Back to blogging (aka,new random post!)

To your joy,I'm back to blogging after a week of total break from writing useless things about cycling in an imperfect English on an Internet page lost in the obscure paths of the Blogosphere. The reasons of this break have been many.First of all,last week I spent a lot of time studying and giving philosophy lessons to a classmate.As a consequence of my great lessons,my classmate managed to get 6 (the lowest sufficient mark here in Italy) in her test,although me is convincted that,if she studied a bit more,she would be able to get better results.Then it was my turn to face 2 (2!!) philosophy tests in 7 days,a thing that made me go crazy and made me plan different ways of escaping from school together with my classmates in order to skip that damned test about Locke and Hobbes.Unfortunately at the end we didn't follow any of our plans and had to study a lot for the tests.Third reason of my break,the cycling news of the last week weren't too interesting and the fact that I can't follow the races on tv has a big influence on my will of blogging in those days.

Anyway,after boring you with this list of reasons that kept me away from blogging in the last 8 days,here's a little random post.Enjoy!

RACES RESUME:

Here's a little resume of what happened in the Cycledom races during the last 8 days.

Vuelta a Mallorca: The 3rd stage of the Vuelta a Mallorca was won by Linus Gerdemann,the 4th one was won by Rui Costa and the final one by André Greipel ("I had predicted that!", Logic screams).

Anyway,in these lines I'd like to highlight the performances that some of the Saxo Bank riders showed us during these stages.First of all,during the Trofeo Inca (race finally won by Gerdemann) André Steensen got an excellent 12th placement.On that day,more than 50 riders finished out of limit and lots of other athletes didn't even finish the race.Therefore,I think Saxo Bank supporters can only be happy with André's result.Also Laurent Didier impressed me on that day,since he finally came in 25th.Anders Lund was 55th with 17 minutes of delay from the stage winner and was the last SB rider to make it to the finish line in the right time.In fact Nicki Sorensen,Kasper Klostergaard and Chris Anker Sorensen crossed the finish line one after the other,out of time limit,with 33 minutes of delay from Gerdemann.Fuglsang,Porte,Jorgensen and Marycz didn't finish the race and I believe that this is understandable,if you consider that the weather on that day was really bad and that some of these riders had just had their debut in Cycledom at the time of the race.
The following day the Trofeo Deià was won by Rui Costa,who outsprinted his breakaway companion Joan Horrach.Frank Schleck was 22nd,whereas His Amazingness Jens Voigt came in 25th.Chris Sorensen was 68th,whereas Didier,Lund,Fuglsang,N.Sorensen and Marycz crossed the finish-line out of time limit.Jens Voigt won the sprinter competition.
The last Trofeo of the race,the Magaluf-Palmanova one,was won by Greipel,who outsprinted Koldo Fernandez and Cardoso.Excellent 7th was Jonas Aaen Jorgensen,whereas Voigt was 12th.Didier came in 16th,whereas Frank Schleck was the 37th rider to cross the finish-line,right in front of Steensen.53th was Chris Sorensen,whereas Klostergaard was 56th.Fuglsang was 96th.His Amazingness Jens Voigt won the Mountain and the Combination Competitions.
I must say that I've been positively impressed by the way some Saxo Bank riders raced in the Vuelta a Mallorca.To be more precise,the guys who impressed me the most were Steensen (didn't expect him to ride so strong so early in the season),Jorgensen and Didier.Voigt impressed me as well,but this isn't a big news.Porte and Marycz had some problems in the hardest stages,but I believe that this is due to the fact that they're both neo pro riders and that therefore they can just get better during the season.

Tour of Qatar: The final GC of the race was won by Wouter Mol.The third stage was won by Chicchi,who dedicated his victory to Ballerini.Chicchi also won the last stage of the race and I was very surprised by this since I knew that Chicchi was a good rider,but I didn't expect him to win stages in front of guys like Haussler,Farrar or JJ Haedo (3rd in the last stage).The 5th stage of the race was won by Boonen (someone's surprised?),who outsprinted Danilo Napolitano.

