Valjavec,Prado and Pellizotti in troubles and some useless reflections of mine

Originally, Miss Fede hadn't plan to write any post this afternoon, but then the news of Pellizotti, Prado and Valjavec's problems has given her the occasion to reflect on a few things.

As you probably know, these 3 riders have been suspended by their teams because their biological passport showed some irregular values. Now, I'm not an expert in the doping field, but I'd like to say some things about this news anyway.

On yesterday's La Gazzetta dello Sport it was written that 5 riders were going to be stopped in these days because of problems in their biological passport.According to La Gazzetta, the 5 riders were 1 Italian (someone who had raced TdF 2009 and was going to race Giro 2010 with good expectations of victory), 1 Russian, 1 Slovenian and 2 Spaniards.Then, in the evening, the news came: "Pellizotti, Prado and Valjavec have been suspended by their teams". I had no doubts about Pellizotti's suspension (he was the only Italian who corresponded to La Gazzetta's description), but I was very surprised by Valjavec (I'll talk about this later in this post). Anyway, as you might have imagined, a question still remains in my mind: according to La Gazzetta (which is showing to be a serious newspaper even when it talks about rumours) the riders with problems are 5. Just 3 names have been said. 5-3=2.So, who are the other 2 riders, the Russian and the Spaniard, whose passport shows some irregular values? We'll know later, probably on the day of the Zoncolan stage at the Giro; or perhaps on the day of a boring stage, so that we (supporters, chronists and journalists) can all get depressed together.

Anyway, back to Pelli, Valjavec and Prado. Of course these 3 riders have already claimed they're innocent and, also this time, this has been pretty funny to see. Even if imo accusing those riders of being dopers without further information is unfair,I think that we supporters have the right of being amused by the riders' defenses anyway. So,here they are:

-First of all, Prado said that the changes in his blood profil were due to a problem he had with his haemhorroids (more info on http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rosendos-blood-readings-due-to-haemorrhoids ).

-Pellizotti instead told La Gazzetta that his strange values are probably due to the training he had in Livigno,a famous Italian village that is located in the mountains. According to Franco, the altitude of that village has changed his blood values so that in the tests taken during the Tour (Pellizotti went to Livigno before of the Tour) things didn't look ok for the UCI scientists. A fascinating theory, if it wasn't that also Pozzato, Basso and Rogers often train in Livigno, but none of them has ever had strange blood values in their tests because of this (not so far,at least).

- Valjavec then said that his irregular values are due to an illness which his team doctor failed to report to the UCI last year (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/valjavec-claims-innocence-in-biological-passport-case ;the source of Pellizotti's words instead is today's paper edition of Gazzetta).

So, these are the riders' defenses. As mentioned, the name that surprised me most in this story is Valjavec's one.First of all, I probably have to say that every time I see a rider doing something very good, I always have doubts about him (yes, it's horrible to say, but that's it). Valjavec is a good rider who always gets good results, but he isn't a super champion who always has amazing performances. Therefore, I didn't think he would have had this kind of troubles in his career. Well, silly of me to think that.

The main aim of this post, however, is talking about UCI's perfect timing of giving bad news. In fact, without saying whether the riders are or aren't dopers, me has a little question about how this story was treated by UCI.In fact, if Pellizotti knew about his 'problem' on the 3rd of March, why did it take UCI more than two months to make the news become public?

On yesterday's Gazzetta there was a sentence that made me reflect for a while. McQuaid in fact, talking about these 5 new possible dopers, said: "There are 5 riders whose biological passport presents some irregular values. I think we'll tell you something between Monday and Tuesday". Oh, thank you very much for considering us, mr.McQuaid. Really,we poor supporters didn't mean to bother you, you could have given the news also on June 1st, after the Giro, we wouldn't have cared... ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Gosh, the riders get this news on March the 3rd, even before of the beginning of the season, and we know about it just 2 months later,right before the beginning of the Giro?!? And what if Pellizotti had won a Classic during the Spring campaign? I mean,it's understandable to give a rider the time to react to a doping news that directly involves him, but aren't two months a bit too much? Or am I just saying bullshits? Gosh, the Giro begins in 4 days time and you come up with this news just now?!? Are you stupid?

I'm obviously talking about this story from the supporter's point of view, but just imagine you're a rider and they tell you they've discovered you've doped. They tell you,but they don't tell anyone else. You keep on racing, perhaps winning, and in the meanwhile you wait for the news to become public. Nice situation,isn't it? You keep on pretending that everything's ok, but in the meanwhile you're waiting your world to fall apart. If I was a rider and if I was in that condition, I woud probably suspend myself, pretend to be ill, or something similar. But obviously,someone could say, there's a reason if miss Fede is a supporter and not a cyclist...

Anyway, talking about that matter, Gazzetta's journalist Luca Gialanella revealed a little but interesting anedocte about Pellizotti. On 28th April the journalists already knew that an important rider was going to have problems with the biological passport soon.Simply, they didn't know who this rider was, although lots of rumours named Pellizotti. Therefore, that day Gialanella phoned Pellizotti. They talked about the upcoming Giro, about Pellizotti's suitcase, and then Gialanella asked Pellizotti if the rumours about him were true. "I've never been to the UCI, nobody has never asked me anything and I've never had problems to solve with UCI. It's the first time I hear a rumour like that. You can never be calm when doping is concerned, but I've never had any problem of that kind",Pellizotti answered.

Gialanella ends his article with this words: "Pellizotti had been informed by the UCI on March the 3rd,almost two months before of that phone call". Well, Pellizotti couldn't actually have answered in any different way, but I believe that this anedocte is rather interesting because it gives you a not very flattering portrait of Cycledom (UCI knows, the riders know, the poor supporters and the poor journalists don't).

Well, after expressing my anger here me closes this post (which hasn't been written in a great way because I'm always chaotic when I have to express my opinions in foreign languages) and goes reflecting in front of a school book.Good day to everyone, by the way.

Random Post with Random Links:

The Giro d'Italia begins next week and obviously Fangirl is really looking forward to it because, as a famous Italian journalist once said,during the Giro 'everyday is a holiday' (in Italian the sentence sounds a bit different,but that's the meaning).
Hoping that this year Giro won't end up like last year (read: 'hoping there won't be any doping cases'), here I go with some random links about Team Saxo Bank's riders that are racing in the Giro and also with some little useless comments of mine about Tour of Romandie.Enjoy!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/saxo-bank-cofidis-for-the-giro-ditalia : first of all,the Saxo Bank line up for the Giro.Lots of people have been very surprised by Riis' Giro team ("Where are the Schlecks? Where is Cancellara? Where are Fuglsang and Breschel?!? And Voigt and O'Grady?") and I can understand them completely. The trouble is that,as Frank Schleck once admitted in an interview, the team sponsor (Saxo Bank now,but also Csc in the past) doesn't care at all about the Giro, so Italian tifosi can't do nothing but complain about the lack of big stars in Saxo Bank's Giro line-up. As well as that, the Giro isn't as famous as the Tour (although the hardest mountains are here in Italy) and this year Riis desperately needs his team to get good results during the Tour, and not during the Giro, if he wants to continue his adventure in Cycledom for some other years.

