Some topics of discussion and Greipel's great victory:

Breakout news: Today at the Tour there were no crashes involving GC leaders. I'm so happy I could cry.

Finally, the Tour went back to what it's supposed to be about: a cycling race without cars knocking the riders down and without athletes ending up in hospital because of crashes.

This morning the Grande Boucle was still shocked by what happened to Hoogerland and Flecha the other day.

Many people feared that Johnny (who got 33 stitches and who couldn't sleep properly because of some dreadful nightmares) would have had to abandon the race, instead he grit his teeth once again and he managed to finish the stage and wear the polka dots jersey for the second day in a row. Also Flecha managed to end the stage in spite of the injuries caused by the infamous crash.

Juan Antonio has recently released an interview to Cyclingnews, in which he criticises not only the driver who knocked him down, but also the behaviour of Thomas Voeckler. The fact that that stupid driver (who didn't ask for permission to overtake the riders and who shouldn't even had been behind them at that point of the race) didn't even sound his horn before trying to drive past the athletes is simply shocking and it really disgusts me. There are no apologies for something like that, especially if you consider that that man didn't even stop to check if he had badly injured the riders he had hit.

As far as Flecha's critics of Voeckler are concerned, I don't think the Frenchman accelerated after his crash. I was actually very surprised when I saw the breakawayers riding on in spite of that accident but, actually, I must admit that I don't think that they could have done something different.

Still talking about Saturday' stage, la Gazzetta claims that Vinokourov is already thinking about coming back racing. Girls of the AAVL, I hope this makes you feel a bit better.

Talking about the rest day, instead, the topics of discussion were 3:

1. Will Contador retire before the end of the Tour?

2. Is Gilbert going to try to get a good placement in the GC?

3. What really happened between Contador and Karpets the other day?

So, let's go in order.

Topic 1: we all know that Contador has hurt his knee in two of his three crashes. This morning many people (according to Italian tv) feared that he wouldn't have started the stage, instead he took part in it and finished the race with all the main GC leaders. But still, Alberto might decide to retire if things don't go well for him on Thursday, in the Luz-Ardiden stage. 'I know Alberto', Tiralongo told Ialian tv this morning. 'And he's not here to get dropped on the climbs. If his form isn't good enough, I think he'll retire'.

Personally, I agree with Tiralongo. In fact, I believe that Alberto will retire if he realises his shape isn't good enough in the mountains. However, I don't know whether Conti is trying to bluff a bit with his condition (making it seem a bit worse than it actually is) or not.

Topic 2: apparently, after VDB's retire Gilbert has told a few Belgian journalists that now he'd like to focus on the GC. Eddy Mercx approves the idea of the Omega rider and so do I. In fact it'd be great to see someone like Philippe giving it all even in the hardest stages. Especially because, with nowadays GC, many riders have good chances to make it to the top 5 or to the top 10 of the race. Cunego, Martin, Vandevelde, Taaramae, Roche, S. Sanchez, Velits... All guys that can still fight for a position in the top 10, especially now that there are so many spaces left empty by the crashes of guys like Vinokourov, VDB and Wiggins. Will Gilbert enter in that fight too? The fact that he's thinking about it makes me really happy, but this doesn't mean that I believe he can make it. Unfortunately, in fact, so far Philippe has exploited his team on every single stage of the race. Moreover, long climbs don't seem to suit him. But still, I'd like to see Philippe giving it a try.

Topic 3: Take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKuJCGV8m-w and pay attention to Vladimir Karpets, the rider with the half white/half red jersey. It took me a lifetime to realise what that video is about, but then I saw that Karpets made a strange movement which caused Contador to crash. Someone thinks that Vladimir did it intentionally, someone else (me) doesn't. I think Karpets made that movement at random, not because he really knew that Alberto was behind him. But still, there are many guys who disagree with me.

After mentioning these topics of discussion, let's talk about the stage du jour. As said, this afternoon no one crashed seriously and this is a very good news.

The breakaway of the day was formed by Delaplace, Marcato, El Fares, Minard and Vichot. They started their adventure after 14 kms and ended it with about 20 kms to go. At that point, on the last little climb du jour, the fireworks began: Toni Gallopin in fact attacked and he was followed by great riders like Voeckler, Gilbert, Martin and Devenyns. The 5 men worked well until they reached the 8 kms to go mark, where they gave it in. Actually, 4 of them did: Gilbert in fact kept on riding until he was caught with 7 kms to go. Once again, the Belgian showed us all his class.

