Vuelta: start list

The Vuelta a Espana begins tomorrow and ends on the 20th of September in Madrid.The race begins in Holland and will move to Spain after 4 stages (the last of which ends in Liege).I won't be around for the next 2 weeks,so in my last post for this month I've decided to show you the start list of La Vuelta according to the official website of the race.Here it is:

Euskaltel Euskadi: The Basque team will be formed by the Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez,Igor Anton,Egoi Martinez,Alan Perez,Ruben Perez,Inaki Isasi,Aitor Hernandez,Markel Irizar and Amets Txurruka.Logic thinks that lots of Euskaltel men will take part in breakaways and that Sanchez will show something good.

AG2R La Mondiale: the team leader for the GC will be Tadej Valjavec,who wore the leader jersey for some days during this year TdS.The other riders will be José Luis Arrieta, Riblon,Alexander Efimkin,Hinault,Loubet,Nocentini (vai Rinaldooo!),Turpin and Dessel.Dessel is a strong rider,while Nocentini will surely be very motivated because he wants to be one of the Azzurri in Mendrisio.
Andalucia Cajasur: This team will be formed by Xavier Tondo,Javier Ramirez,Manuel Calvente, Jesus Rosendo,Jose Ruiz,Francisco Jose Martinez,Manuel Ortega,José Antonio Lopez Gil and Antonio Piedra.

Astana: Probably you all know that Vinokourov will be a member of this team.The other 8 riders of the Kazakh team will be Jesus Hernandez,Iglinsky,Bazayev,Navarro,Horner,José Luis Rubiera,Kloden and Zubeldia.Anyway,I can't understand one thing: according to the Vuelta website,Vino will be just a reserve.Anyway,I can't understand why Vino keeps on talking about winning stages if he actually isn' going to run.Mistery.

Bbox Bougues Telecom: Bernaudeau,Bonnaire,Bonnet,Bouyer,Claude,Gaudin, Gene,Lefevre and Fedrigo. I like this team and I like Fedrigo (his nose is one of the symbols of this year Tour for me) and hopefully the Frenchman will manage to win a stage.
Caisse d'Epargne: the team leader for the GC will be Valverde,who has recently said that he already knows how being on the podium feels,so this time he wants to win the race.Considering that he didn't race the Tour,he will probably be even more determined than usual and so I think he's one of the favourites for the final victory.His teammates will be Erviti,José Vicente Garcia Acosta,David Lopez Garcia,Daniel Moreno,Pasamontes,Francisco Perez Sanchez,Xabier Zandio and Joaquim Rodriguez,who is a very strong rider.

Cervélo Test Team: Sastre won't be racing the Vuelta this year,so the team hasn't got his usual GC leader.The Cervélo riders at the Vuelta will be Angel Gomez,Xavier Florencio,Deignan, Hammond,Konovalovas (allez Ignatas!),Gomez Marchante,Rasch,Rollin and the young Swiss rider Marcel Wyss.

Cofidis: The French team will be formed by Demaret,Duque,El Fares,Bingen Fernandez, Moinard,Moncoutie,Monier,Pauriol and Taaramae.Taaramae and El Fares are very promising riders and I think they'll show something good during the Spanish race.
Contentpolis-Ampo: this team will be formed by Javier Benitez,Sergio Dominguez,Oscar Garcia-Casarrubios,Mikel Gaztanaga,Francisco Jose Pacheco,Adrian Palomares,Aitor Perez,Julian Sanchez and Manuel Vazquez.

Française Des Jeux: the team riders for the Vuelta will be Sandy Casar (winner of the Bourg Saint Maurice stage at Le Tour after Astarloza's positivity),Sebastien Chavanel,Cherel,Di Gregorio,Gerard,Ladagnous,Le Mevel,Offredo and Roux.
Fuji-Servetto: De La Fuente,Cobo,Duran,Capecchi,Jesus Del Nero,Kessiakoff,Kiserlovski, Intxausti and Vigano are the riders that are going to race the Vuelta for this team.Also this time,the question remains: where has Ermanno Capelli ended up?
Garmin-Slipstream: Farrar, Tom Danielson, Daniel Martin, Hesjedal, Tuft, Millar,Dean and Vande Velde.Since Cavendish won't race the Vuelta,I predict that Farrar will win at least 1 stage.And I also predict that Vande Velde will race well (even if he's already been at the start line of the Giro and of the Tour this year).
Lampre-N.G.C: some of the Italian riders will be very motivated because the Worlds are rapidly approaching and the Italian coach,Ballerini,still doesn't know which riders to choose for the Azzurri world team;between the Italian riders that are probably going to be very determined there is also Lampre's Damiano Cunego,2nd at last year's Worlds.Ballan is the only Italian rider sure of his convocation for the Mendrisio worlds,but I think he'll show something good as well during the next 3 weeks.Other Lampre riders are Bindi,Tomei,Buts,Mori,Tiralongo,Zagorodny and Gasparotto.
Liquigas: also some Liquigas Italian riders will have a great motivation during the Vuelta.Basso is going to ride for a victory in the GC,Bennati would love to win at least one stage,Quinziato will give everything to convince Ballerini to bring him to the Worlds (last year he ran the TT race). The other Liquigas riders will be Bodnar,Carlström,Kreuziger (will he help Basso,I wonder?), Szmyd,Zaugg and Willems.Of course,after having screamed happily for his victory on the top of Mont Ventoux during the Dauphine Libere,Fangirl would love to see Szmyd winning again,but Logic thinks that this won't be possible because Sylvester will have a lot of work to do for his captain Basso.
Quick Step: Good team.Boonen will try to win the stages for sprinters,while the other riders will try to win other stages.Perhaps Devolder may try to get a good placement in the GC,like he did (not in a very succesful way,I must say) during the Tour 2008.The other riders of the team will be Van Impe,Cornu,De Weert,Tosatto (another one who will try to convince Ballerini) and Velo.
Rabobank: Smiley won't be racing,so Robert Gesink is going to be the team leader.He's a strong rider and I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up on the podium.Freire will try to win at least one stage and to do so he will have to beat guys like Farrar,Boonen,Ciolek,Greipel and Davis.The other Rabobank riders will be Garate,Boom,Leezer,Martens,Moerenhout,Tankink and Weening.
Silence-Lotto: after a disappointing Tour of France,No-Snore-Team will try to run a good Tour of Spain.On paper,they have the potential to do very well in the race.The team leader is obbviously going to be Cadel Evans.De Greef is a good young rider and I hope he'll do well. Wegelius has already raced the Giro and the Tour and is now going to race he Vuelta.Reading his Twitter,he sounds a bit worried.Matthew Lloyd is another strong rider,just like Gilbert (who won the Anagni stage at the Giro).The other members of the Team will be Brandt,Kaisen,Roelandts and Delage.

Team Columbia-HTC: Without Cavendish,the Columbia's "stage leader" is probably going to be André Greipel,while the GC leader will be KK,aka Kim Kirchen.Grabsch will try to win a TT,but with Cancellara around it won't be easy.The other Columbia riders will be Albasini (winner of a stage at the TdS),Siutsou (winner of the Bergamo's stage of the Giro),Hansen,Rabon,Reynes and Sieberg.
Team Milram: the team sprinter is Ciolek and I hope he can get a good result after all the placements he got this year.Linus Gerdemann is racing and hopefully his Vuelta will go better than his Tour.The other team riders are Knees,Roels,Rohregger,Russ,Martin Velits,Schroeder and Voss.
Team Saxo Bank: ah,Fangirl's favourite team...Andy and Frank will go for stage wins,at least that's what they said,but who knows what will happen? Perhaps their form is already very good and they'll get a good placement also in the GC (*Fangirl speaking,don't mind her).The team leader for the GC is going to be Jakob Fuglsang who,in my opinion,will be able to arrive in the GC Top 5.Cancellara of course will go for the TTs,while Kolobnev,Kroon,Arvesen,Breschel and O'Grady will go for stage wins (and work for the team leader).
Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team:Bozic,Carrara, Hoogerland,Lagutin, Leukemans, Marcato, Mouris, Pronk and Westra will be the Vacansoleil riders.
Xacobeo Galicia: Ezequiel Mosquera will probably be a contender for the podium.The other riders of the team will be David Garcia Da Pena,Gustavo Cesar Veloso, Gustavo Dominguez,Serafin Martinez,Gonzalo Rabunal,David Herrero,Alberto Fernandez and Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Xacobeo Galicia.

