And They're Off

The 2008 Giro d'Italia has begun. I'm watching on the RAI video stream. So far, it's working flawlessly. Go here for live coverage options.

In the end, we received 26 entries for the 2008 FGBC Giro Pool. Nicely done boys and girls. All the teams and riders are listed below. I think Hesjedal is the most popular rider. It seems he's on every other team. Appropriate, really, since he's the first Canuck to ride a Grand Tour in a while, and since many of us are really mountain bikers at heart. You may notice a few themes guiding the choice of riders. Rachel, for example, went with the theme of Marcus Christopher. Aside from Ricco, everyone on her team bears a name that comes close to her latest preoccupation. Laura stuck with riders who have two last names. This would be a great strategy for the Vuelta, since among this group having two last names essentially means you're Spanish. We'll see how it plays out in Italy. Feel free to reveal your own set of criteria or team picking strategies.

The first set of standings will be up later today. Right now I'm going to watch to see if CSC can beat Slipstream's best time so far.

I'll Take the Parasites (Chris) - Andreas Kloden, Gilberto Simoni, Juan Mauricio Soler, Kanstantin Siutsou, Marco Pinotti, Ryder Hesjedal, Mirco Lorenzetto, Morris Possoni, Julian Dean

I'd Fight Gandhi (Matt) - Robbie McEwen, Mark Cavendish, Paolo Savoldelli, Fortunato Baliani, Dave Zabriskie, Danielle Nardello, Ryder Hesjedal, Danilo Hondo, Julian Dean

Remaining Men Together (David S) - Andreas Kloden, Vladimir Gusev, Michael Blaudzun, Maxim Iglinsky, Antonio Colom, Assan Bazayev, David Millar, Patrick McCarty, Christian Vandevelde

Controlled Destruction (Ian) - Emmanuele Sella, Evgeni Petrov, Daniele Nardello, Fortunato Baliani, Marzio Bruseghin, Tadej Valjavec, Juan Mauricio Soler, Enrico Gasparotto, Christian Vandevelde

I am Jack's Smirking Revenge (Brad) - Danilo Di Luca, Robbie McEwen, Dave Zabriskie, Marco Pinotti, Enrico Gasparotto, Daniele Nardello, Jason McCartney, Kanstantin Siutsou, Paolo Bailetti

Near Life Experience (LeAnn) - Vladimir Karpets, Vincenzo Nibali, Evgeni Petrov, Dave Zabriskie, Andre Greipel, Rinaldo Nocentini, Alberto Loddo, Marco Pinotti, Paolo Bailetti

You Are Not a Beautiful or Unique Snowflake (Dallas) - Andreas Kloden, Leonardo Piepoli, Paolo Savoldelli, Robert Forster, Dave Zabriskie, Marco Pinotti, Brad McGee, Thomas Fothen, Charles Wegelius

Ikea Nesting Instinct (Tomek) - Mark Cavendish, Gilberto Simoni, Paolo Savoldelli, Magnus Backstedt, Robert Forster, Dave Zabriskie, Brad McGee, Francesco Bellotti, Bram De Groot

Listen Up Maggots (Arlene) - Ricardo Ricco, Paolo Savoldelli, Marzio Bruseghin, Robert Forster, Koldo Fernandez, Jose Rujano, Marco Pinotti, Kanstantin Siutsou, Julian Dean

Project Mayhem (Donna) - Alessandro Bertolini, Evgeni Petrov, Christian Pfannberger, Mikael Buffaz, Christian Vandevelde, Alberto Loddo, Jens Voigt, Pablo Lastras, Sven Krauss

His Name Was Robert Paulson (Bill) - Danilo Di Luca, Robbie McEwen, Graeme Brown, Charles Wegelius, Ryder Hesjedal, Brad McGee, Rik Verbrugghe, Danilo Hondo, Wim Van Huffel

