Podium Cafe: FanPosts

Stage 19

Friday 24th May

Ponte di Legno - Val Martello/Martelltal 160km

Revised stage profile

Passo Castrin / Hofmahdjoch
Cat 1a - 8.4km @9.5% - GPM @81km from finish

Val Martello/Martelltal (same as original finish)
Cat 1a - 22.4km @6.4%

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)

Rules

Pick 4 riders for the stage, the order of your picks doesn't matter. All your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favorites. See below for scoring details.

The strict entry deadline is the official start time of the stage. There's no disadvantage to getting your entry in early, since you may always change your picks before the deadline. Feel free to revise your picks when you see which riders are more or less popular with other players. Post changes in a reply to your original post.

Scoring

The top 10 finishers score points according to this basic scale from race winner down to 10th place:

100-60-50-40-30-25-20-15-10-5

However, if riders of all abilities scored the same, we'd all just be picking the big favorites all the time. So we multiply the scale above by a rider's payoff percentage based on the number of players that pick him. More picks, lower payoff. The highest possible payoff for a really unlikely outsider picked by less than 5% of players is 100% of the scale above; the lowest possible payoff for a hot favorite picked by more than 80% of players is 15% of the the scale above.

For example, here's the result from Stage 1:

If you're not familiar with this kind of scoring scheme from previous games, just play along for a few stages and it will soon make sense. All you need to do is pick 4 riders that you like for the stage - maybe go for two obvious favorites and try two outsiders that you fancy for a decent top-10 result.

Results Stage 18

Sanchez' bittersweet second place was the biggest surprise today, with Majka also doing very well. byzantium picked up the solo stage stage win, the only player to pick the top two.

Stage 18 top 10:

Despite a disappointing performance from Evans, normal service was resumed by our cappello rosa Seahorse, scoring solid points from her other three picks to maintain a comfortable lead.

Overall top 30:

Stage 19

Friday 24th May

Ponte di Legno - Val Martello/Martelltal 160km

Revised stage profile

Passo Castrin / Hofmahdjoch
Cat 1a - 8.4km @9.5% - GPM @81km from finish

Val Martello/Martelltal (same as original finish)
Cat 1a - 22.4km @6.4%

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)

Rules

Pick 4 riders for the stage, the order of your picks doesn't matter. All your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favorites. See below for scoring details.

Scoring

The top 10 finishers score points according to this basic scale from race winner down to 10th place:

100-60-50-40-30-25-20-15-10-5

For example, here's the result from Stage 1:

GIRO STAGE PREDICTOR GAME: Stage 18

2013-05-22T10:36:42Z

Results Stage 17

A perfect parcours for Visconti, but not a popular pick, perhaps because two stage wins in one race from a breakaway rider is unusual. The second unique pick winner of this Giro, plus points from Pozzato's fourth place, although I didn't manage to top broerie's high score from Stage 11.

Stage 17 top 10:

Remarkably, Evans squeezed into 10th place to maintain Seahorse's perfect record of scoring in every stage. However, several of the closest chasers in the overall outscored her significantly to close the gap. blitzer maloney, rmeloa and Benzene are all within striking distance with one good result, and at least the top 10 are still in contention for the overall win with some luck.

Ironically, the loss of the two big stages in the Dolomites may make the next few days more nerve-racking in the Predictor Game for cappello rosa Seahorse. The high placings in major mountaintop finishes would probably have been competed by a limited selection of elite GC riders, but the modified stages may be less predictable.

Stage 18

Thursday 23rd May

Mori - Polsa 20.6km ITT

Deadline = first rider start time [update:] 13.12 CET

Roadbook
Time trial almost entirely uphill. Stage start at the Velodromo in Mori, with a half-circuit of the warm-up track before exiting towards the town centre. The climb starts 19 km from the finish line. It can be divided into three parts: first, as far as the Brento, constantly climbing at about 6% (wide road with excellent surface), short and shallow descent to the town centre (split time point). After the descent, a section of false flat for about 3 km before the final 7 km of contant climbing at 7-8%.

Stage profile

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)

Rules

Pick 4 riders for the stage, the order of your picks doesn't matter. All your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favorites. See below for scoring details.

Scoring

The top 10 finishers score points according to this basic scale from race winner down to 10th place:

100-60-50-40-30-25-20-15-10-5

For example, here's the result from Stage 1:

Results Stage 17

Stage 17 top 10:

Stage 18

Thursday 23rd May

Mori - Polsa 20.6km ITT

Deadline = first rider start time [update:] 13.12 CET

Stage profile

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)

Rules

Pick 4 riders for the stage, the order of your picks doesn't matter. All your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favorites. See below for scoring details.

