Another strange stage in the Giro, dear readers. And another occasion to get angry for me.
I've always considered the Giro as the most exciting GT of the year, but this year I'm finding it boring and annoying (ok, this is due to the fact that I'm finding Contador hateful). Moreover, I'm regretting the absence of a guy like Riccò (yes, I'm becoming crazy), who would have surely said something to Alberto and to the other Spaniards after today's stage.
First of all, the riders this afternoon had the chance of riding through some of the most breathtaking Italian sceneries. I was in Canazei three years ago and on one day my dad took the car and brought the whole family on a trip on the roads of the Giro. First we drove up Pordoi, then we drove up Giau ('Imagine how it must feel to be on the top of this climb, look down and see your main rivals who have already ended the descent', dad said), then we faced the Rolle, went to Cortina, took a break, and then we went back in our car and drove up Passo Fedaia which, according to my father (who worked hard to make the car go up that climb) was the hardest mountain of the whole area. We didn't drive through the amazing rock walls that the riders could see today, but we did arrive near to the lake at the top of the climb. On another occasion instead we drove up to Gardeccia and went walking, almost reaching the top of the Torri del Vajolet (the mountains that RAI showed after the riders crossed the finish-line).
Said that, the riders today had to face the climbs of Piancavallo, Forcella Cibiana, Passo Giau (Cima Coppi of the race), Passo Fedaia and Gardeccia.
Amongst the riders who atttacked today there were Emanuele Sella (who, on those very same mountains, rode very strong in 2008), Kevin Seeldraeyers (the last rider to cross the finish-line yesterday), Yaroslav Popovych, Johnny Hoogerland, Jan Bakelandts (why am I not surprised that these 3 guys went on a breakaway?), Aliaksander Kuchinsky and Javier Aramendia. Soon they were joined also by Stefano Garzelli (the oldest rider of the field after Noé's retire), Danilo Di Luca, Luis Pasamontes, Stefano Pirazzi, Carlos Sastre (he's alive!!), Pieter Weening (a hero), Philip Deignan, Alberto Losada, Evgeni Petrov, Mikael Nieve and Johann Tschopp.
Hoogerland said 'adieu!' to them with about 70 kms to go, but the first man to finish the Passo Giau was Stefano Garzelli, who was followed by Nieve (who, at the time, had a delay of 45").
In the meanwhile, Contador attacked with a few hundred of meters before the beginning of the Giau descent, since he was simply terrified by the idea of facing an attack by Nibali. In fact, Contador had no teammates left and seemed worried by this thing.
On the descent, Nibali gave us an excellent show and gained 40" on the Maglia Rosa. Ah, if yesterday there had been the Crostis descent!!!
But then, while Nibali was trying to maintain his advantage, a very annoying (at least for me, since I was supporting Vincenzo) thing happened. In fact, Pablo Lastras (Movistar) and Igor Anton (Euskaltel, third in the GC) started to pull hard in order to reduce Contador's gap from Nibali. I was simply shocked when I saw Pablo working in that way for Alberto, as if he was one of his helpers. And to say that, in 2008, Riccò had a terrible argument with Sella because he had given a single turn at the front to Contador on the Monte Pora climb (Riccò even asked Emanuele: 'How much did he pay you?')... I know that allies have always been an important part in cycling, but why was Movistar helping Saxo Bank in that way? Riis' team hasn't helped them yet in this Giro!
Told about this fact, Nibali stopped pushing hard on his pedals. But still, he was going to pay his effort on Fedaia. There in fact he got dropped, just like Lastras and Anton. What happened then? Simple: Rujano took the lead and started to pull in order to help Contador. This was actually more acceptable (although still pretty annoying), since a few days ago Contador gave a stage victory to Rujano. A few meters later, Contador told Arroyo (who had just escaped from the Maglia Rosa group) to follow him. Really, someone should explain the Spaniards that they're not taking part in the Worlds and that they're not riding for the Spanish national team.
On the descent from Fedaia, Nibali made another masterpiece and came back on Contador's group (apropos, why did Saxo Bank team car stop in that curve? It was dangerous!). But then the last climb started and Contador attacked, dropping the other riders and starting his solo towards the finish-line.
