After a rather disappointing performance by our main sprinter Loddo in Meditteraneen, then he finally showed everyone, why I decided to buy him during the transfer window. With two stage wins, in the first and last stage of the race, did Loddo manage to show the blue and black colours in front of a spectacular Italian crowd. Loddo didn't have to look far away for support, since especially Luca Paolini did a brilliant job as the leadout man for Loddo. The hilly stages of the race proved too hard for Loddo to try get a good GC spot, but Bernucci and Cheula managed to sneak into the overall top ten classification as 8th and 10th. Loddo winning his second stage in Giro di Sardegna
We are now heading into a crucially period for the team, since March contains two races with sponsor goals to achieve. First up is Tour de Langkawi, a race where we will send a strong team to help our GC hope Serpa getting a top 5 spot. After that will the team anticipate in the small stage race Corsica International, where Serpa once again will try score some points to the team. Finally will the biggest goal of the season, and hardest, arrive. Giro del Trentino is a must win race for our sponsors but it will take a huge effort for Serpa to take the overall win, since the competition will be hard. If we manage to accomplish our targets in March, then the team will probably get enough money to continue develop into a future pro tour team.
Edited by rycadinho on 04-12-2010 17:42
That’s the final conclusion after a month full of positives and negatives for Pirelli-Internazionale. March had been by many pointed out as perhaps the most important month for the new italian continental team, since there was no less than two sponsor goals to be achieved out of just 3 races. The first race was the Malaysian HC stage race Tour de Langkawi with Jose Serpa as our man for the GC and Loddo who was going to try get a stage win in a mass sprint finish. The sponsors wanted a top 5 finish in the GC from one of our men and Jose didn’t disappoint. Even though the Columbian couldn’t stay with overall race winner Bernhard Kohl and Ikeas strong climber Alarcon, then he still managed to finish as third. Since stage 5 was the only real chance for any GC riders to make there move, then was a podium finish all but secured thanks to Serpas fine performance. That’s why everyone expected that the final flat stage was going to be without any big drama. One of the guys who were before Serpa in the GC, Alarcon, was very unlucky and crashed near the end of the stage! That meant he lost his second place to Serpa, who then got some much needed point to the team + a completed sponsor goal. Alberto Loddo did also well in some of the flat stages, even though he didn’t have power enough to win a stage.
After the successful race in Malaysia, it was once again time for our climbers to shine in the small 3-day stage race Corsica International. Even though the team did a fantastic job by keeping the breakaway near the peloton, then Serpa wasn’t strong enough to win the mountainous stage 1. In fact he only got a disappointing fifth, beaten by the likes of Mauricio Ortega, Cadel Evans, Rein Taaramee and the Cobra Ricardo Ricco, who was the only one of the four riders who on paper is equal to Serpas level in the high mountains. Thankfully Serpa managed to end as fourth in the GC after a good performance in the final stage, which was a time trial where Ricco wasn’t strong enough to hold of the Columbian. That was a very good sign for the final test for Serpa, because the next and final race of the month was the traditional Italian stage race, Giro del Trentino. The sponsors wanted one of our riders to win the general time classification and our best bet for that was without any doubt Serpa.
To help Jose in the two hard mountain stages were strong climbers like Nozal, Mayo and Italian favourite Ivan Basso all ready to make sure Serpa couldn’t complain about a weak team. The field was extremely strong leaded by excellent riders like Ricco, Taaramee, Abal, Kohl and many other strong GC riders. Serpa didn’t seem to care too much about this though as he destroyed everyone in the hard finish at stage 2, after he had only lost a few seconds on the first stage of the race, a stage that was a 17 kilometre long time trial. The only man who didn’t lose too much time to Serpa was Ricco but he was almost 55 seconds down in the GC. The third stage of the race gave the team another podium finish as Loddo’s leadout man Lorenzo Bernucci won the pelotons sprint but unfortunately for him then two riders from the early breakaway managed to stay away from the peloton and they got the two first spots on the podium. The race was then going to be decided on the queen stage of the race which contained two hard climbs in the end, and the team had to stay on guard for early attacks to protect Serpas overall lead. Ricco seemed to be interested in showing everyone that he is the strongest climber in the continental tour and he managed to take both the stage win and the overall win from Serpa who was clearly having a bad day. It was unexpected that Serpa would lose around 2 minutes to the Cobra, but he still managed to finish second on the stage, something that clearly shows how strong Ricco was. A fantastic race by Serpa and the team ended with an uncompleted sponsor goal but Serpa did win the Mountain Jersey, with just as many points as Ricco.