Scoring

The top 10 finishers score points according to this basic scale from race winner down to 10th place:

100-60-50-40-30-25-20-15-10-5

For example, here's the result from Stage 1:

Jersey clashing with shorts

2013-05-22T09:42:20Z

I know this is a very petty matter but in recent years I've noticed that its become quite common for leaders of the the various competitions to sometimes wear a full strip for the colour of their jersey. eg now at the Giro, both Pirazzi and Betancur have donned all blue and all white.

via www.ilgiornaledireggio.it

Here I'm not convinced Pirazzi should have blue shorts with his jersey it makes it look much less distinctive, and you can easily mistake it for a standard team jersey especially on the helicopter shots. I have no idea whether its the sponsors or the riders themselves who decide but In my opinion you shouldn't be allowed to have a full strip of your coloured jersey. Unless its in a time trial then its acceptable I suppose.

via velonews.competitor.com

Whereas here Nibali only has the jersey and it loosk really good as it clashes with his Astana shorts. Much easier to spot and just looks more classic. Same goes for Gilbert in his World Champion's jersey. He should just keep the red BMC shorts instead of having full white. Anyway, thoughts and better examples?

via www.ilgiornaledireggio.it

via velonews.competitor.com

Poll

Should classification leaders have matching shorts to the jersey?

GIRO STAGE PREDICTOR GAME: Stage 17

2013-05-21T09:35:18Z

Results Stage 16

A teasing stage for the predictor game. Several players had strong riders in the break; then it looked like a few players who loaded up on the top GC guys would clean up; in the end, nobody had any of the top 4 finishers. Several players took some points from Evans, but snjekyll stole the stage win with Pellizotti's 6th place.

Seahorse extends her lead to almost 100 points in the cappello rosa competition, managing to pick up points again from Evans on a low scoring stage. She has scored on every stage.

Stage 17

Wednesday 22nd May

Caravaggio - Vicenza 214km

Published start time 12:15 CET

Roadbook
Long, flat stage on roads that are almost without exception wide and straight. The usual traffic hazards on this type of road: roundabouts, traffic islands, underpasses. A short section of race route from km 110 to km 130 has many curves. After the Intermediate Sprint at Orgiano, the race route enters the Monti Berici (Berici Hills). Road narrows with sudden turns and short, technical descents. After Nanto, a short climb (GPM) followed by a very fast descent, the last part of which is quite technical. Final 10 km mostly flat.

Stage profile

Crosara
Cat 4a - 5.3km @6.8% - GPM @16km from finish

FInal kilometers

Roadbook
Final kilometres mostly flat. Inside the final 3 km right turn and railway underpass. At 1.700 m sharp lefthand turn (wide road, slightly uphill). Then, some straight sections leading to the 250 m final straight. Road width 8 m, surfaced with asphalt. In the final metres urban hazards including roudabouts and traffic islands.

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)

Rules

Pick 4 riders for the stage, the order of your picks doesn't matter. All your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favorites. See below for scoring details.

Scoring

The top 10 finishers score points according to this basic scale from race winner down to 10th place:

100-60-50-40-30-25-20-15-10-5

For example, here's the result from Stage 1:

Results Stage 16

Seahorse extends her lead to almost 100 points in the cappello rosa competition, managing to pick up points again from Evans on a low scoring stage. She has scored on every stage.

Stage 17

Wednesday 22nd May

Caravaggio - Vicenza 214km

Published start time 12:15 CET

Stage profile

Crosara
Cat 4a - 5.3km @6.8% - GPM @16km from finish

FInal kilometers

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)

Rules

Pick 4 riders for the stage, the order of your picks doesn't matter. All your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favorites. See below for scoring details.

Scoring

The top 10 finishers score points according to this basic scale from race winner down to 10th place:

100-60-50-40-30-25-20-15-10-5

For example, here's the result from Stage 1:

Five reasons to watch the Ronde van België

2013-05-21T08:55:52Z

I figured no one else is going to write a preview, so here we go. This year the race is named the 'Baloise Belgium Tour', but I guess we'll stick with Ronde van België. It's Belgium's oldest stage race and it's usually the first race where the cobbled classics riders get to show themselves again after their post-cobbles break.

The Giro - worlds most awesome stage race- is going on right now, and of course we'll all be focussing on that, but there are some ~~good~~ reasons to watch the Ronde van België too. I'll give you five:

1 The startlist:

This is the best startlist this race has had in years: OPQS brings an impressive team with Tom Boonen, Tony Martin and Niki Terpstra. Radioshack bring Cancellara, Bakelandts, Devolder, Jungels, Hermans, Klöden, Monfort and Rast (!). Lotto-Belisol have Greipel, Roelandts and Vanendert, BMC bring Gilbert and Van Avermaet, Vacansoleil have announced Westra, Poels and Leukemans, Blanco will start with Boom, Slagter and Vanmarcke (and Lulu)... Other big names: Maxim Iglinsky, Andrea Guardini, Simon Spilak Thomas Voeckler, .... Not bad, right?

