Interview with Frank:"A season similar to this one? Yes,please!":

First of all:if any of you is already in a very "Thanks God,Curaçao is coming soon!I can't wait to see some nice pics of the Schleck brothers!" mood,on Andy's twitter (http://tweetphoto.com/zzyca9iq ) there's a pic you're surely going to love (thanks Andy for sharing it!).

Anyway the main reason for which I'm writing this post is an interview with Frank Schleck that appeared on the website of the newspaper "Luxembourg Wort" and was made by Joe Geimer.At the end of it there is written that the online-interview is just a part of a bigger article about Frank.Said article appeared on the "paper version" of the Luxembourg Wort on the 30-10-09. Now,is there any very kind Luxembourgish person that reads my blog and has this article? If so,would he/she be so kind to send it to me so that I can publish it here? I think that lots of people (me included) would be very happy if they could read the whole article.
Anyway,while waiting for the answer,here's my not-so-great translation of the online article (link to the interview in German: http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/sport/artikel/53627/eine-aehnliche-saison-ja-gerne.php ):

FRANK SCHLECK: "A SEASON SIMILAR TO THIS ONE? YES,I'D LOVE TO!"
Survival camp in Fuerteventura on the 30th November/ First 2010 race will probably be in Mallorca

He had some nice victories during the 2009 season.At the Tour of California in fact he won a stage,then he won the Tour of Luxembourg (first Luxembourgish since 1983) and then he won the Grand Bornard stage at the Tour de France,a moment that will remain unforgettable in the Luxembourgish cycling history.
Frank Schleck can be really satisfied with his last season.At the Tour de France he was one of the main protagonists of the race and he left his sign also on the Ardenne classics.
"It was an amazing year,I could achieve lots of victories during it.The first victory in California gave me a lot of self-confidence and allowed me to look in a calmer mood to the other goals of the year.The Ardenne's classics were the first goal of the season,but unfortunately my crash during the Amstel Gold Race made things change.Andy and I were in a very good condition,we could have won that race",said the Saxo Bank rider on Wednesday morning.The images of him lying motionless on the asphalt are unforgettable.The definition of "worst fear (ndr;of the career?)" seems absolutely correct for defining that day."The first fall was a shock,but the second one...I still can't remember what happened when I fall. Btw,at the end it turned out that I had a lot of luck on that day",said Frank.
"After the crash I had to skip the Fleche Wallonne and during the Liegé I still couldn't use all my strength,so Andy's triumph was something really special.Considering that before of crossing the finish-line I already knew that Andy had won the race,I really regret not having tried everything to get the 2nd placement that day.It would have been possible to get it,but I was overhwelmed by the emotions",he admits openly.Then,with a meaningful smile,he says: "Andy and I have already made an agreement about next year:he'll win the Amstel Gold Race,but I'll win the Liege".
After a break,the two brothers raced the Tour of Luxembourg."The victory of the Tour of Luxembourg was really special because of the many fans that were there.It was an unbelievable emotion.With that victory I could also thank the fans for their very loyal support".The Schleck brothers also made a great impression at the Tour de Suisse."We had Fabian Cancellara in the team and he was one of the favourites for the final victory,so we decided to work for him.The Tour de Suisse wasn't as hard as in the last years and Fabian was perfect in taking the chance of winning.The Tour de Suisse is the best preparation for the Tour de France". And the "Grande Boucle" was raced just few weeks after the Tour de Suisse.At the Tour Frank won a stage and came in 5th in the final GC,with a delay of 6'04" from the winner Alberto Contador.Anyway Frank isn't completely satisfied with that result."I know that I can get even better results.With a bit more of luck,I would have surely been on the final podium in Paris already this year.One of the goals for the future is very clear:to stay with Andy on the Tour de France podium in Paris.It would be a great thing and and it wouldn't be impossible".
After the Tour of France,Frank's season was almost over.He was at the start of the Vuelta a Espana,wanted to race the Mendrisio Worlds,but then the end of the season arrived faster than planned.In fact Frank got retired from the Tour of Spain after just 10 stages.What happened?
"Since the end of March I had been worried about the pain in my left knee.At the Tour de France I had to survive some really hard days.After the Tour,I went to a doctor and asked him for advice.He told me that,if I could stand the pain,I could have kept on riding.But during the Vuelta,I got retired and I decided to have surgery on my left knee in order to remove the excess of tissue that used to hurt me as a consequence of the friction caused by many hours spent riding my bike.Unfortunately I had to skip the Worlds and the last races of the season in Italy as a consequence of this,but I chose the right moment to undergo surgery.Now I can relax,stay calm and try to recuperate my strength.Next year I'll come back as strong as usual and I'd like to have a season similar to this one.It was a great year",concluded Frank Schleck before of saying goodbye to us and go our for a quick training session.

(pics by Serge Waldbillig and Tim De Waele)

El Paìs interview with Andy + little news about Bellis:

Now that the "Allez Chris Anker!" weekend is officially over,here's a post about Andy Schleck.
You've probably already read that Cyclingnews article in which an interview from El Paìs was mentioned.Well,I've found that interview (the link is http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/gusta/dinero/fama/elpepudep/20091026elpepidep_31/Tes). and I've translated it.In the Cyclingnews article most of the things were mentioned,but some others were lacking.Here's the whole translation of the article,enjoy!

ANDY SCHLECK: I LIKE MONEY,BUT I DON'T LIKE FAME!
Bahamontes once invited his rivals Coppi and Anquetil to go hunting with him in the Toledo mountains.And so it isn't that strange to hear that Alberto Contador,"the Bahamontes of the 21st century",has invited his rival Andy Schleck,the Luxembourgish cyclist with a young,smiling and fresh face,to take his gun and go hunting the partridges with him.
"I'd really love to go hunting with Alberto,even if I don't think we'll be able to find a weekend in which we are both free to meet each other",said the 24 year-old Andy Schleck,who is not just a friend of Contador,but also a big rival of him.
Journalist: During the Tour presentation you were sitted between Contador and Armstrong.How was that?
Andy: It was a strange feeling.You could actually tell that they aren't best friends.
J: Contador said that you'll be his main rival next year...
AS: I've been his main rival this year and we both left Armstrong behind,but I'm sure that the American rider will get stronger next year.But of course I'll get stronger as well.
J: Can you beat Contador and win the Tour?
AS: Yes,of course I can.
J: What do you need to win?
AS: I've arrived 2nd this year,so I think I can win.I'll need a strong team and I'll also need to improve my climbing skills,since it's on the mountains that you can lose 5 minutes and lose a Tour.
J: Without any doubt,your weakest point is the TT...
AS: Yes,next year there will be a TT of 50 kms on the penultimate day of the Tour and so having good TT skills will be very important,but I'm working a lot on them.Mental training...I've worked a lot with Bobby Julich about it.At the beginning,I was terrible in the TTs,I always used to arrive around the 45th place...But I'm improving year after year and now I'm not that bad.I'll never be as strong as Cancellara,but I can still improve a lot.
J: You said you would need a strong team to win the Tour next year,but in the 2009 Tour Contador didn't actually have a great team,while you had your brother always ready to help you.
AS: I don't agree.Alberto had a team and this team worked for him and was the best one of the whole race.When Alberto took the yellow jersey,they controlled the race for him.
J: Do you think that Contador had a misunderstanding on the Grand Bornard day,when he dropped Kloden and Frank won the stage?
AS: The only "mistake" that Alberto made during the Tour was to challenge his team,but he didn't do that during the Grand Bornard stage.If Alberto hadn't attacked on that day,I would have attacked,I was ready to do it.There was just 1 km of the climb left.Contador decided to attack and we followed him.Kloden was a good teammate for Alberto and now he's gone to another team.

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J: How is it to race with your older brother?
AS: It's a luxury.At the beginning of the Tour we had 2 team leaders,then on the Pyranees Frank told me that he would have worked for me and that I would have been the only leader of the team.I have a great relationship with him.Who else could come and tell me "Jerk,where have you put your shoes?" and things like that? We are great friends also outside from the cycling world.
J: Even if you're the youngest person in your family,people say that you're the family leader...
AS: The family leader is my father,Johnny.
J: Aside from your brother,do you have other friends in your team?
AS: Yes,I get on very well with O'Grady,Breschel,Fuglsang...
J: Did you also use to get on with Carlos Sastre when he was in your team?
AS: Not always.I never understood what his problem was.He won the Tour and everyone who saw the race on the television and knows a bit about cycling understood how we sacrificed ourselves for him.Then he went to talk to the press and said things that didn't make sense,for example he said that we weren't working for him...We were working at 100% for him,we were completely there for him! He's got a problem with his head!