Serpa winning the second stage of the Giro del Trentino
If March was a month where the team was going to get a lot of points, then April is the total opposite. Vuelta Ciclista a la Rioja, Euskal Bizikleta and Jelajah Malaysia are all races were we don’t have any favourite for winning any of those races but we got a good chance to be active in breaks and to be participating in mass sprints.
Edited by rycadinho on 23-08-2010 17:24
After our strong point haul in March was the expectations for April not quite as big. Loddo and Hesjedal was our two best hopes to secure us some points but our Italien sprinter was never really close to win anything and the same thing can be said about the Canadian road champ. They both did get some top 10's and we also saw a much more offensive minded Pirelli that participated in much more breaks than ever. This was of course due to the fact that we didn't have a clear favourite for anything but it's still fine to see that we could show the black and blue colours. The two targets for May is Olympia tour and tour of Japan where we once again hope that Loddo and Hesjedal can score some points.
New rumours about sponsor change in Italian Continental team
It seems Masimo Moratti, the president of the Jewel of Italian football Fc. Internazionale, haven’t been quite convinced about also having a major share in a cycling team. Even though Pirelli-Internazionale so far has been quite successful then it seems that Inter will leave the future of the team to Pirelli and an unannounced sponsor. Moratti already has trouble with the financial rules that has made it harder for a rich chairman to invest money in his football club, a huge problem for clubs with a big depth like Inter. That’s why letting Pirelli take control of the cycling project, would save Moratti some much needed cash, and instead focus completely on his family beloved football club.
A change for the team seems therefore rather evident especially after a statement from Marco Tronchetti Provera, the chairman of Pirelli: “We will still be a major factor in motor sport as always but we will continue our exploits in our fairly new projects as well”. This clearly indicates that Pirelli, despite being a major sponsor for the football club Inter and also a shareholder of the club are quite satisfied with the results Rycadinho and his team are grinding out. There are several Italian companies that might find a co-sponsorship with the tyre company interesting, though it seems it won’t be realistic that a international company will be a new secondary sponsor.
A new Italian sponsor would also be able to make the team friendlier towards other factions in the country, and not viewed as only a “part” of Inter. This could also lead to the possibility of getting a wild card for bigger Italian races on the protour next season, especially if they can present a big name from Italian.
Something seems obvious though, that this might be the only season where the Italian team will ride in black and blue. Until then will it be interesting to see what this will end with.
Edited by rycadinho on 05-12-2010 16:23
Unknown future doesn't slow down Pirelli-Internazionale
May turned out to be quite successfully for the team, even though we didn't expect too much from our participation in Olympia Tour and Tour of Japan. In Olympia were Bernucci once again our GC hope while Loddo was expected to give it a go in the sprints. Both didn't exactly shine and it was only a brilliant stage win by our veteran Paolini that completely turned the race around from a failure to a success. The final stage wasn't really that suited for Luca, but he was strong enough to win the final sprint of the break he was in and thereby ending as fourth in the overall GC.
Bettinis former lieutenant surprised everyone on the hilly queen stage
Our final race of this month was the week long race Tour of Japan. Once again was Loddo our man for the sprints and even though he was only one point away in Olympia, to take the sprint jersey had his performances been rather disappointing. Super Paolini was once again with Loddo as his leadout man while we with Hesjedal had our second strongest GC rider ready to battle the likes of Cobo, Lloret and Chavanell for GC. Loddo was rather unlucky not to take a stage win at the third stage of the tour but a break managed to hold of the peloton. After loosing almost a minute on the 2. stage, a TTT, was a great performance by Ryder required if he was going to get a good position in the GC. Ryder exactly did this as he managed win his first stage of the season, on stage 4, after a brilliant solo victory. Unfortunately wasn't it enough to end in top 3 of the GC but six was rather good too, even though the Canadian missed out fourth by just 2 seconds.
Hesjedal gets the second stage win in a rather successful month for Pirelli-Internazionale
That concludes May for us and I'm looking forward to the next month, where the team will be trying to cut the gap to the 10 best teams by participating in Philadelphia International and Vuelta a Colombia.