Ahead of the Maglia Rosa, however, there were still two riders, Garzelli and Nieve. Right after the beginning of Gardeccia, Nieve rode past Garzelli, who was facing a bonk. Eventually, the Euskaltel rider crossed the finish-line 1'41" earlier than Garzelli.
In the meanwhile, Scarponi started to gain time on Contador, whereas Nibali was facing another terrible time. In the end, Contador gained 6" on Scarponi, about 37" on a great Gadret, 1' 30" on Nibali, 2'20" on Kreuziger, 2'42" on Menchov.
Igor Anton sacrificed his 3rd place in the GC in order to help Contador and arrived 7minutes after Nieve. Kruijswijk instead was very good and showed he's a threat to Kreuziger's white jersey.
The last rider, Matthew Wilson, arrived 44'55" minutes after the winner. Chapeau to him.
After the stage, Italian tv had the chance to interview Riis, who transformed 'Il Processo' in a hipocrisy show. In fact, Bjarne said: 'On the other day I had a meeting with the other ds and they told me they didn't want to face Crostis not because of safety reasons, but because they thought the sport aspect of the race wasn't guaranteed on that climb. I said that a car with the bikes of the best riders on could have followed them, but the other ds said that wasn't enough. Then, I just had to respect UCI's decision. I was disappointed by the public booing at Contador, it was the UCI that decided to cut the Crostis from the race, not me or him'.
Unfortunately, all the facts of the last days (the Crostis thing, Contador's words about mechanical problems, the Spaniards' behaviours) are making me sick and they make me think that, since the end of this Giro, Contador and Riis won't be welcomed anymore by the majority of Italian supporters. I like cycling, but this Giro looks more like a football tournament than like a cycling race. And, personally, I'm saddened me and upsetted by this fact.
I've always considered the Giro as the most exciting GT of the year, but this year I'm finding it boring and annoying (ok, this is due to the fact that I'm finding Contador hateful). Moreover, I'm regretting the absence of a guy like Riccò (yes, I'm becoming crazy), who would have surely said something to Alberto and to the other Spaniards after today's stage.
First of all, the riders this afternoon had the chance of riding through some of the most breathtaking Italian sceneries. I was in Canazei three years ago and on one day my dad took the car and brought the whole family on a trip on the roads of the Giro. First we drove up Pordoi, then we drove up Giau ('Imagine how it must feel to be on the top of this climb, look down and see your main rivals who have already ended the descent', dad said), then we faced the Rolle, went to Cortina, took a break, and then we went back in our car and drove up Passo Fedaia which, according to my father (who worked hard to make the car go up that climb) was the hardest mountain of the whole area. We didn't drive through the amazing rock walls that the riders could see today, but we did arrive near to the lake at the top of the climb. On another occasion instead we drove up to Gardeccia and went walking, almost reaching the top of the Torri del Vajolet (the mountains that RAI showed after the riders crossed the finish-line).
Said that, the riders today had to face the climbs of Piancavallo, Forcella Cibiana, Passo Giau (Cima Coppi of the race), Passo Fedaia and Gardeccia.
Amongst the riders who atttacked today there were Emanuele Sella (who, on those very same mountains, rode very strong in 2008), Kevin Seeldraeyers (the last rider to cross the finish-line yesterday), Yaroslav Popovych, Johnny Hoogerland, Jan Bakelandts (why am I not surprised that these 3 guys went on a breakaway?), Aliaksander Kuchinsky and Javier Aramendia. Soon they were joined also by Stefano Garzelli (the oldest rider of the field after Noé's retire), Danilo Di Luca, Luis Pasamontes, Stefano Pirazzi, Carlos Sastre (he's alive!!), Pieter Weening (a hero), Philip Deignan, Alberto Losada, Evgeni Petrov, Mikael Nieve and Johann Tschopp.
Hoogerland said 'adieu!' to them with about 70 kms to go, but the first man to finish the Passo Giau was Stefano Garzelli, who was followed by Nieve (who, at the time, had a delay of 45").
In the meanwhile, Contador attacked with a few hundred of meters before the beginning of the Giau descent, since he was simply terrified by the idea of facing an attack by Nibali. In fact, Contador had no teammates left and seemed worried by this thing.
On the descent, Nibali gave us an excellent show and gained 40" on the Maglia Rosa. Ah, if yesterday there had been the Crostis descent!!!
