The team asked me for one final race before a small rest period. Since I came out of the Tour in decent shape I agreed, and so I went to San Sebastian for a classic. Now I'll take some rest and try to recharge for the last bit of the season. Maybe I'll race Hamburg and Plouay, like last season, but more likely I'll be starting in the two Canadian Classics. We'll see.
Classica San Sebastian
Pre-race
Some tough hills, but far enough from the finish. If I can make it over those two giants, I have a real shot at a podium spot, I reckon. But much can happen along the way, so I can finish anywhere between first and last.
The Race
Movistar controlled the pace on the hills, which suited me fine.
When the groups split up and we were only about 30 men strong in the front group, I told my team mates I felt quite good today. We put a guy at the front to avoid any far out attackers to surprise us.
When Wellens and Alaphilippe attacked, I knew this was no time to sit back. I did my best to answer their powerful acceleration.
I had to bite my teeth. I was suffering hard but I was on their tail!
Some other riders found their way to the front and the final 20 km were a constant struggle. I had to close a gap twice, which asked a lot of energy.
We would be sprinting for the victory with 6 men. I knew I have a good finish, but I wasted a lot of energy closing gaps and there were other strong men here, like Matthews, Alaphilippe...
Like I thought, I lacked the energy to really sprint for the win. Matthews won easily. I finished just off the podium, in fourth position.
A fair result, I think. I was one of the strongest on the hills, but lacked a bit of power in the final kilometers. I will need that little bit of rest to tackle the final part of the season. I'm happy with today's result and I now know I can return here for the win one day.
Just four more days... The Worlds will be panflat this year, in Doha. But that doesn't mean I won't be there with ambition. We have Fontana, one of the top sprinters in the field. And maybe I can let myself be noticed. My big aim will be the Time Trial, though. At the end of the season, time trials can give strange results, why shouldn't I be able to profit from that?
But my preperation has not been ideal...
Hamburg
I set up Fontana for the sprint and finished 11th myself, a good race after my rest period, I was happy!
I arrived in Canada and immediately had a decrease in energy. First I thought it was the jetlag but apparently I was ill. I was there so I decided to race anyway, but take it easy. So I didn't go for the big result here.
1
Roman Kreuziger
Tinkoff-Saxo
4h57'45
2
Beñat Intxausti
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
3
Rui Costa
Lampre-Merida
+ 12
4
Tim Wellens
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
5
Rafal Majka
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
6
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 24
7
Romain Bardet
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
8
Giele Vandonck
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
9
Michal Kwiatkowski
Team Sky
+ 35
10
Zdenek Stybar
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
(...)
74
Antonio Andolini
Cattelan Italia
+ 1'38
Montreal
And the illness continued. Montreal was next but I was really under the weather.
I left Canada ill and landed in Doha, to get used to the surroundings for the Worlds, much better. All my time in Canada I felt real bad, so I don't have a particularly good memory of Canada. I think I'll stick with the Italian fall races next time, instead of going to the cold Canada.
Anyway, not the ideal preperation for the World Championships, but I'm very fit, very motivated and I'm definitely stronger than last year.
Pre-race: The time trial is one of my big objectives this year. Although I haven't been spending enough time on the time trial bike to make a play for the podium, I hope to do better than last year's 7th place. The warmth is to my advantage, but my preperation hasn't been ideal.
Race: I had good legs today, which is always nice, but especially on the day of the Worlds. Fairly soon I had Kwiatkowski within my sights!
He put up a great fight and it took me the entire course to finally catch up with him. Still, on the finish line, I beat him and I set the provisional 3rd time. Not too bad.
There were three riders left to finish and they all broke the provisional best time in their particular order. That means I finish 6th, which is one place better than last year. If I keep this up I'll be World Champion in no time (well, five years actually)
The strongest with yet another World Title was the German Tony Martin.
Pre-race: A pancake flat race. This one is all in for our sprinter Fontana. Francesco has become a dear friend of mine and he's one of the most talented riders in the bunch, a pure sprinter. It's the perfect parcours for him and with 10 victories this season so far he's proven he can do it. He's beaten all the top sprinters one time or another. This is the time when it would matter most, though.
I am prepared to put myself to work for him 100%. I will not attack, but play a vital role in the sprint train.
Race: Doha might not be the most interesting profile for a WC, it's definitely a beautiful sight.
In the local lap, there was a quick pace and the peloton almost broke into pieces.
But we kept everything together and then set up our sprint train. Here went nothing!
