Friday 20 April 2012

I'm back...

I’ve been away for a while, joining the other team. No, not the chaps who arrive at this site  by googling “Mark Cavendish Thighs” instead of “Peta Todd Boobs”, I mean the other gang of road users. I’ve learnt to drive.
It’s kept me busy, which is why I’ve not commented on Joaquim Rodriguez’s excellent Fleche Wallone win or yesterday’s gripping stage of the Giro del Trentino. I’m back now though, and very pleased with the points Rodriguez bagged for my www.road.cc fantasy cycling team.
I’m now watching the final stage of Giro del Trentino. You’d assume it couldn’t possibly live up to yesterday’s epic assault on the Punta Veleno. The ‘poisonous sting’ is precipitous on the ascent, the crest looks like a spot where you could fall off the edge of the world, and the descent  is made of  mud, mist, potholes and crash nets. The Passo de Pordoi may be more famous, but it looks less like a landscape from a Tolkien novel.
Still, as they always say, it’s not how hard the climb is, it’s how hard it’s raced. With Szmyd and Cunego within spitting distance of Pozzovivo, and wild bull Rujano doing his usual unpredictable thing, lots could happen.
Personally, I’d love to see Sylvester Szmyd take the overall. He’s been such a tireless worker for others it would be great to see him get his biggest win since the Dauphine’s Mt Ventoux stage in 2009. It won’t be easy, he’s hard as nails, but he’s still more mountain domestique than natural GC man. Nevertheless, Ivan Basso has just put in a strong turn at the front, repaying years of hard work that Szmyd has put in for him. Let’s see what happens...

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