Worrying news about Frank Schleck, a look back on the last few races and the start list of Tour of Flanders:

Welcome back on my blog, dear readers! Here's the usual random post, my last one before the Ronde van Vlaanderen (*chorus of 'yays' coming from every direction*).

Before talking about Ronde, however, let me tell you about the news that appears on 'Gazzetta Cycling''s homepage right now. The title is very simple: 'Schleck, this is a trick!' and it is right above a big pic of Frankie riding the TT stage of Criterium International. In fact, it seems that on that stage Frank hid something in his jersey in order to be more aerodynamic.

Unfortunately, as you can see in the pic below, that aerodynamical something was clearly visible during the stage (take a look at the unnatural shape of Frank's chest): Well, what to say about this news? Shall we hope that it's a 1st of April joke? Unfortunately for us, I don't think this is a possible explanation. In fact, this awful news was reported not just by La Gazzetta's (online and paper) edition, but also by Marca and by a Luxembourgish online newspaper. They wouldn't have talked about this news if it was a big joke by Gazzetta, right?
Talking about Gazzetta, the journalist who wrote the article says that Frank's 'secret' device could have made him gain about 2" pro km during Sunday TT. No wonder he rode faster than Vinokourov on that day...
Frank hasn't commented on this news yet, but imo he'll be surely given a fine - or something worse- by the UCI, whose rules clearly don't allow to hide aerodinamycal device under a rider's jersey .
I don't think that Frank will be able to find a decent excuse for the unnatural shape that his chest had on Sunday but well, hope dies last. In fact, right now I'm still backing my 'First of April Joke' theory.
However, if I could talk with Frankie right now, my only comment would be: couldn't you use a comfortable, invisible bike engine rather than a thing like that? It would have spared you a big damage to your image, believe me.

Anyway. I had already prepared today post on yesterday evening and I'm not going to change my programmes just because of this news. Over the last years in fact I've realised that, more than being a Schleck supporter, I'm a cycling lover. And this has saved me a lot of times in the past. So, let's talk bikes.

First of all, however, I remind you taking a look at our new post on 'Bananas About Bikes'! It is a very nice one, with lots of pictures of cool riders who ride/used to ride with the Schleck brothers. And of course there is also a pic of Andy (without things hidden in his jersey), how cool! (*allows you a break to go checking the new post*)

So, did you go checking the new post? Really? I'll know it if you haven't done it, so be careful with your answer to this question. And if you're thinking about visiting the blog later, no way, dear: by the time you arrive at the end of this awful post, you'll have surely forgotten about it. So go checking the new post now! It's worth reading, really! Don't worry, we won't be going anywhere else while we wait for your return. Listen, I give a two minutes break, ok? It's enough to go there, read the post, watch the pics, leave a comment and come back. Nice programme, isn't it?
...2 minutes later...
So, did you read the new post? Did you like it? Yes, really? I had tod you about that!
Ok, now we can continue.

GAND-WEVELGEM: So, let's talk a bit about Gand-Wevelgem. Imo the race was pretty exciting, although I couldn't enjoy it completely because I was studying for an exam. However, I was very happy for Boonen's victory: Quick Step needed UCI points and Tom's victory was the best way to get them.
Second (for the thousandth time this year) was Daniele Bennati. A bit more of good luck and Daniele could have already won some great races! However, I think it's good to see him getting good placements so often. It means that Daniele's got very good legs and this is good for the whole Leopard Trek team and also for the Italian team. After all, Copenhagen's Worlds are approaching... Btw, have you read about the Giro starting from Denmark in 2012? That's a nice news, isn't it? I just hope the Danish roads are wider than the Dutch ones!
Back to G-W, the third rider to cross the finish-line was Tyler Farrar, who showed his good condition once again.
Still talking about G-W, I must say that I was a bit disappointed by the way the final breakaway (starring Sagan, Bodnar, Stannard and Chavanel) ended up. It was a very good one, but then Chavanel and Stannard stopped pulling and the breakawayers lost all their victory hopes. Well, you can't always have an Arashiro in your breakaway...
Another thing to notice about this year GW was the reaction that Cavendish had after his second crash. The guy is short, but he knows how to look angry!
Talking about being angry, I was both shocked and furious after Offredo and Duque's post finish-line crash. How can a professional photographer cause such a dangerous crash? And the thing is that he didn't even look sorry - he actually disappeared right after the incident. And because of that, Offredo will now have to skip Flanders. Oh, anger!

