Just watched the relive 44back 40front 
That sprint at the end I think showed it was the right choice for him.
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GCN say its more about chain alignment than a really low gear 
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Anyone know what bike Roglic was riding with the 1x? It was not an S5.
Almost certainly the R5….
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Cycling weekly say it was a R5 Here's why we think Primož Roglič used a gravel groupset on Giro d'Italia's Queen stage | Cycling Weekly
Good article. Thanks for sharing. 
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That is a lot of words to say “he wanted a smaller gear”.
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Nothing against Buitrago, but somewhat ironic that he takes a huge win and the reaction from vast majority is likely a mix of mild disappointment and apathy. Disappointment that Gee gets 2nd yet again, and apathy in that everyone was really just waiting for the GC action behind.
Thanks for ruining the Derek Gee cinderella story Buitrago 
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Why? He wasn’t on that gear then and he could have done the same thing on another cassette. Don’t know what he had before the bike change, but he could have been on 46-33 front, 10-33 back (Red AXS). He wouldn’t have had to change bikes (time + effort) and he wouldn’t have had those huge gear jumps (I counted at least two instances in which his cadence clearly suffered, one of them when G was attacking and opened a gap because Roglič was suddenly grinding a gear).
Perhaps but in the sprint for the line the lower gears allowed him to jump up his cadence remarkably and win by 3 secs; him and his DS must have reckoned it was right for him. If he lost I think we could clearly say that it was the wrong choice but with him winning we will never know for sure. Perhaps he could have done better not changing and grinding up a closer spaced cassette, perhaps not 
I think the time gaps are too big, so going into this TT feels like the podium is locked. That said, it’s close enough that a bad day or good day could swing things, just don’t think it’ll happen
As for the bike change, we’re all guessing - but I don’t think they’d have done it only for chain line. My guess is he wanted the easier gear to keep his cadence high on the steep parts (you can see his cadence was notably higher than Thomas for long periods of the climb) and that there was some aspect of ‘SRAM 1x advertisement’ in the choice of setup he swapped to. He planned to swap for the easier gearing regardless (you wouldn’t want those ratios, even with a 2x setup for the majority of the stage) and the 1x vs 2x for the swap was influenced by SRAM
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But in the final attack he didn’t do that and he didn’t use the extended low end. He clearly shifted up.
Agree that it was likely for a few different reasons not just one. On the chainline topic though, haven’t seen much discussion that in addition to marginal efficiency gain of chainline there’s also a marginal gain for decreased chain deflection based on running comparatively larger cog + ring. Doubt it would be much of a gain over a good 2x setup, but these are pros where every marginal gain matters.
As for the TT today, also agree that it seems very unlikely we’ll see a big upset on the podium. G looks solid, Roglic might take a few seconds but 30 seems very unlikely.
For all those that think this is sewn up, the 2020 TdF sends its regards.
Gaps are certainly within range for changes to happen, especially on that climb. Not saying it will happen, but it won’t surprise me in the slightest if it does.
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At least for me, this has been the 2nd yawn Giro in a row - talking about the GC. The breaks have been great to watch, but overall another C for GC excitement.
I think RCS needs to completely rethink course design- dump the back to back 200+ km stages, don’t overload the final week.
I would like to see a GT where most of the mountain stages are in week 2, with week 3 made up of shorter mid-mountain stages with steep pitches designed to give contenders a launching pad to attack from. Or throw in stages along the coast with crosswinds that a team could use to blow things up. Some way so that GC contenders in week 2 need to be thinking how do I take time on my rivals as week 3 is too unpredictable to feel comfortable nursing a small lead
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That’s how the tour is planned, and it basically just gets shit after the last big mountain in the pyrenees.
None of the GC battles ever play out on those punchy rolling stages on the way back to Paris.
This giro’s been great and if you think nothings been happening you’ve clearly only been watching the 5min highlights!
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I’ve been watching the stages - not the highlights - and stick by my perception.
Which stages do you think had memorable GC battles?
Oh good lord….they are talking about doing bike changes AND helmet changes for the TT today.
Stop wasting time and just ride your damn bike. You aren’t going to overheat riding in a TT lid.
(I’d also likely argue that they will be hard pressed to make up the time lost for a bike change on the hill, but I don’t have the data that the teams do)
McNulty just put a really good time on the board….we’ll see if the GC guys have anything to say about it.
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