But then, while Nibali was trying to maintain his advantage, a very annoying (at least for me, since I was supporting Vincenzo) thing happened. In fact, Pablo Lastras (Movistar) and Igor Anton (Euskaltel, third in the GC) started to pull hard in order to reduce Contador's gap from Nibali. I was simply shocked when I saw Pablo working in that way for Alberto, as if he was one of his helpers. And to say that, in 2008, Riccò had a terrible argument with Sella because he had given a single turn at the front to Contador on the Monte Pora climb (Riccò even asked Emanuele: 'How much did he pay you?')... I know that allies have always been an important part in cycling, but why was Movistar helping Saxo Bank in that way? Riis' team hasn't helped them yet in this Giro!
Told about this fact, Nibali stopped pushing hard on his pedals. But still, he was going to pay his effort on Fedaia. There in fact he got dropped, just like Lastras and Anton. What happened then? Simple: Rujano took the lead and started to pull in order to help Contador. This was actually more acceptable (although still pretty annoying), since a few days ago Contador gave a stage victory to Rujano. A few meters later, Contador told Arroyo (who had just escaped from the Maglia Rosa group) to follow him. Really, someone should explain the Spaniards that they're not taking part in the Worlds and that they're not riding for the Spanish national team.
On the descent from Fedaia, Nibali made another masterpiece and came back on Contador's group (apropos, why did Saxo Bank team car stop in that curve? It was dangerous!). But then the last climb started and Contador attacked, dropping the other riders and starting his solo towards the finish-line.
Ahead of the Maglia Rosa, however, there were still two riders, Garzelli and Nieve. Right after the beginning of Gardeccia, Nieve rode past Garzelli, who was facing a bonk. Eventually, the Euskaltel rider crossed the finish-line 1'41" earlier than Garzelli.
In the meanwhile, Scarponi started to gain time on Contador, whereas Nibali was facing another terrible time. In the end, Contador gained 6" on Scarponi, about 37" on a great Gadret, 1' 30" on Nibali, 2'20" on Kreuziger, 2'42" on Menchov.
Igor Anton sacrificed his 3rd place in the GC in order to help Contador and arrived 7minutes after Nieve. Kruijswijk instead was very good and showed he's a threat to Kreuziger's white jersey.
The last rider, Matthew Wilson, arrived 44'55" minutes after the winner. Chapeau to him.
After the stage, Italian tv had the chance to interview Riis, who transformed 'Il Processo' in a hipocrisy show. In fact, Bjarne said: 'On the other day I had a meeting with the other ds and they told me they didn't want to face Crostis not because of safety reasons, but because they thought the sport aspect of the race wasn't guaranteed on that climb. I said that a car with the bikes of the best riders on could have followed them, but the other ds said that wasn't enough. Then, I just had to respect UCI's decision. I was disappointed by the public booing at Contador, it was the UCI that decided to cut the Crostis from the race, not me or him'.
Unfortunately, all the facts of the last days (the Crostis thing, Contador's words about mechanical problems, the Spaniards' behaviours) are making me sick and they make me think that, since the end of this Giro, Contador and Riis won't be welcomed anymore by the majority of Italian supporters. I like cycling, but this Giro looks more like a football tournament than like a cycling race. And, personally, I'm saddened me and upsetted by this fact.
Dearest Fede, your reports are always so good to read and rethink what happened during a race!!!
RispondiEliminaI completely agree with you that it would have been so great if Ricco had been on the Giro this year....Although it is not completely right to use a person who is not quite mentally sound. In fact other cyclists/teams should speak out themselves, but they seem only want to suffer.
Fede, I'm just going to re-post a comment I left on Coug's blog. It's kind of depressing, but an important interview for anyone interested in the culture of cycling, even if it is about the more negative side of the sport.
RispondiEliminaNot about the Amgen, or the Giro, but an important, if not utterly demoralizing, interview with cyclist Tyler Hamilton. Perhaps it's not going to "change the history of the sport" as the reporter Scott Pelley rather loftily declares, but if Hamilton's account of his experiences are true, it's another black eye for cycling, and a rather sad development in the case the US federal government is building against Lance Armstrong.
Part I:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7366948n&tag=contentMain;contentAux
Part II:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7366946n&tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea.6
:(
OMG - Tondo has died! http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/xavier-tondo-dies-in-domestic-accident
RispondiElimina@ Barbara: I think most of the teams want to avoid polemics, especially when Contador is concerned.
