# The Giro 2014 - Stage Six - Spoiler Alert



## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

​
Well, it's been said before and I'll say it again - this is the Giro and anything can happen.

And it did.

Thanks to a crash in a roundabout, the GC certainly looks different than anyone could have predicted. Here's where we now stand:

2. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC +21
3. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Omega Pharma-QuickStep +1:18
4. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo +1:25
11. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar +2:08
60. Joaquim Rodríguez (Spa) Katusha +9:40
80. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Tinkoff-Saxo +15:55

Certainly looks like J-Rod and Roche are out of it.
Cadel is in the cat-seat and Uran, Majka and Quintana will have to play catch-up to the wily old veteran and his BMC team who will defend this position fiercely. Not impossible that one of these young guns could beat Evans - just as fate played Evans a good hand today, it could play him a bad hand on the next stage - but it will be an exciting battle.

The game has changed - now the Giro begins!


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

Heckuva job by Steve Morabito on the climb. I was surprised that neither Quintana nor Uran appeared on the front of the chasing group. Quintana's Movistar teammates pegged it back to 25 seconds, but then they blew up and with everyone looking at each other, Morabito and Evans piled 15 seconds back on.

That was a bad crash. Brajkovic took an amazing tumble into the barriers. Took forever for the ambulance to get to Giampaolo Caruso. Saw a story that he may have a _frattura al femore_, which is truly terrible. But given how immobile he was after the crash and the neck stabilizer they put on him before loading him in the ambulance, still somewhat of a relief.


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## dnice (Jul 12, 2012)

i like cadel, but i don't think that was a sporting act today on his part. i'm not quite sure if it even violates protocol or not, but just didn't feel right to me.


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## Fireform (Dec 15, 2005)

His team kept him to the front for a very good reason. Conditions were obviously very slick and a crash was no surprise. The other GC teams didn't take as much care with their leaders and they paid the price for it. That's racing. The shoe could be on the other foot tomorrow.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Fireform said:


> His team kept him to the front for a very good reason. Conditions were obviously very slick and a crash was no surprise. The other GC teams didn't take as much care with their leaders and they paid the price for it. That's racing. The shoe could be on the other foot tomorrow.


Crashes are no surprise by themselves...but seriously shouldn't there be Carabinieri or someone flagging all the traffic furniture that keeps causing crashes? Back in Ireland, Kelly/Hatsch even noticed it...but it seems to be continuing which implies that the Giro is understaffed in terms of traffic safety guys this year.

I too kinda think it was not a classy thing to do to drive on the race like Cadel did. I get why he did it and it is racing...but still with the radios in their ear they knew that Caruso and a bunch of guys were hospital bound and just drove it anyway.


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## harlond (May 30, 2005)

dnice said:


> i like cadel, but i don't think that was a sporting act today on his part. i'm not quite sure if it even violates protocol or not, but just didn't feel right to me.


Sean Kelly's view was the race was on when the crash occurred, so it was OK for Cadel to continue riding. It might be unsporting, and would violate the unwritten rule, if Cadel had attacked immediately after the crash, but I was watching and I didn't see any evidence of that. He doesn't have to wait for people; no one waited for Cadel that time traffic and other stuff kept him from getting a wheel change for like three minutes. At some point, the race is back on and people race. That's how it seemed to me.


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## Old Man (Apr 8, 2012)

i thought I heard something different from Kelly until later on and closer to the finish. It seems like he basically appeased every camp with his comments.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Purito Rodriguez is out

GC contender Rodriguez abandons Giro after stage 6 crash - VeloNews.com


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## Chainstay (Mar 13, 2004)

Suppose it wasn't Cadel but say Hesjedal or Cataldo. Would you expect them to sit up or would you expect them to race their bikes. Because Cadel is going well right now I don't see why he should trade in the advantages that his team earns for him just to be some kind of jaunty sportsman. That's not bike racing.


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## Old Man (Apr 8, 2012)

Butt-head move or not, it screwed my fantasy team! I personally feel they should have sat up, given past history - including this race. Far too many karma points flushed...


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

All this "they should have sat up" "Bad Karma" stuff is bullshit. The race was on everyone knew it and EVERYONE had a chance to get up there (its why you have teams). BMC was at the front everyone saw them moving into position all the crashes happened after the pace had been picked up, if you want to blame someone blame the race org for picking those roads. 

Also if you have you team up there driving and everyone working hard to make it hard then you hear someone has crashed (doubt they knew who or what right away) when do you sit up? I mean you expending the energy to get up there you expended the energy to make it hard (hoping to catch folks out of position), at what point do you decide that "oh someone had an issue lets stop racing then"?

Also everyone knows that Evan wins overalls by chipping away day by day - he can climb but he is more of a power climber and not a super climber on the long steep climbs so he goes for small gains anywhere he can get them and maintains what he can get.