J: On the Alpe d'Huez Frank had the yellow jersey and Sastre attacked.
AS: Frank and I felt very good on that day.We could have won the Tour,but then Carlos attacked,won and that was it.Everyone was happy with his victory,the problem was what he said to the press afterwards.
J: You had your first big result at the Giro 2007,when you arrived 2nd at 22 year-old.Will you come back to Italy in 2010?
AS: No,I'll race the Classics and the Tour.Liegé,Amstel and,for the first time,the Tour of Flanders to get ready for the cobblestones which we'll have to face during the 3rd stage of the Tour.You can't win the Tour in a stage like that one,but you can lose it.That stage doesn't make sense,it seems ridiculous to me.
J: On Wednesday you went to see Madrid-Milan in the Bernabeu.Do you follow football a lot?
AS: To say the truth,I'd never been to a football stadium before of Wednesday.You know,I'm Luxembourgish...Where can I go to see football matches?
J: Did you envy the footballers when you saw the stadium?
AS: In a stadium there are just 70.000 people...On the Tour roads there many more .
J: If you could choose,what would you like the most? Being one of the best footballers of the world,or being one of the best cyclists?
AS: It's a hard question.Football brings you fame and money...I don't like fame,but I do like money!

LITTLE NEWS ABOUT JONATHAN BELLIS:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bellis-to-return-to-britain-following-crash: Jonathan Bellis will shortly go back to Britain and leave the Italian hospital where he's been for more than a month.John is still recovering from head injuries,but I think that it's a good news to hear that,at least,he's now ready to fly back home.

(Andy's pic by Bart Hazen)

Chris Anker Sorensen won the Japan Cup-part 2

This is my last post for today,I swear it.

The reason for which I'm writing is to allow people who don't know Danish to understand what Chris Anker Sorensen wrote on his blog."Do you know Danish?" you may ask me.The answer is:no.I actually tried to learn Danish some time ago,but then I found out that I had to pay to go on with the course and so I decided to give up.

Anyway,thanks to my skills in controlling Google Online Translater (and also thanks to Fangirl's superpowers),I've managed to write a translation of Chris' last entry of the blog.So,here it is:

(Link to the blog in Danish: http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/ ).

NB: if someone has a translation that is better than mine or notices some big mistakes,please let me know.

Chris Ankers Blog: Final victory:

I finally succeeded and got my first victory of the year today.It was high time,since I had my last victory more than 1 year ago.Today we've ridden the Japan Cup,a competition that takes place on a circular route of 15 km,which we had to face 11 times.During every lap we had to face a very tough climb and a series of smaller hills that were really hard as well.Fairly quickly a five-man group consisting of five Japanese riders from local teams took the lead of the race.I must admit I was actually surprised by the level of the riders over here,they were running pretty strong today.Rather quickly we put Michael Mørkov at the head of the peloton together with other riders from Caisse d'Epagne,Liquigas and ISD.They pulled a lot and with 2 ½ laps to go the gap from the breakaway riders was almost closed.Therefore Jens Voigt attacked.After his attack,Jens was joined by other 10 riders.Shortly after,other 8 riders joined him.Five kms later, while we were riding on the hard hill,I ran away with Cobo and Joaquin Rodiguez.We didn't actually ride in a complete agreement and so during the descent Moreno,Lastras (Caisse),Agnoli, Santaromita (Liquigas) and Visconti (ISD) joined us.With 13 kms to go Lastras and I ran away again. 3 kms later I attacked again while we were riding on the tough climb and I managed to remain alone at the head of the race.Although I managed to win,riding on a flat road for some kms with only 15 seconds of advantadge on other 5 riders was really hard.

Since I finished the race (and also know that I'm writing) I've been truly happy.I think that this year I've improved a lot under the tactical and technical point of view.If I look at my results during this year,I think that some of them are really good.For example,between my good results of 2009 there are my silver medal at the Danish RR championship,my 13th place at the Worlds, the Tour de France,the 15.th placement in Flèche Wallonne and other top ten rankings in other big races.But a victory was missing.It finally came today,so now I can go on holiday with peace of mind.Hopefully next year I'll manage to make another step in the right direction and to bring home even greater results.This victory has obviously made my journey over here become extra good.But I've lived also many other exciting experiences here in Japan.I must say that Japanese people are incredibly friendly and forthcoming in meeting people.However,they have a weakness for vending machines,which are everywhere in the streets.There are many different kinds of vending machines,from the ones who sell candy to the ones that wash your glasses.We've also managed to try the Japanese food.Eating with chopsticks is actually a little challenging,but Mørkov and I have made a rule that says that we have to eat with chopsticks as long as we are over here.Since things are going very well,we are considering to apply this rule to the rest of the year as well. Anyway,I believe that it may be too difficult to face a Danish Christmas table with just chopsticks in your hand.I actually can't even imagine how to cope with things like meatballs, roast pork and potatoes with brown gravy and eat them with the chopsticks.

One evening we went to a traditional Japanese restaurant.There we sat on the floor and ate.In 2 hours time they brought us lots of small dishes:sushi,rice with chicken,various soups and lots of other things.This was a super exciting experience that you absolutely have to live if you ever visit Japan.

Now I have to close this post,since we are 8 hours ahead and I'll soon be off to bed because tomorrow we will be up at 6 am local time.We'll go to Tokyo to make various commemorative events and then I'll go back to Luxembourg on Tuesday morning.

Chris Anker Sørensen

So,that's what Chris said about his victory and his trip in Japan.The chopsticks rule is a great one,I also had the idea of using them all the year the first time I went to a Thailandese restaurant.I guess it's useless to say that I finally gave up when I realised that everyone who was eating with forks and knives had already finished their dishes while me was still trying to understand how the chopsticks worked.

Btw,now I have to close this post as well,since it's getting late (22.30 pm) and tomorrow I have to get up at 6.15 am (just like every other days).

Anyway,before of closing I'd like to know whether some blogmates are interested in reading other entries from Chris' blog.If so,I can translate some of them and publish them here.Otherwise...I guess I'll publish them anyway ;)

That's all for now,good night and sleep well.

(Pics by Getty Images).

CHRIS ANKER SORENSEN WON JAPAN CUP!!!!

Yes,Fangirl is happy.Very happy.She knew that Chris-Anker could have won the Japan Cup,but she also knew that she'd been saying "Chris-Anker will win the next race" for the last 10 months,so she was careful with her predictions.And now that Chris-Anker has really won the Japan Cup,Fangirl is enthusiastic.
Japan Cup means also the end of the 2009 cycling season.Chris' victory luckily made it become less sad.It was Sorensen's first victory in 2009 (better late than never,as we say in Italy...) and his 4th one as a professional rider.His other victories are a TTT in the Tour of Germany 2007,the Toussuire stage at the Dauphine Libére 2008 and the Kitzbuhel stage at the Tour of Austria 2008 (he also wore the leader jersey of the race in that occasion).

I've tried to look for some info on the Japan cup website,but unfortunately I can't understand anything from that website (I knew I had to study Japanese instead of Spanish!!).Actually,the only info I could find about Chris' victory was a little article that appeared on Saxo Bank website.

Here it is:

Last night, European time, Team Saxo Bank participated in their very last cycling event this season which was held in Utsunomiya,Japan on a undulating circuit of 14 kilometersThe Danish Team was represented by Jens Voigt, Nicki Sørensen, Gustav Larsson, Michael Mørkøv and Chris Anker Sørensen.The latter launched an epic series of attacks on his opponents within the last 40 kilometers of the course along with a strong riding Jens Voigt and the young Danish climber finally succeeded in leaving the field behind. Chris Anker Sørensen crossed the finish line alone and put an astonishing end to the season where he was often seen helping his teammates in their mission to succeed. Today, he took the initiative and brought home the victory in the empire of the sun.«Chris and Jens opened the race with 40 kilometers to go which course suited Chris like a glove with a short circular route with a large climb to pass ten times. It is a great way to finish the season and it is rewarding to be the sports director for energetic and enthusiastic riders like these who are still motivated in the very last part of the season», said sports director Torsten Schmidt after the race Sunday morning.More later... (later when?!?)

