Team Luxembourg's mistery, Saxo Bank's training camp in Didier and Sorensen's words:

Hear ye, hear ye- and be part of this blogger's joy: miss Fede has no homeworks for tomorrow (it's the first time since September that I can write this sentence!!) and so she's going to write a new random post. Happiness!
So, first of all, let's talk a bit about Team Luxembourg. Or whatever its name will be. In fact, yesterday the team's name mistery was apparently solved by our dear Jakob Fuglsang, who told Cyclingnews that the new squadra was going to be called 'Team Leopard'. Moreover, he added that the team kit should have a classical design and should also have a big leopard printed on it.
This news had actually got me in despair, since the idea of screaming 'Go go Leopards!' to my favourite riders for the next 4 years doesn't actually appeal that much to me. About the leopard on the kit, well, I would have bet they would have printed the Luxembourg lion on it, instead I was wrong. How strange.
Btw this morning Brian Nygaard denied the news that Jakob had given yesterday and he said that, to know the true name of the team, we'll have to wait until the 5th of January. Now, let's reflect a bit about this.

Some weeks ago, Nygaard had already said that the team wasn't going to be called 'Team Leopard'. Therefore, after reading Fuglsang's words, me was a bit sceptical about them and that's why I didn't publish the news immediately. In fact, Nygaard has denied it earlier today.

But still, me smells a rat about this story. I mean: Jakob seems an intelligent guy, so I don't think he said that name, 'Team Leopard', completely by chance. Moreover, me was a bit disturbed by Nygaard's reaction. In fact not only did he deny the news immediately, but he also seemed a bit angry on his Twitter. In fact there he said it was time people stopped all these speculation about the team's name and he added that we have to wait until the 5th of January if we want to know more about the team.

The little problem is that, unfortunately, the day of the team presentation I will be in Austria, with no Internet connection. Does this mean that I'll have to wait until the 10th of January just to know the name of m favourite riders' team and what their new kits will look like? Gosh, don't people at team Lux realise that we've been waiting for these details since August?

I had already got fed up by this 'secret-mania' in September, so you can imagine how I feel about it right now. And the funny thing is that Nygaard also got angry at those who speculate about the new name of the team. Ask yourself some questions, dear.

Still talking about the secret-mania: everyone talked about Crans Montana's training camp in a very happy and entusiasthic way, but no one mentioned that O'Grady crashed while skiing and broke two ribs (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ogrady-set-for-tour-down-under-in-spite-of-skiing-accident ). Now, if I'm on a training camp and one of the people who are there with me breaks 2 ribs while skiing, I wouldn't probably talk about said training camp in very euphoric terms. But still, guys at team Lux didn't mention O'Grady's injury until yesterday. And, still talking about that training camp, I haven't seen any 'official' picture from it yet.

Did I miss something or are the only pictures of the training camps the ones that the riders posted on Twitter? Is someone else fed up by this secret-mania, or is it just a product of my impatient imagination?
Anyway, back to the name's mistery, Frank Schleck has recently given an interview to Tageblatt (which appeared also on Cyclingnews) in which he said: ”I like 'Team Lëtzebuerg' (as a new name for the team)”. I have to admit I like it too, although almost everything is better than team Leopard. I mean, leopards are cute (see pic below), but I just can't imagine to see my favourite riders being called 'leopards' in every single race of next year. That would be a bit disturbing, imo.

On http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/frank-schleck-eager-for-2011-season-with-number-one-team , Frank also talked about the new team in a very entusiasthic way. He also said that Linus Gerdemann is a nice guy. This is funny, since Chris Anker Sorensen actually can't stand poor Linus and also said that, in the peloton, Gerdemann hasn't got so many friends.
In the interview Frank also said: “We can't wait until things finally start and we can finally do what which we do best – that is, ride races.” I can't wait either!

SAXO BANK NEWS...
Talking about the other team, Saxo Bank, on http://www.lessentiel.lu/fr/news/dossier/%20newsletter/story/28605173 there's a nice interview with Laurent Didier, one of the riders who didn't follow los Schlecks in their new team. This is actually a bit strange, since Laurent is Luxembourgian and Frank Schleck praised his skills last year.
Talking about the training camp in Fuerteventura, Laurent said that everything went well - in other words, no one broke anything. Didier also said that at first the Spaniards had remained a bit on their own, while in the following days he spent a lot of time with Navarro. The Luxembourgian also claimed that the training camp was also a good chance to practise English. Considering that I need to practise my spoken English too, can I join you in your next training camp too? I'm small and tidy! ;)
Talking about los Schleck brothers, Laurent said that they're good friends of his, but that he's paid by Saxo Bank and so he's riding for them also in 2011. He also adds that he had been in contact with Kim Andersen, but then Riis didn't want him to leave the team and so he decided to respect his contract. 'This is normal when you're a pro cyclist', said Laurent, who ended the interview by saying that he doesn't want to talk about a possible team change in 2012 yet.