Tour of Oman: the first stage of the race was won by Jimmy Casper in front of Boasson Hagen.Pinotti made an attack,but couldn't resist at the front of the race for a lot of time.The second stage saw a good victory for Daniele Bennati (welcome back to victory!),a sprinter that I really like and that didn't win anything for almost one year.Boasson Hagen,3rd in the stage (4th was Breschel) got the leader jersey (Fangirl had a random thought about how the first 4 guys to cross the finish-line in this stage look like,and I think you can easily guess it...).
The 3rd stage was won by Boasson Hagen in front of Napolitano and Farrar (how many times has Farrar already arrived 2nd or 3rd in this season?).Excellent 5th was Stuart O'Grady.
Today's stage saw 2 surprises.First of all,the winner of the race was Leigh Howard,who got his first pro victory today and managed to outsprint guys like Bennati,Boonen and Farrar.Not bad,as a first victory,The second surprise was the fact that Boasson Hagen lost the leader jersey to Daniele Bennati,who now leads with 6 seconds of advantdge on Farrar.The big change in the GC was caused by wind splits.Anyway,according to Bennati,the riders who attacked Team Sky weren't very nice towards Edvald. “Racing is racing but perhaps it wasn't fair they attacked when Boasson Hagen stopped for a leak",he told Cyclingnews.

WTF? DU JOUR:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/ :the Gazzetta dello Sport already tries making my eyes burn by publishing pics of shirtless Pozzatolocks sunbathing in Qatar without putting any warning about it.Today,I go on Cyclingnews website and what do I see before my eyes start burning and itching? Shirtless Pozzatolocks! And his blog! Me wonders what I have done to deserve this series of surprises...

Usual Random Post:

Yes,here's one of my usual random post.Enjoy.

NEWS:

First of all,let's start with the news of Andy Schleck's knee problem.Luckily it seems that his injury isn't too serious and so Andy should return racing already at the Ruta del Sol (21st of February).Considering that Fuglsang had a knee problem as well few days ago and that he blamed it on the new equipment,I believe that Andy may have some problems with the new materials as well.Of course,this is only a personal theory of mine.

Fangirl's cycling season officially started on Saturday when she saw her first cycling race of the year.Said race was the GP Donoratico,won by Alessandro Petacchi.There was a funny moment when,with about 1 km to go,Bernucci (the man who was leading the "Lampre train" in that moment) created a gap of some meters between him and the following rider.It was pretty funny since Bernucci apparently had no idea of what to do next and the final sprint was pretty strange also because of this fact.Petacchi's victory,however,was simply great.
Talking about the start of the season,I must say that the first cyclists that I saw this year were Vanotti and Tiralongo.The strange thing is that I didn't see them on tv on Saturday,but live on last Tuesday.In fact I came across them on the road outside my house,while I was waiting at a traffic light.Vanotti and Tiralongo were riding towards Almenno San Salvatore,so they had probably just ended a training session in the cold weather.This appearance was very unexpected and made me notice one thing: I don't like the new Astana new kit.It is too colourful,especially on the back.

On to other races: the Tour of Qatar.The first stage of this race was won by Team Sky,for my sister's happiness.In fact she immediately grabbed the chance to remember me that,right now,Team Sky has already won 3 races this year,whereas Saxo Bank hasn't won anything yet. Unfortunately it is useless to tell her that Saxo Bank will win both the Giro and the Tour this year because she refuses to believe it.

Yesterday's stage at Tour of Qatar saw a bad accident happening to Kurt Arvesen,who broke his collarbone twice in the last 6 months.And today it's even his birthday,poor boy.

The second stage of the race,however,was won by Gert Steurs,who was part of a two man breakaway together with Wouter Mol.

Steurs' victory was very emotional,since the Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator rider remembered his former teammate Frederik Nolf,who died in his sleep during the Qatar race 2009,as soon as he crossed the finish-line.

Today's stage of the Tour of Qatar instead was won by Tom Boonen.Not a big surprise,I'd say. The sprint was unfortunately ruined by a crash in which Gerald Ciolek broke his collarbone, joining Arvesen and Crozza in the list of "riders who broke their collarbones in Qatar".