So,these are the riders that are going to run the Vuelta according to the race website.Hopefully it will be an exciting race and Fangirl will have the chance to cheer on many Saxo Bank's victories.Allez Saxo Bank!

Frank Schleck:"One day,we will both be on the podium in Paris"

Today I've found an interview with the Schleck brothers made by Le Quotidien's journalist Denis Bastien.It is in French and so I had to translate it.Since my knowledge of the French language is,er,not very good,I suggest you to read the original version on http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/les-sports/5273.html. .Anyway,if you don't understand French, here's my translation of the interview.Hope you enjoy it!

On the 26th of July,a Tour de France edition marked by the Schleck brothers ended. In addition to Frank's stage victory on the Grand Bornard,to Andy's white jersey and to the 2nd place in the GC achieved by the younger of the 2 brothers,there were also all the emotion that the 2 Luxembourgian riders gave to the public.They'll come back on their saddles for the Vuelta a Espana,an ideal preparation for the World road race championship in Mendrisio.And perhaps, also for something more... Yesterday afternoon,the Schleck brothers came back on the road.By car.Their direction was the Netherlands,where the Vuelta begins this Saturday.

The Tour de France ended a month ago.How did you feel during those days of break?
AS: It was a good break.It's true,at the end of a Tour there are fatigue and pain.I was really happy to be home again,but it didn't last long.Immediately after the Tour,we raced some Criteriums in Holland.4 days after the end of the French race,there was the Gala of Tour de France.Personally,I was slightly more stressed than Frank.I went from a criterium to another by car.Anyway I've managed to rest a while as well.Don't worry,I've relaxed.
FS: Like Andy,I was really happy to come back home again.It's true that,with all the Criteriums, it's not easy to rest.But yes,I have recovered well.We started to train again 2 weeks ago,in order to be able to pedall well again.Of course right now our form is not great,but we're racing the Vuelta to build it day after day.During the last week of race,we may be able to show something good.
Today,what do you remember from your Tour de France?
FS: I remember what the public said about our performances.They said that,at the end,just Contador and the Schleck brothers tried to make the race exciting.Contador was the strongest, but we tried to create him some problems and we don't have any regret.
AS: I think we gave a good show.We did what we could.It's always easy to say you could have done that,you could have done this,but we're proud of what we did in the Tour.
Have you got any regret?
AS: No.Of course,we lost 40 seconds during the Grande Motte stage.At the end those 40 seconds weren't a big problem for me,but without losing them Frank would have arrived 3rd in the GC.That's our only regret.
FS: With the legs I had in that period,I could have made it to the podium,that's for sure.From my point of view,the 2 strongest riders were Andy and Contador.I thought I could eventually have come in 3rd.Of course,those 40 seconds lost during the Grande Motte stage have been important.But I have another regret.With the time bonus,I could have gained some precious seconds during the Grand Bornard stage.But anyway,let's forget about these regrets,we did a great Tour.One day,we will both be on the podium in Paris
Are you surprised by the way your popularity has increased during the month of July?
AS: Yes,a little.But this was also caused by the way the race went.Evans went out of games after few days.Sastre didn't go very well.We were better.In fact,as Frank said,we were the only rivals for Contador.The public appreciated this fact.The spectators and the viewers love exciting stages and during the last week we made the race more exciting.
FS: Under this point of view,we did everything we could and it's true that the viewers have loved to see us racing that way.
How are things going in Luxembourg?
AS: They're going very well.When we don't have to take part in parties,festivals and so on,we stay calm,we love tranquility.But it's true that now when you stop in a bar to drink a coffee during a training,people ask you to take a photo with them and to give them an autograph.It's nice to be in Luxembourg.It's a pleasure for us.
FS: If we can give happiness to people,we don't hesitate.But after the Tour euphoria,we've stayed calm between one criterium and the other.
Looking at the 2010 edition of the Tour de France,what has this year experience given to you?
AS: The Tour is over and I don't like talking about things that already belong to the past,but of course I gained a lot of confidence after this year's race.It confirmed what I already thought.In 2007,I came 2nd in the Giro.In 2008,I was the best young rider at the Tour but I made some "youth mistakes".That year,I came in 10th.Now I have the idea that I can win.One day I'll win that race,yes,that's for sure.I feel it.This gives me confidence.I can win a Grand Tour and I can win the Tour de France,I think.
FS: To me,this year experience has given me new hopes for the future.Next year,Contador will be at the start of the Tour with a new team.Armstrong will have his own team as well.Our team,without any doubt,we'll be at least as strong as theirs.Things will be different.It won't be easier.But now we know what we can make.It's realistic to think that we both can be on the final podium in Paris.
Andy,what do you think of the rumours about your possible transfer to Armstrong's new team,RadioShack?
AS: I turned pro 5 years ago and so now I know how these things work.I know that,when I talk with Armstrong,then there will be rumours about that,and that the same happens every time I speak to Contador.When I talked to them,it was for fun,not for going to their new teams! (ndr;I don't know whether the last sentence I've translated is correct,really hope so!)
Is this one of the bad consequences of your reputation growing worldwide?
AS: Yes,it is...Let's talk about the Vuelta a Espana,that begins on Saturday...
FS: It's clear that we're not going to the start line thinking about winning this race.It's the first time we take part in it,so we're going to see how it is.We're racing the Vuelta because we want to find a good form and try to win a stage.The rider of our team that will try to get a good result in the GC is Jakob Fuglsang.I think he can arrive in the Top 5 in this race.As far as we're concerned,we'll see what we'll be able to do in this race.If we can do well in one or 2 stages,we'll do it.
AS: Just like I did in the criteriums,I think I'll ride with my pace.For me,it is easier to run a Grand Tour.I think that I won't be super in the first stages,but that I will get better after some days.Between all the races,the Vuelta is the best one you can choose if you want to get ready for the Worlds.
Are you going to finish the Vuelta or are you going to retire before o the last stage?
AS: It's the road that will help us with deciding this.If I'm well placedin the GC,I won't get retired.There is a week between the end of the Vuelta and the beginning of the Worlds.If I'm strong at the Vuelta,I'll be strong also during the Worlds.That's my point of view.
FS: That's also my point of view.But I'll be prudent during the Vuelta.We'll try to run a good Tour of Spain.But if one day I end up in the gruppetto,I won't make a tragedy out of it.That evening,I will drink a good beer and the following day I'll be back again on my saddle.I don't know if I'll retire.If I'm well placed in the final days of the race,I think I will continue racing.
AS: I see the Tour of Spain as a new adventure.After all,I'm happy to be on the road again.So far,we had 2 peaks of form.One during the Classics,in April,and we raced well there.The other peak was during the Tour.We ran well there too.I'd like to think that my good form could last for the whole season.This is the first time I run 2 Grand Tours in one year.That's a new challenge for me,so I'm excited.For me,it's better to race 1 big race than 2-3 small races.I'm not going to race the Vuelta to get a good result in the GC,but who knows what may happen? I'm going to race without any pressure.I'll decide whether to finish or not the race,listening to my feelings.I won't listen to the advice of the people who have ran the Vuelta before.
What does this mean?
AS: Everybody tell me that these 3 weeks are going to be very important for my beginning of the 2010 season. At this time of the season,I think they can just do good to me.After the Vuelta there are the Worlds,and after the Worlds,in October,there is the Tour of Lombardy.And there are also all the other pre-Lombardy races,like the Tour of Emilia that Frank has already won.All these races give me inspiration.I'm a runner that has troubles at the beginning of the season.So,if I can get some advantadge from the Vuelta,it will just do me good.This will make my experience-luggage even bigger.
Next Monday,a stage of the Vuelta will finish in Liege.Have you already thought about this?
AS: Yes I have,but I don't think that my form will allow me to shine during the first days of the Vuelta.I don't know how my body will react,but I believe I'll get better day after day.Actually,I don't know much about the stage ending in Liege.
The parcours looks a bit like the Amstel Gold Race's one,there is the Cauberg,and then the final kms are the ones of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
AS: Oh,then it's going to be too hard for me...
Wat do you think of the Mendrisio worlds?
FS: It is going to be as a very hard classic.And of course,we're alway good on that kind of terrain.With Kim Kirchen,Luxembourg has got 3 riders that have a chance of victory.In the next years the race will suit the sprinters rather than the climbers,so we have to take this chance. Anyway,we'll see how we'll feel at the end of the Vuelta.