The stage ended with a sprint in the town of Carmaux. Said sprint was very particular, since HTC couldn't form its leadout train and because there was a curve with just 350 meters to go.

Sieberg (a rider that I really do like) abandoned its place at the head of the peloton right before that curve, so that Daniel Oss fund himself leading the group. Cavendish was behind the Liquigas rider and Greipel was behind Cannonball. Cav began his sprint when he saw that Oss' speed was decreasing. In that way, unluckily for him, he spent too many energy, so that Greipel could overtake him in the last 10 meters of race. A great victory for André, who wins his first Tour stage in his first TdF right in front of his old nemesis Mark Cavendish. Someone must be very pissed off right now...

Johnny Hoogerland managed to finish the stage (just like Flecha) and this is a very good news. Farrar didn't look that great, whereas the GC leaders hid themselves.

Another day at the Tour is over, now we're waiting for tomorrow's flat stage, the last one before the riders reach the mountains.

Do you remember...

...the parrot mentioned by Andy in his last blog entry? Well,on Saxo Bank Taking The Lead website (http://www.saxobanktakingthelead.com/?p=1615) there's a vid featuring the now famous (at least among Schleck-fans) parrot,Cancellara,Kolobnev,Fuglsang,Kroon and Breschel.Andy doesn't appear in the video,but the guys talk about him anyway...

Since there aren't lot of news about the Schleck brothers around,on this link (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/breschel-looking-forward-to-worlds) I've found a short article about Matti Breschel and the Worlds."If I can find the legs of last year,it should be good," Matti told Cyclingnews".I hope to go for a medal again,otherwise Jacob Fuglsang is showing he is ready and we have Chris Anker Sørensen as well".

After having repeated that a Dane rider will end up on the World podium,me was obviously happy when I read the names of the Dane riders who will take part in the Worlds.In fact the Danish team will be formed by both los Sorensens,Jakob Fuglsang,Matti Breschel and Lars Bak (who are all Saxo Bank riders,as you can notice).

Talking about the Worlds,here are the Spanish,the Australian,the Norwegian and the Colombian teams.Spain team will be formed by Oscar Freire,Juan Manuel Gárate,Alejandro Valverde,Joaquím Rodríguez,Daniel Moreno,Samuel Sánchez,Juan José Cobo,Carlos Barredo and Rubén Plaza.

The Australian riders will be Gerrans,Evans,Clarke,Davis,Hayman,M.Lloyd,O'Grady,Rogers and Sulzberger.

Norwegy will be formed by Boasson Hagen,Arvesen,Hushovd,Rasch,Nordhaug,Remme and Wilmann.

Colombian team instead will be formed by Ardila Cano,Serpa,Marin,Soler,Duque and Uran.
Finally,the French team will be formed by Sylvain Chavanel,Fedrigo,Voeckler,Dimitri,Le Mevel and Riblon.

Articles (and photos) from Mallorca traning camp!

So,how you doing? In these last days some strange things have happened to me.First of all,there have been 2 burglaries (I repeat the number:2) in 3 days at my school.The burglars entered during the night and stole the money and the snacks of the snack-machines.
Today instead,while I was coming home on the bus,a strange guy sat next to me.I don't want to bore you with the chronicles of my travel back home,so I'll just say that it wasn't exactly the quiet one that someone that has just come out of school after 8 hours should deserve.

However,let's talk about interesting things.Finally I've got new articles about Saxo Bank Team and Schleck brothers.I've found them today,hope you'll enjoy them.The first one is an article from Velo News.It is not just about the Schleck brothers,but it also talks about other riders (especially about Cancellara).If you want,on the website there are photos of the Swiss rider. Here is the article:

