To everyone's sadness, the Vuelta a Espana (last Grand Tour of the season) is over.
The Vuelta (at least here in Italy) doesn't get all the attention that the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France usually receive, but its parcours is always very entertaining and exciting and so it's always very nice to watch it. Btw I think there are some things that could be improved in the Spanish race -the tv broadcast, for example (the way they filmed today's sprint, for instance, was simply terrible). And then, in comparison to some of the Spaniards' supporters, even we Italians seem civil people. At least, we don't stay in the middle of the streets during the last km of the mountain stages (not always,at least;).
Another problem that la Vuelta has, at least here in Italy, is that it receives very little attention. The national tv in fact doesn't broadcast it, so many supporters had to watch the race on Eurosport. I don't have any problem with this, especially because Vuelta's chronists this year were really funny (this afternoon one of them suddenly went: 'I'm Tyler Farrar, sprinter of team Garmin Transition; during the races I need perfect vision!' and made me laugh like mad), but many people don't have the chance of watching Eurosport and don't even have a computer, so they can't enjoy the race. And then, Italians media talk about the foreign riders who take part in the Vuelta just when they're kicked out from the race after a late night and I don't like this thing at all. But at least, thanks to Nibali, this year the Vuelta received something like two pages of attention pro day on la Gazzetta (last year it usually received just half a page), so I think things could have gone even worse.
The Vuelta (at least here in Italy) doesn't get all the attention that the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France usually receive, but its parcours is always very entertaining and exciting and so it's always very nice to watch it. Btw I think there are some things that could be improved in the Spanish race -the tv broadcast, for example (the way they filmed today's sprint, for instance, was simply terrible). And then, in comparison to some of the Spaniards' supporters, even we Italians seem civil people. At least, we don't stay in the middle of the streets during the last km of the mountain stages (not always,at least;).
Another problem that la Vuelta has, at least here in Italy, is that it receives very little attention. The national tv in fact doesn't broadcast it, so many supporters had to watch the race on Eurosport. I don't have any problem with this, especially because Vuelta's chronists this year were really funny (this afternoon one of them suddenly went: 'I'm Tyler Farrar, sprinter of team Garmin Transition; during the races I need perfect vision!' and made me laugh like mad), but many people don't have the chance of watching Eurosport and don't even have a computer, so they can't enjoy the race. And then, Italians media talk about the foreign riders who take part in the Vuelta just when they're kicked out from the race after a late night and I don't like this thing at all. But at least, thanks to Nibali, this year the Vuelta received something like two pages of attention pro day on la Gazzetta (last year it usually received just half a page), so I think things could have gone even worse.
As you probably know, the eventual winner of the race was Vincenzo Nibali, who imo was simply amazing in the last weeks. His final victory made me very happy (I can be very patriotic sometimes) and it demonstrates that we Italians have a new Grand Tour rider who next year may be able to do well also at the Tour.
Both Fangirl and Logic think that Vincenzo was simply great over the last 3 weeks and that he was simply magnificient yesterday on la Bola del Mundo. He didn't panick when Mosquera attacked him and in the end he almost won the stage. As well as that, over the last 3 weeks Nibali showed he can stand pressure very well and that he's a very complete rider, who rides fast on the climbs, in the TTs and also when the road goes downhill. 'A new star is born',someone has already said- and right now, I absolutely have to agree with them.
I really like Nibali also because he seems a very hard-working, honest and modest person. As well as that, Vincenzo improved very gradually over the last years and this, according to Logic, should prove that he's not a doper. Also his team is very serious as far as doping is concerned, so I think that, perhaps, Italian cycling has really found his new (this time clean) symbol (and we really needed that, believe me).
As far as the riders who accompanied Vincenzo on today's podium in Madrid, they were Ezequiel Mosquera and Peter Velits. Mosquera's podium could have been predictable, but I didn't think he would have arrived 2nd. He was great in the TT, won the queen stage of the race (it was high time!) and he raced in a very spectacular way during the whole race. So, chapeau to him.
