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Chapter 1: What are the key features of Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia?
Welcome back to the Lantern Rouge Cycling Podcast to recap a stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia from Fai della Paganella to Pieve di Soligo, 171 kilometers long. We have only two categorized climbs, a Cat 3 and a Cat 4, neither of which are the longest climbs of the day. 20Ks into brake formation, we have a 5K 6% climb before two punchy hills, but then it's mostly easy for the rest of the day.
A couple of short hills, nothing really of note.
the main attraction of the day is the muroca del poggio which we had at the start of brake formation of the asiagio stage in stage 15 last year it was like it broke apart the peloton and brake formation then today it's in the final it's 10k from the finish the crest it's 1.1 k's 11 and a half percent with a very steep uh 300 meter stretch in the first uh 500 meters
The key thing about this that I underestimated is there's a descent entry, a pedaling descent entry after an easy stage and then a right-hand narrow turn into this climb. That I think changes what happens on this climb significantly and who survives on this climb.
You're basically saying that positioning is key, right?
Position's key, being able to block it's key, and the people who are going to be in position with a descent pedaling entry, who then have some more gas, are the massive boys.
But I want to bring it back a little bit, because I don't want to talk about this climb yet, because...
were under the impression that this would most likely be a breakaway stage and i feel like in the first hour of this race the peloton felt like they were also of the impression that that would happen we had a a calmer first 15 kilometers i would say on the flat section but then once that first climb started patrick i saw attacks left and right multiple groups starting to form some splits in the peloton etc
And then we get over the climb and it's kind of back together. We get to the next hill, more attacks. We get over that climb, it's kind of back together. Do you think at a certain point the peloton gave up and it resulted in an easy breakaway?
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Chapter 2: How does the Muro del Poggio affect the race dynamics?
Anything can happen. But also adding the fact that the Rome stage is coming, 50 points available there too. I wasn't completely on the boat of like, oh, Ciclamino's completely gone. I was more of the boat of, I'd be shocked if sprinters survived this climb when the punchers hit it on the Murocadio Poggio. Because that's a really hard climb.
But like you said, the positioning to that climb defined everything when it comes to the... the setup of the riders in that group in terms of which riders were positioned at the front, which type of riders were positioned at the front, which teams could be able to position themselves doing that. But again, we'll go back a little bit more. We have that four-man breakaway.
I think Jonas Geins was the last rider present in that and also the last survivor of that breakaway. But I think that Ravais took one point at the intermediate sprint. There was maybe a crash throughout the stage as well by Afonso Elaglio. In the white jersey, he crashed. I think Rob Stennard brought him back to the peloton. Outside of that... I don't think much happened.
I think the next step is to run into the Cadel Poggio climb.
There was an intermediate sprint, so the breakaway got caught. Well, except for Gaines. Did you see what happened with Aaronsman? I didn't, actually. At the intermediate sprint. So the roads, the peloton's blocked. It's a false start uphill. It's blocked. Hindley's not there. Aaronsman's only like... He's not that far behind goal, the seconds, and also he wants to take time.
If time's free, then take it. You mean the Red Bull KOM? The Red Bull KOM. Okay. To give 6-4-2, Haynes takes the six seconds for free on the breakaway. There's four and two seconds available. Take them if you can get them. Decathlon send a rouleur, or maybe Stan admits it, just jumps to take four. Aaronsman's about to beat him. Swift boxes him in.
and then doesn't break and takes the two seconds from Aaronsman, who then goes, what are you doing after the IS?
I'll have to look that back. I missed the Red Bull KOM today. Sorry, Red Bull KM.
The Red Bull KM, which is actually just a sprint at the end of the kilometer.
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Chapter 3: What strategies did teams employ during the breakaway attempts?
And Morgado come position anyway, so...
yeah, like, what is, like, Arrieta and Jan Christen are not going to do this lead out. Where Net Company used Sheffield, Swift, Ghana. Like, they smashed it. Then another team smashes it. We get to... the climb... I'm just looking at the results, by the way. I thought the whole time Trek were going for Chikani. And hand up, I did not believe for a second Milan could survive this.
I didn't believe it.
Chikani lost five... Especially because I expect the peloton to smash it on that climb.
Yeah, I expected the peloton to smash it, but Chikani lost five minutes today. Really? Yeah.
Probably a good thing for KOM battle because the next two days are very important.
Sure, but... I thought, like, what ended up happening was we get to the base of the climb. No one does anything. It was like the climb before the Eichenberg in Omlop. Kortekir. It was like the Kortekir before the Teinberg in E3 because Kubis, Milan, all these sprinters strong get through in P1. They're like, I'm happy here. Let's all ride out. I'm happy. And then you block.
Respect. Respect the man in white. Afonso Ulalio.
I'll get to you in a second though. Because Vigegaard was the only climber there. Did you expect him to... And he was looking like, wow, we are going slow. And the sprinter's like, shut the hell up. Don't do anything. Stay where you are. Like, you can see that going through the head. Jonas, if you move, I'll beat you up. Milan's like, don't move.
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Chapter 4: How did the positioning impact the final climb?
So the stickers on the floor, I think it was like a zebra crossing with 50 meters to go. Super wet, super sketchy. Spoilers, no one crashed. And I'm thanking the cycling gods for that because that could have gone very wrong at the finish there.
The man of the match today is Jasper Sturven. So I was on the phone, I was shouting like, Sturven comes up the rail, he's got to shoot from the back. And he starts to shoot from the back.
Who the fuck are you calling and shouting Sturven to with two kilometers to go?
I was like, Sterven needs to move here. And he moves. He comes from the back. He was behind Manier. Manier was forward.
Patrick on the phone call with his local telecom provider. Stuyven! Stuyven's going on the left!
Legit. NSN had control. Strong was in fourth position. Alar does a crazy dive bomb. Guthrie or Cortina basically dive bombs Alar into a corner, puts him P4, and then has to break to avoid crashing. So he's out of the race. Then, yeah, Sturgeon brings up Manier, but from behind. So he goes up, butt taps Manier. First mistake from Milan, he could have taken Sturgeon's wheel off Manier. Yeah.
He loses this race right there. He has to stay on Sturgeon's wheel. Manier didn't have a right to it.
Is this the exact moment that they all have to slow down a bit because they were stuck behind the NSN rider?
That came later. That came afterwards. Mane gets on the wheel. Then they start to shred. An NSN lead out pulls to the right. Full blocks Sterven. And then the left shoots up. Narvaez moves up on the left. Narvaez loses Ciclamino, this right-hander. So he loses it here. Narvaez had the opportunity here. when that blocking happened, to full go into that corner and move himself into P3.
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