Random Post about Martin Pedersen:

More than one week after my last post, here I am again, to everyone's joy (and mine in particular).
The last 7 days have been pretty tough for me. For example, I've recently shocked my English teacher by telling her that in her books Jane Austen complains about the conditions of women in the 19th century (the fact that they depended on men from the financial point of view and so on). Unfortunately, Teacher didn't agree with me and she spent half of the oral test repeating that my interpretation wasn't correct because 'Jane Austen wasn't a revolutionary, really. I mean... she wasn't a revolutionary. Did you understand? She wasn't a revolutionary!". She was so shocked about what I said that, during the examination (that lasted 40 minutes), she just asked me about Jane Austen and W. Blake. And who cares if I spent hours studying also Shelley, Coleridge, Wordsworth, the Victorian age, Dickens, Byron, the Industrial Revolution, the Corn Laws and the Bronte's sisters: The only important thing is that Jane Austen wasn't a revolutionary. Apparently, my interpretation of J. Austen's work was the biggest bullshit I've ever said in my scholastic career. But luckily, it didn't prevent me from getting a good mark in the tests :D
Anyway. Enough about me for today. Let's now talk about cycling.

Over the last days, Contador has been cleared of his doping accusation by the Spanish Cycling Federation. This matter has already been analysed by our dear Cougar Girl, so I think it's useless to write about it also here. Moreover, the name 'Alberto Contador' can cause me strong headaches and irrational anger in these days, so the less I pronounce it/write it/read it/ hear it, the better.
Still talking about news related doping, Riccò has been fired by Vacansoleil.

Another important news is that Spanish police has recently discovered an illegal commerce of doping thanks to Xavier Tondo. 'Oh gosh, was he found positive at the anti-doping too?', I hear you ask in a worried way. 'Oh no!', I answer you. In fact, Xavier received an email last December, which offered several doping products at special low prices. Tondo immediately passed it along to the police, who's now investigating this case carefully. Finally, a good news that shows us that not every cyclist is a doper.
On to a Schlecknews, it has been said that Frank Schleck may have to change his national jersey. http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/7432/Frank-Schlecks-Luxembourg-champions-jersey-may-have-to-be-redesigned.aspx talks about jersey changes of the recent years, mentioning Pozzato. As you may remember, Pozzato changed about 324567 different national kits when he was Italian national champion. And everything began because his first 'champion jersey' had the skyline of Moscow designed on the Italian Tricolore. And guys at the Italian Cycling Federation didn't like it, oh no. Hopefully Frank and LT designers won't have to change as many kits as Pozzato and will come up with a good solution to this problem.
As far as the races that are going on right now are concerned, Gesink has won two stages of the Tour of Oman in the last two days. Unfortunately, Leopard Trek guys haven't won anything yet.
Talking about Leopard Trek guys, here you can find a short introduction to Martin Pedersen, one of the least known guys on the team.

Martin P. (not to confuse with Martin M.) was born on the 15th April 1983 in Brondby, Denmark. As you can see, Martin's birthday is on the same day as Frank and Leea Schleck. He isn't the tallest guy of the peloton (170 cms) and he weights 62 kgs.
His first U23 team was Team PH, for which he raced in 2004, when he won the Danish National RR Championship for young riders for the third time (he had already won it in 2002 and 2003). Martin also has a past as a track rider, since he was Madison National Champion together with Michael Smith Larsen in 2003.
The following year Pedersen moved to team GLS and he won Liége-Bastogne-Liége for U23, Gran Premio San Giuseppe, a stage at Tour of Tuscany for U23, a stage at GP Veckan, a stage at Horsens, 2 stages at the Olympia's Tour and three stages at the Ringerike GP. Moreover, Martin was 16th in the Madrid RR Worlds for U23 riders.
In 2006 Pedersen became a pro rider and started to ride for Team CSC (oh my, is this enough to make him another 'bye bye Bjarne, hello Leopard' guy?). Frank and Andy were already racing for Riis at the time, so they probably got to know each other already 5 years ago. That year, Martin won the first stage and the GC of Tour of Britain. The following year instead he won the Mountains Classification at the Eneco Tour.
In 2008 Pedersen went back to Team GLS, for which he won Omloop van het Houtland, a stage of Circuit des Ardennes (see pic below) and a stage of Kreiz Breizh.
The following year Martin raced for team Capinordic together with Jonas Aaen Jorgensen, who's now a Saxo Bank rider. That year he won Rund um Koeln, Grand Prix Cristal Energie and GP de la Ville de Nogent-sur-Oise.
Last year instead Pedersen rode for Footon-Servetto (yes, he was one of the men with the ugly kits) and he won Aalborg-Aalborg, a Danish race. However, Martin took part in 2010 Giro d'Italia (he got retired after the 10th stage) and he also came 131st at Vuelta.

As soon as he joined Leopard Trek, Martin said: 'Although it is a super team, it's also a place where it will get very hard. It might not be there right now, but there will be a lot of pressure for us to deliver. I'm looking forward to that though'.
According to www.velonation.com , Martin is a fast finishing strong man who can do well both in one day races and in sprints. Talking about himself, Pedersen said: "I'm a rider that can work hard for the team, but I can also take the opportunity if it presents itself. It's probably going to be hard to get into the Tour de France squad, because in its current form, we could field two teams for the race and still be sharp. I could also ride the Vuelta, but I'll take it as it comes. My priority right now is to be fit to fight and be there for the team, then the the rest will follow". In another interview, he added: “I think my strengths rest in my ability to do well in many different terrains which will mean that I can be a service to the team in multiple situations.I also have a snappy sprint, so that I can take advantage of that when given the chance in breakaways, for instance".
During Leopard Trek presentation, Martin (who was presented with the young riders) was asked if he was superstitious: “No, I’m not that superstitious. I used to have a lucky charm, but it seems like it was better without it. Since then, I haven’t been that superstitious.I know it’s a dangerous sport sometimes ,but if you get too superstitious, maybe it’s a little bit bad for you.I try to stay calm and relaxed and just hope for the best".

Unfortunately, that's all I could find about Martin Pedersen. I didn't have a lot of time to look for information about him, so if you have more information and want to share, do it! And feel free to correct the mistakes that you may find in my post.
Now, to close this blog entry, here you have a picture of Martin (he was still racing for Capinordic at the time). The pic comes from http://www.cyclingstars.dk/ , where you have an impressive list of Danish cyclists. Amongst them there are 21 Pedersen, 19 Petersen and just 17 Sorensen :O

For more pictures/results of Martin, go on: http://www.cyclingstars.dk/Rider.aspx?id={d11c2b0a-6dfa-491a-9725-02f88617ac57}

Have a good weekend!