INTERVALLO: Here I had written a very nice post section about Frank's victory at CI (including the *Eisen Andy* song turned into *Eisen Frankie*), but I've deleted it immediately after getting the infamous news above. And to think that I had spent about 25 minutes writing it yesterday evening, how stupid of me...

TROFEO BINDA: Rather than talking about such a topic, here I go with a littleparagraph about Trofeo Binda, a women race that was held in Cittiglio on Sunday. 'Oh no, women cycling!', I can hear some of you think, 'I don't care at about it!' Well, if you had that thought, let me explain you why I'm dedicating some space on this blog to women cycling.
First of all, it's because I'm a girl and I'm tired of seeing the female cyclists being treated as strange creatures with nice legs but who can't cycle. In fact, girls' races are just like the ones of the boy, with a little difference: girls have much more difficulties than man.
Firstly, a female cyclist has to fight prejudices against female cycling ('they're just a bunch of cute girls pretending to ride a bike'). Secondly, she must be very brave to take up a career like that. Just think about the fact that, at the end of a cycling career, for a girl it's much harder to become a ds than for a male rider. Moreover, the salary isn't exactly as high as the one of Cavendish or Schleck or Gilbert. In addition, male riders can become parents without interrupting their careers, whereas female riders can't. Last but not least, women have a certain problem every month; men don't.
Then of course there are also agonistic reasons behind my interest for women cycling. In case you didn't know, at last year Giro the girls had to climb Passo Stelvio (yes, the one that also the boys usually climb during the Corsa Rosa). Stunning, isn't it?
Anyway, hoping that I convinced you about the fact that women races are worth watching too, let's go back to Trofeo Binda. Bad weather, long race and an amazing Emma Pooley: this was the race.
The 28 year-old rider from London attacked with 80 kms to go and won with a minute and a half of advantage on Emma Johansson and Annemiek Van Vleuten. 4th was Martine Bras, 5th Shelley Olds, 6th Chantal Blaak,7th Judith Arndt and 8th Grace Verbeke. The peloton sprint was won by Pauline Prevot,whereas the first Italian rider was Elena Berlato, 12th.
Talking about Emma Pooley, she's the perfect example for explaining you what I meant when I talked about the sacrifices of female cyclists. In fact, being a woman cyclist provides you a job for 10, 15 years, but what can the girls do after their retirement from the sport world? Well, Pooley has found the answer: she has a degree in Engineering, which she got at Trinity College in Cambridge (wow!), and right now she lives in Zurich, where she's studying in order to get a PdH in Geotechnical Engineering. Amazing, isn't it?
3 DAYS OF LA PANNE: After this pink stroke, let's talk about another race: Three Days of La Panne. Read the following Top 3 very carefully:
1. Denis Galimzyanov, 2. John Degenkolb, 3. Peter Sagan. It is the top 3 of the second stage of 3 Days of La Panne and it is also a short list of the greatest Cycledom talents. Denis Galimzyanov is 24 year-old, has had a tough childhood (he has 5 brothers and they were all grown up by their mother) and, according to Cipollini, 'he still has to discover what his limits are. Moreover, he can still improve'.
John Degenkolb instead is 22 and this year he's already won a stage at Volta ao Algarve and the first stage of Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen. Last year instead he was 2nd at the U23 World Championships, behind a certain Michael Matthews.
As far as Sagan is concerned, I think we all know about this boy. As I said, look out for these guys. And since you're here, add to the list Andrew Talansky: he's 22 and he's a very good time trialist.
Back to 3 Days of La Panne, a rider who's done well in it is Lieuwe Westra, 28. He's not that young, but I hadn't heard anything about him in the last few years. However, it is always nice to discover some talents here and there ;) Unfortunately Westra lost the chance of winning the overall GC of the race during the last TT, which was won by an amazing Sebastien Rosseler.
The penultimate stage of the race instead was won by Jacopo Guarnieri, yay!
However, what can we understand from Westra's defeat in the TT, which cost him the overall prestigious victory in 3 Days of La Panne? Simple: he should have hidden something in his jersey(ok, sorry for that, but that's how I react to certain news)!

