So EBH is a better sprinter than Greipel? 

After the finish when Cav was with EBH, seems a FDJ rider pushed Cav's bike and Cav wasn't impressed and went after him.

Tomorrow's climb up Passo Lanciano has been cancelled. They will ride an alternative route to Chieti of almost 250km

Tomorrow's climb up Passo Lanciano has been cancelled. They will ride an alternative route to Chieti of almost 250km

Ha ha.
Should send the "All things Italian" fanboys into hysteria.
Did try to warn the novices that this sort of stuff happens all the time to the T-A route.
So far, the race has been sh*t.
Soooo slow.

Sky have now successfully tried and tested Milan-San Remo plans "A" and "B".
Andre Greipel seems to have lost his sh*t small race form, too.

Real pity about the weather. 

But still a difficult stage. Abruzzo is not flat till you get near to the coast. So should see a hard man win it.

good test for cadel tonight! Hopefully he can bring up BMC's 1st victory!

EBH with any chance of doing something tomorrow with the altered parcours?

Will easily be tough enough to see off Cav, and EBH is apparently faster than Greipel so maybe!

Since today?

GVA 27th btw.

that was the oddest sprint I have ever seen

EBH over Greipel, Farrar, Sagan, Goss .....

 :-\

What were you expecting from two flat sprint stages? Does it matter how fast they ride them? Not sure Tuft can go any faster.

It does if you are watching them.
Two days of 35kph is like watching wood warp.
Today, we have over 250kms, that constantly goes up and down, but doesn't offer a selective climb on route.
M-SR won't be raced at these speeds, that's for sure.
If you design a race specifically to cater for another, the danger is that it can turn into an extended training run.

It does if you are watching them.
Two days of 35kph is like watching wood warp.
Today, we have over 250kms, that constantly goes up and down, but doesn't offer a selective climb on route.
M-SR won't be raced at these speeds, that's for sure.
If you design a race specifically to cater for another, the danger is that it can turn into an extended training run.

Does it look better when they are racing faster? Or just that it finishes quicker? Personally I've been thankful as I could tune in after P-N just in time for the last 10km.

I don't expect to see Horner, Evans, Poels et al using the next four days as slow paced training for M-SR. Maybe a training run for the Tour though

Sky have just confirmed that Thomas Lofkvist didn't start today and I believe he was their GC guy. They haven't really got a plan B in that regard.  Not good news for Lofkvist in terms of prepping for Milan-San Remo and not good news for me as a fan.  One of those statements clearly holds more weight than the other. 

Dont think he was considered a serious gc guy though. Be interesting with the route change for today if eddy can hang in there and move up the gc. Tomorrow will be too tough for him, but a decent ride today, decent tt he could finish in a pretty respectable position.

I gave up thinking of Lofkvist as a GT GC contender a few years , and I think I'm at the point now where I'm giving up on him in 1 week tours. He's still a decent rider but - he's a good domestique IMHO.

At Sky he is. In a few teams it's possible he could be a "leader" for the smaller stage races.

He was the odd man out in the T-A team though, not sure why they even bothered to send him.

Does no-one else wonder whether Sagan screwed Nibali?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tirreno-adriatico-2012/stage-4/results

"Today we gave so much as a team and it was important to win," said Sagan. "The best option for the team's victory today was [Vincenzo] Nibali and I tried to encourage it until the last [moment]. I pushed on the final climb, then I slowed down for him. When Di Luca attacked I closed the gap, then I thought Vincent was able to deal with our opponents.

"On the final straight I heard they were catching up and at that moment I thought only of the good of the team: not winning would be a great sin. I'm sorry for Vincent, we are a united group and among us there are absolutely no problems. Tomorrow we will have a hard stage and I'll be at his disposal to help him."

"Needless to say that today I wanted success, to try to gain precious seconds on the general classification," said Nibali. "The final was very animated and we, as a team, had a double opportunity: I had to win or Peter to reward the good work of our teammates. When he (Sagan) passed me I did not expect it, of course, but I also believe Peter's words and that it was in good faith."

Sounds to me like one guilty Sagan and one peed off Nibali.