A week after the Giro di Toscana, i began my long break away from racing. Together with Marcus Ljungqvist i planned to begin training systematically 2 weeks after, to ensure a full recover. But just one week after, i couldn't keep myself away from the bike. With this little break i felt amazing when getting onto the roads. I felt stronger than ever before, and my SRM computer probably measured the highest amount of watts i have ever seen myself do before.
I definitely felt an improvement on the hills. I was able to ride some of the climbs near my home, faster than i've ever did. Also my stamina and acceleration seemed to have improved. The loads of great races therefore seems to have benefitted my way of riding significantly.
@all: Thanks guys, yes, he's improving fast and will surely reach an even higher level at the end of the season
I hope to have the May review up in the nearest future, and i can reveal that Puccio and Brailsford have agreed to meet in June to talk about Puccio's contract situation. So hopefully he'll soon find out whether he's going to stay at Sky or leave at the end of the year.
The higlight of May has undoubtedly been the Giro d'Italia. Our team participated with a strong, but still very young and unexperienced team. But already from the start it began looking good. At the prologue in Herning, Denmark, our young Briton Dowsett rode into 2nd, only 2 seconds behind dutch winner Westra.
In the flatlands of Denmark and Italy, Goss ruled the sprints, taking 4 stage wins, enough to claim the points jersey at the end in Milano.
Our team also competed with a strong sprint lineup with Swift and Appollonio in front, but they only managed to take a few top 10 spots.
Going into the mountains, Cunego immediately settled his strength by taking 3 stage wins in the second week. But unfortunately he failed to keep up his high level in the third week, and couldn't manage to follow the best in the general classification. In the GC, at was a battle between Scarponi, Hesjedal and Nibali. But in the end Scarponi won with an extreme time gap down to both of them. Our own Richie Porte did very well, riding for the general classification, and ending up in 7th. A great and approved result by the young Australian.
But the absolute highlight of the Giro came at stage 20. Henao and Garzelli managed to keep the favorites behind themselves, and had to decide the queen stage in an intense sprint battle. Henao won by only a few centimetres, and took the team's first grand tour stage win of the season! A beautiful ride by Henao, who also ended 3rd in the Mountain classification, which was won by Damiano Cunego.
1
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
86h34'16
2
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin - Sharp
+ 5'25
3
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 6'00
4
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
+ 9'21
5
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 15'10
6
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
+ 16'53
7
Richie Porte
Sky Procycling
+ 18'12
8
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ - BigMat
+ 18'40
9
Domenico Pozzovivo
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 19'45
10
Mikel Nieve
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 23'35
No major changes have been made in the individual World Tour rankings, where only Giro d'Italia significants; Cunego and Scarponi, have moved into the top 5. Our best man here is Froome at 6th.
In the team rankings, nor any change have been made, as we're still occupying first place in front of Omega Pharma - Quick Step.
As well in the CQ-rankings, no changes have been made except for Cunego and Scarponi's advance to the top 5. This has coursed Froome to fall down to 9th this month, being the only Sky-rider in the top 10. In the team rankings we're still in first in front of Radioshack.
No wonder that i've fallen a little down in the rankings this month, since i haven't ridden any races. But i'm still in a good position though, and it doesn't make my existing points any less worth.
Salvatore Puccio's Rankings
Leaderboard
Ranking
Points
World Tour
68 (-13)
36
CQ-Ranking
100 (-33)
273
I haven't trained significantly hard this month, because i need to recover slowly. I've had the time to be with my family and friends, and i'm glad to have had that opportunity. When i'm in Italy, i usually train together with my friend and team-mate Appollonio. But through May, he has been riding the Giro d'Italia. Therefore i've trained together with some of the guys i drove with in the U23 class, namely Ulissi, Favilli and Cattaneo, and we've had a great time together.
I haven't followed the Giro d'Italia very intensely, but luckily i saw the finish of stage 20 where Henao oversprinted Garzelli for the win.
It was a fantastic finish to watch, and i immediately called Shane Sutton to overbring Henao my congratulations.
18:00: I’m arrived at the airport in Lugano, together with my personal manager Giovanni Lombardi. On the short flight we got to talk about my contract situation, and the things he has been doing lately, mainly trying to find the best team-solution for me towards 2013.
He is undoubtedly a big help for me, and i couldn't have done near the same job as him, because i’m simply too busy to dig into those kinds of serious contract negotiations myself. Giovanni therefore has a wider overview on my situation. But in the end, i'm of course the one making the decisions. Here is the quick overview he gave me:
Sky Pro Cycling Team
Status on resigning:
Team Sky is very satisfied with Salvatore Puccio's performance so far. According to team principal Dave Brailsford, there's a clear basis for contract renewal.
Contract negotiations will start soon.
Vacansoleil - DCM
Contract opportunities:
Vacansoleil showed their interest already after the Tour of Catalunya, where Salvatore actually met the team principal. After a great performance in April and especially in the Ardennes-classics, Vacansoleil has told that their interest has increased, and they're willing to negotiate when the transfer period starts.
Lampre - ISD
Contract opportunities:
Lampre took notice of Puccio's results in the Tour of Catalunya, and likewise as Vacansoleil, they were also impressed by Salvatore's performance in the Ardennes. Negotiations seems absolutely achieveable.
Farnese - Vini
Contract opportunities:
Farnese - Vini looks to Salvatore as a very exciting character in the future. The team thinks he will suit well into the team structure and has even higher ambitions for the next season. Negotiation is definitely a possibility.
