I’ve spent the last days training in the Tirreno-Adriatico route. I’ve spent a lot of time training on the Montelupone climb, who will be a decisive climb. As in Trofeo Laigueglia, I’m tied to a role as a domestique for Rebellin, but I couldn’t expect more. With riders such as Simoni, Scarponi and Loddo, I can’t expect a leader role. Instead, I will do my best to support Davide to a win. Well, we’ll see how it goes:
The last days, I’ve feeling my form rising. Today I will ride side by side with some of the big names in cycling.
At the beginning of the race, I sat calm at the middle of the pack. We let a break go, but since we didn’t have anything to ride for today, we didn’t bother chase them down. Instead, we left the job to the sprint teams, until we started on to the last climb of the stage.
I rode to the front, trying to shake the other teams, and ride off some sprinters, so Rebellin could get a good result. Obviously, the pack was feeling the race of speed, as several riders were dropped.
As the sprint started, Rebellin who’s in super form, found a good wheel. But of course, when the big sprinters like Boonen and Benna started to sprint, he couldn’t hang on. Boonen won the stage, while Davide finished inside top-ten.
Results:
1 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 3h50'55
2 Daniele Bennati Liquigas s.t.
3 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank s.t.
4 Enrico Gasparotto Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
5 Allan Davis Quick·Step s.t.
6 Greg Van Avermaet Silence - Lotto s.t.
7 Martijn Maaskant Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
8 Davide Rebellin Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli s.t.
9 Bernhard Eisel Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
10 Grégory Rast Astana Cycling Team s.t.
... 36 Francesco Ginanni Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli s.t.
Well, we’re onto the second stage today, and luckily for me it’s a hilly one!
Davide need to take time on his rivals on this stage. There are only two hilly stages, and since he sucks on time trialing, he needs to gain time.
We started to ride tough early on this stage, hoping to shake off some riders early and see how the other favorites were feeling. Leonardo was riding hard, and it was tough sitting in the pack, but I managed to sit along just fine during the two first hills.
But as we hit the last hill, I attacked, as some minor threats for the GC made their move. I was having a “green moment”, and managed to get away. But the pack had a much higher speed than me, so they reeled me in. As I was caught, Devolder tried to go! This time, Rebellin needed to counter, so the two of them got together and gained time over the peloton.
Of course, Devolder couldn’t follow Rebellin in the sprint, so he didn’t even bother trying to. Rebellin took his second victory of the year, and at the moment he’s in great shape! Let’s just hope he hasn’t peaked to early…
I did a great job, and was involved in the sprint for third place. I didn’t win the sprint, but I got 8. A great performance by me, beating sprinters like Bennati and Boonen!
Results:
1 Davide Rebellin Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli 4h48'47
2 Stijn Devolder Quick·Step s.t.
3 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road + 43
4 Enrico Gasparotto Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
5 Fränk Schleck Team Saxo Bank s.t.
6 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha s.t.
7 Greg Van Avermaet Silence - Lotto s.t. 8 Francesco Ginanni Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli s.t.
9 Daniele Bennati Liquigas s.t.
10 Tom Boonen Quick·Step s.t.
Hi there! Yesterday was a good day, and I’m hoping to perform even better today! Ahead of me, I have the grueling climb of Montelupone, a terrifying hills with slopes up to 20 percent!
Wow, it’s really windy here, and we will use that opportunity to make chaos in the peloton!
With 100 km left, I was along with the rest of the Serramenti team (except of Gibo and Davide) ordered to go to the front and try to split the peloton because of the sidewind. It worked! We had managed to split the peloton, but unfortunately, Devolder is sitting in our group. No need to use our legs more when our biggest rival is in the same group.
It was clearly that Devolder had great legs when he attacked up Montelupone the first time we rode it. We sent Simoni with them, trying to slow down the pace. Simoni refused to take a relay, but despite that the gap grew. On the flat section before the downhill, I tried to attack. I almost made it up to the group to, but I couldn’t reach all the way up. Instead, I chose to wait for the pack to ride me down, and then start taking relays at the front.