Vuelta a Mallorca: I tried to search a live broadcast of the race,but I couldn't find it.The first stage was won by McEwen in front of Koldo Fernandez and Oscar Freire.Best Saxo Bank rider was the young Jonas Aaen Jorgensen,whereas André Steensen got the best climber jersey.

The second stage was won by Oscar Freire in front of Greipel and Cardoso.8th was Kenny Van Hummel,whereas the best Saxo Bank rider was,once again,Jorgensen (20th).Marycz came in 29th,whereas Frank Schleck was 184th.According to the news I have,Chris Anker Sorensen took part in yesterday's race.Unfortunately,the only Sorensen who appears in the Race Classification is Nicki.Now,the question is: did they confuse the Sorensens as usual,or did Saxo Bank's team manager decide to have Nicki racing rather than Chris at the very last moment?

RANDOM LINK:

http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/ :after all this time,you've learned to recognise this link,haven't you? This time Chris talks about the beginning of the season and says that he's looking forward to it.
"There is something special in starting to race again.The numbers to pin on the jersey.The smell of the camphor cream that we put on the legs to warm them (...).The nervousness before of the races.Jens Voigt who sits immersed in a gameboy game and then suddenly looks at the clock and shouts 'Ooooh no not again,now I really need coffee'!"
Anyway Chris Anker also talks about one big disadvantadge of the season's beginning: the fact that riders have to shave their legs before of starting racing.About this fact,he writes: "I know it is a little feminine,but first and foremost it is a tradition and it's important to keep tradition in cycling.Then it helps our masseurs,who have to massage us very often.And then,shaved legs are aerodynamic.Teams and sponsors spend a lot of money in order to develop aerodynamic clothes and materials,and it would be stupid to ruin everything because of a pair of hairy legs".

TOTALLY RANDOM LINK:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/celestino-to-captain-semperlux-axevo-haibike-team :this link is oh so surprising to me because team Axevo often takes part in the mountain bike races in which also my sister competes.As a direct consequence of that,I usually see half of the team-Celestino included-at least once pro month during the mountain bike season,whereas my sister has the chance to train with Oscar Lazzaroni once pro week.Actually,that little lucky girl last month even had the chance of training together with Morris Possoni.This made her jump around the house for a lot of time,feeling lucky because she was one of the first Italian people to see the new Sky jersey live (yes,it doesn't take much to make my sister happy).

(pic by Bettini)

Tragedia nel ciclismo,muore il c.t.Ballerini":

"Tragedy in cycling,coach Ballerini dies".Tragedy: yes,this is probably the right word to define what happened this morning in Larciano.In fact,Italian cycling coach Franco Ballerini,former rider who won 2 Paris-Roubaix in his career,died this morning during a rally race.The car on which he was riding as a co-driver together with the expert pilot Alessandro Ciardi (who isn't in life danger,although he suffered some fractures) suddenly went out of the road and capsized for reasons that are still unknown.Ballerini passed away in the Pistoia hospital,45 minutes after the crash.He leaves a wife and 2 sons.I got the news of Ballerini's death at midday,while I was watching tv.They gave some news about politics and then,suddenly,some images of a car crash appeared on the tv screen,together with the words "Ballerini dies",whereas a voice said "Italian cycling coach Ballerini dies in an accident during a rally".Shock,amazement,a feeling of "I can't believe it" suddenly caught me.My first reaction to the news was "It can't be true-they must have given the wrong news.They must have confused names.It can't be true".You'd never expect to hear such a sad news on a sunny Sunday morning,while you're happy because you have some free time to watch some cycling races in the afternoon and you're still thinking about the Gazzetta article about GP Costa degli Etruschi,the first race of the year that you managed to see on tv.And instead,the news came and changed my morning.
I didn't know Ballerini in person,but I had always liked him.He was an intelligent man,a great cyclist (he won 2 Paris-Roubaix) and,as a coach,he allowed Italy to win 4 World RR Championships and 1 Olympic RR.He was always really kind and every Italian cycling fan really liked him.He surely leaves a big gap in Italian cycling and,worst thing,in all the people who knew him.

