Giro d'Italia Stage 8 – May 17th, Foligno - Montecopiolo 179km **Unmasked Spoilers**

dastardly00

Stage 8 – Saturday May 17th, Foligno - Montecopiolo 179km (****)

It's time for the first proper mountain stage!

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Weather - Foligno: Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 21C. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 kph. Montecopiolo: ntervals of clouds and sunshine. High 15C. Winds light and variable.

Stage Betting: Nairo Quintana 11/4. Cadel Evans 6/1. Julian Arredondo 9/1. Rigoberto Uran 11/1.

Live TV coverage on Eurosport1 from 12pm. Highlights on Sky Sports 3 at 9.30pm and Eurosport1 at 11.30pm.

Live text ticker here.

Eamonnator

Saturday the 17th.

Thanks for these profiles.

blobbie

Cycling news preview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jrWh7bWkhE

Gonna be fun ☺

happytramp

Too early for Quintana?

Dr. Bre

Fancy Moreno today at 18/1. with Purrito gone he be giving a chance for stage wins

MPFG

happytramp wrote: »

Too early for Quintana?

No I think he & Pozzovivo will want to gain back some time by attacking Evans

Also Scarponi will want to have a go .... but has Aru ahead of him

Both Quintana & Scarponi were not happy with BMC on Thursday

I hope it all kicks off as no real racing from GC guys yet and its time

I think Roche could have gone well on this climb ( steep but no too long) but guess now he is injured he will just hang in there or not bother

pelevin

MPFG wrote: »

Both Quintana & Scarponi were not happy with BMC on Thursday

They did say something specific relating to it?

Whatever the rights or wrongs, a sense of grievance might help the racing become that bit more aggressive.

MPFG

pelevin wrote: »

They did say something specific relating to it?

Whatever the rights or wrongs, a sense of grievance might help the racing become that bit more aggressive.

http://www.cyclingquotes.com/news/upset_scarponi_refuses_to_give_up_on_gc_ambitions/


Robert Hatch ‏@robhatchtv 2h
. @elpais_deportes reports Evans was annoyed not to have won on Montecassino & Quintana "not sure if Evans set good example to young riders"

Dr. Bre

ya cant stop racing with 12 km to go or whatever it was when its that close to finish. its like in football putting the ball out of play everytime there's an injury. becomes silly

unichall

Dr. Bre wrote: »

ya cant stop racing with 12 km to go or whatever it was when its that close to finish. its like in football putting the ball out of play everytime there's an injury. becomes silly

True but Di Canio famously didn't score when the goalkeeper went down injured and he was left with an open goal. He was more than entitled to score and he could have but sportsmanship to him was more important. So while they didn't 'have' to they 'could' have

It's a doubled edged sword to be fair, if he stopped racing and waited up people would be saying he wasted an opportunity and there was no need or you have what we have now. Tough one to call, imo he should have waited because there were only 8 guys made it through unscathed and only 1 GC contender, if he wins the Giro by 45secs or less* it will all come back to this

*unlikely to happen as it would prob be one of the narrowest winning margins for a Giro but still

Dr. Bre

unichall wrote: »

True but Di Canio famously didn't score when the goalkeeper went down injured and he was left with an open goal. He was more than entitled to score and he could have but sportsmanship to him was more important. So while they didn't 'have' to they 'could' have

It's a doubled edged sword to be fair, if he stopped racing and waited up people would be saying he wasted an opportunity and there was no need or you have what we have now. Tough one to call, imo he should have waited because there were only 8 guys made it through unscathed and only 1 GC contender, if he wins the Giro by 45secs or less* it will all come back to this

*unlikely to happen as it would prob be one of the narrowest winning margins for a Giro but still

I think BMC rode a reckless pace going into that climb. it was wet also which caused the crash. no need as the break had already been caught. I could understand Quintana being annoyed at that but when its that close to finish I don't think racing should stop

MPFG

Quintana must be seething ...called him 'old man' Evans

Darkglasses

They're just hitting the base of the second/third last climb now, going at a good speed at over 42kph.

GOOOO Pirazzi!

Darkglasses

The racing has begun, Bling is dropped.

blobbie

Bloody hell, Mathews is going slower than I do up Stocking Lane (and that takes some doing) !!!!

Darkglasses

blobbie wrote: »

Bloody hell, Mathews is going slower than I do up Stocking Lane (and that takes some doing) !!!!

Haha he was barely moving, poor Bling. He's got an awful lot more climbing to do today if he wants to finish this stage...Hope enjoyed the last few days, no more fun today!

Pudsy33

He expected this and he will have fantastic memories, a stage win and a week in pink. Fair play to him, he seems a top bloke.

gordongekko

Ah bring back Armstrong. Everyone new the rules and their place in the podium :-)

pelevin

gordongekko wrote: »

Ah bring back Armstrong. Everyone new the rules and their place in the podium :-)

No they didn't. That Simeoni fella had the audacity to imagine he could ride in a breakaway.

pelevin

So who's gonna win. Roche 100/1 with Ladbrokes!

happytramp

pelevin wrote: »

So who's gonna win. Roche 100/1 with Ladbrokes!

the giro or the stage?

Pudsy33

Roche is just hanging on

blobbie

pelevin wrote: »

So who's gonna win. Roche 100/1 with Ladbrokes!

No hope.

pelevin

Pudsy33 wrote: »

Roche is just hanging on

Wasn't really seriously touting Roche but it just seemed long but maybe he was already just clinging on when they had him at those odds. Not gonna bet on anyone myself but Majka at 25/1 seemed possibly generous too. Though off course they're only generous if the guy delivers.

pelevin

happytramp wrote: »

the giro or the stage?

The stage.

http://sports.ladbrokes.com/ie-ie/Cycling/Giro-d%27ItaliaCycling/Giro-d%27Italia-t210004186

Darkglasses

There's Nico, well dropped from the Evans/Quintana group

Pudsy33

Darkglasses wrote: »

There's Nico, well dropped from the Evans/Quintana group

Doesn't need to kill himself though. He is probably still recovering and might be good for a stage next week

Darkglasses

Pudsy33 wrote: »

Doesn't need to kill himself though. He is probably still recovering and might be good for a stage next week

Yeah I know, might as well pick his battles carefully from now on.

Dr. Bre

any big guns dropped?

MPFG

Scarponi...but he is sore too

Pudsy33

Nico back on!