Team Saxo Tinkoff
Contract opportunities:
Saxo Tinkoff is impressed by Salvatore's performances and wants to meet him in person, to see which character he is, before negotiations begins.
Team Europcar
Contract opportunities:
Team Europcar likes the idea of Puccio in their lineup and thinks of him as a clear transfer option. The team though wants to wait negotiating before team-structure for the next season is completely settled.
I’m not very comfortable in these kinds of situations. But no doubt i’ve tried it before. Summing up; i’ve actually been riding at a lot of different teams. But in the end, i don’t think i’ll ever get used to these conversations. On one hand, you have to make bonds to the person you’re talking to, without ruling anything out, but on the other hand you also have to be strategically and play valuable.
19:00: We're here. We've arrived at the hotel, where we are supposed to meet Dave. Dave is the team principal of Sky Pro Cycling, and has been the one contacting Giovanni to set up the meeting. Dave hasn’t muffled his motives of the conversation, and I’m glad about this simplicity. Our purpose here is to talk about my expiring contract and my future possibilities at Team Sky. That's clear!
19:10: Dave greets us with a big smile upon his face. It makes me feel good and warm, even though of the cold minimalistic arrangement in the hotel bar. Or maybe it is just because of the fabulous view over the Lago di Lugano, which embraces me.
David starts talking as we sit down:
“Hi! Well, you know why we are here Salvatore. We have to talk about your contract situation, and hopefully determine in which way you have to move on in your career”
Silence. I’m not sure whether he wants me to say something as he looks down in his big pile of papers. He clears his throat in a cautiously cough and looks up, starting to talk again:
“Our vision, when we brought you to the team, was to develop your skills and prepare and open you for the living in professional cycling. I’ve been talking to our sporting directors, and they have only great words to say about you and your development. You’ve already achieved some great result in which you can be proud of, and you have some valuable World Tour points, which is important for every team manager. On the basis of this we’ve agreed on giving you the opportunity to ride for us next year, as we are really pleased with your performances, and because you're a true professional”
Yes! Their satisfaction means everything to me, and they even want me to continue on the team! But Giovanni prepared me for this situation. “Play valuable, you’re in your right to do that". After looking at Giovanni, I said in my Italian English:
“I am glad you are feeling this way, and i am confident in the words you speak. I think i have done a very great job so far, and i definitely like the team and the way it is built. This was what i hoped for”
Dave takes up a paper from one of his black folders with Sky logos on, and says:
“I have actually already formed a contract offer, which is ready to be signed if you want to. Try to read it and tell me what you think”
Dave hands over the contract as Giovanni and i starts going through the main specifications:
Main specifications
Duration of contract: 1 Season
Effective from:
2013 January 1st
Effective to:
2013 December 31th
Monthly wage:
2.500 €/m.
General team role:
Team-mate (Helper)
Race days minimum:
50
World Tour races minimum:
5
Giovanni and i quickly discuss the contract in Italian, and Giovanni says:
“You’ve said he has developed, turned into a professional, and even mentioned the truth about his recent results and valuable points.
And in return you give him is a lousy contract offer, which doesn't symbolizes any of the development and the great rider he has already turned in to? You know he is a future star, but how can it come that you are not realizing it fully?”
Dave looks directly at me:
“The team is going through a change. We will not attend to resign with Mark Cavendish, and have already found his replacement. We are building towards a stage racing team, and in the future we will entirely focus on that. I know you can become a great rider, but your role is very difficult to determine on our future team, and therefore we doesn’t want to integrate you fully before we know exactly where you stand. But maybe you can prove us wrong, maybe you belong here. But you need some more time to convince us. It is a natural and rational thought and has nothing to do with your person. But it is the reason why we can only offer you a one year contract, and that we can’t increase your salary more than this. Unfortunately i also have to say that we can’t discuss the main matters and content of the contract. This is the highest bid we’ll offer you”
I start thinking through my next move, just like when racing.
But to my own surprise i decide playing the diplomatic card:
“Obviously it was not what I hoped for. I had set my bars higher than that. But I understand your reasons and that you’re uncomfortable in the situation. You know that i have other opportunities to go onto, so it feels like you actually don’t want to resign me on the team. I could turn my back to you, or maybe see it as a possibility to really prove you wrong. But i already know what I am capable of, and therefore it could seem as though the problem lies on your side.
I’ll think about it. That's all I have to say”
For a moment everything is quiet, until Dave breaks the silence:
“I’m sorry that i may have disappointed you a bit, but as you say; think about it. Don’t say that we don’t honestly want you on our team. If we did not, we wouldn’t have offered you a contract at all.
You're still young, and no matter what, we would be happy to develop you even further on our team”
Hmm... I think it would be better to sign a two years contract somewhere else...
I would consider Vacansoleil if I were you, they are following you for a long time, and they are really interested. + you might get a leader role in some races.
Ps: I know I don't comment a lot on this story, but I want to let you know that this is a great story, It almost inspired me to do a one-rider story myself, which is something I wouldn't likely see myself doing... And your layout is one of the best of this site
Is their any chance they get promoted to the World Tour next season? Because if they do, I think that they are a great option for Salvatore, he might get a lot of opportunities as a leader
Otherwise, I still think Vacansoleil would be a good option, for the same reasons as Jesley.
Nice writing there. Haven't commented yet but have followed the last few reports, they are amazing quality. I think you should go to Farnese Vini next year, you stand a chance to compete for the win in some Italian one day classics! ;-)