Still talking about Saxo Bank's training camp, Chris Anker Sorensen wrote a very funny (as usual) post about it. Here's a little translation of it.
'Morkov and I chatted about the fact that we were happy that, during this camp, we did not have to sleep on some mountains with BS in a rainy weather. It goes without saying that this year's team building was very different from the survival camps with BS. I would say that both camps have their advantages and I can't actually decide what the best training camp method is (...)', Chris wrote about the survival camps.
Then he talked about the different things he did during this year camp. Talking about the strange human pyramids and things like that, he said: 'We may use some of the things we have learned in the training camp during the presentations of some of the 2011 races . For example, we could build a human pyramid, a thing on which we are quite keen now. One thing that none of us really liked instead was kitesurfing. We all went down like flies. I kept on checking whether my falling teammates were going to land on my head (ndt: there may be something wrong in this sentence, since Google Translater translates it in a very strange way :P). Surfing was much better, I really liked it and I think I could do it again. However I was a little annoyed by the fact that, between all the clips in which I was surfing perfectly, TV2 chose to broadcast one of the few ones in which I was having some troubles'.
Then Chris said something about being a 'culture bearer' of Cycling. Or, at least, that's what Google said that Chris wrote. Shall I trust the damn thing or not? Mistery.
Then Chris said: "Also this year we played some tennis (...). Our doubles matches Vandborg / Chris Anker vs. Morkov / Nicki always ended up with a victory for Vandborg and me, mainly because of Brian's skills. If a sport consisting of tennis, badminton, table tennis and cycling existed, Vandborg would be a champion in it".
The guys also had apnea lessons during the training camp and Chris wrote: "I started the training as the absolute worst hold breather, in fierce competition with our Pole Jaroslaw. In fact, we got an impressive result of 15 and 16 seconds in the first attempt we did of holding our breathes. After three days of training however I improved my performances and could hold my breath for 1:45. I could have probably reached the goal of the 2 min, if JJ and I hadn't swum into each other".
Surprisingly, Chris ends his post by wishing everyone a merry Santa Lucia. This is the proof that Chris knows what Santa Lucia is - and this makes me like him even more.
However, I've already talked too much for today. So here I close this random post too.

PS: I obviously offer my condolences to the family of Aldo Sassi. He was a great man, a 'living biologic passport', as Pastonesi called him on today's Gazzetta, and cycling has lost a great personality after his death. Rest in peace Aldo.

Team Saxo Bank's Giro squad:

Yes,finally,after 12 months of await,the Giro d'Italia is beginning once again.And,obviously, Fangirl is excited.Terribly excited.So excited that,the other day,she spent the whole bus travel to school thinking about the Giro and she decided that,between all the people who work at/in/for the Giro,those who she envies most are the journalists.Therefore,Fangirl spent a lot of her school time thinking about how nice it would be for her to be a cycling journalist.
Anyway,since it's almost Giro time,and since I have two days off,today I go with 2 useless posts: one includes the Giro start list,the other one (this one) is about Saxo Bank's Giro squad.

"Why do you have two days off?", I hear you ask.Well,simple: this year my town hosts the Raduno Nazionale degli Alpini ("Alpini's National Meeting") and so the streets of my town are full of men in militar suits and hats that cook cotechini and costine and drink a lot of wine.Since the Alpini (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpini ) have put up their tents in every park/ piazza/ garden they have found (they come from every part of Italy and so they have to sleep somewhere here in BG), and considering that they've also taken possession of some schools (mine included), me has two days off. To make you understand the "Alpini fever" that keeps on making victims here in Bergamo, I give you a link to some pics regarding today's parade in the center of the town: http://www.ecodibergamo.it/galleries/Foto/1862/1/#top_galleries (please notice the Upper City's Walls covered with the Tricolore).

Anyway, it's probably time I started to talk about cycling.So,in this post you'll find some information about every Saxo Bank rider that is racing the Giro and,where possible,you'll find a link to the latest news about him. Enjoy.

BADEN COOKE:

This Australian rider of 31 is one of the most experienced boys that are racing the Giro for SB this year.This is his first season with the team, but he has already got some Top 10 results in races like Tour of Qatar,Tour Down Under,Tour of Oman and Tirreno-Adriatico.He also came 14th in Gand Wevelgem.In 2003 he won a stage in Tour de France and he also won the point classification of the race.Between his main results that are stage victories in Herald Sun Tour, Tour de Suisse,Tour Down Under,Three Days of La Panne and Tour of Poland.He's also won Dwars door Vlaanderen and Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen.To my disappointment,no news about his shape are available.

LAURENT DIDIER:

This Luxembourgian rider of 25 is a neo pro and this is his first year in Team Saxo Bank. He has a degree in Engineering and he used to race for Team Designa Kokka until last year.So far in the season he has showed he's a strong climber and he has been an excellent helper for the Schleck brothers during the Ardenne's week.He's not the first cyclist in the Didier family,since both his father and his grandfather were professional riders.In 2005 he won a stage of Fleche du Sud and the U23 Natonal Championship.In 2007 he won a race in Staargau and a stage of Friedens-und Freundschafttour (which,judging by its name,is probably the most peaceful sport competition of the world).This year his best result has been a 12th place in Hel van het Mergelland.

On http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/index.php/les-sports/11129-CYCLISME-Lobjectif-cest-terminer.html there's an interview with him made by Romain Haas.In it Laurent says that his main goal for 2010 Giro is arriving in Verona. He says that his form is good, that he's really anxious to begin because he wants to test himself during a Grand Tour and that the Giro reminds him of Andy Schleck's second place in 2007.

