Giro d'Italia 2018 - After a tough spring the MN Peloton rides out! [title edited by MNHQ]

[FelicityLemon]

It's that time of year again

www.giroditalia.it/eng/route/

Giro d’ Italia 2018 stages:
Date Route Length Type
1 Fr 4-5 ITT in Jerusalem (isr) 9.7 km ITT (flat)
2 Sa 5-5 Haifa (isr) – Tel Aviv (isr) 167.0 km flat
3 Su 6-5 Be’er Sheva (isr) – Eilat (isr) 229.0 km flat
Mo 7-5 Rest day
4 Tu 8-5 Catania – Catagirone 198.0 km hills
5 We 9-5 Arigento – Santa Ninfa 153.0 km hills
6 Th 10-5 Caltanissetta – Mount Etna 164.0 km mountain finish
7 Fr 11-5 Pizzo – Praia a Mare 159.0 km flat
8 Sa 12-5 Praia a mare – Montevergine di Mercogliano 209.0 km mountain finish
9 Su 13-5 Pesco Sannita – Gran Sasso 225.0 km mountain finish
Mo 14-5 Rest day
10 Tu 15-5 Penne – Gualdo Tadino 239.0 km hills, flat finish
11 We 16-5 Assisi – Osimo 156.0 km hills
12 Th 17-5 Osimo – Imola 214.0 km flat
13 Fr 18-5 Ferrara – Nervesa della Battaglia 180.0 km flat
14 Sa 19-5 San Vito al Tagliamento – Monte Zoncolan 186.0 km mountains
15 Su 20-5 Tolmezzo – Sappada 176.0 km mountains
Ma 21-5 Rest day
16 Tu 22-5 Trento – Rovereto 34.2 km ITT (flat)
17 We 23-5 Riva del Garda – Iseo 155.0 km hills, flat finish
18 Th 24-5 Abbiategrasso – Prato Nevoso 196.0 km mountain finish
19 Fr 25-5 Turin – Monte Jafferau 184.0 km mountains
20 Sa 26-5 Susa – Cervinia 214.0 km mountains
21 Su 27-5 Criterium in Rome 115.0 km flat

www.giroditalia.it/eng/squadra/

Don't forget to enter a team.

www.velogames.com/giro-ditalia/2018/entryform.php

Oooh - hurrah - we are back!

Details for the league
League Owner: FelicityLemon
League Name: MN Peloton
League Code: 319016111

Spread the word Wolef, I PM'd all the Vuelta participants but people may have name changed since then

just checking in, thanks for the message.

Must get team together....am moving house next week so slightly distracted....

Ooh, fantasy cycling. I've never seen this before, but I'll have a go!

Hello everyone

Thanks for the message FelicityLemon.

Will have a look at getting a team together.

I’ve joined the league - thanks @Felicity!

Please ignore the very strange thing that the punctuation did to my team name.

Morning all!

Felicitations, Felicity !

I was going to be working myself up to doing a virtual Grand Depart later this week, so thanks for doing this AND telling us all.
Hardly been on bike this winter. Mixture of really bad weather and the slothfulness that loved up brings. Have put on about one and a half stones...not pretty.

Classics - QS have been putting up a good show haven't they? They are the new Sky.

(me)

I am giving serious (well, semi serious) consideration to getting a bike. Despite having approximately 8.5 bikes in the household, I don't think we have one that is suitable for me (a very very overweight woman who hasn't ridden a bike in years).

However, in the past year, I have been trying to lose a bit of the weight, and I have lost a bit - it is a slow process, but exercise would help, and I am wondering whether to invest in a bike, so I can go for short rides on the local cycle track.

Yes SDTG it IS fabulous for shifting the unwanted weight, isn't it? If there's no hills where you are, a nice heavy, wide-tyred rubbishy bike from gumtree for £50 is your friend, n'est-ce pas?
I yo-yo around usually but at approx 16 stone I need to get back in the saddle. Literally.

Do we know why the thread title was amended by HQ at all?

There was an egregious typo in the title Pan and my inner pedant could't bear the thought of looking at it for 3 weeks.

Oh such a commendable quality in your character! I'd be the same. It would be crushing.

Team done. Very little thought went into it, but it's done.

SDTG - if you get a bike, I'll come for rides with you I know your dh will give you good advice as to the best LBS (probably Dooley's) for you to go to, as they'll be suggest the best bike for you.

Thank you Felicity for messaging me. Really must get my Grand Tour head back on.

Hope the moving thing is as painless as possible, Endo.

Team entered, now we're up to eight. For this velogames my team are from Peru. The lastthing I did prior to leaving the house was to check on a Peruvian lilly in a pot in the garden that is suffering.

Gave it a bit of thought but then kept over-spending. Typical.

Avoided Froome this time. I'd think he is going to get so much merda from all sides, incl peloton people possibly that it will be a distraction for all of the team. Do have a 'dark horse' Jonny Woods from EF Drapac. Though now that I've selected him he will totes bomb - crash out today!

Any opinion on whether Froome should be riding, given his reading? I'm a bit confused about what's actually permitted and what's punishable. Different people say different things at times. A bear of small brain can't keep up!

Mazel Tov!!

I think it's going to be very difficult for Froome to stay focussed, whatever the outcome of the investigation may be. He's already crashed in the practice for the TT.

I think also with so many many moves away from Sky recently they are 'starting again' in some ways which will reduce their ability to ride as a team. Knees and Nieve are still there obv, and they do seem happy to focus on the GC rather than any attempt to pick up stage wins, as a goal.

Surprised at the lack of so many 'big names' on this Giro.

Thanks, @prettybird!

Hope the house move goes well Endo. After I moved to my current place I swore I would only leave in a box so traumatic do I find moving!

As you'll now see I did pick Froome, but only because I thought that if he had the brass neck to show up at the start line he must be in good shape, and I didn't want to jinx Tom by picking him.

Sir Dave is not covering himself in glory either. I have a feeling that once the Disney/Fox merger goes through there may be less appetite to have the Disney name tied to a somewhat hypocritical if not downright shady cycling team. However I refuse to let Sky spoil the best Grand Tour of all. Bring on the gorgeous scenery and cycling exploits in the mountains.

Popping in quickly to say I missed the Velogames deadline, so no team for me this year I meant to do it yesterday evening but didn't get round to it, so I said I'd do it quickly at work this morning but it's been so busy today that I didn't have a spare minute.

I must admit I haven't much of a clue who's riding this year, I've been a bit out of the cycling loop. I don't think I'd have picked Froome, though, tbh.

You're so modest DA. It's just so as give everyone else a chance innit obvs.

I missed the deadline too - I'll just have to play vicariously through you lot

Drat Pan you've rumbled me

Though I seem to remember that my Giro team selections in previous years have been woeful. The TdeF is much more my thing

I'm so out of the loop I didn't even realise the Giro started in Jerusalem until today.

Saw a bit of the tt today in between boxes, I find time trials a bit dull though. Currently watching that other tour that's gone on today. Cow and Calf looking steep!