On another website I managed the top 10 of the race.Here it is:

1. Chris Sorensen (Saxo Bank) 4.06.19

2. Dani Moreno (Caisse d'Epargne) 0.24

3. Ivan Santaromita (Liquigas) s.t.

4. Juanjo Cobo (FUJI-SERVETTO) s.t.

5. Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne) 0.40

6. Joaquim Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne) s.t.

7. Valerio Agnoli (Liquigas) 1.25

8. Giovanni Visconti (ISD) s.t.9. Shinri Suzuki (Shimano) 2.08

10. Gustav Larsson (Saxo Bank) s.t.

Kurt Arvesen congratulated Chris for his victory on Twitter ("Bravo Anker! ChrisAS won Japan Cup!") and these were the only things I could find (at this hour of the day) about the race.

Last year La Gazzetta gave a lot of space to this race since it was the one in which Ivan Basso made his comeback,but I don't think that the same will happen also this year.

If you want to look at some pics from yesterday's race,here's the link:

http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/photo?slug=392ac5488da301f4d731e8f87f6c4a83-getty-cycling-jpn&prov=getty#photoViewer=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cgetty%3A20050301%3Asc%2Cphoto%2Cca9190a070606a042f2579e9ffd87a6d-getty-cycling-jpn%3A1

On the same link you can also find other pics from cycling events,which are all very nice.

That's all for the moment,if I have some other news I'll publish them later.Last thing to say? Allez Chris-Anker Sorensen!

(Pics from Getty Images).

Giro d'Italia 2010: the parcours and my opinion

The parcours of the 2010 Giro d'Italia became known to everyone yesterday afternoon.The presentation of the race was held in Milan,in the "X Factor" (an Italian talent show programme) tv studios.The idea of doing the presentation there seemed a bit odd to me at first,but then it turned out that the choice wasn't actually that bad.

Lots of riders were in the studio:Cunego, Bennati, Nocentini, Petacchi, Pinotti, Garzelli, Ballan, Pozzato (why the tv kept on showing him,why?), Rujano (he travelled 20 hours to be in Milan this afternoon!),Tatiana Guderzo (poor girl,she had to sit near to HGS!), Denis Menchov and other great Italian riders of the past,like Gimondi, Cipollini, Moser, Magni,etc.

Me was a bit disappointed while listening to the stages of the first 2 weeks,but then I went crazy when I saw what kind of mountains the riders will have to face during the last week of the Giro.Anyway,let's go in order:

As you know,the Giro next year starts in Holland.The first stage,Amstedam-Amsterdam,is a TT of 8.4 km.

The second (Amsterdam-Utrecht) and the third stages (Amsterdam-Middleburg) will both be suitable to sprinters.The main problem in the 3rd stage will probably be the wind that usually blows in that part of Holland.Anyway,I must say that I pretty envy Fangirls from Amsterdam, since they're gonna have the chance of watching 3 stages live!!!

After just 4 days there will be the first rest day.After it,the riders will ride the 4th stage (Savigliano-Cuneo),a Team Time Trial of 32.5 kms (and Saxo Bank may get a good result there).

After the TTT there will be the Novara-Novi Ligure stage.This stage will remind everyone that in 2010 there will be the 50th anniversary of Fausto Coppi's death and it will probably suit sprinters.

The following stage is the Montalcino one,during which the riders will have to ride on some gravel roads during the last 10 kms of the stage.
After the Montalcino stage,the first uphill arrive,with the Chianciano Terme-Terminillo stage.The Terminillo is a 16 kms long climb and will probably show which riders won't be able to win the Giro.
After the Terminillo stage there is the Avellino-Bitonto stage,that is suitable to sprinters.
The following day there is the Lucera-L'Aquila stage,suitable to breakaways.This stage will probably be very emotional,since the riders will arrive in the city that suffered lots of damages after the earthquake that happened in Abruzzo during the April month.The stage will also be very long (256 km).
After L'Aquila stage there will be the Città S.Angelo-Recanati stage,which will be suitable to sprinters.I already know that someone will recitate Leopardi's poetry "L'Infinito" on that day,so I have about 7 months to get ready to that moment of intense poetry (I actually know that poetry by heart,just like every other Italian person who's gone to school).
After the Recanati's stage the riders will arrive in Cesenatico.This stage will end in the area where Pantani was born,so he will be remembered by everyone on that day.The stage will be suitable to sprinters.
The following day there will be the Ferrara-Asolo,during which the riders will have to face the Monte Grappa (19 kms,8% of average) with about 50 kms to go.
And until now,you may be disappointed.And I was disappointed as well,until that point of the presentation.Lots of sprinters stages,2 TT (1 of which is a TTT) and just one uphill finish in 2 weeks seems a bit poor to me.But fortunately things get very exciting during the last week of race.
After the Asolo stage in fact there will be the Mestre-Zoncolan stage.During that stage the riders won't face just the Zoncolan,but also the Sella Chianzutan,the Passo Duron and the Sella Valcalda.Of course Fangirl is looking forward to this stage.
After the second and last rest day,there is another TT,the San Virgilio di Marebbe-Plan de Corones.12.9 km uphill,with some parts of the climb at 24%.2 years ago,the winner of this stage was Pellizotti.
After the Plan de Corones stage there will be the Brunico-Pejo Terme,with the last 5 kms slightly uphill.
The following stage is the Cevico Terme-Brescia,for the sprinters who haven't abandoned the race yet.
The 3rd to last stage is the Brescia-Aprica,which features the Aprica climb,the Trivigno and the Mortirolo.During the last 100 kms of this stage,the riders will have to ride uphill for 52 kms.Obviously,I don't envy them at all.
The last mountain stage is the Bormio-Passo del Tonale,with an uphill finish.During this stage the riders will get over the Forcola di Livigno,the Passo di Eira,the Passo di Foscagno,the Passo di Gavia (2618 m-Cima Coppi) and the Passo del Tonale.Hard,hard,hard stage.

The last stage is a TT of 15 kms in Verona,that in my opinion is one of the nicest city in Italy.It's gonna be a difficult TT,since there are a 5 kms climb (4% of average) and some cobblestones sections in it (Menchov please be careful!!!).Since last year the Giro organizers have fallen in love with old Roman constructions,so this year the riders will conclude their 3 weeks of pain and fatigue inside the Arena of Verona,a very nice place.A thing that I liked a lot during the presentation was that the final stage was presented by Guderzo and Cantele:IMO,they fully deserve some attention after what they did in Mendrisio.

So,that's the 2010 Giro.And me likes it.Ok,the first 2 weeks will probably be very boring (and perhaps we'll have to put up with Cavendish winning lots of stages),but during the last weeks things are surely gonna be exciting.

Of course my evil mind has thought that this Giro is much harder than 2009 one because mr.Lance Armstrong is not going to take part in it,but that's just an evil thought of mine (and perhaps also of someone else,I don't know).

Logic thinks that the parcours is gonna be too hard for lots of riders and she doesn't think that this is a good thing.In fact,riders may feel like asking help to some doctors to get over the last week of the race,and we all know what this means.

Fangirl instead is happy,but she would be even happier if 2 riders that she really likes (the Schleck brothers) decided to take part in the race as well.I think the parcours would be very good for them:not a lot of kms against the clock,a TTT (and Saxo Bank may turn out to be the strongest team in that stage),lots and lots of climbs.Of course I know that the Tour is much more important than the Giro (or at least,that's what sponsors think),but I'd love to see the Schleck brothers in Italy during the month of May.

And talking about Fangirl: the Giro won't arrive nor in Bergamo nor in Milan,but she's already made her dream-plan that would consist in watching the last 3 stages of the Giro.Of course said dream-plan may not come to reality because of a series of stupid factors like school, tests,disagreement with the family car driver and so on,but I'm not doing anything wrong with making dream-plans,am I?

LINKS:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/a-repeat-giro-victory-for-menchov :interview with Smiley. http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/gallery-giro-ditalia-stars-gather-at-the-2010-race-presentation :pics from the presentation.Perhaps I missed someone,but I think that no one made "clothes disasters" yesterday afternoon (some ties didn't actually match the suit that the riders were wearing,but it's always so hard to find someone with a good "tie-taste",so I'm not going to complain about it).
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cunegos-2010-giro-ditalia-stage-wins :article about mr. Cunego,who says he'll go for stage wins in 2010 because going for the overall classification victory is too stressful (and causes too many arguments with journalists,I add).
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/saxo-bank-confirms-uci-license-approved :I know,this hasn't got anything to do with the Giro,but it's a good news,right? I must say I'm not blogging as I used to do before because school is keeping me busy.Sorry for that,but I've got a real life outside blogging (it may sound unbelievable,but it's true).

