FGDI Overall: Ryder Rules, Rouleurs Rue

Hello. As you may have noticed, I’m a bit late with the all-important final update for this year’s fantasy Giro. Those of you who were reading around this time last year may recall that I was riding Burn24 on the final weekend of the Giro. This year I’ve no such excuse, for I was actually relaxing on the beach in Florida, and too lazy to get it done. I’m glad to see that the boys had a good time at Burn, and it seems they did just fine without me.

I thought that things were pretty much sewn up after Friday, with the top 3 looking pretty comfortable and no dark horses on the horizon. Well, not for the first time. I was wrong. Thomas De Gendt was that dark horse, and a long day out in the mountains put him in contention for the podium, while J-Rod took back a little time on Hesjedal.

Come the time trial on Sunday, no one should have been too surprised to see J-rod lose his slim lead to Hesjedal. And De Gendt can’t have been too tired from Saturday’s efforts, as he did another fine ride, and kicked Scarponi off the podium.

So the first Grand Tour win for Ryder Hesjedal, Canada, and Jonny V’s Garmin team. Congratulations boys! If Hesjedal keeps riding so consistently, I may even learn how to spell his name without having to look it up.

Enough of the real race though. Let’s get onto the important stuff. The mini-league! Early contenders Rouleurs might have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for that pesky De Gendt. But in the end, it was LPL, who got a ‘shitload’ of points to take a fairly comfortable win from Warwick’s Velo Raptors. A disappointing outing from the Bile Beans, who finished up in tenth, but at least I beat Team ChanBots. A slightly better outing from Craigatron, who finished the race in sixth. And commiserations to Threepenny_Pierrot, who sucked pretty badly – better luck next time boys.

That’s it for the Giro then. The next race on the Fantasy Cycling calendar is usually the Tour De Suisse, so maybe I’ll see you there? And there’s also the Dauphine Libere to keep an eye on. Then. before you know it, it will be time for the Big One, the Tour De France.

FGDI Stage 19: Special K

Recently, I’ve been cursing myself for choosing Roman Kreuziger for the Bile Beans. Going into the race he looked like a smart pick, he had good form and the price was right. As the race has gone on though, he’s been falling behind on the climbs in this tough final week. So I was pleasantly surprised to see him give it some today and take a stage.

He’s still nowhere on GC mind. And J-Rod’s lead has been whittled away some more by Hesjedal, who finished second on the stage, and is now within 17 seconds of the Pink Jersey. The Canadian is certainly climbing well, and with only one more mountain stage left before the time trial on Sunday, things are looking very good for him. I'd say he has every right to look happy.

Tomorrow will be the last chance the climbers have to make an impact in the race and the last chance for the GC boys to have a go at taking some time from Hesjedal. And according to my calculations, if J-Rod gets 4th or better, he'll be the one wearing the Points Jersey at the end of the day.

FGDI Stage 18: 2nd Last Man In Race Beats Fastest Man InThe World

I know the UCI attracts some criticism from people, due to their consistent failure to confront many of the problems in pro cycling. Well at last it seems they've taken some action to confront one of the burning issues in the sport. Yes, they've finally agreed how big logos on bikes can be at the Olympics! I bet TIME are pleased.

Anyhooze, lets get onto the Giro. Andrea Guardini may only be 45 seconds off last place, but he does have quite a good turn of speed when he puts his mind to it. Today he got the better of none other than Cavulus.

The Cavalier could have really done with the win, and the points that come with it, if he hopes to keep J-Rod at bay in the race for the red jersey. For as it is he’s only a couple of mountain finishes from losing it.

The mini-league has been spruced-up, but there' no change at the top, with Roulers still in charge. The Bile Beans are slowly gaining ground, but I think it's too little, too late.

No changes in the GC then, as the bunch mostly took it easy today. And who can blame them with the next two stages coming up? Tomorrow we’ve got this monster.

FGDI Stage 17: J-Rod Takes Another One As Field Thins

The real racing started today, and Joaquim Rodrigez did a good job of holding onto the race lead. And took another stage win while he was at it.

The likes of Krueziger, Gadret, Tiralongo and Rujano fell by the wayside on the final climbs. And heading up the Passo Giau they were down to six of the best.

Now things are looking a bit clearer then. And I'd be willing to wager the winner will be one of the top 3 on GC at the end of today.

1 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team 74:46:46  
2 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Barracuda 0:00:30  
3 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:01:22

If the GC is a bit clearer, I can't say the same about the mini-league. It still looks a bit strange as I write, but I think Roulers might be winning.

Cavadoodles is still in the race, and tomorrow might be a day for him. He needs another stage win if he want's to take the points jersey. As the way things stand tonight, J-Rod is only 1 point behind him, and will most likely score a few more before Sunday.

FGDI Stage 16: Bunch Takes Day Off, Little Basque Wins Stage

I’ve got stuff to do, so let’s keep it short and sweet. The stage started fast, a bunch of ten guys went up the road, had a nice big lead and then fought it out for the win. First over the line was Jon Izagirre.