SAXO BANK LINKS...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/voigt-to-return-at-tour-of-missouri :His Amazingness is coming back at the Tour of Missouri."It was hard to see the races go on without me, I tried to enjoy the time off the bike with my kids and with my parents,"said Voigt."I went to see the team in Hamburg to show them I am still here and my face is no longer swollen."Of oourse I'm very happy to read this news.

http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/entry332279.html :the younger of the Sorensen has updated his blog.He'll be in Missouri as well next month and he's writing his own book.Of course me hopes it won't be published just in Dane,because otherwise me couldn't understand anything of it.

http://www.saxobanktakingthelead.com/?p=1487 :that's an "interview gone wrong" with Lars Bak.It's funny,believe me.

(first pic by Daylife)

News news news...Links links links

So,here I am again after having spent some days in the only city where your pics can be spoiled by double red buses driving on the street.Of couse I had a lot of fun,saw lots of nice places, sometimes thought about le Tour 2007 and become addicted to Starbucks (why doesn't it exist in Italy,why?).
Anyway.
Lots of things have happened in the last 5 days,here's a small resume.
VINO'S RIDING THE VUELTA: This news has totally shocked me,myself and I,aka me,Logic and Fangirl.Logic was speechless after having read this news,while Fangirl started blattering something about the Tour 2007,Astana,Davide Cassani,the Chickenman,the Tour 2008,Blood and Bleah.

Rasmussen won't be racing because of a rule that says that a rider must sign a contract with a team 20 days before of the beginning of a race.Perhaps,rather than Vino,I would have preferred to see the Emaciated Chickenman riding on the Spanish roads.

NIBALI BROKE HIS COLLARBONE: I don't know what the Italian newspapers wrote about this news,but I can imagine it.Nibali was one of the riders who could have raced the Worlds for the Italian team,but now his season is over because he broke his collarbone at the Eneco Tour.

Of course Italian ct Ballerini is having big problems with choosing the riders for the Worlds.The only rider that will surely be on the team is Ballan.Then,between the riders who are "under observation",there are Cunego,Basso,Visconti,Bertagnolli,Bertolini,Nocentini,Paolini,Bosisio, Bruseghin,Tosatto,Garzelli,Pozzato (aargh!),Santambrogio and probably other guys I can't remember right now.

NO POSITIVE RIDERS AT THE TOUR 2009: Or not yet,at least...Of course newspapers gave little space to this news,while instead they wrote a big article when,some time ago,someone said that there would have been at least 20 positive riders after this year's Tour.

ENECO TOUR: The GC of the Eneco Tour was won by Edvald Boasson-Hagen.Sylvain Chavanel came in 2nd,while 3rd was Sebastian Langeveld.Best Saxo Bank racer was Lars Bak, who came in 7th in the final GC and also managed to win a stage.
TOUR OF IRELAND: The GC of the Tour of Ireland was won by Russell Downing,who also won the first stage and came 2nd in the last one.Lars Nordhaug (winner of the last stage) came in 2nd in the final GC while Matti Breschel came in 3rd.4th in the GC was Kolobnev,while 5th was Professor Pinotti.The 2nd stage of the race was won by Cavendish.

LINKS LINKS LINKS:
Here are some Saxo Bank links and news.
JENS VOIGT RENEWS CONTRACT WITH SAXO BANK TEAM: http://www.riis-cycling.com/ny_news.asp?n_id=2488 .His Amazingness will be racing for Saxo Bank team at least until the end of 2010,and me's very happy to hear this news.Allez Jens!
CANCELLARA LINK: http://bazonline.ch/sport/weitere/Es-ist-meine-letzte-Chance-im-eigenen-Land-Weltmeister-zu-werden/story/11128933 (German).Answering to one question about the Worlds Championships,Cancellara said: "It's hard to decide which race is the most important for me,the TT or the road one.I've already been World TT Championship twice,but I haven't won any title on the road yet.So the idea of winning the road race appeals more to me.But on the other hand,it's also true that this one is my last chance to become World Champon in my own country and I've got more chances of victory in the TT race than in the road race one.In Mendrisio there will be lots of fans on the road and this means a lot to me".

ANDY SCHLECK TRIBUTE VIDEO: http://www.saxobanktakingthelead.com/?p=1390 .

I found this video on Saxo Bank website and I think it's a pretty one.I especially like the parts regarding the Liege,because they remember me of all the fears that I had during the last 10 kms of that race.In fact you must know that every time one of my favourite riders is alone on a breakaway,even when victory seems very close,I keep on having fears like: "Now he blows up.Now he falls.Now he runs over a dog.Now a fan makes him fall.Now his bike breaks."I know it's foolish,but that's it.

Random post involving the Worlds,il Trittico Lombardo and 2 random links:

So,here's one of my usual random posts.
First of all:do you remember my last post about Denmark's team for the Worlds? If you remember it,forget it:Feltet.dk (the website on which I read the news) has written an article in which they apologize and say that they've made a mistake.In fact Denmark will have 6 riders at the Worlds,not 3.Of course I'm glad to hear about this,because in this way both los Sorensens, Matti Breschel and Jakob Fuglsang should easily find a place in the Worlds team.

Talking about the words,here's a list of the nations who will compete in the Worlds.
The 9 riders teams will be Spain,Italy,Australia,Germany,Russia,Luxembourg,Belgium,Great Britain,Usa and Norwegy.
Italy would love to be the first nation to win 4 Worlds in a row,so the Azzurri will be very motivated.

Australia and Germany will have 9 riders both,but me wonders on which team will Heinrich Haussler race.

Luxembourg's team will probably be formed by 6 riders,since there aren't 9 pro-riders from that country.

6 riders teams will be Switzerland, Colombia, Venezuela, Kazakhistan, France,Holland, Slovenia, Poland,Ucraine,Denmark, South Africa.

Of course I'm very very very happy to see that Denmark will have 6 riders and not 3,especially because both Fangirl and Logic believe that the Dane riders will do very well in the next Worlds.

A thing that worries me is to think about Kazakhistan team:will Vino be included in it? Me hopes not.

3 riders teams will be Latvia,Estonia,Tunisia,Argentina,Brazil,Canada,Iran,Japan,Portugal, Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, Estonia,Hungary,Latvia,Serbia, Sweden,Ireland, Czech Republic and Belarus.

Sweden will have 3 riders and of course Fangirl hopes that Thomas Lovkvist will be included.

1 rider teams will be Lithuania,Finland,Namibia,Cuba,Chile,Costa Rica,Ecuador, Uruguay and Bulgarien.

Logic predicts that Lithuania's rider will be Konovalovas and that Finland's rider will be Veikkanen,but Worlds team selections are often unpredictable.

Anyway,now it's time for some random links...

Article about Lovkvist: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lovkvist-tuning-for-worlds-at-eneco .Lovkvist told Cyclingnews: "Hopefully I can have a good second half of the season as I normally I perform all year round.I feel fresher and that might be good for the Worlds. That’s the big aim". With no contract for 2010,Lövkvist will use the remainder of the season to resolve his future, having spent the last two seasons with Columbia."I’ve not signed a contract with Columbia yet so there is a possibility of a change but nothing has been confirmed in either direction". However any contract distractions haven’t affected his dedication or training, with the Swede having already profiled the World championship road course."I’ve been down to look at the course already.It will be a very demanding race but I hope I’ll be on my best day.I’m pleased with my season.I took two wins and led the Giro, where I was up there with the big guys for quite a while. I’m happy and I’ve taken a step in the right direction."