Then, at the foot of the second climb Rebellin attacks! There’s a long way up, and I’m worried that he attacked to late…
But this is incredible! He made it up to the front group, with the whole pack on his tail. Gibo is dragging him up to the front, but there’s only 2 km left.
It looked like Popovych would win, but Rebellin turned the tables around and gave them a big slap in their face by coming up to the side of Popo and Maaskant. While I was struggling down in the pack, Rebellin was having great legs at the front.
And he makes it! He takes the stage win! This was really a power display, and a good sign in front of the Ardennes.
I had a tough day, and finished 48. But I’m still happy. A victory for the team is a victory for me!
I heard that it was reported a crash back in the bunch, but none of the favorites were involved…
My legs are a bit sore after yesterday, so luckily it’s a flat stage today.
But that doesn’t mean that we don’t’ have to work! I spent my whole day out in the front, taking relays and catching wind for Davide. But hey, that’s life when you have the leader jersey in your team!
It was a boring day. Nothing happened, just the same story: Break got away, break got caught, and the sprinters settled it for the win.
And Stuart O’Grady was the strongest guy, outsprinting Van Avermaet and Gasparotto.
I was sitting at the tale of the pack after a long, tough day at the front. Next up was the time trial, not something I was looking forward to. Time trial is among cobblestones and downhill something I really suck at.
Results:
1 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank 4h07'23
2 Greg Van Avermaet Silence - Lotto s.t.
3 Enrico Gasparotto Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
4 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha s.t.
5 Martin Elmiger AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
6 Guennadi Mikhailov Team Katusha s.t.
7 Tom Boonen Quick·Step s.t.
8 Matti Breschel Team Saxo Bank s.t.
9 Fabian Wegmann Team Milram s.t.
10 John Gadret AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
Well, as I’m not very good at time trialing, I can say that I won’t make a good performance today. What’s more interesting, is the battle between Rebellin and Devolder…
At the first time check, I was number 70 or something, with still an awful lot of riders to go.
You can see I’m not a good time trialist by looking at all the time I spent standing. I lost several minutes at the end, but I hadn’t expected better…
But I had expected that I would be able to not getting caught by my two-minute man. Astarloza cached me on the finish line.
Rebellin wasn’t able to defend his lead, and lost a lot of time today. He just managed to defend his second place with four seconds down to Popovych.
Results:
1 Stijn Devolder Quick·Step 33'55
2 Yaroslav Popovych Astana Cycling Team + 7
3 Vladimir Gusev Team Katusha + 11
4 Gustav Larsson Team Saxo Bank + 16
5 Marzio Bruseghin Lampre - N.G.C + 22
6 George Hincapie Team Columbia - High Road + 27
7 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road + 29
8 Marco Pinotti Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
9 Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank + 34
10 Sylvain Chavanel Quick·Step + 39
... 148 Francesco Ginanni Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli + 2'43
Today it’s a day for me! There’s a flat stage, but there are some hills that may be decisive. My team will try to get rid of some sprinters before the sprint. So let's jump to the exciting part:
I found the wheel of Matti Breschel, ruining the Saxo Bank train. But there’s coming a larger train from behind, with all the big sprinters. I need to make a move soon…
And here I’m going! With more than 200 m left and I got a small gap to the pack. Will anyone respond to this move by me, or will I take my first win this season?
Damn, I got cached just before the finish line. Gasparotto won ahead of Petacchi, and takes back his point jersey from Rebellin. I was brave trying to have a long sprint, and got rewarded with a sixth place. Unfortunately, it was a split in the peloton, and all of our riders except me lost time. Rebellin lost almost a minute, and is out of top-ten
Results:
1 Enrico Gasparotto Lampre - N.G.C 4h56'02
2 Alessandro Petacchi LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
3 Martin Elmiger AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
4 Greg Van Avermaet Silence - Lotto s.t.
5 Martijn Maaskant Garmin - Slipstream s.t. 6 Francesco Ginanni Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli s.t.
