I hoping that they are not actually the same. because ugh.

does it matter at this point?  What they do is professional wrestling...what we do is backyard-no-holds-barred-wrestling...similar...but different

everyone on the break today, with still 150km to go, is on a red bicycle. Just sayin'

also worth notice, 400Watts!!

Again, Wednesday also was ride bike breakaway day 
Although , Black and yellow bikes won yesterday ,

Stage 15.

What a fail for the challengers.  Everyone in the first chase (Pinot, Pozzovivo, Gomez, Carapaz) had a reason to ride.  Minimize time loss to Yates, take time on both Dumoulin (benefit Pinot and Pozzovivo) and Froome (benefit Gomez and Carapaz).  Only Pinot rode.  

Pozzovivo might have just ridden himself off the podium.  Pinot will probably take his spot after the TT.  And Froome might even be able to knock him down to fifth in the TT. 

And Carapaz and Gomez could still lose the white jersey to either O'Connor or Oomen.  

It was odd, to say the least that Yates was lumped in as one of only three "other" riders who have won 3 stages in the Giro while in pink:

Merx
Simeoni
Pantani

All three of which are, ahem DOPERS.

To add some fascination to it all, Velonews quietly updated the line to exclude the last two.

Seemed that Lopez(Gomez) and Carapaz were just thinking about the white Jersey ,
O'connor & Oomen are 3 minutes down , are they substantially better TT riders ?

Also i don't really think Dumoulin could expect help , they all know his advantage in the time trial , to assist him would be playing into his hand ,IMHO

This interview is in Spanish, but Lopez is asked directly if there were any discussions in the chase group, and he explains:

"I don't know..., there was a bit of disagrement, but, well, the more interested party was them, Tom, Pinot, Pozzovivo, to maybe distance Froome for the Time Trial... but well, Tom wont have a problem there, but Pinot and Pozzovivo might, so they should have been more interested in chasing. I didn't have a lot of strength, was at the limit, plus I'm not really part of that crew, I'm a bit far in GC, the more I save the better for me. The Giro is very hard and what's still coming is incredible hard."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq92KrCbhmw

Jules said:

It was odd, to say the least that Yates was lumped in as one of only three "other" riders who have won 3 stages in the Giro while in pink:

Merx
Simeoni
Pantani

All three of which are, ahem DOPERS.

To add some fascination to it all, Velonews quietly updated the line to exclude the last two.

I like the Mitchelon Scott team, love the videos they put out in you tube... been a fan of Chavez for a while.

But then, here we are, and find it very hard to believe the way Yates is riding.

If anything, it is one more reason doping sucks, even when we want to believe, even when it is possible the ride is clean, we have become very skeptical of magical and beautiful performances.

^I couldn't agree more. It's been electrifying to watch, but attacking and riding away 15km from the finish when the rest are on their knees... it's a shame.

I think we should also remember that its a 3 week race, anything can happen , remember Steven Kruijswijk

"I think we should also remember that its a 3 week race, anything can happen"

Indeed.  For Lopez and Carapaz, I'm pretty sure it's their first Grand Tour.  They don't know what's around the corner.  And going into a rest day, they didn't have much reason to sit around.  

Lopez says he was on the limit, but he did attack and follow attacks and sprint for second.   In that chase group, I would have pegged Pinot as the best sprinter, and yet he was unable to contest the sprint.

Both Lopez and Carapaz did the vuelta last year.

Carapaz finished 36, Lopez 8th (plus won on two mountain top finishes)

The sense I get from Lopez interview, is that he didn't care much to chase or where exactly he finishes in GC. He sorta mentions staying consitent day in day out for a strong GC finish -- that is, in his mind, he was doing enough, and was not worth the effort to get into a battle that maybe belonged to others.

In Yates' defense, some of Froome1000's chrome-liquid blobs are still making their way back to him from Israel. 

I'd like to think that Mitchelton's an honest team, but yeah they aren't MPCC, and Yates has had "enhaler issues", so it wouldn't be surprising if they're controlling his cortisol via some iffy TUE. We'll see. Dumoulin/Sunweb FTW!

JohnMalcolmson said:

In Yates' defense, some of Froome1000's chrome-liquid blobs are still making their way back to him from Israel. 

I'd like to think that Mitchelton's an honest team, but yeah they aren't MPCC, and Yates has had "enhaler issues", so it wouldn't be surprising if they're controlling his cortisol via some iffy TUE. We'll see. Dumoulin/Sunweb FTW!

It was cool and damp on the Zoncolan stage.  Froome must have needed 30+ puffs of a Salbutamol inhaler.

How did Aru pull that ride off?

Apparently by drafting.

Finally Israel cycling academy get a mention in Italy

UCI race "Juries" are courts with no appeal, no rule of precedent, no oversight, no explicit qualification and no appeal. They can take their rule book, fold it sideways until it's all corners and jam it up their collective asses.

Moser is the star of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g96Ch0BO3FI

^I can't believe how fast they put these together. #editdoping?

Jules said:

^I can't believe how fast they put these together. #editdoping?

They do a good job, but clearly they have 2 or 3 people whose job is exclusively to do these.

eloy said:

Jules said:

^I can't believe how fast they put these together. #editdoping?

They do a good job, but clearly they have 2 or 3 people whose job is exclusively to do these.

For sure - but I can't think of another instance where that kind of media is produced so fast after the fact.

Non giro related, but Wiggle High5 women's team and generally the UCI channel do a fantastic job of following the women world cup

FIRE!!!! 

The Giro this year has been excellent to watch. Even the transition stages are good. Yesterday I watched the first half out of broadcast when the breaks were being established and re-established. It was bonkers. today could have been a snoozer, but the last couple of Ks were exciting. Next few stages should hold some surprises. 

We can only hope that Le Tour is nearly as exciting

OMFG. GO WATCH THIS NOW.

https://www.firstonetv.net/Live/Italy/Rai-Sport-+-HD-27

this one is better:
https://www.firstonetv.net/Live/Italy/RSI-La-2-39

GRENADES BOMBS ARE BEING THROWN.