Random Post about Giacomo Nizzolo plus interview with Frank Schleck and Brice Feillu:

Surprisingly, miss Fede is already here, just 3 days after her last post, to write another entry on her blog. What a joy!
In this post I'm going to try talking about Giacomo Nizzolo, a neo pro of Team Leopard Trek.
Before of that, however, I'd like to congratulate Andrea Guardini for his Tour of Qatar victory. When he won all those stages at Tour of Malaysia, many people commented by saying 'Well, it's Tour of Malaysia, it isn't the Tour de France!'. Ok, Tour of Qatar isn't the Tour de France either, but the adversaries beaten by Andrea this afternoon were tough guys like Renshaw (GC winner), Haussler, Bennati (a good race for him), Boonen and so on. Therefore, chapeau to Andrea.
I must admit that I didn't follow the race live, I just saw the results on the Internet. However don't worry: March is finally approaching and in that month miss Fede will watch lots of cycling races live and will give you her boring opinions about them. I bet you're looking forward to that, aren't you? ;)
Before I start talking seriously about Giacomo Nizzolo, who was 5th in yesterday race at Mallorca Challenge (race that was won by Fischer), let me tell you a funny thing about this blog: the other day, someone came across it by typing 'Denis and Carlos naked' in Google. I'm shocked. Someone else instead has recently bumped into this webpage lost in the Blogosphere by looking for 'Stefan Denifl operation'. You're curious about that operation, eh? Well, I once read an interview in which Stefan mentioned it, but I'm not going to tell you where he needed to be operated...Mwhahahaha!

Anyway. Giacomo Nizzolo. Italian, born in Milan on the 30th January 1989, 184 cms of height for 72 kgs of weight.
This young rider is considered a good sprinter who can do well in long races. He got his first important results as a track rider. In 2007 in fact he was 2nd in the Italian National Championship of Keirin. In the very same year he was 3rd in the Team Pursuit at the Track World Championships for young riders. On that occasion Giacomo rode with Paolo Locatelli, Luca Pirini and the promising sprinter Elia Viviani. For your curiosity, the team who won the team pursuit at that edition of the Wolds was formed by Jack Bobridge, Leigh Howard, Glenn O'Shea and Travis Meyer.
The following year Nizzolo kept on racing on the track and he was 3rd in the Tre Giorni di Pordenone. He also won Trofeo Sc Marcallo, Memorial Crescenzo and a race in Magnago (race roads). As you can see, our boy got 3 good victories in his first year as a U23 rider and he did so in spite of a serious injury he got at the beginning of the 2008 season (I looked for more information about it, but I couldn't find any*).
In 2009 Giacomo got 9 victories (all together: 'Woooow!'). In fact that year he won Trofeo Papà Cervi, Gp dell'Industria, Coppa san Bernardino, Coppa Città di Melzo, Coppa Caduti Buscatesi, Circuito de Termen, Gp San Virgilio, Medaglia d'Oro Nino Ronco and Targa Libero Ferrario. Moreover, he was 4th in the Mediterranean Games, where he was beaten, amongst others, also by the above-mentioned Andrea Guardini.
The following year Giacomo got even better results. For example,he was 2nd in the Popolarissima di Treviso (beaten by Viviani), 9th in the GP Liberazione for U23 (one of the most important Italian races for young riders, which last year was won by the Slovenian rider Jan Tratnik), was 2nd in a stage of Giro Baby (beaten- again- by Guardini) and 5th in the European U23 Championship. Moreover, he won Coppa del Mobilio, Circuito San Donà di Piave, Coppa Quagliotti, Gp Ceda, Il Gandolfi, Circuito S.Urbano, Gp Fiera dell Possenta, Premio Rinascita, Trofeo Artigianato e Commercio Piombino Dese, Medaglia d'Oro Nino Ronco, Circuito dell'Assunta and Medaglia d'Oro Città Villanova (12 victories).
Last year Giacomo rode for Trevigiani Dynamon Bottoli together with Manuele Boaro, who became a pro with Saxo Bank this year. In 2009 instead he rode for Bottoli Nordelettrica Ramondi, while the previous year his team was Filmop Sorelle Ramonda Bottoli Parolin*.
Nizzolo took up cycling when he was 6, 'as a birthday gift'. Talking about his relationship with the track world, he says he's recently abandoned track racing, although he thinks that riding on a cycling track is very important for sprinters.
Talking about his hobbies, Nizzolo likes riding his motorbike, skiing, going out with friends and going dancing. Talking about his qualities, Giacomo says he's generous and honest. On the other hand, he's stubborn, he's often late and he 'sleeps too much'.
Speaking of his climbing abilities, Nizolo says he can resist on mid-difficult climb when he's in a good condition. His dream race is Milan-Sanremo and his model as far as cycling is concerned is Tom Boonen. He's got a girlfriend and, talking about Team Leopard, he said: 'The official language in the team is English, I'm getting better at it!'.

Talking about 2011, Giacomo says he's not going to take part in any Big Classic, but he's likely to race in a Grand Tour.

Speaking of his Leopard Trek captains, the Italian rider says that they've impressed him because of their confidence and because they seem to do everything in a very easy way. He likes the atmosphere of the team and he says that he's become a good friend of Bennati.
In the picture below, you can see Guardini and Nizzolo (the rider at your right) joking together before of a race. So, this was my little introduction to Giacomo Nizzolo. It's not very long, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Let's wish this boy a nice season!

Still talking about Leopard Trek riders, on http://www.lequotidien.lu/les-sports/20036.html there is a nice 'double' interview with Frank Schleck and Brice Feillu.
Here is a little translation of some parts of it.
Journalist: Do you remember your first conversation?
Brice Feillu: First conversation? Uhm...
Frank Schleck: I think it was after his victory at the Tour, in Arcalis. I went to congratulate him. Then we saw each other in Curaçao, where we both spent about 10 days of holidays.
J: (joking) And that was when Brice said: 'One day, I'd like to race with the Schlecks'. Right?
BF: Well, I've always thought that they're nice people, but now I've got to know them even better because we're part of the same team and I realise that they're really great guys. They're the ones who came up to me to talk. (Watching Frank) Frank, I'll pay you a beer later...
FS: Ok, thank you.
J: Do you have something in common?
BF: The weight. 67, 68 kgs.
FS: Oh no! I weight 64 kgs, you're a bit fatter than me and also a bit taller (ndr; they laugh).
(...) J: Brice, what does Frank represent for you?
BF: If someone asked me if I wanted to have the same career as Frank's, I would immediately sign a contract with that person. Frank's career isn't over yet, but I'd be happy to win as many races as he did in those last years. Frank is an example for many people. Frank, you realise this, don't you?
FS: No! But I'm proud to know that other riders take me as example. I'm proud of this. Brice was able of winning a Tour stage and now he says he'd like to have the same career, the same results as me. It makes me feel proud. And it makes me aware of the responsabilities I have in this team.
J: Frank, what do you think of Brice?
FS: He's a pure climber. When I had to think about this new team, I immediately thought about him. We know he'll help us in hard races and he's also got a very big potential. He's also in a very good team now, where he can develop his full potential (...).
(...)
J: Brice, when did you hear the names of the Schleck brothers for the first time?
BF: It must have been at a Liége-Bastogne-Liége. When they were amateurs, I used to take part in thriatlon competitions, so I didn't have a big bike culture...
FS: Attention to him, he's not bad at swimming. When we had a competition in Curaçao, he fucked me up. And I'm not that bad at swimming...
BF: It's true (he laughs). I love swimming, I think it is good for your body, especially during the winter. It was my first sport.
J: You can't remember when you first heard the names of the Schleck brothers.
BF: No, although I like cycling, I watch tv and read newspapers I can't remember exactly when I heard their names for the first time. Romain (ndr; Brice's brother, Vacansoleil's rider) and I couldn't avoid to pay attention to them, because they are brothers, just like us.
J: Do you remember Frank winning Amstel 2006?
BF: No, I know he's won it but I can't remember watching that race. I remember an open jersey. He once won an important race and he kept his jersey open. Was it at the Giro?
FS: No no, it was Alpe d'Huez, in 2006...
BF: It's funny, I remember about the open jersey...
FS: The open jersey, and you dare talking about that! When you won in Arcalis, your jersey was even more open than mine!
BF: Yes, that's true.
J: The sponsor complained about it...
BF: Yes, I was scolded. Well, on occasions like that, you're young and you don't always think about everything. It's true that, if I won an important race today, I would surely zip my jersey before of crossing the finish-line. But still, I didn't think about it that day. It is that kind of stupid things that young people do and that sponsors dislike.
J: Frank, when Brice won his Tour de France stage, Andy was fighting against Contador. Do you remember Brice's victory?
FS: After that stage, inside the bus, I watched the arrival of Brice. I's true that, however, we were more focused on Contador. Brice had got in a small breakaway and we didn't get worried about him. We focused on our race. On Contador, Evans and Armstrong. Brice got a brave victory.
(...)
Talking about racing for a non-French team, Feillu says: 'It widens your horizons. For example, I'm starting to understand English, although I don't speak it well. For me, it's a barrier to destroy.
FS: He doesn't always understand the orders from the radio. In Mallorca there were no radios, so everything was fine with him (laughs).
BF: Great thing, races without radios! Actually, cycling language isn't that complicated, but I have problems with more complicated discussions. It's a common problem for French riders. They ask me for advice, they have the same problem as me with the language. Racing for a non-French team allows you to discover a new universe, it isn't easy for everyone.
(...)