2 The course:

It looks better than ever. Yes, the race still starts with the traditional flat stage form Lochristi to Knokke-Heist, but the fun begins on stage two on Thursday. That stage is the new cobbles stage. The riders will have to climb the Berendries, Ten Bosse, a paved side of the Muur (they can't ride the actual Muur because of roadworks), the Bosberg (twice) and the Congoberg (a cobbled hill that is a bit similar to the Bosberg, they'll also climb this one twice). The finish is in Meerbeke, on the spot where the old Ronde van Vlaanderen used to finish.

Stage three is the TT. It's a bit shorter than usual, so it should be less decisive for the GC. Next is the first Ardennes stage with three ascents of the 'Petit Poggio'! The last stage is as usual a super hard Ardennes stage. The riders will have to climb thirteen classified hills, including three ascents of la Redoute and le Côte de Banneux.

3 The crossers:

The Ronde van België is always one of the main summer targets for the Belgian CX riders. BKCP bring not only Wietse Bosmans, David Van Der Poel, Marcel Meisen, Philipp Walsleben and the Vanthourenhouts, but also Niels Albert, who usually does well in the Ardennes stage. Telenet-Fidea start with Peeters, Meeusen, Wout van Aert and Bart Wellens, who won a 10km run two weeks ago after having ridden 140km in the morning. No Sunweb-Revor unfortunately.

4 The unknown dude

The smallest team on the startlist is probably To win - Josan CT. But this team has a really strong rider: Jérôme Baugnies. That name rings a bell? Could be. He's had a pro contract at Topsport (2010&2011) and Netapp (2012) but apparently he wasn't really good at following team orders, so he's back to the continental amateurs now. He's been dominating the biggest amateur races all season long and he'll probably want to take this opportunity to show himself to the pro teams. Here are his season results.

If you don't believe me that this is an impressive list, ask V90.

5 The Giro

We all know Nibali is going to dominate the Giro, the battle for the GC should be much more exciting in this race.

Forgot what Belgium looks like?

Official site

Stage info

Startlist

1 The startlist:

2 The course:

3 The crossers:

4 The unknown dude

If you don't believe me that this is an impressive list, ask V90.

5 The Giro

We all know Nibali is going to dominate the Giro, the battle for the GC should be much more exciting in this race.

Forgot what Belgium looks like?

Official site

Stage info

Startlist

a little DFLing in appalachia: gravel grinding greatness

2013-05-21T03:53:26Z

not that i would have kept away, but a little warning of what was to come would have been nice. i guess it all started last year when i had what might just be my worst day on a bike in years. mr. rogers and i drove up to murphy, nc to take part in a ride/informal race put on by a man name Hillbilly called the cherohala crossing. i spent a wonderful afternoon enjoying a couple of beers in the broom wagon, while rolling slowly through the forest after my legs gave out some 30 miles in. This year, Hillbilly organized a three race series around that part of the country, and what a beautiful part of the country it is (it's also where i've been doing most of my hiking/camping the last couple of years).

my buddy JD came by early saturday afternoon, i loaded my gear and bike in his truck, and north we went to experience a little mountain riding. neither of us had been riding much in the last several month, but that did not deter us. JD's a bit of a badass, like ironman-level badass. last time we rode together, we braved one of the worst storms of the year on our way from atlanta to chattanooga. we figured that our past fitness would be good enough to get us through the day. we get to the outskirts of murphy and pick up Farmer G who suggest we get some food before we head into the middle of nowhere. stop by a mexican restaurant and commence drinking. it's about 4pm at that point. "small or large XX?" asks the waiter. tomorrow will be a long day, let's go with the large. 32oz later, we are off. well, not just yet, let's stop and pick up some beers for the evening. this is where things started to go wrong. JD and i came up with the brilliant plan of buying a bunch of beers for everyone. the thinking was, if we get everyone else drunk, we'd have some company at the back of the race. a theoretical stroke of genius.

Hillbilly did things right (and props to Sharon for all she did to make the whole thing go flawlessly). he rented out a kids summer camp for us to stay at the night before. a bunch of big rooms with a dozen bunks, bathrooms, and showers in each. he cooked everyone steaks. we got to meet and spend some time hanging out with our fellow gravel grinder enthusiasts. it was a great evening. too good of an evening really. JD's and my plan backfired. we drank wwwaaaayyy too much. way too much. morning came way too early and my head was pounding. this was going to be a rough day. get down to the cafeteria, eat some breakfast, drink some coffee, and line up for 65 miles of pain.

it had rained on and off saturday night. it rained a little more sunday morning, but by the time the race started, the sun was out, the temps in the mid-60s, and my spirits were high considering my physical state. a couple miles of neutral roll-out and off we went. i wouldn't see mr. rogers for another six and a half hours. JD and i took it nice and easy at the back. the first 15 miles were a little rough. steep-ass dirt climbs hit the legs hard. we powered on. at some point we started following a beautiful river on a smooth and rolling road. we got into a little groove for a while as we admired the wide but shallow river half shrouded in a gorgeous mist, complete with fly fishermen enjoying a relaxing day on the river. at the end of that road was the first rest stop.

that might be the last smile on JD's face for a while. up a little climb:

across the river on a small foot bridge:

and we start going up the day's two biggest climbs. some people were still having fun:

(the lady on the right, whose name i neglected to get, would end up being the only reason i managed to finish) JD was starting to feel way rough at that point, his quads kept threatening to cramp, but he soldiered on. the road was steep.