As far as Velits is concerned, I was completely surprised by him. He was very strong on the climbs and, most important, he was the best in the only ITT of the race. So, chapeau to him as well.
4th in the race was the unlucky Joaquim Rodriguez, who lost all his victory chances in the TT. I don't like TTs, so I always feel sorry for the guys who lose Grand Tours because of them.
Another guy who lost his podium chances because of the TT was Frank Schleck. Frankie couldn't keep the pace of the best riders on the climbs, but his 5th place in the GC is a very good result, if you consider that he didn't train specifically for la Vuelta and that this was the first important race he faced since he broke his collarbone at the beginning of July. So, chapeau also to him.
As far as the other GC riders are concerned, Sastre confirmed that he's become a bit of a wishy-washy rider. Tondo was really good, while Roche was simply surprising. Kasheckin, at his first GT after his 2 year-ban, was 18th. Van Garderen, who showed very good things in some stages, eventually came 35th in the GC.
Poor Igor Anton was forced to abandon the race after a crash when he was wearing the red jersey. That crash destroyed his victory ambition, as well as the podium's ambition of Marzio Bruseghin.
As far as Velits is concerned, I was completely surprised by him. He was very strong on the climbs and, most important, he was the best in the only ITT of the race. So, chapeau to him as well.
4th in the race was the unlucky Joaquim Rodriguez, who lost all his victory chances in the TT. I don't like TTs, so I always feel sorry for the guys who lose Grand Tours because of them.
Another guy who lost his podium chances because of the TT was Frank Schleck. Frankie couldn't keep the pace of the best riders on the climbs, but his 5th place in the GC is a very good result, if you consider that he didn't train specifically for la Vuelta and that this was the first important race he faced since he broke his collarbone at the beginning of July. So, chapeau also to him.
As far as the other GC riders are concerned, Sastre confirmed that he's become a bit of a wishy-washy rider. Tondo was really good, while Roche was simply surprising. Kasheckin, at his first GT after his 2 year-ban, was 18th. Van Garderen, who showed very good things in some stages, eventually came 35th in the GC.
Poor Igor Anton was forced to abandon the race after a crash when he was wearing the red jersey. That crash destroyed his victory ambition, as well as the podium's ambition of Marzio Bruseghin.
Talking about the stage winners, I must say I'm happy that Farrar won this afternoon in Madrid. After all those 2nd places behind Cav, he needed a good stage victory!
Cav won the foggy,ehm, the green jersey, while Moncoutié got the polka dots one. The biggest stage surprise of the race imo was Yahueni Hutarovich's victory in stage 1 , while me was utterly scared by Gilbert's first stage victory. If the boy flies that way also in Melbourne, many other riders can say 'farewell' to their victory dreams.
Talking about Melbourne: you probably know that Pinotti's not going to race in Australia anymore (link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pinotti-out-of-italian-world-championship-team ). What many websites forget to say is that Pinotti was really pissed off by Bettini's choice. In fact he complained about that on the local newspaper (after all, living in Bergamo has some advantages...) and said that Bettini could have waited other 2/3 days before of deciding to leave him at home.
Still talking about Melbourne, Fabian Cancellara hasn't decided yet if he'll race in Australia or not ( http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cancellara-to-decide-tuesday-on-worlds-participation ). "On Tuesday I will likely go for a long training ride and then definitely decide whether I get on the air plane on Wednesday. At the end of a long season, I am just going day by day.”, he told Cyclingnews.
Talking about Cancellara obviously brings us to talk about Saxo Bank team. Alex Rasmussen announced he's going to leave the team as well, while Cancellara abandoned la Vuelta in a very controversial way the other day. It seems like things are escaping from Uncle Bjarne's control and I think it's very sad to see my favourite team in this condition.