When the Giro parcours was first announced in November (was it November? Oh,who cares!), both Fangirl and Logic had one big hope: seeing one of the Schleck brothers, possibly Frank, in Italy in May. "Why Frank and not Andy?",someone asks. The answer is simple: this year the Giro features lots of hard climbs and a few time trials so,in my opinion, it could have been possibe for Frank to win.As well as that, Italian journalists never pay a lot of attention to him,so he could have ridden without a big pressure. Then, after getting a good result in the Giro, Frank could have gone to the Tour as a 'super helper' for Andy and he could have tried to get a good GC result also there. Obviously I know that this is just imaginary cycling and that there are lots of factors that influenced the season schedule of the brothers, but me would have loved to see one of the Schleck brothers come back to the Giro this year. Well,it will be for another time.
Anyway,back to SB line up for the 2010 Giro, here it is: Larsson, Cooke, Lucas Haedo, Chris Anker Sorensen, Nicki Sorensen, Michael Morkov, Laurent Didier, Richie Porte, Anders Lund. When I told some people I know that the Saxo Bank's captain for 2010 Giro would have been Chris Anker Sorensen, they looked at me in a very surprised way. "Who?",they asked. "Chris Sorensen",I answered. "The one that won a stage during last year Tour?","No,that was Nicki Sorensen". "And who's this Chris Anker,then?" . Anyway the most irritating fact featuring me talking about SB's Giro line-up with other people involved a little boy that goes to my school. When I told him that Saxo Bank wasn't going to bring the Schleck brothers and Cancellara to the Giro, he started to make fun of Saxo Bank. And until that point I managed to stay calm. Everyone's free to make fun of everything/everyone,right? And then I couldn't be rude to him because his mother was there as well while we were talking. But then,at a certain point,the little boy dared to say that "Saxo Bank totally sucks.They have Cancellara and they never manage to win team time trials during Grand Tours. Well, that's obvious when you have a team in which together with Cancellara you have guys like the Schlecks or Larsson, which can't ride time trials at all". Now, I think that the stupidity of this sentence doesn't even need any comment because by commenting it I would just waste my time. Simply, I remember you that Larsson was second in the TT at the Olympic Games in Beijing and at the 2009 Mendrisio Worlds.

Anyway,back to the line-up. As said, the team captain should be Chris Sorensen. I say 'should' because you all know that he broke his collarbone in March and he hasn't ridden any race since then,so I don't know how his condition is right now. Anyway also Gustav Larsson could get some interesting results, especially during the time trials. Nicki Sorensen is a very strong rider as well and he isn't that bad as a climber. Cooke and Lucas Haedo (who has never ridden a Grand Tour so far) are both good sprinters, but in Italy they'll have to compete against guys like Greipel, Petacchi and Freire. Anyway they can always enter a breakaway and get a good result,right? Morkov is a rider who comes from the track (where he got excellent results together with Alex Rasmussen), whereas Lund is an all-rounder. Porte and Didier are two neo-pros that will surely show something good. Porte got a great victory the other day in Tour of Romandie, while Didier was really good during the Ardenne's classics and has showed that he can climb very well. Therefore,although the team hasn't got any famous name in its line-up, I believe that they will ride a good Giro.Actually,the fact that some riders are completely unexperienced could be good, since they will surely have the will to demonstrate their skills. Anyway don't worry, I'll probably come back talking about the team's line-up for the Giro in the next days (if my maths teacher allows it...).

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/64th-tour-de-romandie-upt/stage-3-itt/results : this is a link about Richie Porte's incredible first win,which Richie got in front of guys like Valverde, Menchov and Rogers.If you want to know more about Richie,here's the link to one of my uforgettable posts about Saxo Bank's neo pros: http://fede-myblog92.blogspot.com/2010/02/random-post-about-richie-porte.html

Tour of Romandie: I know I haven't talked at all about Tour of Romandie over the last days and I apologise for that. Actually, I have to admit that I missed almost all the stages of that race because I didn't know it was broadcasted (anyway I fear that I would have been too busy to watch it even if I had known that it was broadcasted). That was obviously a big shame, since the race saw guys that I really do like (Pinotti, Sagan, Porte and Spilak) get some good victories. In addition, Jaroslaw Marycz attacked in the last kms of the stage eventually won by Cavendish and showed once again that he's a really talented rider.As well as that, Menchov showed he's in a good form and this made Logic really happy. Yes,Logic and not Fangirl. In fact Logic surprisingly approves me supporting Menchov because he seems a very clever man and also because he suffers from spring allergies just like moi
By the way,talking more seriously about the race,I have some small things to point out.
1. Richie Porte rode incredibly well this afternoon.
2.Professor Pinotti is in great form.
3.Sagan and Spilak are both very impressive riders.
4.If Basso rides this way also at the Giro (today he crossed the finish-line 9 minutes after Valverde), Liquigas would better give the captain title to Pellizotti or to Sylvester Szmyd.
5. yes, Menchov's smile in the photo below is worrying.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bellis-to-return-to-racing-at-uk-nationals :a very nice news for cycling supporters: Bellis may come back racing this summer at the UK National Championships. Obviously me wishes him all the best for his comeback.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/cyclings-best-worst-and-strangest-victory-salutes : this is a funny Cyclingnews feature regarding the 'worst,best and strangest victory salutes'. Cyclingnews did a very good work, but me is able to add one more strange salute to that list. In fact,how could someone forget Chris Sorensen's 'fisherman' salute? (vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrjO0CPNhJM ).

http://eavis.jp.dk/index.php?alias=DK-JPTO&s=8434&p=217601 :still talking about Chris Anker: here's a great interview that A Beautiful Freak (http://mahoela.blogspot.com/ ) pointed out to me the other day (thank you once again!) .In it Chris talks about his interests aside cycling. And,between those interests,there are also reading historical books,watching football matches and cooking (this last interest particularly shocked me especially because he knows how to prepare a risotto while me can't hardly prepare a coffee).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t1rvhspX7E : if you're a Schleck supporter and you've been so kind to read all this post,here's a little link that you might like since it features Andy before and after Liége (attention: for a brief moment, also Vinokourov appears in this vid).