LUCAS SEBASTIAN HAEDO:

Lucas is the younger brother of JJ Haedo and this is his first year in Team Saxo Bank. Argentinian, this 27 year old boy is a sprinter,just like his brother.Last year,his first one as a professional rider,he won Nature Valley Grand Prix and a stage at Tour of San Luis.So far in the season he has already got Top 10 results in Tour of Oman and Volta a Catalunya.As well as that,he was also 4th in a stage of Tour de Romandie and this demonstrates that the boy is in good form.

GUSTAV LARSSON:

Gustav is a rider who doesn't need any presentation.Swedish,29 year old,he's probably the second strongest time trialist of the world behind Cancellara.He was 2nd in the TT race in Beijing 2008 and he was 2 also last year,in Mendrisio TT championship.In 2008,on a very hard parcours,he was 14th in the Giro GC.He hasn't had any success so far in the season,but tomorrow's Giro TT could be a good chance for him to show his skills.

If you want to follow him during the Giro,this is the link to Gustav's twitter,which he shares with his girlfriend (and professional cyclist) Veronica Andreasson: http://twitter.com/GustavVeronica.

ANDERS LUND:

This 25 year old Danish rider is an all-rounder and has been racing for Saxo Bank since 2007.He was second in the 2003 junior World Championship and he hasn't got any victory in the pro category yet.In 2005 he was second in U23 Liége-Bastogne-Liége and in U23 European Championship and this year he was 8th in a stage of Tour of Romandie,result that shows shows that he's in a good form.He indicated his teammate Porte as a possible surprise for tomorrow's prologue.

MICHAEL MORKOV:

In the Rasmussen-Morkov couple,Michael is the blonde one.He comes from the track world where so far he got many excellent results together with Alex Rasmussen.He's 25 and in 2009 he became World Champion in 4000 team pursuit,World Champion in Madison and won a Six days race in Copenhagen.On the road he won a stage of Giro del Capo,South Africa,in 2008.He he was also second in U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen,and this shows that the boy's got talent also on the road.

On http://sporten.tv2.dk/cykling/article.php/id-30373971:m%C3%B8rk%C3%B8v-er-giroklar-og-skadesfri.html there's an article with him written by Kasper Nielsen.In it Michael says that he's had problems with a knee for 4 months,but that now he can finally ride painfree. "Racing a Grand Tour is a dream that comes true for me.I obviously dream of winning a stage,but I also have to be realistic.I'm a good rider and my form is good,but I know that I'm not a climber and that I'll have to spend as less energy as possible during these 3 weeks,if I want to finish this race",he told Nielsen.If you want to follow Michael on Twitter,here's the link: http://twitter.com/michaelmorkov .

RICHIE PORTE:
I've talked about Richie a few times on this blog, so if you want to read a decent post dedicated just to him (and including one of the usual interviews whose questions are: "What's your favourite food? Do you miss your home? Do you like Italy?",ecc), I suggest you looking for the post that I wrote in February and that was completely dedicated to him.Richard is 25 year old and is an all-round rider.Last week he won a great TT in Tour of Romandie and last year,as a young rider,he got some good results,like a victory in a TT at the Baby Giro d'Italia.
Here's one of the latest article about him (there are dozens around the Net!): http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/4070/Giro-dItalia-Saxo-Banks-Richie-Porte-ready-for-debut.aspx .Richie also has a Twitter page,whose link is: http://twitter.com/porteye .

CHRIS ANKER SORENSEN:
If you've been reading this blog for some time,you're probably aware of the fact that Chris is one of my favourite riders.Perhaps,he's probably Logic's favourite riders,because of his passion for historical books (yes,Logic has strange tastes).Even if Fangirls may not like him because he actually doesn't look as handsome as,say,Boonen or Bennati or one of the Schlecks,I assure you that this boy is great rider and a very amusing guy.
Chris Anker joined Saxo Bank in 2007 and that year he was 17th in Vuelta a Espana GC (he rode in support of Sastre on that occasion).In 2008 he won the Kitzbuhel stage in Tour of Austria and La Toussuire stage at Dauphine Libére.Last year he was second in the Danish National Championship and he won Japan Cup.
As you probably know,he should have ridden this Giro with good expectations for the GC,but then he broke his collarbone during Volta a Catalunya and everything was fucked up,ehm,his plans had to be changed,that's what I meant.After his injury,Chris has said that he would ride the Giro trying to win a stage and trying to build a good shape for the Tour.
One of the latest articles about him is this one: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/4041/Sorensen-amongst-Saxo-Bank-riders-confirmed-for-Giro-wants-to-ride-into-form.aspx ,while if you want to follow Chris almost daily during the Giro, well,here's the link to his blog: http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/ .As you can see he updated it yesterday and he said that he's going to update it often during the Giro.In yesterday's post he wondered why the Giro has to start from Holland,which isn't actually that near to Italy,and he complains a bit about this.Anyway he quickly says that he's very happy to take part in the Giro,says that the Italian journalists "aren't surprisingly focused on me" and says that he's both nervous and happy for the Giro start.He then writes that he hasn't updated his blog in the last weeks because he says that probably his tifosi aren't interested in knowing that he defeated his 4 year old neighbour while playing "Mario Cart" videogame.

