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).

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.