I give my deep condolences to the family.Rest in peace,Franco.

Links about the tragedy:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/vale-franco-ballerini-1964-2010
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/italian-coach-franco-ballerini-dies-in-rally-crash
http://www.gazzetta.it/Ciclismo/07-02-2010/nei-rally-mai-azzardo-602913957366.shtml
http://www.gazzetta.it/Ciclismo/07-02-2010/tragegia-muore-602911536543.shtml

(more cycling news on this blog later-if I am in the right mood).

The season is starting: Parcours and Start List of the Vuelta a Mallorca

That time of the year has come when,after a break of almost 4 months,the cycling season begins again.Ok,some riders have already started to race at the Tour Down Under or at the Tour of San Luis or in some other races,but my favourite riders are starting their season tomorrow.And,as obvious,Fangirl is excited.She's anxious and wished it was already March also because of the fact that soon everything in my non cyclistic life will become even more hectic than now,therefore cycling should help me to put up with the last school months more easily.In fact,to put it in "cycling terms",my teachers will force my classmates and I to peak twice before of the end of June and then they'll force us to do a final sprint in the last week of May in order to allow them to decide our future with the help of,say,12 marks pro subject (yes,I'm exaggerating). Then,according to the result of the school year,every student will have their own way to spend the off season,aka the summer,and will finally manage to slow down a bit-no more alarm clock at 6.15,bus at 6.55,first hour at 8.05,last hour at 13.15,Russian course on Wednesdays and so on for some weeks.

