Tirreno - Adriatico 2013: General Thread (spoilers needed)

dastardly00

Tirreno-Adriatico (March 6th-12th) is known as ‘The Race of the Two Seas’, and the 2013 start list is packed with some of the sports biggest names. Overall contenders Alberto Contador (Team Saxo-Tinkoff), Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), 2012 Tirreno-Adriatico winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Chris Froome (Team Sky). Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Leopard), Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Peter Sagan (Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) are also taking part.

At 1,060km across seven stages, the 46th edition is the shortest in terms of distance since the six-stage race of 1988 but that’s mostly due to short time trials book-ending the event. The racing begins with a team time trial (16.9km). Sprinters looking to hone their form and lead-out trains will contest the flat terrain of stage 2 to Indicatore and stage 3 to Narni Scalo, while the first big selection will be made on stage 4’s 173km passage to the Prato di Tivo in the Abruzzo mountains.

Last year’s race saw Nibali win alone on the Prato di Tivo and in this year’s event it could again prove selective in the battle for the overall. Though the altitude tops out at 1,450m, it’s still early March so snow-lined roads can be expected. Stage 5 from Ortona to Chieti could be the decisive day.
A huge 230km of racing is punctuated by two substantial climbs, including the 1,319m Passo Lanciano, which peaks 40km from the finish.

There’s no let up on stage 6, either. It starts and finishes in the Adriatic coastal town of Porto Sant’Elpidio. Its 209km begins with rolling hills, followed by the coastal capi (short hills) and a flat run-in to the finish – as close as you’ll ever find to a dress rehearsal of Milano-Sanremo.

If those tough road stages don’t decide a winner, the 9.2km individual time trial in the traditional finish in San Benedetto del Tronto, certainly will. Last year, ninth place on the day was enough for Nibali as he overhauled blue jersey Chris Horner to take the title by a slender margin of 14 seconds. It was the finish organisers had hoped for when they first introduced the final TT in 2011 and a repeat would be warmly welcomed.

The full start list can be found here.

Outright winner betting odds: Contador 2/1; Froome 7/2; Evans 7/1; Rodriguez 7/1; Nibali 8/1.
And some more odds here (link courtesy of manafana).

Route:



funky cool 'overall' profile :

dastardly00

Start times for the TTT: Link

Live coverage on Eurosport2 from 1.30pm (GMT).

ednwireland

dan martin down for garmin

dastardly00

Omega Pharma-Quick Step won the TTT (Stage 1) yesterday in wet conditions, with Cav taking the leaders jersey.

Cav was asked to explain the reason for his team’s success, “Two words, one name: Tony Martin,” he said, and then joked: “There are no real egos here except maybe me, but it was all about getting eight guys from point A to point B as quickly as possible. When a team time trial works out, it’s the best feeling in cycling.”

The 16.9km TTT has resulted in some interesting time gaps:

Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step @ 0:19:24
Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step @ 0"
Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team @ 16"
Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling @ 19"
Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling @ 19"
Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team @ 20"
Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling @ 25"
Alberto Contador (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff @ 29"
Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack Leopard @ 36"
Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard @ 36"
Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team @ 37"
Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha @ 44"
Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp @ 57"
Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard @ 1' 27"

dastardly00

Live coverage on Eurosport2 from 1.30pm (GMT).
Highlights on Eurosport1 at 6pm and 11pm, Eurosport2 at 9pm, and on Sky Sports 4 at 7pm.

De Bhál

No cycling for ages then two top races on at the same time on Eurosport 1 and 2

What to do!

IM0

De Bhál wrote: »

No cycling for ages then two top races on at the same time on Eurosport 1 and 2

What to do!

be jelous of anyone with sky+ or anything like that

Pawlie

Cav was not happy with his train today.......

happytramp

^^^^ That'll likely need spoilers.

but yeah, he was very publicly critical of them, said they'd need talking to later

Beasty

Pawlie wrote: »

Cav was not happy with his train today.......

No more warnings - you must use spoiler tags for any same day race info

Brad768

only caught last 20km, weather was awful! Dissapointed for Cav, he just didn't seem to be able to get himself in position for the finish. Really want him to win this

dastardly00

It's another brutal day weather-wise today, very wet. The stage starts flat, and then becomes rolling, with some bumps near the end. May be too lumpy for Cav, Greipal et. al. Maybe Sagan could win?

Live coverage on Eurosport2 now.
Highlights on Eurosport1 at 6pm and 9pm, and on Sky Sports 4 at 10pm.

sy

Think you may have your dates mixed up dastardly00. Thanks for posting details etc by the way.

dastardly00

sy wrote: »

Think you may have your dates mixed up dastardly00. Thanks for posting details etc by the way.

yep, thanks!

dastardly00

Sagan beats Cav, Greipal and the rest in a sprint finish!

dastardly00

Stage 4: Narni - Prati di Tivo, 173km

Live coverage ...... isn't on Eurosport I don't think. Streams only.
Highlights on Eurosport1 at 6.45pm, Eurosport2 at 4pm and 10pm, and on Sky Sports 2 at 11.30pm.

happytramp

Official. the winner of this stage will win the Tour de France.