(pic by AFP)

Old nice interview with Frank Schleck:

April 2010 is ending ."And then?",I hear you ask. Well ,if April is ending it means that May,aka the Giro month, is beginning. Therefore this blog will probably be absolutely Girocentric for the next month and so miss Fede thinks she won't be able to dedicate a lot of attention to the Schleck brothers for at least 3 weeks.To excuse myself with all the Schleck supporters out there, here's a little 2006 article about Frank Schleck that emerged yesterday from my hard disk. It comes from Tuttobici, it was written by Bibi Ajraghi and in my opinion, although it is pretty short, it gives many good information about Frank. As well as that, this article is also interesting because it was written when Frank had just won Amstel Gold Race and was still a pretty unknown rider. Therefore, when asked about his sportive dream, Frank says that he dreamed of arriving in the Tour de France Top 5. A dream that he fulfilled, if we look at last year's result...As well as that,me believes that hearing him talk about the 19 year old (at the time) Andy is pretty funny,if we consider how things actually went some years after.Anyway here's the article,hope you enjoy it!

Mondorf-les-Bains,a village in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,is the reign of the Schleck family. Johnny,the father,was Luis Ocaña's helper in team Bic and raced with guys like Mercx and Anquetil. His sons,Frank and Andy,both race in Ivan Basso's Csc. Frank,the oldest brother, got some good results already in 2005; after winning the national road race Championship in fact he was second in Zurich GP and in Giro dell'Emilia before coming 3rd in Tour of Lombardy.

This year,after 4 years spent racing in the professional category,he won Amstel Gold Race and by doing so he completed his path to become an important character in the World of Cycling.

Jens Voigt ,a Csc rider, says that Frank is a very generous boy."I'm sure-,the German explains,-that if someday my car breaks down in the middle of the night,Frank would immediately come to help me,no matter where he is when I call him".
Another example of Frank's sensibility? Last year,together with his girlfriend Martine,he organised a spinning show in order to raise funds for the people whose villages were destroyed by the 2005 tsunami in Asia.All the money the couple managed to raise (25.000 euros) were then given to Unicef.

The two Schleck brothers,be they racing or be they at home,are always together and during races they're always roommates.
"Andy isn't just my brother",Frank told Nicolas Perthuis,a Velo Magazine journalist,"he's also my best friend".
Anyway many people say that Andy is the true phenomenon of the family and that,although he's just 19,he already behaves as a leader.
"Everything has always been much easier for Andy than for me.For example,I really suffered when I was trying to become a pro,while he didn't have any problem at all in that.In addition,he has a very happy-go-lucky personality and this helps him a lot.I am much more nervous than him. Anyway I'm really happy to know that people think he's a phenomenon."
Why was it hard for you to become a pro?
"Because I couldn't find any team.They told me that there were at least 50 riders who could ride as well as me. Then,when I was hopeless and had already decided to come back studying,on a November afternoon the phone rang.It was Bjarne Riis and he told me that the next morning at 8 I would have had to get an airplane in order to reach Saxo Bank's boot camp.And he told me to put also a pen in my suitcase,because I would have had to sign my contract.I was really super happy".
Since then,Frank has tried to learn everything he could from his teammates.
"From Voigt,who I nicknamed 'the king of pain',I learned how to find motivations and how to push myself over the limit.From Zabriskie I learned how to concentrate myself before a time trial. And from Basso I learned how to be a leader".
Voigt adds: "With Frankie I have to be careful when I talk,because I feel the influence I have on him. He wants to learn everything he can,from the little tricks to all the other things that are useful to improve. He's scrupulous and he pays attention to everything: he studies the qualities and the defects of his adversaries and this has allowed him to improve and to become more independent from the tactic point of view.Nowadays,when we're racing,he doesn't ask me anymore whether he can attack or not,he just attacks.And this means that,in his mind,he's become a leader".

Let's go back to Schleck and Basso,his captain.
"Ivan is unique.I will never forget what happened last year,during 2005 Giro,in the stage that ended in Limone Piemonte.On Col di Tenda the road was extremely steep and Ivan kept on addressing me by screaming : "Still 500 meters! Still 500 meters!" We went on like that,with me pulling at the head of the peloton and him screaming behind me,for 2 kms.At that point,with 7 hairpin turns to go,Ivan came close to me,he gave me a pat and he attacked,all alone,in order to win.I was extremely tired and so I stopped at the side of the road to rest a while and eat something.I remember that Cunego and Simoni looked at me in a very amazed way when they noticed me,but I was happy because I had done everything I could for Ivan who,in order to thank me,after the stage gave me a Maglia Rosa as a gift".
Talking about jerseys and races: they told us that the jersey with which you raced the Giro di Lombardia is still intact,with the number 215 still attached.
"I will wash that jersey when I win Tour of Lombardy.After all,if you don't have any dream,you can't improve yourself.I learned it from Bjarne.He has a secret dream as well,you know,he'd love to win all 3 Grand Tours in just one season and,believe me,he will do everything to fulfil that dream".
And what's your dream now?
"Someday I'd love to end up in the top 5 in Tour de France".

(Pics by Bettini: the first one refers to 2005 Giro dell'Emilia, won by Simoni and in which Celestino came 3rd; the other one was taken during 2005 Tour of Lombardy)

Liége-Bastogne Liége:

Little note: 1 YEAR AGO,ANDY SCHLECK HAD JUST WON LIEGE-BASTOGNE-LIEGE.

Once in a while,let's start a race report from the end,aka from the podium.Well,2010 Liége-Bastogne-Liége's podium featured,on the 3rd spot,Alejandro Valverde,who has been banned from Italy for 2 years after that Italian policemen discovered that Fuentes had a blood bag of the Spanish champion in his laboratory.

On the second spot of said podium then you have the Russian Alexandr Kolobnev,ex Saxo Banker who was 2nd in both 2007 and 2009 Worlds.

And then,dulcis in fundo,the highest spot of the Doyenne's podium,the one that gives glory to the cyclist who has the honour to stand on it and write his name in the history book of Cycledom. 'Who was on the highest spot of yesterday's podium?',I hear someone ask.Well,let's start from the riders who weren't there.Apart from Valverde and Kolobnev (who were already on the podium),yesterday the Liége wasn't won by any of these riders:

-Andy and Frank Schleck (*Fangirl sighs*).

-Igor Anton and Alberto Contador.

-Philippe Glibert and Cadel Evans.

-Ryder Hesjedal and Serguei Ivanov.

-Roman Kreuziger and Vincenzo Nibali.

-Thomas Lovkvist and Bradley Wiggins.

-Denis Menchov and Robert Gesink.

-Damiano Cunego and Bert De Waele.

-Stefano Garzelli and Jens Voigt.

-Chris Anker Sorensen and Nicki Sorensen.