NICKI SORENSEN:
Last guy to be presented in this post,Nicki Sorensen is a 34 year old Danish all rounder.Last year he won an amazing stage at Tour and some years ago he also won a stage in Vuelta.Therefore,his main goal for this year Giro is winning a stage and become the second Danish rider to win stages in all 3 Grand Tours.However Nicki doesn't know whether he'll arrive to Verona,because he says that the 3rd week this year is probably too hard for him and that the Tour,not the Giro, is his main goal of the 2010 season (read more on http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/4059/Saxo-Banks-Nicki-Sorensen-looks-to-complete-the-trifecta.aspx ).

LITTLE FAST GUIDE FOR THOSE WHO ARE GOING TO READ THIS BLOG DURING THE GIRO :
First of all,I won't update this blog daily during the next days because,surprisingly,I also have an offline life that is offering me many tests during the next 3 weeks.Anyway don't worry, I've reserved my precious 'justification' in philosophy for the last week of May because,when the teacher will be examining people on Kant,me will not probably be very present with her mind.
Anyway,the main aim of this last part of this post is: the differences between Nicki and Chris Anker Sorensen. First of all,you have to remember that they're not related.And then,look carefully at the pictures below: in the first one,there is Nicki,while in the second one,there is Chris Anker.

Why am I doing this,you may wonder.Well, I'm doing this because I don't know whether I'll be able to bear people confusing them every day during the next three weeks.No,I'm not talking about you,dear reader: I'm talking about the many chronists,photographers,journalists,ecc. that will talk/write about the Giro in the next days. For them,here I've organised a little course to make them discover the differences between Nicki and Chris.
Obviously,miss Fede can understand that,after a quick gaze on these two riders,the similarities could seem more evident than the differences. In fact,to say the truth,none of them is as good looking as one of the Schleck brothers.Then,they're both Danes,they both ride for team Saxo Bank and they also have the same surname.And they are permanent roommates as well.But,if you look carefully,you'll notice that they actually don't look that much to one another.I mean,one (Nicki) is blonde and has blue eyes,the other one (Chris) is less blonde and has brown eyes. And then,one of them (Nicki) usually wears orange glasses,while Chris wears violet ones. As well as that,their riding stye is very different.Nicki rides in a 'normal' way,while when you see Chris riding full gas,moving on the saddle,you can feel his pain. And remember: Nicki is the one who won a stage during 2009 Tour,while Chris is the one that about the Tour 2009 wrote a book.Clear?
So,that's all for now: obviously me wishes all of the best to the SB riders (but also to the other ones) for the next three weeks of race.Allez guys!
(Nicki's pic by Tim De Waele,Chris' one by Nielsen).

"I'll do everything I can in order to get better"

In this post you can find the translation of a Le Quotidien interview with Andy Schleck.As usual, the journalist who wrote this interview is Denis Bastien.On http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/les-sports/8134.html ,if someone's interested,you can find a little article written by Laurent Didier. The link to the interview with Andy instead is http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/les-sports/8135.html .As usual,if someone notices big mistakes in the translation or something like that,let me know.And as usual,I recommend French speakers to read the original article rather than my imperfect translation.Enjoy.

On Sunday,in Mallorca,the Schleck brothers,Kim Kirchen and Laurent Didier are beginning their 2010 season.Although the Mallorca race can be considered a simple training race,2010 may bing a lot of happiness to Andy Schleck.In this interview,Andy talks about his improvements,his adversaires,his team,his goals and his brotherhood relationship with Frank who,just like Andy,is a big contender for this year Tour.
Mallorca,yesterday,17.30.The team Saxo Bank riders arrive at their hotel after a 200 kms long training session,in which they had to face 2600 meters of gradient (ndr;disniveau,dislivello-how do you translate that in English?)."A true Tour de France stage.The last time I rode my bike in this way was in July 2009",smiles Andy Schleck,who doesn't mind talking with us 3 days before of his seasonal debut.The interview can now begin.
Andy,how do you feel a few days before of the start of your 2010 season?
Actually,I'm not too eager to begin the season because the stages of the Mallorca Challenge are really hard.I remember that when I started my season in France,for example,the beginning was slightly more quiet.Here in Mallorca instead we already know that we'll have to ride a la bloc since the very first moment of the race and we also know that the parcours will be difficult.It is the beginning of the season and there is the usual excitement that goes with it.Training and racing here is a privilege because the weather is always perfect,very different from the one we had in Luxembourg last week...
The next few races will be easier than the Mallorca Challenge...
Yes.After the Mallorca Challenge I will ride La Ruta Del Sol and the Tirreno-Adriatico,races where I'll be able to improve my condition slowly.But,talking again about the Mallorca race, obviously I will simply consider it a training.I'm not going to kill myself in this race.Of course one day I may enter a breakaway and then I may try getting a victory,since winning is always nice. But frankly,we're not here for that.We're here to training and to exploit the nice weather.
During the off-season you trained a lot.How do you feel now?
It is curious but,talking about my shape,perhaps it is a little behind compared to the last few years because this winter I tried to change my way of training.On the other hand,I have more strength now and thanks to that I should be able to keep a good condition during the whole season.For example,here in Mallorca I do exercises for the abdominals,for the glutes and for the legs before of starting training.It's important for me to do these exercises.I know that my shape won't be super in the first part of the season,but I also know that after the first races my condition will get better and that,as a result of this training,my muscles will become stronger.As the days pass,I will have more benefits.This is the goal that I pursued this winter and now we'll see whether my training will bring some good effects during this season.