As you can see, I didn't translate the whole interview. I suggest you reading it in French because it's very nice. Moreover, I'm not sure about my translation: I did my best, but there may be some mistakes in it.
So, that's all for tonight, have a good weekend!

UPDATE*: 15 February 2011
A very kind reader, Bru, has told me that Nizzolo broke his right hand in a nasty crash at the beginning of the 2008 season. Moreover, in that crash the poor boy lost 3 front teeth and got a nasty wound on his face.
Moreover, Bru has told me that Trevigiani Dynamon Bottoli, Bottoli Nordelettrica Ramondi an Filmop Sorelle Ramonda Bottoli Parolin are all names for the same team.
Thank you very much for these information!!

Random post about Davide Viganò plus Random Randomness:

The moment has almost come. The moment when we'll finally discover the name of Team Luxembourg, the colour of its kits and the type of cars that the ds are driving this year. I can't wait. Too bad that, on the day of the presentation, me will be in Austria, with no Internet connection. Therefore, this poor girl who has been waiting since August to know the name of her favourite riders' new team will have to wait until the 10th of January before being able to find out more about it. Anger. Actually, right now Fangirl can imagine herself wandering in Vienna, desperately looking for a Gazzetta. Then she can imagine herself finding that Gazzetta and opening it with eagerness, just to find a big pic of Pozzatolocks on the cycling page. That would be shocking.
On the other hand, Logic doesn't care at all about the presentation of the Schleck's team. 'Come on', she told Fangirl, 'the most important thing is to know which riders are going to race for a team. Therefore, you shouldn't care at all about what the team's name will be, or about what the team's kits will look like. You don't get victories just because of your team's name and because of your kits, do you? So, stop complaining about the damned presentation and answer these questions: how will we manage to go from Bratislava to Vienna on Wednesday? Will we manage not to get lost in the airport? Why does our luggage weight just 7 kgs? These are the things about which you should worry right now, you irresponsible Fangirl. And instead, here you are complaining about missing the presentation of a cycling team. We're going to Vienna in 48 hours time, and all you can think about is that team presentation. I wonder what you have in your head, Fangirl!!'. As you can see, Logic is pretty bitter right now and she'd like me to do something useful rather than staying here writing this post.
Therefore, let's write something that can be defined as 'useful' also according to Logic. So, ladies and gentlemen, here's the random profile of Davide Viganò, one of the less known Team Lux's riders, written by me!

First of all, Davide was born in Carate Brianza on the 12th of June 1984.
He became a pro rider with Androni Giocattoli-3 C Casalinghi in 2005 and in the same year he signed a contract for Quick Step. He rode for this team until 2008, when he started riding for Fuji-Servetto (which, at the time, still had a decent jersey). In 2010 instead Viganò went to team Sky, which he abandoned this year in order to join team Lux.
Davide is 182 cms tall and has a weight of 66 kgs. He is on Twitter too and his profile is on http://twitter.com/volaviga .
In 2005, as soon as he became a pro, Viganò managed to arrive 2nd in a race called 'Criterium dei Campioni'. The following year, with Quick Step, he was 12th in a Vuelta's stage. In 2007 he got his only pro victory so far, a stage at the Tour of Qatar. Said stage was a team time trial and in it Davide rode to victory together with Boonen, De Jongh, Tosatto, Steegmans and others. In the same year he was third in Veenendal-Veenendal (Dutch Food Valley Classic). That year the race ended in a sprint and Viganò did better than a guy like Weylandts, who won a Giro stage last year. Still in 2007, Davide was 4th in a Vuelta stage won by Petacchi (he did better than Greipel, Duque, Zabel and many others) and was 5th in the last Vuelta stage (the one ending in Madrid). As you can tell from these results, Viganò is a very good sprinter who can get good results also at the end of Grand Tours.
The finish-line in Madrid really seems to appeal to Davide, who was 3rd in the last Vuelta stage of 2008. In the same year, he was 4th in GP Beghelli (an important Italian race) and 5th in Giro del Piemonte.
In 2009 Viganò got many good placements with Fuji-Servetto. He was 7th in a Tour Down Under stage, 4th in a stage at Tour de Langwaki, 3rd in a stage of Vuelta Ciclistica Asturias. He also took part in that year Giro and got good results also there: an 8th placement in the third stage, a 4th in Chiavenna's one, an 8th in Milan's one and a 9th in Florence one. As you can see, Davide has often been close to grabbing an important victory, but has never been lucky enough.

In 2009 Davide was also 4th in a Vuelta stage, 6th in Hamburg Classic and got some good placements also at Tour de Suisse.
Last year Viganò raced for Sky, but he didn't take part in any Grand Tour. His best results were a 4th place in Vuelta a Catalunya , two 5th placements in Bayern Rundfahrt and a 6th placement in Vuelta a Burgos.
On team Sky website there is a little biography of Davide, that I've partially copied here:

Davide Viganò hails from Carate Brianza, near Milan, and among his neighbours, when he was growing up, was Gianni Bugno. Bugno was the top Italian cyclist of the early 1990s: a double world champion, and winner of the country's national tour, the Giro d'Italia, in which he wore the famous 'maglia rosa' (pink jersey) of race leader from start to finish.
It is no wonder, then, that he was a hero to the young Viganò, who began cycling when he was eight years old (...). Viganò is a good all-round rider with a strong finish. As he puts it: "I'm fast in the sprints, and okay on the climbs" (...).
Viganò is unusual, for an Italian, in preferring the Tour de France to his country's national tour. "I would prefer to ride the Tour because my condition is better in July than in May, when the Giro is on," he admits.

