Does Dave Z look like he might be ready to make something happen in this Giro?

Sounds like he is going to give it a go and see what happens with the freedom to ride his own race.

I'm interested to see how it goes...

What do you think he goes for? A stage win other than a TT or see's if he can break the top 5 in G.C? I was wondering why he went so well in stage 4, he stayed with all the big names on that last climb...

Looks like he's riding for a high GC spot. I've never seen him come in near a front group on a mountain top finish in the past, he's been content to sit in the gruppeto and wait for the next stage he has a shot at.

If he cracks really hard at some point I would expect him to try and get a stage win or maybe work for Andy Schleck to salvage the race.

Does Dave Z look like he might be ready to make something happen in this Giro?

I debated this with myself this afternoon as I was finalizing my fantasy team for the contest on cyclingnews. I just couldn't pull the trigger and go with him, he's flattered to decieve in the past when it comes to the mountains and with only one TT in his favor and the decisive final week in the mountains, I just couldn't go with him. It may come back to bite me in the a**, but I couldn't pick him.

I debated this with myself this afternoon as I was finalizing my fantasy team for the contest on cyclingnews. I just couldn't pull the trigger and go with him, he's flattered to decieve in the past when it comes to the mountains and with only one TT in his favor and the decisive final week in the mountains, I just couldn't go with him. It may come back to bite me in the a**, but I couldn't pick him.

The Eurosport crew called him a very good climber today...

I just don't know where they got that from.. maybe he's been practicing a lot?

Dave Z has done things similar to what he did in Stage 4 before. He is an adequate climber on the less steep climbs that come early in a stage race.

He will be OTB when the going gets real tough though.

That said, you never know. He hasn't been doing quite as well in TTs as he has in the past, so perhaps he has been training to be more of an all arounder. Maybe that's Riis' plan with Basso gone and no young stud for GC. (Well, aside from Frank Schleck)

Maybe he'll take a shot in a solo breakaway, like he did when he won his Vuelta stage. Or like David McKenzie did a few years ago in the Giro.

P.S. I LOVE your avatar. I've always been a HUGE Audrey fan. There will never be another like her.

I've always wondered why he doesn't climb better. He should have a good power to weight ratio. I remember him climbing well in the 05 Giro before Basso got "sick". I think it is more a head problem than anything.

he dropped 10 more lbs to compete, so hes now 140 at like 5'10
thats stupid light

it's bike racer light...

What are you, 6' 150?

5'10" 140 is pretty light...even for bike racers I'd say it's on the light side.

he dropped 10 more lbs to compete, so hes now 140 at like 5'10
thats stupid light

There was a race last year that he reportedly dropped a bunch of weight for (Tour or Vuelta?) and still got blown out the back on the climbs. Not sure if that means he's lost even more weight now, but as much as I'd like to see him do well, for the fantasy team's sake I've got to hope he still gets dropped like a stone in the mountains :)

There was a race last year that he reportedly dropped a bunch of weight for (Tour or Vuelta?) and still got blown out the back on the climbs. Not sure if that means he's lost even more weight now, but as much as I'd like to see him do well, for the fantasy team's sake I've got to hope he still gets dropped like a stone in the mountains :)

I think it was the Dauphine Libere where he was given carte blanche for the GC as a kind of test to see how he would go, he was lying second after stage 3 after winning the TT
2:40 off Gilbert with the first main mountain stage the next day up Mont Ventoux, but he dropped like a stone finishing the stage over 8 minutes down and that was probably the realisation that Dave Z will never be consistent enough over a three week tour, what suprises me though is that he never aims at the hilly classics, he certainly has the engine for it.
Andy Schleck will be the one for the Tours, he will become a lot more stronger and will become a world class TT if he can follow his natural progression, while Frank will aim at the classics a lot more.

I call BS on the 5'10" and 140lbs. I met Zabriskie in August of 2006 and he was 6' tall and probably 150lbs. I'm 5'8" and 148lbs, and he was noticeably bigger than me. In fact, the only reason I give him credit on the 150lbs is because it was right after the TdF.

I'm making him sound fat. The dude is still a rail compared to everyone else. His height and power (and power:weigh ratio) make him a great TTist. Climber he is not.

I did get his autograph, though.

He Does live in Utah which have more than a few mountians to train on...

Velonews has an article today and it mentions the Z-Man is trying to see what his GC potential is.

I do take a bit of umbrage with this quote though:

Zabriskie has long been hailed as a possible grand tour contender. The next two weeks should take him closer toward fulfilling that destiny.


I for one have never heard Zabriskie hailed as a GT contender.


http://velonews.com/race/int/articles/12290.0.html

Velonews has an article today and it mentions the Z-Man is trying to see what his GC potential is.

First serious climbing day and I don't see Dave Z. in the first selection on the final climb but Schleck is there.

Over 5 minutes have passed and I haven't seen him finish. Maybe missed him but he certainly wasn't anywhere near the top guys.

LOL, a dog almost took out the white jersey!

Is it me, or does it seem like Cunego is struggling a bit on the two climbs thus far? I think we all reference his 2004 season as his benchmark ability. He seems to be lacking that explosiveness.

First serious climbing day and I don't see Dave Z. in the first selection on the final climb but Schleck is there.

Over 5 minutes have passed and I haven't seen him finish. Maybe missed him but he certainly wasn't anywhere near the top guys.
The live coverage on cyclingnews said he was off the back on the first slopes.

I'm guessing he'll be in around 5-6 minutes back and be working for schleck for the next couple weeks. Schleck has a shot...

Is it me, or does it seem like Cunego is struggling a bit on the two climbs thus far? I think we all reference his 2004 season as his benchmark ability. He seems to be lacking that explosiveness.

Not super for sure. Simoni looked very controlled while Di Luca was turning himself inside out to take the time he did. I'd still bet on a Di Luca fall in the final week with Simoni coming good. Ricco looked really good but then faded right there at the end.

I'm kicking myself over my fantasy team, once I decided not to go with Dave Z. I was debating whether to pick Sella or Schleck and decided to go with proven experience over hype, and it looks like this time hype was probably the right choice :)

Schleck has a shot...

Schleck will be this year's Giro revelation, this year's Rujano, this year's dark horse. Damn he looks as strong as his brother with that steam-roller type turning of the gears.

Gibo, DiLuca and Schleck look very good for podium. I'm starting to have doubts on Cunego who I picked as GC winner. Was surprised to see Savoldelli with Cunego on the line, so Savoldelli looking ok -- can't write him off Il Falco as he is the best ITT guy among Gibo, Cunego, DiLuca, Schleck and himself. There is only one road ITT but that's probably about a buck to a buck-fifty advantage that he has to "borrow against" going into the real mountains. And on the downhill finish to Briancon in a couple of days Savoldelli is going to fly, maybe deduct 30 secs there. Interesting Giro!!!

Gibo, DiLuca and Schleck look very good for podium. I'm starting to have doubts on Cunego who I picked as GC winner.

I had 9 GC picks for the fantasy game on cyclingnews and the way their game is set up you can essentially buy anyone you want, so you don't have to pick and choose between costly riders. The only one who didn't finish in the points (top 15) today was Garzelli, and he wasn't a complete bomb. Popovych was there which was good for me as he was a bit of an unknown. I'm still hoping it will all catch up with Schleck by week 3 (he is young and this is his first GT) and Sella will end up being a better pick in the long run.

Oof Picked up 8 minutes today