Who won the race,then? Well,simple: Alexander Vinokourov.And the particular (although predictable) thing about yesterday's podium was that the tifosi booed at Vinokourov when he came out to take his trophy and his glory (although I think that some of them were booeing also at Valverde).So,Liége was won by a former (are we sure?) doper.Anyway,before starting to talk about that,let's tell how things unfolded during the race.

At the beginning of the race obviously there was a breakaway.Then Jens Voigt escaped from the peloton,but then he stopped and didn't insist with his attack.

After the breakawayers were caught,none of the big riders attacked on La Redoute.On the Cote de la Roche aux Fauçons,a climb that Schleck fans from all over the World have learned to love over the last 12 months,Andy attacked,followed by local hero Phil Gilbert.At that moment Frank Schleck was out of sight because he had just had a mechanical problem and he had to stop and change bike with Nicki Sorensen.That bike change ruined his chances of winning La Doyenne and this was obviously a shame because he was in a really good form.Btw,Andy and Gilbert were soon joined by Contador,who arrived looking as relaxed as usual.I wonder how he does it.

On the top of the climb at the head of the race there was a group including all the favourite riders.Then,with 17 kms to go,Vinokourov and Kolobnev attacked.Gilbert and Evans waited some seconds before starting to follow them and this delay didn't allow them to get on Liége's podium.They were soon joined by Valverde,while at the head of the race Kolobnev and Vino were riding full gas.

At that point of the race,me was really disappointed.Andy and Frank had just missed the decisive move and so one of their biggest goals of the season was fading away while they were trapped in the 3rd group of riders,that apparently had no hope to catch the other guys again.As well as that,Valverde and Vino were at the front.Bleah.

By the way,Logic suggested Fangirl to behave as if the Schleck brothers weren't racing.After some protests,Fangirl decided to follow Logic's advice and she suddenly found herself relieved.In the back of her mind she was still hoping for a podium's placement by Andy or Frank,but she didn't just focus on that and so she could enjoy the last part of the race,which was full of feelings. What feelings?,I hear you ask.Well,first of all I was hoping for a Kolobnev's victory.Alexander is young (he was born in May 1981) but he's already finished second in the Worlds two times and he ended 3rd (or 4th,it depends on the point of view) in Beijing Olympic RR. In spite of all these placements,his last victory was 2007 Montepaschi Eroica.Time to get another victory,right? In addition during the Ardenne's week Alexandr showed a great form,but unfortunately he didn't have any luck.So,when after the Cote du Saint Nicolas it was clear that the victory was a problem between Vino and Kolobnev,I started to support Kolobnev.Well,'support' perhaps is a big word.Simply,I decided I would have been happy with a victory by this Russian rider.

Then,as far as the other feelings are concerned,I was sorry for Gilbert.'Gosh',I thought,'he loves this race and he has never won it.Actually,he has never even got on the podium of Liége.And I bet he'd give away at least 1 of his most important victories just to win La Doyenne'.

In addition,obviously,I was very sorry for the Schleck brothers.When Andy attacked with about 8 kms to go,I believed he would have caught the Valverde's group very soon,but unfortunately he didn't and that caused Fangirl a brief moment of desperation.

With about 400 meters to go,Vinokourov launched his final attack.He's not as fast as Kolobnev, so it was his only way to win.And,by attacking in the last meters,Vinokourov won.

My sudden desire was to fall into tears.Really,I couldn't stand watching Vinokourov winning in front of Kolobnev and,perhaps,Gilbert,who in my opinion are very clean and honest riders. Then,when the Evans' group arrived,followed by other riders who were all behind Frank Schleck (yay!),Valverde got his 3rd place,making me become really angry.Actually,I was more angry for Valverde's 3rd place than for Vino's one.At least,Vino has paid his mistake with a 2 years ban, whereas Valverde instead paid it with a simple 2 years ban from Italy,in spite of which he can still wander (and win) freely through Cycledom.

As said,the tifosi booed at Vino while he was on the podium.Now,me has reflected a bit about this.I understand all this anger against Vino (what he did back in 2007 was terrible) and I can understand that he's not the nicest guy in Cycledom.But he has been banned for 2 years and now he has returned.And,until there are no proves against this,it seems that now he's racing clean (yes,he could have found a new doping product,but who tells us that he's the only one to use it?).I know it's hard to believe him when he says 'Now I'm honest',but me thinks he should be given a second chance.Therefore,supporters,leave him in peace for a while. Otherwise there's no point in saying "life bans aren't fair because everyone should be given a second chance".In fact, if the tifosi aren't ready to accept a former doper who is not Basso that comes back in the peloton and wins a Liége,then there's no point in banning people for just 2 years. They should be given at least 4 years of ban and,perhaps,also a life ban could be a fair thing.And don't tell me that Vino gets this treatment because he's unpleasant. Because I think that everyone should deserve a second chance,be they as charming and handsome as Basso or as unpleasant and arrogant as Vinokourov.At least,as already said,he's been one of the guys who has stayed away from Cycledom for 2 years.Other guys,like Riccò and Sella,haven't.So,if you notice that I'm more unpleasant with them than with Vino,I'm not being incoherent.Simply,Vino stayed away from Cycledom for 2 years,Sella and Riccò just for one year/one year and a half. Italian philosopher Cesare Beccaria once wrote that criminals (dopers included) don't care about how severe the punishments are,but they just care about whether they will surely be punished or not.And mr.Beccaria came up with this idea not yesterday,while hearing the news of Riccò's comeback, but in the 18th century.

Anyway,I realise I'm digressing (I'll talk about Sella and Riccò another time,otherwise tomorrow at 1 am I could still be here writing). What I wanted to say is that,as far as we know,Vino is now a clean rider.Therefore,dear supporters,don't get too angry at him.Or,if you do,be coherent and be angry not just at him,but also at Valverde,Sella,Riccò (although Sella and Riccò's situations is completely different 'cause they haven't really paid for their mistakes),Basso (yes, the charming Ivan was a doper),etc. Or,at least,if you're not ready to accept a rider like Vino coming back to the peloton after just 2 years of life, join me on the wild side and start to think that a 4 years ban (without discounts),if not a life ban,would be the appropriate punishment for dopers. But,if you say this,don't forget that also your favourite riders could be found positive at the anti-doping (I realise that I'm always pretty skeptical when I talk about doping,and that's why I decide to avoid this topic as much as I can).
Obviously everyone who has understood my oh so unorganised way of explaining what I think is free to disagree with what I've just written and tell me that I don't understand a f*** as far as cycling is concerned.Oh,and you are also free to ask me whether I did get brainwashed;In that case,my answer would be that 14 school tests in 18 school days would have a brainwashing power on everyone.Oh and,by the way,if you decide to tell me your opinion in an unpolite way,don't worry: you won't get a life ban from this blog-I think a simpler 4 years ban would be much better.After all,everyone deserves a second chance.... ;)

On to a nicer topic,the race of the Schleck brothers.Unfortunately I can't say a lot about it because I've spent a lot of time trying to write my opinions about Vino in a not too dreadful English,so now I can just give a few links before closing this post (I have a Maths test tomorrow and I desperately need to study right now).So, here' an article from Cyclingnews about the brothers and 2010 Liége (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/schlecks-left-frustrated-at-liege-bastogne-liege ).