We are in February and since the end of 2009 season,there hasn't been a week in which the media didn't talk about the Tour de France 2010 and its three main protagonists: Alberto Contador,Lance Armstrong and you...
Yes,that's how things go,although things weren't very different last year.Things have been this way since Lance Armstrong's comeback.The Tour is the Tour,it is the most important race of the world.There is no other race like it and the fact that Lance is going to try winning it again can only stress the attention on it.
You're often considered the possible umpire of the Contador-Armstrong match. What do you think about it?
I think it is logic that people consider me in this way.I finished second in the 2007 Giro;I won the best young rider jersey in the Tour 2008 although I helped Carlos Sastre during the whole race;then,last year I finished second in the Tour de France.I think it is normal that now I want to try winning the Tour.Anyway,the big issue is still the duel between Contador and Armstrong, nowadays' strongest rider and the rider who used to be the strongest in the past.Lance is very,very motivated and talks a lot about the Tour,therefore this makes people think a lot about this duel.As far as I'm concerned,I try to stay back a little and to do my things.I'm doing everything I can to improve and to become stronger.My goal is to win the Tour de France one day,I don't care about the rest.I try not to go too far with the press.We'll see who is the strongest in Paris.In the meantime there are the classics and they a really important goal for me!
Your team has changed a lot during the off-season.What do you think of the 2010 Team Saxo Bank?
The team level is really,really high and I'm not saying this because I have to.The team is younger than last year,but I'm convincted that it is also stronger.Jakob Fuglsang for example has improved a lot.He's the strongest rider of the team in this part of the season,he's really impressive.In the team we understand each other in a great way and this is really important.If I look at the classics,I think we have one of the best teams in the world.If I look at the Tour,I think we have one of the best teams of the world.Our team is the only one that can do well both in the Classics and in the Grand Tours.Just think at that stage of the Tour 2010,the one with cobblestones in it: with guys like Fabian (Cancellara),Stuart (O'Grady) and Jens (Voigt),I have no doubt we'll go through it well.
Saxo-Bank has announced that they'll end their partnership with you at the end of 2010.Does it increase the pressure on the riders?
No,not at all.I remember that when CSC withdrawed,the announcement had been given much later in the season.This time,they've told us about their sponsorship retirement in advance.We riders will do our best in order to have many good results this year.Anyway,it's the team boss who has to find someone interested in sponsoring us and I believe that Bjarne will make it.If possible,it would be better to find a new sponsor as quickly as possible in order to extend the contracts with some of the strongest riders.
With Frank you have experienced important moments in cycling.After the Tour of Lombardy 2007,the Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2008 and 2009 and the Tour de France 2009,what is the next step,the next shot ready in the gun of the Schleck brothers?
It would be nice if we made it to the Tour podium in Paris.This is our main dream.Then of course there are some other dreams about the Ardennes classics.This year I will focus myself on Amstel,whereas Frank will try winning the Liege.We'll see what will happen.Frank seems to feel good for the moment and he may shine also in Paris-Nice.He has changed a lot during this winter and he's as motivated as never before.His whole life has changed.He married Martine and now they're expecting a baby girl.It will be a great season for us.Everybody talks about me,but he's got some good cards to play at the Tour as well.
Can he win the Tour?
Yes,I believe he can win the Tour
It's a big advantage for you to race with him.
Yes it is,it allows us to do a lot of things.Anyway here in Mallorca we aren't roommates because I share my room with Laurent (Didier),a good friend of mine who will start his professional career on Sunday.
Despite your young age,you have created a strong media attention that will probably keep on growing in the future.What do you think about it?
It's a part of this job.In those days,all magazines and lots of tvs have tried meeting me and Frank.It is part of our job and,when I can,I try to do it with pleasure.One day in the future I may be happy to look back and read all the things they wrote about me.Anyway sometimes it's difficult to organise these things because over the years I realized that I must think about recovering from cycling as well.In fact sometimes it is very important to disconnect yourself from the cycling world and keep some moments just for you,in which you don't have to talk or think about cycling.

Four good reasons to believe in Andy:
1 According to all those who shared his training throughout the winter,either in the gym,in the swimming pool,or out in the woods on a Cyclo-cross bike,Andy Schleck is really,really motivated this year.In short,Andy filled well his winter,a season that is the basement of every cycling result.
2 During the training camp in Fuerteventura,Andy Schleck reviewed on video the key stages of the Tour 2009."I realized that,in the mountain stages,you mustn't leave a single inch of advantadge to Contador.Otherwise,you get fucked...»,Andy concluded.In short,the moments spent in front of the tv were useful.
3 His relationship with Frank,his brother and best friend,is unique."He can win the Tour", believes Andy.
4 Andy will be 25 when this year Tour de France begins.Contador won his first Tour when he was 24 years old,but Armstrong and Indurain had to wait until they were 27 before of getting their first Tour victory...

Random post about Laurent Didier:

As you already know,many Saxo Bank riders left the team in the last few months and have been replaced by other athletes.Therefore Logic believes that it would be a nice,fair and useful thing to talk about these new riders here on this blog.In fact,although some of them have already been pro for some years,other riders will make their debut in the top cycling races just now.To get to know a little more about these boys,I'll probably publish something about them in the next days (or weeks or months or years,it will depend on my will and my free time).Anyway,the concept is: sooner or later,I'll talk about them.