Craig (if i'm not mistaken) had the legs to outsprint us at the sight of a camera:

at that point the forecasted scattered thunderstorms were moving in. distant thunder could be heard and the air was moist as could be.

we made it over the first big climb, and as we were nearing its bottom, JD got a flat. he's running tubeless tires, so we add a little air and hope the stan's will seal it up. ride on for a little bit, but no seal is made. throw a tube in the tire, and we hit the second big climb. JD is hating life at this point. i try to cheer him up. "at least it's not raining." he struggles to the top of the climb, we head down and finally hit some pavement. the rain starts. the road starts heading up a little and his quads lock up on him. he tells me to go on without him. i hate to leave a man behind, but there's nothing i can do at this point. i push on trying to salvage my day. i make it to the second rest stop. it's pouring at that point. lightning and thunder. Hillbilly's there and lets us know we can either go on for 25-30 miles of more pain, or take the easier and much shorter way back to camp. some folks opt for the later, i remind myself of my cycling mantra: i can always quit later. on i go.

i'm not feeling that bad after a little food at the rest stop, but my bike is in a world of pain. my bottom bracket has had enough of this shit. every pedal stroke lets out an ominous crunching sound. a couple steep but relatively short paved climbs sap what little strength i have left. my body feels like my bike. crunch crunch crunch, pain pain pain. i catch up to the afore-mentioned lady who had passed us during JD's flat incident. at least i'm not alone in this. some more dirt climbs that feel twice as bad as the two big climbs between the two rest stops, then back to pavement for a bit. at that point i see Eddie, the sweeper truck driver i'd spent the afternoon with the year before, heading my way. he stops and asks me how i'm doing. i'm barely doing. he had just driven JD back to the finish and was looking for the last rider left. i tell him there's one girl behind me and that i'd probably be seeing him again soon. i hit another mean paved climb, at the end of which it's back to dirt. at that transition, i stop. i have nothing left. i'm 50 miles in and can't see how i can possibly finish. then i hear the sound of a diesel coming up. it's Eddie following my last partner in suffering. i could quit at this point, but that wouldn't get me to the finish any faster, since i'd be keeping Eddie company while following the day's last trooper. so i go on and catch up to my fellow rider. we're slowly making our way up and down the last dirt road of the day. we have a little chat, which does wonders for my spirits and takes my mind off the pain in my legs and the emptiness of my tank. i try to keep up but can't every time the road heads up. luckily there's a few downhill sections where i make up time. we finally get to the intersection with the benton-mckaye hiking trail, which i'd seen the day before on a little spin we took. i know there's only a couple easy miles left to the finish. i'm gonna make it after all. down the hill, we hit pavement, a little more conversation and we get to the finish. i proudly take last, something i'd jokingly mentioned the day before, grab a beer, hit the showers, and enjoy a nice warm meal prepared for us in the cafeteria. here's JD in the blue jacket and fellow grinders happy to be done with the day's riding.

i couldn't have asked for a better weekend: good people, a beautiful setting, pre-race partying, and just short of six and a half hours of suffering. mr. rogers ended up getting second, only because he took a wrong turn and added a couple miles to his day. shit happens. JD experienced a painful initiation in gravel grinding. we'll all be back in july for round two of the series. maybe you'll join us?

here's my gps of the ride. all pictures courtesy of Hillbilly, used with permission.

that might be the last smile on JD's face for a while. up a little climb:

across the river on a small foot bridge:

and we start going up the day's two biggest climbs. some people were still having fun:

Craig (if i'm not mistaken) had the legs to outsprint us at the sight of a camera:

at that point the forecasted scattered thunderstorms were moving in. distant thunder could be heard and the air was moist as could be.

here's my gps of the ride. all pictures courtesy of Hillbilly, used with permission.

Big Day for Old Dopers to Retire

2013-05-20T20:37:48Z

First it was Ale Jet, checking out mid season... What's up with that? We ask, eyebrows raised... something's going to happen... It also seems like there was another of the ancien regime that sulked toward Bethlehem just before Ale Jet, but I forgot who and the google is not helping.

Then this morning, it's Mench limping toward the exit, pointing at his knee..

Now, this afternoon, it's Levi's turn, not being able to pick up a ride for 'his' tour the #ATOC, he sagely decides to call it a day.