Random link n.2: Jens Voigt: Making a visit to the Athletics World Championships in Berlin (9'58"! 9'58"! 9'58"! Usain Bolt!-ok,feel free to ignore me when I behave this way),Jens Voigt has said that he would like to come back racing in September at the Tour of Missouri.Here's the link to the article: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/voigt-back-in-action-at-missouri .Of course me's looking forward to see his Amazingness on the roads again.

Here instead are the coverages of the 3 Valli Varesine and of the Coppa Agostoni.

3 Valli Varesine: the "Trittico Lombardo" started yesterday with the 3 Valli Varesine.After some kms of race,12 men escpaed from the group.They were Stangelj,Botcharov,Santambrogio, Salerno,Savini,Cheula,Biondo,Marzano,Proni,Masciarelli,Paolini and Bertolini.

With 50 kms to go the 12 riders had 5 minutes of advantadge on the peloton and 3 minutes of advantadge on Torosantucci,that chased the breakaway alone for a lot of time and eventually came in 13th.

With about 20 kms to go,Proni attacked.He was then caught again by the riders of the peloton but decided to attack again with 15 kms to go.This time he was followed by Paolini and Bertolini.

These 3 riders were caught before of the last 3 kms,which were completely uphill.

As soon as the climb began,Stefano Masciarelli went to set the pace at the head of the little group of riders.Just Botcharov and Santambrogio were able to follow Masciarelli and,with 250 meters to go,Santambrogio started the sprint and won the race.Masciarelli came in 2nd,while Botcharov was 3rd.

"Today I had a huge desire to win,"said Santambrogio."The Tour of Portugal didn't go my way and I wanted to do something here.It has been five years since my last win.It is an emotional win, near my home in Como where there are lots of people who love me."

Today there was the second race of the Trittico Lombardo,the Coppa Agostoni.At the start-line there was also Emanuele Sella,who's already come back in the group after having been banned for one year.
The weather was really hot today,so just 31 riders arrived at the finish-line.

With 20 kms to go,during the 6th and last ascent of the Lissolo climb,6 men (Visconti,Ventoso, Scarponi,Bertolini,Santambrogio and Rubiano Chavez) escaped from the main peloton.

During the last km of race Daniele Muto made a very good action and managed to join,all alone, the 6 men group.As soon as he joined the head of the race,Muto tried to attack.Unfortunately for him,Ventoso,Visconti and Santambrogio were ready to react.The first one to sprint was the Spaniard,who was then outsprinted by Santambrogio and Visconti,who won the race.

"I've never been a 'pure climber',so to win here means that I'm in a great condition",said the winner."I dedicate my victory to my girlfriend Katy:on the 23rd of november we'll become parents and we'll call the baby Thomas.And I dedicate the victory also to Fabio Fazio and to Alessandro Shapoval,2 young racers of our society that passed away a few days ago.As soon as I crossed the finish line,I thought about them.(...) My goal now is to race the Worlds.During that race I would work for the team,for example I may enter in an early breakaway and become an important rider during the final part of the race".

Santambrogio,24 year-old,said:"I really wanted to win this race,also because today between the finish-line and the place where I live there were just 10 kms.Perhaps I started the sprint too soon,so in the last meters I slowed down a lot.Now I must try and mantain this form and this concentration and exploit this golden period.I'm happy to be in the list of riders that may be in the Italian team at the Worlds and tomorrow I'll be at the start of the Coppa Bernocchi."

Santambrogio in fact has been the best rider of the Trittico Lombardo so far and if he gets a good result also tomorrow he will win the diamond that Lombardy gives to the best rider of the 3 races.

Unfortunately for those of you (not many,I think) that like my race coverages,I won't be able to blog for the next few days and so I won't be able to cover the Coppa Bernocchi.

Hamburg Classic (and random thoughts of mine about the Worlds):

Not a lot of journalists here in Italy noticed it,but today there was the Vattenfall Cyclassic Hamburg (or how else it is called).
Few kms after the start Sergio De Lis and Krivtsov escaped from the group.Don't worry if you don't know anything about De Lis:he's a very young neo-pro and will turn 23 in December. Unfortunately for him and Krivstov,the group caught them with about 40 kms to go.
On the Waseberg climb Matti Breschel attacked,but nobody followed him and so the Dane rider let himself drop back.
After Matti's attack,Gilbert and Nick Nuyens escaped from the group.They were then joined by Fabian Cancellara,Bandiera,Roche,Bennati and Reda.Then other riders (about 20,I think) caught Cancellara's group.Between these riders there were also Sylvain Chavanel and Turgot,who tried to attack but didn't have a lot of success (they were caught by the whole group after about a minute).Talking about Turgot:while he was chasing Cancellara's little group,something of really funny happened;the Frenchman in fact kept on moving his elbow because he wanted somebody to start pulling and let him rest a while,but he didn't realise that he was actually alone and so nobody could help him.
Anyway,on the final Waseberg's ascent,Gilbert attacked again.This time he was followed by O'Grady (allez Saxo Bank!),Mori and Roche.They gained just few seconds on the peloton and were soon caught.
With some hundreds of meters to go,Napolitano,Maaskant and Langeveld fell in a curve and so they couldn't take part in the sprint.Maaskant and Langeveld aren't sprinters,but Napolitano could get a good result today,so I was a bit sorry for him.
The sprint saw Ciolek and Breschel riding head-to-head on the left side on the road,while Farrar was on the left.Me was really hoping for a Saxo Bank's victory,but Farrar eventually turned out to be the fastest today.

Second came Matti Breschel,while third was Ciolek (I love the way the German moves his head while sprinting!).
The 2 last riders to arrive were De Lis and Krivtsov.
Although Matti didn't win,I was happy for Farrar.This rider has arrived 2nd behind Cavendish many many many times and so he really deserved a victory in an important race!

As I said,Model Matti arrived 2nd,but was happy with his result anyway."Actually my legs felt a little heavy early in the race where two riders took off and created a gap and when Columbia went to the front of the peloton to control the pace my legs gradually felt better.Towards the end of the course I launched an attack but since no one wanted to follow I let myself drop back so I would be ready for the sprint.Frank Høj, Fabian and Stuart did an awful lot of hard work put me in a good position,but Farrar was really strong in the sprint and he has really deserved the victory after several podium places lately.The outcome was to me better than expected,so I am quite satisfied. I am now looking forward to Tour of Ireland which route in many ways looks promising to me and even later on I'm thrilled to be riding the Vuelta again",he said after the race.
Farrar instead said:"This season has gone very well for me,although the really big success didn't come until now.After the many second places in the Giro and the Tour, it is great to finally stand on top of the podium.The team rode together, at the front,all day.We had some bad luck with crashes,but the boys really came through today.It's nice to win a big one..."
Also Ciolek,who finally came in 3rd,was satisfied with his result."On one hand,of course,there were two riders faster than me.But on the other hand,it not really a loss.That was my only my second race since the Tour de France.At times it was very difficult for me to go with the high tempo in the finale."

