"Tony" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Tom Kunich" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<
[email protected]>...
> > If you think that the Giro hasn't been getting tougher just look
at
> > today's sprint - Patacchi won from Jimmy Casper and Jan Svorada,
two
> > guys that were George Hincappie type sprinters. Apparently the big time spinters are all gone.
Jan is a Green Jersey man and as such he can't compete with the Cipolinis and Abdujaparovs and Tom
Steels or even, with the Sean Kelleys.
> Don't embarass Hincapie by comparing him to Svorada, a "big-time" field sprinter with 10 Grand
> Tour stage wins to his credit and
almost
> 70 victories, almost all of which are stage race field sprint wins. Svorada, at nearly 35 years
> old, can still compete with the best.
Not hitting on Jan by all means. But he sure ain't in the same league with Petacchi if a broken and
bruised Petacchi can outsprint him.
> What is a "Hincapie-type" sprinter? George is more of a passista, a tempo man with a better turn
> of speed than some, but I bet even Garzelli could beat him in a two-up.
I was pretty surprised the other day when Garzelli was near the front in the finishing sprint.
Actually George started out as a sprinter but he couldn't bring himself to mix it up in a Euro
sprint and who could blame him in the days of Abdujaparov and the Dutch guy (Nielissen?) who used to
put his head down and sprint almost blindly to the line?