Weekend Preview – From the Giro to Dunkirk

Posted on May 6, 2011 by

Fotoreporter Sirotti

 

The 94th Giro d’Italia opens this weekend with a 19.3-kilometer team time trial Saturday in Torino and a long trek from Alba to Parma Sunday. With several teams looking to take the first maglia rosa and the first road stage of the 3-week event, the action should be fierce.

While Saxo Bank, Liquigas, Sky, and Garmin-Cervelo will do their best to take the win Saturday, I expect HTC-High Road to deliver Marco Pinotti the first maglia rosa of his career. Pinotti was a member of the HTC squad that won the Giro’s TTT in 2009, although that year’s pink jersey went to Mark Cavendish.

Luckily for Cav, Sunday’s 244-kilometer ride suits his talents. He’s a good bet to take the win over Garmin-Cervelo’s Tyler Farrar and Lampre’s Alessandro Petacchi—if all goes well Saturday, a win Sunday should also be enough to make his teammate’s stay in pink a rather short one. But don’t discount Farrar. His team will likely finish within the top-3 of the TTT, leaving the American in shouting distance of the pink jersey should he win Sunday.

Moving north, another pink jersey will be awarded over the weekend, this time for the overall winner of the 4 Days of Dunkirk. Skil-Shimano’s Marcel Kittel has maintained a stranglehold on the race thus far, winning all three of the race’s stages—he heads into the weekend with a 30-second lead. With few difficulties on offer, there’s no reason at this point to think the young German won’t win the overall title.

That’s all she wrote—at least for this weekend. Enjoy the sensitivities, and share your picks below.

About Whit

My experiences might easily fit many cycling fans' definitions of “living the dream.” Since getting hooked on the sport watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship, I've raced as an amateur on Belgian cobbles, traveled Europe to help build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux. As a former assistant director sportif with Mercury-Viatel, I've also seen the less dreamy side of the sport – the side rife with broken contracts, infighting, and positive dope tests. These days, I live with my lovely wife in Pennsylvania and share my experiences and views on the sport at Bicycling Magazine, the Embrocation Cycling Journal, and at my own site, Pavé.
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4 Responses to Weekend Preview – From the Giro to Dunkirk

  1. Michael says:
    May 6, 2011 at 4:49 pm

    if all goes well Saturday, a win Sunday should also be enough to make his teammate’s stay in yellow a rather short one.

    I think yellow should read pink.

    Reply
    • Whit says:
      May 6, 2011 at 5:08 pm

      Thanks Michael–I appreciate the heads-up.

      And apologies to everyone–it was a banner day for miscues on my part. I guess the 1,000 monkeys in my head need their typewriters cleaned :)

      Whit

      Reply

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