Frank Schleck's coming to the Giro/ Giro start list

Dear readers, the reason why I'm writing this post is that Frank Schleck has finally decided to take part in the Giro d'Italia. The news really came as a surprise to me, especially because:

 1) Jakob Fuglsang was expected to be Radioshack's leader in the Italian team
2) Bruyneel often denied that one of the Schleck brothers was coming to the Giro
3) Andy once said that racing the Giro would be a step back in his career, and I'm afraid that Frank probably agrees with him
4) one of the Schleck brothers racing a GT without his brother? Nah, you must be kidding me.

So, let's go in order and analyse the reasons,the contradictions and the hopes between Frank's presence in the Giro.

First of all, the Jakob Fuglsang's thing: the Danish rider had been focusing on the Italian race (which this year starts with a prologue in Denmark) since last winter and Basso has recently said that he really feared the Radioshack rider. And now, all of a sudden poor Fuglsang was replaced by Frank Schleck in the Radioshack line-up for the Giro. What happened? Well, let's take a step back. During Tour de Catalunya (March) poor Fuglsang broke the scaphoid bone in his hand - and this isn't actually the best thing that can happen to a rider who's preparing a Grand Tour. This week, instead, he had a tough time at Tour of Romandie. Jakob in fact ended the prologue of the race in 74th, with a 18" delay from the winner, Geraint Thomas. Said prologue was just 3.3 kms long, but we should consider that many time trialists who have the same characteristics of Jakob ended the race in the top 25.

Things didn't go any better in the first stage of the race, when Jakob reached the finish-line 5 minutes after stage winner Bradley Wiggins. The following day instead Fuglsang got a 7 minutes delay from the stage winner, Hivert. As for the 3rd stage, poor Jakob didn't even turn up at the start.

According to Radioshack, those bad results were due to an inflammation in Jakob's knee, which could have been caused by an equipment change (more precisely, Fuglsang has recently adopted a new pair of shoes) or by an overload of races. Radioshack doctor, interviewed by Daily Peloton, said something pretty wise about the injury of the Danish rider: "With a quick and intensive therapy, Jakob could possibly be able to start at the Giro, (...) but a good result would be out of the question. And if he had to drop out of the race after ten stages, what would have we accomplished?"

Of course, after Jakob's knee problems, Team Radioshack needed another rider who could lead the team in the Italian race. After all, one shouldn't forget that the team's owner, Flavio Becca, has Italian origins, and of course he would really love to see some of his riders doing well in his homecountry race. As a consequence of this, Bruyneel's choice fell on Frank Schleck, third at last year Tour.

People started rumouring about los Schlecks presence in the Giro already last winter, when the Tour de France route was announced. Many (me included) said that the brothers this year should have taken part in the Italian race, since the French one features 100 kms against the clock. Bruyneel at first seemed inclined to send Frank Schleck to the Giro and Andy to the Tour, but a few weeks ago he put an end to all discussions by saying that none of the brothers was coming to the Italian race. Said statement by the team ds followed a horrifying statement by the Schleck the Younger, who said that 'racing the Giro for me would be a stepback in my career'. Moreover, the brothers often stated that they give their best only when they're racing together. Therefore, the Italian supporters had already abandoned their hopes of seeing one of the Schleck racing in Italy in May. Luckily 'hopes dies last', and this year we'll finally be able to see one of the Luxembourgian brothers pedalling on the Italian roads. This obviously leads us to two problems:

1) will Frank be able to race well without his brother?

2) will he be able to go for a good result in the GC?

So, let's go in order. Imo, the answer to the first question is a loud 'YES'. I'm not a big supporter of 'the Schleck brothers should always race together!!!' theory, and I'm actually very happy to see that Bruyneel has managed to divide the brothers: one to the Giro, the other one to the Tour. Of course I think that Frank will take part in the Tour too, but he'll probably be just an helper for his younger brother. Imo, this is the perfect situiation. During last year Tour in fact I often had the feeling that Andy wasn't going full gas because he was always waiting for his brother - and, believe me, that was a very hateful sensation. This year instead Frank will probably be pretty tired after the Giro, so that at the Tour he'll be his brother's helper. As a consequence, Frank will be the key helper that Andy has always needed and, on the other hand, Andy will be able to attack 'a bloc' without feeling the urge of turning his head every 2 seconds to check whether Frank is on his wheel or not. Of course I'm still skeptical about Andy's chances of winning this year Tour, but now things look less dark than they did until this morning.