Breschel's good race gives me the chance to talk a bit about the Worlds and especially about something I've found out today.As you probably already know,Italy,Spain,Germany,Usa,Russia, Luxembourg,Australia,Belgium,Britain and Norwegy will have 9 riders at the Worlds.
Netherlands,France,Slovenia,Columbia (the country,not the team),Switzerland,other countries I don't remember and Venezuela will have 6 riders.And already here,reading that France and Netherlands will have jus 6 riders,Logic went "WTF? France and Netherlands will have just 6 riders? That's absurd,Frenchmen rode very well at this year Tour and they will have just 6 riders!".But I was even more surprised by another news I read this morning.
Some days ago I wrote that,in my opinion,a Dane rider may win a medal in Mendrisio's Worlds. But today I've found out that Denmark will have just 3 riders at the Worlds.I write it again: Denmark will have just 3 riders at the Worlds.In my opinion,this is absurd.I mean,take los Sorensens and Denmark has 2 riders,add one rider between Fuglsang and Breschel and they already have 3 men in the team.And I've written the 4 names that came in my mind first.As well as these riders,there are also people like Bak,Vandborg,Klostergaard and Hoj that ride for Denmark.And,strangely enough,I can't think of any famous rider from Venezuela right now.And Venezuela will bring 6 riders to the Worlds.Is it just a lapsus of mine,or is it because Venezuela actually hasn't any very strong riders right now? I don't want to say bad things about Venezuela,but to me it seems evident that something inside the way people decide how many riders pro team will go the Worlds is wrong. Your opinions?

Schleck pics + Article about Jens Voigt:

As I wrote in the last post,some days ago there was the celebration of the results achieved by the Schleck brothers in the Tour.

On this link http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/letzebuerg/artikel/38498/sympathisch-bodenstaendig-erfolgreich.php there's an article and some photos from the celebration.Hope you like them!

(Pic by Anouk Anthony)

Here instead http://www2.team-saxobank.com/ny_news.asp?n_id=2469 there's another link about Jens Voigt.Here are some things he recently said (and that you can read also in that article):

"I remember absolutely nothing from the crash.The last thing I remember is that we just made it over the climb and Bjarne (Riis) asked me to drop back in the group and let the others pull in the chase before the final. I was then planning on retrieving bottles for my teammates. The next thing I remember I was awake in an ambulance where my very first thoughts were: Why am I here? I want to go back to the race. I want to go to Paris with the team. But soon the pain told me that there was a reason why I was on my way to the hospital (...) Only after the helicopter ride to the University Hospital in Grenoble and numerous studies and stitches I was able to get to a phone at ten o'clock at night to tell my wife that I was pretty much ok and that I would not get chronic injuries from the accident. The doctors took so many x-ray images of me that I still fluorescent in the dark. My youngest daughter of four years watched the crash while she was alone in front of the TV, and it obviously did a great impression on her. My older boys seemed mainly obtained with the fact that I was the coolest dad since the crash was the second most downloaded video on youtube in the days after the accident", says Jens Voigt, who in his own warm-hearted fashion because of the crash has gained an even greater perspective on life: "At the rehabilitation center I was in good hands. My brain was tested in so many ways and my body was re-generated by doing water gymnastics. But at the center I was forced to turn the focus away from myself as I witnessed the fates many times worse than my own that I felt guilty about having escaped so easily from the crash. After doing 80 km/h hitting the asphalt head first I got away without permanent injuries. And here I was walking around watching a father motionless sitting in a wheelchair, from which he was fed by his wife after a fatal fall from the chair he was standing on while changing a light bulb. It certainly provides food for thought". But that doesn't mean that Jens Voigt is now questioning his own career: "I am not a quitter and never was. I'm not the kind of guy to give up because of external circumstances. After having watched the crash several times it is clear that there was nothing I could have done to prevent the fall. The crash was accidental and accidental incidents should not determine whether I should put an end to my career.I will stop my career when the time is ripe, and I am not done competing for the best cycling team in the world.Team Saxo Bank means a lot to me.I feel extremely well in the company of all the riders, staff and all the people around the team.To trust and to be able to get along with all employees is a priceless gift and I enjoy spending time with the guys in a way that I simply can not live without”. And if Jens is to decide it will not be long before we will be able to watch the indomitable rider back in the peloton:"I was eager to participate in the Tour of Denmark but the doctors and Bjarne wisely asked me not to go. However,I will hopefully get the green light next week by the doctors to train at full speed again, and I hope to do the Tour of Missouri from September 7th.First of all in order to convince myself that I am still able to compete.But not least because I want to get out there and show the world and my fans that I am ok and I appreciate the support I have received during my absence”.

Andy won Emmen Criterium + Worlds News:

Yesterday's criterium in Emmen,Holland,was won by Andy Schleck.Second came Robert Gesink, while third was Albert Timmer.
If you are in Luxembourg right now,I've got a little news for you.Tonight in Mondorf-Les-Bains there's the celebration of the results achieved by Andy and Frank at Le Tour.If someone of you is interested,on this link (http://station.lu/newsDetails.cfm?id=24454 ) and on the luxembourgish fan club of the 2 brothers there are some info about the event.

Worlds:As you all know,between a month and a half there will be the Worlds in Mendrisio. Luxembourg team is allowed to bring 9 riders at this race,but the president of the FSCL (Federation du Sport Cycliste Luxembourgeois),Jean Regenwetter,has said that,more probably,just 6 riders will take part in the Worlds Championship Road Race (see link: http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/les-sports/5013.html for more info).Regenwetter in fact said: "Just like last year,we're allowed to bring 9 riders at the Worlds.Last year I didn't want to take so many riders to that race,but eventually our team was formed by 9 men.This year I think we'll ride in 6.Of course there will be the Schleck brothers and Kim Kirchen.The other 3 riders may be Christian Poos,Laurent Didier and Jempy Drucker".
Last year the Luxembourg team was formed by the Schleck brothers,Kim Kirchen,Vincenzo Centrone,Laurent Didier,Jempy Drucker,Steve Fogen,Benoit Joachim,Christian Poos and Claude Wolter.
Talking about the Worlds,between the teams that will be allowed to have 9 riders there will be also USA and Norway,while Netherlands will have just 6 riders.
(pic by Serge Waldbillig)

Random News:

Here are some totally random news about what's going in Cycledom these days...

Schlecks: In these days there aren't lots of news about the brothers around;for what I understood,their next race will be the Gp of Plouay (23rd of August).Then the brothers will be racing the Vuelta that this year begins on the 29th of August and ends on the 20th of September.

Di Luca: the news du jour is that Di Luca's counter-analysis confirmed that the Lpr rider was doped during the Giro 2009.

Every time a rider "gets caught" at the anti-doping,people usually say the same things about disappointment,honesty and so on.And the rider always says the same thing:" What? Doping? Me? Are you crazy? I'm the cleanest rider of the peloton! It can't be true! I'd be a stupid if I doped".Anyway,I'd like to write here an article that Marco Pinotti wrote on the local newspaper after receiving the news of Di Luca's positivity.Here are some sentences that I remember:

"I got the news of Di Luca's positivity after having finished a race.I was on the team bus with my teammates.Normally,when you get the news of a rider's positivity,you feel angry and disappointed.This time I felt happy.Anger and Disappointment came later,perhaps because I didn't realise the importance of the news and because I was still excited about the stage that had just ended (...).Di Luca is not new to this kind of problems:he had problems already in 2004;in 2007 he was disqualified because of the "Oil for Drug" inquest;In 2008 instead CONI wanted to ban him for 2 years because of some strange things that the doctors found out while analysing blood samples from the 2007 Giro.Then he had problems because of his doctor,mr.Carlos Santuccione (ndr;see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Santuccione to find out more about that man).Now,he's finally been found positive to an anti-doping test (...).He'll probably be disqualified for 2 years,but it doesn't matter.It doesn't matter because no one will ever pay back all the riders who lost a victory,a good result,an important chance of getting a good result because of him over the last years".

It was a very strange article because Pinotti is normally a very diplomatic person,but this time instead he really looked angry.And the last sentence of his article really made me think a lot.If Di Luca hadn't raced this year's Giro,how would things have gone? Yes,Menchov would have won anyway but perhaps Lovkvist would have kept the maglia rosa for more time,2 stages would have been won by other 2 riders (Basso and Garzelli,perhaps),there would have been less polemics between Lpr and Liquigas...It would have been a different Giro.

COMEBACKS...

Let's change topic...Here' the "Comeback section news".

After the Emaciated Chickenman,also Vinokourov has come back racing again.And me likes Vinokourov even less than Rasmussen,so you can probably understand how happy I am.

