Kritzo wrote:

The child thing is absolutely un purpose. He is child-like in this way of thinking.
I don't really agree with it beeing neglectful and minimalistic.. Can you elaborate that?

@Maddox: I will se what I can do. For the time being, I like it this way, but Aldo might grow along with his attributes.

@sutty68: I hope so too!

So my second race of the season was Trofeo Laigueglia. I could not really remember, what the name of the first race was, but I am quite certain that this was Trofeo Laigueglia. That was at least, what I had been told by Riccardo. I was the captain for our team, but I did not feel anything special, when the race started. Nothing unusual. Just a plain normal day on the bike. The only difference was the amount of riders beside me. Normally there were one or two and sometimes even none, but this time there were lots of them. I did not mind. I had after all tried it many times before, but not this way. I swear to God that there were not this amount of riders in my first race.I just had to ride my own bike, my own race.

I was told to attack. I did so. I don't know why, but Riccardo wanted me to take part in the early breakaway. I was joined by a Trek rider and an Adria rider, but who they were and where they came from, I did not know, and I did not bother to ask.



It was very hard for me to coorperate with them. Whenever I came to the front, the pace was too high, and the other two did not like it. I did not care. I just rode my own race.

We were nearly reeled in, when I attacked.



I was close to the top of the last climb, and I should have saved my energi to attack over the top of the climb. But I didn't and that was a definite mistake. I made it over the top by myself, and I was all alone. The pack came closer, but I used my excellent downhilling skills to keep them behind. But when we came to the flat part again, it felt like my lungs were punctured. My legs too. I was caught instantly. and I just had to ride home with the bunch.




My teammate Alfred (Balloni) made it to the front near the end of the race. I think he came in Top 20, but I am not sure though. I was a little bit proud of myself, and Riccardo was too. He told me that I had been brave out there, and that made me glad. I don't know why, really, but it made me really happy with myself.

So Alfredo made it in as the 21th best rider today, and that was a bit disappointing for himself. I don't know if I am satisfied or not with my own performance, but I gave the sponsors a lot of TV-time, and maybe that was what Riccardo wanted me to do. I was completely exhausted in the bunch sprint and therefore, I came in in the middle of it. Besides I'm not even a good sprinter. Riccardo was happy with my performance, and in the end I was that too. I just wished that I had had better legs, and had been a lot smarter, in the breakaway..

sutty68 wrote:
Hard day in the saddle for Aldo

Hello once again. Today I had to ride the GP di Lugano race, which is another of those types of races they call classics. I liked the profile at first, but at a second glance, I did fear the big climb a little. Once again I was the leader of the team, but not like last time. We had another leader for this race, Nicola Dal Santo. I did like the fact that the team did not rely on me this time.

I was told not to attack, but I did nevertheless. I felt really good, and besides that, I thought that my chances were better in the breakaway than staying with the pack. But as I got up to the leading group I had a puncture. I had hit a small but sharp stone, and all the air in my wheel was gone. I quickly made the change with Riccardo, but I did not get back to the breakaway.



When the pack picked me up, my teammates surrounded me. Apparently Nicola felt a little sick, and he had told the others to stay with me, when he saw I was about to get caught further up the road. At first I did not like the surrounding at all, but as the race progressed, I got used to it. I think the breakaway ended up being a 5-rider group, and I think an Adria guy made the junction. At least I recall that same jersey as in the Trofeo race.



Just before the final ascent of the big climb, the pack started to pick up the pace just a notch. My legs were burning.. It was like a volcano churning inside them, and my teammate, and former co-captain, was trying his best to keep the pack together.



Suddenly my whole team had disappeared and when I took a glance backwards, they were nowhere to be seen. I was literally about to cry, but I finally made it over the top. The pack was still together, and I felt my chances were increasing.


But I was wrong. As I always do, I descended quite neatly, and made it to the very front of the bunch, or what I thought was the front, and relaxed. However, not far up the road, a small group of 8-10 riders had come clear of the pack, including Kwiatkowski the pre-race favorite. Besides this I had completely forgotten the bumpy ride to the finish line, and my legs were burning once again.