Edited by rycadinho on 04-12-2010 17:44
Inter chairman Massimo Moratti have released an statement where he confirms that the famous football club will end their cycling adventure after only one season: We have been satisfied with by the work of the team, but we are in a situation that gives us limited possibilities in sponsoring other projects. We will instead focus on FC.Internazionales economy and stabilise it. President Moratti talking to the press about Inters exit from the cycling sport
Pirelli though have reaffirmed their intention to stay as the main sponsor for the cycling project, after signing a 3-year sponsorship deal almost half a year ago. A condition is required though and that is a co-sponsorship, but the latest news indicate that a company Pirelli already has been working with in the past will take the mantle from Nike and provide the necessary funds for the team in 2012, so they can continue their goal to reach the protour in 2 years time. With Nike leaving together with Giro and Specialized, 3 American companies, because of a clause that made this possible if Inter wouldn’t continue, then it seems that the team in 2012 will be sponsored by only Italian companies.
The manager of the cycling team Rycadinho said this, after some journalist asked about the whole situation: Well I can assure you all that even though we will lose the brand of Inter and the money from Nike, then we are very close to a new partner, that will help us achieve protour status in the future...When asked if the team will drop the foreigner friendly attitude that is known from FC. Internazionale he answered: Well we will still focus on having a good base of Italian riders, but we will still be open minded towards riders with other nationalities.
The man behind the cycling team didn’t say more but the security in his voice should mean that his cycling project will survive.
Edited by rycadinho on 07-12-2010 14:53
Well the team only had to targets in June the HC classic Philadelphia International and the 2 week stage race Volta a Columbia. It's better not to mention the performance of the team in Philadelphia where a incredible strong field made it almost impossible for Bernucci to get anything better than a decent 15th. It's more or less official now that the team can only compete with the best in mountainous terrain and that's exactly what Pirelli-Inter did once again, this time in Columbia. We had a fantastic start to the race with a fine performance by captain Hesjedal and lieutenant Nozal on the prolog, but it was Ndbri and especially former no. 1 climber in the world Iban Mayo who took the spotlight on the hilly stage 2. Thanks to fantastic teamwork did Ndbri not only take the KoM jersey after being out in the early breakaway but he also managed to help Mayo before the Spaniard crossed the finish line solo and by that taking the overall lead in the race. Iban Mayo winning a rare victory after a turbulent career
Unfortunately was a very weak performance by Ryder something that surely ended his hope to upset the two biggest favourites Gil and Breuck for the overall win. Mayo was not strong enough to hold of the strongest guys and he lost the leader jersey quite early + Ndbri crashed and also had to let the dream, of winning the KoM jersey, go. So up and down - that's how you can define the race but thankfully did Hesjedal recover in the final part of the race and our Canadian all rounder managed to end as third just ahead of Quicksilver leader Martinez. Gil and Breuck was on another level so the only small disappointment about Ryders performance was that he didn't manage to take a stage win.
Anyway two men in top 10 and a fine attacking display by the team made the race a success although we expect to fall further down on the ranking since there are still many races left in this month. In July will the team be participating in the following races: Osterreich Rundfahrt, Giro di Lago di Garda and San Sebastian Classic. We have a very different way to approach those races since we will play second fiddle in the two classics but with Serpa in Austria, then the goal will be the overall win.
Rycadinho’s cycling project saved after new sponsor agrees co-sponsorship with Pirelli.
The famous Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo, owned by Fiat, will together with the tyre company Pirelli sponsor Rycadinho’s cycling project from the next season to the end of 2013, with a possibility to extent the sponsorship further. After it was confirmed by Massimo Moratti that both Inter and the American based companies Nike, Specialized and Giro would leave the team, then it was necessary for Rycadinho to find a new company that could provide enough money together with Pirelli.
Marco Tronchetti Provera, the chairman of Pirelli was obviously very happy after Alfa Romeo will once again be in a partnership with Pirelli, something the two companies have had since 1924 where Vittorio Jano won in a motorsport class with a Alfa Romeo P2 provided with Pirelli tyres: We are very pleased that we will continue in the cycling sport, especially after Moratti leaving the project and the fine results Rycadinho and co. has gathered so far in the season. Alfa Romeo will not only fund the team together with Pirelli but also provide the cars for the team. In that way will the Alfa Romeo brand get recognized by thousands of people while providing support for the riders out on the roads. This beautiful Alfa Romeo car will probably not be the service car for the team in the future...
The good news are obviously very reassuring for manager Rycadinho who now only has to focus on managing the team and of course achieve good results through the last half of this season.