A much nicer comeback is Kenny Robert Van Hummel's one. The Dutch rider suffered a severe laceration to his knee on July 22,but now is ready to come back racing.Kenny said he expects to race in the Profronde van Oostvoorne,a Dutch criterium,on Thursday afternoon. (see full article about Van Hummel's comeback on: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/van-hummel-returns-at-profronde-van-oostvoorne ).Of course,after having supported him at le Tour,I'm really looking forward to see Kenny on the roads again.

Another rider who is coming back soon is Kurt-Asle Arvesen,who is scheduled to ride the Tour of Ireland.
Then: Do you remember that horrible fall caused by Theo Bos at the Tour of Turkey?
Well,Daryl Impey (the rider who fell together with Bos) returned racing again this week,in GP Carnago.In the April crash Impey suffered facial injures,broken teeth and 2 broken vertebrae. Hopefully the South African rider will get some good results soon.He would deserve it,after that crash.

TOUR OF POLAND: I know that I have ignored that race completely so far,but here in Italy they broadcast it at crazy hours and so I just have to read the results on the newspapers.

The leader at the moment is Alessandro Ballan.The Italinan rider also won a stage in this race and achieved his first victory 315 days after the one at the Worlds.2 stages were then won by Edvald Boasson Hagen,while other stages instead were won by Bozic,Furlan and Guarnieri.

TEAM CHANGES
Bruseghin will race for Caisse d'Epargne next year.

Talking about my favourite team (Saxo Bank),Luxembourgish rider Laurent Didier has signed a contract with Riis' team.
Didier is 25-year-old and took the second place in both the road race and time trial at the National Championships 2009. Didier has been riding with Team Designa Kokken over the last year.Also Jakob Fuglsang,Alex Rasmussen and Chris-Anker Sorensen raced in that team before.
"I'm really happy about this contract and I'm looking forward to joining the team.I know Fränk and Andy quite well and know that I'll get ample opportunity to improve myself with Team Saxo Bank.Last fall I did a couple of races as a helper and I also went to the training camp this winter, which only made me even more sure that this is the right team for me,"says Laurent Didier,who's become a fulltime pro this year because he wanted to end his engineering studies first.

Fangirl at Le Tour 2:Bourg Saint Maurice-Grand Bornard

The day after the Col du Petit Saint Bernard stage,Ilaria,Kimberley,Marleen,my family and I drove to Bourg-Saint-Maurice,France,to see the start of the Grand Bornard stage.
There were lots of people around and we were a bit confused because we didn't know where to go.We saw some Rabobank's cars at the petrol station (in the pic you can see Menchov's and Garate's bikes) but that didn't help us.Finally we saw some buses (and some indications) and managed to find the "bus area" and the start zone.
Some people were queueing to go inside the start village,but you had to pay to get there and so we avoided it.Later,we found out that buses weren't close to supporters like in the Giro: there were barriers and then,behind the barriers (where journalists,photographers and people-who-had-paid could wander without any problem) there were the team buses.
Saxo Bank bus was one of the last buses to arrive and parked very far from us.When SB bus rode past her,Fangirl was really happy because she could see Fab Fab very well:he was sat near to the bus driver and was already wearing his uniform and his sunglasses.When the bus had parked,lots of journalists,photographers and cameramen went there,so it became impossible to take good pics of the riders.
In the meanwhile,some riders started to ride to the start.I saw Charly Wegelius,looking cool and wearing his looking glasses,Sebastian Lang,Matthew Lloyd,Jurgen Van Den Broeck and Johan Van Summeren.Random thought? "Man,Van Summeren's skinnier than Brice Feillu! And he's taller!!! Unbelievable!!!". Talking about Silence-Lotto's riders,I saw also Scheirlincx (and they say that "Schleck" is difficult to write...) and Van Avermaet.
Then the Euskaltel boys came.Fortunately I had printed the start list of the race and I had brought that sheet of paper with me,so I could recognise the riders by looking at their race number.
The other riders arrived in a pretty random way:a Boygues Telecom rider,a Caisse d'Epargne's one,a Milram guy...I saw Fabian Wegmann pretty well,he rode in front of me,alone,looking relaxed.Another Milram rider I saw very well was Linus Gerdemann.He rode near me without helmet and guess what my mother said? "That boy has nice hair.He looks a bit like Lovkvist".
Then I saw Vladimir Karpets (he's not that scary now that he has abandoned his victory mullet) and Brice Feillu.Brice seems a very nice boy,French supporters screamed his name in a great way and he smiled at them.
Then I saw Ballan (he's very skinny as well),Pellizotti (go Francoooo!!!),Fedrigo,Nocentini,Nibali and lots of other riders.Of course I saw also HGS,but I pretended to be a French supporter when he rode past me.
Then the 2 Japanese riders arrived:Arashiro was talking to a Japanese girl and seemed relaxed. Beppu instead was on his pedals and was riding pretty fast.In the meanwhile things around Saxo Bank bus had started to change:in fact the mechanics had brought the bikes near to the vehicle and Bjarne Riis had appeared.When Bjarne went away,the brave Nicki Sorensen got off the bus and faced the journalists.Fangirl wanted to scream something,but then Logic reminded her that Nicki was being interviewed and that he wouldn't have heard her anyway.And,if he had heard her,he would have thought that Fangirl was crazy.Fangirl agreed with Logic and didn't scream anything.
After some time I heard a lot of people screaming and 2 men dressed in black came running in front of me.Sir Lancelot was following them and riding between the shouting supporters. I didn't say nothing to Armstrong,but I couldn't avoid to scream "Go Denis!" to Menchov. After all,in the Di Luca-Menchov battle during the Giro,I was supporting the Russian (instead a Lovkvist fangirl that I know very well was supporting Di Luca).
Then Vanotti rode past my family.One of us said: "Ciao Alessandro!" and he turned his head towards us and said "Ciao" as well.After that,he probably thought a lot about who we were.
Another rider who payed attention to us was Evans.Yes,Cadel Evans.He was riding in front of me,all alone,when someone of my family screamed "Evans!!!".I didn't believe he would have paid any attention to us,but instead he watched us,smiled and waved his hand.Fangirl an Logic were both surprised."Isn't he the 'I'm going to cut your head off" guy?'",Fangirl asked,but Logic was too surprised to answer that question.Since that moment,I must say that I find Evans nicer.
After some minutes spent talking to the journalists,Nicki Sorensen got on the bus again and left the ground to the other Sorensen,Chris-Anker.Fangirl was soooo happy! I could see him pretty well while he gave interviews to 4 different journalists.It was pretty funny to see him moving from right to left, talking to 4 different groups of journalists.I think that those journalists weren't all from the same country,so the riders had to say the same thing to everyone in 4 different languages.Pretty boring thing,I guess.
I was distracted from Saxo Bank's bus by Contador's arrive.He was already on his pedals and looked very determined.After Contador,some other riders (Hincapie,Monfort,Flecha,Freire,Vande Velde,Farrar and other ones I don't remember right now) arrived.
In the meanwhile Chris-Anker Sorensen had ended his little tour between the journalists and finally,after los Sorensens,one of the Schlecks got off the bus.It was Frank,already wearing sunglasses.Of course,Fangirl focused on him for some minutes.
While Frank was talking to the journalists,los Sorensens rode towards the start.After some minutes O'Grady and Cancellara followed them.
When Fangirl focused again on Saxo Bank bus,she noticed that Frank had disappeared and that Andy had finally got off the bus.Little Bro' was wearing the white jersey and,when the supporters near me called him,he watched towards us and smiled.Cuteeee! Fangirl was incredibly happy,and so was Logic.
The last Saxo Bank rider to ride towards the start was Larsson.He looked happy and said something to the mechanic,then laughed and rode to the start.
Larsson was probably one of the last riders to go to sign,so my family and I decided to change place and go to see the riders at the start line. There were lots of people there and a British supporter even climbed on a wall to see the riders better.Me instead managed to find a little space between 2 Frenchmen.Right in front of me there were Nicki Sorensen and Roman Kreuziger,so I could see them very well.
A thing I noticed in that moment is the way that riders have to get concentrated before of the race.Someone,like Contador and Andy Schleck,was chatting and seemed quite relaxed,but for some other riders things were different.Vanotti for example crossed himself,while Nicki Sorensen was looking very thoughtful,just like the Skill Shimano rider near to him.When the Skil rider said something to him,Nicki smiled but then went back to his thoughts.Kreuziger instead wasn't talking with nobody and looked calm.
The English suppporters instead were very noisy.At a certain point,the one who had climbed over the wall (and that was wearing the Union Jack on his shoulders) started to scream "Bradley! Bradley! Braaaaaad!!!!" and to wave in Wiggins' directions.Wiggo was very kind,waved towards him and laughed.In fact,I think he was probably amused by his supporter's madness.
Then the signal was given and the stage began.
After a fast lunch,my family and I got in the car.We came back to Italy and,while driving on the col du Petit-Saint Bernard,I felt a bit sad.There were no more camper,no more flags,no more barriers ("no more Dane boys",Fangirl added)...Nothing.Also the Luxembourgian people at the beginning of the climb had left.
And so,at 1 pm,our drive home began.Ilaria was keeping me informed about how the race was going.And the news weren't actually nice:firstly she told me about Di Luca's positivity.And then she told me about Kenny Van Hummel's retire (that news pretty shocked me).
4 hours later,while we were trapped inside a traffic jam near to Milan,I turned the radio on and I heard the chronicle of the final kms of the race.At that point,Fangirl took over and started to show everyone a pic of Frank that she had found in the newspaper.And when I say Everyone, I actually mean everyone.
So,these were my 2 days at Le Tour.Hope you had fun reading about them and that you will be able to understand my awful English.