7 Allan Davis Quick·Step s.t.
8 Gert Steegmans Team Katusha s.t.
9 Tom Boonen Quick·Step s.t.
10 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Saxo Bank s.t.
I’m ready for the last stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, a race which we’ve had shared feelings about. My manager meant that it was a shame that he fell and wasn’t able to keep his second place overall, but he did get two stage wins, and I proved that I’m (almost) strong enough for the ProTour.
I used my last day in the race to suck up some of the PT spirit, and test my legs in front of Milan-San Remo. There’s no doubt I will be elected to the squad with my performance during this race!
Since our sprinters Loddo and Rigotto couldn’t keep up with the packs pace, (as usual) I would be our hope in the sprints. I tried to get a good wheel, but it was really hard. Finally, I decided to get on the wheel of Rast, it was the best I got.
And no one could do anything with Gasparotto, taking his point jersey for the first time. It looked like Elmiger was going to win, but Gasparotto came flying with Duque on his wheels in the last 100 meters, and took the win.
I finished my ProTour adventure as 24. on this stage, overall, I got so far behind after the time trial, so it’s not worth mentioning.
Well, next up is hopefully Milan-San Remo, if I get the boss' trust. After that, I will start my preparations for the Ardennes classics with my first race outside Italy this season. (You might guess which)
Results:
1 Enrico Gasparotto Lampre - N.G.C 4h15'49
2 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
3 Martin Elmiger AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
4 Tom Boonen Quick·Step s.t.
5 Daniele Bennati Liquigas s.t.
6 William Bonnet Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
7 Robert Hunter Barloworld s.t.
8 Bernhard Eisel Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
9 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha s.t.
10 Allan Davis Quick·Step s.t.
... 24 Francesco Ginanni Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli s.t.
Hi again! Unfortunately, I wasn’t chosen to be in the teams Milan-San Remo roster. Savio said I shouldn’t race to much big races at my age. Deep inside I agree with him, but that doesn’t lift up my moral. Instead, I will start my preparation for the Ardennes classics. I will ride in Lombardy, which has quite similar terrain as the Benelux countries. After that, I will take a flight to Holland, where I will take part in Hel van het Mergelland. It’s a good opportunity to get used to the narrow roads and steep hills of Holland. But I got some good really good news for the team!
We were elected to ride Giro d’Italia, and I will hopefully be in our squad. Well, I’ll catch up again after Hel van het Mergelland. Stay tuned...
It’s a rainy and cold day here in Holland. Not exactly my favourite weather. Despite that, I’m feeling that this will be the day I’ll take my first victory of the year. It’s a hilly race, with a flat finish that favors’ me, since I’m a great sprinter and not just a hilly rider. There are not many big competitors here either; the biggest might be Visconti or Vanendert.
This is the first race I will actually be the leader of the team, so I have the privilege to be sheltered from the wind. Jackson sat with me the whole day, taking wind for me.
With 36 km to go, the favorites started to move. Visconti was the first to launch an attack. I thought it was too early to go, so I ordered my teammates to chase him down.
He never got a big gap, and we controlled him, as some of the minor favorites attacked. I was still calm, and my team drove them all in.
But with 25 km left, Visconti tried to break free once again. This time I was on his tail, and we easily came up to the remnants of the early breakaway.
Several riders managed to join us, and it had become a front group. QuickStep had two riders in the group, and Rabobank had many riders from both their pro- and continental team. But none of them wanted to take a relay, so I rode at the front alone.
But as the sprint drew closer, I played tactically. I was in third position, with Rujano and Engels ahead of me, and Tankink and Cataldo on my wheel. I was clearly the best sprinter, and nothing could stop me now!
