Giro d'Italia Stage 4... LIVE!! GameThread, May 13, 2008 2:02 AM EDT

Cavendish...

high road need to get that boy a leash! There’s no point in being that fast if you’re always in the wrong place when it matters. Fingers crossed for less crashes today and hoping to see Zabel get his first stage.

by Adamlong on May 13, 2008 6:06 AM EDT 0 recs

Giro d'Italia classifications demystified article on CN

As this tour develops, teams will start to focus on particular Jerseys and Classifications as they can make a lot of money, as well as notoriety, without ever winning a stage.

This will begin to affect team tactics, as well as unofficial team alignments which you will start to see get played out during every stage.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=/features/2008/giro_classifications08

by Ryan_Liles on May 13, 2008 7:46 AM EDT 0 recs

Morning fellas

Well, yesterday followed suit in true Giro style of an abundance of week one crashes!?

Just a note to say the coverage on Cycling TV will be slightly later than advertised and will start at 2.15 (gmt+1) today.

Cheers,

Rebecca

by rebeccactv on May 13, 2008 8:02 AM EDT 1 recs

Hi Rebecca

so do I have to keep two windows open the whole time? I often close the one I’m not using (since I have the Podium Cafe in yet another window) and only occasionally does cycling.tv suggest I should have two windows up. What’s the story? THanks

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 9:24 AM EDT up 0 recs

Windows

Hiya Chris,

as you know, the live player automatically opens in a new window but you can close the redundant window and it won’t effect the player. Hope this helps but give me a shout if that doesn’t solve it….

Cheers.

by rebeccactv on May 13, 2008 9:39 AM EDT up 1 recs

Thank you

for the update, much appreciated.

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

by Drew... on May 13, 2008 8:43 AM EDT 0 recs

it's up and running

with a summary of yesterday’s race

by orangekick on May 13, 2008 9:11 AM EDT 0 recs

slow start-- 30kph average speed.

by orangekick on May 13, 2008 9:21 AM EDT 0 recs

So sloooooooowwwww

THough I’m logged in.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 9:22 AM EDT 0 recs

where we're at

Verbrugghe of Cofidis is on a solo breakaway and is out in front by more than 10 minutes

by PopUp Rolen on May 13, 2008 9:22 AM EDT 0 recs

just by looking at the scenery

hard to believe that this is a sprinter stage.

by orangekick on May 13, 2008 9:28 AM EDT 0 recs

dog almost takes out 2 slippies

by d rod on May 13, 2008 9:38 AM EDT 0 recs

it looked as though the

Cofidis car was going to run over the dog.

by orangekick on May 13, 2008 9:39 AM EDT up 0 recs

Coastline?

Does this mean extended televised appreciation of Italy’s curves, natural and otherwise?

by Sui Juris on May 13, 2008 9:43 AM EDT 0 recs

Sort of a

joint project btw RAI and Pez.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 9:46 AM EDT up 0 recs

just promoting

cultural understanding, I’m sure.

by Sui Juris on May 13, 2008 9:52 AM EDT up 0 recs

still not logged in

CTV painfully slow, though DS littler bear keeps interrupting me.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:07 AM EDT 0 recs

once in

the 800kbps feed has been working relatively well in DC.

(tell Little Bear that if he doesn’t stop, you’re putting him on dial-up)

by Sui Juris on May 13, 2008 10:12 AM EDT up 0 recs

OK, I'm going to

have a race, see how fast I can load RAI.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:09 AM EDT 0 recs

OK

Cycling.tv working now. It’s slow, but RAI wouldn’t load in my mac either. Something about the media player…

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:15 AM EDT 0 recs

fwiw, I bought a laptop

specifically to watch cycling…

by orangekick on May 13, 2008 10:24 AM EDT up 0 recs

Right on

I don’t like to throw around the word “hero” too much, but…

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:37 AM EDT up 0 recs

it was out of desperation

not very heroic in my opinion. lol..!

I’m like the rest of you… a Mac user.

by orangekick on May 13, 2008 10:39 AM EDT up 0 recs

too funny

We’ve been plotting to, erm borrow, a windoze box from bf of gavia’s workplace. Shhh, don’t tell the corporate overlords. Sigh, I wish they could make these things cross platforms and all. There is a suweet viddy player thingy being made by a co in Oz that works wondrous like on mac and windoze both. Forgetting now, what it’s called…

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:44 AM EDT up 0 recs

I know

what it’s not called. “WMP”

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:46 AM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah, no kidding

I have deep loathing for the wmp. Deep.

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:47 AM EDT up 0 recs

once I get the address for stream feed itself

it’s not an entirely bad experience to view it via VLC on my Mac. I’ve done that on the road with good result (from my end. the usual stuff applies to their end).

by Sui Juris on May 13, 2008 10:49 AM EDT up 0 recs

Si

The RAI site doesn’t seem to love the mac, even with flippy installed. I haven’t been able to crack that code – probably something windoze specific in the coding. Bah. If anyone has gotten it to load on a mac, lemme know! I have no windoze here at Casa Gavia.

The alternative RAI works over at cyclingfans, though.

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:36 AM EDT up 0 recs

piano stage?

Not much action. Frankly, today probably won’t be especially interesting. The next several should be much more fun. In fact, today might be the worst stage of the entire Giro. I’m sure the RAI helicopters will come up with something.

Actually now FDJ are lining out the pack a bit.

O’Grady quit the Giro yesterday???

