Giro De Italia Feminin, Maps and Profiles

[Skip Madness]

Four in a row equals the record of Regina Schleicher in the 2003 edition (EDIT: it also means Teutenberg now ties for third in the all-time Giro stage wins list with 11 stages).

Tomorrow's stage:

So it's three times up the climb of Ameno (2.5km at 6.5%) and a finish above Pettenasco (2.3km at 6.1%). Not a leg-breaker of a stage, but it should be good viewing. Vos and Van Vleuten are going to be hard work here. I expect either Vos or Arndt to end the day in pink, although I can't imagine the gaps between the big names will be more than a few seconds.

 

[BBRoberts]

Halfway

Yeah, I thought it was the Giro, but for some reason I was looking at the Grande Boucle. Regina retired I think cause she's with child. She was going to ride for Fanini. Well, this is the way I see it. It's halfway and there has been no major shakeups on the GC. Abbott and Pooley are very close, Claudia a bit ahead but it’s nothing really. This stage is long but another yawn except it's by the lake which is nice for the riders. Normally in a tour like this which has riders who could win like Vos but can't climb would try to get a big lead going into the mountains. Say 3 or 4 minutes. That's what they need to beat the climbers normally but I think everyone is so afraid of what is to come that no one is going to gamble like that. I'm betting a lot of riders are just thinking in terms of finishing the tour. However in the mountains, I think that lots of riders are going to lose huge chunks of time to the climbers. I knew with the Surmano included there would be a big sorting out, but now that it's gone, the race is tighter. If most of the riders are sapped going into the Stelvio, there could be a real fallout on that one. I'm real curious about the time gaps on the final GC. It's going to be interesting.

 

[Skip Madness]

As expected, today's course provided minor selections. Stage results - top ten plus selected others:

(1) Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
(2) Tatiana Guderzo (Valdarno) +0'01"
(3) Judith Arndt (HTC) +0'08"
(4) Mara Abbott (United States) +0'09"
(5) Claudia Häusler (Cervélo) +0'10"
(6) Olga Zabelinskaya (Safi) +0'18"
(7) Emma Pooley (Cervélo) +0'18"
(8) Evgeniya Vysotskaya (Valdarno) +0'33"
(9) Evelyn Stevens (HTC) +0'33"
(10) Edita Pucinskaite (Gauss) +0'41"
(12) Elena Berlato (Top Girls) +1'09"
(14) Valentina Carretta (Top Girls) +1'19"
(16) Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) +1'21"
(17) Tiffany Cromwell (Australia) +1'21"
(20) Amber Neben (United States) +1'21"

Pooley apparently got troubled on the descent of the penultimate climb and had to fight back on. Fairly poor showings from Neben and Van Vleuten.

GC:

(1) Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
(2) Judith Arndt (HTC) +0'21"
(3) Tatiana Guderzo (Valdarno) +0'45"
(4) Claudia Häusler (Cervélo) +1'04"
(5) Emma Pooley (Cervélo) +1'18"
(6) Evelyn Stevens (HTC) +1'23"
(7) Olga Zabelinskaya (Safi) +1'25"
(8) Mara Abbott (United States) +1'29"
(9) Linda Villumsen (HTC) +1'39"
(10) Grete Treier (Michela Fanini) +1'59"
(11) Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) +2'02"

Considering it feels like Pooley has misfired a bit so far she's still well-poised time-wise. I'm looking forward to the proper battles on the big climbs. One more stage of flat and then the good stuff should really start.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I think Pooley is looking okay so far, and could indeed win this in the mountains - in any case, she's done enough this season already to be very proud of.

 

[laurence]

C'mon Arndt!

 

[BBRoberts]

Not Epic yet

Pooley was famous for being a horrible descender. She's improved a lot but her ITT was terrible, not like her normally. Something seems wrong but I know she's also got this debt to sort out with Claudia. Since they took the Sormano out, I got a feeling things won't change much until stage 8. Those climbs building up to stage 8 minus the Sormano won't make much difference. Stage 8 is when the fun starts and all hell breaks loose. They climb 5000 feet right from the gun, and it's going hurt. Then they climb lots more on the Bernina and Forcola. Stage 8 will bring the climbers to the top of the GC, and then the Stelvio I believe should be a spectacle between Abbott and Pooley. I'm expecting Claudia to crack in stage 8. Since they got rid of the Sormano, the Ghisallo won't hurt much so really this tour boils to two exciting stages in the mountains. The rest, pretty much fanfare.

 

[BBRoberts]

Some Observations

Notice how buoyant and snappy Emma is out of the saddle, and how Vos next to her gives the impression of such dead weight. She really looks like she's struggling like hauling a sack of potatoes up the mountain. Vos is going to get slaughtered in the mountains. Abbott is not as smooth as Pooley and seems to be struggling back and forth, yet Abbott can just climb and climb and climb. I remember the style of Rasa P. She has one of the most gangly style of climbing out of the saddle.

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_238m8ikQA

 

[Skip Madness]

Vos bis. Six stages in and so far we only have two different stage winners!