With 200 m left, I started to sprint on my own, but what the fuck?? Cataldo had an enormous acceleration and was blewing past me!
Well, I don’t know how this happened, but even Tankink passed me, so I just managed a third place. Damn, it was so close! I was clearly the best sprinter, and I had lots of energy left in my legs, but all hail Cataldo, he was the best today, I just wasn’t strong enough…
Next up is Amstel Gold Race, a race suits Rebellin good, and will be my first big classic ever.
Boonen won Milan-San Remo in front of Cavendish and Hushovd. And no, I don't have any idea of what happened. Maybe Cataldo started the sprint with more speed than Ginanni, but he only have 64 in SP, I think.
Yes, here I am, ready for the tough one-day spring classics in Benelux. First of them is Amstel Gold Race, the race with the most climbs of the classics. Yesterday, it was beautiful weather, not a cloud on the sky. And today it’s RAINING! It’s cold, it’s cloudy and it’s raining. The warm-up in front of the race has been taken in our hotel’s lobby on rollers. But I’m not complaining, I’m just happy to ride.
I'm sitting as usual at the front of the peloton. I like it here, except all the wind.
With 63 km to go, a big group with many good riders was formed. Contador, Haussler, Ivanov, Garate and Chavanel are just a few of them.
There was no way the pack would let a big group like this go, and they chased them down. We hadn’t done a thing yet today, so maybe there it’s time to make some action soon?
So just before we hit the steep climb of Gulperberg, I launched an attack along with Rodriguez and Voigt. None of them could match my strength, and I powered away from them. Was it really so easy?
With 20 km left, I had been alone at the front for nearly ten km, when Pfannberger, Kirchen and Davide started the chase after me. I tried to hang on as they reached me, but I couldn’t keep their pace. Instead, I dropped back a little.
Many riders launched their attacks, when Rebellin had ridden away from Kirchen and Pfannberger. I sat calm in the pack, without doing any unnecessary efforts. Tjallingii and Barredo got up the Davide. Meanwhile, the big riders started to move. Rebellin’s gap wasn’t big enough, so they flew past him and he couldn’t do a thing.
Meanwhile, Dekker, Gilbert, Cunego, Valverde and Voigt had formed a group at the front. This was going to be the winning break for sure. As the attacks started to come at the bottom of Cauberg, Valverde was dropped. Cunego was also a few meters behind the three at the front, but can he beat them with a magnificent sprint?
It’s Silence – Lotto show here in Valkenburg! Dekker wins ahead of Gilbert and Voigt, with Cunego fourth. Great job by Silence!
I was second in the sprint in the pack, only behind Chavanel. It’s a great performance by me, finishing 22. Just a shame Davide didn’t manage to do better than 12. We’ll just hope for a better result in the two upcoming Belgian classics.
Results:
1 Thomas Dekker Silence - Lotto 6h31'12
2 Philippe Gilbert Silence - Lotto + 7
3 Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank s.t.
4 Damiano Cunego Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
5 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 55
6 Carlos Barredo Quick·Step + 1'07
7 Maarten Tjallingii Rabobank + 1'19
8 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
9 Fränk Schleck Team Saxo Bank + 1'35
10 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
... 22 Francesco Ginanni Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli + 5'04
Hey, it's me again! I'm really happy after AGR, where I showed how strong I really am, after beating Contador in the sprint. But anyway, Mauricio Soler is the new Colombian TT champion. He won by a small margin over Alex Ardila, with Peña finishing third.
Rigoberto Uran showed his strenght in the road race, after attacking on the last mountain. Serpa finished fourth in the same race.
And speaking of results, the cobbled classics are over for this season, and Cavendish ( ) won Ronde van Vlaanderen ahead of Trofimov ( ). Dunno how the hell that happened (stupid Cyanide), and Cancellara was the strongest in Gent-Wevelgem, while Pippo Pozzato edged out Boonen in Paris-Roubaix.
Edited by MrContador on 03-05-2009 17:38