In another interview, talking about his youth, Davide says that his heroes were Bugno and Ullrich. Talking to Cicloweb (a great Italian website), Viganò also said: 'In my first 3 years as a young racer, I was terribly strong. When I didn't win, I arrived on the podium anyway'. Talking about becoming a pro, Viganò said: 'I must admit that becoming a pro wasn't hard, in fact in my first year I changed team in the middle of the season because I had got many good placements. In August 2005 in fact I went to Quick Step, but unfortunately I broke my wrist in that period and so I couldn't take part in many races. Then I started to have some problems: diseases (ndr; mononucleosis in 2009), familiar problems (ndr; his father died in 2007), injuries... All these things didn't allow me to get very good results during my first years as a pro. However, at Quick Step I could help Steegmans and Boonen during the sprints and I could help Bettini in harder races'.
Talking about himself, Davide said: 'I think I'm a very sincere boy. My only passion is cycling, so I don't usually talk about other things in the interviews...I like riding my bike and relaxing with my family and my girlfriend Emanuela'.

So, this is my short introduction to Davide Viganò.If you want to find out more about him, take a look at http://www.teamsky.com/profile/0,27291,17543_5771654,00.html (there is also a video), http://ilnuovociclismo.forumfree.it/?t=22632081 and at http://www.cicloweb.it/articolo/2010/01/12/hai-voluto-la-bicicletta-scopriamo-il-mondo-di-davide-vigano.html (please don't be shocked by the pictures).
Let's hope Davide will finally stop being cursed by bad luck and let's hope that this year he'll finally get his first professional victory. Good luck Davide!!

PS: as you know, I won't be writing anything about team Schleck's presentation and I'm not going to write anything new before of next week. However, if you want, you can use the comment area to express your ideas about the team's presentation- I'm sure that, even without my control, you'll behave well ;)
Let's hope that the kit won't be horrible and have a good time watching the presentation! Auf wiedersehen!

Random post about Robert Wagner plus Random Randomness:

I've just discovered that someone has recently come across my blog by typing 'weather in Bergamo on the 17th of December' in Google. I'm flattered although, at the same time,I do feel sorry for that poor creature who came up here believing that this blog was dedicated to weather forecasts.
Anyway, what's been going on in Cycledom over the last days? Well, first of all Andy Schleck has won the 'Best Luxembourgian Sportman of the year' award. The battle for the victory wasn't actually that exciting, since Andy got about 200 votes more than his brother Frank, who was second in the competition. The brothers couldn't attend the award ceremony, since right now they're having fun in Crans Montana's snow, therefore it was up to mum and dad to go and retire their son's prize.

On http://www.lessentiel.lu/fr/sports/story/--Ce-titre-a-une-vraie-importance-pour-mon-fils---21981619 you can find Johnny's words about the prize: "I'm very proud to see my sons racing at such a high level and see them receive the '2010 Best Luxembourgian Sportman' award. For me, the most important thing is that they have fun while cycling and that they have contact with the press, with the supporters and with all the people that approach them. It's not always easy, they're very busy. I myself am overwhelmed by the requests of people who ask for a jersey, for a hat or for a picture too, actually. Sometimes it is a bit complicated, but we try to answer those requests when it's possible. For my sons, this prize is very important (...) because they're very proud of their country" (translation by Google, so I don't actually know if there are mistakes in it).
Since I'm missing Andy a lot in these days, here's a picture of last year ceremony. Congratulations on your prize, Andy!!!

Talking about other news, Cipollini has recently criticised the lack of machismo in nowadays' cycling.
Mario is very particular personality in Cycledom, but I must admit that I sometimes agree with him about some matters. For example, I agreed with the critics he had made to Pozzato after Melbourne's Worlds. Anyway, back to his recent words, Cipollini told l'Equipé: “I lived a very different cycling. At the beginning of a sprint, I felt like a gladiator, ready to do anything to keep my place. And when I lost, I wasn’t capable of going to congratulate whoever had beaten me, like Andy Schleck did at the Tour. Me, I’d hate him because he’d taken the bread from my mouth.” Actually, Cipollini seemed to have some critics for Andy Schleck's friendship with Contador. I don't see anything wrong in friendship between two riders (Andy and Alberto are clever enough to separate private life and work), but their hugs after Tourmalet actually left Logic a bit disappointed too this year. I had expected Andy to be terribly angry, and instead... Talking about this fact, Cipollini said: “Seeing Schleck and Contador embrace on the Tourmalet after crossing the line and then seeing Contador affectionately pinch Schleck’s cheek during his interview was unreal for me. Logically, Schleck should have been raging, he had just lost the Tour after all.After the chain slip incident on the Port de Balès, he should have attacked the Spaniard day after day, in front of the microphones and on the air too, without giving him time to piss!"
Cipollini also added: “Machismo is disappearing, I can’t find it in Contador. He has the anonymous face of a surveyor or an accountant.”
Personally I think that Cipollini isn't totally wrong about this. Unless the Schleck brothers invite Contador to hunt with them in Luxembourg not because of friendship, but because of the chance of being with him, alone, in a wood and with guns in their hands... Ok, I'm joking. But still, I think Cipollini isn't that wrong when he says that cycling (or, at least, this year Tour) lacks/lacked of machismo.

On to another news, the Denis Menchov's manager has got so angry at Tchmill that he has even threatened him with legal action (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/menchovs-agent-threatens-tchmil-with-legal-action). The last time someone publicly annoyed Menchov was in the last stage of the Giro 2009, when he crashed and lots of stupid Italian supporters in Rome went: 'Yeeeess!' Unfortunately for them, Menchov eventually won the Giro anyway (and Di Luca was found positive at the anti-doping). So, I'd suggest Tchmill to be careful not to annoy the Silent Russian (and his ds)too much, otherwise he could take revenge ;)

Since I have some free time, here I'm going to introduce Robert Wagner to you. Althogh he is already 27 (he was born on the 17th of April 1983), Robert isn't that well known, so I decided to look for some information about him. While doing so, I discovered his personal website (http://www.itswagnertime.com/ ), which is often updated and is full of news and pictures. Moreover, if you have Twitter and want to follow Robert, here's the link to his profile: http://twitter.com/robertwagner83 .