This in fact was the last Grand Tours that many guys raced for Team Saxo Bank and I'm very disappointed at how things are ending up for this team. Btw don't worry,after Tour of Lombardy I'll surely dedicate a very moving post to the end of the Schleck- Cancellara- Sorensen- Breschel- Fuglsang- Voigt- O'Grady -Riis love story. For the moment, let's just 'enjoy' (or, at least, let's try to) the last part of this long adventure all together (in fact, after 3 years of uncoditionate support, miss Fede is going to leave Saxo Bank as well...) .
Hoping that Saxo Bank's decay won't go any further than this, and hoping that an Italian (not Pozzato please!) will be on the highest spot of Melbourne's podium in 2 weeks time, here I close this long and chaotic post and wish everyone a good night.
(Pic by Bettini)
(Pic by Bettini)
Like you I'm happy Nibali won the Vuelta, I hope he stays grounded and humble and doesn't end up like Cunego :P
RispondiEliminaProbably Frank's win or podium placing would have made me happier, at least because this Saxo Bank saga during the Vuelta was really sad and I felt he was "alone" all the time.
About Cancellara, what's your opinion Fede?
For what he said in an interview and for the way he acted I don't think he's going to end in Team Luxembourg; anyway, one can still hope. For sure with him the last bastion of sexiness has left the Sexy Bank ;-) And I believe its decay is over, what else can go wrong? :P
Always nice to read your poignant comments, I'm looking forward your next posts :-)
Francesca
One more time congratulations. It looks like a new very good rider grew in Italy. Sylewster Szmyd said yesterday that he had always thought that Nibali wouldn't be able to win grand tour, but could be very good at one-day races. Apart from that he also stated that Liquigas is the best team in the world :D
RispondiEliminaIt seems to me that you are allergic to dopers and also think that all cyclists have a guilty conscience. Don't you? But perhaps it's not so bad and everyone shouldn't be suspected of dishonest actions. After all you can try to get job in WADA ;)
I don't understand how you can destroy Filippo's daydream about the world championship ;) Boy has enough problems. Do you think that he already has a nightmare about Gilbert who is taking away this pretty colourful jersey from him? And if Pozzato is close the victory in Australia, will you wish him a puncture?
Ania
@ Francesca: I also hope that Nibali won't end up like Cunego- Italian journalists and supporters would eat him alive if he did a thing like that! ;)
RispondiEliminaI'd have been happier with a Schleck's podium as well, but I think that Frank got a very good result by coming in 5th anyway. In fact at the beginning of the Vuelta he had just come back from a bad injury and then he hadn't trained specifically for the Spanish race. Moreover, he didn't know the parcours at all (just like Nibali) and his team didn't actually look that strong. So I think we can be very satisfied with his 5th placement and have even greater expectations for next year's Grand Tours.
Talking about Cancellara,I must admit that I didn't follow the events of the last days with a lot of attention, since I've never been particulaly keen on Fabian and since I'm really fed up by all these bad stories regarding Saxo Bank. Anyway, my opinion about the 'Cancellara-gate' starts from a little consideration of mine: contracts are made to be respected. Said this, I was very disappointed by the way Fabian left SB. According to Riis, in fact, Fabian simply jumped off his bike at a certain point of a stage, didn't say 'goodbye' to anyone, and just hurried to the closest airport. Not a very professional behaviour, imo.
On the other hand however you have to consider that this is what Riis said about Cancellara's retire from la Vuelta. Perhaps Fabian decided to react that way because he knew that otherwise he would have never been free of joining los Schlecks at Team Luxembourg and perhaps he was also shocked by the way Riis treated Andy-who is a big friend of his-after the late night he had last week.
In a few words, therefore, my opinion about Fabian-gate is: if what Riis told the newspapers is true, Fabian behaved in a very childish way. But at the same time, I'm afraid we'll never know what has been going on in Saxo Bak team over the last months and so we'll probably never be able
to tell who the bad and who the good in this story is. Btw, personally, I tend to support Riis in almost all the things he did over the last weeks. He probably feels a bit backstabbed right now and, honestly, I think we can't say he's wrong in feeling that way.
