken a lumbar vertebra. No other news yet.

I couldn't be more disappointed by Zabriskie going out. He better be ok for le tour.

Is Ricco the real deal?

Contador did well for not being in shape. He's winning this Giro.

The CN profile (http://www.cyclingnews.com.au/road/2008//giro08/?id=stages/giro082) has this little summary:


I like this kind of stage; not a pure sprinter's stage. It might be perfect for the classics-type rider to pinch a Giro stage win.


Me too. The Tour would be more interesting in the first week if they threw in a couple of stages like this.

Is Ricco the real deal?
I am looking forward to Ricco testing postive, he is a world class douchebag

IMO, the Tour parcours is always the poorest of the Grand Tours. It is so formulaic, they claim they can't have the nice hilltop finishes like the Giro very often does, including today because the logistics of running the course into town on anything other than big boulevards, they need room for the media circus, etc.Really? Have you looked at the route of this year's tour? Stage 1 of TDF has a similar finish to this one...
TDF 08 has 3 consective stages with cilmbs at altitude higher than 2600 while Giro has only climb like that. I can't recall that recent GT's have produced something like that... The first real mountain stage of Giro is Stage 14 while in TDF it's much earlier... TDF also goes through Massif Central with one hilltop finish in the first week of the race...
The killer stage of Giro is harder than in TDF but other than that TDF route is better, thier mountaintop finishes are longer and their average rate are from 7% to 8% ...

Really? Have you looked at the route of this year's tour? Stage 1 of TDF has a similar finish to this one...
TDF 08 has 3 consective stages with cilmbs at altitude higher than 2600 while Giro has only climb like that. I can't recall that recent GT's have produced something like that... The first real mountain stage of Giro is Stage 14 while in TDF it's much earlier... TDF also goes through Massif Central with one hilltop finish in the first week of the race...
The killer stage of Giro is harder than in TDF but other than that TDF route is better, thier mountaintop finishes are longer and their average rate are from 7% to 8% ...Wayne666 is correct. So are you, but the changes for this year address the issues Wayne raised. The Tour is normally 5-8 flat stages with a TT somewhere in the mix, mountains, couple of boring as hell transition stages, mountains, TT and the procession into Paris. Year in year out. It's about time they mixed it up a bit. The Giro generally has a more varied and exciting route than the Tour.

Really? Have you looked at the route of this year's tour? Stage 1 of TDF has a similar finish to this one...
TDF 08 has 3 consective stages with cilmbs at altitude higher than 2600 while Giro has only climb like that. I can't recall that recent GT's have produced something like that... The first real mountain stage of Giro is Stage 14 while in TDF it's much earlier... TDF also goes through Massif Central with one hilltop finish in the first week of the race...
The killer stage of Giro is harder than in TDF but other than that TDF route is better, thier mountaintop finishes are longer and their average rate are from 7% to 8% ...

Guncha - You don't need massive mountains to make a selective race - you need a parcours that encourages attacking riding by most riders - and the Giro has had that recently.

The Giro has specialised in having stages that, although they are not true mountain stages, do not necessarily suit the sprinters either - sprinkle a berg or three near the finish - nothing too big but enough to get a time difference. Often thee Tour just has a week of pancake flat stages, with the first selection on GC being the first ITT, then stage ten or so where the first of two early mountain stages comes up, then the rest day, etc etc etc - very formulaic.

The Tour seems to be working on it, and I look forward to this years Tour for that reason. But get a small hill of sufficient difficulty near the end of a stage - and your winner could be anyone from Bettini to Ricco to Contador to Rebellin, Pellizotti, etc. That makes exciting riding - when the classics guys and the GCers are duelling for stage wins in Grand Tours. It's gripping stuff, and e it's rarely on show in the Tour. St 3 2006 (when Kessler won) springs to mind as a recent example when they got it right.

...and to Dave Z.... your farking PORNO TACHE is not so funny when your lying on a farking stretcher being carried off the side of the road ! YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS. TAKE CYCLING SERIOUSLY YOU DEFUSS.

...and to Dave Z.... your farking PORNO TACHE is not so funny when your lying on a farking stretcher being carried off the side of the road ! YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS. TAKE CYCLING SERIOUSLY YOU DEFUSS.

I wasn't sure when I saw the aftermath of his crash whether or not that was a 'tache he had or what.

Looks ridiculous, I agree.
Zabriskie looks like those blokes from the adverts for the directory enquires (Dave Bedford lookalikes)

I wasn't sure when I saw the aftermath of his crash whether or not that was a 'tache he had or what.

Looks ridiculous, I agree.
Zabriskie looks like those blokes from the adverts for the directory enquires (Dave Bedford lookalikes)

Yes 118 118.... Dave Bedford was a quality runner.... from memory he ran UK athletics for a long time before being booted at the time of the Chambers affair.......

DaveZ is a funny guy but he don't need to grow a bushy tache like that.....

Yes 118 118.... Dave Bedford was a quality runner.... from memory he ran UK athletics for a long time before being booted at the time of the Chambers affair.......

DaveZ is a funny guy but he don't need to grow a bushy tache like that.....I like his 'tache - wouldn't have one myself but it takes bravery to look so ridiculous. At least the guy's got some personality. He could be Bobby Julich for fark sake!

...and to Dave Z.... your farking PORNO TACHE is not so funny when your lying on a farking stretcher being carried off the side of the road ! YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS. TAKE CYCLING SERIOUSLY YOU DEFUSS.
hhahaha, sounds like OAR8