So, as said Robert (not Richard: that is the componist) was born in 1983 in Magdeburg (Germany). Btw now he lives in Belgium with his wife Sandra and his daughter Juli (you can find some pictures of his wedding on his website). Robert is 186 cms tall and has a weight of 75 kgs.
His hobbies are 'Family, Internet and Eating' and he says he loves Italian cuisine.
He started his cycling career when he was 10 year-old and raced for Magdeburger SV Boerde. In 2006 he started to ride for Continental Team Milram (please pause a minute to remember the end of Moo Moo team),which he abandoned the following year, when he moved to Team Wiesenhof Felt. Between 2008 and 2010 instead he rode for Skill Shimano.
This year Robert won the 2nd stage of the Die Drei Tage von West-Flandern, better known as Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen. Then he also won the Ronde van Noord-Holland, the second stage of Tour of Bayern and the second stage of Delta Tour Zeeland.He was also second in a stage of La Panne's 3 days. Robert actually seems to love Delta Tour Zeeland, since he won stages there in 2010, 2009 and 2008.
As far as his education is concerned, Wagner went to a Realschule and then he practised to become a car-seller at Peugeout. In 2007 he said that his favourite race was Ronde van Noordholland but that, when he feels well, every race can become his favourite one.
According to that same interview, before beginning a race Robert always controls whether his bike is ok and whether his looking glasses are clean (that's the same thing I do before driving my car). Still in that 2007 interview, Robert said that, after the end of his career, he'll eat a lot of chocolate (this was his answer to the usual: 'what will you become at the end of your career?' question).
Robert considers himself a sprinter who can do well in the Classics and seems a very funny guy (just read his interviews at Cyclingfever to know more about him). This year he had to close his season earlier than expected because he had to undergo an operation on his femoral artery (if I understood correctly...). Btw now he's back on the bike and ready to race with Cancellara and los Schlecks next year. Let's wish him good luck then! :)

So, this was my very little introduction to Robert. Hope you've enjoyed it and, remember, Robert isn't a relative of the AustinPowers actor-and don't confuse him with Richard Wagner!!

Random post about Stefan Denifl (and Fabian finally joining Team Lux):

To everyone's joy and relief, one of the worst-kept secrets of Cycledom has finally been revealed. And said secret is: Fabian Cancellara is officially joining Team Luxembourg next year.

Although Logic welcomed the news with a rude: 'It was high time they announced it!' , Fangirl was very euphoric after reading about it and would like all the fangirls out there to join her in a virtual toast and in a loud 'YAY!' in order to celebrate properly the signing of a 3 year contract by Fabian. So, girls: 1, 2, 3... all together: 'YAYYYY!'

Well done ladies, below you have a picture of Andy and Fabian as a prize for your effort (and for the patience we all had while waiting for the official news to come). To make your joy increase, however, miss Fede has decided to spend a part of her evening looking for information about a new promising rider who's joining Team Luxalicious this year. Said rider is Stefan Denifl, 23 year-old, who this season rode for Cervélo. In spite of having been a pro for already some years, Stefan isn't actually that famous, so I decided to write a post about him too.
So, let's start with some facts. First of all, Stefan was born in Fulpmes, Austria (near Innsbruck) on the 22nd of September 1987. He's 179 cms tall and has a weight of 62 kgs. He's been a pro since 2006 (he was just 19 at the time), but so far he's ridden for a ProTour team for just one year.
In 2006 Stefan rode for Volksbank-Vorarlberg, while the following year he joined ELK Haus, a team for which he raced until 2009.
In 2006 Denifl didn't take part in many races, whereas in 2007 he was 14th in the U23 World Championships in Stuttgart, which had a pretty tough parcours. In 2008 poor Stefan had to undergo an operation on a very delicate part of his body, but he managed to win the TT National Championships anyway. The following year instead he won the Thueringen-Rundfahrt for U23 riders. That same year he was 8th in the Tour of Austria (which is a very hard race) and he was 7th in the Tour of Bayern.
As far as the 2010 season is concerned, during it Stefan got a 7th placement in a stage of Vuelta a Murcia, was 8th in the GC of Vuelta a Castilla and had some good results in Tour of Austria. For example he was 8th in the Kitzbuehler Horn stage (where Chris Anker Sorensen won in 2008), 12th in the Grossglockner one, 12th in the final TT and 7th in the GC. As you can understand from these results, Stefan is a good climber who goes fast also in the TTs.
On to his hobbies, Denifl likes listening to music and surfing the Internet. Moreover, he has a big passion for winter sports and for the USA. He also likes training in the Dolomite mountains (Italy) and his favouite race, according to Cervélo's website, is the Tour of Bayern. His favourite charity organisation is Unicef (don't worry: I didn't dream a journalist asking Stefan this question, I simply read it on Cervélo's website!) According to Wikipedia, Stefan took up mountain biking in 2001. That year he rode for 'Team Bike Denifl' whose name, I presume, has something to do with the fact that Stefan's father was a professional mountain bike racer who even took part in the Olympic Games.
Denifl jr. took up road cycling after 2 years of mountain bike and he became pro in 2006.
To give you some more information about the guy I'm talking about, I'll just say that, on his first pro race, Stefan went on a 180 kms breakaway and eventually ended the race in 9th. Moreover, when he joined Cervélo he said that he just wanted to help his teammates. And according to Team ELK Haus website, Stefan's Motto (at least in 2008) was: 'If you want to change the world, you should start from yourself'. Last but not least, this year he didn't complain for not riding the Tour de France, saying that he was still too young for a race like that. Nice guy, isn't he?
If you want to take a closer look to him,

on http://www.eventarena.tv/pages/sportarena/radsport/oe-rundfahrt/interviews.php?article_id=340 there's a recent video interview with him. Below instead you have a picture of him riding at this year Tour of Austria.Unfortunately this is all I could find about this rider. In fact there are some old interviews with him around the Net (just take a look at Cyclingfever), but they're all pretty boring and always have the same questions: What do you think of doping? , Do you dope?, Are you going to change team next year?, ecc. This makes me wonder whether it is really that difficult not to ask obvious questions to cyclists. Apparently, the answer is: 'Yes, it is bloody difficult'. Actually, I have to admit that, if I had to interview a rider too, I would probably end up asking him the same boring questions too. Or perhaps I wouldn't.
Anyway, if you already like a lot this boy, here's a good news for you: Stefan, just like the majority of important people inside Cycledom (me excluded), has got Twitter. Here's the link to his page: http://twitter.com/stefandenifl/ .

(Pic 1 by Sirotti, 2 by Gepa, 3 by Klaus Titzer).

