[img-r]https://i.imgur.com/nQmNHy4.jpg[/img-r]As a young boy I was always imitating my elder brother Antonio. So at the time he got into the local cycling club in 1997, i followed suit without doubt. This happened to be the start of my cycling career, in an age of only eight years.
We lived in the other end of Italy, in Sicily, along the southern coast in Menfi just east of Agrigento. Me and my brother always said that riding bike was just going outdoors and having fun, but we both quickly made our way through the ranks.
Being 13 years old in 2002, me and my family made a big step, moving about 700 km north to Assisi, in the central region of Italy, Umbria. I started in the local cycling club and achieved a lot of success in the years as rookie, and apparently it was enough for a youth coach to scout me, bringing me to the UC Petrignano talent team in 2004.
I raced at the UC Petrignano talent team for 3 years, when being in the age of 15-18 years old. In those 3 years as youngster and Junior, i achieved nothing less than 20 victories.
Crossing the under 23 boundary, i had to move on finding a new team who were able to compeed against the very best in the italian U23 amateur league. At the Tuscan U23 Monsumannese team, who later were renamed Bedogni, i found myself well settled in one of the greatest teams, to develop my strengths and forces as a young rider.
I rode for the tuscan team for three fine years and had several markers throughout the seasons. Among others, i won the great and prestigious Coppa del Grano in 2009, which happened to be my greatest achieved result at that time being.
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/CsMtnLQ.jpg[/img-l]
But my best year was yet to come in 2011. A new Italian team was created in Tuscany named Team Hoppla and containing some of that period's best U23 riders in Italy. Luckily for me I was one of them - it meant new demands and great expectations.
I had 5 great victories throughout the season and was well placed in the amateur rankings. I racked up wins in the Toscana Coppa delle Nazioni and at Firenze-Viareggio, not to forget claiming top-five placings at the prestigious Baby Giro on home soil.
But of paramount importance was my win at the U23 Tour of Flanders, where i took the greatest victory of my younger career, crossing the finish line in Oudenaarde in lonely majesty. That win truly fired off my career.
1st U23 Tour of Flanders 2011
1st Firenze - Viareggio 2011
4th Toscana Coppa delle Nazioni 2011
1st Coppa del Grano 2009
5th GP Capodarco 2011
My win in the U23 Tour of Flanders was the main reason that i was contacted by several teams who wanted me on their 2012 squad. I talked to both Pro Continental teams and World Tour teams, and i really felt like something special. Among these teams contacting me were the British Team Sky, which i found a great place to develop myself and to start a professional cycling career.
Therefore, in June 2011, i signed a contract with the British Sky cycling team, looking to gain experience in the professional ranks.
No doubt that 2012 was a spectacular year for me and the team, but do to disagreements we chose to part at the end of the season, because we had two widely different views about how i had been performing and the value i could contribute to the team.
The choice of my new team was Farnese-Vini, where i looked to get under the wings of Luca Scinto. But things just didn't went that way. At November 2012 the team folded and i was without an employer. But as if Dave Brailsford had regretted his choice of letting me go, he quickly offered me a contract similar to the one i signed at Farnese-Vini. And by that november-day i was once again a Sky-rider.
It's difficult for me to say in which way i will develop throughout the seasons, since i've only been one year in the professional ranks. Therefore i still haven't got an overview of my abilities. But even though, i still have some knowledge about my capabilities now, and therefore a slighty vision about my future abilities.
After my victory in the U23 Tour of Flanders 2011, many experts predicted a great future for me as a cobblestone specialist, but in that prediction i disagree at some point. I haven't always felt great on cobblestones, and i have never really wanted to specialize myself in that way. The day i won the race, everything just formed a synthesis.
I'm a huge fan and love the northern classics, but i tend to be more willing to see them on tv, rather than riding them myself. Though after saying that, i have to say that riding the Tour of Flanders will definitely be one of my main future goals. Not because of the cobblestones, but because of the extremely steep hills.
Apart from my force on the small and steep hills, i'm actually quite an allrounder. I can follow through with some of the medium climbers on the biggest mountains and is therefore able to help my team-mates who have obejctives in the mountains, at least at the start of the climbs. Furthermore i'm also quite a good descender, an ability i have taught myself throughout the many mountain training sessions around my address in Umbria. This have gained me a lot of time in the races.
Finally my ability to sprint. In my younger years i was always focussing on the sprints, and saw myself as a sprinter. I had a great acceleration and a fair top speed, but as i began to focus on climbing, i slowly lost some of my speed in the sprints. But even though my sprinting isn't what it has been, i'm still pretty fast. Especially in small group sprints i have done very well and will hopefully allways benefit from this speed. Also said that my undisputed all time favorite rider is Óscar Freire, developing in his way would be amazing for me.
1 Grand Tour, 6 stage races and 12 classics. This is what lies ahead of me for the 2013 season. Alltogether i'll have 67 race days which is 20 more days in the saddle than last years' 2012 season. One major thing stands out from this racing schedule, namely the Giro d'Italia. It will be my first ever Grand Tour, and to top that even in my own native country. I'm looking really much forward to be there.
1. Peak
I'll start the season out early in the Santos Tour Down Under with no race days in my bag. Going on to my first race on European ground in February, i'll build my form up for the Paris - Nice and the Milano SanRemo which will be my main objectives in my first peak.
