After the disappointment of stage 2, stage 3 was much more to our liking. A few climbs, but a downhill finish. This is breakaway country. And that's not to mention the ten points on offer to the rider who crosses both KOMs in first place. So naturally, we were desperate to show our colours, and hopefully, take home a good result.
Our man for the breakaway was Enrico Barbin, and he formed a small two man breakaway. Unfortunately, 2 against 200 is not a fair fight, and they were swallowed up, even before the first climb had begun. But the Bardiani boys don't give up without a fight. Battaglin rode away with a few other optimistic riders. He took the first KOM sprint.
However, the peleton were not to be fooled today. They caught the second breakaway, and rode over the second KOM point, snatching up all the points. Unfortunately none of our riders were up front at the finish, so we come home empty handed. We are now only joint first in the KOM competition, so we can't wear the jersey. Let's hope we can reclaim it!
Shonak's ferociously quick reporting, and the fact people have better things to do, means that now we are making weekly reports instead of daily ones. It certainly didn't mean that we weren't active.
Our man for Stage 4 was Enrico Barbin. He got in the breakaway on what was a hilly stage, his speciality. He rode well, and in fact got pretty close to holding off the peleton. Unfortunately, that means that he was too spent to actually get a good result.
On stage 5, nothing really happened. We, for once, had no one in the break. Despite this catastrophe, we were even more fired up for the remaining stages.
Stage 6 was flatter and better. Baggio got in the break, and it again, made it close. However, Brookes was also doing a bit of wheel hopping in the peleton, and his sprint was good enough for 7th, a pretty good result.
On stage 7, the last day, we sent Pirazzi up front. He is our main man for both the Gc and the KOM, so this was very important to us. Unfortunately his efforts weren't enough. They were caught, and the big boys fought it out for the win.
Has another week gone by already? Well no, I just two reports in a row. Oh well.
I was another exciting week for the boys in green, as we tried to get a good result. We were looking for more breakaways, and hopefully a stage win or two. Maybe even a few days in the KOM jersey.
Stage 8 was a time trial, and for us, that means a rest day. We a collectively failed, but 2 rest days in a row isn't a bad deal.
On stage 9, it seems that no one from Bardiani was particularly interested in doing anything. Maybe there was a little rustiness to shake off before we could get some big wins. Or maybe not...
On stage 10, Battaglin got himself into the breakaway. As one of our better climbers, we hoped he could pick up some points or get a result. He didn't do either. Well, you know, it was only going to get better, right.
Right! For Once! On stage 11, Pirazzi showed us a glimpse of his true might. He got himself into a breakaway with some equally good climbers. He snapped up a good number of points, then proceeded towards the finish. The breakaway could still win. They did still win, it just wasn't Pirazzi. The win went to Izagerre and Euskatel, but the next man on the road was Pirazzi. He took a very impressive podium, our best result so far.
The 12th stage was a flat one. We deliberately did not put in a breakaway member. We had to take control if we were going to win this one. We were alone in setting a strong pace. We also were the only strong lead out train, but considering our team, we were more than happy to fulfil this role. Despite all our guys working hard, the attackers were caught around the line, so Brookes was caught up a little and only managed 4th, so close to a second podium in as many days.
The next day was a bit of a cool down after the last two, and none of our riders showed anything.
On stage 14, Battaglin was a member of the breakaway. Unfortunately, his luck hasn't been good so far, and this breakaway, like all his breakaways, was caught. He was unlucky, but we hope for a bit of luck in the final week, and hopefully we will make our goals for the race.
It's me, Tom. The last few weeks have been quite hectic, so I haven't had much time to keep my blog updated. Grand Tours are really crazy, and riding the Giro d'Italia for an Italian team only makes that even more extreme. Of course I was extremely motivated to do something, so I got in to the break on the very first day. I wasn't expecting us to survive, but I did hope to take the pressure of Fabian, and of course I was also secretly eyeing the Maglia Azzura. And to everyones, including myself, I actually managed to secure it! Of course, there was no way I could win it in the end, but it was still quite amazing. The fans were just incredible, they were really ecstatic at seeing a Bardiani rider in the Maglia Azzura. For the rest of the three weeks, I was quite anonymous, but riding a GT at the age of 18 is all about survival, and full of pride I can say that I made it to Brescia.
It has been a busy break here at Bardiani HQ, and we hope to reap the rewards in the coming season section, and hopefully into the transfer period too. We look forward to the first race, the Ride London Surrey Classic, which should be one for the sprinters if things go our way. First though, I need to tell you where our special EPIC riders will be riding, and hopefully, winning.
Fabian Brookes will ride in London - Surrey, Tour of Britain, and Beijing.
Tom O'Callaghan will also start off in the UK, with London and Britain, then go to France for Vendee, and finish in Beijing.
Eric Bousche will have the same start, in London and Britain, followed by Vendee, and Paris Tours, before finishing in Hainan.