TOUR OF FLANDERS START LIST: Talking about some of the last races, now it's time to look ahead, to the Tour of Flanders that we'll be able to enjoy on Sunday. Since this is my last post before Sunday, here I go with the provisional start list of the race, my personal opinion about the teams and some latest news regarding injuries and things like that. Enjoy!
LEOPARD TREK: Cancellara, Klemme, O'Grady, Posthuma, Stamsnijder, Viganò, Nizzolo, Weylandt. Banana boy facing the cobblestones, yay! And Viganò, the latest crush of miss Mar! And look, there is also Nizzolo! What a fangirl-friendly team! Unfortunately, Robert (and not Richard) Wagner won't ride on Sunday because he broke his shinbone during GP Harelbeke. Poor Robert was knocked off his bike by a commitee car (!!) after he gave his rear wheel to Cancellara (the Swiss rider had just punctured). Wagner won't be operated, but he won't be able to race for 4/6 weeks now.
Torsten Schmidt called Nizzolo to replace the German unlucky rider and I totally believe Giacomo when he says he's very happy to ride Flanders. "I was in Milan when Luca Guercilena called me", Giacomo told Cyclingnews. 'At first, I thought he was joking. I couldn’t believe it. This is my first year as a pro and this might be the highlight of my maiden season. Still, it’s unfortunate that I get this chance at the cost of my teammate, Robert Wagner. I feel sorry for him, because he has been working for months toward this goal'. Good luck to Giacomo then!
Another rider who's not taking part in Flanders is Daniele Bennati, who's afraid that the cobblestones may damage his Achilles heels, which has been giving him huge problems in the last few years. A pity, since Daniele is in a very good condition. However, health always comes first!
Looking at the riders who are racing, Cancellara is my favourite number one for the race, although the whole group will be following him across Flanders on Sunday. Btw I'm sure that we can expect a Top 3 placement from him or from O'Grady, whose condition is really good right now. Stamsnijder, Posthuma, Klemme and Weylandt are very solid cobble-riders too, so I'm expecting a good race from the guys. Allez boys!
GARMIN-CERVELO: Hushovd, Farrar, Hammond, Haussler, Klier, Millar, Van Summeren, Maaskant. A very good team for Garmin, no doubts about that. Hushovd and Van Summeren have recently got good results at Paris-Roubaix (the Norwegian rider was 2nd last year, Johan was 5th in 2009) and this year Thor looks better than ever. Farrar was 5th in Flanders last year, while Hammond was 4th in Roubaix. Maaskant instead was 4th in Flanders in 2009 (hopefully he's fully recovered from his terrible crash at Paris-Nice: he broke 7 ribs that day!). Also Klier and Millar are very good riders, while Haussler was 2nd in the 2009 edition of De Ronde. I think the captain will be Thor, but I'm sure the team will have some etra cards to play in the finale.
BMC: Van Avermaet, Ballan, Burghardt, Hincapie, Kroon, Phinney, Quinziato, Schaer. Talking about strong teams... Ballan is one of my favourites for Sunday race, he's determined and he's in a good condition. His team is full of talented guys who know how to ride on the cobbles. Burghardt won Gand-Wevelgem a few years ago, Hincapie has been fighting for a victory in the North campaign for years, Kroon is experienced, Van Avermaet is fast and resistant and Quinziato, as well as having a great musical taste, knows how to rock the cobbles. Schaer is young (24), but he's got talent, just like Phinney. The boy amazed everyone in his years as young rider, now it's time to see what he can do in the professional peloton. I wish him a lot of luck!
KATUSHA: Hoste, Pozzato, Gusev, Isaichev, Ivanov, Kuschinsky, Paolini, Vandenbergh.