Random post about Will Clarke plus random links:

Also this year, miss Fede is going to write a short introduction to every of the neo pros who have joined her favourite teams. Or, more or less, that's what she would like to do (she still doesn't know whether she'll have enough time to do so or not). Therefore, today me's going to dedicate a random post to Will Clarke, who's recently signed a 2 year contract with Team Luxembourg (aka 'Schleck the best, fuck the rest', 'We're the Cutest brothers of the peloton',ecc. ecc).
But before of starting to talk about Will, there are some things I have to do.
First of all, you probably know that last week I had a discussion with someone on another blog and I was told that I had a strange idea of friendship. Well, that person has recently deleted me from her list of friends on a social network without any explanation. Since I can't send her e-mails there anymore, I'm now going to thank her here for showing me what true friendship is through her honorable actions. Thank you very much dear, now my idea of friendship is much better than before and it's all due to you! =)

Anyway, after making you know about the mean part of me, let's go on with some links. First of all, on http://www.procycling.no/article3034930.ece there is an interview with Richie Porte in which, as well as other things, he said: 'I rode with Andy Schleck in the Classic of San Sebastian and he was my domestic. It was one of the best moments this season: I had a great rider who was riding in front of me and protecing me in the peloton'.
On http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/6447/Fothen-still-hasnt-got-a-contract-facing-future-as-a-pig-farmer.aspx (via http://sansenmag.livejournal.com/ ) instead you have an article about Marcus Fothen. After Milram's retirement from Cycledom, the 29-year-old German hasn't found any contract for next year yet. The problem for Marcus is that, if he doesn't find any new contract before of the end of 2010, he'll end up working at his parents' pig farm.Anyway, did you know that pigs are said to be able to eat human beings when they are extremely hungry? I already imagine the newspapers' headlines: 'Former promising cyclist gets eaten by a pig in the family's farm'. Terrible. Therefore, I really do hope that Marcus will be able to find a new contract for next year. Otherwise, let's just hope he'll be careful with the pink 4 legged creatures that his parents breed.
On http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/vinokourov-aiming-for-tour-de-france-podium-in-2011 instead it is written that Vinokourov's aiming for a top 3 placement in next year Tour de France. Therefore, girls of the Vino-rehab, I'm afraid we'll have to meet us more often at the course, because I don't want anyone to pop up on this blog in the middle of July 2011 to tell me they've decided to support Vino rather than los Schlecks during the Tour! ;)

Anyway, let's now talk about Will Clarke. William is a Tasmanian rider who was born on the 11th of April 1985, is 192 cms tall and has a weight of 80 kgs.
Will (whose nickname is Wilbur and whose family has a farm) was a very good 400 and 800 metre runner before taking up cycling, a thing that he did just in 2007 (this reminds me a lot of Richie Porte, another Tasmanian rider that we've all learned to appreciate over the last months). Just like Richie, Clarke rode for team Praties (also known as Genesys Wealth Advisers/Praties Cycling Team). The difference between Will and Richie, however, is that Richie left that team in 2007 and Will joined it the following year.
In 2008 Will won an Australian race called 'Goulburn-Citi' and was 3rd in the 4th stage of Tour of Tasmania. The following year instead he won the Cycling Australia National Road Series, an annual award in which riders accumulate points during the year in selected Australian races. He accumulated the points by winning a stage and the GC of Canberra Tour, a stage at Tour of Geelong and the Launceston International Cycling Classic. That year he also got other good results in races near Australia.

In 2010 he was 4th in the National Open TT Championship and rode as a stagiaire for Ag2R since July. Moreover, last year the boy won a stage in the Mersey Valley Tour, dominated the Tour of the Southern Grampians (he won all 3 stages, the GC and even soloed 30 kms to the finish with a numerous group of cyclists behind him, unable to catch him). Then Will also won a stage in Tour of Canberra before heading to Europe, staying with Richie Porte in Monaco and getting his stagiaire contract with AG2R.
'Richie is just a good bloke and has been helping me a lot. He’s been letting me stay with him. I’ve also been training with him and it’s partly because of him I’ve been able to get this chance with Ag2r,’ he told the Daily Peloton this July.
Daily Peloton actually has lots of information about William and on http://www.dailypeloton.%20com/displayarticle.asp?pk=16277 there's also an interview with him. Here are some questions taken from it (interview by Chris Graetz):

ournalist: How did you first get into cycling, who was instrumental in this?
I first got into cycling just before my 22nd birthday in 2007. I bought a bike because I had been injured from running for a while. I was recovering from a navicular stress fracture in my leg and I couldn’t run - I rode because it didn’t put any pressure on my injury.
Soon I got the bug for it and went along to a "Bums on seats Race"-racing designed for beginners to learn the ropes about the sport. It was only a 37km handicap but I managed to get the fastest time and just missed out on winning. It is run by an older but experienced cyclist called Peter Fraser from Launceston. Peter really encouraged me early on and told me that I had a lot of talent. I kind of laughed at him to start with because I still thought I was a runner just keeping fit, but that soon changed and I became a cyclist. I met a guy called Tim Elmer out at my first cycling Tasmania Open Race. He was a really strong rider in his day and still is. He won the Victorian 200km championship 2008 aged in his 40’s and he took me under his wing and trained me and helped me develop from a C grade rider to an A grade rider in a bit over 6 months.
You were a big athletics star before you turned to cycling, can you shed more light into your other talents?
Will Clarke: Haha! I don’t think I have many other talents, but I seem to be reasonable at most sports like football and swimming. I did a lot of sport when I was at school - that is what I enjoyed doing.
Who were your heroes growing up and who are they now?
I used to love AFL football as a kid so I Idolized the Melbourne Demons. I admired all the great middle distance runners like Steve Ovett and Seb Coe and the battles they had even though it all happened before my time, and in cycling I really like the classics guys. If I could be any cyclist it would be Fabian Cancellara - he is amazing.
(...)
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
I think my strengths are my ability to ride hard for long periods of time. My weaknesses are that I can often get a bit carried away and I tend to waste energy at times when I don’t need to. However, as I develop more, I will learn how to deal with that.
What type of rider are you?
I’m a bit of an all rounder - but my sprinting and time trialing is probably better than my climbing. I just sort of try and hang in there and it is something I think I need to work on. I think my strengths are longer stage races and one day races. I seem to do better at these than the shorter races we do a lot of.
What are your hobbies besides cycling?
I like reading, I have an interest in history and I like watching most sports and going to the beach and relaxing.
Tasmania have produced some good talent and one of your friends, Richie Porte has turned professional. How much of a lift is it you to try and follow in his footsteps?
Tassie has produced its fair share of cyclists over the years, particularly Matthew Goss and Wesley Sulzberger. It’s definitely inspiring to see one of your friends join the Pro Tour ranks. It shows me that it’s not impossible and it can be done. I hope to follow Richie's lead.
What are your longer term goals?
My longer term goals are to represent my country in international events, and get a pro contract and be a professional cyclist.

As you can see from the interview above, Will took up cycling very late, but managed to get very good results in just two years. He's an all-rounder cyclist (although he's not that good at climbing, according to him) and in his free time he enjoyes reading. According to http://genesysprocycling.com.au/?page_id=245 ,his favourite movie is 300 (this is Spartaaaaa!) and he likes listening to all kind of music
If you've already started to like the boy as much as I do, here's Will's Twitter: http://twitter.com/clarkeywilbur . Now that we know a bit more about him, let's wish Will a good first season as a professional rider!!