We hope all riders our happy with their schedule, and any questions can be asked.
The first part of the transfer season has certainly been busy here at Bardiani. We've made a lot of offers, both to current riders, and potential transfers, and we have been relatively successful. Although no new riders have been confirmed yet, we can now announce the resigning of two of last year's superstars. Yes, thats right, both Tom O'Callaghan and Fabian Brookes have signed new contracts.
This is great news for the team, as it is an honour to have two of the brightest talents in sprinting on board with the team. Hopefully we can improve on last years performances both in terms of activity, and end results. As most of you will know, Bardiani has become a sprinting team in the last year, and this looks to be a trend that is set to continue. We are a team which can supply the needs of any young sprinter, and are still looking for another strong sprinter, to prop us up.
To summarise, we are delighted to reveal this news today, and hope that these riders will continue to develop at the team, and we hope for some big results next year. We are still open to sign new riders, after the failure to secure some of our new targets, so we will continue our transfer season, and we hope to have some new news to announce by the end of it.
Hey guys, it's me, Tom O'Callaghan, the newly crowned Irish Champion. Did I do a post on "How the race was won"? I believe not. But that's for another time. I'm here to say that I've extended my contract with Bardiani for another year. I'm really happy down here in Italy, and I've been linking up well with Brookesy, so moving on was never considered. Of course I'm only 19, so I'm way to young to lead a team on my own. That's why I want to stay here, gain some speed by continuing to lead out, and hopefully I can go for myself in a few smaller races come 2015. There's also a real good climate within the team, so if I get the chance, I'd love to stay on long-term, too. So, see you around,
Our first race of the season has finished, and it was a good start in terms of excitement if not results. Having brought Fabian here and a strong team to back him up, we felt that we could aim to podium, especially considering the lack of high quality opposition through the field, the only other opposition seemed to be Marcel Kittel.
However, we are smart enough to realise we need more than one option, and on a hilly par cours, we sent a man in the breakaway in Santoro, in fact he was really the creator of the final group. He worked hard in the group, perhaps a little too hard, as eventually he was dropped by the ferocious pace and attacks trying to stay clear. Worse still, it worked for them.
A nine man group made it to the flamme rouge, and only the monster that is Kittel interreupted the sprint, making a solid 7th. Fabian had to settle for 12th, or 3rd in the bunch sprint, behind Petit. We are frustrated as we felt this would have been a good result, perhaps Fabian would have had the motivation to sprint for 2nd if there was a chance of that, but for now we are left only with ifs and maybes.
Hello all
This last part of the season I have been told I will be riding 2 stage races and 2 one day races. The first of these races is the Tour of Britain, this race has multiple flat stages and I hope I can help Brookes or go myself to achieve a few good results. Next up is the French One day race Tour de Vendee, I assume I have leadership here but either way I want to enjoy it as it is in my home country. The third is the other one day classics Paris-Tours, this is another race in my home country and I thank my management for letting me ride there. And finally I finish my season in China with the Tour of Hainan, I have never been to China so it should be an interesting experience.
Hello all,
This season has been a bit up and down for me as a rider in this world of professional cycling. I am very young and I think my manager must have forgotten that because I think I was left out of the Tour of Britain, unless I got knocket out somewhere sometime. Not too good.
On a more positive note I received a text the other day from the National Team Coach of France informing me that I would be racing the U23 Road Race at the upcoming World Championships in Tuscany. It should be really awesome as an 18 year old and I look forward to the experience. I will also be urging the Elite's on from the roadside.
My final bit of news for the few fans that I have, if any, is that I will not be riding for Bardiani next season. I was given an offer by the French National Team Coach to ride for the FDJ team ext year and pounced at the opportunity to ride for a French team. I wish good luck to all my team mates as it has been a joy riding next to and with you this season.
We are rerribly sorry for the inconvenience Erik, it seems our planner and the final handed in copy differ for some reason. I apologise for not picking up on this earlier, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your time at the team.
On the other hand... Thats what you get for leaving without telling anyone
It has been a long time since I have even looked at EPIC, so I apologise. Unfortunately, the Bardiani manager was in too much of a strop as to the current predicament of his favourite rider, Delfi Cervero, to care about his own team. Thankfully with the help of Cerveroholics Anonymous, he is back to continue with management.
The season part has been pretty mediocre, and we have failed many of the goals that we have set, probably as they were way too ambitious. However the season is beginning to look up, so we will focus on that.
Sacha Modolo is going for some good results in the Tour of Hainan. He has already secured 2nd on stage 1. He was not picked out as a favourite, but a good lead out and an even better sprint made he was close to the victor, Mario Guido. Fabian Brookes is about to start in Beijing, led out by Tom, so we expect bug things from them. The future looks bright, particularly in China for the Bardiani team.
Tom O'Callaghan 