To start with the "new riders presentation",I'm going to talk about Laurent Didier.He's Luxembourgish,is 25 years old and has studied Engineering at University.Before of joining the Schleck brothers,he used to race in the Designa Kokken team,and this is obviously a big plus for him,since a big favourite of mine,Chris Sorensen,also raced in that team.

Just like the other 2 Luxembourgish riders of Saxo Bank team,Laurent isn't the first member of his family to reach a very high cycling level.In fact his father Lucien took part in the Tour de France for 6 times between 1978 and 1984,whereas his grandfather,Bim Diederich,won 3 Tour de France stages during his career and even managed to wear the maillot jaune for 3 days in the 1951 Tour de France.

Last year Laurent arrived 2nd in both the TT and RR Luxembourgish Cycling Championships (in the pic below here's on the RR podium together with the Schleck brothers).Here you can find an article about him taken from cyclingnews.

LAURENT DIDIER,ENGINEERED FOR SUCCESS:
Laurent Didier was the first Saxo Bank rider to arrive for Friday's training ride in Fuerteventura.Eager to impress his employers and teammates alike,the 25-year-old engineering graduate is embarking on his first full season,having ridden as a stagiaire for the team during the latter part of 2009.
After finishing his third and final UCI blood control that every new professional must undertake before racing in a Protour event, Didier spoke to Cyclingnews. Pigeonholed as a promising climber,Didier grew up in Luxembourg,often training with Andy Schleck and graduating through the ranks alongside Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas).
However,unlike the majority of his peers,Didier decided to juggle racing with university studies until last year,following in his father's footsteps as a qualified engineer.
"Securing a degree was a really big deal for me.My father is an engineer but it helps having that buffer and safety in case things don't work out on the bike.I tried mathematics for two years but it drove me crazy and I failed after two years but I still wanted a degree and did a three-year engineering course in Luxembourg,"he told Cyclingnews.
During his studies,he rode for two German teams, Regiostrom-Senges and Kuota Senges,where he raced alongside Australian Luke Roberts (Team Milram).It was at Kuota that Didier caught the eye of Bjarne Riis and after impressing at the Tour of Denmark and then as a stagiaire,a full-time contract was put on the table.It was an irresistible offer for Didier and one that he fully intends on making the most of.
"I was top of the class in my year at university and I put in a lot of hard work.I want to do the same as a rider on this team.One day I'd like to put on the national jersey-I finished second in both the road and time-trial in 2009-but for now it's about earning my stripes with the team."
Despite the squad talking up his prospects as a climber,Didier is more cautious,admitting that while at 69 kilos he has the physical attributes,he's yet to be tested on the sport's biggest climbs.
"I did the Tour of Pyrenees and finished third in a mountain stage.I've never done that many races with long hills so it's difficult for me to say that I'm a strong climber and if that's where my ability and future lie.The races I've done have hills but not mountains,especially at the top level. I have the build and along with my weight I'm 189cm tall,so I have the body shape for it."
Didier will start his racing season in Mallorca before lining-up at Pais Vasco, the Classics and then the Giro d'Italia, for his first Grand Tour.But while racing now takes centre stage in the young man's life he's aware that growing media exposure back home is a necessity he needs to deal with.

"I don't think the media interest can be any bigger than it is now.We Luxembourg riders get so much coverage in the newspapers now.Five or ten years ago there was very little.It's not so easy but you can get used to it.In my first interview on television I didn't even know where to look or when to answer the questions but after a few times you get used it."

Article taken from http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/engineered-for-success-laurent-didier
Pic from andyschleck.com

Random Links about Saxo Bank riders (Didier,Breschel,Cancellara and C.Sorensen):

As you may have thought considering my lack of posts in the last days,I'm in a very busy period at school.In fact all my teachers have entered their "OMG I need a mark!" period and so they've decided to make us do at least one test pro subject in this week.Nice,isn't it? This morning for example I had 2 P.E.tests (and realised that high hoopes have something against me),1 art test and 1 English test (that caused me and some classmates to repeat the sentence "Romeo,Romeo,wherefore art thou Romeo?" for the whole morning).This morning then it snowed and I even woke up later than usual.These 2 facts combined together forced me to skip breakfast,run to the bus stop in a terribly fast way,argue with my father because I couldn't find my wristwatch ("You've lost it!" "No,it must be somewhere here in the house!" "And why can't you find it then?" "You're putting pressure on me,that's why I can't find it!"),risk to break my neck by slipping on the ice right in front of the bus stop and freeze happily outside of the school building between 7.30 and 7.50.

Btw,in the next days I'll be blogging slightly more,especially because I'm finally going to post that old old old interview with Frank Schleck that I translated months ago.And then sooner or later I'll also post my personal review of the 2009 cycling year.In the meanwhile however you can take a look at these totally random links about Saxo Bank riders:

http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/les-sports/6916.html :that's an interview with Laurent Didier, the new Luxembourgish rider of team Saxo Bank.About the survival camp in Fuerteventura he said:"We were divided into five teams and each of them was formed by 11/12 people.One of my teammates was the French bus driver Lolo (Editor's note: Laurent Plu) and we really had a lot of fun,even if the camp wasn't that easy.Anyway,the riders who had already participated in other boot camps have said that this year's one was a bit softer than usual".
"One day we had to swim for 2 kilometers.In my group we helped a new rider who couldn't swim.The purpose of this kind of camp is obviously to develop human relationships.We form a team and we must remember that during the whole season.This isn't always obvious,because during races for example we never meet the mechanics.In fact when we return to the hotel in the evening,they immediately take care of our bikes and then they eat after us,therefore we don't have the chance of talking to them very often. "
"Obviously I already knew quite well the Schleck brothers,but when I sat at the table together with Cancellara,Voigt and O'Grady I realized that I'm in a very important team and I started to look at these riders in a new way.In Fuerteventura I discovered how these riders actually are in everyday's life"
Didier gives also a litte information to people who are interested in seeing the new team jersey: "We have already seen the 2010 team jersey.It is similar to this year's one,but it's alittle bit darker on the shoulders".