As far as the second question is concerned, instead, I truly believe that Frank will be able to achieve some good results during the Corsa Rosa. During AGR in fact the 32 year-old rider seemed to have a pretty good form, which can only improve in the upcoming weeks. Considering that this year the Giro riders will face the most difficult stages of the competition in the third week of race, in fact, Frank will have about two weeks time to improve his form ahead of the serious mountain stages - and, imo, this can only do him good.

As for the race parcours, this year the Giro has just a few uphill finish and many kms against the clock. Still, we must consider that Frank's adversaries for the GC (Scarponi, Basso, Gadret, Rujano, Pozzovivo, Nieve, Henao, Pardilla) aren't great time trialists. Actually, amongst the GC contenders the best time trialists seem to be Marco Pinotti and Roman Kreuziger. Still, will they be able to stand the penultimate stage, during which the riders will face Mortirolo and Stelvio one after the other? I don't think so.

As a consequence, I think that Frank has great chances of ending up in the top 5. Of course, given the absence of Menchov, me will support the Luxembourgian rider in a very fangirlistic way during the next three weeks - allez Frankie!

GIRO D'ITALIA START LIST:

After dedicating half of this post to Frank Schleck, let's now talk about the other GC contenders and let's take a look at all the teams that are taking part in the Corsa Rosa.

AG2R: Belletti, Berard, Bonnafond, Dupont, Gadret, Gastauer, Gazvoda, Montaguti, Perget. This team has the only French rider who prefers the Giro to his homecountry race: John Gadret. The light climber was 4th (3rd if you consider Contador's ban) in last year Giro and this year he's ready to create problems to the other riders again. As for Gadret's teammates, Hubert Dupont is a very good climber ('and a very good-looking boy', adds Fangirl). As far as the flat stages are concerned, the team's sprinter is the Italian Manuel Belletti, who won the Cesenatico stage of Giro 2010. Other riders on the team are the all-rounders Montaguti and Perget, the young Bonnafond, Gastauer and Berard (they were all born in 1987) and the 31 year-old Gregor Gazvoda, who is a GT debutant.

Androni Giocattoli: De Marchi, Felline, Ferrari, Ochoa, Rubiano, Rujano, Sella, Serpa, Jackson Rodriguez. The Italian team has some very good riders too. Rujano (winner of the Großglockner stage in last year Giro) is a pure climber who could end up on the podium. Sella and Serpa are very good climbers too, Rodriguez, Ochoa and Rubiano are excellent all-rounders, De Marchi is an interesting young rider. Ferrari and Felline are good sprinters from which many supporters expect a lot.

Astana: Dyachenko, Kiserlovski, Kreuziger, Petrov, Tiralongo. Astana hasn't communicated his official line-up yet. According to some sources, the missing spots in the team could be taken by 4 men chosen between Gasparotto, Guarnieri, Gavazzi, Ponzi, Kessiakoff and Seeldrayers. As for the riders who are sure to take part in the Italian race, Kreuziger is probably the best time trialist amongst the GC contenders. Nevertheless, in the last few years he's often had problems with getting regular results during GTs and this could be a problem for him. However, we should consider that this year the Czech rider completely focused on the Giro and, given that the parcours suits him more than ever, he could be a serious contender for the podium. Kiserlovski is another excellent rider who could even get a top 5 placement. Tiralongo is one of the best helpers of the peloton, whereas Dyachenko and Petrov (winner of L'Aquila stage a few years ago) are good all-rounders who could be dangerous in the breakaways.