Random Post about Richie Porte:

Finally,here's the last post of the "New Saxo Bank Pro Riders Series,2010 edition" series.This time I'm going to talk about Richard Julian Porte,considered by many people one of the best neo pro-riders who will make their debut in professional Cycledom this year.It took me about 2 hours and a half to collect information about Jaroslaw and Jorgensen in order to write 2 decent posts about them,but luckily finding information about Porte wasn't that difficult.
First of all,Richie was born on 30th January 1985 in Launceston,Tasmania.He's 172 cms tall and wrights 62 kgs.The surprising thing about Richie is that he took up cycling just 4 years ago,after racing for a lot of years in the thriatlon world.
In 2006,his first season as a cyclist,Richard managed to arrive 3rd in a stage of the Tour of Murray River,an Australian small race.In 2007 he got his first victories by winning 2 stages and the final GC at the Tour of Bright.
In 2008,after getting a 9th place in the Tour Down Under GC,Richie moved to team Mastromarco, an Italian squad directed by former pro-rider Andrea Tafi.In that year he won the Tour of Perth,2 stages and the GC at the Tour of Tasmania and got a 5th place in the final GC of the Herald Sun Tour.
2009 was Richie's breakout year,since he won the second stage of the Giro del Friuli Venezia Giulia,the 4th stage (a TT) at the "Baby-Giro",the first stage of the Giro delle Valli Cuneesi nelle Alpi del Mare and the GP Città di Fellino.As well as that,last season Richie came in 3rd in the Australian Elite RR Championship.
In his career,Richie has raced for Tasmanian tream Praties until 2007,for team Mastromarco in 2008 and for Team Bedogni-Grassi in 2009.
Last year,Richie's most important victory was a TT in the Giro-Bio,in which he defeated for just 0.01 seconds Adriano Malori.Another important victory for Richie was the one he got in Città del Fellino (http://www.cusparma.it/cgi-bin/Allegati/attivitaSportive/vaq1Uhg66N_1254.pdf for more information about the race),a victory that unfortunately was spoiled by the death of the young Ukrainian rider Oleksandr Shapoval few hours after the end of the race.
Since there are lots of good interviews with Richie around the net,here is one of them.Enjoy!

Richard Julian “Richie” Porte has been one of the best riders who live in Italy for some time now.He’s a very good cyclist from Australia,but just few people know his story.
Born on 30-1-1985 in Launceston,Tasmania,the country of the famous “Tasmanian Devil”,Richie used to swim and take part in triathlon races with very good results before of choosing to take up cycling in 2006.In just 3 years time,Richie has become one of the most interesting Australian young riders.After winning 18 races in 2 years in his country,Richie moved to Italy in May 2007 thanks to the unlucky Daniele Tamberi,a team manager and former cyclist who gave him a place inside of the team Gruppo Lupi-Sammarinese,whose training center is in Chiesina Uzzanese (Tuscany) and where Richie could join his friend Cameron Wurf,another Australian rider.Few days after arriving in Italy,Richie got his first victory in Tuscany by winning a very hard race,the San Donato in Fronzato.
In 2008 then he moved (not without polemics) to the GS Mastromarco-Chianti Sensi team. Andrea Tafi,who was looking for young talents to ride on the team,decided to give him a place in the squad and soon Richie got 10 victories.Between his most important victories there are the GP Cerreto Guidi,2 stages and the final GC of the Tasmanian Tour.Richie managed to get these victories in spite of breaking his pelvis.In fact there was an accident near to the finish-line of the Parma-La Spezia race,accident in which a team car guided by the former pro Piotr Ugrumov played an important role.
In 2009 Richie changed team again (also this time his transfer caused some polemics) and started to race for the glorious team Monsummanese-Grassi-Sergio Natalini-Bedogni.With the new jersey Richie won some nice races,like the TT stage at the GiroBio (on that occasion he rode better than the World Champion Adriano Malori) and the international GP Città di Fellino.
Complete athlete,not very tall,intelligent and with a big tactic sense,Porte can get excellent results in hard mountain races and also in time trials competitions.
To allow his new tifosi to know him better,we met him for an interview during the Monsummanese training camp.

So Richie,talk us about your family.How did you take up cycling?
My parents' names are Ian and Penny and they've never been cyclists.I’ve got 3 brothers: Nick,who’s 29 years old,Kieran,26,and Tom who is 21 and is a very strong swimmer and runner,although he‘s got a characteristic that is very bad for athletes: he beloves beer! I took up cycling in April 2006 and in my first race (the Tour of Canberra) I arrived 15 minutes after the other riders.But anyway it was a useful esperience.

Why did you choose cycling?
The truth is that I started to be fed up with triathlon,I didn’t have any motivation left.I was looking for something that could give me new feelings and I think I made the right decision when I choose to take up cycling,because it is a hard but wonderful sport,that I love every day more.
When did you get your first victory?
In may 2006,in a local race in Launceston.
You’ve been living in Tuscany, (in Monsummano Terme) for a while now.What do you like of Italy? What do you dislike?
The country landscapes in Tuscany are incredible and almost unique: in Australia they envy me because I can live in this area,which is often considered one of the best place where to go on holiday in Italy.Then I love Ice-cream and Italian food.My perfect menu is formed by watermelon,ravioli al burro,pizza margherita and tiramisu.There are 2 things that I dislike about Italy: the beer and the traffic.The second one is always so chaotic! I come across lots of bad drivers every day and I’m terrified by them.I think they’re the worst drivers in the world, sometimes they are true criminals.
Have you got any point of reference in cycling?
Of course I have.One reference point is my friend Brett Lancaster,who lives in Monsummano and that often trains with me.Then there is Michael Wilson,who suggested me coming to live in Italy after seeing me racing in Tasmania.I really like the way Davide Cassani speaks during the broadcasts of the races on tv,since he’s smart,quiet and expert.I also admire a lot Damiano Cunego,he's a great athlete and a very positive model for young riders because he's been able to send out strong messages against doping.
Do you miss Australia?
No,I like living Tuscany and the poor Daniele Tamberi,with his family,has always helped me to win homesickness.Also the ds Carlo Franceschi behaved as a father with me,even if he had to give a lot of time to Vincenzo Nibali as well.This year in Monsummanese team I found an ideal group of people,with amazing guys like Giacomo Pasqui,Beppe Trinci,Andrea Tafi and Paolo De Geronimo,the owner of the bike-shop Cicli Banzai in Castelmartini di Larciano.Then I immediately got on with my teammates,Mucelli,Lasca,Quintero and all the other ones.We're a true family and results demonstrate it.
What's your favourite training parcours?
I like training on the Appennino tosco-emiliano,between Pistoia and Bologna.It is a 210 kms route that go from Monsummano to San Baronto,Pistoia,the Collina climb, Porretta, Fanano, Sestola,Pievepelago,Abetone,Prunetta,Montecatini and finally ends in Monsummano.This year I rode that parcours about 10 times with my friend Brett Lancaster.
Have you got any other interest outside cycling?
I love motorbike racing and I support Casey Stoner,although I have to admit that Valentino Rossi is unique and that his charisma made this sport become incredibly popular.I don't like F1 and I don't support Webber,even if he's Australian.I find the races boring and I don't like the organisation.
What would you suggest doing to an Australian boy who would like to take up cycling seriously?
I would suggest him coming to live in Tuscany,it's a nice place,with an ideal weather,where people are friendly and where there's lots of love towards cycling.It is like a cycling university and,if you want to have success,you mustn't be afraid of going through hard moments,at least at the beginning.They help you to learn new things and to grow up.
(Interview translated from http://www.tuttobiciweb.it/index.php?page=news&cod=24573 written by Stefano Fiori)

So,that's all for this post.If you want to know more about Richie,here are 3 more links:
http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=15462 :interview from Daily Peloton (even Richie enjoys fishing!!)
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/opening-doors-comes-naturally-for-porte :interview from cyclingnews.
http://twitter.com/porteye :Richie's Twitter page.
http://www.riis-cycling.com/ny_news.asp?n_id=2624 :article from Saxo Bank website.