Hoste and Pozzato will be the captains, with Kuschinski ready to help them and Ivanov and Gusev who showed their faces during Gand-Wevegelm. Poor Hoste had a bad crash the other day: he actually wasn't mr. Peloton, now he's also got a bad cut over his eye and he's lost a tooth. Poor boy! On to Pozzato, he is the eternal promise of Italian cycling. Will he win his first Classic since 2006 on Sunday? We're all waiting for the answer.
COFIDIS: Keukeleire, Sijmens, Ista, Duque, Labbe, Petit, Saramotins, Valentin. The young Keukeleire (23) is one of the most talented Belgian riders and this year he'll have his debut in the North campaign. Together with him there will be the experienced Nico Sijmens.
SAXO BANK SUNGARD: Nuyens, Cooke, Klostergaard, Larsson, Marycz, Morkov, Tanner, Tosatto. A good mix of experienced and young guys for Uncle Bjarne's team. Nuyens is in a great condition, while Cooke and Tosatto are tough guys who know how to ride on cobblestones. Larsson has looked good in the last few races, while I'm curious to see what the young guns will do. Klostergaard isn't actually that young anymore and is a solid rider. Morkov had good results in the U23 Tour of Flanders some years ago and I think he'll help Nuyens in a great way. Marycz is a very brave rider, who's not afraid of attacking and I think he may have a very good race on Sunday. Tanner is a neo-pro, I wish him (and the other 'Flanders-virgins') a lot of good luck!
LAMPRE: Petacchi, Bole, Buts, Hondo, Kondrut, Krivtsov, Spilak, Szeghalmi. Look out for Simon Spilak, ladies and gentlemen: the boy was 8th in 2008 and is in a great form now. Petacchi has had some health problems recently, so he probably won't be at his best.
FDJ: Bonnaire, Bonnet, Chainel, Delage, Geslin, Guesdon, Rollin. Offredo should have been the team captain, but he's had a heel injury after his collision with a photographer on last Sunday. Poor Yoann! However, the team has good some good cards like Chainel (great form) and Guesdon (39 year old, he won Paris-Roubaix in 1997).
QUICK STEP: Boonen, Steegmans, Devenyns, De Weert, Van Impe, Maes, Chavanel. Terpstra broke his collarbone during 3 Days of La Panne, so the very unlucky boy (he who broke both arms in Beijing 2008) will have to take a period of forced rest. Heal soon, Nicki! Unfortunately, Boonen loses a very good helper, although I'm sure that Steegmans and the others will help him in a great way on Sunday. Look out also for Chavanel, he likes attacking!
VACANSOLEIL: Devolder, De Gendt, Leukemans, Veuchelen, Marcato, Mouris, Selvaggi, Westra. Devolder won 2 Tour of Flanders in 3 years and he's as determined as usual. Moreover, this year he has a new team formed by very strong guys. Marcato is in a very good form, just like Westra. De Gendt surprised me a lot in Paris-Nice, while Leukemans is one of my favourite riders as far as cobblestones are concerned. Add Westra and you have one of the best line-ups of the race.
SKY: Flecha, Boasson Hagen, Arvesen, Barry, Hayman, Hunt, Stannard, Thomas. Boasson Hagen has hopefully recovered from his health problems. Flecha is an expert of North races, although imo he's more keen on Roubaix than on Flanders. Arvesen is a very experienced and fast rider too (how would the Norwegian chronists react if he won?), while Thomas is young, brave and strong. Allez Geraint!
MOVISTAR: Amador, Erviti, Herrada, Konovalovas, Lastras, Madrazo, Rojas, Ventoso. Allez Konovalovas, one of the best time trialists of Cycledom!
SKIL SHIMANO: De Backer, Curvers, De Kort, Docker, Kluge, Reimer, Van Zandbeek, Veelers. 'Where's Kenny?', everyone's asking right now. Unfortunately, Kenny isn't in the start list of the race. Poor thing. However, Skil has some very good riders like De Kort, the former track rider Roger Kluge (who's very fast), Tom Veelers (who knows how to ride on cobblestones) and De Backer.
