Giro Stage 19...

Nickobec how do you do so well? maybe i should play purist as i always did well when it was on my spreadsheet against all you guys that do well when we have transfers!!

(not that 37th in the overall is bad or anything, and still inside the top 100 for the giro)

The regrets of picking Jan Barta (0 for the stage) over Cesare Benedetti (3 sprint points) for stage 19, was missing out on outright stage win and not getting in to the top10 overall for Giro.

Still shared stage win and 11th overall for Giro, 2 points outside top 10 (my main aim), makes me very happy.

Hopefully another good performance today from Pirazzi and Rabottini as they fight out the mountains jersey, Uran staying with the big guns and keeping his white jersey and
Guardini being Guardini.and having 4 transfers for Sunday

2,3,4,6,9 and last place for guardini!

Scores on the doors????

Stupid me I've been sitting in the sun to long !

I swapped Henao for Uran the other day and didnt think. Well that spoils my maths

2,3,5,6,7,9 and 13.

Not a bad day

3,6,9,11,13,14 +5

Should be decent today thanks to Pirazzi

At least my score will be respectable today. Thanks Pirazzi.

Great stage - carnage at the finish line. Fun for me to watch with 3 in the original break. Finished with 2,3,6,8,11 plus mountain points for Pirazzi and maybe Pauwels, so better than the last few days for sure!
Got to love Pirazzi's kamikaze tactics. Couldn't believe it when he attacked again just as Kreuziger was coming up to him and Casar.

1 Kreuziger 2 Hesjedal 3 Rodriguez 4 Scarponi 5 Pozzovivo 6 Basso 7 Uran 8 Nieve 9 Pirazzi 10 Gadret 11 De Gendt 12 Cunego 13 Henao 14 Casar 15 Cataldo 16 Tschopp 17 Bruseghin 18 Dupont 19 Moreno 20 Brambilla

2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th + lots of mountain points for Pirazzi
1,2,4,5,6 in GC
2,3,4 in points
1,3 in mountains
1 in young rider

happy with the result

now just need Guardini to finish inside time limit

Kreuziger takes it followed by Hesjedal, Rodriguez, Scarponi, Pozzovivo, Basso Uran.

Kreuziger
Hesjedal
Rodriguez
Scarponi
Pozzovivo
Basso
Uran
Nieve
Pirazzi
Gadret
De Gendt
Cunego
Henao

...not official, that is just how I saw it.

Right on cue the Eurosport feeds start breaking down when they get on the final climb.

Quote:

Attack: Dario Cataldo of Omega Pharma-QuickStep jumps off the front of the main pack. He's only four minutes down in the GC, which is interesting.

Cheers drheaton

I just saw Guardini coming across the line waving to everyone and looking like he's just enjoying the attention, I think he'll be timed out though

Oh, and Guardini is 3 minutes behind the Cavendish/Intxausti group and going backwards fast. If he finishes inside the time limit he's nailed on last man but I can see him getting lapped before the end

Here are my guys today

Joaquin Rodriguez (KAT)
Ivan Basso (LIQ)
Thomas de Gendt (VCD)
Sergio Luis Henao (SKY)
Stefano Pirazzi (COG)
Sandy Casar (FDJ)
Paolo Tiralongo (AST)
Diego Ulissi (LAM)
Alexander Kristoff (KAT)

I have the two leaders in the road and they just got me some points on a climb, but i've just switched on

In fairness he was a good choice gone badly wrong. What I've learned in the last couple of days is that generally, risks don't pay off and the best bet, if you find yourself up there, is to just play it safe.

Don't worry too much robacairns, I suspect Henao will crack long before the end which is why I brought in De Gendt.

Update:

Quote:

Liquigas still drive the pace with seven lime green riders on the front of the bunch. The 16 leaders have 4:10 on the pack, with the Cavendish-Intxausti group 8:20 off the pace.

Quote:

Movistar's Benat Intxausti has been dropped by the peloton! The young Spaniard started the day in sixth place in the GC, 3:04 down on Rodriguez. He may tumble down the standings today if he continues at this rate...

Pirazzi over the top first again, just before Rohregger. They look to be the only two going for the KoM

wow Ray we have awfully similar teams.

Hesjedal
J-Rod
Uran
Basso
Pozzovivo
Pirazzi
Barta
Rabottini
Felline