Tuesday night I skipped the Worlds yet again. While I didn't race, some training actually took place. The neighborhood hills were tackled aggressively as I worked my way down to the Bottoms for some sprint work. Surprisingly, the Bottoms are still flooded when you get closer to Hwy 21. At first I was disappointed but soon realized that the barricades being placed well before the floodwaters gave me free reign of the road with no cars to interfere. After cooking my legs pretty well, I began the trek back home. At the last moment I decided to drag my butt up Hagemann and the rollers on Keller.
Random observation: Mr. White 4WD Ford Explorer Guy, the low profile tires on your truck look very stupid.
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Personally, I have found this year's Giro has been very entertaining. There has been no lack of aggressive riding and the very nature of the stages has brought the GC contenders into play from the very start.
Compare the the first week to ten days of this year's Giro to the typical, formulaic Tour de France. The Giro had a 4km uphill finish at the end of a very up and down Stage 2. The Tour has its first uphill finish on Stage 6 this year and that is considered early in the race. Up until then, you will have many pictures of sunflowers and horses running along the road.
Friday's stage ends in the town of Cittadella. The stage is pancake flat so it will be a big sprint. Despite my complaining in the last paragraph, I don't mind flat stages. They have their place in the Grand Tours. The problem comes with putting five or six of them in a row at the start of racr. B O R I N G! But, I digress. Cittadella sits on the flat plains located between Venice and Verona and maybe 20km due south of Bassano del Grappa. Bassano sits at the base of the mountains and was our first stop of last year's trip to Italy.
Our first full day of riding had the group do a bowtie shaped route around the hills that surround Bassano to the east and west. After reaching Marostica, Giuseppe and I skipped the last little leg back to Bassano and opted to venture out on our own to see Cittadella. We did okay navigating around completely mysterious roads despite a missed turn or two. As I noted earlier, the roads are VERY flat in this area. As flat as the roads are, it took a while to actually see the town of Cittadella. That is surprising because of the massive walls that completely surround the old town.
From what I have read, the course is supposed to circumnavigate the walled section of town before a short loop north of town. It should provide for some nice video. Too bad we won't see it unless you watch on the 'net or a posted video.
Speaking of video, here are the finishes from the last several days.
Giro - Stage 10
Giro - Stage 11
Giro - Stage 12
Random observation: Mr. White 4WD Ford Explorer Guy, the low profile tires on your truck look very stupid.
-----------------------
Personally, I have found this year's Giro has been very entertaining. There has been no lack of aggressive riding and the very nature of the stages has brought the GC contenders into play from the very start.
Compare the the first week to ten days of this year's Giro to the typical, formulaic Tour de France. The Giro had a 4km uphill finish at the end of a very up and down Stage 2. The Tour has its first uphill finish on Stage 6 this year and that is considered early in the race. Up until then, you will have many pictures of sunflowers and horses running along the road.
Friday's stage ends in the town of Cittadella. The stage is pancake flat so it will be a big sprint. Despite my complaining in the last paragraph, I don't mind flat stages. They have their place in the Grand Tours. The problem comes with putting five or six of them in a row at the start of racr. B O R I N G! But, I digress. Cittadella sits on the flat plains located between Venice and Verona and maybe 20km due south of Bassano del Grappa. Bassano sits at the base of the mountains and was our first stop of last year's trip to Italy.
Our first full day of riding had the group do a bowtie shaped route around the hills that surround Bassano to the east and west. After reaching Marostica, Giuseppe and I skipped the last little leg back to Bassano and opted to venture out on our own to see Cittadella. We did okay navigating around completely mysterious roads despite a missed turn or two. As I noted earlier, the roads are VERY flat in this area. As flat as the roads are, it took a while to actually see the town of Cittadella. That is surprising because of the massive walls that completely surround the old town.
From what I have read, the course is supposed to circumnavigate the walled section of town before a short loop north of town. It should provide for some nice video. Too bad we won't see it unless you watch on the 'net or a posted video.
Speaking of video, here are the finishes from the last several days.
Giro - Stage 10
Giro - Stage 11
Giro - Stage 12
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