After the future for the team was secured, thanks to Alfa Romeo, then the focus came back on the road. We had big hopes for our star Serpa in Osterreich Rundfahrt while we just had to be happy with anything the team, lead by Bernucci, would be able to get in the two classics Giro di Lago di Garda and San Sebastian Classic. The Austrian stage race was the first hurdle the team had to get over, and let's say it didn't exactly go as planned. Serpa started quite well and even managed to take the leadership from Perez Sanchez, the rider we were heavily linked to during the transferwindow, but our Columbian mountain goat somehow managed to screw things up in the last timetrial, where he lost the lead by one single second. We had accepted the result all through it was hard to live with the though that the team was only one single second away from its first ever overall win in a stage race! Perhaps that's why Serpa decided to get caught in a split on the final stage and even throw away his second place, though ending as third after the damaged had been done. This was of course unacceptable since Serpa even had finished quite high in most of the flat stages. How to fail miserable, by Jose Serpa
Well after our unlucky ride in Austria were the expectations low once again when it came to the hilly classics on the tour. Bernucci did manage to get two top 20' spots in Italy and Spain, but it was still nothing to celebrate really.
In August will we be racing the following races:
2/8 HC Europe: Urkiola Igoera
5/8-9/8 HC Europe: Vuelta a Burgos
5/8-15/8 HC Europe: Volta a Portugal
We have good riders for every race, though our strongest line-up is in Portugal, since the race has been targeted as a goal. Top 5 is required and we really hope that Serpa is up for it, even after the strange race he had in Austria. It is also the final race for him, so a good result is needed, if we want to end inside the 20 best team in the continental tour this year. Ryder will lead a good team in Burgos, though the competition here will be extremely hard, so we hope he can surprise everyone and perhaps win a stage on the way!
Hesjedal and Serpa makes sure that the team can fight for top 20 in the continental ranking
We had high hopes for this month, since we had two strong squads ready for the two big HC tours, Burgos and Portugal! For the Spanish race, was Ryder Hesjedal our best bet for a good overall finish, and we aimed for our first ever GC win with Serpa, who needed to bounce back from a rather disappointing race in Austria. Before those two tours, then we also participated in the mountainous one day classic, Urkiola Igoera, where we once again had to accept that other teams have are more suited for those races than us. A special mention has to go to Ndbri though, who despite only ending as 18th made sure the spectators had something interesting to watch with a strong attack during the race. Ryder completely failed and it's clear that we need to reinforce during the next transfer season.
Anyway, Burgos and Portugal gave us some much needed points, especially if we want to end as one of the 20 best teams in this year continental tour. Ryder shined on stage 2 taking a third place in a sprint between many strong riders, and despite a bad day on the demanding stage 4, then he ended as 9th in the overall GC. That's not the first time our Canadian road race champion had to take this place in the GC, but none less was it a important sign for things to come.
In Portugal was Serpa really focused in ending his season high and to win his first race of the season, after a solid season. He didn't really show up in the first couple of hilly stages, where one of his greatest rivals in Pellizotti managed to take some precious time out from the Colombian mountain goat. Thankfully did our man show up on the first real mountain stage of the race and on the climb up to Barragau do Alvao did the mange not only to take a great stage win, but he also managed to close the gap to Youtube's strong Italian rider. It wasn't enough though, as Serpa clearly wasn't at his best on the final mountain stage up to the Alto da Torre. A climb that wasn't suited for our captain since it was incredible long since Serpa isn't exactly known for his brilliant stamina. Kohl destroyed everyone with an early attack and Pellizotti took enough time from Jose, to secure his lead in the race before the long timetrial that awaited on the final stage of the race. Here did Serpa manage to take a brilliant second and even overtake Kohl in the overall GC, but nobody could touch Pellizottis leader jersey and he ended as a well deserving winner of this year edition of Volta a Portugal! Jose Serpa on his way to take a fine stage win during the Volta a Portugal
So we probably have to settle with the fact that the team didn't get one single GC or Classic win, despite Serpa being really close numerous times. We did manage to complete 3/5 goals for this season, though we clearly didn't have the strength to end in top 10, in the continental tour this year. Our next two races are made up by the 3-week long race, the Tour of America, where Ivan Basso will have to perform at his very best, if we are going to get anything out from this race. It's a bit of a gamble since the American race takes out a lot of race days, but our lack in the classic department was simply too big to participate in more of those one-day races. We have a slightly better chance to get a good result in the traditional German classic, Vattenfall Classic, where Loddo will lead a decent team together with former winner, Lorenzo Bernucci.
We are getting near to the final races of this maiden season for the team, and that also means that our partnership with F.C Internazionale is soon in the past. Despite this, have Alfa Romeo and Fiat already expressed their delight after seeing the progress we have made, and we can't wait to join up with them and hopefully have a better season than this one.