2. Peak
After Milano SanRemo i'll have a very short break in my preparation for the Giro d'Italia. Here i'll first ride the Tour de Romandie and then the Rund um die Finanzplatz, before heading on to Italy. No doubt that the Giro d'Italia will be my exclusively biggest goal of the 2013 season.
3. Peak
After a long break from racing over June and July, i'll ride the Arctic Race of Norway and then the three races of the Trittico Regione Lombardia in August. Thereafter i'll be heading to Canada to prepare for the two Canadian classics, which once again will be one of my main goals this season. After my ride in Canada, i'll keep my shape high, to end the season with the prestigious Il Lombardia.
Outside the races i have a lot of personal goals, by getting to know myself a lot better, building up a good relationship with my team-mates and to improve my English. These are just some of my personal goals outside the races. But having these doesn't exclude me from having some personal goals in term of race results.
Sky Procycling is set to be one of the best team in the world at the moment. Knowing that i got my spot on their team another season gives me goosebumps, but also a lot of confidence. I want you to meet the main characters of this team, the guys that i will hopefully be sharing a lot of success and happy moments with this year.
Chris Froome
[img-l]https://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/Andy222c/froome_zps5d86227f.jpeg[/img-l]I rode together with Froome a couple of times last year. He dominated every single race he rode, but still only became 2nd in the Tour de France behind Nibali. This year he wants revenge. Not only in the Tour, but also in the Vuelta. This means that i probably won't see him much this year, as our racing schedules are completely opposite.
Froome is a very calm person and is very detailed in his preparations, both in training and when racing. When riding together with him last year, he knew what he wanted and didn't hesitate to order us around. Therefore he seemed like a very good leader, with confidence in his actions.
Pcm Profile
Spoiler
Bradley Wiggins
[img-r]https://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/Andy222c/wiggins_zpsc10bc1f4.jpeg[/img-r]Wiggins is a spectacular guy! The impression he has left on me stands clearly in my mind. The confidence he radiates is outstanding. He knows what was he is capable of doing and which abilities manages. He seem like a real leader. But also a little controversial.
Wiggins will have his focus on this years Tour de France, where he'll try to help Froome to the overall victory - the man who overshadowed him last year. So what lies in the back of his mind is probably the ITT World Championships, which he'll aim a hundred percent for.
Pcm Profile
Spoiler
Edvald Boasson Hagen
The greatest talent on our team is definitely our young Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen. His talent is undoubtable, which is both seen in the way he rides, but certainly also in his list of results. Through last year i got to know him a lot better, and what i've learned is that Edvald is one of the greatest persons in the peloton. He is young, funny and always open for a talk. This helped me much through last season.
Edvald will be riding a schedule quite similar to mine, so that means a lot of race days together with him. The only major difference is that he'll focus on the Tour de France instead of the Giro d'Italia.
Newcomer to the team this season is a great friend of mine. Matteo Trentin and i have raced a lot together in Italy and especially in the U23 Nations Cup, where we've been rising and falling together. It will be great to get such a close friend as team-mate, and i hope we'll have many race days together.
Matteo will be a key to success in the sprints and therefore he'll ride both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. Another race that we'll race together for sure is the Santos Tour Down Under. As things look right now, we may both be riding leadout for Edvald Boasson Hagen. I'll look very much forward to that.
Pcm Profile
Spoiler
This was the main characters of the team, but there's still a lot of great guys i haven't presented for you, but another time for that.
I think we got a great team to support all of our stars in the objectives of the season, and a great depth in the team with a very high level.
Here's the information of the contract i signed November 2012 with Sky Procycling, as Farnese - Vini folded and the deal was broken. It reveals the main features of my current contract situation.
Contract - Main Specifications
- Sky Procycling
Duration of contract:
1 Season
Date signed:
2012 November 8th
Effective from:
2013 January 1st
Effective to:
2013 December 31th
Monthly wage:
6.000 €/m.
General team role:
Luxury team mate
________________________________________________
[img-l]https://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/Andy222c/Lombardi-1.jpeg[/img-l]Italian Giovanni Lombardi is my current personal manager, helping me taking care of my contract situation and other practical things. I met Giovanni in my time as U23 rider for the Italian national team, where he was already manager for some of the other guys on the team. After my win in the U23 Tour of Flanders, he offered himself as being my personal manager, and i agreed.
Lombardi is also former professional rider. He has been an important helper for top sprinters like Erik Zabel and Mario Cipollini, and in his last two seasons he went on to be an essential support for Italian Ivan Basso.
Apart from being helper, Giovanni also won a lot of races by himself. Amongst these victories there are several stage wins in both the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, Tour de Suisse and Tirreno-Adriatico.
Let's try to get going with the present season before thinking too much about what lies at least one year ahead of me and my team situation.
Valverde: Thanks! Yes, i got the inspiration from your Veilleux story a long time ago and ever since i thought i wanted to do something similar because i liked the graphical function
cunego: Thanks for the kind words cunego! I hope i can keep it up this season as well
mvhoogdalem: Thanks! Don't want to spoil anything yet (although it's no drama), but yes, i didn't like to ride with Farnese Vini do to their doping situation and the uncertainty whether they would fold in real life or not. So Sky it was. Also loves how everyone hates Sky in here. I partly do as well (or rather Froome..), so it's a challenge for me to control them and probably for many to accept them. But i've discovered many things i like with Sky when researching and controlling them, and i think that is healthy for ones mind, because they ARE existing and they WILL be a part of cycling for quite some time yet. We're just going to accept it
