for news and discussion of professional cycling
First rest day of the Giro d'Italia, what's on your mind and what have you been watching? It doesn't have to be Giro-related, Itzulia Women and Tour de Hongrie just wrapped up too. Heck, if you want to talk gravel or MTB, that's cool, I hear Lucinda Brand is tearing it up on gravel, and the MTB World Cup is still going on in Brazil.
Visma's injury luck is pretty lousy this year, with WVA out on injury prior to the Giro, and now his replacement, Christophe Laporte, withdrawing after that bad crash on Stage 5. I know it's weird to think of Visma as an underdog in anything, but I was glad for Olav Kooij yesterday, good for him and it's nice to see the young talent stepping up. Also, Cian Uijtdebroeks in the white jersey and sitting in 5th is pretty solid. I hope he can prove himself as they get deeper into the mountains.
Apparently I jinxed it—Visma just announced that Kooij is withdrawing due to fever!
Seriously
Pog is making this race interesting in so many ways. Absolute madlad with that sprint leadout yesterday. Such a great teammate.
Nairoman has been disappointing. I hope he finds his legs in the high mountains
Yeah, I can't even begrudge Pogi for his dominance, he's out there gleefully riding his bike and mixing it up.
Quintana does not look good. Unless he's got some unannounced illness or will settle in, I don't have a lot of hope for his stage-hunting prospects. Plenty of competition there, I'd probably bet on one of the young guns over him at this point.