100% money back guarantee

dastardly00

happytramp wrote: »

Official. the winner of this stage will win the Tour de France.

100% money back guarantee

You mightn't be too far wrong!!!

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 4:41:31
2 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:00:06
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:11
4 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:13
5 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:15
6 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
7 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:00:20
8 Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:43
9 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha
10 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:58

corny

Sure how can Froome not win the Tour? Contador will never escape Porte, Uran, Wiggins, Cataldo, Henao etc. Whats more likely is the domestiques drop Contador and Evans.

Marginal gains? Please.

dastardly00

Stage 5: Ortona - Chieti, 230km

Live coverage ...... isn't on Eurosport again I don't think. Streams only.
Highlights on Eurosport1 at 8pm, Eurosport2 at 4pm and 9.30pm, and on Sky Sports 2 at 11.30pm.

happytramp

corny wrote: »

Sure how can Froome not win the Tour? Contador will never escape Porte, Uran, Wiggins, Cataldo, Henao etc. Whats more likely is the domestiques drop Contador and Evans.

Marginal gains? Please.

What are you talking about? Is it not 100% normal for every single member of team sky to be able to drop Cadel Evans and Rodriguez?

Brad768

Anyone got a route map for stage 6? Should be interesting according to Cav's twitter

Properly tired after the #TirrenoAdriatico stage today. Congrats to @PuritoRodriguez. Tomorrow will be grim, with a 27% climb THREE TIMES.

Inquitus

From cyclingnews forums

Eshnar wrote: »

Final road stage before the ITT.


First circuit (two laps)

Last circuit (final lap)

Data from http://plataformarecorridosciclistas.org/

So the second last wall has a nice 400m at 20%, with max 27%. cool.

dastardly00

Stage 6: Porto Sant'Elpidio, 209km

Sant'Elpido a Mare.... 2 climbs are 3km in length, at 6.1% average gradient, with a maximum of 21%. The 3rd climb is 6.3km in length, at 2.9% average gradient, with a maximum of 27% :eek:

Live coverage on Eurosport1 from 1.30pm (GMT).
Highlights on Eurosport1 at 8pm, Eurosport2 at 6pm, and on Sky Sports 4 at 9pm.

(Inquitus beat me to it with the stage profile *shakes fist* :pac:)

The current GC after stage 5 is:

1. Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling @22:11:53
2. Alberto Contador (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff @20"
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
4. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step @24"
5. Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard @37"
6. Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia @52"
7. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha @55"
8. Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling @57"
9. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff @1'27"
10. Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling @1'51"

16. Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp @2'48"

dastardly00

The broomwagon is really filling up during the stage today...... Riders include: Andy Schleck (Radioshack); Mark Cavendish, Niki Terpstra, and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (all OPQS); Matthew Goss (Orica GreenEdge); Peter Kennaugh (Sky); Laurent Mangel (FdJ); Zakkari Dempster (NetApp); Dmitriy Guzdev, Paolo Tiralongo, Fredik Kessiakoff, and Valerio Agnoli (All Astana); and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol).

Morrisseeee

Just tuning in now, looks 'interesting' :eek:

dastardly00

Great stage! Sagan wins and Nibali takes the overall lead from Froome.

TheBlaaMan

Ka - boom !

Morrisseeee

Holy crap, don't miss the highlights tonight folks, unreal gradients :eek:
.............oh and a surprising finish

Chips Lovell

That was excellent. Best stage of racing I've seen so far this year. What stage racing should be about, lads taking every opportunity to slip away and get an advantage on their rivals. Loved Sagan's victory celebration!

letape

Anyone know where Dan Martin came today?

dastardly00

letape wrote: »

Anyone know where Dan Martin came today?

I can't find a full classification list yet, but Dan (@DanMartin86) tweeted this: "Epic day of racing. Guys will hate me for saying it but loved every minute #mything. Cruising till I messed up gear change #doh"

flying11

could have done with a compact or even a triple today!

a few of the sprinters found it tough:

sy

This is what its all about

As Vladimir stated already the best days racing so far this year. Bodies all over the road.

sy

flying11 wrote: »

could have done with a compact or even a triple today!

a few of the sprinters found it tough:

If that Devolder? (2 times Ronde winner) walking up the hill !!:eek: I know it hit 30% but...

dastardly00

letape wrote: »

Anyone know where Dan Martin came today?

Dan Martin finished in 40th place, 4'18" behind Sagan. He's now 19th overall, 6'50" behind Nibali.

dastardly00

Sweet jebus, there were over 50 DNFs today! And Taylor Phinney was over the time limit!

Some of his tweets (@taylorphinney) after the stage...
"After all my grupetto mates threw in the towel w/130km to go I continued on alone in the rain attempting to make time cut."
"Probably the most trying day I've ever had on a bike."
"And now I'm on the massage table crying like a little girl. So many times I wanted to cry today, it's all coming out now... Emotional day!!!"