Edited by rycadinho on 31-01-2011 13:49
Breaking news: Jersey design for season 2012 already to be revealed
After many weeks of work have we already now our new jersey ready for the next season! The well known shirt maker Michiucf agreed a couple of weeks ago to be the man behind our new jersey design, something we wanted to be unique and at the same time well looking. We got some of both and I will let the result speak of itself - We can't wait to race with this jersey, together with all our new sponsors, not to mention Alfa Romeo of course!
We want to be ahead of our competitors in every aspect of this sport and this clearly indicates that!
I would also like to say thanks to our soon former sponsors Nike, Specialized and Giro while welcoming the following ones on board:
Sidi
Limar
Pinarello
Nalini
Who will join our other secondary sponsor Campagnolo and of course our main sponsors, Pirelli and Alfa Romeo!
The new season will hopefully be successful, though much work is required to fulfil our dreams, just like we still got some very important moments left of our début season.
Edited by rycadinho on 11-02-2011 21:14
Pirelli out of top 20 before heading into the season final
We were one of the few teams that had decided to participate in the only continental tour 3-week stage race, the tour of America. Basso was our captain though it was quite surprising the ageing timetrialist Isidro Nozal who not only outperformed the Italian but also ended one place higher than Basso as 7th. Since Pelizzotti from Youtube had decided to destroy everyone, was it simply not possible for the team to take a stage win despite numerous attempts to do so. Our youngsters on loan did well though with Kinney doing remarkable in some massprints while Curfs showed what a great heart he has by keep attacking despite always coming short in the end. We were also incredible close to take the victory in the KoM competition but Dupont was just one single point of the pace. Point wise was it a bad idea to participate in this race, though we aren't afraid to come back next year. It's sad that such a great race scares many teams away due to it's length but that's understandable since it's rather risky to use that many race days in a race without HC status.
Anyway while we raced in America, was Loddo and a couple of decent riders off to Germany. This ended in a complete disaster since Loddo couldn't even finish with the peloton and that cost us any chance of points.
We have fallen down to 21th and it will be pretty hard to end inside the top 20 now. We do have some races left but without a strong leader for the following races...
4/10 C1 Europe: Milano - Torino
5/10 C1 Europe: Giro del Piemonte
6/10 HC Europe: Giro dell'Emilia
11/10-20/10 C1 Africa: Tour du Faso
23/10 HC Asia: Japan Cup
...will it be rather difficult to catch teams like Vespa, Youtube and Telenor. None less will be try to do so and Loddo/Bernucci will have to show something or they will face the consequences in form of a lower wage next season.
Well well well.... Who would had thought that team would finally manage a big result without King Serpa and even manage a podium finish in the season final in Japan? Loddo and Bernucci our two Italian profiles did exactly this, as they topped their form in the final two races for the team and by that did they give Internazionale a fine farewell after the maiden season of the team.
Loddo took 3 stage wins, the point jersey and second in the overall GC - only beaten by Blythe. There isn't much else to say, except that our old man Luca Paolini get's a special mention for his outstanding job as the leadout man for our in-form sprinter!
After our sensational Tour de Faso race were the expectations lowered in the final race of the season - the Japan Cup. This hilly HC classic was full of strong riders, but Bernucci had promised that he would try a attack if the legs were good. They were just that, as our Italian figther started the breakaway that would manage to hold of some of the favourites and only Red Bulls Siutsou managed to beat Bernucci, who took a brilliant second place.
What a fantastic way to end the season and it's even better that we just managed to get inside the 20 best team - defiantly acceptable for us after a tough and long season full of ups and downs. Our best rider was Serpa, who was very unlucky not to win a race but he still managed to end as the 10th best rider of the season - something that surely will make him quite expensive for the next season. The man who took most stage wins was Alberto Loddo, especially after his stunning performance in Faso with 3 wins. That + the 2 in Sardegna gave us 5 wins, though there were a lot of space between those. We had 5 goals and failed two of them - though it could easily had been 4/5 if Riccardo Ricco hadn't decided to destroy everyone including former race leader Serpa. None less will it give us the necessary funds to strengthen the team in some departments though we are still working on this...
There will soon be more news about what riders will leave or stay for the next season, though it's confirmed that the team will indeed be under the name Pirelli - Alfa Romeo for 2012.
Thank you for following the progress of the team - we will defiantly put up a challenge for the next season, where we hope to get our first race wins and end further up in the standings.
Edited by rycadinho on 13-03-2011 10:21
