Giro Tour double

Armstrong never tried because he was afraid to, and he was afraid because the Tour was the only thing that mattered to his sponsors and any variable that could compromise his performance in the Tour had to be avoided. It would have been cool to see Pantani drop him in the 99 Giro though.

The biggest risk is that there isn't enough time to get into race shape after recovering from the Giro which can leave you flat in the first week with a deficit you can't recover later. Basso lost time in the prologue and on the first mountain stage at Courcheval last year, though gutting in out in the Giro probably required more recovery than if he had stayed healthy and won it.

Nautical1 said:

I just read that Ivan Basso is attempting to win the Giro & Tour. I am not real familiar with the peaking/rest combination required to win both. It seems like a full month would be enough time to recover. However, Armstrong never attempted it. Any thoughts?

It has been done before...I believe Marco Pantani in 1998? Please correct me if I am wrong...which is always possible.

baj32161 said:

It has been done before...I believe Marco Pantani in 1998? Please correct me if I am wrong...which is always possible.

Yup.

Eddy Merckx won the Giro-Tour double one year, and the Vuelta-Tour double the next. (Vuelta was held in April back then so the recovery was similar.

DiabloScott said:

Yup.

Eddy Merckx won the Giro-Tour double one year, and the Vuelta-Tour double the next. (Vuelta was held in April back then so the recovery was similar.

Well what HASN'T HE won?!?!😄

Thanks Scott

mises said:

The biggest risk is that there isn't enough time to get into race shape after recovering from the Giro which can leave you flat in the first week with a deficit you can't recover later. Basso lost time in the prologue and on the first mountain stage at Courcheval last year, though gutting in out in the Giro probably required more recovery than if he had stayed healthy and won it.

I agree that getting sick during the Giro probably took a lot more out of him than he had planned on. The Tour course next year doesn't hit the mountains until day 10. It's unlikely that any of the serious contenders are going to pick up big leads on those early flat stages. Riding both tours is a big risk, but it seems to be well calculated.

baj32161 said:

Well what HASN'T HE won?!?!😄

Thanks Scott

The Milk Ras of course.
😉

baj32161 said:

It has been done before...I believe Marco Pantani in 1998? Please correct me if I am wrong...which is always possible.

A few people have done in: Roche won both in 1987 (along with the World Champs), Indurain did it twice (1992, 1993), Hinault (1985), Merckx (1970, 1972, 1974 - in 74 he also won the world champs), Anquetil (1964), Coppi (1949, 1952).

Others have had strong showings in both races.

On the other hand, Ullrich rode a dismal Giro in 2001 before finishing 2nd at the Tour.

DiabloScott said:

The Milk Ras of course.
😉

that's the famous quotation :

Eddy Merckx "now that you've done the triple (TDF/Giro/World Raod Race in one season) Stephen, we're now equal"

Stephen Roche said "naw, Eddy, we're not equal - sure you never won the Ras !"

Classic.

tcklyde said:

A few people have done in: Roche won both in 1987 (along with the World Champs), Indurain did it twice (1992, 1993), Hinault (1985), Merckx (1970, 1972, 1974 - in 74 he also won the world champs), Anquetil (1964), Coppi (1949, 1952).

Others have had strong showings in both races.

On the other hand, Ullrich rode a dismal Giro in 2001 before finishing 2nd at the Tour.

Thanks...I knew it had been done more than once, but that was the only year I could be sure about (well relatively sure). Jeez but those are some legendary names on THAT list!!!