I don't know what's up with all these retirements from the old guard, but I don't believe in coincidence. Something' up out there and as we get closer to the TdF season the likely hood of a headline grabbing operacion only grows.

Then this morning, it's Mench limping toward the exit, pointing at his knee..

Now, this afternoon, it's Levi's turn, not being able to pick up a ride for 'his' tour the #ATOC, he sagely decides to call it a day.

Jens Almost Visits the Giro

2013-05-20T11:09:56Z

Above: Jens disguised as the Belgian National Champion.

I last saw Jens hitch-hiking holding a "Geneva Airport" sign. Hopefully he makes his flight back to the land of Eurovision.

Originally, his 3 day visit to the French Alps was planned as a chance to watch the Giro high atop a gloriously snow covered Galibier. But atrocious weather and news that the stage would either be cancelled or shortened - and regardless - inconvenient for fans-with-bikes meant a change of plans.

So while I cancelled our Galibier hotel and my French friends said they wouldn't be caught dead outside on a bike, I simultaneously told Jens that everything would be "fine" and we would have "fun."

Our adventures:

DAY 1 - Mont Salève

"Who could arrest a creature capable of scaling the overhanging sides of Mont Saleve?" - Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

I told Jens that we wouldn't be the first monsters to cycle my home mountain - recently included on Le Cycle magazine's 50 most beautiful climbs. Managing 3 cols, I made sure Jens earned his moelleux au chocolat cake at the summit.

My wife throughly enjoyed the evening's entertainment. Watching 1980's hair-band videos with two bald guys. We're pretty crazy here.

Day 2

The weather was holding, and it was time to see some snowy Alps.

Our primary goal was to climb the beautiful Col de la Croix Fry which will be the final climb in the toughest 2013 Tour de France stage. But whereas pros like Laurens ten Dam have been training up the direct route, I first took Jens up and over the hyper steep and little known Col de Plan Bois:

We descended and joined the top two thirds of the Croix Fry route. One of the more beautiful climbs I know. Jens attacking:

The storms were still in the distance, so we added a quick detour to Col des Aravis --- into a strong headwind.

It can look a tiny bit like the dolomites here:

This was perhaps a climb too far for our Swedish hero as he proceeded to collapse at the summit.

A friend upon seeing this photo: "who's the dead guy?"

I left Jens snoring at the Col sign and had a nice hot lunch and a beer. After I had eaten I found Jens at the local gift shop shopping for cow skins. Hmmmmm.

Saturday's evening entertainment? Eurovision song contest ! My wife and I liked Malta (OK my wife won't read this: I liked Denmark!). I believe we accounted for 20% of the nearly 900 comments on the very fun Podium Café live Eurovision thread.

Jens didn't like Norway's act:

Comment thread:

Will: "yikes, Jens is throwing fish at my TV"

Jens: "Bland"

Jens: "can't dance"

Jens: "she is worst ever, ~~fucking~~ Norwegians"

I think it was the beer talking though

Day 3

We had wanted to be up Galibier. So in sympathy we decided to get cold and wet, and ever so briefly sleeted on.

We cycled up to the Monument National à la Resistance at Plateau des Glières. Home to perhaps the most famous memorial to the French Resistance (WW2). It was on my list of top climbs that the Tour de France ignores but shouldn't.

The climb to Col des Glières can be steep:

At the summit was a well-attended ceremony to the resistance. Behind a cold Jens (below) is the Monument. It's bigger than it looks and a museum inside. I think it is supposed to represent a bird flying past the sun --- and not a round-headed guy waving.

In Summary

On a weekend when I would have usually curled up by the fire, Jens managed to cycle up 7 Cols, making the best of some poor weather. Chapeau.

I have a feeling he may be a little tired and sitting down a lot this week:

Above: Jens disguised as the Belgian National Champion.

I last saw Jens hitch-hiking holding a "Geneva Airport" sign. Hopefully he makes his flight back to the land of Eurovision.

So while I cancelled our Galibier hotel and my French friends said they wouldn't be caught dead outside on a bike, I simultaneously told Jens that everything would be "fine" and we would have "fun."

Our adventures:

DAY 1 - Mont Salève

"Who could arrest a creature capable of scaling the overhanging sides of Mont Saleve?" - Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

My wife throughly enjoyed the evening's entertainment. Watching 1980's hair-band videos with two bald guys. We're pretty crazy here.

Day 2

The weather was holding, and it was time to see some snowy Alps.

We descended and joined the top two thirds of the Croix Fry route. One of the more beautiful climbs I know. Jens attacking:

The storms were still in the distance, so we added a quick detour to Col des Aravis --- into a strong headwind.

It can look a tiny bit like the dolomites here:

This was perhaps a climb too far for our Swedish hero as he proceeded to collapse at the summit.

A friend upon seeing this photo: "who's the dead guy?"

