Guys, it's interesting how our memories adapt over time. I too was amazed by Basso's performances last year. He had some great days in the Giro and a great tour in addition to some other great wins. BUT, he didn't just lose time on the Stelvio in the Giro. Yes, he had two great TTs. Yes he won one mt stage, and led Salvodelli to another one. But, he also lost time to Simoni and/or Salvodelli on a bunch of other stages.
Stage 1, small climb at finish, 5 seconds to the GC leaders
Stage 7, 30 seconds over a 4.5k climb before the finish
Stage 13, 1:01 to Simoni and DiLuca, more to the GCs in the first big Dolomites
Stage 19, over 21 minutes on the Finestre/Sestriere to all GCs
He took time out of Simoni and Rujano on both TTs and in two mt. stages. The one he won and the won Salvodelli won (they were in a 2 man break).
All in all, his losses to the pure climbers were balanced by time he took back in other mt. stages if you don't count the two big mt. stages where he lost over an hour. And, he took time on both TTs. He was awesome, but inconsistent. We all know about the stomach virus on the Stelvio but don't forget that he lost time on three other stages and lost big time on the last mt. stage. It's not as clearly his race as one might want to think.
Stage 1, small climb at finish, 5 seconds to the GC leaders
Stage 7, 30 seconds over a 4.5k climb before the finish
Stage 13, 1:01 to Simoni and DiLuca, more to the GCs in the first big Dolomites
Stage 19, over 21 minutes on the Finestre/Sestriere to all GCs
He took time out of Simoni and Rujano on both TTs and in two mt. stages. The one he won and the won Salvodelli won (they were in a 2 man break).
All in all, his losses to the pure climbers were balanced by time he took back in other mt. stages if you don't count the two big mt. stages where he lost over an hour. And, he took time on both TTs. He was awesome, but inconsistent. We all know about the stomach virus on the Stelvio but don't forget that he lost time on three other stages and lost big time on the last mt. stage. It's not as clearly his race as one might want to think.