He was then followed by some other people, none of whom I recall being in anyone’s team. All the jerseys stayed with whoever had them this morning, and I don't think much changed in the mini-league. If I look at the scores now, they don't make a lick of sense. Maybe it means that Mungo got the best score for the day.

The going is going to get tough for the GC boys tomorrow. Will someone do something that might suggest who’s going to be standing on the podium in Milan? As at the moment I’ve got no idea who’s going to win.

FGDI Stage 15: Rambo Beats Rod

It's a mostly texty update today i'm afraid, as i'm having to Blog on a popular fruit-themed mobile telephone. We've got a bit of weather here in Atlanta, and the lightning appears to have broken the internet.

Anyway, just imagine some nice shots stolen from CyclingNews in the gaps.

After twelve solid days of racing, I bet everyone was looking forward to the rest day today. Me included. It’s hard coming up with new nicknames for Mark Cavendish you know.

I had tipped J-Rod for a good performance on stage 15, and he didn’t disappoint. Well he did slightly, as although he re-took the Pink Jersey from Ryder Hesjedal, he only managed second on the stage.

I wasn’t too unhappy, as stage winner Matteo Rabottini had been out front for most of the day in some nasty weather and I thought he deserved it. He fell off a bit on the wet roads, and it looked like it was all over for him when J-Rod came up to him in the last couple of hundred meters. Rambo wasn’t going to give in though, and managed to come past the Spaniard before the line.

In the mini-league the Roulers are still on top, but coming up behind are dark horses the Velociraptors, just ahead of the Maner in Strumpfhosen.

1 Rouleurs tdm911 3509
2 velo raptors Warwick Anderson 3086
3 Männer in Strumpfhosen Teagan 3061
4 LPL ltraq 2926
5 Trigon - CHCH benperrycanada 2814
6 Bicycle Chain-Notaro-SRC George Clews 2732
7 Hell of the North Vincent Lavallee 2667
8 Craigatron Charmer 2647
9 Bile Beans Vestan Pance 2619
10 The limit is the Sky Mark 2488
11 Team ChanBots Danny Chan 2259
12 Mungo Cycling Mungo 2192
13 Cofeedis Tom 1728
14 Scibstiques Scibs 1727
15 Threepenny_Pierrot Ritchey_BreakAway 1674
16 Team SGTBA pif4ever 1639
17 The Smugblokes Mark Philo 1536

The Roulers may find they’ve lost a bit of steam going into the final week. As big-girl's-blouse, Frank Schleck abandoned the race with a sore shoulder or somesuch excuse. We also said goodbye to these guys:

DNF Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team
DNS Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling
DNF Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team

When the racing starts again tomorrow, the Giro (and mini-league) is still all to play for. And the worst is still to come as far as the mountains are concerned. From the Bile Beans point of view, it’s good to see Cavtronicus is still hanging on, and says he wants to take the Points Jersey all the way to the finish.

My climbing pick, “Baldy French Climber” John Gadret also remains in contention, thanks to a spare wheel  from his team-mate, Hurbert Dupont yesterday. I find this rather ironic, considering how he shafted his team-mate Nico Roche at the Tour a few years back by not giving him a spare wheel.

Tomorrow’s stage then. And they boys will be easing back into things with some "medium mountains" before it starts getting tough on Wednesday.

FGDI Stage 14: Ryder Rides Into Pink Again

The real action was supposed to start today, but for a while it looked like the big names were just going to sit and watch each other. As a breakaway of three soldiered on up the road, the chasers seemed to be playing the waiting game.

When it looked like the break would survive, I was rooting for Jan Barta to take the win, as he'd been working hard all day and looked about ready to fall off his bike in the finale. In the end though Andrey Amodor got the better of him in the sprint, and the Costa Rican has had his fair share of misfortune, as he did nearly get killed by bandits last year. Not to mention he was lucky to make it down the final descent in one piece the way he was riding.

So, former Pink Jersey Ryder Hesjedal is now Pink Jersey Ryder Hesjedal, after the Canadian made the first attack that stuck from the big boys group.

It was also a wet day and those hills were enough to scare off many of the sprinters. So Mark Renshaw, Matt Goss and Juan Jose Haedo all packed it in. Not so Cavapops though, who soldiered on and held onto his red jersey. He could look a little happier.

Onto the mini-league then, and those Männer in Strumpfhosen are back in the lead. Meanwhile roundabout the middle of the table, the Bile Beans are into the top 10, ahead of the Chanbots, and snapping at Craigatron's heels. And down at the bottom of the table Team SGTBA take over as the Lantern Rouge.

More hills tomorrow, but not crazy big. Looks to me like the sort of stage that might suit J-Rod, or even Tom Slagter.

FGDI Stage 13: Cav Shows Goss Who's Boss (Goss still faster than Bos & Oss)

An unusual sprint today, in that we didn’t see any crashes just before the finish line. Matt Goss was well placed coming into the finale, but he went too early and The Cavarator bagged his third stage win.

The Cavatron also increased his lead in the points competition over Goss. However, there’s some tough days on the way, and it has been speculated that the World Champion will be packing his bags before the final week of the race is over with. I'm hoping he can make it over the mountains, 'cause there's points in it for me. And from Cavatino's point of view, the Jersey does have a few perks.