BMC: Ballan, Frank, Hushovd, Phinney, Pinotti, Santambrogio, Santaromita, Tschopp, Wyss. Ballan finally has his debut in the homecountry GT: it was high time! He is a dangerous all-rounder, just like Tschopp. Pinotti is the team leader for the GC, Phinney is an excellent time trialist, Santambrogio is a good climber, just like Frank and Santaromita. Hushovd will go for the sprints and, if he has the chance, he may shows us a 'numero' like the ones he did in France last July. Oh, and remember that this team has a great line-up also for the  Verona TTT!

Colnago: Battaglin, Brambilla, Modolo, Pirazzi, Pozzovivo. The riders who could complete the team line up are Savini, Pagani, Lombardi and Locatelli. Colnago, as usual, has a very young team (the oldest rider, Pozzovivo, is 29). Nevertheless, the line-up is formed by very strong riders who can do well on different terrains. The above-mentioned Pozzovivo is a great climber, although in th last few years he's been haunted by bad luck. Pirazzi is a rider everyone adores for his brave style of racing, Modolo is an excellent sprinter who's recently got a victory in Tour of Turkey. Brambilla is a good climber, Battaglin is a very strong neo-pro.

Euskaltel: Cabedo, Cazaux, Nieve, Izagirre, Minguez, Oroz, Saez, Txurruka, Velasco. The team captain is Nieve, winner of the Gardeccia stage at Giro 2011. This year the Basque rider will go for another stage victory and for a top 10 in the GC. Txurruka, Velasco, Oroz are very experienced helpers, Cabedo, Izagirre, Minguez, Cazaux and Saez are good all-rounders.

Farnese Vini: Pozzato, De Negri, Failli, Favilli, Gatto, Guardini, Hulsmans, Mazzanti, Rabottini. This team hasn't got a GC contender, but it has many riders who know how to win GT stages. Pozzato is a very strong Classic rider and hopefully he'll be able to race without arguing with other riders during the key moments of the stages. Failli, Rabottini and De Negri will go for the breakaways, Hulsmans and Mazzanti are good climbers. Guardini is considered 'the Italian answer to Cavendish', Favilli and Gatto are both in a very good form and they're both decent, fast climbers.

FDJ: Bonnet, Casar, Delage, Démare, Mourey, Rasch, Rollin, Soupe, Veikkanen. The French team can count on the fast Arnaud Démare, which will have all my support during the sprints.  His lead-out train will probably be formed by Bonnet and Rollin. Casar could go for the GC, whereas Mourey, Rasch, Soupe, Veikkanen and Delage will try entering important breakaways.

olDekker, Farrar, Hesjedal, Rasmussen, Rosseler, Vandevelde. The American team has a very good line-up. Hesjedal will go for the GC and, imo, he could arrive in the top 10. Vandevelde is a very good climber too, just like Dekker. Farrar is one of the strongest sprinters of the field and will be helped by Rosseler. The team has some very good time trialists, so look out for them it the TTT.

Garmin: Beppu, Bobridge, Goss, Impey, Keukeleire, Lancaster, Christian Meier, Tuft, Vaitkus. This team hjyuis very good, especially when it comes to time-trialling. Bobridge could win the prologue, Goss and Impey are good sprinters. Lancaster and Beppu are fast too, whereas Keukeleire is young and talented. Tuft is an excellent time trialist, Meier and Vaitkus are good all-rounders.

Katusha: Joaquim Rodriguez, Horrach, Kristoff, Kuschynski, Losada, Moreno, Brutt, Smukulis, Vicioso. The Russian team has a very good line-up too. Rodriguez could end up in the top 5, Moreno is a great climber, Vicioso won the sadly famous Rapallo stage of last year Giro. Losada and Horrach are good helpers, Brutt and Kuschynski love breakaways. Kristoff and Smukulis are good all rounders.

Lampre: Cunego, Scarponi, Ulissi, Spezialetti, Pietropolli, Malori, Niemiec, Righi, Bono. The team leader is Scarponi, who could go for the final victory. Cunego will be a protected rider too, Niemiec will be a key helper in the climbs. Spezialetti, Righi and Bono are fast, just like Pietropolli. Malori is an excellent time trialist, Ulissi is one of the most talented guys in the peloton.

