That. Was. Spectacular.
So good it completely distracted me from the pain in my legs during the intervals I was just doing.
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The pain but also determination in Fortunato’s face was epic. That was the longest and most excruciating final 500m lol
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I was shouting at the screen willing him on. What an absolutely amazing effort - those final gradients looked brutal. Shaping up to be a great final week as Yates is still within touching distance if Bernal has a bad day.
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Pretty amazing for a 2nd division rider to win such a prestigious stage. I think Eolo has been in every single breakaway so far. Good to see it pays off.
Also great to see Yates try something. Hope he keeps at it.
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I am glad that the team with the most beautiful bikes won a stage 
I’ve seen Jan Tratnik in a few races now, and he seems like a really nice down to earth guy. His post-stage interview today was great - the interviewer asked something like “how was today’s stage”:
There’s no audio for the first few seconds because the first thing he said in response to the interviewer was actually “oh f**k…”
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Bernal has a stranglehold on the race now…barring a collapse or accident, it is pretty much over. He is the strongest guy in the race and no one else is close.
Yates ride himself into a podium slot today and may well hold it to Milan. He looked smooth and strong today. Even though Bernal got another 10” on him, Yates rode as he needed to. He needs to gain time on everyone else and hope it puts Bernal in difficulty, but his main goal needs to be gaining time on the other riders.
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It took you long to recognize what was obvious 10 days ago
It wasn’t obvious 10 days ago. It wasn’t clear whether his back would hold up. Every day that passes makes it look like it will. And even though he’s clearly the strongest rider, on the strongest team, I’m knocking on wood until he rolls into Milan in pink.
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LOL…it wasn’t obvious 10 days ago. He had less than a minute over a number of legitimate contenders and there were lingering questions about the condition of his back. He had yet to stamp his authority in the race and had only taken a handful of seconds when available.
But you go on with your fan boi narrative…everything I have posted has been 100% consistent.
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well it’s taken 2 full weeks, but i’m not ashamed to admit that rob hatch has grown on me. he is clearly a huge bike racing fan, and that’s ok in my book. the damn over pronunciation and other stuff still annoy me, but i can look past it with his kind of passion.
this race is a lot of fun. really disappointing to see how these riders/teams just decide to up and quit to prep for other races. it’s a real slap in the face to the organizers
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Queenstage today! 
The weather is gonna be pretty bad. Hope there won´t be too many crashes. But either way it´s a crazy tough stage.
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So happy for Victor Campenaerts and Qhubeka Assos. What a Giro and teamwork!
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Pictures this morning look pretty grim - I wonder if they will have to shorten things.
Jup. New route is 150 km and they dropped 2 mountains 
I mean I understand why, but it´s still such a bummer to see the queen stages slashed. Happens way to often these days 
Well if the conditions are not safe for the riders and everyone involved, I think it makes complete sense to shorten things. Of course it would be better if we had good weather, but given the circumstances, I think it’s the best choice.
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Yeah definitely the right decision. The weather is absolute shite. It´s so bad, they can´t even get a reliable broadcast. There is no way anybody could get me on a bike in these conditions 
It´s just still such a bummer to have the most exciting stages shortened. And it probably will happen only more often in the future
And me, he gets in the breaks so often and gets nothing, good to see perseverance pay off yesterday.
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Might end up being just as exciting just condensed.
Often on the Queens stage there is a lot of waiting and waiting because they know it is going to be so hard. Yeah you might get a few drifting off the back on the climbs before, if on bad legs, but its normally the end of that last climb when all the action kick offs (expecting being on the last weekend when someone goes from a long way out with nothing to lose AKA Froome a few years back.)
Hoping it will be just as exciting.
Absolutely!
Thinking of last years Giro when Josef Cerny (CCC) won in an unexpected breakaway and solo TT attack (with Campenaerts coming 2nd) after the stage was shortened due to bad weather. This means less time to calibrate tactics and potentially a surprising outcome.