Anyway,back to the cycling season,I got some information about the Mallorca Challenge on http://www.vueltamallorca.com/challenge2010/ .In this race each team is allowed to bring lots of riders.Why? Well,I looked for more information in the Net and on http://en.wikipedia.org/%20wiki/%20Vuelta_a_Mallorca I found these lines:"Although the race styles itself as the 'Tour of Majorca' it has never been allowed to be classed as a multi day stage race by the UCI because the race rules allows riders not to participate on certain days if they don’t want to (...). This laid back attitude by the race organisers makes the race popular with team managers who can bring a large squad (sometimes as many as 20 riders) and interchange them over the five days". That's good,especially because of the fact that Saxo Bank will have a geat time in Mallorca.Anyway,here's the complete start list (with my usual random comments,of course:you can't get rid of them so easily...):
Andalucía–Cajasur: this Spanish team will be formed by Ángel Vicioso Arcos,Jesús Rosendo Prado,Manuel Ortega Ocaña,Jorge Martín Montenegro (he's the only non-Spanish rider on the team,in fact he comes from Argentina),Antonio Piedra Pérez,José Vicente Toribio Alcolea,Juan Javier Estrada Ruiz,Sergio Carrasco García,Manuel Calvante Corpas,Antonio Cabello Baena,Javi Moreno Bazán,Pablo Lechuga Rodríguez,Jose Luis Roldán Carmona,José Ángel Gómez Marchante,Javier Ramírez Abeja,Manuel Vazquez Hueso.
Burgos Monumental: the only non-Spanish rider from this team,Olbano,comes from Costa Rica (or at least I think so).The team riders in Mallorca will be Luis Mas Bonet,Diego Gallego Arnaiz,Raúl Santamarta Valbuena,David Francisco Delgado,Bayron Patricio Guama de la Cruz,Francisco Manuel Antón Marín,Oscar Grau Jorda,José Carlos Lara Arjonilla,Pascual Orengo López,Gregory Juel Brenes Obando and Andrés Avelino Antuña Coro.
Caisse d'Epargne: the Spanish team in Mallorca will be very strong and me thinks that LL Sanchez will show something interesting during the race.The other team members are Andrey Amador,David Arroyo,Marzio Bruseghin,Juan José Cobo,Rui Costa,Imanol Erviti,José Vicente García,José Iván Gutiérrez,Vasil Kiryienka,Pablo Lastras,David López,Alberto Losada,Angel Madrazo,Luis Pasamontes,Luis León Sanchez, Mauricio Soler,Alejandro Valverde and Xabier Zandio.
Cofidis,Le Credit en Ligne: the French team will bring Moncoutie and Taaramae in Mallorca together with other pretty unknown riders.Here's the complete riders list: Guillaume Blot,Kalle Kriit (Est),Julien Fouchard (Fra),David Moncoutie (Fra),Tony Gallopin (Fra),Nico Sijmens (Bel) Kevyn Ista (Bel),Rein Taaramae (Est),Jens Keukeleire (Bel),Romain Zingle (Bel)
Footon-Servetto: the team with the ugliest 2010 kit will be formed by José Alberto Benítez (Spa),Manuel Cardoso (Por),Vidal Celis (Spa),Marcus Eibegger (Aut),Enrique Mata (Spa), Michele Merlo (Ita),Aitor Pérez (Spa),Rafael Valls (Spa),David Vitoria (Swi),Johnnie Walker (Aus)
Euskaltel - Euskadi: Euskaltel offers us a good team formed by riders like Anton,Perez,Koldo Fernandez,De Lis,Verdugo and Txurruka.Here's the complete team: Igor Anton,Alan Pérez,Koldo Fernandez De Larrea,Juan Oroz,Beñat Intxausti,Iñaki Isasi,Mikel Nieve,Amets Txurruka (I love his surname),Iván Velasco,Aitor Galdos,Gorka Verdugo,Sergio De Lis,Ruben Pérez,Francisco Javier Aramendia,Jorge Azanza,Pablo Urtasun.
Netapp: Eric Baumann (Ger),Dimitri Clayes (Bel),Andreas Schillinger (Ger),Bastien Delrot (Fra),Timon Seubert (Ger),Cesare Benedetti (Ita),Alexander Gottfried (Ger),Tassilo Fricke (Ger),Alexander Meenhorst (Aus),Daniel Schorn (Aut),Nico Keinath (Ger),Jan Barta (Cze),Huub Duyn (Ned)
Omega Pharma - Lotto: De Greef and Wegelius are 2 riders I really like and I hope they'll have a good 2010.Together with them,the Lotto-team in Mallorca will be formed by Mario Aerts,Daniel Moreno,Jan Bakelants,Jean-Christophe Peraud,Adam Blythe,Tom Stubbe, Christophe Brandt,Jurgen Van Den Broeck,Jelle Vanendert and Glenn D'Hollander.
Orbea: Extebarria is the only rider I know from this Spanish team.The other riders are Noel Martí,Adrian Sáez De Arregui,Jon Aberasturi,Beñat Urain,Andoni Blázquez,Ricardo García,Mikel Ilundain,Xabier Zabalo and Ion Izagirre.
PSK Whirlpool: Something tells me that this team probably comes from the Czech Republic,since 11 riders out f 13 come from there.The line up is formed by Petr Bencik,Frantisek Kloucek,Tomas Buchacek,Stanislav Kozubek,Jakub Danacik,Leopold Konig,Tomas Danacik, Martin Mares,Vojtech Dlouchy,Andre Schulze (Ger),Martin Hebik,Marc Reynes (Spa) and Petr Kaltofen.

