WCS 2023

[Vos]

I find it suspicious as I think the rules don't force you to leave with a Covid positive. Also, he won today so he shouldn't have any symptoms, and tomorrow is rest day, he could have always waited and see how he was after tomorrow. Opinions?

As I understand it from the media ; the rule = positive covid test = immediate forced abandonment of the Giro.
Symptons or not, does not matter to this rule.

By now, already a lot of cyclists are forced out of the Giro due to a positive covid test.
And what a bummer that it happened to GC leader Evenepoel.
Still 2 more weeks to go, and with this average of positive covid tests in the first week, we should expect more "victims"/surprises/bummers.

[Vos]

No stage 5. Final GC after 4 stages =  1st Hirschi 0:00",  2nd Tullet 0:10",  3rd Voisard 0:13"

GC winner = Patrick Kok 
Patrick Kok wins also the sprint- and youth jerseys.
Vlominck wins the mountain jersey.

Solo victory of Reusser.
Her teammate, former GC leader Vollering, won the sprint of the first little group on 2:38"
Final GC =  1st Reusser 0:00",  2nd Vollering 1:50",  3rd Nieuwiadoma 2:59"

CFF League stage 3 winner = Vos 

GC winner = Vos 
Vos wins also the sprint-, mountain-, and youth jerseys.

my update tomorrow, because WCS is not adjusted yet to the latest news.

[ophiuko]

I find it suspicious as I think the rules don't force you to leave with a Covid positive. Also, he won today so he shouldn't have any symptoms, and tomorrow is rest day, he could have always waited and see how he was after tomorrow. Opinions?

As I understand it from the media ; the rule = positive covid test = immediate forced abandonment of the Giro.
Symptons or not, does not matter to this rule.

By now, already a lot of cyclists are forced out of the Giro due to a positive covid test.
And what a bummer that it happened to GC leader Evenepoel.
Still 2 more weeks to go, and with this average of positive covid tests in the first week, we should expect more "victims"/surprises/bummers.

Rigoberto Uran also abandoned due to Covid. Media are reporting that there isn't any rule that forces cyclists to abandon after a positive test. It is up to the team to decide. I don't understand why they didn't wait to see how he felt after the resting journey and maybe even racing on Tuesday. He posted a message just after winning the TT saying that he will be back on Tuesday, so for sure he wasn't feeling sick or having symptoms. He won the stage and got the pink! I've never seen a cyclist abandoning in the leader jersey the day before a rest day. Even when they are feeling sick or when they just had a bad crash, they usually at least try just in case. Something doesn't make sense.

They should stop doing covid tests. It doesn't make sense anymore.

[Aurora Australis]

It appears that the team felt the he wasn't going to make it, and possibly made the announcement quickly so as to not have rumours.
Of course I don't think it's official until he doesn't show up for stage 10.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/remco-evenepoels-covid-19-abandon-blows-giro-ditalia-wide-open-analysis/

[Vos]

Something doesn't make sense.

I'm confused too.

It appears that the team felt the he wasn't going to make it, and possibly made the announcement quickly so as to not have rumours.

I cannot find anything that the team felt like he was not going to make it, also not when I click your link.
And even if the team felt that way, it does not make sense to me that they made a fast decision out of fear for rumours.
The logical, normal, professional thing to do, was to wait at least till the rest day is over, before making a team decision.

I noticed that all abandoned cyclists due to positive covid tests, get an official DNS ( does not start ).
Maybe an indication that it is a team decision,
because if it would be an official Giro- or UCI rule of positive test = immediate forced abandon,
then, according to me, it would be more logical that such a cyclist gets an official DNQ ( does not qualify ), instead of a DNS.
Further more, I cannot imagine that the eager Evenepoel agrees with such a weird fast team decision.

I'm confused, and something does not make sense, also about many other abandoned cyclists due to positive covid tests,
because if it all were team decisions, many were questionable, in my opinion.

[Vos]

The CFF League is still not adjusted yet to the latest Giro news, so an update later, but already this :
next tour ;
  24 hours left to join.
previous winners ; Kalarratas ( 22 + 18 ), TeamElrosportu ( 19 ), Thorin ( 17 ), Txonys ( 16 ).

[Vos]

 
Evenepoel wins stage 9, the flat time trial of 35 km. And barely, because Thomas on 0:01" and Geoghegan Hart on 0:02"
Of course, the big news was hours later ; GC leader Evenepoel abandoned the Giro due to a positive covid test.

The CFF League is not adjusted yet to the latest news, and therefore the current GC ranking in the CFF League is not accurate.
But I expect just little differences, because everyone picked Evenepoel, and Urán ( also out due to positive covid test ) is just 4x picked.
So, the stage 9 winner + current classification leaders ( none of them picked Urán ) seem to me for 99,99% undisputed on this first rest day.

CFF League stage 9 winner = Mitte 

  Patrick Kok *
  Patrick Kok *
  Kalarratas
  Mitte **

[Vos]

Ok, finally it is clear to me after seeing a sports program on Dutch TV ; you are right, ophiuko, it is a team decision.