A fangirl at Le Tour part 1: Martigny-Bourg Saint Maurice

2 weeks ago I went to see the Martigny-Borg Saint Maurice stage of the TdF.
I arrived in Valle d'Aosta the day before the stage and the first thing I did was to go on the Col du Petit Saint Bernard (in Italian it is "Colle del piccolo San Bernardo") and take a look at the climb.

There were already a lot of supporters there:people from Germany (I also saw the famous "Devil",already dressed up in red even if it was just 11 am of the day before the stage),Belgium, Australia (of course they had a big kangaroo peluche outside their camper),Denmark, Norwegy,Ireland,Great Britain,Spain,Basque Country,France (of course...),Italy (there was also a camper from my same city),Slovenia,Czech Republic,Holland...And of course,there were also lots of people from Luxembourg.And a lot of people were riding on the climb with their bikes.

There were even some things already written on the road,like "Go Hushovd!","Cav Cav Cav", "Go Wiggo","DK:Brian,Nicki,C.A."(it's not an abbreviation of mine,Dane supporters actually wrote "C.A." probably because "Chris-Anker" was too long),"Allez Schleck! Andy and Frank", "Vamos Contador!".I had never seen so many people from so many different countries in just one place before.
The weather was nice,so we parked the car in France and then we went to an Italian bar and ate something (that morning I went back and forth between France and Italy at least 10 times...). The landscape was amazing,so we decided to eat near to a little lake.

In the afternoon we went to take a walk,but me couldn't concentrate a lot on the wonderful landscape because Fangirl was taking over. The following day,we woke up at 6.30 and immediately got in our car.Bad news,it was raining. Fangirl said: "Who cares?",but Logic immediately reminded her that sitting on the wet grass for 12 hours isn't actually a nice thing.Fangirl couldn't do anything but agree with Logic. Logic was actually a bit envious of people with camper and tried to imagine her day and compare it to the day of "a camper owner".
Logic's day: 6 am:wake up. 7.30:you're on the top of the climb. 8.00:you go and have breakfast. 9.00-12.00:you wander on the top of the climb.12.-14.00:you eat something (probably a roll or an hot dog) in a really slow way,so time passes faster.14-16.00:you use your English/German/ Spanish skills to try and get information about the race from someone who has a television,a radio,or is talking on the phone (who knows,perhaps they're asking for race updates).16.00-18: your daily turn is over,now it's Fangirl time.
Camper person day: 11.00: wake up. 12.00-13.00:you eat something warm and good,not a roll like other supporters do.13.00-14.30:you take a walk around your camper.14.30-16.00: ou watch the race on your own tv,without the need of using your English/Spanish/German skills in order to steal information about how the race is going.16:00:you go out from your camper and watch the race live.Of course you don't look as anxious as other supporters because you perfectly know when the riders will arrive,who is at the front of the race and so on.
Actually,I soon found out that "camper people" were already awake at 7.00 am and they were already having breakfast.And other people (the Dane guys at the bottom of the climb,for example) even slept in their car,using Denmark's flags as curtains.In particular,a Norwegian old man attracted my attention:he was awake,outside his car,wearing shorts,flip flop and a sweater. And it was raining and there were just 10 degrees.
A Swiss man instead put his tent on the top of his car and slept there.Unbelievable.
At 7.30 people started to built the "GPM" things on the top of the climb and weather started to get better.From 7.30 until 16.00,supporters kept on arriving by bike at the top of the climb.Some of them were riding very strange bicycles.
The supporters also began to show their love to their nation during the morning.This is a big flag made by Dane supporters (they used 21 sheets to make it).I know it may look like Switzerland's flag but believe me,it was a Denmark's flag.After having breakfast,my family and I started to look for a good place where to sit and see the race.I wanted to go on a little hill on which there was a big Luxembourgian flag and a big "Schleck flag" (see pic),but then I changed idea because it was too crowded.
We eventually found a very nice place near to the little hill and,since it was beginning to get too crowded,we sat down there and stayed there the whole day. Little thing to notice: we sat down there at 11 am.And the riders arrived between 16.30-17.00. Ouch.
There were some things written on the road in front of us,here are 2 of them that I really loved: The Dutch family at our right wrote things in support of Rabobank and Skill riders and they even wrote "Go Kenny Van Hummel" on a sheet they had with them.If the guys at my right were Dutch,the ones at my left were probably Dane.Or at least,they were both blonde,with light blue eyes,tall and looking tipically Dane.Considering also the facts that they were wearing Saxo Bank uniforms and they yelled in an incredible way at los Sorensens,I guessed they were Dane. In front of us instead there were Kreuziger's supporters,while in the distance there was the "Luxembourgish hill".
At 15.00 the publicity caravan started to arrive.Boygues Telecom was the most generous team,IMO:they gave everyone they saw an official t-shirt of the team and a little hat.I managed to get the t-shirt without making any effort:I was walking on the road and a man on a car threw me a t-shirt.
Also Caisse d'Epargne threw some t-shirts and hats,but I couldn't get any (damn!).At the end of the caravan,I had a Boygues Telecom t-shirt,a polka dots hat (that I immediately wore because my patriotism was starting to show,jus like it does in every big occasion with lots of non-Italian people around),a pen and some sweets.
And of course in the publicity caravan there was also THE YETI.I was speechless when I saw it. Anyway,when the publicity caravan ended and some minutes passed,I started to hear the sound of an helicopter."Am I getting crazy or do you hear a strange sound as well?",I asked my father.No,I wasn't getting crazy,he was hearing that sound as well.
The feeling you get when you're on the top of a climb,waiting for a cycling race,and you suddenly hear the helicopter sound is a very strange one.

I didn't know anything about how the race was going,and I didn't know if the riders were already on the climb or not.Of course all the kind of thoughts started to run through my mind:"And if you don't see los Schlecks? And if they got retired? And if they have fallen? And if they're on a breakaway? And if a big doping affair was found out this morning?".

Also people near to me were very anxious and,probably,worried:they started to stand up,wake the little kids,start to laugh in a nervous way...
Then the motorbikes started to arrive and,after a few seconds,we saw the 3 riders at the head of the race:Astarloza,Van Den Broeck and Pellizotti.I didn't take any pic 'cause in some situations I think you just have to enjoy the moment and focus on the riders,not on things like "Is my camera right? Oh my,I have to zoom that! When do I take the pic? Now? F***,they already rode past me! Is it better if I take a pic or a vid?".