Quick Step: Chavanel,Cataldo,Devenyns,Devolder,Malacarne,Pineau...Good team.Complete line-up: Dario Cataldo,Kurt Hovelijnck,Sylvain Chavanel,Andrei Kunitski,Thomas Vedel Kvist,Nikolas Maes,Dries Devenyns,Davide Malacarne,Stijn Devolder,Jerome Pineau,Eddy Engels,Francesco Reda,Mauro Facci and Branislau Samoilau.
Rabobank: Freire will close his career this year,so I wish him all the best.Together with him in Mallorca there will be Maarten Tjallingii,Bauke Mollema,Lars Boom,Steven Kruiswijk,Laurens Ten Dam,Nick Nuyens,Mauricio Ardila,Joost Posthuma,Bram Tankink,Tom Stamsnijder,Kai Reus,Koos Moerenhout,Grischa Niermann,Oscar Freir ,Tom Leezer,Sebastian Langeveld (yay!) and Juan Manuel Garate (Spa).Me wonders: where is His Muteness?
Skil - Shimano: Yes,Kenny Van Hummel is racing.His teammates will be Mitchell Docker,Cheng Ji and Long Jin (are these 2 riders from China related?),David Deroo,Job Vissers,Frederik Wilmann,Yukihiro Doi,Albert Timmer,Simon Geschke,Robert Wagner,Feng Han and Piet Rooijakkers.
Spanish Track Team: Antonio Tauler Llulla,Antonio Miguel Parra,Unai Elorriaga Zubiaur,Sergi Escobar Roure,Eloy Teruel Rovira,Carlos Torrent Tarres,David Muntaner Juaneda,Asier Maeztu Billalabeitia,Pablo Aitor Bernal Rosique,Jose Anton Carrasco Ramírez,Albert Torres Barceló,Rafael Serrano Fernández,Andoni Lafuente Olagibel,Iban Leanizbarrutia Cruz,Ramón Domene Reyes and Airan Fernández Casasola.
Team HTC - Columbia: allez Pinotti and Toni! Team line-up: Michael Albasini,Bert Grabsch,Marco Pinotti,Maxime Monfort,Vicente Reynes Mimo,Aleksesj Saramotis,Kanstantsin Sivtsov (allez Kanstantin!),Tejay Van Garderen,Peter Velits,Tony Martin,Craig Lewis,Adam Hansen,Rasmus Guldhammer and Andre Greipel.
Team Katusha: Kolobnev is racing,just like Egor Silin,McEwen,Brutt,Rodriguez,Vorganov and KK.Complete line-up: Alexander Botcharov,Pavel Brutt,Juan Horrach,Vladimir Karpets,Kim Kirchen,Alexander Kolobnev,Robbie McEwen,Evgeny Petrov,Joaquin Rodriguez,Egor Silin,) Maxime Vantomme,Eduard Vorganov.
Team Milram: Yes,Linus is racing.Teams:Markus Eichler,Robert Förster,Markus and Thomas Fothen,Johannes Fröhlinger,Linus Gerdemann ,Christian Knees,Dominik Nerz,Luke Roberts,Dominik Roels,Thomas Rohregger,Matthias Ruß,Wim Stroetinga,Paul Voß and Fabian Wegmann.

Team Saxo Bank: los Schlecks,los Sorensens,Voigt,Larsson,Steensen,Jorgensen, Marycz,Porte,Fuglsang,Porte,Klostergaard,Didier,Lund...there should be a rule to allow all these riders to race together in order to make Fangirl get completely crazy.Here's the line up:Anders Lund,Jonas Aaen Jorgensen (someone has confused name,second name and surname of this rider...),Andre Steensen,Jens Voigt,Jaroslaw Marycz,Jakob Fuglsang,Kasper Klostergaard, Gustav Larsson,Richie Porte,Chris Anker Sorensen,Nicki Sorensen,Frank Schleck,Laurent Didier,Andy Schleck (dulcis in fundo...)
Van Vliet: Ronan V. Zandbeek,Rune V.D. Meijden,Jeffrey Wiersma,Bas Krammel,Sjoern Konnenhoven,Stefan Vreugdenmil,Jack Vermeulen,Yoeri Havik,Bas Stamsnijder,Bart V. Hadren,Bob Schoonbrools,Rikke Dijkxmoorn,Bram Schmitz,Thomas Berkhout,Christoph Pfingsten,Remco Tebrake,Sander Oostlander and Jesper Asselman.