Kind of refreshing to see someone do something different from time to time.


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## penn_rider (Jul 11, 2009)

32and3cross said:


> All this "they should have sat up" "Bad Karma" stuff is bullshit. The race was on everyone knew it and EVERYONE had a chance to get up there (its why you have teams). BMC was at the front everyone saw them moving into position all the crashes happened after the pace had been picked up, if you want to blame someone blame the race org for picking those roads.
> 
> Also if you have you team up there driving and everyone working hard to make it hard then you hear someone has crashed (doubt they knew who or what right away) when do you sit up? I mean you expending the energy to get up there you expended the energy to make it hard (hoping to catch folks out of position), at what point do you decide that "oh someone had an issue lets stop racing then"?
> 
> ...


Dude, chill a bit. I said it was my personal view, not what everyone has to do...


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

penn_rider said:


> Dude, chill a bit. I said it was my personal view, not what everyone has to do...


ehm first post by penn_rider


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## penn_rider (Jul 11, 2009)

den bakker said:


> ehm first post by penn_rider


LoL,, true. Mixing up same convos is not a great idea...


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

LostViking said:


> View attachment 295489​
> Well, it's been said before and I'll say it again - this is the Giro and anything can happen.
> 
> And it did.
> ...


FIFY.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

penn_rider said:


> Dude, chill a bit. I said it was my personal view, not what everyone has to do...


Im not sure I was responding to you. Still thats my personal view as well.


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## Uncle Jam's Army (Aug 1, 2006)

I'm sure Cadel was quite grateful that Wiggo had the front group wait for Cadel when he punctured in the 2012 Tour due to some tacks thrown on the road. Even Big George thanked Wiggo for the gesture of good sportsmanship. Too bad Cadel couldn't reciprocate the good sportsmanship.


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## johnny dollar (Jul 21, 2010)

Uncle Jam's Army said:


> I'm sure Cadel was quite grateful that Wiggo had the front group wait for Cadel when he punctured in the 2012 Tour due to some tacks thrown on the road. Even Big George thanked Wiggo for the gesture of good sportsmanship. Too bad Cadel couldn't reciprocate the good sportsmanship.


Crashes are a normal aspect of the sport which makes positioning essential. Tacks strewn about the road by some irate azzhole is deliberate sabotage which the riders understood and sat up out of solidarity (though they didn't _have_ to).


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

Uncle Jam's Army said:


> I'm sure Cadel was quite grateful that Wiggo had the front group wait for Cadel when he punctured in the 2012 Tour due to some tacks thrown on the road. Even Big George thanked Wiggo for the gesture of good sportsmanship. Too bad Cadel couldn't reciprocate the good sportsmanship.


tacks are sabotage.... it's very different


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## Uncle Jam's Army (Aug 1, 2006)

spdntrxi said:


> tacks are sabotage.... it's very different


Sorry, but that's hindsight revisionist hindsight. Do you really think the racers on the road knew instantaneously that it was sabotage? I think not. Wiggins just knew Evans had flatted and that it would be unsportsmanlike, in his opinion, to take advantage of Evans' mechanical/flat.


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## johnny dollar (Jul 21, 2010)

Uncle Jam's Army said:


> Sorry, but that's 20/20 revisionist hindsight. Do you really think the racers on the road knew instantaneously that it was sabotage? I think not. Wiggins just knew Evans had flatted and that it would be unsportsmanlike, in his opinion, to take advantage of Evans' mechanical/flat.


Wiggins didn't sit up just because only Cadel flatted (Evans actually flatted 3 times in 1km).

"It became very apparent very quickly that something was up, when one or two guys crash it's normal, but when 15 or 16 guys puncture it's clear that something's wrong, I knew straightaway that something had happened," Wiggins said afterwards. Link

What you think now and what Wiggins knew at the time seem quite at odds. Not revisionist in the least.


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## Uncle Jam's Army (Aug 1, 2006)

......nt


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## Uncle Jam's Army (Aug 1, 2006)

johnny dollar said:


> Wiggins didn't sit up just because only Cadel flatted (Evans actually flatted 3 times in 1km).
> 
> "It became very apparent very quickly that something was up, when one or two guys crash it's normal, but when 15 or 16 guys puncture it's clear that something's wrong, I knew straightaway that something had happened," Wiggins said afterwards. Link
> 
> What you think now and what Wiggins knew at the time seem quite at odds. Not revisionist in the least.


So you're using post-race quotes to support a rider's near instantaneous decision to wait for his nearest rival? Do you really view the actions of Wiggins and Evans on the same level in terms of sportsmanship in these two instances?