Random Post about Jonas Aaen Jorgensen:

Yes,here's the 3rd part of the "New Saxo Bank Pro Riders Series,2010 edition".When I had the idea of starting this series of posts,Saxo Bank website didn't have any information about Didier, Jaroslaw,Porte and Jorgensen yet,so the idea of presenting them on my crappy blog seemed pretty logic to me.Anyway,the guys who work on Team Saxo Bank Website have finally decided to dedicate some articles to the new riders,therefore I suggest you taking a look on said website in order to read interesting articles about the new team riders.

Anyway,since I don't like interrupting things that I've already begun and Saxo Bank team hasn't written anything about him yet,here is my random post about Jonas Aaen Jorgensen.It is a very brief one especially because of the fact that finding information about him was really tough,even tougher than finding information about Marycz Jaroslaw.Anyway,here's the not-so-great result of my work.

First of all,Jonas Aaen was born on 20 April 1986 in Denmark and turned pro in 2006 with team GLS.He raced in that team (that changed name in Team GLS-Pakke Shop 2 years ago) until the end of 2008,when he started to ride for Team Caponordic.

This young Dane boy is 174 cm tall and weights 63 kgs.According to the Italian website Cicloweb, Jonas is a fast rider who can defend himself also on steep short climbs,while according to a post that I've read on PodiumCafé,he is a "Bettini-style" rider.He'll probably ride the Ardenne classics this spring.

Jorgensen got his first important results in 2007.In fact that year,as well as winning a stage at the Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux and the GP Stadt de Zottegem,Jonas managed to arrive 3rd in the RR Danish Championship won by Alex Rasmussen.In September then he came in 6th in the Under-23 Road Race at the Stuttgart World Championships.That race was decided in a sprint between about 40 riders and was won by Peter Velits.John Bellis,Saxo Bank rider,came in 3rd behind Sulzberger.Jorgensen was 6th,while Dominic Klemme (another rider that now races for Saxo Bank team) was 7th.

2008 wasn't a great season for Jorgensen.In fact that year,after taking part in a SB training camp in Mallorca,Jonas broke one finger,couldn't train for some time and was also unable to race the Varese Worlds because of a disease whose name is ignored by my online Translater.

Anyway last year Jonas got some very good results.In fact in2 009 he won a stage at the Tour du Loir et Cher,an U-23 Scandinavian Race in Uppsala and 2 stages at the Tour of Slovakia.In said race,Jorgensen won 2 stages in a row (the last one and the previous one).

Considering that the Tour of Slovakia doesn't have a website and that I didn't manage to find any vid about the race,I have to stop my post here.Anyway,if someone of you can understand Danish and wants to know slightly more on Jonas Aaen,I suggest you taking a look at http://www.phcycling.dk/site.asp?vis=rytter&id=1 (Caponordic's website),a link on which you can find some "Nyheder" regarding him and the other team riders.

Random Suggestion: if you have some free time to dedicate to some useless cycling researches,I suggest you taking a look at the reports and live coverages of the U-23 World Championships raced few years ago,since it can be a very strange and funny experience to read things like,say, "Jakob Fuglsang attacks!" now that you actually know who Jakob Fuglsang is.

(Pic taken from Caponordic website)

Random post about Jaroslaw Marycz:

This is the second of the 4 posts that I'm going to dedicate to the neo-pro riders who have recently joined team Saxo Bank.After talking about Laurent Didier (chosen for nationality reasons),today it is Jaroslaw Marycz's turn.
First of all,"Jari" (as Chris Anker Sorensen nicknamed him few weeks ago because "his whole name is too difficult to pronounce") was born on the 21st of April 1987,therefore he's just 22 years old.He's 181 cms tall and weights 69 kgs.
This young boy from Koszalin,Poland,already rode some races in the professional peloton in 2008,when he was a trainee on team Tinkoff.With the Russian team,Jaroslaw rode Giro del Lazio,Trofeo Cimurri,Giro di Romagna and Gp di Camaiore.
Unfortunately,his adventure in professional Cycledom didn't last long,so last year he started to ride for Viris Vigevano team (between 2006 and August 2008 instead he had ridden for a Swiss team called FidiBc.com).
As a under 23 rider,Marycz got some very good results.In 2006,for example,he won the Trofeo Leto in Masserano (Bi) and the Gp Berna.The following year instead he won the trofeo Rovelli in Lurago d'Erba (Como) and a stage at the Tour du Loir et Cher,in France.As well as that,he arrived 3rd in the "Città d'Asti",which is one of the most important Italian races for Under 23 riders.In 2008 Marycz won the trofeo De Gasperi in Trento,the trofeo INDA a Caravate (Varese),the trofeo Fornero in S. Carlo Canavese (Torino),the Gp Berna (2nd time in his career) and the Polish National U-23 TT championship.At the end of 2008,as already said,Jaroslaw moved to team Viris Vigevano.
Before of Jaroslaw's arrive,team Vigevano hadn't won any race for 3 years.But then,"Jaro" came and won 2 races,one in Palazzolo Milanese and one in Novi Ligure.As well as that,last year Marycz won the national Under-23 TT championship for the second time in a row and also won the silver medal at the European U-23 RR championships in Belgium (on that occasion he was caught by the eventual winner,the Belgian Kris Boeckman,just 20 meters before of the finish-line).
This year Jaroslaw also rode the U-23 Time Trial and the U-23 Road Race at the Mendrisio Worlds,but didn't have a lot of luck.In fact he concentrated himself on the road race,but had a bad crash while riding downhill after just 4 laps and had to retire (that was his last race of the 2009 season,since after it he decided to leave Italy and go back to Poland for some time). So,these are the little information that I managed to find about Marycz.According to them, Jaroslaw seems a very strong rider and also a nice boy.For example,after winning a race last year,he dedicated that victory to his 3 years old niece Nicola and to his whole team (me loves riders who behave in this way).
If you want to read more about this young rider,here are the best links I've found : http://virisvigevano.blogspot.com/ (Viris Vigevano's blog,on which you can find short chronicles of some of the races ran by Marycz and by the other team riders) and http://www.%20federciclismo.it/mondo/n24_2009/giornale.pdf (on page 20 there is the chronicle of one of Marycz's nicest victory).
So,what else to say? Let's wish Jaroslaw a nice first season as a pro and a nice career in the professional Cycledom!

PS: Pic is from http://virisvigevano.blogspot.com/2009/12/il-nostro-marycz-approda-alla-saxo-bank.html .If you click on the original pic,it appears bigger and you can even take a look to the gorgeous central square of Vigevano,one of the nicest town of Italy.

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