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Giro, lets talk contenders

ire

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
After todays stage it looks like Contador has a shot, despite taking 10 days off prior to the start. Di Luca and Ricco both look good as well. Did anyone hear how Soler faired? I was surprised Levi didn't do better
 
Heidi

Heidi

Der hund ist laut und braun
Aug 22, 2001
10,184
797
Bend, Oregon
I'm gonna back Contador. I don't buy that he was sitting at the beach making sand castles and drinking tequilla shots.
 
ire

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
Heidi said:
I'm gonna back Contador. I don't buy that he was sitting at the beach making sand castles and drinking tequilla shots.
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Alcohol increases testosterone production, maybe thats why he is doing so well :biggrin:
 
golgiaparatus

golgiaparatus

Out of my element
Aug 30, 2002
7,340
41
Deep in the Jungles of Oklahoma
ire said:
After todays stage it looks like Contador has a shot, despite taking 10 days off prior to the start. Di Luca and Ricco both look good as well. Did anyone hear how Soler faired? I was surprised Levi didn't do better
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I think Levi will ride into form right at the end and will be able to kill those last 2 TTs. Kloden on the other hand hasn't done much yet... this Giro suits both of them very well. Contador, I don.t think we'll see much success out of him unless he can pull some serious crap in the mtns... too many TT's.
 
ire

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
golgiaparatus said:
I think Levi will ride into form right at the end and will be able to kill those last 2 TTs. Kloden on the other hand hasn't done much yet... this Giro suits both of them very well. Contador, I don.t think we'll see much success out of him unless he can pull some serious crap in the mtns... too many TT's.
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I don't think the TTs will hurt Contador, he's not too bad and one is a team time trial (already happened), and one is an uphill TT (which will suit him).....thats leaves two time trials where he stands to lose time
 
James

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
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Danbury, CT
I think the TT on Monday or whenever is going to change the field. You're going to see the real contenders.
And don't forget that Levi just lost 23 seconds in that police moto stall, and they denied his protest.

I'd like to see Kloden do well, even if I'm not 100% convinced he's not dirty, or at least used to be until recently.
 
ire

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
After today Ricco is starting to look like a serious contender. I guess we'll see how things shape up
 
James

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
Heidi said:
He's a freakin' confessed doper. I don't trust him.
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Yeah, that's true, but so is Millar. He came forward.
I choose to believe that he's clean now, and it's great to see a 37 year old fighting for wins...

Side note: anybody see the news about Contador today? That's going to suck for the TT!
 
ire

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
James said:
Yeah, that's true, but so is Millar. He came forward.
I choose to believe that he's clean now, and it's great to see a 37 year old fighting for wins...

Side note: anybody see the news about Contador today? That's going to suck for the TT!
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Ya gotta link the article!
http://www.velonews.com/index.html

Reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (Astana) has promised to continue riding in the Giro d’Italia, despite learning that he suffered a minor elbow fracture in a crash last Saturday.

"Contador's visit to the radiologist today (Monday) revealed a fissure in the radius head of his left elbow," his Astana team said in a statement on Monday. "The fracture without dislocation stems from his Stage 8 crash from Rivisondoli to Tivoli (on Saturday).

Though Contador was able to complete the stage and Sunday's Stage 9, the bruising and discomfort prompted the team to ask for a detailed examination on the Giro d'Italia's first rest day.

"The x-rays showed that the fracture is stable and the 2007 Tour de France Champion has been cleared to ride Tuesday's time-trial," the team said Monday.

Contador insisted that he had no intention of quitting the Giro.

"As all riders know, winning a grand tour takes some hard work, luck and health," Contador was quoted as saying in the release. "Unfortunately, having a small fracture does not make the journey to Milan any easier, but I'm motivated and will try to fight through the pain. I do not intend to leave the race."

Contador admitted that he had felt his elbow during a training ride Monday and that the position of the injury could pose a problem for Tuesday's individual time-trial as he may have difficulty getting into a fully aerodynamic position.

"That is a problem but I hope I still make a good time trial. The doctors tell me that it is a small fracture. With a bit of luck, I can recover a bit during the 'easier' stages from Wednesday to Friday."
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OGRipper

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,653
1,128
NORCAL is the hizzle
Damn the Astana guys are looking super strong. Let's hope they continue to work together and help each other as needed rather than ride alone. Lots of potential leaders, would be a shame if they don't deliver a win.

And I am very skeptical about the official story on the last-minute acceptance of Astana. Aside from rider preparation - a huge issue people seem be shrugging off - it just seems nearly impossible to mobilize the entire team and staff and get everything over there in such short time. Unless they decided to prepare just in case (at huge cost and risk) I have to believe they were tipped much earlier.
 
U

ulockjustice

Monkey
Oct 17, 2006
179
0
PsychO!1 said:
Looks like the elbow didn't slow Contador down at all.
Astana 2 of the top 3, and 3 of the top 10....gotta love it!

Suck on that ASO!
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yeah, we'll show those guys we're not a team full of dopers by placing 2 guys in the top 3 and 3 in the top 10. yeah. thatll show them that we're like, totally clean and stuff. yeah.
 
U

ulockjustice

Monkey
Oct 17, 2006
179
0
PsychO!1 said:
I had read that 40 riders from 5 different teams were tested on the rest day , including Astana. All test results were clean.
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as if that means anything these days. a good portion of these guys are on the sauce. look at millar and zabel, both of which admitted to doping, but neither of which ever tested positive. Its only the sloppy ones that get caught. just because the tests are negative doesnt mean people arent doping.
 
Cant Climb

Cant Climb

Turbo Monkey
May 9, 2004
2,683
10
Anyone know of an audio feed for the Giro......?

uk.yahoo.eurosport used to carry it but isn't now....has left me out of the loop...
 
Heidi

Heidi

Der hund ist laut und braun
Aug 22, 2001
10,184
797
Bend, Oregon
HA - one of the Gerlosteiner riders was pulled from the Giro because his father was stopped by the Italian anti-doping investigators. He was in a car with two other people, and they were found to have a lot of Viagra with them – either 82 tablets or 82 packages, depending on which source you read. I remember reading a time ago that Viagra has been shown in studies to improve high altitude performance by up to 45%. It causes blood vessels in certain tissues like the lungs to relax. This improves blood flow from the heart and increases oxygen transport to working muscles. It seems like it would be tough to ride a Giro stage with a boner though!
 
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