Xacobeo Galicia: Isaychev is the only non-Spanish rider on the team.Line-up: Carlos Castaño Panadero (Spa) Rodrigo García Rena (Spa) Gustavo Domínguez Lemos (Spa) Francisco José Pacheco Torres (Spa) Gustavo César Veloso (Spa) Gustavo Rodríguez Iglesias (Spa) Serafín Martínez Acevedo (Spa) David García Dapena (Spa) Delio Fernández Cruz (Spa) Gonzalo Rabuñal Ríos (Spa) Alberto Fernández Saiz (Spa) José Antonio Desegovia Botella (Spa) Vladymir Isaychev (Rus)

Race Parcours:
The Trofeo Palma (tomorrow) is completely flat and me believes that Greipel will win.El Trofeo Cala Millor is slightly less flat (there are 3 category 4 climbs),but it shouldn't create big problems to the sprinters.The Trofeo Inca (that will be raced on the 9th of February) will see the riders face a category 2 climb and a category 1 climb with 30 kms to go.The arrive,according to http://www.vueltamallorca.com/challenge2010/trofeo3/ ,is flat.El Trofeo Deìa offers the riders 4 category 2 climbs.The last 3 climbs are concentrated in the last 50 kms of the race and the Coll d'en Bleda will be faced by the riders with just 3 kms to go ( http:// www.vueltamallorca.com/challenge2010/trofeo4/ ).El Trofeo Malaguf,the last race of the "Vuelta a Mallorca",will be pretty hilly,since the riders will have to face 4 category 2 climbs and a category 3 climb with just 8 kms to go (http://www.vueltamallorca.com/%20challenge2010/%20trofeo5/ ).

So,this is what the riders will have to face in the next few days.If someone has a link to a website that broadcasts the race (possibly live),you would do me a big favour by leaving the link in the comment box.And to end this post,I say: allez Saxo Bank!

«Andy ne fait jamais les calculs sans moi»

After the Le Quotidien interview with Andy,here's the one with Frank.Enjoy!
link: http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/les-sports/8177.html

Frank Schleck is almost thirty years old and is beginning its eighth season in the professional cycling world-the eight season with the very same team.Anyway,his motivation is still incredible.
Talking with him,we perfectly understood why,on Wednesday,his younger brother Andy had told us that Frank may be able to win the 2010 Tour de France.Calm,but extremely motivated, Frank Schleck seems ready for another great season.

Yesterday in Majorca the rain was falling behind the windows.When they noticed it,the staff of Team Saxo Bank quickly made a decision: day off for everyone.In fact the traces of the long training session of the previous day (which was 200 kms long) were still in the legs.
What are you going to do today?
Frank Schleck: We're all going to rest,since we've been training hard lately.We did the right thing when we left Luxembourg because of the bad weather.But this Friday,we'll be riding again.Five hours on the schedule.Then on Saturday we'll have a three hours training and on Sunday there is our first race of the year.
Are you eager to start your season?
Yes and no. On one hand,I'm afraid to be a bit behind in my preparation,since between all the training camps we always had to go back to Luxembourg and the weather was really bad there.Luckily in Fuerteventura we trained really well.Of course then the new season is starting and so there is always a little extra excitement.And,of course,there are also some extra doubts. We think: 'Will it go well? Will it go bad?',but I know there's no reason that it should go bad.In Majorca,I'm not racing for the victory although,in cycling,you can never know.We'll see what will happen...
Yesterday your brother Andy told us that you've changed a lot during the winter.Do you confirm it?
Again,yes and no.It is true that there are some new things (laughs).Martine and I are looking forward to becoming parents for the first time and obviously this gives me a lot of motivation. Then,to go back to cycling,last year I had to interrupt my season in September for undergoing knee surgery.I had to end my season very soon,so I am very motivated and I 'm really looking forward to the season's beginning in order to understand how my condition is.
What about training?
Frankly,I haven't changed my training a lot.Anyway the winter weather has been bad,so we had to adapt ourselves to it.I think I've trained even better than usual.We'll see whether I'll be able to go as strong as last year but,again,there is no reason that things shouldn't go as they did last year.
Andy thinks you may be able to win the 2010 Tour de France.What do you think of this fact?
Andy finished second in the Tour last year and of course he's really motivated.I really like one thing about him: he never calculates things without me.And I agree with him.I think we can do better than last year,when we rode the Tour and also the Classics and we were always together at the head of the race.As far as 2010 is concerned,I often think: Why can't I get to the Paris podium? And if I can arrive on the podium,what tells me that I won't be able to win it? Obviously I'd be very happy also if Andy found himself in a good position to win the race,and I know that the same worths for him.We both have good chances of winning. Of course in cycling you must always consider luck and bad luck.Anyway,Andy and I will do our best.
You became a professional rider in 2003...
Yes,this is my eighth season as a professional rider.Now I'm not afraid to take my responsibilities.I've improved a lot and I think I already know enough things about races.In this sport,you learn new things every year and this is always a big help.If I look back,I realize that I've learned a lot of things.Experience is useful.
What did you learn last year?
I learned a lot in 2009.I learned things from Lance Armstrong,who runs really well from the tactical point of view.I also learned some things from Alberto Contador,who has a different riding style if compared to Armstrong,and is not unbeatable.But I also learned that it is better to have friends rather than enemies in the peloton.We're adversaires,but it's good to respect each other. From this perspective,I also learned some things from Andy,who can always stay calm during the races.Watching him,I realized that if we stay calm,we can really give our best during the races...
What are your feelings for the 2010 season? And what about your team??
Personally,I'm pretty eager to start because I'm very motivated.For example,I'm awaiting to start the season in order to know how my condition is,so that I can decide how to train in the next weeks.The feelings I'll get in the race will tell me what I'll have to do to improve my condition over the next weeks.As far as the team is concerned,I'm not worried.I've said it a hundred of times,but I have the feeling that we're even stronger than last year.I give you two names to pay attention to: Matti Breschel and Jakob Fuglsang.Matti will be super in the North classics and Jakob will be at our side in the Ardenne.He'll be another important card to play for us.
New teams have been created and the transfers have changed a lot of things.Do you think that this has,in some way,changed the cards on the table?