Random Post:

Yes,here's my usual random post with random news about random things.
JAPAN CUP RACE: Fangirl doesn't believe (or,better,she doesn't want to believe) that the 2009 season is "already" over,not just because this means she won't be able to watch any cycling road race on tv for the next 3/4 months,but especially because she's waiting for the Japan Cup Race on Sunday before of starting getting depressed.Said race is important for Fangirl because it's Chris-Anker Sorensen's last chance to win a race this year.According to the team website, Saxo Bank team for the race will be formed by both los Sorensens,Jens Voigt,Michael Morkov and Gustav Larsson.

WAITING FOR THE GIRO: the awaiting for the Giro parcours already started last month here in Italy,but in the last days I've began to feel it as well,especially after reading the news that Milano won't be included in the 2010 race parcours(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/%20giro%20-ditalia-to-skip-milan-in-2010 ).Considering that the Corsa Rosa probably won't arrive in my city either,Fangirl's already asking:Where the hell will I go to see the Giro live? Btw,Logic has suggested her waiting until Saturday before of getting depressed about this as well.
CIAO CIAO BULBARELLI: Yes,Italian chronist Auro Bulbarelli is leaving his job.This news is oh so heartbreaking,especially because we Italian tifosi won't have any chronist left to talk about food during the Tour de France stages.Btw,I'm sure that the famous "Sorensen sentence" that every Italian cycling fan has heard at least once (and that says:"There are 2 Sorensens in the Saxo Bank Team,one is Nicki and the other one is Chris-Anker.Nicki is the one who won a stage during 2009 Tour de France,while Chris-Anker is the one who didn't win anything.Oh,and remember:the 2 Sorensens aren't relative") will survive even after the departure of his creator.
PINOTTI WINNING A TT (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pinotti-ends-season-on-high-with-time-trial-win): The funny thing about this TT was that the rider who came in 2nd is Ivan Basso's cousin.And guess who came in 3rd? Yes,Ivan Basso.
GALA DI CONEGLIANO: Tatiana Guderzo has been the first woman to receive the Atena d'Argento (an Italian prize that is given to the best cyclist of the year) and I'm very happy for her. Together with her at the Conegliano Gala there were also Cavendish and Menchov,and you can see Cav talking Italian and Menchov understanding Italian and speaking Spanish on this link: http://www.gazzetta.it/Ciclismo/20-10-2009/russo-annata-d-oro-501682599139.shtml

BYE BYE MARCUS AND KURT: Yes,Marcus Ljungqvist and Kurt-Asle Arvesen have decided to leave the Saxo Bank team because they are both going to Team Sky (Marcus will be Sky ds,while Arvesen of course will continue his career as a rider).Some articles about them can be found on http://www.riis-cycling.com/
LAMPRE AND ASTANA CHANGINGS: According to La Gazzetta dello Sport,after the Lombardy Tour Cunego got angry at Santambrogio and Tiralongo got angry at Cunego.Solution: Santambrogio is riding for BMC in 2010 and Tiralongo is riding for Astana.Gasparotto hasn't argued with nobody,but he's going to Astana anyway.
CHRIS ANKERS BLOG (http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/): 2 posts in 4 days,one of which has an Italian title ("Ci dispiace ma hai dimenticato la tua mortadella",aka "We're sorry but you've forgotten your mortadella") and is very hilarious one (if I have time,will and enough linguistic skills I may translate something from Sorensen's blog during the winter months).
VID WITH ANDY (http://www.youtube.com/teamsaxobank): Yes,I know,you've already seen it for about 5 times,but Andy looks sooo nice in this vid! Anyway,a question about Andy and Frank:is it true that they're going to Curaçao? Please answer "yes" or "no" if you have some sure info about this.

Fangirl@Giro di Lombardia:

Yes,I'm surprising myself as well in publishing this post just one day after the Lombardy Tour.It normally takes me ages to write a Fangirl post,but this time I don't have much to tell (and I don't have lots of pics to post),so it has taken me less time than usual.
So,what happened to me yesterday? After school (and after that bloody maths test during which Logic had an unbelievable "mental bonk"),I got into my parents' car and we drove towards Lecco.There we found a bar,ate something and understood why some people say that the Lago di Como is very nice.The team cars started to arrive at 14.30 and I laughed a bit when the 2 Cofidis cars both took the wrong road.You may think I'm evil,but I assure you that it was a very comic scene:all the team cars one behind the other,the Cofidis cars behind the Rabobank's ones,the Rabobank's ones that take the right road and the Cofidis ones that,riding very fast,take the wrong direction. Funny.
Anyway.According to the info I got on a website,the riders should have ridden through Lecco between 14.55 and 15.20.Little problem,at 15.30 the riders weren't in Lecco yet.Then,after a few minutes of waiting during which Fangirl started to fear that the riders had imitated Cofidis team cars and taken the wrong road towards the Ghisallo,the cyclists finally appeared.Or at least,4 of them appeared.They were Klimov,Roche,Velo and Honig.Roche's appearance was nice because it made me found out that,although my eyes can't read what the teachers write on the blackboard at school,they can recognise the Irish cycling champion from more than 300 meters of distance.After about 4 minutes,also the rest of the peloton appeared.There was a Silence-Lotto rider pulling together with a Lampre and an Euskadi's one but unfortunately,I couldn't recognise any of them.Fortunately for Fangirl,I managed to recognise Chris-Anker Sorensen,Jens Voigt and also Sylvester Szmyd while they were riding in front of me.
Chris-Anker was looking at a rider behind him,while Jens was looking as good as usual.Fangirl didn't scream anything at them because she was disturbed by that Lovkvist supporter beside her.Said supporter in fact was in a great Fangirl mood and kept on screaming things about how good-looking Lovkvist was.
Btw it was great to see Jens riding in front of me again,since it was the first time since the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard stage of the Tour that I saw him live.Of course you all know what happened after Voigt rode in front of me that day and so you'll probably understand what it meant to me to see him again.
When all the riders had ridden in front of us,my family and I ran to the family car,got inside it and started to drive towards Albavilla.Our plan in fact was to see the riders in 2 different places since,acording to the plan-creator,going to Como or to the Ghisallo would have been impossible because of a series of reasons involving police,car-parking and other things.Btw,according to the plan-creator,in Albavilla we would have managed to see the riders riding slowly and already divided in little groups.Unfortunately things didn't go as easy as planned.
First of all,Italian drivers and Italian roads are simply terrifible and we had a direct experience of that yesterday,while driving to Albavilla.We had an hour time to get there,but a fucking traffic light and some stupid Italian drivers (why the hell do you have to drive around on your tractor on a Saturday afternoon? Why? And you,why do you have to phone your boyfriend when you're driving? Why?) made us arrive in Albavilla just 5 minutes before of the riders.And even if the riders were supposed to arrive in 5 minutes time,the policemen still let the cars drive on the road as if it was a normal moment of a normal day.Between the vehicles we saw driving on the road in those 5 minutes there was also that bus that the riders nearly hit during the last part of the race.Luckily no one got injured.

Anyway,the first riders to arrive in Albavilla were the breakaway ones:Santambrogio,Martin, Devenyns,Carrara,Hoogerland and Larsson.A nice breakaway,I must say:Santambrogio is my favourite Italian rider at the moment,while Carrara comes from my same city and Devenyns, Martin and Hoogerland are riders that I pretty like.And then of course there was Gustav Larsson.Fangirl found herself in a state of confusion and couldn't scream anything also this time.Of course Logic was very shocked by this fact.
After a few seconds,the rest of the peloton arrived.Unfortunately there were still lots of riders all together and me could see just Evans.Then,between the team cars,I could see Lars Boom.The Dutch rider was looking tired and had probably just ended his portion of work.
After the peloton,some other riders arrived (I could recognise Bertagnolli,Velo,Klimov and Brandt).Then the cars began to ride again on the road and we got inside our car as well."Are we sure that all the riders have ridden in front of us? I haven't seen the car with the 'finish of the race' cartel on yet" Fangirl said to Logic."I haven't seen it either,but there must be a reason if the police has opened again the road",Logic answered to Fangirl.Unfortunately,there wasn't a reason.In fact after few seconds a group of riders arrived and the policeman had to stop every car that was on the road in a very dangerous way.Logic got soooo angry at the policeman!!!! She wanted to get off the car and tell something to that man,but Fangirl managed to stop her.And so,we started to drive home while listening to the race-transmission on the radio.Of course people in that transmission didn't talk just about cycling,but also about football.After finding out that in a Serie B team there are 2 guys called Troianiello and Caianiello (I'm not joking!) and that there is also someone else called Troiano,I finally heard about Gilbert's victory.I must say I'm happy for him:he was the strongest rider in the last days and he showed it also yesterday. Sanchez came in 2nd and Kolobnev came in 3rd,while Fangirl's favourite Chris-Anker Sorensen came in 23rd.

