slip slidin' away

what is with the Giro and crashes? I know the first few stages of any grand tour are a bit nervous and you might see a few crashes but it just seems that the Giro goes above and beyond to fill its quota.

As of stage 4 this is the list of riders who are out already due to crashes (not counting all the riders feeling the effects of crashes like Ricco):
Stage 2 DNF: David Zabriskie (Slipstream Chipotle - H30)
Stage 3 DNF: Bradley McGee (Team CSC)
Stage 4 DNS: Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC)

apparently David Millar didn't crash yesterday but got his shoe ripped off in the scrum and had to go looking for it before he could continue.

Unfortunately today was no exception and there was a crash with about 700m or so to go and a Cofidis rider looked like he broke his collarbone. The video of it made me cringe as he must have touched wheels and went sideways almost catching himself before he went over the bars right onto the shoulder.

That kind of brings me to another point, I don't speak Norwegian but the web coverage on NRK has been awesome. I am sure they get the generic feed everyone does but even if that's the case the coverage has been great. You are right in the peloton seeing all the attacks and people shouldering past others, team leaders yelling instructions, just awesome (and you can watch it free).


Massive respect for Cavendish and his first Giro stage win today. He looked to be boxed in on the right with about 400-500m to go and when Bennati went he was able to swing to his left and take it easily. Cavendish kind of reminds me of McEwen with his ego but he more than backs it up with his results.

Finaly if you have any desire to understand the 11 different intergiro competitions check out the article on Cyclingnews and good luck on keeping it all straight

Since it is so early the GC really isn't set so here are the main jersey leaders (they shouldn't have changed today):
Maglia Rosa - Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
Maglia Ciclamino - Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
Maglia Verde - Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
Maglia Bianca - Morris Possoni (Ita) Team High Road

no surprises

so I totally overslept and did not get up until the primavera was over this morning. I attempted to go to read the live coverage recap or watch highlights without learning about the winner in advance.

fat chance

the very first place I went there it was it big bold letters "Cancellara wins Milan-San Remo"

best laid plans and all that.

I was fairly psyched that my new cycling crush, Phillipe Gilbert, was on the podium continuing a tremendous early season. It's funny but now that I have been watching old videos while I ride the trainer, I notice that he seems to be everywhere. And let's face it, how can you not respect someone who just goes for it win or lose all the time.

Personally I think that he has a big win in one of the classics coming up yet this season. Maybe Flanders or maybe one of the Ardennes.


On another note, I am trying to decide if I want to pay for the Cycling TV coverage of the remaining classics and the Giro or not. It's more than I want to spend but I am dying for some live coverage of than the ToC. I have heard mixed things about the coverage and quality so I am really unsure. Guess I will ahve to decide soon though or I will miss the rest of the classics.