It split up quite a bit in the second half of today's stage. All of the main favourites were in the front group, but it fractured on the circuits around Arcisate. Olga Zabelinskaya, the revelation of this race, instigated the attacking and wound up third. Stage results:

(1) Marianne Vos (Netherlands
(2) Judith Arndt (HTC) s.t.
(3) Olga Zabelinskaya (Safi) s.t.
(4) Tatiana Guderzo (Valdarno) +0'08"
(5) Edita Pucinskaite (Gauss) +0'09"
(6) Nina Ovcharenko (Michela Fanini) +0'09"
(7) Evgenya Vysotska (Valdarno) +0'09"
(8) Elena Berlato (Top Girls) +0'09"
(9) Mara Abbott (United States) +0'09"
(10) Claudia Häusler (Cervélo) 0'09"
(11) Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) +0'13"
(12) Emma Pooley (12) +0'14"
...
(15) Evelyn Stevens (HTC) +0'27"
...
(20) Amber Neben (United States) +0'38"

Apparently there were a few little descents, which I'm guessing is where Pooley lost those few seconds. Cicloweb's stage report says that Evelyn Stevens is competing with Pooley for the title of "worst descender."

GC:

(1) Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
(2) Judith Arndt (HTC) +0'25"
(3) Tatiana Guderzo (Valdarno) +1'03"
(4) Claudia Häusler (Cervélo) +1'23"
(5) Olga Zabelinskaya (Safi) +1'31"
(6) Emma Pooley (Cervélo) +1'42"
(7) Mara Abbott (United States) +1'48"
(8) Evelyn Stevens (HTC) +2'00"
(9) Linda Villumsen (HTC) +2'16"
(10) Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) +2'25"
...
(12) Edita Pucinskaite (Gauss) +2'51"
(13) Amber Neben (United States) +2'56"
...
(17) Elena Berlato (Top Girls) +3'58"

Climbing in earnest begins tomorrow. We have the Madonna del Ghisallo topping out around 20km from the end. The website also say there's the much tougher Corma di Sormano early in the stage, but one of BBR's sources says it's no longer in. Either way, tomorrow's the warm-up for stage eight and nine. It's all good from here.

 

[BBRoberts]

New Photos

Ok, here are my friends photos from Giro.
http://picasaweb.google.ch/biciticino/GiroDonne20106Tappa#

Cheers!

 

[BBRoberts]

Sormano

I had been told directly from a friend who spoke with Mario Minervino that that they had decided to remove the Surmano because the tour was already too hard. However, I got a quick word last night that perhaps this climb has been added back in. I told you they can do anything they want, including I guess changing a route at the last minute. However either way it doesn't require a major route change. I just know he said last night they face two major climbs tomorrow and that sounds like the Sormano has been added back in, cause I can't think of any other, just those two.

Wait and see, that's all I can say.

 

[Legs]

Great pictures from Signor Ronconi, as always.

Looking forward to what today's got in store - particularly whether the Ghisallo will split up the top girls. Whatever, I still think the time gaps will be largely irrelevant in the face of what's to come on Saturday.

 

[Legs]

Things have really been blown apart today.

http://forum.cicloweb.it/viewthread.php?fid=4&tid=9223&page=2

 

[andrew_s]

7a tappa: Como - Albese con Cassano

1 Evelyn Stevens Usa HTC - Columbia Women [Donne]
2 Marianne Vos Olanda Nederland Bloeit [Donne] a 42"
3 Judith Arndt Germania HTC - Columbia Women [Donne] a 42"
4 Tatiana Guderzo Italia Team Valdarno [Donne] a 42"
5 Claudia Häusler Germania Cervélo Test Team [Donne] a 42"
6 Mara Abbott Usa a 42"
7 Evgenya Vysotska Ucraina Team Valdarno [Donne] a 42"
8 Amber Neben Usa a 42"
9 Olga Zabelinskaya Russia Safi - Pasta Zara [Donne] a 5'39"
10 Elena Berlato Italia Top Girls Fassa Bortolo - Ghezzi [Donne] a 5'39"
11 Natalia Boyarskaya Russia Fenixs - Petrogradets [Donne] a 5'39"
12 Emma Pooley Gran Bretagna Cervélo Test Team [Donne] a 5'39"
13 Tatiana Antoshina Russia Team Valdarno [Donne] a 5'39"
14 Grete Treier Estonia S.C. Michela Fanini Record Rox [Donne] a 6'23"

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Hmm. I guess it won't be Emma's Giro this year.

 

[Skip Madness]

Evelyn Stevens attacked after the Colma di Sormano, where Emma Pooley and Olga Zabelinskaya were both dropped. It sounds like Vos and Häusler were both yo-yo-ing for a while. Häusler usually struggles in the first big mountain stage and improves afterwards, so it'll be interesting to see how she does tomorrow. It looks like Mara Abbott's in the hot seat at the moment given Saturday's stage finish, but tomorrow could throw up a few surprises. No small problem for Abbott is the presence of two HTC riders ahead of her on GC.

GC, if my calculations are correct:

(1) Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
(2) Judith Arndt (HTC) +0'27"
(3) Tatiana Guderzo (Valdarno) +1'09"
(4) Evelyn Stevens (HTC) +1'14"
(5) Claudia Häusler (Cervélo) +1'29"
(6) Mara Abbott (United States) +1'54"
(7) Amber Neben (United States) +3'02"
(8) Evgeniya Vysotska (Valdarno) +3'11"
(9) Olga Zaeblinskaya (Safi) +7'16"
(10) Emma Pooley (Cervélo) +7'27"