And so this was the last "Fangirl@race" post of the year.It's been a great year for me (it's the first time I see so many races live in all my life) and hopefully you had fun reading these posts.

NB: The pics I've published in this post are less (and worse) than usual since the family photographer yesterday was on a photography strike against me for unknown reasons.
(All pics by myself except the last one,who was taken by AP/La Presse).

Tour de France 2010:Parcours,Rider's Opinions,an Interview with Andy Schleck and few pics:

Today there has been the presentation of the 2010 Tour de France parcours.Some riders were in Paris to watch it and between them there were Contador,Cavendish,Armstrong,Hushvod, Ivanov,Pozzato and Andy Schleck.

The Tour 2010 will start on the 3rd of July and end on the 25th of July.The race will start from Rotterdam,in Holland.The first stage will be an 8 kms TT suitable to time trialist specialists (*Fangirl's happy for Cancellara*).

The second stage will go from Rotterdam to Bruxelles and is going to suit sprinters.

During the third stage,the Bruxelles-Spa,the riders are going to ride on some streets that usually appear in the Liege-Bastogne-Liegi.However,the stage won't be very hard (or at least it won't be as hard as a Liege).

The 4th stage,surprise surprise,is the Wanze-Arenbergh and the cyclists will face 13 kms of cobblestones during it.As much as I could understood from the live broadcasting of the presentation,all the GC riders are pretty worried about this stage,since there may be some dangerous crashes.

The 5th stage will be the first one completely held in France,and will probably suit the sprinters,just like the 6th one.
The 7th stage will see the riders ending the race at the top of the Station des Rousses climb (14 kms of length).
Aslo the following stage,the Station des Rousses-Morzine-Avoriaz,will have an uphill finish.The riders in fact will have to face the col de la Ramaz (14 km-6,9%) and the Avoriaz (13,6 km-6,1%),a climb that will bring them at 1800 m over the sea level.After that stage the riders will have their first rest day.
On the 13th of July the cyclists will face the Morzine-Avoriaz-Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne stage,which will include the col du Colombiere (ah,sweet memories...),the Col des Aravis (7,6 km-5,9%),the Col des Saisies (14,4 km-5,1%) and the Col de la Madeleine (25,4 km-6,1%). Unfortunately there will be 35 kms between the last climb and the finish-line,so it won't be that easy to attack.
On the 14th of July there will be the Chambery-Gap stage,while the following stage will be held between Sisteron and Bourg les Valence.Then there will be the Bourg de Peage-Mende and the Rodez-Revel stages.
The 14th stage will be the Reve-Ax-3 Domains and will have an uphill finish.The riders in fact will face the Ax-3 Domains climb (7.9 km,8.3%) and the Port de Pallhères (15,1 km-8,1%).
The following day there will be another tough stage,the Pamiers-Bagneres de Luchon.The riders will climb the Col du Portet d'Aspet (5,8 km-6,8%),the Col des Ares (6,1 km-4,7%) and the Porte de Balès (19,2 km-6,2%) ,after the last climb,will have to ride for others 21 kms.
The following day the race will move from Bagneres de Luchon to Pau and the cyclists will have to face the Col de Peyresourde (11 km-7,4%),the Col d'Aspin (12,3 km-6,3%),the Col du Tourmalet (17,1 km-7,4%) and the Col d'Aubisque (5,4 km-6%).Anyway,the ones who will want to attack in that stage must keep in mind that there will be nearly 60 kms between the last climb and the finish-line.
On the 21st of July there will be the last rest day,while on the 22nd of July the riders will face a really tough race,the Pau-Col du Tourmalet.The climbs that the riders are going to face on that day are the Col de Marie-Blanque (9,5 km-7,5%),the Col du Soulor (22 km-4,9%) and the Col du Tourmalet (19 km-7,4%).
The penultimate stage will be a ITT of 51 kms from Bordeaux to Pauillac.The race will end on the 25th of July in Paris.

Me's pretty happy about the next Tour's parcours,since it seems harder than last year's one and it seems that there will be some interesting stages already during the first week.Talking about the climbs,I think that the Tourmalet stage will be very nice,even if I don't approve the fact that in some stages (for example the one with the Col d'Aubisque) the last climb and the finish-line are divided by lots of kms.There is just one individual TT (me's chering for the lack of TTT right now) and I hope it won't be a completely flat one.Considering that the parcours should suit them,let's hope that Andy and Frank Schleck will do great things on the French roads in 2010!

THE OPINION OF THE RIDERS:

Lance Armstrong:"This Tour excites me.I'm gonna need a strong team,that will be able to support me during the first week but also on the climbs.There won't be any TTT and the Arenbergh stage worries me a bit since I don't have a lot of experience in riding on cobblestones. The Tourmalet stage may result decisive in the end.I'll have new motivation and a new team next year and I'll go to the Tour to win it".

Contador instead said:"It's gonna be a Tour harder than 2009 one.There will be also a stage in which we'll have to ride over the cobblestones,but I have a bit of experience in riding on it and I think I won't have lots of problems.I'm just worried about the chance of crashing during that stage.I really like the Tourmalet stage,this year its role will be more important than the one it had this year.I'm optimist,I think I may be able to beat Armstrong and the other riders.And I know that my team will help me during the whole race".

Andy Schleck instead said: "The parcours is much harder than 2009 one.There will be a great finale,with the Tourmalet and the TT,but also the Arenbergh stage will be very tricky.I'll try to gain as much as possible on the climbs in order to defend myself in the TT.It's true,there is just one TT,but it's very long.Of course I will do my best to get ready for the race.I don't know all the climbs,but I'm going to check them before of the race.I go to France to win the Tour".

Bjarne Riis said:"Overall,I think that next year's route is very interesting.I am happy to see that the mountain stages seem harder and the mountains are positioned later on each stage so they can be used for attacks.Obviously,I would like to have a team time trial but it speaks to our favor that there is only one long time trial.Last but not least,we must be very careful and aware on stage three passing the cobblestones”.

INTERVIEW WITH ANDY:

Link:http://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/tour-de-france/2009/jespere-en-profiter_sto2092083/story.shtml

What do you think of 2010 parcours?

AS: The first stages look very tricky.We'll have to be very careful not to lose time.I think that the Alps will make a little selection and that it will be the Pyrenaes to decide who the strongest
rider is. ìThe TT is very long and will request freshness:you'll need to still have something to give on that day if you want to make a good time.I liked last year's parours,but I think this year's one will be harder.

Are you worried about the Arenbergh stage?

AS: One thing is sure: I'm not going to attack on the cobblestones.I think there will be a great bagarre to get the best places in the peloton before of the beginning of the cobblestones sectors.The only thing that may make that stage decisive for the rest of the Tour is the chance of crashing.And,to be honest,I wish that no one will fall on that day.

What do you think about the lack of a TTT in this year's parcours?
AS: I'm actually pretty satisfied.I'm not like Bjarne Riis,who loves TTT in a crazy way.If you have a strong team,you can gain time,but otherwise you can just lose it.This year some riders lost the Tour just because of the TTT.No,really,a TTT may be very exciting to see,but it causes too much stress and I'm happy about the fact that I'm not going to face it in 2010 Tour.
There are 4 mountain stages in a row during the last week of race.Will they be decisive?

AS: The winner of the Tour is usually decided during the 2nd and the 3rd week of race.This year everyone said that the Ventoux stage would have made a big selection,but I never believed this. I've always said that the name of the Tour winner would have been known before of the last stage.Next year instead things will be different,since the penultimate stage is a TT.

