Tirreno-Adriatico was sometimes chaotic, sometimes cathartic but always competitive. Sunweb’s GC ambitions were wiped out in crashes, Marcel Kittel got his first win for Katusha and tributes were paid to Michele Scarponi. Sky’s Michal Kwiatkowski won, almost by stealth, Damiano Caruso of BMC was second, also almost by stealth, and Geraint Thomas of Sky came third, despite suffering his typical Italy-induced bad luck.
In our PACKED episode 102, Midge and Kathi discuss why Peter Sagan might not be ready to win Roubiax, why we love Tom Boonen, why you should never let PhilGil in a break, how to review Fleche Wallonne in 30 seconds and we wonder why we just don’t care about the Ardennes. Plus a (very loose) preview of the Giro, and a look back at the career of Michele Scarponi.
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The unpredictability of life is often what is great about it – but that same capriciousness can be unbearably heartbreaking. And so it was on Saturday when Italian cyclist and bon viveur Michele Scarponi was tragically killed in a collision with a truck on a training ride near his home in Italy. Tributes flooded in all weekend and many, after the initial shock of the event, were memories of a man who was full of charm and warmth for everyone he met. Today’s Tweets of the Week remembers Michele with a smile on his face and a parrot on his shoulder …