Giro Stage 20 Preview: Roma (ITT)

and I have no freakin’ clue about half the things you write.

speaking of Google and labeling things in Rome, try downloading Rome Reborn on Google Earth if you’re interested in seeing a 3D layout of the city as it existed in AD 320. Very cool.

http://sites.google.com/site/3dancientrome/Home

And yes, I do have such a favorite: and that would be how the locals refer to the Victor Emanuele memorial, all of only 100 years, as “the typewriter”.

Am I the only one thinking they could have done so much more? I mean, how hard would it have been to route the riders through the Pantheon? The floor in there is nice and grippy, and there’s plenty of space.

Lot’s of tricky corners, a few 180s a few others greater than 90.

It will be interesting to watch.

I will miss the live thread. I’ve got a training ride to lead.

Must avoid hearing any results.

CQ sez they’re 6:5 in Sastre’s favor in time trials. But that includes TTTs—remove them, and it’s 5:3 for Sastre.

More significantly, they’ve met twice in the final ITT of a grand tour, and both times Sastre has placed well higher than Pellizotti: 15th to Jen Grey’s 82nd in Stage 20 of the 2007 Vuelta; 12th vs. 57th in Stage 20 of the 2005 TdF.

Right now Sastre is 1:01 down on Pellizotti. Did he take enough time in those other third-week TT’s to give him a chance to make that up tomorrow?

Oooh, it’s gonna be close. The Tour TT was 55 km, so hard to compare to tomorrow’s short course, but the Vuelta was a more comparable 20 km. In that, Sastre took 83 seconds from Pellizotti, or 4.15 seconds per kilometer. If he were to gain at the same rate tomorrow, he would finish 59.76 seconds ahead—1.24 seconds shy of what he needs to take 3rd place. Will motivation give him the boost he needs? We’ll find out tomorrow…

He has nothing to loose, this is the only way to forget his biggest Grand Tour-fail. He’ll go berserk and take those corners like a rabbit chasing a wolf.

Menchov on the other hand has a lot to lose. He will be taking those corners like a wolf sneeking on a bunny; being careful, right before he sprints like a mad men at those big straight roads.

Somebody asked me in a bar tonight whether I’d ever seen The Big Lebowski. I burst out laughing and I think she thought me a little odd. Anyway, at least I’ll be in to watch tomorrow, unlike today. Today I had a concert in a church in Soho, only the church people in their great wisdom managed to double book the building in the afternoon so we could only rehearse in there for 40 minutes. The rest of the rehearsal we did on the pavement, IN SOHO SQUARE! It is a miracle that I managed to stand and sing Bruckner in such a place without anyone throwing anything at me.