Viva Italia! We came with a plan, a clear leader and motivation. Our sprint train was the most impressive one and only the French were able to come close to ours.
With the finale coming up, it was almost my time. I was almost nervous.
When I hit the front, I felt the wind pushing back strongly. I bent down a bit and pushed the pedals. We took a little gap over the French! This was my job, that's what I came here to do!
Only one link in our chain made a mistake, but it was our lead-out man. Viviani made a small mistake, which made us lose our advantage of our small gap. Very unfortunate, but things like that can happen! Fontana reacted properly and launched his sprint. It was still early, though, with the wind head-on!
What a final rush, but unfortunately Fontana lost pace in the final 30 meters, losing the win and even the podium. Kittel makes it a double for Germany (and Etixx). A deserved champion, but we were disappointed because Francesco really had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity today.
Well, I wanted to do better than last year.
I finished 6th and 9th, opposed to 7th and 9th. I guess I did better. A little bit.
But what can I say, me and the lads had a real good time here. We bonded a lot, had a lot of fun here in Doha. Francesco did his best, as did everyone in our squad. We can leave Doha without regrets, maybe 5th was the best result possible, for now.
I will always have fond memories of the time we spend here with the national squad, it was a good group.
And maybe next time, it can revolve around a different leader.
Who knows, maybe even... me?
The end of the season is upon us. I've been consistently strong almost all throughout the season, I've raced my first Grand Tour, I've won five races, including a Tour stage, and much more. I'm getting rather tired and aching for the season to end so we can go on a deserved holiday.
Two races were left on my calendar and despite my fatigue I was eager to make something of them.
Il Lombardia
Pre-race: Not my best memory from last season, where I was unable to finish the race. It's a tough profile but I am definitely stronger than twelve months ago, and better at steering, too. The DS put no pressure on me and just told me to see where I can finish.
The race: Once again Lombardia saw riders crash. I was not one of them this time.
Favorite for today was definitely Wellens. His team controlled the pack from start to finish, so to speak.
I wasn't ready to be taken like lambs to the slaughter. Allowing Wellens to wait for that final hill was mere suicide, and I wouldn't stand for it. I attacked!
But I got no support and Lotto picked me up a few kilometers later. My chance was gone.
As predicted, the young Belgian took the win easily. I was a bit frustrated at the other riders' way of riding. I was the only one to try and spoil Lotto's plans.
I finished 18th, which is not bad, but it could've been better. Next year, perhaps.
Pre-race: DS said we'll be betting on two horses today. Not always the best tactic but he's willing to risk it. I am a free agent to attack near the end and try to clear away. On the other hand, Fontana will hang back and try to sprint for the win.
Given the work I put in for Francesco in Doha, he was more than willing to allow me to do my thing and not help him in the final sprint today.
The race: More rain this months. It's been a terrible month all round in Europe. Rain rain rain.
I was blocked by a few riders and so I was too late to attack. I counterattacked when I could. The French rider was on his way to the win. I still had a large gap to close!
We stayed ahead of the peloton, but I only managed a second place. Still, it's a nice season end for me. I can go into the off-season with another successful year behind me.
The 2016 season is over. My second complete season with the pros on the road. I can safely say it's been a successful year. But was it better than my debut year? There's doubt about that. I have grown as a rider, but my reputation has grown with it and I've had some adjustment issues with that.
I've been very consistent throughout the entire season and that remains a strength of mine. However, there are some things I'll do differently this off-season, as I feel I'm still getting stronger physically I want to take full advantage of that. More on that below.
Wins
I've won five races, much like last season. This time no Monument, but a Tour de France stage, which might give me as much pleasure. Two National Titles are a very welcome bonus and if you're going to win "only" five races in a season, these two would be on the list high up, so I'm very proud to wear the jersey anywhere I go.
Cobbles
I've had my first experiences on the cobbles in Belgium and I have to say it's not my style. Will I be returning? Perhaps, but I'm not that keen. Fontana winning Gent-Wevelgem was a day to never forget, but both for good and bad reasons!
Hills & Monuments
It seems I have improved on hilly stages. I finish top 20 in three monuments: San Remo, Liège and Lombardia. That means I can dream of perhaps one day having all those races on my palmares.
A wet dream would be to one day win all five monuments, but in this day and age, it's an impossiblity, so I'll take three out of five with pleasure! It's a dream for the rest of my career and I'll probably never make it, but who knows what else is in stock for me? At least I already have San Remo crossed out!