I left Jens snoring at the Col sign and had a nice hot lunch and a beer. After I had eaten I found Jens at the local gift shop shopping for cow skins. Hmmmmm.

Jens didn't like Norway's act:

Comment thread:

Will: "yikes, Jens is throwing fish at my TV"

Jens: "Bland"

Jens: "can't dance"

Jens: "she is worst ever, ~~fucking~~ Norwegians"

I think it was the beer talking though

Day 3

We had wanted to be up Galibier. So in sympathy we decided to get cold and wet, and ever so briefly sleeted on.

The climb to Col des Glières can be steep:

In Summary

On a weekend when I would have usually curled up by the fire, Jens managed to cycle up 7 Cols, making the best of some poor weather. Chapeau.

I have a feeling he may be a little tired and sitting down a lot this week:

GIRO STAGE PREDICTOR GAME: Stage 16

2013-05-19T12:08:53Z

Results Stage 15

Nobody picked Visconti today, but rmeloa had the next 3 to take the solo stage win. A second stage win for rmeloa, this time won in absentia with picks made 48 hours ago!

Seahorse keeps hammering us with solid points every day to maintain a good lead in the cappello rosa competition. Can she maintain this form into the third week? rmeloa's stage win takes him into second place overall.

Stage 156

Tuesday 21st May

Valloire - Ivrea 238km

Published start time 11:10 CET
DEADLINE WILL BE ACTUAL START TIME IF CHANGED

Roadbook
Mixed stage. Short climb of the Col du Télégraphe at the start, then descent followed by long false flat before the Col du Montcenis. Long, fast and ‘pedalable’ descent to Susa, where a 40 km section of false flat begins along a wide and straight road. The next stretch is twisting, characterised by short climbs and descents and passages through towns and villages (bottle necks, roundabouts, traffic islands). Passage through Ivrea beside the finish line, and 36 km circuit with an abrupt ramp at Andrate (gradients up to 12%) followed by a technical descent with sections of narrow road. Final 8 km mostly flat.

Stage profile

Col du Mont Cenis
Cat 1a - 9.8km @7.0% - GPM @173km from finish

36km finishing circuit

Andrate
Cat 3a - 6.3km @8.1% - GPM @ 18km from finish.

FInal kilometers

Roadbook
Final 8 km mostly flat. Short descent 2 km from the finish line with a turning point on a narrow bridge. Final curve 1.100 m from the finish line. Finishing straight 1.100 m. Road width 7.5 m, surfaced with asphalt.

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)

Rules

Pick 4 riders for the stage, the order of your picks doesn't matter. All your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favorites. See below for scoring details.

Scoring

The top 10 finishers score points according to this basic scale from race winner down to 10th place:

100-60-50-40-30-25-20-15-10-5

For example, here's the result from Stage 1:

Results Stage 15

Nobody picked Visconti today, but rmeloa had the next 3 to take the solo stage win. A second stage win for rmeloa, this time won in absentia with picks made 48 hours ago!

Stage 156

Tuesday 21st May

Valloire - Ivrea 238km

Published start time 11:10 CET
DEADLINE WILL BE ACTUAL START TIME IF CHANGED

Stage profile

Col du Mont Cenis
Cat 1a - 9.8km @7.0% - GPM @173km from finish

36km finishing circuit

Andrate
Cat 3a - 6.3km @8.1% - GPM @ 18km from finish.

FInal kilometers

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)

Rules

Pick 4 riders for the stage, the order of your picks doesn't matter. All your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favorites. See below for scoring details.

Scoring

The top 10 finishers score points according to this basic scale from race winner down to 10th place:

100-60-50-40-30-25-20-15-10-5

For example, here's the result from Stage 1:

Maglia Rosso Passione potential outcomes

2013-05-19T10:42:03Z

With just 4 Mountain stages, 1 ITT and 2 "Flat" stages remaining I thought I'd try and work out how the Maglia Rosso Passione standings might work out.

I've looked at the current top 6 who are probably the only realistic contenders.
Current Standings

1 Mark Cavendish 109

2 Cadel Evans 83

3 Mauro Santambrogio 77

4 Elia Viviani 72

5 Rigoberto Urán 65

6 Vincenzo Nibali 65

Obviously Cav has taken 25 points on each stage where he has contested the sprint, so lets assume he wins again in Brescia on stage 21. We'll be generous and assume Viviani comes second.

Placings on Mountain and TT stages:

Evans: 2 6 6 7 5 5 - 6

Santambroglio 4 15 4 - 8 4 - 1

Uran 14 4 - 12 - 1 - 5

Nibali - 13 - 4 10 3 - 2

The 4 GC contenders have averaged 8-10 points each on Mountain and TT stages. So we'll give each of them 50 points.

Potential Standings

1 Mark Cavendish 134

2 Cadel Evans 133

3 Mauro Santambrogio 127

4 Rigoberto Urán 115

5 Vincenzo Nibali 115

6 Elia Viviani 92

As you can see this produces a very close table.