Liquigas: Basso, Agnoli, Bodnar, Capecchi, Caruso, Longo Borghini, Sabatini, Salerno, Szmyd. Ivan Basso will try winning another Giro, although his form doesn't look exceptional. The team has excellent helpers like Szmyd and Salerno (excellent climbers), Bodnar, Agnoli and Longo Borghini (very good all-rounders). Sabatini is fast, Caruso is a good climber, Capecchi won the San Pellegrino stage of 2011 Giro.

Lotto: Bak, Bille, Bulgac, De Clerq, De Greef, Hansen, Kaisen, Meermsman, Dennis Vanendert. Bille, Bulgac and D. Vanendert are young rider, de Clerq won the Montevergine stage at last year Giro. Hansen is fast, Meermsna is dangerous in the breakaways, Kaisen and Bak are good all-rounders. De Greef will go for a top 2.

Movistar: Amador, Bruseghin, Intxausti, Pardilla, Samoilau, Ventoso, Visconti. Very good line-up for the Spanish team. Bruseghin is a good GC rider, Pardilla is an excellent climber. Samoilau is a good GC rider too, Amador is a good climber, Ventoso is fast. Intxausti is a good all-rounder, Visconti will go for stage victories.

Omega: Chicchi, Cataldo, bandiera, Golas, Kwiatowski, Maes, Pauwels, Martin Velits, Vermote. Cataldo is a good GC rider who could make it to the top 10. Chicchi is a good sprinter, Velits a good time trialist. Pauwels, Maes, Golas, Kwiatowski and Vermote are good all-rounders, bandiera is pretty fast.

Rabobank: Renshaw, Bos, Brown, Clement, Garate, Leezer, niermann, Slagter, van Emden. Bos and Renshaw are excellent sprinters who'll be supported by Graeme Brown. Clement and Van Emden are good time trialists, Garate will go for a stage victory. Slagter is a talented rider, Niermann and Leezer are experienced all-rounders.

Radioshack: Frank Schleck, Bennati, Hermans, Kloden, Nizzolo, Rohregger, Oliveira, Zaugg. Radioshack definitely has a good team. Schleck could go for the podium, Oliveira, Hermans and Kloden will help the team in the TTT. Nizzolo and Bennati are both very fast, even if Daniele has been haunted by bad luck in the last few years. Zaugg and Rohregger are very good climbers. ps: the team still has to name 2 riders.

Sky: Cavendish, Eisel, Henao, Thomas, Uran, Flecha, Kennaugh, Swift, Stannard. Sky has a very good team. World Champion Cavendish will be helped by Eisel, Swift, Kennaugh and Stannard during the sprints, whereas Thomas is an excellent time trialist and an excellent all-rounder. Henao is a great climber, just like Uran. Flecha is a very strong and experienced rider who could for a stage victory. Look out for this team in the prologue!

NetApp: Barta, Brandle, Benedetti, Dietziker, Hollenstein, Huzarski, Schorn, Saubert. Huzarski is a good climber, just like Hollenstein. Barta is a good time trialist, Brandle is very young and talented. The other rider are good all-rounders who'll try entering good breakaways.

Saxo Bank: JJ Haedo, Boaro, Jorgensen, Christensen, LS Haedo, Lund, Roberts, Tanner, Tosatto. Haedo is a good sprinter and he'll be able to count on his brother. Boaro is a good time trialist, Lund and Christensen are good all-rounders. Tanner is a promising rider, Roberts is pretty fast, just like Jorgensen. Tosatto has had a wonderful spring and he'll go for a stage win.

Vacansoleil: Carrara, De Gendt, Denifl, R. Feillu, Keizer, Lagutin, Larsson, Marczynski, Selvaggi. This team has a lot of men who could for stage wins. Carrara is a good climber, just like Denifl. De Gendt is a very strong all-rounder, just like Lagutin. Selvaggi, Keizer and Marzcynski will go for a stage win, Feillu is a good sprinter. Larsson could win a time trial and do well in the GC.

So, this is the Giro line-up for the moment. Bruyneel has just said that, in his opinion, the strongest GC riders are Kreuziger, Scarponi and Basso. I agree with him and I think that Frank Schleck seriously has a chance of winning this year race. Allez Frank!