Today's
stage: Sprinty sprint, though the small category 4 climb near the
end was a lot more difficult than anyone thought it would be.
Who
won today's stage? Mark
Cavendish (Team Sky) was still around for the sprint. Cavendish did
not crash. Therefore Cavendish won the stage, his second of the race.
Matt Goss (Orica GreenEdge) was second, his second time in second to
go with his stage victory.
What
matters in the GC race? Nothing much. Ramunas Navardauskas
(Garmin-Barracuda) still leads and none of the GC contenders were
dropped on that climb today. Among the GC men, Ryder Hesjedal
(Garmin-Barracuda) and Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) lead.
Biggest
surprise: 20+ riders got dropped on that climb. It wasn't that
bad and those getting dropped there have big problems ahead. This is
the Giro after all and despite the early easy stages, the mountains
will still be hard even if it's not last year's absurd climbing
spectacle.
Biggest
disappointment: Nobody has emerged to challenge Cavendish and
Goss in the sprints. The former teammates finished 1-2 both today and
in stage 2 and Goss won stage 3 where Cavendish crashed.
Other
items of note: Among
the riders dropped were sprinters Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda),
Thor Hushovd (BMC) and Theo Bos (Rabobank). Considering Cavendish and
his awful climbing won the stage, this isn't a good sign for their
respective forms on the bike.
What
is coming tomorrow? The
first category 2 climb of the race, the Passo Della Cappella is on
the route tomorrow, but midway through the stage. There are also
three category 3 climbs along the way. Expect the stage hunters to
give it a go, but I expect a sprint from those sprinters who have
some climbing legs. Goss looks good for this one if a sprint does
occur.
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