Chloe's Libido (Jonny M) - Levi Leipheimer, Robbie McEwen, Nikki Sorensen, Christian Vandevelde, Francis De Greef, Dave Zabriskie, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Luciano Andre Pagliarini Mendonca, Enrico Gasparotto

Skinny Guys Fight 'Til They're Burger (Jonny B) - Paolo Bettini, Robbie McEwen, Paolo Savoldelli, Dave Zabriskie, Daniele Nardello, Brad Wiggins, Igor Astarloa, Ryder Hesjedal, Brad McGee

Grande Latte Enema (James) - Danilo Di Luca, Gilberto Simoni, Paolo Savoldelli, Marzio Bruseghin, Pablo Lastras Garcia, Filippo Savini, Carlo Scognamiglio, Mauro Santambrogio, Felix Rafael Cardenas Ravalo

B Times C Equals X (Hal) - Danilo Di Luca, Andreas Kloden, Paul Martens, Ryder Hesjedal, Iker Camano, David Canada, Danilo Hondo, Carlos José Ochoa, Alberto Ongarato

Stomach Full of Xanax (Laura) - Alberto Contador, Joaquin Rodriguez, Pablo Lastras, Luis Laverde, Mauricio Ardila, Jose Benitez, Félix Cardenas, Joan Horrach, Inigo Landaluze

Chemical Burn (Cam) - Brad McGee, Stuart O'Grady, Fabio Sabatini, Inigo Landaluze, Ryder Hesjedal, Igor Astarloa, Paolo Savoldelli, Vladimir Gusev, Juan Manuel Garate

Tonight We Make Soap (Rachel) - Ricardo Ricco, Mark Cavendish, Christian Pfannberger, Chris Anker Sorensen, Christian Vandevelde, Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano, Markus Eichler, Chris Sutton, Marco Velo

You Met Me at a Very Strange Time in My Life (Jonny G) - Levi Leipheimer, Robbie McEwen, David Millar, Fabio Baldato, Bram De Groot, Antonio Colom Mas, Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano, Andrea Moletta, Mirco Lorenzetto

The Most Beautiful Day of Raymond K Hessel's Life (Charlene) - Danilo Di Luca, Gilberto Simoni, Magnus Backstedt, Enrico Gasparotto, Rinaldo Nocentini, Marco Pinotti, Andrea Noe, Iker Camano, David Canada

Grade School Girlfriend (Adam) - Andreas Kloden, Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez, Juan Manuel Garate, Marzio Bruseghin, Jose Rujano, Dave Zabriski, Francesco Bellotti, Tiziano Dall'antonia, Maxim Iglinsky

On a Long Enough Timeline the Survival Rate for Everyone Drops to Zero--aka OALETTSRFEDTZ (Colin) - Levi Leipheimer, Paolo Bettini, Enrico Gasparotto, Alexander Efimkin, Christian Vandevelde, Matthew Lloyd, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Alessandro Vanotti, Gerben Lowik

First You Have to Give Up (Craig) - Nick Nuyens, Gustav Larsson, Mikael Ignatiev, Evgeni Petrov, Dario Cataldo, Alexandre Usov, Dave Zabriskie, Christian VandeveldeFrancesco Bellotti

Gasoline and Frozen Orange Juice (Paddy) - Franco Pellizotti, Leonardo Piepoli, Christian Pfannberger, Emanuele Sella, Jose Rujano, Robert Forster, Dave Zabriskie, Kanstantin Siutsou, Philip Deignan

A House Full of Condiments and No Food ... How Embarrassing (Darryl) - Denis Menchov, Nick Nuyens, Dominique Cornu, Andre Greipel, Jason McCartney, Patrick McCarty, Brad Wiggins, David Canada, Christian Vandevelde

A Predator Posing as a House Pet (Andy) - Andreas Kloden, Gilberto Simoni, Dario Cataldo, Emanuele Sella, Jose Rujano, Marzio Bruseghin, Alberto Loddo, Julian Dean, Danilo Hondo