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.