RispondiEliminaRiccò really got angry when Sella gave a hand to Contador in Giro 2008, so I don't know how he would have reacted if he had been in Nibali's shoes after passo Giau! Really, the way the Spaniards helped each other on that day was almost disgusting. The other teams do their best to drop the SB guys, and Contador gets help from Lastras, Arroyo, Anton and Rujano. It's great to see the Spaniards being so lovely to each other, but aren't they exaggerating a bit? What if the Belgians all agreed to help each other in next Paris-Roubaix then? Or if the Frenchmen decided to race all together at the Tour? It wouldn't be nice at all! :P
@ Figbash: Thank you very much for the links, Figgy. They're very interesting, even if depressing.
I don't remember Armstrong's Tour de France victories, but my father has always claimed that Lance and his whole team were 'too good to be true'. Moreover, the talks about Armstrong's failed doping control have been circulating for some years now, but no one ever managed to demonstrate it.
The most depressing thing about this whole story is that, apparently, the UCI had a key role in hiding the results of that failed doping test and this is simply terrible.
However, I agree with Hamilton about the fact that, some years ago, doping was the rule, and not the exception, inside the peloton. Ullrich, Riis, Pantani... Even a sprinter like Zabel took EPO in order to win!
I can understand why people took drugs in that situation because, as Hamilton said, it was strange to see guys kicking your butt although they were weaker than you and this made you think that, without doping, you would have never reached your goal.
Unfortunately, another worrying thing is that both Ferrari and Bruyneel are still up and running, whereas those 'unlucky' guys (like Hamilton or Landis) who were found positive at the anti-doping are facing serious problems (poor Hamilton, for example, had to cope with depression).
@ Anonimo: That's one of the worst news I've ever received. Tondo was a great man and a great rider and life has been too unfair with him. Dying in a way like that, with a whole life of projects and dreams in front of you, is just too bad. May Xavier rest in peace and may he always be remembered :(
Hamilton’s interview couldn’t have come at a worse time. With Wouter just passing away, and then that awful, gruesome accident with Xavier Tondo (Fede, I must say that Italian newspapers are very graphic in their account of this. I truly hope that his death was instantaneous, because that is just a horrific way to die).
RispondiEliminaWatching that interview, I felt quite sorry for Tyler Hamilton. I don’t think he’s gaining anything from telling his story, and he seems to be a bit of a broken man. That said, I really don’t understand the doping mentality. For me, part of the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal, is knowing I achieved it through hard work. I just don’t understand how you can feel a sense of accomplishment, knowing that you’ve cheated. It must be a very hollow feeling.
@ Figbash: I think the Gazzetta guys described Xavier's accident in such a detailled way because in that way they could fill half a page of their newspaper. In this way, they didn't have enough space for the usual, useless clichés. Perhaps I'm wrong, but that's the feeling I got from reading that newspaper page the other day. And actually, I can understand the journalists' reasons for doing so.
RispondiEliminaI felt really sorry for Tyler Hamilton too, while watching that interview. The poor guy faced depression, has just betrayed some of his old friends and will surely have to face Armstrong's accusations of low credibility in the next weeks. This must be a very hard moment for Tyler and, although he made some mistakes in the past, I hope that someone will help you him through these hard days. He looked so down in that interview!
Although I do believe that cycling's mentality has changed, I'm afraid that there are still some people who try to cheat whenever they can.
A few years ago, for example, my PE teacher told me that a boy in my school was very good at cycling. Then (she told me) he stopped racing all of a sudden because, after changing team and category, his new trainers told him that, if he wanted to keep on getting good results, he would have had doped. Otherwise, they said, he would have never made it.
Unfortunately it looks like some people don't think they can make it without doping. Probably, when they start taking illegal substances they also start to believe that everyone else is on drugs, so they convince themselves that they're not actually cheating.
I've recently read about a phone call that was recorded in the doping investigation of Mantova. In it, a doctor told a rider who had some doubts about doping that: 'A guy like Ballan would have never made it without doping. We created him thanks to doping. Without doping, he'd be nothing'. If this is the ruling mentality in cycling, well, I think that our sport is still in a very bad condition, in spite of what UCI and WADA say.