Grand Tours
My debut Grand Tour was a success. I've won a stage and come close two more times. I finish 41th overall and only really struggled on the tough mountain stages. Maybe it's time to ride my home Grand Tour, the Giro, next season. The mountains might suit me even less, but winning a stage in this National Jersey would be another dream coming true, and I know I can do it!
So what's in stock for 2017? Obviously I can't say much about my race schedule or whatever yet, because it's way too far off as of yet. But I can say this;
Cattelan Italia
It's quite late but I extended my contract with Cattelan. I love the team and it's still growing rapidly, I want to be part of it. There was some minor hassle about my role in the team, though, as I wanted a free role, both in choosing my races and in my tactics in the race, use my instinct. The team wanted to use me for many lieutenant duties for Mollema, Fontana...
I have no problem working for others, I enjoy their victories very much. But I think I'm at a time in my career where I have to be an a**hole a little bit and be a little selfish for now. It's not the nice thing to do, but I've heard stories of strong riders getting stuck in domestique duties for too long and it really hurt their career. I don't want that happening to me.
But so Cattelan really wanted to keep me, and I've got my leadership/free role status that I demanded!
Training
Time Trialing is a beautiful art. I've spend a lot of time trying to perfect it and I'm definitely among the finest subtop time trialers in the world. My 7th and 6th place in the Worlds proves that.
However, to make that final leap from top 7 in the World to top 3 or the best requires utmost dedication and specialisation. I simply cannot do it now. So I'll try to keep up with my time trial duties (I want to keep that Italian jersey and contend for the top 10 in the Worlds next season!), but I will be spending more of my energy elsewhere.
I'll work hard on riding uphill this off-season, develop my power, acceleration. Next season, I want to make another step towards a top rider, in more than one discipline.
News
To finish, this bit of news. Strade Bianche and Paris - Tours will be part of the World Tour next season. Great news for me because I can score in both those races!
Welcome to Sportivo, Italy's leading Sports News. This is your host, Santino Di Luca. Today we begin with sad news from the cycling world, as Dominico Pozzovivo has decided to end his career as a road cyclist. Once tipped as a possible Grand Tour winner, Pozzovivo crashed hard in the Giro last season and is still recovering. At the age of 34, he has now decided to take it easy and won't be returning to the sport. Cattelan Italia, his employer, released a press statement in which they ask us to give Pozzovivo some time and that they'll continue to pay for his medical bills until he's healthy, up and running again. Pozzovivo's best result in the Giro was in 2014 with a 5th place. He won two Giro stages, the last one a few days before the crash that ended his career.
Opening Classic Trofeo Laigueglia
In other news, today the cycling season really kicked off with the Trofeo Laigueglia.
Cattelan Italia, at the start with the 24-year old Italian double Champion Antonio Andolini, controlled the second part of the race.
In the final descent, team mate Gianni Moscon left a small gap and allowed Andolini to take a few meters on his rivals. Andolini, a notoriously good descender, only increased the gap for the remainder of the downhill.
The gap was comfortable enough to celebrate a first win of the season.
Guldhammer finished second and Andolini's team mate Moscon made the Cattelan joy complete by completing the podium.
Our reporter on the spot managed to sneak an interview with today's winner before the podium ceremony.
Congratulations, Antonio. First race of the season and first win. Antonio Andolini: Yes, the season couldn't possibly have a better start. A week ago I was sad not to start the season after Costa degli Etruschi was cancelled, but immediately I shifted my focus to today's race and I'm thrilled to start my season in this fashion. In your debut season you won Milan - San Remo, last year you took both Italian titles and a Tour de France stage. What are your main objectives for your third season as a road cyclist?
I've got a few races picked out where I want to perform well. The period from Strade Bianche to San Remo will be a first big test. After that I'll start working towards my first Giro d'Italia. With a stage finishing in Varese, my home town, I could hardly stay away from the Giro any longer. So far you've showed a steady but impressive progress in your abilities. Do you think you can follow that trend in your third year?
I definitely hope so. I've trained very hard this winter and tried some new methods. Today they pay off, but we'll have to see how the rest of the season goes. Of course you always hope to improve. I'll be turning 25 this year, so I'm not at my physical top yet. There's room left for improvement. Thank you, Antonio, they're requesting your presence on the podium now. Congratulations once again.
Thanks!
Classica San Sebastian 
Il Lombardia 
Paris - Tours 