Considering that professional racers spend thousands of hours a year on their bikes, it’s surprisingly rare to find many who actually look comfortable on their steeds.
Everyone knows what a bad bike fit feels like and most pros seem to share the same menu of dull aches, pains and injuries encountered by the rest of us.
A few are blessed, like Fabian Cancellara, who seems genetically wired to ride a bicycle.
Cancellara’s piston-firing position is truly a gift from the cycling gods. Ask him if he stretches regularly to create his incredible high-wattage power output, he’ll laugh and say, “not very often.”
In fact, the Beijing Olympic time trial champ will readily admit he’s only been properly fitted for a bike once in his career, and that was nearly 10 years ago when he was starting out with the Mapei team.
Most pros find their position like the rest of us: they throw their leg of over the saddle and eventually settle on a position that - through feel, instinct, advice, comfort and following a few basic rules like dropping a plumb line below their knees at mid-stroke - feels pretty good.
This week, in a basement of a hotel in Mallorca’s Playa del Palma, the Saxo Bank squad is quietly taking a much more scientific approach to the question, embracing bike-fitting technology on a team-wide basis.
New bike sponsor Specialized convinced team owner Bjarne Riis that properly fitting bikes are just what his riders needed to win more races.
The Morgan Hill, Calif.-company introduced Riis to its innovative BG FIT (Body Geometry Fit Intergration Technology) bike fit system developed by Dr. Andy Pruitt, director of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and longtime bike-fit guru among U.S. pros.
Riis cautiously agreed and gave the green light for the “mass fitting” to commence this week.
“I always want to try new things and bring in new ideas,” Riis told VeloNews. “It already fits in with what we’re already doing on the team with our physical therapists. If it helps make our riders better, we want to do it.”
The bike-position project is a key component of a busy week at the Saxo Bank during the team’s January training camp.
There’s a flurry of activity as mechanics build new bikes and riders ply the narrow roads of Mallorca to undergo the season’s first long and difficult training rides.
An otherwise non-descript meeting room was turned into a sort of bike-fitters nerve center, with video cameras, computers, sensors, specialized software and a piles of stems, saddles, shoe platforms and other gadgets filling the room.
Leading the effort is Dr. Pruitt, who helped design and develop the BG FIT system for Specialized bikes. An avid cyclist and director of The Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, Pruitt harnessed his 30 years of experience of fitting bikes to formulate the BG FIT program.
“The bike needs to look like the rider, not the other way around,” Dr. Pruitt said. “With the right fit, we’re going to make these guys better.”
The ultimate goal makes for a more comfortable and efficient ride, but also increases power, extends durability and decreases the chance of injury.
“With a proper bike fit, at maximum effort, the heart rate is lower and time to exhaustion is longer,” Dr. Priutt said. “It can make a tremendous difference.”
Saxo Bank riders filtered in one-by-one to hone, tweak and sometimes radically alter their riding position in half-hour to one-hour sessions.
Riis, a stickler for detail and known for his bike acumen, certainly paid attention to what was going on. The Saxo Bank owner wanted to provide his input, especially when it came time to finesse the positions of the Schleck brothers.
“For some riders, it won’t make that much of a difference,” Riis said. “But for others, especially those who’ve had injuries or some other problems, it will be huge. It’s all part of making the team better.”
Helping Pruitt is Scott Holz, a 20-year industry veteran who began “bike fitting before there was a name for it.”
One of the nation’s top fitters, Holz came to Specialized about a year ago after working at such leading retail shops as Signature Bikes in New York City. He’s now the “Senior Fit Professor,” conducting Specialized’s BG FIT training classes for dealers and technicians to conduct the bike fits in stores across the globe.
Already more than 1500 students have attended a three-day course at the Specialized Bike Components University, representing stores in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Also providing first-hand experience and insights was the recently retired Bobby Julich, who is now working closely with Riis as Saxo Bank’s technical advisor.
Julich work with Dr. Pruitt throughout his professional career and was among the earlier pros that saw the benefits and advantages of properly fitting the bike for optimum performance.
In the second afternoon of fitting, Olympic time trial champion Cancellara lumbered into the room.
Dr. Pruitt put Cancellara through the motions; pulling, extending and stretching his legs, ankles, knees and back to test his strength, range of motion and look for any weaknesses.
The exam was part of a thorough, 18-item “physical assessment” that determines leg-length inconsistency and ankle, knee and back positions.
“We do a physical assessment off the bike to find out what the rider is capable of on the bike and to see if they have limitations,” Holz said. “If they can’t do it off the bike, then why should they be able to do it on the bike?”
Dr. Pruitt was impressed with the flexibility and raw power Cancellara’s big frame could produce.
“We’re seeing why Fabian is such a world-class time trialist,” he said. “With his range of motion, this guy was truly born to race a time trial bike.”
Cancellara then pedaled on his bike in what’s the meat and potatoes part of the bike fit.
Two fixed video cameras captured his front and side views to gauge knee, back and shoulder positions. Holz placed sensors on Cancellara’s kneecaps and the video later confirmed Cancellara’s superb riding position.
Using specially designed DATA capture software, Holz and Dr. Pruitt can track and compare such things as knee alignment, back and shoulder positioning as well as knee and leg angles between different adjustments and positions.
It’s an invaluable tool that allows them to quickly and accurately measure differences.
Next came detailed work with Cancellara’s time trial position, with Pruitt and Holz tinkering with seat height, saddle and pedal position to maximize Cancellara’s natural gift.
The hour-long session was a worthy investment for the self-styled “Spartacus.”
“Even the Olympic champion can make adjustments,” said Cancellara told VeloNews. “The way cycling works these days, every single thing that you can improve on is important to do better. This might help 0.001 percent, but we win bike races by meters, sometimes even millimeters.”
Other challengesWhile Cancellara was near-perfect, Dr. Pruitt and Holz faced more interesting challenges with other Saxo Bank riders.
Some had relatively minor problems and used shoe platforms and slight adjustments in their saddle and handlebar heights to resolve a long-nagging problem.
Newcomer Michael Morkov,a chunky Dane who’s crossing over from the track,could barely touch his toes. That hamstring stiffness translated into an uneven riding position, corrected by raising his handlebars 2.5cm.
Alexandr Kolobnev,the muscle-bound Russian stage-hunter,is extremely flexible, but had major knee-tracking problems. New shoe platforms helped correct the tendency.
Another example of how a relatively minor change can have major impact was with Lars Bak. The tall, blonde Danish head-banger was overly stretched on his bike frame, which pushed up his back and shoulders and increased his drag.
Bak’s handlebars were raised by 1.5cm. The result? Bak’s head, shoulders and back all tucked in lower because Bak didn’t have to reach out so far and instead had flex in his handlebars.
“Bike fitting can sometimes be counter-intuitive,” Holz said. “We raised his handlebars and we immediately saw him before even more aerodynamic.”
Frank Schleck,holder of the yellow jersey in last year’s Tour de France,proved more complicated.
The Luxembourg climber has one of the most elegant pedaling styles in the peloton (ndr:eh eh), but everyone agreed he seemed hunched up and sat too low in the saddle.
Dr. Pruitt’s exam also revealed weak ankles and wobbly knees that pushed his knees near the top tube as they swept up the pedal stroke, decreasing his ability to create power and potentially causing long-term injury.
After trying several positions and combinations, it was agreed that Schleck would raise his seat and shorten his stem to create a more balanced fit as well as work on strengthening his core to help alleviate his knee tracking problems. With the possible exception of Cancellara, who proved to have an almost-perfect natural position on the bike, rider after rider was happy to discover the joys of what they were missing – a bike that fit their personal styles and bodies.