I understand that they are disappointed with their results (it's the first time since 2006 that they none of them ends up on a podium in the Ardenne's week),but I believe that now they just need to rest,spend a lot of time with the little Leea (they'll have lots of other chances to dedicate her a great victory!) and start to focus on the Tour.
More about the brothers: http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/sport/artikel/86885/fraenk-schleck-ein-kata-strophaler-tag.php (Frank defined yesterday as a "catastrophic day").

So,dear Readers,that's all for now.Waiting for the Giro's beginning on May the 8th,I wish a good evening to everyone.

(Pic by Bettini)

Liege-Bastogne-Liege Preview (post including the start list,some personal opinions of mine and random links):

Since my hell week is nearly over,me now has more time to write bullshits,ehm,cycling observations on this blog.Therefore,here's a long useless post about Liége-Bastogne-Liége,also known as La Doyenne.I'm sure you all remember what happened last year during this race: Andy Schleck attacked on the Cote aux Facons and he soloed to victory. This year things seem tougher for Andy and for his brother Frank,because there are lots of riders that are going really well right now.For example,Gilbert and Evans.But I could add also Ivanov, Kolobnev, Contador, Kreuziger,Valverde,Hesjedal and many others.In order to take a careful look to all the teams who are taking part in tomorrow's race,here's the provisional start list (taken from Cyclingnews and accompanied by the usual useless comments of mine).
ACQUA & SAPONE: Codol, Failli, Garzelli, Honig, Masciarelli, Paolini, Sarmiento.Garzelli was 2nd in Liége in 2002,Masciarelli is a strong climber and also Paolini could be dangerous.
AG2R LA MONDIALE: Bouet, Champion, Dupont, Gadret, Kadri, Lelay, Riblon, Roche.
ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI: Bertagnolli, Bertogliati, Bertolini, Ginanni, Margutti, Piemontesi, Solari, Wurf.Me predicts that someone will enter a breakaway,perhaps with other riders from a team like,say,Acqua & Sapone.
ASTANA: Contador, Fofonov, Gasparotto, Grivko, M.Iglinskiy, Jufre, Pereiro Sio, Vinokourov. What a team,Logic states. Vinokourov won a Liége back in 2005 (on that occasion second was Voigt and 3rd was Boogerd), Contador was 3rd in Fleche (and looked a bit disappointed for this result), Pereiro won TdF 2006, Gasparotto was 3rd in Amstel last week and Iglinskiy won Eroica. Vino is in good form,just like Gasparotto and Iglinskiy (the magic couple Enrico-Maxim is in a great form since March,to say it all). Contador is always in form when climbs are concerned, so I believe that in the last kms he'll surely be there with the group of the best riders.Anyway this team has so many good riders that it's hard to say who the most dangerous is.Contador keeps on saying that Liége will be just an "experience race" for him (but he said the same things also before of Giro 2008),while many people thought that Vinokourov would have abandoned Trentino during the last stage (in spite of being the GC leader) because he wanted to be at the top for Liége. Therefore,me thinks that Vino will be ready to give battle,even if Contador will be there as well in the end.And look out for the couple Gasparotto-Iglinskiy!
BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM: Bichot, Charteau, Fedrigo, Gautier, Lefevre, Rolland, Trofimov, Voeckler. Pierrick is racing and me is happy.
BMC: Bookwalter, Evans, Frank, Louder, Morabito, Santambrogio, Zahner. The provisional start list also includes Santambrogio,but me doesn't know whether he'll really race because,from the theoric point of view,the team has suspended him before Flanders for that anti-doping investigation in Mantova.And if BMC had suspended Mauro's suspension (yes,I like stupid words play),Italian newspapers would all be cheering about that right now,wouldn't they? Anyway,this team features the promising Mathias Frank and,more important, the World Champion Evans. Poor Karsten Kroon broke his nose and other 2 bones in his face after a crash in Fleche (I wish him a fast and good recover),so the team captain will be this funny Australian man with a squeeky voice and a rainbow jersey.