How will you train before of the Tour?
AS: I'll work more on the details and I'll try to improve in the TTs.I'll also go to see some of the mountain stages.Since the Tour is my main goal for 2010,I may start to go and see the climbs in the next few weeks.
Contador has said you're his most dangerous rival.Do you think that the next Tour will be a battle between you two?
AS: Contador is the favourite rider in my opinion,but I don't think the Tour will be a battle between us two.You mustn't underestimate the other riders.Armstrong was 3rd this year and will be stronger in 2010.Valverde,Wiggins,Nibali and Kreuziger want to win that race as well.My brother was very strong this year and in 2010 will be even more motivated than this year.We have 2 cards to play and I'll hope to get advantadge from this.

R.I.P.Frank:

A very bad news arrived to me this morning: Frank Vandenbroucke has died while he was on holiday in Senegal.Reports in Belgium have said that 34-year-old Belgian cyclist was found in his hotel room and early reports indicate that he died of a blood clot.
Vandenbroucke was out of contract after leaving Cinelli-Down Under but was looking for a team in 2010 just a few weeks ago.
"I'm satisfied with this year," he told reporters last week."I understand that the teams are reluctant to give me another chance,because I carry this past with me.But I think I proved this year that even without a monthly salary,I am still able to live a 100 percent for pro cycling."
Frank had a very brillant,even if short,career.He won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 1999 and in the same year he won also 2 stages at the Vuelta.In 1998 instead he won a Gand-Wevegelm.These were probably his most important victories.Vandenbroucke also came in 7th at the Verona Worlds in 1999 although he had 2 broken wrists.He was a champion,but a fragile person,just like Marco Pantani or "El Chaba" Jimenez.Great champions, but fragile people.
Right now there are lots of articles about Frank's death on http://www.cyclingnews.com/ ,on http://www.gazzetta.it/Ciclismo/ and on every other cycling website.
I'd like to offer my condolences to Frank's family,friends and supporters.May he rest in peace.

PS: there's a news about Jonathan Bellis on this link:http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bellis-out-of-coma-still-in-serious-condition .He's out of coma but still in serious condition.My fingers are crossed for him.

Giro dell'Emilia,Coppa Sabatini and Saxo Bank news:

Today there has been one of Fangirl's favourite race,the Giro dell'Emilia.It's a very hard race,one of the hardest of the season in my opinion,since the riders have to ride over the San Luca climb (the one faced by the Giro riders during the Bologna stage this year) 5 times.

Fangirl of course had high hopes for the Saxo Bank guys and was in a great "Allez Chris-Anker!!" mood this afternoon.Of course Chris wasn't the only good rider in this race;in fact at the start of the race this morning there were also Kolobnev,Fuglsang,Gesink,Evans, Basso,Szmyd,Lovkvist, Soler,Cunego,Basso,Horner,Pozzovivo,Sella,Vinokourov,Pinotti,Monfort and many others.

After 44 kms of race Vladimir Duma (Ceramica Flaminia),Vitaly Kondrut (ISD),Aristide Ratti (CarmioOro - A-Style) and Alain Van Der Velde (Centri della Calzatura) escaped from the group.Duma lost contact by the first climb of San Luca,while the remaining three riders led by 1'40" over the top.
Things changed after the second passage on San Luca's climb.In fact Sexy Banker Jakob Fuglsang decided to attack and managed to form an escape group together with Vinokourov, Gesink and Thomas Lövkvist.

When she saw that her beloved Tommy was in the breakaway,my sister went crazy and turned the video recorder on.After that,she watched me grinning and said: "If Lovkvist wins,you'll give me 13 euros".I replied:"Lonkqvist (ndr;yes,that's the way Italian chronists sometimes call him) is not going to win.Chris-Anker Sorensen will win.Anyway,I accept your offer:if Lovkvist wins,I'll give you 13 euros;but if Sorensen wins,you'll give me 13 euros".My sister accepted the deal and after making it we started to support our riders in a very Fangirly mood.

On the penultimate passage on the San Luca climb,Soler decided to attack but couldn't catch the "escapados".With 2 kms to go and the San Luca climb to face for the last time,the 4 breakaway riders in fact had 15" of advantadge on Swede Kessiakoff,while other riders (Cunego,Pozzovivo, Kolobnev,Sorensen,Evans,Tiralongo,Basso and others) had to recuperate 35".

During the first part of the climb Fuglsang seemed to be the strongest,while Lovkvist seemed to have some problems.During one of the hardest part of the San Luca,Jakob attacked and was followed just by Vinokourov.Vino then litterally blew up,while Gesink and Lovkvist rode past him and managed to join Jakob again.

The victory was decided in a 3 men sprint.Said sprint was won by Robert Gesink,while Fuglsang came in 2nd and Lovkvist was 3rd."Obviously it was a tough race but since the Vuelta I have been strong although I have not trained as much as earlier in the season",said Fuglsang after the race."For me it was not surprising to be in the finale today because I am still keen on going for the victory and I am still motivated despite the long season,I've been through in my first season as a professional."

Robert Gesink instead told the Gazzetta dello Sport:"I didn't expect to win today,but I'm very happy because after a very unlucky season I really needed a good victory.My knee is feeling better now and during the last days I went to see the Lombardia's finale.It's a tough race,just like the ones I like.I'm going to try and win it".

4th was Cadel Evans,who managed to pass Vinokourov during the last meters of the climb.The Kazakh finally ended up in 5th.6th was Kessiakoff,while 7th was Kolobnev.8th was Chris-Anker Sorensen,who raced very well even if he's ill.Best Italian rider was Tiralongo,10th,while Spaniard Fernandez came in 9th.

The other race I managed to watch this week was the Coppa Sabatini.This race is held in Tuscany and the riders who race it have to face a climb during the last few kms.

This year the race was the first one in which Cadel Evans showed everyone his rainbow jersey. He received a lot of attention and was really happy about this."I felt as if I was everyone's champion,it was a great feeling",the Aussie said after the race.

Evans made his debut in pro cycling world 10 years ago in the Coppa Sabatini and on Thursday ,just like on that September day of the last century,his jersey number was 96.

Anyway,let's talk about the race.

By km 20,25 riders escaped from the peloton.Said riders were Philippe Gilbert and Cadel Evans (Silence - Lotto),Giovanni Visconti,Ruslan Podgornyy and Bartosz Huzarski (ISD),Leonardo Bertagnolli,Alessandro Bertolini and Luca Solari (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli),Davide Malacarne (Quick Step),Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Centri Della Calzatura),Domenico Pozzovivo,Marcello Pavarin and Alan Marangoni (CSF Group - Navigare), Luca Mazzanti and Nikita Eskov (Team Katusha),Cristiano Salerno,Riccardo Chiarini and Matteo Montaguti (LPR Brakes-Farnese Vini), Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez,Diego Caccia,Daryl Impey and Giampaolo Cheula (Barloworld),Vladimir Duma and Enrico Rossi (Ceramica Flaminia -Bossini Docce) and Emanuele Sella (Carmiooro - A Style).

The victory was finally decided between these 24 riders (Cheula was dropped before of the last kms) also because all the other riders got retired before of crossing the finish-line.

Evans made a great work to help Gilbert to win,while ISD worked really hard for Visconti.The race was finally won by the Belgian Silence-Lotto rider,while Visconti came in 2nd.3rd was Bertagnolli,while Malacarne came in 4th.

"Cadel was superb",said Philippe Gilbert (who can speak Italian very well) after the race."He made a great work on the last climb.I stayed calm and waited until the last 200 meters.Roberto Damiani,our ds,had told us before of the start: 'with just 14 teams,it's going to be hard to control the race.Pay attention to the breakaways,it's better to stay at the head of the race than at the back'.He was right".Gilbert,who made the decisive move by attacking 20 kms after the start of the race,is now scheduled to race Paris-Tours,Piemonte,Lombardia and Gp Nazioni.
Visconti (who won this race twice in the last few years) said:"This race suits me.To arrive second after Gilbert isn't a disappointing thing.He's a great rider.Perhaps I could have started the sprint before of him.I wouldn't have won anyway,but perhaps I would have managed to lose in a better way".