My patriotism unfortunately was already free,so when Pellizotti rode in front of me I screamed "Vai Franco,vai,vaiii!" and I felt pretty stupid.Anyway,I wasn't the only person looking a bit "strange":all the people I could see were screaming,clapping their hands,whistling,jumping...I suddenly felt relieved: I wasn't crazier than anyone else.
Then a group of riders including Fedrigo and Roche came;you don't need to have a great fantasy to understand how I managed to recognise the French rider.
Then,after a little group of riders including also Karpets,the GC contender group came.I just recognised 3 people between all the ones that were in that group:Voigt,Andy Schleck and Frank Schleck.I didn't see Armstrong,Contador,Wiggins,Nibali and the other riders:I was paying too much attention to the Saxo Bank guys.
Voigt was pulling hard,with a look of pain on his face,while Andy was on his pedals.I just saw Frank's back because I was a bit too much concentrated on Andy. Random thought: "Man,Frank's skinny!".
Of course you all know that Jens crashed 3-4 kms after riding in front of me.When I found out about that (and phoned home to ask if he was badly injured),my day got worse.Anyway,Jens is now doing ok after the circumstances and has said he may come back in September. Obviously, me's looking forward to see him on the road again.

After the GC group there were Kreuziger,Sastre and Kirchen.I didn't recognise Kreuziger,but I saw Sastre and Kirchen very well.Then I saw Brice Feillu,riding with Cadel Evans.Evans was clearly suffering,while Feillu was just...skinny.Random thought "He's even skinnier than Frank Schleck! And he even looks taller".

Then I saw Nocentini (patriotism made me scream "Vai Rinaldoooooo!!!"),Gerdemann (Fangirl went:"Leeenooos! Gooo!") and Sylvain Chavanel.

A few seconds after them,all alone,came Chris-Anker Sorensen.He didn't look as suffering as usual and seemed to have a very good pace.Of course I had to scream something,and Fangirl and Logic had a little debate: Fangirl:"I'll scream 'Go Chris-Anker!".Logic:"You can't scream that,it's too long.By the time you open your mouth and scream,he will already have ridden past you". F:"What about 'Go Sorensen?" L:"nah,if Italian chronists heard you,it would sound as if you couldn't recognise the Sorensens.And you can tell who is Nicki and who is Chris-Anker after all this time,right?".Logic approved Fangirl's last idea and found herself screaming (together with Fangirl): "Go Chris!!!".The Dane guys near me screamed the same thing,adding something in a language I didn't understand.Random thought I had when I saw C.A.? "Man,he's very skinny as well!"

The following Saxo Banker that rode in front of me was Nicki Sorensen.And here,Fangirl and Logic agreed in screaming: "Go Nickiiii!".There was another little debate when Gustav Erik Larsson rode past me,but agreement was soon found and I screamed "Go Gustav!".
Then Vanotti rode past us and Patriotism connected with Neighborhood made me scream "Vai, Alessandro,vaiii! Bravooo!!",while someone of the family was screaming something in Bergamask.

I also yelled something at Menchov and at Tony Martin.Sister was disappointed to see him in the last position of the race and so was I.

Then came the first gruppetto.And it was lead by-guess who? Pozzatolocks (and Ballan).Nobody didn't scream anything for him,probably because people were more concentrated on supporting Hushovd and Freire.With them there was also Fab Fab,who I recognised at the last moment because he was already wearing the "descent jersey" (how d'you say "mantellina" in English?).
Then there was the 2nd gruppetto,including Bello Benna,and the third gruppetto including Cavendish,Renshaw and other Columbia riders.I didn't see O'Grady and I was pretty worried about him.

After the 3rd gruppetto,everybody started to go on the road,but there was still one rider missing:Kenny Robert Van Hummel.He eventually arrived,alone,looking in pain,and everybody (everybody,Dutch family,Italian people,Dane boys,mountain rocks) supported him in a great way.Probably he was the most supported rider on that day.
And so the race was over.
We got back to the car,tired but happy,and got the news of Astarloza's victory.

We all know how it ended up with Astarloza.When I heard the news that he failed an anti-doping test,I remembered a person I rapidly saw that day:it was a basque man,driving his camper in the column of vehicles heading towards France immediately after the stage;He was looking happy and showing everybody a Basque flag and a pic of Euskaltel-Euskadi.I smiled at him and he smiled back at me.That was my first thought when I heard that bad news.People say: "There's always a risk when you start to love cycling",but I'll never get used to it.And,even with doping,cycling is the only sport that can allow you to live amazing days,waiting for hours on a climb (or doing 12 kms uphill by foot,like an Irish supporter did) just to see your favourite riders ride near to you.
(pics by me and my sister-"Second day at le Tour" will arrive soon).

Videos and Pics with the Schlecks!

Blogmates Emma and Marleen have found some very nice things about the Schleck brothers,so here they are.
Firstly,Emma gave me this link http://img207.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=92619366.jpg on which you can find great photos of the Schleck brothers.The pics were taken by Emma and by her family,since they went to see the Gala of the Tour de France in Luxembourg city and ended up being extras in a commercial with los Schlecks and KK.

I must say that I really do like Andy's leather jacket,it's very nice and it suits him very well.

But also Frank looks good in these pics...

Here are the brothers and Kim Kirchen pedalling through Luxembourg city while wearing these unusual (for bike riding,at least) clothes.The commercial was made for ASO Sport,a Luxembourgish Sports and Fashion Shop.
If you want to see other pics,click on the link above.

Marleen instead gave me 2 video links:
In the first one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2NMwdcJDOE&feature=related you can see Andy talking briefly about himself on Denmark's tv.I love it when they show his eyes in black and white!

In the second video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNT9VfQjBGg&feature=related ) instead Andy talks after having taken part in the tv show called "De Zjonnies" (see video here if you want to see the whole interview that they made with the 2 brothers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz3sKyP2WgQ&feature=fvw ).I don't know if it has something to do with my computer,but I can't hear Andy talking in the first part of the vid.Anyway,I love it when he plays with the sticker and I really do like his green shoes :)

Last but not least,on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx1fhyJFXKM&feature=related there is a vid (in Luxembourgish) in which Frank was 18 year-old and Andy was just 13.Probably you've already seen it,but did you understand it? If you're interested,on this link there is not just the interview-there are also the subtitles.Subtitles are absolutely important for people like me that usually don't understand a word of Luxembourgish.In fact while reading them I feel as if I understand everything,words deriving from French included.Perhaps Fangirlism is starting to give super-powers (or,more probably,I'm getting mad ;)).

NB: La Clasica de San Sebastian was won by Carlos Barredo (you'll probably remember the Tour de France stage in which he tried everything to drop Burghardt without suceeding) who crossed the finish-line before of Roman Kreuziger (who was so tired that he couldn't even sprint).Third came Delage,who was the first rider of the main group to cross the finish-line.Saxo Bank captain,Kolobnev,came in 16th,one position ahead of Valverde.
I didn't see the whole race,but I read on SportItalia that Andy fell and decided to retire from the race.I don't think he got injured (italian journalists would have write that,I hope!!!),but he probably didn't want to risk too much and got retired. In fact during the race the weather was awful and there were lots of crash (Lampre's Spilak had serious problems in riding his bike during one descent).
Saxo Bank tried to get a good result with Chris-Anker Sorensen,who entered a breakaway and then worked a lot for Kolobnev.The Dane rider eventually came in 27th.
10th was the Professor Pinotti,while 6th was HGS who,to my amazement,in the last few kms managed to recuperate some seconds on Barrredo's group riding all alone (!).Of course this fact was welcomed with a lot of entusiasm by Italian chronists who,once again,reminded the viewers that Chris-Anker Sorensen isn't the Sorensen who won a stage at the Tour,is another Sorensen,and the said Sorensen isn't a relative of the other Sorensen.Clear?

Post Update: more pics of the Asport commercial with Frank and Andy can be found on this link:http://sport.rtl.lu/news/fotoen/2806/overview/ (thanks Anne for the link!)