CAISSE D'EPARGNE: Erviti, Garcia Acosta, Kiryenka, Lopez Garcia, Moreau, Pasamontes, LL Sanchez, Valverde. Here's another strong team.Kiryenka is oh so going to attack,while LL and Aliejandro,sorry,Alejandro (yes,it was another stupid word play with the fact that "Liége" in Spanish is "Lieja") will probably be there in the end.However I believe that Valverde (2006 and 2008 winner) will be the team captain,while the young LL will be a protected rider.
CERVELO: Deignan, Florencio, Gustov, King, Konovalovas, Sastre, Tondo, Wyss. Oh,Konovalovas is racing just like Wyss! Yes, Fangirl is happy. Anyway I believe the team's captain will be Tondo. "What about Sastre?",I hear you ask.Well, I believe that Sastre will just use Liége as a good test for understanding how his form is,and so he will probably leave the captain role to Tondo,the hero who last week drove for about 1600 kms in order to reach Maastricht before the start of Amstel (me is obviouly aware of the fact that,after writing these things, Sastre will show he is the team's captain since the very first km of race).
COFIDIS: Duque, El Fares, Kern, Kriit, Moinard, Moncoutie, Pauriol, Taramaae.Attention to Taramaae-he's not afraid of attacking and has the chance of getting a good result.
EUSKALTEL: Anton, Galdos, Isasi, Egoi Martinez, Oroz, Perez Lezaun, Sesma Sorbet, Velasco Murillo. Anton showed a great form in Fleche and he may double the show tomorrow in the last kms.
FRANCAISE DES JEUX: Cherel, Di Gregorio, Le Mevel, Meersman, Roux, Roy, Sulzberger, Vaugrenard.
GARMIN TRANSITIONS: Hesjedal, Kessiakoff, Lowe, D.Martin, Christian and Cameron Meyer, Peterson, Stetina. Hesjedal is a very good rider (2nd in Amstel last week),but also Kessiakoff is a good climber.
LAMPRE FARNESE VINI: Bono, Cunego, Gavazzi, Loosli, Mori, Pietropolli, Righi, Spezialetti. Cunego will probably feel the pressure of the fact that the Italians haven't won a Classic/Grand Tour since October 2008 ,just like the Gazzetta journalists love reminding to the readers every single day.He was 3rd in 2006 and I believe that,if he's in form, he can really do something good (although this week he didn't look very brilliant to me).As far as the others are concerned, Loosli is in super form.
LANDBOUWKREDIET: Bellemakers, Commeyne, De Waele, Delfosse, Dockx, Ricci Poggi, Scheirlincx, Verheyen. Well,a team whose name is "Landbouwkrediet" must have someone with surnames like Scheirlincx or Bellemakers in it,doesn't it? Although 'Delfosse' sounds like an Italian surname (it would mean 'of the ditches'),Sebastien is Belgian,just like Riccì Poggì,ehm,, Ricci Poggi is French.And then in this team there is also a rider called Bart (Dockx) and another one called Bert (De Waele).Anyway,talking about tomorrow's race,and not about the riders' surnames, me hopes that De Waele will get a good placement.
LIQUIGAS: Agnoli, Bellotti, Finetto, Kreuziger, Nibali, Pellizotti, Santaromita, Willems. Another very strong team, with the trio Pellizotti-Nibali-Kreuziger ready to give battle. Pellizotti however is getting ready for the Giro so I think he won't have a leading role.Kreuziger showed his form in Fleche,just like Nibali.They're both young,cunny,talented and brave,so I think that they'll be a danger for everyone tomorrow.
OMEGA PHARMA LOTTO: Aerts, Brandt, Gilbert, Kaisen, Moreno Fernandez, Peraud, Van Den Broeck, Van Goolen. Gilbert,the boy who lives near La Redoute,desperately wants to win this race after winning Amstel and so he'll give it all to try achieving this dream of his.He's a good climber,he's fast and he's got a great punch,so he'll be dangerous for everyone if he arrives in Saint-Nicolas with the best riders' group.The team will support him completely.
QUICKSTEP: Barredo, Cataldo, Chavanel, Devenyns, Devolder, Pineau, Seeldrayers and Van De Walle. Chavanel, Barredo and Van De Walle were seen at the head of the peloton during this week ,but I believe that the most dangerous in this team (together with them) is Seeldrayers. Devolder once wanted to win the Tour and has won 2 Tours of Flanders,but I don't know whether he'll be able to keep the pace on La Redoute.
RABOBANK: Freire, Garate, Gesink, Martens, Menchov, Moerenhout, Tankink,Ten Dam. Fangirl is happy because Menchov is racing (the Giro is approaching and I keep on annoying my sister about last year's result of that race),although the Russian who suffers from spring allergies (how I understand him!) has said that Liége will be just a test for him.Therefore,look out for Gesink.If he doesn't crash/puncture and if aliens don't kidnap him during the race,he could be dangerous.And I'm curious to see which role Freire will have.
SKY: Calzati, Carlstrom, Cummings, Froome, Gerrans, Lovkvist, Nordhaug, Wiggins.Oh,finally I have the honour of seeing Lovely Lovkvist's name in a start list.Wow. Wiggo is preparing the Giro,so he should be already in good form. Anyway I believe that the team's captain will be Lovkvist.
TEAM HTC COLUMBIA: Albasini,Guldhammer, Lewis, T.Martin, Monfort, Siutsou (how can he be in the start list if he broke his collarbone last month?),Van Garderen,P.Velits. Policeman Toni Martin (scoop from Miss Sansen's blog http://sansenmag.l%20ivejournal.com/182793.html ) will be the captain,whereas TJ Van Garderen showed a good condition in Tour of Turkey.
KATIUSHA: Ivanov, Klimov, Kolobnev, Mazzanti, Rodriguez, Vandenbergh, Vantomme, Vorganov. Kolobnev,Ivanov and Rodriguez showed an incredible form over the last days and they'll be at the front also tomorrow.Look out for them!
MILRAM: Frohlinger, Gajek, Gerdemann, Knees, Rohregger, Voss, Wegmann. Linus is going to be team captain's in Giro,so he should be already in good form.
RADIOSHACK: Busche, Hermans, Horner, Kloeden, Paulinho, Zubeldia. The Chinese rider Li resulted positive at the anti-doping after a race in March and was suspended by his team (news: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/radioshack-suspends-li-after-doping-positive ).This has obviously caused some exaggerated title on some websites (for example, "Armstrong ramt af dopinskandale" by http://www.sporten.dk/cykling ),but since my blogging idea about doping is "let's talk about it as least as possible",I will go on with the start list and won't spend useless words about this. Horner is in good form,so he'll probably be the captain together mit Andreas Kloden.
SAXO BANK: Didier,Fuglsang,Jorgensen,Andy and Frank Schleck,N.Sorensen,Voigt, Steensen. Yes,I know that Cyclingnews says that also Chris Anker will race tomorrow but believe me, he's not racing.In fact he received the "you can go back training on the asphalt" message from the doctors just yesterday,so I don't believe he'll immediatly come back racing in tomorrow's Liége. Anyway, the team is strong.Didier has showed his talent also during Fleche,Jorgensen and Steensen are precious helpers and I guess there's no need to talk about Nicki Sorensen,Voigt and Fuglsang to make you understand how good they are.The captains will be the Schleck brothers and hopefully Frank will be the one who'll raise his arms to the sky in Liége.
TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN-MERCATOR: Armee, Baugnies, Coenen, De Gendt, Jacobs, Neyens, Van Hecke, Vanspeybrouck.

So,this is the start list.Now it's time to try and give my race predictions,starting from last year's winner Andy Schleck.Last year Andy seemed stronger to me (yes,I know you disagree),although this year his motivation is probably as high as never because,apart from being the 2009 winner of La Doyenne,he's also just become uncle.Lots of people then expect a lot from him this year, but this shouldn't be a problem since it seems that Andy can stand pressure in a perfect way. However it is also true that this time the other riders will try not to let him get away from the group all alone.And if Andy arrives in Liége together with a guy like Valverde or Gilbert,well,he's likely to be outsprinted by them (at least in theory).Anyway this year the parcours seems even harder than last year's one and so Andy and his teammates will have more opportunities to make their adversaris become tired before they arrive in Liége.
As far as Frank Schleck,is concerned,I think he's even more motivated than Andy and on him there is less pressure than on his brother.His form is very good and I think that Andy tomorrow will race for daddy Frankie rather than for himself.Anyway the sprint problem worths also for Frank.In fact I believe that he can outsprint guys like Evans or,say,Kreuziger,but I don't think he has many chances against Gilbert or Valverde.
And here we come to Gilbert.He's very motivated,knows the race by heart,he's in a perfect form and has already won Amstel last week.He's fast and can keep a high pace on climbs,so he's one of my race favourites,although we must remember that a wrong day can happen to everyone (Philippe included).