The 3 further deciding factors are likely to be:

Stage 17 to Vicenza. If Cav can make it over the Cat 4 climb and win this stage I'd make him a strong favourite to win the jersey.

Breakaways. The 10 points per stage average for GC contenders has included a couple where the top places were contested by the break. If no more breaks make it to the end of a stage your money would be on Evans or Santambroglio to win the jersey.

Intermediate sprint points. Cav has only picked up 9 points here so far. With the other sprinters out of contention there may be opportunities for him to pick up a few more points this way. It will be interesting to see if the likes of Blythe and Rabottini are asked to contest the sprints against him.

1 Mark Cavendish 109

2 Cadel Evans 83

3 Mauro Santambrogio 77

4 Elia Viviani 72

5 Rigoberto Urán 65

6 Vincenzo Nibali 65

Obviously Cav has taken 25 points on each stage where he has contested the sprint, so lets assume he wins again in Brescia on stage 21. We'll be generous and assume Viviani comes second.

Placings on Mountain and TT stages:

Evans: 2 6 6 7 5 5 - 6

Santambroglio 4 15 4 - 8 4 - 1

Uran 14 4 - 12 - 1 - 5

Nibali - 13 - 4 10 3 - 2

The 4 GC contenders have averaged 8-10 points each on Mountain and TT stages. So we'll give each of them 50 points.

Potential Standings

1 Mark Cavendish 134

2 Cadel Evans 133

3 Mauro Santambrogio 127

4 Rigoberto Urán 115

5 Vincenzo Nibali 115

6 Elia Viviani 92

As you can see this produces a very close table.

The 3 further deciding factors are likely to be:

Stage 17 to Vicenza. If Cav can make it over the Cat 4 climb and win this stage I'd make him a strong favourite to win the jersey.

Dylan van Baarle signs with Garmin-Sharp

2013-05-18T19:07:25Z

On the day where Dylan van Baarle wrapped up his 2nd straight Olympia's Tour crown, it was announced that the Dutchman signed a neo-pro deal with the Garmin-Sharp World Tour team for 2014-15 seasons. He will be joining a strong Dutch contingent on the team that includes (as of now) the Kreder brother Michel and Raymond, Thomas Dekker and Martijn Maaskant. He is also the 2nd Rabobank Development rider this season to sign with a World Tour team after Daan Olivier signed with Argos-Shimano earlier this year.

Dylan van Baarle (20) will ride for UCI World Tour Team Garmin-Sharp next year. The U23 rider signed a 2-years deal with @vaughters. — SEG Cycling (@SEGcycling) May 18, 2013

This is another great signing by the Garmin-Sharp team, who over the past few years have snapped up some of the top U23 talent by signing riders in past years such as Cameron Meyer (now GreenEdge), Jack Bobridge (now Blanco), Ramunas Navardauskas and Rohan Dennis. Van Baarle, while untested in any big mountains, has shown himself on hilly courses, pan-flat stages and time trials of all sorts and as of now, is Espoirs Central #1 U23 so far this season.

Van Baarle was a sensation last year with 4 wins, two of which came in TTs, but experienced a hard fall last year and broke his acetabulum, the concave area on the base of the pelvis where the femur head meets the hip. This set back ended his season and I, for one, thought he would be a slow starter this year. I couldn't have been any more wrong.

Van Baarle won two early races in a row, the Ster van Zwolle and Dorpenomloop Rucphen, in commanding fashion as he broke away both times for wins. Then he went on to 3rd overall at the Tour de Normandie even after an unlucky prologue in the rain, 8th overall in Triptyque Monts et Chateaux after a breakaway took time on a stage and then 4th overall at the Tour de Bretagne, where he won the TT and then made the decisive split on the final stage. He also rode in the Ronde van Vlaanderen Nations Cup, where he was active near the front and made the front splits to finish 30th in the lead group. Van Baarle has capped his season to date with his impressive Olympia's Tour win, which you can read about in previous Espoirs Central posts.

After a commanding win on the grueling stage 4 in Limburg in the Olympia's Tour, it only seems fitting that van Baarle would capture a big contract. Through this year so far, he has 5 UCI wins and that number should only continue to rise as the season progresses. Hats off to Jonathan Vaughters and Garmin-Sharp for this smart signing.

If you want to follow Dylan on twitter, he is @dylanvanbaarle

This is a post from my blog, Espoirs Central. You can go here to read about U23 and amateur cycling and many of the names that you will see shortly in bigger pro events. Also, you can follow me on Twitter @Vlaanderen90

Dylan van Baarle (20) will ride for UCI World Tour Team Garmin-Sharp next year. The U23 rider signed a 2-years deal with @vaughters. — SEG Cycling (@SEGcycling) May 18, 2013

If you want to follow Dylan on twitter, he is @dylanvanbaarle

Eurovision live thread!!!