Didier said he hopes to race the Ardenne's classics and the Giro this year and I hope he will achieve his goals.

http://www.sporten.dk/cykling/matti-vil-vinde-paris-roubaix :In this article Matti Breschel talks briefly about the 2009 season and says that his main goal for the next season will be the Paris-Roubaix.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/indergand-beats-cancellara-to-swiss-cyclist-of-the-year : Both Logic and Fangirl have been incredibly surprised by this news.Now I wonder: are the Swiss fans taking revenge on Fabian because he didn't win the RR World Championship in Mendrisio?

http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/ :yes,Chris-Anker Sorensen has updated his blog,but the unusual thing is that he's updated it twice in the last 2 days (I remember you that we aren't in the Tour de France period,therefore this is a pretty strange thing).Btw,the reason for this frequent blog updates is the description of what happened during the SB training camp in Fuerteventura.Here's a very brief and uncomplete translation of what I understood from the posts.

http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/entry352660.html : Advent Calendar on the blog:
Lots of you may think that it is a bit late to start an advent calendar on the 16th of December.I can only agree and add that this calendar is ending on the 19th of December,since it will describe the boot camp that we Saxo Bank riders had to face this year.I would have preferred to post it on the blog before,but the Internet connection down in Fuerteventura wasn't working very well.
This year the boot camp started on the 1st of December on the beach of Playitas Resort.There in fact we started the training camp with a two-men kayak race.

We were divided into 5 teams and my teammates were Torsten Schmidt,Stuart O'Grady,Frank Høj,Gustav Larsson and other people (...).We won the kayak races and then we had to cope with other 4 disciplines: golf,orienteering,diving and swimming. (...).In the golf competition my team came in 3rd.Then we had a classic orienteering race and Gustav and I volunteered as the best runners in the team.Anyway other people were stronger than us and we came in 2nd (...).Diving wasn't our favourite competition at all and so we came in 4th (...).We came back to victory in the swimming race and we ended up as overall winner.In this competition we were abandoned with 2 surfboards in the sea,2 kms away from the beach.It's not a secret that it was a little challenging for me because I've never been a great swimmer.Before of the training camp,the longest distance I had ever swum in my life was probably 200 meters in a swimming pool.Anyway I managed to face that 2 kms without drowning,although at the end I had a very bad taste in my mouth because I had drunk a big amount of sea water.
After that we thought that the challenges were over for the day,but 30 minutes after dinner we were given some MTBs and we had to drive on some gravel roads in the dark.It was pretty exciting because we couldn't see where we were going.In spite of this,we did arrive to our destination without crashing (...) and there we made a great bonfire (...),sat for a while and chatted a little (...).When the fire stopped burning,we came back to the basis with our MTBs.By the time I entered my bed in the hotel,it was already 2:00 am.

http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/entry352788.html :Second day:

The following morning my alarm clock rang at 6:00 am and I was certainly not very satisfied with my sleeping,since 4 hours of sleep just aren't enough for me.However we were lucky to get a bit of bread before of the departure of the buses.

We got off the bus after a 1 hour travel and we found ourselves in a small town near to a pond. There we were controlled in order to avoid that one of us faced the day with some food taken from the hotel and then we got the prizes from the previous day (...).The prizes actually consisted in food and since we didn't know when we would have received other things to eat we decided not to eat them as long as we could.I actually waited to drink my cola so long that I actually ended up drinking it in the very last few days of the camp.

Btw then we received a map on which there was a marked point.The distance between the point and the little village where we were standing was of 10 kms.Of course we had to reach the point marked on the map by walking,and facing 10 kms by foot actually didn't look that hard.The real problem however was that we couldn't just walk in a straight line towards the marked point,but we had to get over a mountain before of reaching it.Btw when we got on the top of it,after a lot of sweat,the landscape was really worthwhile,since while we were there we could hear the roar of the Atlantic and see the waves rolling towards the coast.

The path leading down to the sea then led us in the wrong direction,so we had to walk in the sand for 5 kms.However we were the second team to arrive,so we had the opportunity to lie in the sun and sleep a bit.When all the teams had arrived,we were divided in 5 new groups and had to go and look for 2 marked points on a map (...). We had been told that in those points we would have found some food,but actually we could found just some water,a pan and something to make a fire with.Since the other groups had found something similar,plus blankets,we were a little worried about the food situation and I immediately ate my 7 biscuits.
In the evening,a surprise came.The local park ranger (...) in fact wasn't happy to see us.First he wanted to make us go away and then he started to threaten us.In fact the local authorities had forgotten to inform the park ranger of our permission to spend the night in that place.Since nothing,not even some calls,could convince the man that we were telling the truth,we decided to go few kms down towards the sea (...).