Valverde, just like Gilbert, is fast and is a good climber,although his form doesn't seem as good as Gilbert's one. Attention also to his teammate LL Sanchez.
Evans is in a great form,but he has to arrive alone because he's not very fast.The same worths also for Kreuziger,Gesink and Nibali, while Cunego and Garzelli are riders who can get good results if they're on the right day.And then there are the Astana riders,aka Contador and Vinokourov. Vino always tries getting good results and has already won Liége,while Contador is there just to get more experience.Should we trust him?
Joaquim Rodriguez was second last year,but also Ivanov and Kolobnev will be very important for his team.
Then there are obviously the "outsiders" (if we can call them this way) like Igor Anton, Toni Martin, Hesjedal, Horner, Gasparotto, Iglinskiy, Lovkvist and De Waele (first names that came into my mind).Hoping that one of the Schleck will win,I close this post with a pic from last year's Liége and some random links about the brothers.

RANDOM LINKS:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/frank-schleck-sees-a-future-at-flanders : I totally agree with Frankie,especially when he talks about the management going to murder him if he decides to change his season schedule.
http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/index.php/les-sports/10852-Nous-avons-les-jambes.html :interview with Frank.
http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/index.php/les-sports/10851-Les-Schleck-centre-dbat.html :article about the Schleck brothers.
http://msn.tv2sporten.no/sykkel/schleck-gjoer-et-nytt-forsoek-paa-soendag-3191305.html : video interview featuring super cute Andy Schleck with unshaved upper lip.
http://www.saxobanktakingthelead.com/?p=2928 :ok, it's an interview with Jonas Jorgensen, not with the Schleck brothers,but you know I have a weakness for Danish cyclists who race for Saxo Bank team,so don't get angry at this poor mad Fangirl.

Wishing you all a good evening and a happy sight of 2010 Liége,I close this post.Allez Schlecks!

(pic by Bettini)

Fleche Wallonne and Random Links:

In live broadcast from "The Student's hell week",or something similar,here comes your miss Fede with a post about Fleche Wallonne and some random links.So: yesterday afternoon I started to watch Fleche Wallonne with about 34 kms to go,aka when the riders were going to face the mur de Huy for the second time. After the climb,Frank Schleck got some meters of advantage on the other riders.The cunny Roman Kreuziger, whose ability in speaking Italian never fails to amaze me, managed to follow the skinny Franky together with Tankink and Loosli. These two riders (who had already been part of a breakaway before joining Roman and Frank) never helped their breakaway companions during their attack and so after race both Roman and Frank were a bit angry at them."I followed Frank because he made a good move and then he's not that fast in sprints, so I could have beaten him",Kreuziger told Italian tv. "We worked well together, the problem was that Loosli and Tankink never cooperated with us".

Although Andy Schleck and Vincenzo Nibali tried to create problems to the poursuivants, Frank,Roman and the wheelsuckers were caught with 5 kms to go,after great efforts from Iglinskiy,Trofimov,Kolobnev and Ivanov.
On the last passage of the Mur,the first attack was launched by Kloden,who probably wanted to help his teammate Horner.Anyway attacking too early on the Muur of Huy doesn't allow you to save energy,so Kloden was soon recaught by the strongest riders of the peloton. Igor Anton then got out from the bunch at a very high speed,followed by Contador.The two Spaniards created a gap of a few meters and Fangirl started to get desperate."Nooooo,not Contador! Pleeeaaase!!! He's already won 2 Tours,1 Giro and 1 Vuelta,pleeeaaase,don't let him take also Fleche! And where's Andy? Oh Gosh,I can't see Andy! Booooh,Contador will win Fleche and Andy will lose! Boooh!",she cried. Luckily for Fangirl,who was already on the verge of a nervous breakdown because she had to watch Fleche and study philosophy at the same time, Evans soon emerged from the peloton and joined the two riders at the head of the race.Behind him there was Joaquim Rodriguez, personal favourite of mine. Evans pushed hard on his pedals and, accompanied by a Fangirl's scream ("Uhhhh! He goooot itttt!! Evansssss!!"),he crossed the finish-line with his arms raised up to the sky.Second was Rodriguez while third was Contador,who didn't look very happy on the podium.

I've finished second, fifth, ninth-I've finished in every position but first in Flèche Wallonne,so to win is fantastic",Evans told Cyclingnews after the race."It's the first time I've come here while preparing for the Giro d'Italia and so my periodization and training is in a bit of a different order",Cadel told Cyclingnews."It seems I came here with good legs and it's certainly my best result.I was second a few years ago but I'm very, very happy to have won.It's a good morale booster for the team. We've been close to victory but this is a good way to do it.Better late than never ."

Here's the top 10 of the race:
1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 4:39:24
2 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha
3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
4 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00:06
5 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:00:09
6 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:00:11
7 Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack
8 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
10 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions

Frank Schleck was 42nd (he arrived 47" after the winner) while the surprising De Waele was 11th.
"It was a good situation,I gave it a go and it didn't work out-it happens" Andy Schleck (9th) told Cyclingnews immediately after crossing the finish line in Huy.In my opinion,he got a good result,although perhaps at the beginning of the climb he was a bit too behind in the peloton (or was it just an impression of mine?).
As far as Frank is concerned, he said:"I think again our team showed its strength.We showed that we were strong and that the bond between my brother and me is very strong.I think we made an amazing ride today. I'm not going to give away our secret or say anything about our tactics for Sunday, but it isn't any real secret that we'll work for one another again on at Liège".
Of course the fact they're working for one another in Liége will obviously cheer up Italian chronists, who yesterday spent the whole afternoon complaining about the fact that Andy always rides for Frank and that,in their opinions,Frank "brakes" Andy's talent.As you might have understood, this is one of the reasons for which I prefer watching Eurosport (and risking to come across naked Pozzato...) rather than watching Rai (which I follow just for hearing the riders' interviews, which are always very good).
Imo, to say the truth, I think that Saxo Bank's tactic didn't work out very well yesterday.In particular,I think that Frank's try wasn't that good,since I believe you can't win Fleche Wallonne by getting at the bottom of Mur de Huy with less than a one minute gap on the adversaries. Actually,if a rider starts his action from far, I think that also a minute of advantage wouldn't be enough to win on Mur de Huy. Anyway that's my opinion,aka the opinion of a girl who doesn't know a lot about tactics and whose brain right now is burning after a week spent studying some stupid philosophers of the 17th/18th century.Bleah.
Back to the Schleck brothers,they gave their post race impressions also to l'Equipe.Andy said: "As agreed,after Frank's attack I started to work for him.On the final climb,I was just too tired to win".
Frank, as well as thanking his brother, complained for Tankink's behaviour: "Andy did a great job for me, I felt strong but in the breakaway I didn't have great companions.Bram Tankink never helped Kreuziger and me at all and he used the presence of Robert Gesink in the peloton as an excuse .In those circumstances,it was impossible for me and Kreuziger to arrive at the end of the race alone,in front of the whole peloton".