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:17 AM EDT 0 recs

yup

so did his broken collarbone

by Sui Juris on May 13, 2008 10:20 AM EDT up 0 recs

But not before

finishing the stage. He did the same thing in an earlier Tour (2000 I think) – crashed, broke his collarbone in 3 places and still rode 80K to the finish. There’s tough and then there’s Stuey tough.

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

by Drew... on May 13, 2008 12:23 PM EDT up 0 recs

I'm using the Norway feed

but it buffers a lot, and I have to restart it every five minutes or so.

by bethie on May 13, 2008 10:18 AM EDT 0 recs

Protest

there was some talk (I think earlier on the CN live feed) about there being a soft-pedal protest against the lengthy transfer and the course safety. Here it is…

Race leader Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) confirmed, according to Agr, that there may be a strike of sorts today. The riders are not happy about last night’s transfer to the mainland and the number of transfers in the 91st Giro d’Italia.
“We have talked with Bettini, Rebellin and the other senators to decide how, but also what we will do; maybe pedal slowly at the beginning of the stage,” commented Pellizotti. No news about a slow start has been reported, but we will keep you updated.

In addition to the long transfer last night, which made for late showers and massages, there were numerous crashes in what many riders attributed to a dangerous stage three parcours.

by Hons on May 13, 2008 10:32 AM EDT 0 recs

always the transfers

LOL, there’s always a protest over the transfers at the Giro. This one did sound a little hairy – a bus, then a boat, than another bus. But it is early in the race, and these are flat stages. My heart is bleeding, really ;-)

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:37 AM EDT up 0 recs

Already

they’d better pace themselves on the transfer protests. With over 10 more transfers, there will be much protesting left to do.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:39 AM EDT up 0 recs

lol, yeah

You wouldn’t want to crack on the final protest.

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:42 AM EDT up 0 recs

Nope

think of all the serious transfers in the mountains left to protest in the final week. You can’t waste it all on a sprinters’ transfer.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:44 AM EDT up 0 recs

Lazy day

Only one dude off the front, bit of a slacker day. 7.05 the gap to lonely Rik.

Bettini apparently crashed on some descent or another early in the stage and has a boo-boo on his leg. Otherwise all is tranquilo.

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:38 AM EDT 0 recs

Gap plummeting

6’ or so now.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:39 AM EDT 0 recs

if he survives the climb

he could very well win—being that it’s downhill for the finish

by orangekick on May 13, 2008 10:41 AM EDT up 0 recs

He's got

some real grinta today.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:42 AM EDT up 0 recs

With all this outrage over the transfer

and arriving too late for massages, etc., it’s odd to read, over at the Daily Peloton, that DiLuca and Rebellin had time to play a game of table tennis (Rebellin: “He’s even good at that”).

by NE Observer on May 13, 2008 10:40 AM EDT 0 recs

DiLuca

exudes a little Napoleonic competitive intensity. Great rider though.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:43 AM EDT up 0 recs

Just about to start

the last not climb

by Hons on May 13, 2008 10:41 AM EDT 0 recs

Maybe that was the protest

The teams draw straw to decide who goes off the front. Then the rest of the peleton gets a day off.

by Hons on May 13, 2008 10:42 AM EDT 0 recs

Ha Ha

so much for rider solidarity. Rik Verbruggeh was interviewed after the race: “I heard on the boat that there might be a protest today. So it seemed like a good day to try a breakaway.” Translation: While you suckers go piano piano, I’m off up the road for the win.

by Monty. on May 13, 2008 4:33 PM EDT up 0 recs

Ha!

About right. I always laugh when they decide to let one dude go. Um, slack much?

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:42 AM EDT 0 recs

30 km

4 minutes the gap to Rikky.

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:46 AM EDT 0 recs

Complicated

They’re saying it’ll be “complicated” for Rik to stay away.

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:46 AM EDT 0 recs

Ha!

That’s how I talk to DS Little Bear.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:47 AM EDT up 0 recs

Alas

looks like I won’t catch the finish. On the plus side, I’ll be on a boring conference call most of the morning, which will make for much blogging!

And no way do I miss tomorrow’s finish.

by Chris... on May 13, 2008 10:48 AM EDT 0 recs

Morning All...

============= Daniel

by crashdan on May 13, 2008 10:49 AM EDT 0 recs

Verbrugge did this before

Don’t see him staying away since he did this and won a few years ago – they won’t let him.

by Markk on May 13, 2008 10:49 AM EDT 0 recs

I wonder about Savoldelli

working now as a “royal domestique” (as DP puts it). Why has he gotten/allowed himself to be so devalued?

by NE Observer on May 13, 2008 10:50 AM EDT 0 recs

the stench of eau d'armstrong...?

by orangekick on May 13, 2008 10:53 AM EDT up 0 recs

not so great results?

Last year, he had nothing for the GC, and rode for Mazzoleni. He needs just the right combination of course and opportunity to win the overall – so he’s not the ideal Main Guy. I’d bet on a stage win. He also in interviews strikes me as a very practical sort, he intends to join his family construction business when his career is over, for ex. So, I’d guess he goes where there’s salary, and rides for what he can.

by gavia on May 13, 2008 10:58 AM EDT up 0 recs

Savo doesn't have the strength when things get really steep

Both his Giro wins came under circumstances, and Giro’s that were not stupid crazy climber fests.
Back in the ‘day when Chipo was in the peleton, there typically were more sprint and all-around stages.

Also, the guy is getting to the end of his carreer, and just can’t thow down like he used to.

That said, his position on the team is really more of a co-captain then an underling.
Everyone respects him too much to have him running to the car for coke.

by Ryan_Liles on May 13, 2008 11:00 AM EDT up 0 recs