My name is Simone Ponzi. Whats that, you don't know who I am? Never fear, my self-biographical skills are here!
I was born on the 17th January, 1987 in Manerbio, Brescia, Italy, which makes me 23, going on 24. In 2007, I won what was the biggest achievement of my career so far, the U23 national road race championships. This put me on the map as a young, up and coming cyclist. The next year, I rode the U23 world road-race championships with low expectations, but blew myself away, taking 2nd place to Fabio Duarte!
That's me, on the left!
The next season, I finally turned pro, signing with UCI ProTour Team Lampre - NGC. I struggled to earn a win, but still put in good results. The next season I stuck around, but again with no notable results, I though a move was necessary, and I signed with Liquigas - Cannondale, joining one of my favourite riders ever, Ivan Basso, among other superstars Nibali and Sagan.
My riding style is quite unique. I think of myself as a strong, punchy climber with a big tank, but I think now I should focus on my sprinting! I love to sprint, and I can really stick around in the hills, so this season can bring a lot of good results for me I think.
Also, for those that are interested, here is a little video piece the guys in PR down at Liquigas put together. A nice little video if you're interested.
@cunego59 Thanks, I'm not sure if I'll continue the Garmin story. Can't get much motivation to do some races which I've done hundreds of times before with the same team. This I think will be more interesting.
Team Liquigas Presentazione
Another year, another team-presentation. Here is all the day's shenangigans (A new word that Cam Wurf taught me. Australian's are very imformative!), as well as some more serious stuff.
See that pack of four at the front? I'm on the far left!
The team brought in some fancy photographer to take our shot, and it took forever to get a shot that didn't involve Daniel Oss making a stupid face or Damiano Caruso poking Mauro Finetto in some way The DS got so annoyed at Damiano, he forced him to sit at the front by himself. All round it was a great first day at the office for 2011!
As you can see, our team is a highlighted by the two-prong GT attack of Vincenzo Nibali, and Ivan Basso. Both are world-class climbers, and two of the best Italians on the road.
Peter Sagan is maybe the only other rider who is world-class on the team, but surely he will develop into a star soon. One of the challenges I face here, is the large amount of young, rising sprinters. Sabatini, Oss, Guarnieri ,Viviani and Finetto just to name a few. We will all fight to grab that spot as a leader for every race we participate in, and a bit of healthy competition never hurts!
I'm very excited for 2011 to kick off! The pre-season meeting is in Milan tomorrow, there I will be given my 2011 race schedule, as well as the team's goals for the season, and everything else. I might even be able to fit in some time to see my beloved Inter play at The San Siro!
Its gonna be confusing with this and Dominik But atleast if he's from the same team, he is one of my favourites from Liquigas.
I think it would be cool if you guys, somehow did a race together, that both riders participated in, with both writing in the blog, but I guess that wouldn't be possible with two different careers.
really like the graphics you come up with! except the line around the picture on the twitter is abit wierd, some dont meet and some overlap/ but i really like that you improvised!
rorzcp wrote:
really like the graphics you come up with! except the line around the picture on the twitter is abit wierd, some dont meet and some overlap/ but i really like that you improvised!
Thanks, but I don't really care if a few lines are slightly off. Good to see you are paying attention though.
I have finally arrived back from the pre-season meeting, and I am writing to you from my hotel room. The season is looking very exciting for me, can't wait to tell you my big announcement!
But first, the DS and his assistants announced everyone's fitness schedules, and what races we will be participating in. They also revealed our sponsor goals, and our overall season outlook.
Grand Tours
The three Grand Tour's will again be the centrepiece of our season. Although we want good results in all 3, we are especially aiming for a win in the Giro d'Italia. Vincenzo Nibali, coming off his 2010 Vuelta victory, has proven he has what it takes, and is aiming to be wearing pink in Milan. Vinnie will also defend his Vuelta crown in September.
Le Tour will be ridden by the second-half of our GT monster, Ivan Basso. A top-5 is his goal there, and since he is peaking in July we expect good results.
Sponsor Goals
Our two sponsors, Liquigas and, you guessed it, Cannondale, have set 3 goals each for 2011. Here they are...
Top-5 USA Pro Cycling Challenge
Wear a leader's jersey (points, mountain, young or GC) at Le Tour de France
Top-5 WorldTour standings
All of these goals seem in reach, and I'm also very excited to see Giro del Lazio in there, as I could be leader for that race come September.