I was about to pass about. My legs were numb. My lips too. The cold had finally gotten the better of me, and on top of all this, it started to rain. I only had one thing in mind, and that was to get to that finish line, so this trip in hell would end. It was not the longest of classics, definitely not, but it felt like it. It felt like I had been in the saddle for over 200 kilometers. When I crossed the line, I quickly went over to our team bus and made it inside. I was freezing. My hands, legs, feet, arms were numb. Literally. My whole body.. I could not feel anything.

But the numbness certainly disappeared, when Riccardo told me that I had made it into the 50th best. At that moment, the warmth in my body appeared. After all, all the suffering and toil had not been done for nothing. How I made it into the 50th best, was beyond my imagination, but for the first time in my "professional" cycling career, I felt proud of myself. Like really, really proud!

admirschleck wrote:
I actually like the layout and reporting style alot. Keep it up, please!

@Selwink: Oh my. Thank you very much for that comment, allthough I have a little confession to make; It is not my first story

@sutty68: Let's at least cross over fingers for that to happen!

@sutty68: Let's at least cross over fingers for that to happen!

sutty68 wrote:
Kritzo wrote :

It won't be long before that does happen

Kritzo wrote:

It seems to me that you know more than I do.

My next race was Trofeo Zsssssdi? Trofeo Zsdi? Never mind. Once again I had a big part in our major plan, but this time Nicola was our captain. I kind of owed him that after last race. But we worked for captain Nicola this race, and I was once again fairly glad that the team did not fully rely on me. Well, in a way they did, but not the captain-way, if you know what I mean.


We were told to surround Nicola in the beginning, and we did so. This was my fourth race of the season, and this was actually the first time, I was sourrounding someone, not the oppsite. A breakaway had just gotten away, when I got to the front, and I am fairly certain that I saw that red jersey of the Adria-team. You know, the one I rode with in the early break of Trofeo Laiguelia.

My legs got better and better as the race progressed, and at some point I was jealous at Nicola for being our captain. I was certain that I would do much better than him in the final, but we had a plan, and that involved me, so I had to stick to it. After all, I was a big part of it, because I was the last man for Nicola.



As we got into the final I positioned Nicola at the front of the pack, and felt like the job was done. But something was wrong. I don't know why, but Nicola just told me to go, and I was not hesitating. After all, he could change his mind quickly.



So I went. On the downhill-section before last climb of this classic. As you all know by now, I am a pretty good downhiller, and this was no exception. I quickly got away from the pack, and when I got down to the bottom of the descent I had over 30 seconds! Up the road I could see a Bardiani rider, and I had in mind to catch him. The pack was nowhere to be seen behind me!



I tried so hard. I don't think I have ever wanted something this much. The cadence just grew as I got closer and closer to the finish line, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not catch that damn Bardiani-rider. When I got to the last kilometre, my legs were filled with pain. It seemed like I had tried way to hard to catch that Bardiani-rider, and I was indeed paying the price by now. The pack came closer and closer, and I thought that I would get completely out of top 10. I just sprinted as fast as I could to the line. The final run to the finish was almost a straight line, so I decided to close my eyes, and tell my legs to shut up. I have once heard a smart man saying that.

I got over the finish line. As second. I don't know how, but I somehow made it, but the pack came really close. But Riccardo has told me that the time does not really matter in these classics. All that matters is the ranking on the stage, and I believe a second place to be nearly perfect. Turns out that the Bardiani rider was Bongiorno, but I still don't know what was wrong with Nicola. That is yet to be revealed. I think he is at the hospital right now, and Riccardo is with him. Oh that reminds me of that I am going to visit him now with the rest of the team, aswell!
I am still in shock. This result was huge!

@admirschleck Yes it was, but with the riders starting in that race I kind of expected a Top 5.

@sutty68 Haha, that is sad to hear.