Giro d'Italia 2020 | Stage 8 | Giovinazzo - Vieste (200 km)

dastardly00

Stage 8 is well underway. Big news of the the day though is that Simon Yates has tested positive for Covid-19. Yates is showing mild symptoms and no other team mates or staff tested positive thankfully.

There is a big climb in the middle but it's too far out to impact the GC. There is a 15 km circuit at the end that has to be raced twice. It has a short climb (1 km @9.3%) with a ramp of 17% which could be ideal for attacks.

dastardly00

94 km remaining. The breakaway have a 10 minute lead and are on the main climb of the day. The peloton hasn't shown much interest in closing the gap yet.

Simone Ravanelli (Androni), Joey Rosskopf (CCC), Mathias Brandle (Israel Start-Up Nation), Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation) Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal) and Salvatore Puccio (Ineos Grenadiers)

dahat

I'd love to see Dowsett won but gut tells me Holmes will.

Inquitus

Fuglsang getting a shafting by the shark!

dastardly00

Kruijswijk always looks like he's wearing shoulder pads from the 80s

MPFGLB

Why did they knockit off...should have kept going if they started

dastardly00

Puccio going for a pee whilst cornering on a descent... quite the skill!

Daroxtar

That coastline looks incredible. Might have to look at potential holidays in that area at some point

dastardly00

Daroxtar wrote: »

That coastline looks incredible. Might have to look at potential holidays in that area at some point

If it wasn't for Covid I think I would have already booked flights to the nearest airport... The scenery is amazing

De Bhál

dastardly00 wrote: »

If it wasn't for Covid I think I would have already booked flights to the nearest airport... The scenery is amazing

Amazing looking. Definitely going to Puglia area.

Boscoirl

They’ve given up showing the riders. There no point

velo.2010

dastardly00 wrote: »

Stage 8 is well underway. Big news of the the day though is that Simon Yates has tested positive for Covid-19. Yates is showing mild symptoms and no other team mates or staff tested positive thankfully.

Thats not good news and loooking at what happened at that White House event, it's highly likely there will be positive tests from more riders in the coming days. The Giro finishing in Milan is in serious doubt. I hope I'm wrong, but this is Covid-19 after all.

neris

There's a lotto rider in the breakaway that's not De Gendt :eek::eek:

dahat

I've never willed a rider up a hill like Dowsett, throughly likeable chap and pray he hangs on.

De Bhál

dahat wrote: »

I've never willed a rider up a hill like Dowsett, throughly likeable chap and pray he hangs on.

I see he's got the oversized jockey wheel

dastardly00

Amazing that Dowsett has managed to pull out a 40 second gap

Inquitus

dastardly00 wrote: »

Amazing that Dowsett has managed to pull out a 40 second gap

He didn't get the hour record being a slouch on the flat!

neris

The way rob hatch is ****eing on youd think he'd won the giro

MPFGLB

Happy Dowsett won

Some pressure on riders without contracts for next year

All of NTT must have very high levels of cortisone

Bambaata

Im absolutely delighted for Dowsett, have always been a fan of him and follow his video diaries each week, seems a good bloke who just enjoys the bike, even partaking in plenty of the WTRL TTT each Thursday when season was postponed eventhough he hadnt a chance of surviving the races due to being at altitude.

dastardly00

Dowsett tweeted this message this morning

https://twitter.com/alexdowsett/status/1314832831298797568

And then this is a nice tweet from a couple of hours ago

https://twitter.com/alexdowsett/status/1314991242137272320

godtabh

Seems like a decent bloke. No contract for 2021. Hopefully gets one now.

Just saw his interview from after the race with Bernie on the Breakaway. You can see how much that meant for him. He spoke about putting food on the table and uncertainty for next year and it's easy to forget that while these lads do reasonably ok many of them don't do well enough to be set for life like in other sports.

Even Brandle in his interview said he hoped the win would help Alex get a contract for next year.

irishrover99

Looking the weather for the week ahead in some of the mountain regions like bormio, Briancon and madonna di campiglio, I wouldn’t be surprised if stages were cancelled or rerouted. It looks very cold during the next week.