FLECHE WALLONNE FOR WOMEN: Yes,from now on me will try to talk a bit about Women cycling on this blog (at least during and after the most important races of the year).Yesterday's Fleche Wallonne (which ended on the mur of Huy also for the girls) was won by Emma Pooley,English rider of Cervélo Test Team,with 8" of advantage on Nicole Cooke.
I've seen just a very short video of Pooley's victory and it was really impressing. She got away from the peloton on the mur,after a few hundreds meters,and soloed to victory.Second,as mentioned,was a happy Nicole Cooke,while 3rd was Emma Johansson. Marianne Vos was 6th and crossed the finish-line together with World Champion Tatiana Guderzo.15th was Noemi Cantele.Here's the top 10 of the race:
1 Emma Pooley (GBr) Cervelo Test Team
2 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Grande-Bretagne 0:00:08
3 Emma Johansson (Swe) Redsun Cycling Team
4 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto Ladies Team 0:00:12
5 Evelyn Stevens (USA) HTC Columbia Women 0:00:17
6 Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit 0:00:22
7 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) Team Valdarno
8 Elena Berlato (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo - Ghezzi 0:00:27
9 Judith Arndt (Ger) HTC Columbia Women 0:00:40
10 Eleonora Patuzzo (Ita) Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan 0:00:42
15 Noemi Cantele (Ita) HTC Columbia Women 0:01:23

RANDOM SCHLECK LINKS:
ARTICLE ABOUT THE SCHLECK BROTHERS:

http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/sport/artikel/86233/fraenk-schleck-der-sieg-war-in-reichweite.php :Article (with interviews) of Wort.Lu about the Fleche Wallonne raced by Didier,Kirchen,Andy and Frank Schleck. No translation made by myself is available because I'm still busy with those stupid philosophers of the 17th/18th century.

INTERVIEW WITH ANDY: http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/index.php/les-sports/10772-CYCLISME-fait-quon-devait.html :Andy,interviewed by Denis Bastien,said that yesterday's Fleche in his opinion didn't look like a Tour's stage because,in the Tour,he will be with Contador, and not behind him, on every single climb.

SAXO BANK LINKS:
http://blog.tv2.dk/chris.anker.ol/entry367639.html :yes,Chris Anker Sorensen has updated his blog almost one month after the post in which he told the world "I've got a broken collarbone!". This time Chris talks about being isolated in Luxemboug with no airplanes flying to Denmark because of th Icelandic volcano we've all learned to love,ehm,hate over the last days. As well as that, he gives us an insight of how tough getting dressed with a broken collarbone and with no outside help is (however he also tells us that the other day he managed to wear his t-shirt without fighting too much with it). In addition,Chris also warns us about what can happen to you if you're a man, your right collarbone is broken and you have to face an antidoping test (yes,you're fearing the right thing). In addition he also tells us about his deep reflections made on the hometrainer. For example: why is a lizard called a lizard? Ok,I know that this question doesn't make sense in English,but in Danish 'lizard' is "firben", which in English would sound a bit like "4 legs". Therefore,Chris Anker wonders: "Why are lizards called '4 legs' when there are also other animals with 4 legs?"
Moreover,Chris also says that over the last weeks he's slept about 10 hours pro night (I envy him!), therefore he has about 50 "extra sleep" hours which he'll try to exploit during the Tour. "This fact could be an advantage for me when the Tour team selections will be made!",he's written.

INTERVIEW WITH BRESCHEL:
http://www.ciclismoweb.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2168:matti-breschel-il-pave-le-cadute-e-una-chitarra&catid=43:interviste&Itemid=61 :Just like the Schleck brothers bring along the fishing rod at every race they go to,Matti Breschel does the same with his guitar.Therefore, miss Fede can't do nothing but approve.

GIRO DEL TRENTINO AND RANDOM LINK:
GIRO DEL TRENTINO: Some Italian reporter has the courage to say "Trentino what a spectacle!" in spite of the fact that the podium of the second stage of this race was formed by Riccò (winner),Vinokourov and Basso.I feel neutral towards Basso,but my "emotion range detector" sees that anger is a feeling that both Vino and Riccò inspire in me every time I see them.

INTERVIEW WITH NIEMEC:
http://www.ciclismoweb.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2090:niemec-qmr-trentinoq-ci-riprova-sognando-in-rosa&catid=43:interviste&Itemid=61 :ok,you may not care at all about this Polish rider with a terrible name,but I've learned to appreciate him during Settimana Bergamasca (or how else it is called) and now I hope he can get a good result in Trentino,perhaps in front of Vino and Riccò.

(Pic by Waldbillig)

Two random links about the Schleck brothers (and my predictions for Fleche):

In spite of the fact that the magic combination diseases-bad luck-evil teachers hasn't stopped following me yet,I've found the time to write this quick post and give out 2 links about the brothers.But,since I don't have a lot of time,I can't translate them all,so here I go with the link and the translation of one important sentence pro article.

http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/sport/artikel/85843/der-hunger-ist-noch-nicht-gestillt.php : On Saturday evening sweet Daddy Frankie told Wort.Lu that on Monday he would have driven to Mondorf in order to visit his wife Martine and his little daughter Leea."I miss them both and if I can spend a few hours with them,then I'll come back even more motivated.My morale is very good.I always think of them,even during Amstel my thoughts were often with them rather than with me on the parcours". So sweet!
http://lequotidien.editpress.lu/index.php/les-sports/10675-CYCLISME-Andy-Schleck-avait-dchauss.html : Attenzione attenzione! It emerges just now that Andy Schleck,at the beginning of the Cauberg,had a problem with one of his shoes (it was, say,"disconnected" from the automatic pedal for a while),so that's why he didn't take part in the final sprint. This information doesn't come from Andy,but from Kim Andersen.In fact, Andy is simply too honest to consider that problem as an excuse for not winning on Sunday,but many other riders would have probably acted differently if they had had Andy's same problem.

FLECHE PREDICTIONS:
As far as my race predictions for Fleche are concerned,I say 3 names: Joaquim Rodriguez, Contador and Hesjedal.Of course people have to look out also for Valverde, Cunego and Evans (the Australian has a great form).Obviously the brothers are going to be between the favourites of the race also tomorrow,and I really do hope they can get a good resultIf you're wondering why I didn't include them in my podium names list,well,the reason is simple: bad luck is following me wherever I go ,so for scaramantic reasons I'm not gonna say the Schlecks will win tomorrow. Anyway, allez Saxo Bank for tomorrow!