Giro d'Italia Stage 18: Tejay van Garderen breaks Grand Tour duck, Tom Dumoulin keeps pink, Adam Yates in white

Found this interesting:

The final classification is a "fair play" ranking for each team. Teams are given penalty points for infringing various rules. These range from half-point penalties, for offences that merit warnings from race officials, to a 2000-point penalty, for a positive doping test. The team that has the lowest points total at the end of the Giro wins the classification.

Guess which are the highest scoring  2 teams?

21 - Movistar -300 pts

22 - Bahrain Merida - 1080 pts

Well that wasn't too surprising was it

Perhaps Nibbles can get one of his 'not too cocky' 50mph sticky bottles to assist him to his much deserved podium?

Just read that Nibali said yesterday that Dumoulin is 'a little too cocky' - anyone know the Italian for 'pot calling the kettle'...

Off to watch highlights now. Great news for Tejay, Tommy D and Adam Yates yesterday and hopefully Panda's close to seeing up the KoM prize.

I like Tom and would like to see him win but I liked him more before he felt the need to have a go at the others. Nibali is a pretty humble guy and he's talking a lot of sense, they're not in Milan yet. Imagine how stupid Kruijswijk would feel now if he had gone around slagging Nibali off last year.

I've always liked Nibali because along with Contador he's actually a proper racer, and not afraid to have a dig even when he's not the strongest guy in the race, in case it pays off. It takes balls to do what Nibali does and he's got the full set of GTs and a Monument to show anyone who thinks he needs to prove anything.

What a stage, truly amazing, Tom D has won me over I'm now a fan, despite his totally expressionless eyes. He sure talked the talk yesterday after the stage, makes for entertainment, he's just got to keep on going and not have a bad day.. he knows that he can take a minute on Nairo in the pan flat TT...

Nibbles I think is having a good race so far, to me he's always over hyped he only won the previous Giro's becuase no one else turned up... I like him though he tends to try and animate a race although I suspect we won't see a better Nibali that we did on stage 16.

Unlikle Nario, who just annoys me with his ugly expressionless face and robotic race tactics, why shouldn't he have taken a turn yesterday when asked to..  how many times across the years have we 'waited' for a response from the condor and got nothing. 

For me I'd like to see TomD win it by a margin, Nibbles second after a blistering decent from the Monte Grappa and a reasonable TT and Nario third becuase the 'amazing' Winner Anacona got lost on the way to the team bus on stage 20.

@AST1986

I couldn't agree more!

Nibali is the prizest of all prize bell-ends; he is undoubtedly a skilled rider, but that is all undone by his incredibly tedious personality.

His comments that Brad wasn't all that just before he lost to him in the 2012 TdF, chucking his water bottle at Froomey only for Froomey to run in the bus and offer him out, the endless ridiculously bad timed attacks off the front when he hasn't got the legs, only to be reeled back in and then spout to the press how everyone else rode without courage and are scared of him. They are usually scared they will runover him as he blows and flies through the pack and out the back.

My missus loves him, which I think is purely to wind me up, as her previous favourite was Vinokourov for God's sake!

Come on Tom!

My dream scenario is TD 1st with Pinot ousting Quintana for 2nd and finally Jungels putting in the TT of his life to take 7mins or so out of rest to take 3rd...it could happen!

The contenders for the TDF have changed. Quintana doesn't look as explosive has he was a few years ago. Nibali again looks less able to sustain a break. If Domoulin can recover he could be a real handful for Froome.

Nibali is showing himself to be a grade A bellend with comments like these: 

“I don’t care what Tom said, I think he is being cocky, he’s talking too much, I’d never talk like that,” Nibali said at his team bus.

“He’s shown he’s very strong in the race but he’s talking too much. He could also lose the podium because nothing is sure in this Giro d’Italia. Except, for sure, we won’t accompany him all the way to Milan.

“He’s got to keep his feet on the ground, does he know what karma is?”

Vincenzo, do you know what karma is? I only hope you get it in buckets over the next couple of days. Nairo or Tom for me to win and hopefully Vincenzo's bike falls to pieces and his team mates dessert him. 

Hold fast TD you can do it!

Loving this Giro.

Today's stage could be a cracker - Quintana and Nibali need to attack Dumoulin and try to break him early if they can. Going off TD performance yesterday that looks unlikely and I wouldn't be surprised to see TD attack on the final climb if he feels strong and senses weakness in the others. Really hope Pinot can overhaul Nibali, will be cheering him on for certain, Allez Thibaut!!

love the quote I got on my feed - "Dumoulin has now lost ten Dam, who has completely popped. He's got drool coming out of his mouth as he pedals squares on this third climb..."

that was me today also - albeit after only 40k of three small hills and a pub in my case!

come on Tommy D, shove up their arris's, piancavallo is where NQ is going to go all out tomorrow, hope TD can hold on and not lose too much if any.

Not sure what Tommy D's on about, Nibali won't be arsed about losing 30s to the guy in 8th. He must be feeling confident to be having a crack at two guys who've won 3 more Giros than him.
Nice to see another Sky tactical sprinting masterclass...

Woah, gauntlet thrown well and truly with those comments. Bit of a change from Tuesday.