2013-05-18T16:30:21Z

In less than three hours time, it'll be one of the greatest European traditions ever known.... the Eurovision Song Contest!!! This is where Europe, and some nearby countries who REALLY wanted to play, comes together, united in song. And to celebrate the joys of our mutual love of ridiculous costumes, brilliantly bonkers dance routines and unashamedly political block voting, let's crack open the nastiest booze we can find (or not, if you don't want to!), and, for anyone not at some debauched Eurovision party, have a livethread. What could possibly go wrong?

So, this year it's in Malmö, Sweden (and can you believe Jens left the country, rather than travel half an hour to watch this live?) and it starts at 21:00 CEST, which is 8pm British time, 3pm USA Eastern, midday USA Pacific, and I guess some ungodly hour in the morning for the Aussies, although they should be able to wake up in time for the voting. I'm disappointed the competition has expanded so much that the really awful entries are weeded out in early rounds, but I'm sure there'll be mayhem aplenty. There are usually livefeeds to the BBC coverage knocking about the internet - and you can find more information than you dreamed of on the official website. I can't wait!

Poll

Who should win Eurovision?

Armenia

0 votes

Azerbaijan

0 votes

Belarus

0 votes

Belgium

0 votes

Denmark

2 votes

Estonia

0 votes

Finland

3 votes

France

0 votes

Georgia

0 votes

Germany

1 votes

Greece

3 votes

Hungary

0 votes

Iceland

0 votes

Ireland

0 votes

Italy

1 votes

Lithuania

0 votes

Malta

2 votes

Moldova

0 votes

Netherlands

1 votes

Norway

0 votes

Romania

3 votes

Russia

0 votes

Spain

0 votes

Sweden

0 votes

Ukraine

0 votes

United Kingdom

0 votes

16 votes | Poll has closed

GIRO STAGE PREDICTOR GAME: Stage 15

2013-05-18T10:54:37Z

Results Stage 14

Of the favorites, Santambrogio was the key pick today; and of the outsiders, Sanchez. As the only player with both these riders, dallsopp emerged from the mist to take the solo stage win.

Stage 14 top 10:

Seahorse holds her lead in the cappello rosa competition. Can the chasers exploit the uncertainlty over tomorrow's stage to close the gap?

Stage 15

Sunday 19th May

Cesana Torinese - Col du Galibier 149km 145km

Given the uncertainty over stage 15, and the possibility of multiple changes, I will take the deadline to be the moment that they actually roll out, rather than any preannounced time.

Roadbook
Short Alpine stage with two climbs in excess of 25 km. Descent from the stage start to Susa, where a ‘pedalable’ climb starts up the Colle del Moncenisio (25.7 km, 1.600 m gain in vertical height). Long descent interrupted by the short climb to Aussois (intermediate sprint). From St. Michel de Maurienne, ~~35 km~~ 31km climb to the Col du Galibier, broken by the short descent to Valloire after the Col du Télégraphe.

Original stage profile. Current plan is to ride all but last 4.25km.

Col du Mont Cenis
Cat 1a - 25.7km @6.2% - GPM @ ~~90km~~ 86km from finish

Col du Telegraphe
Cat 2a - 11.9km @7.2% - GPM @ ~~23km~~ 19km from finish
Col du Galibier
Cat 1a - ~~18.1km @6.8%~~ 13.8km @6.4%

Original profile. Current plan is to omit last 4.25km.

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)

Rules

Pick 4 riders for the stage, the order of your picks doesn't matter. All your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favorites. See below for scoring details.

Scoring

The top 10 finishers score points according to this basic scale from race winner down to 10th place:

100-60-50-40-30-25-20-15-10-5

For example, here's the result from Stage 1:

Results Stage 14

Of the favorites, Santambrogio was the key pick today; and of the outsiders, Sanchez. As the only player with both these riders, dallsopp emerged from the mist to take the solo stage win.

Stage 14 top 10:

Seahorse holds her lead in the cappello rosa competition. Can the chasers exploit the uncertainlty over tomorrow's stage to close the gap?

Stage 15

Sunday 19th May

Cesana Torinese - Col du Galibier 149km 145km

Given the uncertainty over stage 15, and the possibility of multiple changes, I will take the deadline to be the moment that they actually roll out, rather than any preannounced time.

Original stage profile. Current plan is to ride all but last 4.25km.

Col du Mont Cenis
Cat 1a - 25.7km @6.2% - GPM @ ~~90km~~ 86km from finish

Col du Telegraphe
Cat 2a - 11.9km @7.2% - GPM @ ~~23km~~ 19km from finish
Col du Galibier
Cat 1a - ~~18.1km @6.8%~~ 13.8km @6.4%

Original profile. Current plan is to omit last 4.25km.

Useful links

Download "Garibaldi" official roadbook (huge file 92Mb)