Simone's Schedule
This is where I tell you all about my very exciting season schedule. I race a lot of big races, the Ardennes, Tirreno - Adriatico, Milan-Sanremo. But none bigger than Le Tour! I will race the Tour as an all-round domestique for Basso, and for Fabio Sabatini, our leading sprinter for the race. I'm so thrilled that the DS showed so much confidence in my ability, that he allows me to race Le Tour! Can't wait, here's my full schedule...
I start the season in February with a few classics, and then the Tirreno as a warm-up for the Milano - Sanremo.
19-Feb
Trofeo Laigueglia
1.1
27-Feb
Kuurne - Bruxxelles - Kuurne
1.1
3-Mar
Giro del Friuli
1.1
5-Mar
Strade Bianche
1.1
9-Mar - 15-Mar
Tirreno - Adriatico
UWT
19-Mar
Milano - Sanremo
UWT
Then after the Criterium Int, I race a few more Italian classics before the Ardennes.
25-Mar - 27-Mar
Criterium International
2.HC
2-Apr
GP de Miguel Indurain
1.1
10-Apr
Giro dell'Appennino
1.1
16-Apr
Tour du Finistere
1.1
17-Apr
Amstel Gold Race
UWT
20-Apr
Le Fleche Wallone
UWT
24-Apr
Liege - Bastogne - Liege
UWT
Then I have a rather large rest gap, before I race the Tour de Suisse, and then the big one..
11-Jun - 19-Jun
Tour de Suisse
UWT
2-Jul - 22-Jul
Le Tour de France
UWT
After my peak at Le Tour, I close out the season with 7 classics, including the Canadian double, which, hopefully, if I'm strong enough, I will be leader at!
27-Aug
Giro del Veneto
1.1
28-Aug
GP Ouest France Plouay
UWT
10-Sep
Giro del Lazio
1.1
10-Sep
GP Cycliste de Quebec
UWT
11-Sep
GP Cycliste de Montreal
UWT
28-Sep
Giro di Toscana
1.1
1-Oct
Memorial Marco Pantani
1.1
Total Race Days: 60
Such an amazing first season, I just can't wait to get on the bike again! My next report will be from Genoa, where me, Dominik Nerz, Ella Vivani and Juraj Sagan are doing some training in late January. Let's hope they remember my birthday!
For now though, I'm off to the pub to have a couple of beers with Dominik to celebrate both our inclusions in Le Tour! Viva Le Tour!
Your favourite cyclist,
Simone Ponzi
Edited by Teddy The Creator on 13-11-2011 11:05
Here we are, the season has begun. The Australian cycling season kicks things off, here's a review of everything that's been going on...
Australian Championships
The first races of the season are always the Austrralian Championships. I was cheering for my teammate Cam Wurf, but he couldn't compete. The races were tightly contested, with Cadel Evans (BMC) and Richie Porte (SaxoBank) winning the road-race and time-trial championships respectively. Here are the results...
Road-Race
1
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
2
Heinrich Haussler
Team Garmin - Cervelo
3
Wesley Sulzberger
FDJ
4
Allan Davis
Pro Team Astana
5
Matthew Hayman
Sky Pro Cycling
...
32
Cameron Wurf
Liquigas - Cannondale
Time-Trial
1
Richie Porte
SaxoBank Sungard
2
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
3
Michael Rogers
Sky Pro Cycling
4
Cameron Meyer
Team Garmin - Cervelo
5
Heinrich Haussler
Team Garmin - Cervelo
...
23
Cameron Wurf
Liquigas - Cannondale
Tour Down Under
The first ProTour race of the season, The Tour Down Under in Australia is a hotbed for talent early in the season. Form is usually the main contributing factor for whoever wins down there.
Two breaks succeeded on stages 2 and 5, and therefore HTC's Bak came out on top. Liquigas failed to get a top-5, and we are quite dissapointed. Our only notable results was Peter Sagan's 2nd place in the King of the Mountains classification.
Up next is a full review of all January's races, and then my season starts in the Trofeo Laigueglia.
Although the shortest season in the international calendar, January deserves a monthly recap. Here are all the races run so far in 2011...
As well as Lars Bak's TDU win, Rory Sutherland impressed at the Tour de San Luis. Denis Flahaut won the first classic of the season at the GP de Marseillaise. And we can't forget about Cadel Evans wearing the yellow and gold for 2011, congratulations to him...
Cyclingnews.com Awards
With his two stage wins at the TDU, Mark Cavendish earns the award for best rider in January. Cameron Meyer, after his 4th place in the Aussie champs TT, takes home the best U25 award.
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Ponzi developed great in my story. I'll be following. Do you continue your Garmin story as well?
All round it was a great first day at the office for 2011!
But atleast if he's from the same team, he is one of my favourites from Liquigas. 