LIQUIGAS: Bodnar, Dall'Antonia, Guarnieri, King, Koren, Marangoni, Oss, Sagan. 'Young is cool' could probably be the new motto of Liquigas. Bodnar, a strong (and quite good-looking) Polish helper, is 26. Dall'Antonia and Edward Carrington 'Ted' King are 28 and carry the shame of being the oldest ones in the line-up. Marangoni is 26, Koren is 25, Guarnieri and Oss are 24 and Sagan, the team puppy, is almost 21. Amazing. And very competitive, since Sagan and Oss (the latter compared Flanders to 'Smell like Teen Spirits' by Nirvana) can fight for a top 5 placement, while Koren and Guarnieri are very promising too. Moreover, Oss said to look out for Bodnar and Dall'Antonia, very strong riders too.
EUSKALTEL: Aramendia, Castroviejo, Cazaux, Fernandez K, Izagirre, Perez Lezaun, Minguez, Sesma. Lo siento mucho, pero no hay 'cobblestones riders' en el Paìs Vasco. EUROPCAR: Chavanel, Claude, Gaudin, Gene, Haddou, Jerome, Pichot, Turgot. Decent team, but I don't think they have good chances of ending up in the top 20. Where's Voeckler?
OMEGA: Gilbert, Kaisen, Roelandts, Van de Walle, Hansen, Lang, Reynes, Sieberg. Yay, Sieberg is racing! Ok, sorry for that. Gilbert wants to win Flanders and he's in a good form. He also has a very strong team, in which there are some experienced guys like Kaisen and Van de Walle.
RADIOSHACK: Rosseler, Cardoso, Hunter, Kwiatowski, Lequatre, McEwen, Murayev, Rast. Good riders, but not exactly cobblestones specialists.
LANDBOUWKREDIET: Amorison, Barbe, De Waele, Dockx, Helminen, Scheirlincx, Traskel, Verheyen. Good team, with De Waele, Traksel and Scheirlincx as best ones of the line-up. Look out also for Amorison!
RABOBANK: Boom, Flens, Langeveld, Leezer, Matthews, Tjallingii, Van Emden, Wynants. In spite of the absence of the poor Matti Breschel, Rabobank has a very good line-up. Langeveld is very strong and is in a good condition, Matthews is at his 'cobblestones baptism' and Boom knows how to face extreme race conditions. Also Leezer is young but talented, while Flens, Tjallingii and Van Emden add their experience to the talent of the young guns.
HTC: Bak, Cavendish, Eisel, Ghyselinck, Goss, Roulston, Smukulis, M.Velits. Goss has won Sanremo, will he do the 'doppietta' with Flanders? I don't think so, although this boy from Tasmania never ceases to amaze me. Roulston is good on the cobblestones, while Cavendish didn't get any great result in the last races. Imo Eisel will be the team leader, although we may expect something also from Gatis 'Smuki' Smukulis, who won U23 edition of Flanders in 2008.
AG2R: Elmiger, Goddaert, Hinault, Houanard, Lemarchand, Minard, Mondory, Ravard. The captains should be the experienced Elmiger and Hinault.
ASTANA: Bazayev, Davis, Gourov, Grivko, Maxim and Valentin Iglinskiy, Lorenzetto, Vaitkus. Astana has one of the guys who could surprise us on Sunday and that guy is Maxim Iglinskiy. He's in a good form and was 8th in last year Flanders. Davis is a resistant guy, but I don't know how he can cope with cobblestones. Vaitkus is a good cobble rider too, while I'm curious about seeing Grivko in such an important race.
TOPSPORT: Coenen, Cornu, De Vresse, Jacobs, Neyrink, Van Hecke, Van Vooren, Vanspeybrouck. Ah, Topsport: every year they have a guy who gets a surprising result in the races they are invited to. The team is very young, but I expect something good from Cornu and also from Van Hecke.
VERANDA'S WILLEMS: Caethoven, De Vocht, Drucker, Goris, Van Groen, Scheirlincx, Schmitz, Van Dijk. Oh, Drucker! He's a Luxembourgish rider, so some of us will surely cheer for him ;)The team leader might be Scheirlincx, hopefully this team will offer us some good surprises.

So, this is the start list for Flanders. My picks? Cancellara, Boonen and Ballan (and Gilbert). Outsiders: Langeveld, Iglinskiy.

Waiting for Frank's comments on the Gazzetta news and for an amazing Tour of Flanders on Sunday, I wish you all a good weekend.