First pics from Saxo Bank boot camp:

First of all I must say a big "THANK YOU" to Anne (http://outandaboutcycling.blogspot.%20com/ ),since it's her who found these pics.The link to see all the pics is http://sport.rtl.lu/news/fotoen/3131/overview/1 and I really suggest fangirls taking a look since I haven't posted all the pics.Anyway,here are few of them:
Andy and His Amazingness Jens Voigt in a very "boot camp" mood.
Me likes those socks...
Andy (again) riding his bike (where was Frank while the most of these photos were taken,fangirl wonders?).

More pics on http://sport.rtl.lu/news/fotoen/3131/overview/1 .The photographs were taken by Erny Klein.

Random News:

Here are some totally random news about what's going in Cycledom these days...

Schlecks: In these days there aren't lots of news about the brothers around;for what I understood,their next race will be the Gp of Plouay (23rd of August).Then the brothers will be racing the Vuelta that this year begins on the 29th of August and ends on the 20th of September.

Di Luca: the news du jour is that Di Luca's counter-analysis confirmed that the Lpr rider was doped during the Giro 2009.

Every time a rider "gets caught" at the anti-doping,people usually say the same things about disappointment,honesty and so on.And the rider always says the same thing:" What? Doping? Me? Are you crazy? I'm the cleanest rider of the peloton! It can't be true! I'd be a stupid if I doped".Anyway,I'd like to write here an article that Marco Pinotti wrote on the local newspaper after receiving the news of Di Luca's positivity.Here are some sentences that I remember:

"I got the news of Di Luca's positivity after having finished a race.I was on the team bus with my teammates.Normally,when you get the news of a rider's positivity,you feel angry and disappointed.This time I felt happy.Anger and Disappointment came later,perhaps because I didn't realise the importance of the news and because I was still excited about the stage that had just ended (...).Di Luca is not new to this kind of problems:he had problems already in 2004;in 2007 he was disqualified because of the "Oil for Drug" inquest;In 2008 instead CONI wanted to ban him for 2 years because of some strange things that the doctors found out while analysing blood samples from the 2007 Giro.Then he had problems because of his doctor,mr.Carlos Santuccione (ndr;see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Santuccione to find out more about that man).Now,he's finally been found positive to an anti-doping test (...).He'll probably be disqualified for 2 years,but it doesn't matter.It doesn't matter because no one will ever pay back all the riders who lost a victory,a good result,an important chance of getting a good result because of him over the last years".

It was a very strange article because Pinotti is normally a very diplomatic person,but this time instead he really looked angry.And the last sentence of his article really made me think a lot.If Di Luca hadn't raced this year's Giro,how would things have gone? Yes,Menchov would have won anyway but perhaps Lovkvist would have kept the maglia rosa for more time,2 stages would have been won by other 2 riders (Basso and Garzelli,perhaps),there would have been less polemics between Lpr and Liquigas...It would have been a different Giro.

COMEBACKS...

Let's change topic...Here' the "Comeback section news".

After the Emaciated Chickenman,also Vinokourov has come back racing again.And me likes Vinokourov even less than Rasmussen,so you can probably understand how happy I am.

A much nicer comeback is Kenny Robert Van Hummel's one. The Dutch rider suffered a severe laceration to his knee on July 22,but now is ready to come back racing.Kenny said he expects to race in the Profronde van Oostvoorne,a Dutch criterium,on Thursday afternoon. (see full article about Van Hummel's comeback on: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/van-hummel-returns-at-profronde-van-oostvoorne ).Of course,after having supported him at le Tour,I'm really looking forward to see Kenny on the roads again.

Another rider who is coming back soon is Kurt-Asle Arvesen,who is scheduled to ride the Tour of Ireland.
Then: Do you remember that horrible fall caused by Theo Bos at the Tour of Turkey?
Well,Daryl Impey (the rider who fell together with Bos) returned racing again this week,in GP Carnago.In the April crash Impey suffered facial injures,broken teeth and 2 broken vertebrae. Hopefully the South African rider will get some good results soon.He would deserve it,after that crash.

TOUR OF POLAND: I know that I have ignored that race completely so far,but here in Italy they broadcast it at crazy hours and so I just have to read the results on the newspapers.

The leader at the moment is Alessandro Ballan.The Italinan rider also won a stage in this race and achieved his first victory 315 days after the one at the Worlds.2 stages were then won by Edvald Boasson Hagen,while other stages instead were won by Bozic,Furlan and Guarnieri.

TEAM CHANGES
Bruseghin will race for Caisse d'Epargne next year.

Talking about my favourite team (Saxo Bank),Luxembourgish rider Laurent Didier has signed a contract with Riis' team.
Didier is 25-year-old and took the second place in both the road race and time trial at the National Championships 2009. Didier has been riding with Team Designa Kokken over the last year.Also Jakob Fuglsang,Alex Rasmussen and Chris-Anker Sorensen raced in that team before.
"I'm really happy about this contract and I'm looking forward to joining the team.I know Fränk and Andy quite well and know that I'll get ample opportunity to improve myself with Team Saxo Bank.Last fall I did a couple of races as a helper and I also went to the training camp this winter, which only made me even more sure that this is the right team for me,"says Laurent Didier,who's become a fulltime pro this year because he wanted to end his engineering studies first.