Let's just hope Saxo Bank's decay to be really over now. And as far as the sexyness left in the team is concerned, what about Chris Sorensen? After all, he's got the charme of the clever guys who love reading history books, hasn't he? ;)
@ Ania: what Szmyd said is funny. In 2007 he thought that Nibali was born for one-day classics and I thought that Andy Schlecks was born for Grand Tours. And now,3 years later, Andy has won Liége and Nibali has won la Vuelta.Funny.
RispondiEliminaAs far as the doping issue is concerned, let me say that I'd prefer to become a cycling journalist rather than start working for Wada: my 'perfect life project' in fact doesn't actually involve spending half of my life in a laboratory, between blood and urine samples. ;)
More seriously, I think you got a wrong impression of my approach to the doping problem. I obviously dislike dopers, but I do think that there are some clean guys in the peloton. Otherwise,I wouldn't follow this sport. Said this, I've talked about doping in this post because almost all the important Italian cyclists of the last years (Basso, Riccò, Di Luca, Rebellin, not to mention poor Pantani) all had doping problems. So, it was high time Italian cycling found a new 100% clean hero.
Btw it's true that, after all these years, when I see certain guys making extraordinary performances, I always have some doubts about their cleanness. But at the same time it's true that I think that many guys on the peloton are clean. Otherwise, there would be no point for me in watching cycling races.
Talking about Pozzato,it's true that I often tease him, but I don't hate him at all. Simply, I think he's a funny character and since I'm an evil person I make fun of him just for this. So don't worry, I won't wish him to puncture during the final km of the Worlds, although a victory of his would force me to post one of his picture on this blog- and this idea doesn't appeal at all to me.
And as far as Pozzato's dreams are concerned, I think his most frequent dream over the last days is the following: he's won the Worlds and he's in a tatoo-salon, ready to get his new World Champion commemorative tatoo done; Then,all of a sudden, someone (Gilbert? Cavendish? Sagan?) arrives and gives him the news that no, Pippo hasn't really won the Worlds and so he can't get a new tatoo. The dream obviously ends with Pippo getting desperate and his rival getting the commemorative tatoo in his place ;)
I knew that you would write something what amuse me. Thanks! Vision from tattoo salon - just brilliant! I don't think, that in WADA they are employing only laboratory technicians... But I am starting understanding all you wrote about doping.
RispondiEliminaHow is at the school? Are teachers tormenting you much? Are there any final exams in Italy?
Ania
I agree with you, with Vincenzo Nibali Italy now has a humble (and clean) grand tour winner.. I really like the guy, I hope he stays the same too (but I think he will, he's so down to earth). Saxo Bank: unbelievable. You think you had about everything, then Fab leaves the Vuelta just like that. I don't know what's going on there, but I think a lot of repressed tension was coming out at once. But I'm glad that Fränk was still very respectable on his Twitter about Bjarne and the team, although he seemed to be the only one. Now let's hope this was really the end of the soap.. I'm looking forward to the Worlds, but we have to get up very early to watch it haha.. around 7 I think? But it'll be worth it for sure :)
RispondiElimina@ Ania: for the moment at school my classmates and I are enjoying the usual 'calm before the storm' phase. Now everything is quiet and almost all the teachers are friendly, but in about 1 week time things will probably start to change (*sighs*).
RispondiEliminaThe thing that is tormenting me very much right now is that this year we had to change our scholastic timetables, so that now I finish school at 2 pm, get home at 3.15 and finish my lunch at 3.45.Considering that I get up everyday at 6.25 am, I think you can guess how tired I am in these days.
Here in Italy we have a final high school exam that I'll have to face between June and July 2011.This exam obviously worries me a lot, but at the same time I'm really looking forward to it, because after it I'll finally stop learning Maths and Latin and I'll finally be able to make a little bonfire out of my trigonometry exercise book ;)
@ Marleen: I think there was some repressed tension inside SB as well and I completely agree with you when you say that Frank behaved in a very good way towards the team.
I usually have problems in getting up that early on Sundays, but I think I'll make an exception for the Worlds' day. After all, the Worlds are my favourite one day race :)