Chapeau to Phinney for finishing.

iregk

Sweet jesus that was savage. That hill particularly the last left hander just at the summit was a sheer cliff face! Poor Kavendish isn't happy with it

For those that haven't seen it yet it was that savage that Michele Acquarone apologised for it afterwards.

happytramp

Best day of racing in a long, long time.

Wonder why this thread has so few replies compared to Paris-Nice when this race was always going to be far more exciting.

Brad768

I found Paris Nice really boring. Have enjoyed pretty much every stage of the Tirreno. These gradients today were ridiculous!:O

omicron

happytramp wrote: »

Best day of racing in a long, long time.

Wonder why this thread has so few replies compared to Paris-Nice when this race was always going to be far more exciting.

No Nico is probably a part of it!

letape

omicron wrote: »

No Nico is probably a part of it!

Was Nico in Paris-Nice?!

Darkglasses

letape wrote: »

Was Nico in Paris-Nice?!

Yeah,

he had one or two good days, stayed with the leading group until the last stage, and then blew it entirely in the final ITT.

letape

Darkglasses wrote: »

Yeah,

he had one or two good days, stayed with the leading group until the last stage, and then blew it entirely in the final ITT.

Sorry Darkglasses - I was being sarcastic! I watched it most days but can't say he featured much. Certainly not as visible ad he had been in previous years.

IM0

as the lads said in commentary, it was the conditions that made this so hard for those climbs, drying slick roads + savage gradient ~30% +bad surface =feck all traction, [anyone whos done luggala on the roundwood side can feel their pain!] you're damned if do damned if dont [get off the saddle] and if you do have to stop slipped chain ect then its practically impossible to get going again on that gradient which Im pretty sure is why the sprinters were walking. its great to see pros getting a taste of what alot of amateurs do to themselves by over gearing! they should have had 27t on today! or a compact maybe?

Morrisseeee

dastardly00 wrote: »

Taylor Phinney was over the time limit!

Some of his tweets (@taylorphinney) after the stage...
"After all my grupetto mates threw in the towel w/130km to go I continued on alone in the rain attempting to make time cut."
"Probably the most trying day I've ever had on a bike."
"And now I'm on the massage table crying like a little girl. So many times I wanted to cry today, it's all coming out now... Emotional day!!!"

Chapeau to Phinney for finishing.

Anyone know why he isn't uploading his race data to Strava ?! #

I was delighted for Nibali as he finally gets some reward for his persistence, also delighted to see Contador looking.............human !!

Flandria

Well that was the perfect antidote to formula Sky. I don't really buy Froome/Sky's overgearing excuse, I think they simply underestimated the difficulty of the stage. They shouldn't really have given over the head of the race to Saxo/Cannondale when Nocentini came back to the group. I guess they thought they could do with the rest, but instead they got caught out by the pace change and got blown off. Great day's racing but not too many other races are going to throw gradients like that around so expect more Sky domination for the rest of the season. I'm grateful for small mercies though...

niceonetom

sy wrote: »

If that Devolder? (2 times Ronde winner) walking up the hill !!:eek: I know it hit 30% but...

Yep... in fairness he has shown some form this week as well though.

I love a GC battle where riders with different specialities (and weaknesses) really go at it like yesterday. But there subplot of who's-going-well-for-the-classics is bubbling along nicely too. Obviously Sagan (swoon) continues to be the most versatile and exciting rider in the peloton but I'm absolutely delighted to see Thor back up there after an anonymous 2012. I don't know if we saw him at all on camera (didn't see him in the highlights anyway) but for a guy of his bulk to lose less than a minute on that kind of stage he must be putting absolutely flying. 80kgs on a 30% slope FFS. Pozzato looked strong in Roma Maxima. Cancellara might be keeping his head down but was looking strong in the break yesterday. Boonen did some hard work in Paris-Nice so maybe he can back to fitness too...

After the winter we've suffered though cycling really needs the story to be about the racing. And from the looks of it we have the most open and unpredictable season in years ahead of us. The skyborgs loom, threatening to choke the life out of every race, but I think the peloton will crack the system and look to exact maximum gains on stages like yesterday's that are less controllable. I can't wait.

dastardly00

Stage 7: San Benedetto del Tronto (ITT), 9.2km

I've attached the start times as a .pdf file (it's the only way I could find them).

Live coverage on Eurosport1 from 1.30pm (GMT).
Highlights on ...... (I can't find any on Eurosport this evening).... Sky Sports 4 at 9.30pm.



The current GC after stage 6 is:
1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team @27:57:26
2. Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling @34"
3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha @37"
4. Alberto Contador (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff @48"
5. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step @58"
6. Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard @1'05"
7. Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia @1'20"
8. Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida @2'54"
9. Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team @2'58"
10. Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team @3'08"

19. Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp @6'50"

el tel

That was some ride by Thor Hushovd yesterday.

Briando

I was waiting to see highlights of stage 7 on Eurosport but seems they are not on.. anybody know of where I can watch online highlights or full race?

Thanks,
-B