Oh, and by the way, instead of "15 or 16 guys puncturing," there were at least 40 riders who hit the deck today, and many more who were delayed.


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## johnny dollar (Jul 21, 2010)

A post-race quote of what Wiggins was thinking _in_ the moment. 

The crux here is that crashes happen in bike racing and is normal. Sabotage is not normal. Laud Wiggins and condemn Evans all you want, it's a race. How you perceive their respective sportsmanship or lack of is entirely your issue.


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## Uncle Jam's Army (Aug 1, 2006)

johnny dollar said:


> A post-race quote of what Wiggins was thinking _in_ the moment.
> 
> The crux here is that crashes happen in bike racing and is normal. Sabotage is not normal. Laud Wiggins and condemn Evans all you want, it's a race. How you perceive their respective sportsmanship or lack of is entirely your issue.


Sorry, but you're reading into Wiggins' calculus much more than what was going through his mind at the exact time he decided to wait for Evans. You're right, however, that we can read into whatever sportsmanship (or lack thereof) Evans exhibited today based on our own sense of fairness.

But, to correct your prior post, about 40 riders hit the ground, but that is not all that was affected. The majority of the field was caught behind the crash, hence only the 9-10 riders who made it through the melee.


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## johnny dollar (Jul 21, 2010)

Uncle Jam's Army said:


> Oh, and by the way, instead of "15 or 16 guys puncturing," there were at least 40 riders who hit the deck today, and many more who were delayed.


On slick roads in southern Italy which doesn't typically get a lot of rain. People complained about stage 4 being neutralized, too. You'll get complaints from all sides.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

As said here, the road went from 4 lanes to 1 basically so it was all about getting up front to avoid the inevitable crash or rubber band at least. BMC and Orica did their job getting up front. MM doesn't see it as an attack, just as part of the race that was bound to happen and was actually planned for in a way.


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## johnny dollar (Jul 21, 2010)

Uncle Jam's Army said:


> *Sorry, but you're reading into Wiggins' calculus much more than what was going through his mind at the exact time he decided to wait for Evans.* You're right, however, that we can read into whatever sportsmanship (or lack thereof) Evans exhibited today based on our own sense of fairness.
> 
> But, *to correct you prior post*, about 40 riders hit the ground, but that is not all that was affected. The majority of the field was caught behind the crash, hence only the 9-10 riders who made it through the melee.


So you must know more about what's going through Wiggins' mind than he.

Needed correcting? Sorry missed that.


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## Uncle Jam's Army (Aug 1, 2006)

johnny dollar said:


> So you must know more about what's going through Wiggin's mind than he.
> 
> Needed correcting? Sorry missed that.


Clearly, you don't see the situations as the same. One where about 15 or 16 riders (including Evans, Wiggins' nearest rival) are affected, and one where all the field except 9-10 riders are affected. Evans benefitted from Wiggins' good sportsmanship, and, according to your logic, Wiggins would have been well within his rights to push the pace and leave Evans behind. Wiggins chose to wait. Evans chose differently. Two different classes of sportsmanship altogether. 

If you think there is a difference justifying both approaches, good on you. I don't see it.


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## johnny dollar (Jul 21, 2010)

I could really see it go either way in both situations. I'd rather not pass judgement on either rider too much since I wasn't there to experience the true context of their unique scenarios.

If you think Cadel is a cad for his decision, that's fine. I personally like both riders.

But sabotage and rain slicked narrowing roads are very different to my mind.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Uncle Jam's Army said:


> Sorry, but you're reading into Wiggins' calculus much more than what was going through his mind at the exact time he decided to wait for Evans.


oh please tell us how you know that. do you live in his brain or were you next to him at the time discussing with him?


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Uncle Jam's Army said:


> If you think there is a difference justifying both approaches, good on you. I don't see it.


Sean Kelly agrees that it was racing and fair so I think I'll go with that.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

Uncle Jam's Army said:


> So you're using post-race quotes to support a rider's near instantaneous decision to wait for his nearest rival?


No it wasn't near instantaneous. It was radioed to him about all the punctures. The commentators were all saying somethings wrong, there can't be all these flats at once, and mentioned how tacks were put on the road in previous Tours. Everyone knew something wasn't right.



Uncle Jam's Army said:


> Sorry, but you're reading into Wiggins' calculus much more than what was going through his mind at the exact time he decided to wait for Evans.


You do realize that Wiggins team car rode up to him, they had a discussion, AND he changed out his bike.



> Sorry, but that's hindsight revisionist hindsight. Do you really think the racers on the road knew instantaneously that it was sabotage?


Absolutely. This was nothing like a crash. Nothing at all and EVERYONE knew it right away.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

I just wonder why Cadel swung wide on the final turn giving Matthews and the rest the shortest line to the finish. Was he conceding the stage?


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