Ryder Hesjedal becomes first Canadian to win the Giro d’Italia

[Goober]

Ryder Hesjedal becomes first Canadian to win the Giro d

Ryder Hesjedal becomes first Canadian to win the Giro d’Italia

MILAN, Italy — Canada’s Ryder Hesjedal didn’t realize history was within his grasp until he was about five kilometres from the Giro d’Italia finish line.

Aware he had a chance to overcome Joaquin Rodriguez’s 31-second overall lead in Sunday’s final stage, Hesjedal broke out onto the streets of Milan determined to keep victory from slipping away.

Only near the end did he find out he would become the first Canadian to win the one of cycling’s three major tour races.

“Nothing anyone could have said to me could have changed how hard I rode,” he said.

Hesjedal took 34 minutes 15 seconds to complete Sunday’s 28.2-kilometre individual time trial in sixth — 20 places ahead of his Spanish rival. His 16-second margin of victory was the second closest in Giro history.

“It’s just been an unreal experience from day one, what the team was able to do. It’s unbelievable,” said the Victoria native, who finished the race in 91 hours 39 minutes two seconds.

“This is incredible. It’s a dream come true.”

Like the rest of the riders, Hesjedal had been through a demanding mountain ride to the top of the Stelvio Pass in northern Italy on Saturday.

 

[damngrumpy]

It doesn't happen every day and its not the most prominent sport for Canadians
just the same its great to see someone do something special.

 

[talloola]

yes its very special, I've been checking his times for the past few days, and was pleasantly
]
surprised today to hear that he won.

congratulations to him, well done.

 

[gopher]

Kudos to Canada!

I'm a long time fan of UCI racing and have been since the days of Eddy Merckx, Jan Janssen, Greg Lemond, Miguel Indurain, and Bernard Hinault. These greats along with Lance Armstrong have made it one of the most exciting sports in the world. While it has come under much controversy over the years, it remains a challenging and much supported sport.

Ryder Hesjedal really stuck in there in the final stages where there were excruciating mountain climbing ranges and he kept up with the likes of Joaquin Rodriguez, Ivan Basso, and Tomas De Gent who specialize in climbing as opposed to sprinting. I think that the tone of the race and the start of Ryder's success was the great TTT (Team Time Trial) that Garmin-Barracuda ran in the first stage. You just had to watch this team race = they looked liked a speeding train with one car attached to the other. Such superb teamwork is what makes road cycling really special. Yet, the sport is not well known for this. In fact, TTT's are often not used anymore though I cannot understand why. To me, TTT is one of the single most exciting events in all of sports. Thus, GB helped Ryder win it which proves that this is a great team sport. His valiant effort and victory will long be remembered for years to come.

 

[JLM]

Good to hear some positive news, a pleasant change from the constant fare of robberies, muggings, rapes, kidnappings, pedophilia and other assorted nefarious activities.

 

[talloola]

Good to hear some positive news, a pleasant change from the constant fare of robberies, muggings, rapes, kidnappings, pedophilia and other assorted nefarious activities.

yeah. i've noticed my own interests over the past few years, and without really thinking about it
in depth, I have backed off from politics, and much of the news because they tend to only want to show/tell
us anything that is awful, and don't give a damn about balancing it much with good happenings.

When we go for our daily coffee and snack time, I read their newspaper, which is for customer enjoyment.
I can sit there and pick out what interests me, and ignore the miserable side of life, which i've
become so tired of, and can't understand why there are so many people who chose to be violent, destructive
thoughtless, very mean with no kind thought of anyone but themselves and destroy others lives along with
their families, who have to live with the awful memories of crime against their loved ones.

I am travelling through the rest of my life on my own terms, finding all that is calm, peaceful, constructive,
energetic, loving, so that my general feelings of contentment can stay 'somewhat' in tact, realizing of course
that all is not well around the world, but I have my own world, and I can build it as I want.
This cycling event is uplifting and exciting, and it feels good to know that he
has a victory for himself and for canada. good for him, as it shows how hard some
people work and strive to do good, while others are working hard to do bad.

 

[gopher]

... and he gets to kiss some pretty stage girls when the medals are awarded.