SAXO BANK NEWS:
Here are 2 links to some articles about Saxo Bank team.
The first link (http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/opening-doors-comes-naturally-for-porte) is about Richie Porte,a 24 year-old Tasmanian rider who's just signed a two year contract with Team Saxo Bank.Me wishes him good luck and a good career between pro riders.
The other link (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ljungqvist-to-retire-rejects-contract-offers-from-armstrong-riis ) instead is about Marcus Ljungqvist's retire from competitions.The 34 year-old Swede rider said he's going to end his career tomorrow at the Paris-Tours.Btw Marcus has said that he will remain in cycling world also after his retire from competitions.

Bad news du jour:

And so,after all the rumours about doping,a rider was finally tested positive.The rider I'm talking about is Gabriele Bosisio,who last year won a stage in the Giro and also wore the maglia rosa.If the counter analysis will confirm this result or if Bosisio admits having doped (yes,I know that the last thing I wrote is very unlikely to happen),it will be another negative thing for cycling supporters.
On this blog I've never talked a lot about doping,because I'm fed up by the fact that,every time a new rider is found positive,everybody always say the same things.And these same things are:

Rider: "I'm innocent,I swear it!! There must have been a conspiracy against me!!"
Ds: "I didn't know anything!! Oh,I'm going to fire that stupid asshole!!"
Sponsor: "Man,I'm sooooo fucking angry I'm gonna stop sponsoring that team!!"
Journalists: "Another rider found positive.Cycling is in an obscure tunnel,when will the cyclists finally understand that it's high time they stopped doping?"
Chronists: "Another rider was tested positive,but you have to think that a big part of the peloton is clean,there are lots of controls,ecc.ecc"
Supporter of the Spaniards: "A rider tested positive? Is he italian? Pfh,CONI should start to control their own cyclists instead of saying stupid things about Valverde"
Italian supporter: "Another rider found positive? Is he a Spaniard? No? What? Are you kidding me? Well,we're the only country that is doing something against doping".
Supporter 1:"Ok,I'm fed up: I'm not gonna follow cycling anymore".
Supporter 2: "I believe there are some clean riders in the peloton".
Obscure observer: "A sportman tested positive? He must be a cyclist,that's for sure.I can't understand why people keep on following cycling:they're all doped!"

As far as I'm concerned,I've always been lucky so far: none of the riders I like (and I liked in the past) has ever been tested positive.But I can talk about 2 people I know very well and that weren't as lucky as me.The first of them was a Rebellin and Sella's supporter.We all know how it ended up with them.The other one instead really liked Riccò and Di Luca (I know:they're not the nicest cyclists to support,but you can't argue about taste,can you?).And we all know how things ended up with them as well.
Last year,all Schleck Fangirls had to go through the "Frank Schleck affaire".I've always believed Frank when he said "I have never doped",but I can't even imagine how things would have ended up if he had been disqualified.Probably right now I wouldn't be sitted here to write on a blog and,in the best chance,I would have become a Sorensen/Voigt's full time supporter while,in the worst chance,I would have stopped following cycling.

Last year,during the Olympic Games,I was on holiday with a friend of mine.The day of the Cycling road race,I had a little argument with her father (who's a very kind and nice person,except when he starts to talk about cycling and football) since he didn't want me to watch that race."C'm on,come to the beach with us.Why do you lose your time watching cycling? They're all doped!" He repeated that a few times,then I replied him: "I watch cycling because it's my favourite sport and it's not up to you to say if they're doped or not.And then,why do you care about me watching cycling? I think it's not your problem if I stay here,suffer for my favourite rider and then I find out he was doped".

You probably remember how things went at the Olympics: Andy got 5th (4th?) and Rebellin (2nd) was found positive.And few days after that race,I got the news of Sella's positivity.Of course my friend's father made me notice that fact,and me really wanted to hide my head in the sand when he told me about that.

The problem with doping is that cycling risks to lose supporters.And without supporters,tvs go away.And without tvs,sponsors stop giving money to the teams.And without sponsors,you can't do a lot.

I'm not referring to Bosisio's case in particular,but to all the doping problems we had in the last years.And the thing that sometimes worries me the most is the period of the year in which some riders are tested positive.Bosisio for example has been tested positive in a control conducted on September 2 and Sella last year resulted positive at the end of June,if I remember rightly.Now,I wonder: why do you dope yourself when you don't have any important race to do? I mean: Sella wasn't scheduled to ride the Tour,so why did he dope in June? And Bosisio: why did he get doped at the beginning of September,I wonder?

Anyway,let's move on to another (better) topic.After all,as a cliché says,"when a rider is tested positive,it means that there is one cheater less in the peloton".
So: the other topic.The season is winding down and soon "the cyclistic year 2009" will be over.And 2009 brought some very good moments to Schleck fangirls: Frank's victory in California,Andy's amazing ride in Liege,the Tour of Luxemboug,Andy winning the national title, Frank winning the Grand Bornard stage at the Grande Boucle,Andy ending up on the podium of the Tour...Btw,even if the Schleck brothers have stopped racing for this year,the season isn't over yet: and actually,on Saturday,there is one of my favourite races,the Giro of Emilia.Saxo Bank riders for that race will be Lasse Bøchman,Jakob Fuglsang,Alexandr Kolobnev,Gustav Larsson,Anders Lund,los Sorensens and his Amazingness Jens Voigt (if you're interested,there's a nice vid about him on Saxo Bak Taking the Lead website).

Since the Schleck brothers won't be racing,me will be in a very "Allez Chris-Anker Sorensen!" mood,even if the Danish rider fears that the last races of the season won't go very well for him.In fact,on his blog (http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/entry338632.html) he wrote that he didn't feel very well the day of Mendrisio Worlds and that,the day after the race,he came down with flu,so he had to spend a few days in his bed wihout training.

Anyway Chris is already thinking about the future and has already "booked" his place in the Danish national team for 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro."I know that perhaps it's a bit early,but I've always liked the song "Rejsen til Rio" (ndr;Journey to Rio),I would love to go to Brazil and then,in 2016,I'll be 31 year-old,so I'll be at the top of my cycling career". Unfortunately,I'm afraid that we'll have to wait some time before of finding out whether the Danish coach will decide to take Chris at the Olympics in Rio...In the meanwhile,we can enjoy the last races of 2009 season (and hope that there won't be any other bad surprise left for this year).

(Ansa)

A Fangirl in Mendrisio:

The first thing I saw on Sunday morning,the day of the Men Road Race at the World Championships of Mendrisio,was my alarm clock.It was ringing and it was showing me that it was just 6.45 am.Normally,when I wake up so early,some questions like "Why am I doing this? And why can't I go where I have to go in the afternoon?" always strike my mind.On Sunday instead I didn't ask myself anything:I knew that I had to get up that early if I wanted to arrive in Mendrisio before of the start of the race,and I was really excited at the idea of seeing my favourite riders "live".

30 minutes after getting up I was in a car,heading towards Chiasso.As soon as my family and I got there,we got off the car,walked towards Switzerland,entered in Switzerland by foot (that was cool!),got into the train station and got on the first train to Mendrisio.
As soon as we arrived in Mendrisio,my family and I started to walk towards the start of the race. At a certain point we heard some people screaming and we noticed a bus riding on the road in front of us.It was a bus like the ones that people normally use when they go on a school trip,so I was pretty surprised when I realised that the vehicle was actually carrying the Italian riders to the race start.The Italian tifosi (there were plenty of them around) of course became really excited and started to scream things like "Bravo Cunego!","Forza Ragazzi!","Andiamo a fare poker!".After a while some people started to scream "Paolo you're the best!","Paolo please give me your autograph!" and Logic got a bit confused."Who's Paolo?",she started to ask herself.