Out of all abandoned cyclists so far in this Giro, 7 were abandoned due to a positive covid test.
There were more cases one day or a few days before the Giro started, for example Jumbo-Visma replaced a few cyclists due to positive tests.
There was one cyclist who tested positive somewhere in the past days, but his team decided that he could go on with racing in the Giro.
I think it was a Wanty-cyclist, but I'm not sure from which team he was, or his name, by then I was not watching tv intensively enough.

[ophiuko]

Some tweets from Patrick Lefevere:
Patrick Lefevere
@PatLefevere
·
14 may.
@remco.ev That explains everything.  Good recovery. I hope everyone will respect this and his privacy🙏.  He will come back stronger @soudalquickstep

Patrick Lefevere
@PatLefevere
Ja Raymond.  Je weet nooit wat er onderhuids gebeurt.  Het is geen 9-5 job.  Geen enkel risico
In response to:
Raymond Kerckhoffs
@raykerckhoffs
Dacht vanmiddag al bij interview; Evenepoel heeft zijn jeugdige elan eraf gereden in deze tijdrit.

Covid is dus de boosdoener.

Maar moeten renners nog wel afstappen als ze geen klachten hebben? Lijkt nu alsof Covid allee nog maar in wielrennen bestaat.


I understand that it was a decision of Evenepoel rather than a team decision. Maybe he will speak in the future. He couldn't be that bad if he just won a stage, no matter it was TT, if you just won a stage in a grand tour, you are good enough to at least try the next day.

[Vos]

Thanks for your contribution, ophiuko.
All still a bit questionable to me, although I understand that the health-risk of cyclists should be as minimum as possible.

Well, let's hope that Evenepoel declares in the next few days that he wants to win the Tour de France ( = maybe my wishfull thinking )
then we have something to look out for ( battle of at least 3 supertop cyclists ), while we are watching this a bit devalued Giro.
And let's hope that no other GC contenders get a positive covid test, so far the average = 7x abandon due to covid in 1 week.
A few days ago I saw an interview with an INEOS team manager, and during the interview he had a few suspicious coughs.

At least this covid situation has a bright side for every CFF League participant ;
still everyone can win this Giro, possibly the favorite will be the one with the least abandoned cyclists.

[Vos]

  Kooij wins stage 1.

CFF League stage 1 winner = ophiuko 



In a harsh day due to cold and rain, the 3-man-break-away made it to the end, and Cort was clearly the fastest.

CFF League stage 10 winner = AJFactoryCycling 

TOP 23 GC ;
0:00"  Patrick Kok *
1:21"  Vos
1:34"  AJFactoryCycling *
- - - - - - - - - -
2:03"  Mitte **
2:06"  5o&Tapa *
2:08"  ZG **
3:14"  GaoYao
3:31"  Teacher
3:49"  HtcHun
3:54"  MarnixStar
3:54"  Aurora Australis
- - - - - - - - - -
4:07"  ophiuko
4:28"  Foeke *
5:59"  Mlb
6:23"  Euroscalt
6:35"  Combuijs
6:43"  Vlominck
7:03"  Kalarratas
7:09"  Animatoca
8:33"  pizzaboys *
- - - - - - - - - -
8:53"  BrotasTeam *
9:55"  Averatalm
11:13" WinterIsComing

top 3 sprint classification ;
961  Patrick Kok *
906  ZG **
903  Vos

top 3 mountain classification ;
84  Kalarratas
74  pizzaboys *
63  ZG **

top 3 youth classification ;
140  Mitte **
113  Vlominck
107  AJFactoryCycling *
107  HtcHun

[Vos]

  20yo top talent Grégoire punched his way to his first pro-victory.

DNS in stage 2 is De Lie ( picked by 71,4 % ), who crashed hard yesterday, but despite injuries, he managed to finish stage 1.
After being examinated at a hospital, it was way more severe as thought ;
De Lie suffered a pneumothorax, alongside a fractured collarbone, rib and one in the sternum as well.

CFF League stage 2 winner = Vlominck 
ophiuko is still the GC leader with 4 more stages to go.



There was a nasty downhill crash, among them the top 3 GC, and Geoghegan Hart ( 10x picked ) has abandoned with major injuries.
Also in the final there was a crash, so, maybe a few more cyclists do not start tomorrow.
This sprint stage was won by Ackermann.

