2021 PRO thread

[RTW]

Can anybody watch "The Breakaway" (after Giro show) on Eurosport Player?
Rob Hatch said on air I should be able to watch it, but I can't find it anywhere. (??)

GCN+ subscription will get you it.

[Mr.Gib]

I did NOT expect today's result at the Giro. He's always shown a lot of talent, and been an "almost" sort of guy. Glad to see him put it together.

You mean Joe D? He had illiac artery endofibrosis. Took years to diagnose. He had surgery a few years ago and we are now seeing his potential realized.

in other pro news, WVA just had is appendix out. Bad luck but he should be good for TdF.

[Miller]

They're having another quiet day at the Giro, taking the word 'Tour' quite literally. At least they're dry and warm.

[ave]

He had surgery a few years ago and we are now seeing his potential realized.

I'm sure his potential was there to take win from such a breakway, prior to the surgery too.
Didn't Aru have a similar surgery?

[robbosmans]

Who designes these Giro sprint stages, just asking for trouble, unbelievable

[Dan Gerous]

He had surgery a few years ago and we are now seeing his potential realized.

I'm sure his potential was there to take win from such a breakway, prior to the surgery too.
Didn't Aru have a similar surgery?

He did win the Baby Giro in front of... Fabio Aru, the potential was clearly there. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot also had the same operation like 3 times. It's actually quite common but for some reason it can often take a while to diagnose. Dombrowski was pretty critical of the way Team Sky dealt with his issue, team doctors couldn't figure out what was the problem, after letting it drag for so long Joe figured it out on his own after talking with others who had the same problem in the past but Sky would not allow him to consult doctors not on the team... I guess we know what their real role is.

Contrasting days for him now, stage win and the KOM jersey yesterday, and today on his birthday, big crash that might stop him from starting tomorrow.

And I'm a bit sad for Landa, he looked like one of the best yesterday, I was looking forward to see how far he could go.

But I agree these stages are asking for trouble and almsot look like they want crashes to happen, for the spectacle and drama, it's more a question of who's going to crash than if there will be crashes.

[micky]

Davide Cassani, after the crash of Sivakov, was reporting that he crashed at Tour of the Alps, 2 days ago at the start of the stage in the neutral zone and then today.
Sometimes it seems some riders are more prone to crash (or bad luck, you decide).
As one my friend said, Sivakov is the new Porte.

Today final circuit was a total mess and it's really upset to see Dombrowski and Landa crash.

[Guerdi]

Micky,
Any idea what happened to Alessandra Di Stefano ?
She disappeared for quite some time but is presenting il processo alla tappa again.

[Dan Gerous]

Davide Cassani, after the crash of Sivakov, was reporting that he crashed at Tour of the Alps, 2 days ago at the start of the stage in the neutral zone and then today.
Sometimes it seems some riders are more prone to crash (or bad luck, you decide).
As one my friend said, Sivakov is the new Porte.

Today final circuit was a total mess and it's really upset to see Dombrowski and Landa crash.

A lot of people assume bad luck, it is a big factor but not the only one.

Many times riders who crash often and regularly are more nervous and tense. So when something happens, they can over brake, over steer and not react as well as calmer individuals, and the more they crash, the more nervous and tense they can become.

There are also skills, they might all be pros who spend more or less the same amount of hours on bikes for years, some are just not as good bike handlers.

Some also tend to be poorly positionned in the peloton more than others.

[Mr.Gib]

He had surgery a few years ago and we are now seeing his potential realized.

I'm sure his potential was there to take win from such a breakway, prior to the surgery too.

Nope, once IAE becomes severe enough to notice, the rider is no longer competitive.

Didn't Aru have a similar surgery?

Yes.
The surgery is a bit scary. People have died. If you get an infection you could lose your leg. The odds are good and the procedure is advancing every year but it is not without risk. Contemplating the surgery for myself right now in fact.

[UpFromOne]

There's nothing interesting about Bouhanni as a rider.
Sure he's got pro level abilities. But he's just an a-hole, always has been, and doesn't exactly woo folks to watch cycling, or get potential sponsor companies excited about the sport.

WVA vs. MVDP = good for cycling.
UCI = bad for cycling.
Riders like Bouhanni, Moscon, etc. = very bad for cycling.

Cycling News reports Bouhanni's 2-month suspension ends June 7.
I bet this "partial retroactive" suspension so he could still do his nationals in June.

[micky]

Micky,
Any idea what happened to Alessandra Di Stefano ?
She disappeared for quite some time but is presenting il processo alla tappa again.

Short answer; during the previous government there was a big mix among Rai directors including Rai Sport.

Long answer; if you notice, even Pancani has been sort of sidelined, Martinello has been kindly shown the door and De Luca suddenly became the jewel of the party.
Apparently, only they can 100% confirm it, people like Pancani and Martinello (I would guess De Stefano too) were not close enough to a certain political party compared to De Luca and Rai Sport director Bulbarelli.
Im not a fan of De Stefano cause she can be a bit boring for her continue research of the romantic side of things but I understand there's a clear space for her too for example at Processo della Tappa.

[montana05]

Interesting to read that politics play a role at Rai sport. I live in Italy and watch Rai sport and am surprised about choices being made about staff: petacchi out cause of dope, still big time dopers like bettini, garzelli cunego and ballan show up during racing season: crazy shit going on there .

[Miller]

Giro coverage struggling today with more rainy weather.

[Guerdi]

Micky,

Thank you for these precise explanations.

I was afraid that this exclusion was linked to clientelistic reasons. Unfortunately, this is the case.

I am surprised at the political orientation of some people in this TV station