So,this was the first article.The second one comes from Cyclingnews and is shorter.Here it is:

As is the case with several other teams the Saxo Bank squad have been training hard on Majorca, Spain prior to the start of the new season. The Danish team is staying in a hotel close to Playa de Palma and took in a long road ride on Monday, building endurance with a five hour outing.
Team owner Bjarne Riis is satisfied with things so far. "We have just started the training camp today, so it is difficult to say," he replied, when asked about the condition of the riders. "There are still a lot of riders not training today - they are going to Australia and Argentina. But it looks okay, they look fit."
The team changed bike and kit suppliers over the winter. Cervélo previously supplied the frames but Specialized has taken over in that regard, providing frames, fork, shoes, gloves, bar tape, helmets and other items. The transition to new material has been made easier by the BG Fits (Body Geometry) being offered to each and every one of the riders, the first time that a whole team has benefited in this way. Dr Andy Pruitt, EdD, PA, the Director of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine pioneered the system and is helping the team find the correct racing positions in Majorca.
Riis thinks that the FIT system brings potential benefits to his riders. "We cannot tell exactly right now, but I believe it will be of benefit. They are just small adjustments [being made] but small adjustments can also mean something. There are a few things that we look at that we have never seen before, never taken care of before. I think it is interesting."
One of the things he was referring to is the flexibility of some riders. Both Frank and Andy Schleck lacked suppleness in this regard,while Olympic TT Fabian Cancellara scorched the assessment.
"I think that if they have a tight hamstring, it is difficult for them to put the saddle up into the position that I actually want them to ride," he said. "It is important that we can see that they can work on their hamstrings. Like Andy [Schleck], he has to work on his hamstrings, he has to work on his glutes so he gets stronger. He has already been working on that and he has improved. This will help him have a better position."

There's also a short article (with one photo) about Andy in www.cyclingnews.com(News of the 14th of January) in which he talks about his schedule.