"Precious Pup" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> I really liked his effort today. He fought so hard and it held his 2nd spot. An interesting rider,
> he is. He can climb and sprint pretty well, and he's a fair TT'er. Garzelli really impressed me by
> never ever giving up. It is partly his effort that makes Simoni's win more meaningful.
Still, it's better to see a gifted follower (Garzelli) distanced than to witness a "strongest
rider" step down courtesy of one bad day or physical hassle, like Casagrande on the last TT to
Sestriere, in one of the last Giros. Garzelli may well epitomize the current elite of GT
consistency, with remarkable bursts in seemingly unrelated fields (high mountains and small field
sprints- cool enough) , but to see him distanced in key moments of the Giro provided the same
relief as the successfull shaking-off of a stalker. Also,back when he first won the Tour of
Switzerland, there was some fuss about how he enlisted the help of a co-escapee to bolster his GC
prospects, failing to live up to his promise to give the fellow the stage win for his pains, not
something the peloton usually forgets (although I don't know how popular Garzelli is amongst his
peers today). It's moot- at no time in this Giro could Simoni's rule have been jeopardized by some
hostile coalition. I see Pantani's attempts to get into the Tour via Bianchi ridiculed here. A more
likely route (and not unconsisitent with the cryptic allusions of all involved) seems to be
Garzelli's own Sidermec team, no?
Alexander