You know,it's the same thing every year before of the seasonal start.It's true that Astana has changed and it's true that RadioShack and Sky are new teams.But last year it was Cervelo's turn to get into the circus,but things go on.There were riders before us,there will be riders also after us.I remember that,when Fabian (Cancellara) won Paris-Roubaix and I won the Amstel Gold Race,everyone started to talk about the new cycling generation.With Andy,second in the Giro and second in the Tour,we started to talk of another new cycling generation.Every year there are new things and things will always be this way.
You have been racing for the sam team since 2003,8 years ago...

Yes and I am really happy for this thing.I was able to grow in this team and to improve slowly over the years.Therefore I'll be really happy if we manage to go on even after the 2010 season (ndr; Bjarne Riis is looking for a new sponsor right now).I hope we'll manage to.What is sure is that Andy and I will always race together.Cycling will never get between us.We don't know where we'll race in the future,but we'll talk about it after the Tour,since our contracts ends after the Tour.
What are your hopes for the 2010 season?
I hope to repeat a season like the last one.I started getting good results after the 2005 season ad I haven't stopped yet.But this year I'd love to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège,since we'll have our baby ten days after that race.And then of course it would be nice to win the Tour or to finish on the podium.Last year I was fifth in Paris,off of the podium for just 40 seconds.Forty seconds, the delay that I had during the Grande Motte stage and during the team time trial. Well,we also have to be realistic.The riders who did well last year,Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador will be there,ready for the battle,also this year.
Without going too far: this Paris-Nice could bring you some good results...
Yes,there is a long story between Paris-Nice and me.I had a lot of 2nd and 3rd places last year and so I finished second in the GC.I like that race and it's always a very good test.It will be my first opportunity to get a good result.But beware,since I'd like to be in perfect condition for Liege-Bastogne-Liege,I won't enter a good shape too soon.I am motivated to do well in Paris-Nice,but I always am.Of course,I will be one of the favourites for the victory.
Laurent Didier,the new "little one",has joined your team as well recently.How is he going?

He's going very well,everyone likes him and,on his bike,he had a very good shape already during the training camp.He is very motivated and has trained a lot.Everything will go well for him.

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

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

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

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

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

Random Post about 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.