The answer came when she noticed that one of the men who were walking near to the Italian bus was Paolo Bettini.He was looking relaxed and happy and he also stopped to talk to some people. After managing to get over the entusiasthic Italian tifosi and the Silence-Lotto/Belgium bus,my family and I found ourselves outside of a big gazebo where supporters couldn't enter and where 3 Canadian riders and a rider from Belarus were sitted.I was looking at the gazebo,trying to recognise the Canadian riders,when I suddenly heard my sister whisper,in a very delighted way, the name "Thomas Lovkvist".I turned my head towards her and noticed that,inside a little Columbia bus near to the gazebo,there were 2 Swede riders,Thomas Lovkvist and Marcus Ljungqvist.Fangirl went:"OMG how gorgeous Swede men are!" and immediately tried to get rid of Logic,but Logic was ready to stop her before she could do something stupid.Lovkvist was looking as handsome as always,drinking coffee and talking to Ljungqvist.Marcus was looking really relaxed as well and often smiled and laughed.Of course my sister immediately started to take pics of Lovkvist and to behave like Fangirls normally do when they meet their favourite riders,while me instead was thinking random things like "Uhm,Lovkvist wasn't that thin in May...He's probably lost some weight.And Marcus doesn't look so thin,so good-looking and so tall on tv!"
Anyway,after a few minutes I started to look for Luxembourgian bus and,as soon as I found it,I went towards it.Andy Schleck was there,but disappeared inside the bus after few seconds. Fangirl wanted to jump over the barriers and get on the bus,but Logic stopped her and Fangirl decided to calm down for a while.
While I was there,waiting for Luxembourgian riders to appear,I could see some cyclists riding to the start.For example,I spotted De Greef (Fangirl had another attack of craziness when she saw him),Farrar,Visconti,Freire,Cunego,Paolini,Rene Mandri,Vinokourov and the Swede riders.
As soon as Lovkvist and Ljungqvist left their bus,my sister came up to me and I could finally use my photo camera.Here are some pics I've taken:
Luxembourg bikes (Andy's bike is the first one): Johnny Schleck:
Kim Kirchen (I know,I'm not a good photographer):
Jean Pierre Drucker:
After about 15 minutes,Andy Schleck finally appeared.Fagirl was speechless:she'd never seen Andy so close before,and was obviously really excited.Excited,and speechless.So speechless that,when Andy rode past her and signed some autographs,she couldn't even tell him "Good Luck" or things like that,but just let him go without even thinking about jumping over the barriers and ask him some stupid things that would have caused Andy to call the police in order to protect his own security.
Of course,as soon as Andy disappeared,Fangirl recuperated her voice and started to shout at Logic:"Why didn't you wake me up when Andy was there? I could have said him something, instead...It's your fault!" Logic thought that Fangirl had a point there and tried to distract her by bringing her in front of the Cervélo/Norwegy bus.There Fangirl could see Thor Hushovd,Stein Remme (photo below) and Kurt-Asle Arvesen.

The funny thing about Arvesen is that I'd never seen him before of Sunday.To solve this problem,on Sunday I managed to see him not just at the start of the race,but also other 14 times. Because of this,if someone now asks me "Who did you see at the Worlds?", my answer is always the same:"I saw Arvesen! And then Andy Schleck,Hushovd,Farrar,Arvesen,De Greef, Vinokourov,Arvesen,Martin,Evans,Kirchen,Arvesen,Ramme,Rogers...Did I mention that I saw Arvesen?" Btw,after watching the Norwegian riders I walked in front of the Astana/Kazakhistan's bus.There I could see Valentin Iglinsky (photo below),while outside of Rabobank/Holland's bus I could see Karsten Kroon.

However,the moment of the race start was soon approaching and nearly all the riders had already left their buses,so my family and I decided to direct ourselves towards the Novazzano climb.While I was walking there,Fangirl asked Logic whether she'd seen any Dane rider at the start."No I haven't.What about you?" "I didn't see them either.Where were they?",Fangirl asked."I don't know.They were probably in the Italy/Spain area,that's why we didn't see them. Anyway don't worry:you're gonna see them in 20 minutes time".Of course Logic was right.In fact,during the following hours,I could see every Dane rider pretty well.
As soon as the race began,my family and I started to walk from a place to another and managed to notice many different supporter's groups.In fact there were lots of Italian,Swiss,Belgian,Dutch and Norwegian tifosi on the parcours and it was really nice to see them all together,laughing and supporting their riders.The Belgian had their own place with a big screen just for them,the Norwegian had taken possession of an area with some tables and a big screen and had shared it with some Irish supporters.The Kazakhs were near to Pozzato's tifosi,while the Luxembourgians had their own place as well.
Belgian then kept on screaming "Tom Boonen,Tom Boonen,Tom Boonen",while the Swiss battle scream was "Vola Fabian!".Also the Spaniards were very entusiasthic and kept on screaming: "Espana,Espana,Espana!" every time the peloton rode in front of them.The Italian instead kept on screaming their national anthem.
Lots of funny things happened to me during the race,but it would be too long to describe them all.Anyway,here are some pics I took during the race (sorry for the bad quality):
Here's Kurt-Asle Arvesen:

This one instead is Thomas Lovkvist:
Francis De Greef:
Fabian Cancellara:Pierrick Fedrigo:Chris-Anker Sorensen!Laurent Didier:
Matti Breschel:
Alejandro Valverde:

With 2 laps to go,my family and I moved to the last km of the race.There was a big screen there,but the comment was in Dutch and I couldn't see properly because of the flags between me and the screen.Anyway I already knew that Andy had abandoned the race,so I was in a really "Allez Chris-Anker!" mood.
Eventually Evans turned out to be the strongest.He rode past me in a very fast way and everyone-Swiss,Italians,Belgians and so on-clapped their hands at him.It was a really nice moment.
After Evans,Kolobnev and Rodriguez came,followed by Cancellara and Gilbert.And then also the other riders arrived,one after the other.
When the last rider had ended his race,I moved towards the "podium area" and watched Evans' premiation.

After the premiation (and after having seen Italian chronists,Davide Cassani and Auro Bulbarelli, waving to the crowd) I could go back to the start area.There I saw Edvald Boasson Hagen, Arvesen (twice!) and Millar giving interviews.Michael Rogers instead was outside of Australia's bus showing everyone his 2 beautiful daughters.Outside of Columbia/Sweden bus I could see Thomas Lovkvist again,while Tom Boonen was chatting with some supporters outside of Belgium bus and Cancellara was alone,head in hand,looking really disappointed outside of Switzerland bus.Btw,near to Columbia's bus I could also see Toni Martin.He was there with his family,with a pump in his right hand,looking relaxed and happy.He kindly gave me his autograph and smiled at me.
After meeting Toni,I went outside of Luxembourg bus and could see Joel Zangerle,an U23 rider. Random thought? "Man,he looks soooo YOUNG!!!"
Then,after meeting Zangerle,I saw Pozzato.He was outside of Italy's bus together with Ballan and was talking with some supporters.That surprised me and I must say that,since that moment,my opinion about him has slightly changed.
Finally,at 7 o'clock pm,after having walked through the whole start area,my family was ready to go home.Unfortunately,someone (Fangirl) didn't want to leave.
"Have you seen any Dane rider here in this area?",she asked to Logic."No I haven't"."So you don't know where they are?"."No,I don't"."But they must be somewhere!",Fangirl cried."Yes,but unfortunately I don't know where this somewhere is.Anyway,I think they're using a Saxo Bank bus,so if we find a Saxo Bank bus here around we should manage to find the Dane riders as well"",Logic added,noticing that Fangirl was looking a bit disappointed.
In that very same moment,Fangirl noticed a very little Saxo Bank bus near to her."What about that?",she screamed hopefully."Naaah,look more carefully.There are bikes and wheels in it.I don't think a single person could manage to enter in that bus,let alone 6 men.",Logic said."But where are the Dane riders,then?",Fangirl asked again."I don't know",Logic answered.At that point,Fangirl had an idea:"Hey,I could ask Uncle Bjarne whether he knows where the Dane riders are!" "Great idea,but you don't have Riis' telephone number,right?"."No,but I can see him"."What the hell are you saying?"."Take a look,Uncle Bjarne's there!",Fangirl screamed.And,surprisingly,she was right:Bjarne Riis was right in front of her,walking towards..."The Dane bus! He's surely going to congratulate the boys on their amazing ride!" "No, you must be wrong"."Well,why don't we follow him and see who's right and who's wrong then?", Fangirl proposed.Logic looked disgusted at the idea,but decided to give it a try.
Sadly enough,Fangirl and Logic soon found out that Bjarne wasn't going towards the Dane bus. "Hey,he's going to the car park!",Fangirl stated in a very disappointed way."Yes,and I don't think he's lended his car to the Dane riders,so it's high time you stopped following him and come with me at the station",Logic said.Of course,Fangirl had to obey.
So,this was my day at the Mendrisio Worlds.It was a great day (even if I couldn't find the Dane bus anywhere),I had a lot of fun-even if my podium predictions turned out to be oh so terribly wrong!-and I hope I can go to another cycling race soon.
NB: All the pics that appear in this post were taken by the worst cycling photographer of the world,aka ME!