CFF League stage 11 winner = ZG 

TOP 10 GC ;
0:00"  Patrick Kok *
1:21"  ZG ***
1:39"  Vos
- - - - - - - - - -
1:50"  AJFactoryCycling *
2:19"  Mitte **
2:46"  5o&Tapa *
3:27"  GaoYao
3:49"  Teacher
3:59"  HtcHun
4:18"  MarnixStar

top 3 sprint classification ;
1060  Patrick Kok *
1056  ZG ***
988  Vos

top 3 mountain classification ;
84  Kalarratas
74  pizzaboys *
63  ZG ***

top 3 youth classification ;
150  Mitte **
118  Vlominck
116  Patrick Kok *

[ophiuko]

What a catastrophic Giro d'Italia 

WCS keeps ignoring Vuelta a Burgos Féminas 

Looks like we are going to have Tour of Japan again! Last year it was fun after all 

[Vos]

What a catastrophic Giro d'Italia 

Abandoned / Drop outs = 

Etappe 4

    1 Paul LAPEIRA (AG2R CITROEN TEAM)
    DNF

Etappe 5

    2 Ramon SINKELDAM (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK)
    DNS
    3 Rémy ROCHAS (COFIDIS)
    DNS
    4 Valerio CONTI (TEAM CORRATEC)
    DNS

Etappe 6

    5 Clément RUSSO (TEAM ARKEA - SAMSIC)
    DNS

Etappe 7

    6 Nicola CONCI (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK)
    DNS
    7 Giovanni ALEOTTI (BORA - HANSGROHE)
    DNS

Etappe 8

    8 Samuele ZOCCARATO (GREEN PROJECT-BARDIANI-CSF-FAIZANÈ)
    DNF
    9 Lars VAN DEN BERG (GROUPAMA - FDJ)
    DNS
    10 Filippo GANNA (INEOS GRENADIERS)
    DNS
    11 David DEKKER (TEAM ARKEA - SAMSIC)
    DNF
    12 Florian STORK (TEAM DSM)
    DNF

Etappe 9

    13 Davide CIMOLAI (COFIDIS)
    DNS

Etappe 10

    14 Remco EVENEPOEL (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP)
    DNS
    15 Oscar RIESEBEEK (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK)
    DNS
    16 Aleksandr VLASOV (BORA - HANSGROHE)
    DNF
    17 Rigoberto URÁN (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST)
    DNS
    18 Erik FETTER (EOLO-KOMETA CYCLING TEAM)
    DNF
    19 Stefan KÜNG (GROUPAMA - FDJ)
    DNS
    20 Sven Erik BYSTRØM (INTERMARCHÉ - CIRCUS - WANTY)
    DNS
    21 Simone PETILLI (INTERMARCHÉ - CIRCUS - WANTY)
    DNF
    22 Rein TAARAMÄE (INTERMARCHÉ - CIRCUS - WANTY)
    DNS
    23 Domenico POZZOVIVO (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH)
    DNS
    24 Mads WÜRTZ SCHMIDT (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH)
    DNS
    25 Martijn TUSVELD (TEAM DSM)
    DNF
    26 Callum SCOTSON (TEAM JAYCO ALULA)
    DNS

Etappe 11

    27 Mattia CATTANEO (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP)
    DNS
    28 Josef ČERNÝ (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP)
    DNS
    29 Jan HIRT (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP)
    DNS
    30 Louis VERVAEKE (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP)
    DNS
    31 Andrea VENDRAME (AG2R CITROEN TEAM)
    DNS
    32 Jonathan CAICEDO (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST)
    DNS
    33 Tao GEOGHEGAN HART (INEOS GRENADIERS)
    DNF
    34 Óscar RODRÍGUEZ (MOVISTAR TEAM)
    DNF
    35 Stefano GANDIN (TEAM CORRATEC)
    DNS
    36 Natnael TESFATSION (TREK-SEGAFREDO)
    DNS

Yesterday I missed the very bad crash of Oscar Rodríguez ( 1x picked ) who smashed hard into a road sign ánd a house.
Also immediately taken to hospital by ambulance.
And it remains to be seen whether Sivakov ( 0x picked ) and Gaviria ( 10x picked ) will start today. Both no fractures, but heavy crashes.

Tomorrow a very brutal mountain stage, what "normally" causes some abandoned cyclists, for example sprinters who give up.
And for those who were involved in heavy crashes, it will be a ( too ? ) hard day also.
Besides this all, I expect that there will be more drop outs due to positive covid tests. And this catastrophic Giro is just halfway. 

[Vos]

  B.Thomas wins the 15,9 km time trial, and he is the new GC leader.

CFF League stage 3 winner = Animatoca 
Patrick Kok is the new GC leader with 3 more stages to go.



It was a day for break away battles, and in the end the 29yo Denz won, the greatest victory of his career.

CFF League stage 12 winner = Vos 

TOP 10 GC ;
0:00"  Patrick Kok *
0:55"  Vos *
1:01"  ZG ***
- - - - - - - - - -
1:44"  AJFactoryCycling *
2:04"  Mitte **
2:57"  5o&Tapa *
3:28"  GaoYao
3:37"  HtcHun
3:52"  Teacher
4:07"  MarnixStar

top 3 sprint classification ;
1083  ZG ***
1071  Patrick Kok *
1032  Vos *

top 3 mountain classification ;
84  Kalarratas
74  pizzaboys *
64  ZG ***

top 3 youth classification ;
155  Mitte **
126  Vlominck
118  Patrick Kok *
118  AJFactoryCycling *
118  HtcHun