By the way, anyone remeber Evegeni Berizn? He won the Giro back in 1994. Back in the good old days. when funny shaped bikes weren't banned by the UCI, and rampant EPO use was all the rage.

Well, he turned up at the start today, and I have to say, like many a retired pro before him, he's taken a turn for the portly. I think he owns some car dealerships now, and he does seem to have a bit of a used car look about him.

Another win from His Cavness, and fourth from Sacha Modolo should have helped the Bile Beans cause a little, but the Roulers still seem pretty comfortable on top. A few days ago, in a moment of desperation at my team's poor showing, I wrote that I hoped that all the Roulers team crashed. I was of course wrong to say this. The mini-league is, after all, just a bit of fun, and no reason to wish ill on someone. So just to make myself clear, I hope all the Roulers riders that aren’t also in the Bile Beans team crash.

Anyway, enough of sprints. The real racing should start on stage 14, as we’ve got the first proper mountains, complete with a mountaintop finish. It’s very tight at the top of the GC at the moment, and it’s still all to play for. This time tomorrow we might have a better idea who the big winners and losers in this year’s race are going to be.

FGDI Stage 12: Bak To Front

I admire a bit of perseverance, and Lars Bak has been trying to get a stage win for a while now. All his previous efforts came to nothing, but today he scored.

Just behind him in the remains of the day’s break was Sandy Casar, who came close to taking the Pink Jersey, but was denied thanks to some hard chasing by Liquigas in the final kms.

There was a time when you could be sure to find Sandy Casar in the ChanBot team, but looking at the line-up, it seems that there was no room for Sandy this year. Lucky for the Bile Beans, as the ChanBots are standing in my way as I attempt to make it into the top ten.

Tomorrow’s stage is short and sweet. I think it should be a sprint. I hope Sacha Modolo can keep out of trouble this time.

FGDI Stage 11: Ferrari Motors Through More Crash Carnage

So another bunch sprint. Another crash in the last few hundred meters.



This time it looks like the culprit was another one of the Bile Beans, Sacha Modolo. But the race organisers also seem to be coming in for some criticism, for putting too many corners near the finish. Still one man’s painful meeting with the tarmac, is another man’s opportunity for a stage win. Coming through the chaos, was stage 3 bad boy Roberto Ferrari.

The Caveroo stayed upright this time. And thanks to a no-show in the sprint from Matt Goss, the Manx Missile’s fourth place was enough to earn him the points jersey.

Here’s some scores to look at.

And here's tomorrow's stage to look at. It's a rolling little number near the seaside. Too tough for the sprinters, so maybe the peloton will let a break stay away. Or maybe one of the many riders within a minute of J-Rod's lead will make a bid for the Pink Jersey.

As a responsible blogger, it is my duty to inform you that other bicycle races are available. And as I write this, the Amgen Tour Of California is rolling it’s way around California. I’ve not been paying it much attention, but I have noticed that Peter Sagan has won the first four stages.

I know that all the quality riders are in Italy at the moment, and that Sagan only has the likes of  Tom Boonen  and Marcel Kittel to beat, but it's still pretty impressive. I suspect the young Slovak may get his first Tour de France ride this year, and if he does he’ll definitely be under consideration for a spot on the Bile Beans. If the price is right of course

FGDI Stage 10: J-Rod Takes the Pink

I though Joaquim Rodriguez was looking strong on Sunday. And as the finish headed uphill today he didn’t hang about, but instead got stuck in and took the stage.

And thanks to the time bonuses, he also took over the race lead from Hesjedal.

We also said goodbye to Pippo Pozzato, who had a badly hand after that crash he caused yesterday. I'm through with apologising for the guy. Those 6 points I spent on him could have been invested so much better. And I never trust anyone who wears a hat with their own name on it.

It was also good to see my longshot pick, Tom Slagter, up there with the big boys at the finish, although I would have been a bit happier if he’d done a bit better than 7th. Finally some better news for the Bile Beans then, although it seems like everyone has J-Rod on their team, Roulers included.

A quick look at tomorrow then. A sprint? A breakaway? Only time will tell.

FGDI Stage 9: Mr Pozzato Head

Remember back on Stage 3, when we had that big crash where Ferrari brought down Cav? The Mungo manager was kind enough to apologise for Ferrari’s actions, so I’ll get my apologies in now for my boy Pipo Pozzato, who took out Matt Goss, Mark Cavendish, and a few others, in the finale of Stage 9.

While I’m at it, I’d also like to apologise for Pozzato’s crappy “only God can judge me” tattoo.

And of course, those SIDI adverts where he was all naked.

Not to mention that Farnesse Vini kit, which is just way too yellow.

I just wish Pozzato would apologise to me for sucking so much in the Giro this year, after I wasted 6 Velocredits on him. With the big-name sprinters taken out of the equation, the way was clear for Francisco Ventoso to take the win.

In the minileague, the Roulers have taken over at the top. I'll have to admit that they do seem to have a knack for picking a quality team. Fingers crossed that all their riders crash tomorrow.