Carlo Calzone achieved on the 7th stage of Tour of Turkey only a 10th place, which decreased his lead as both Bennati and Modolo finished ahead of him and scored lots of points. In a post-race interview, Calzone said it doesn't matter. "I want to keep the fight interesting", he admitted jokingly. "Despite, nobody looks so good in the point leader jersey as me, so it's good for them to not have to wear it..."
And yes, commentators have called the fight for the points jersey "one of the most interesting fights I've ever seen in professional Cycling" (Cycleman123). So, no matter how the final stage ends and who wins the point jersey, one thing is sure: Calzone can be considered a sigil of quality for bunch sprints and points classification, and a true cause of excitement and great racing.
I'm a sigil of quality indeed. And I'll have to defeat Bennati and Modolo tomorrow. And I will.
Calzone: Win of Points Classification & Ready For Giro?
So, it happened what we all knew would come real: I won the Tour of Turkey points classification. Granted, it was closer than I would have liked, but I was always in full control and knew that neither Bennati nor Coquard wouldn't stand much a chance if I was just strong. By finishing once more on a third place on the last stage, I confirmed my great line of success here in Turkey. My form is definitely right, so I thought I might as well celebrate a bit with a feast of turkish cuisine and girls. Unfortunately, due to Erdogan's recent dumb decisions, there arn't any more pictures I can show you of me triumphing and smiling from the podium. But on the good side this also means that the recent scandal pics, that some noisy journalist took of me and some girls, won't be released either. Tough luck.
Considering the Giro d'Italia I will ready and eager, however Turkey has already shown that I need support for my sprint. Most of all, I need a good lead-out. Felline and I can only accomplish so much.
I took a flight home with Turkish Airlines but I shouldn't have done that. Onboard where Messi and Kobe Bryant and they constantly made some lame selfie-jokes. I did more productive things and seduced two stewardess girls.
See you in Italy.
Final Points Classification
1
Carlo Calzone
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
16
97
2
Daniele Bennati
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
20
96
3
Bryan Coquard
Team Europcar
25
96
4
Sacha Modolo
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
12
89
5
Theo Bos
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
14
59
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Tour of Turkey
As you can see above carlo Calzone just held on by a single point to win the Points Classification. A good effort from him.
Tour de Romandie
It finished not too long ago and Franco Pellizotti did quite well finishing 11th in the final General Classification.
Tour of California
We did have a goal here but this was never going to happen because our strong climbers are at the Giro. However, Chiarini did manage a 2nd on Stage 5 after a successful breakaway attempt.
At the moment we have the Giro d'Italia going on. It is our most important race of the season and we need a Top 10 in the GC from Pellizotti if we are to achieve our hard goal. We think this goal is quite possibly but it will still be difficult.
Stage 1
Came down to a sprint. Carlo Calzone managed 14th amongst some of the best in the world. Our train did not exist which is part of the reason. Goss won the stage.
Stage 2
It was a 17km Team Time Trial. The goal here was not to lose to much time to the other GC Contenders. Had a good start but finished weakly in 18th 49 seconds behind winners Sky so not terrible.
Stage 3
Sprint after Mountains. Reda finishes 24th, thats all.
Stage 4
Proper Climbing Stage. One for the GC Contenders.
Reda broke away but it was unsuccesful in the end.
Some good aggression in attacks from Pellizotti seen here in the Italian National Champs Jersey.
Nibali won the stage 27 seconds ahead of a 7 man group containing Pellizotti who came 3rd and taking our first podium of the Giro. This also moved Pellizotti up to 8th in the GC.
GC After Stage 4
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
15h15'29
2
Richie Porte
Sky Procycling
+ 17
3
Rigoberto Urán
Sky Procycling
+ 19
4
Roman Kreuziger
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
+ 32
5
Carlos Betancur
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 33
6
Robert Kiserlovski
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
7
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin - Sharp
+ 40
8
Franco Pellizotti
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 58
9
Adrien Hanzen
Sky Procycling
+ 2'04
10
Christian Knees
Sky Procycling
+ 2'14
Stage 5
An interesting stage which should be won by a sprinter.
However, Betancur had other plans and won the stage moving into Pink. Calzone finishes 23rd and this pisses me off because Pellizotti should be going for a high placing in this stage with many other GC contenders finishing in the Top 10.
Pellizotti remains 8th in the GC.
Stage 6
A typical flat stage for the sprinters.
Pellizotti got involved in the sprint train.
Calzone finished 9th so not a bad effort from him. Cavendish won the stage.
Stage 7
A mountainous stage but not too bad.
Betancur wins the stage out of a 5 man group including Nibali.
Pellizotti finishes in the main group in 12th 1'20 behind winner Betancur.
The second week started with a long lumpy 55km Time trial. Pellizotti did absolutely nothing finishing 48th 3'36 behind stage winner Cancellara who took the win by 50 seconds ahead of Kelderman. This saw Zotti dropping just outside the Top 10 into 11th.
Stage 9
Geschke took the stage win for Argos. Pellizotti finished 17th after a break took the stage. He did not lost too much time to the main GC men.
Stage 10
We had 6 riders helping chase the breakaway which seemed a little pointless.
Unfortunately Pellizotti did not have it in his legs today as he could only watch as the other powered up the road.
Quintana won the stage and Pellizotti finished 7th moving him up to 8th in the GC. A better stage from him.
Stage 11
Sella got into the breakaway today.
The break survived but unfortunately he and Pirazzi did not have the legs to stay with the Basque Climber, Gorka Verdugo.
Gorka won the stage with Pirazzi in 2nd 47 seconds behind and Sella taking 3rd 1'03 behind.
Stage 12
A sprinter stage. One breakaway man named Rathe held on meters ahead of the Peloton. Calzone finished 13th which is mainly because of the lack of support... Pellizotti 9th in the GC but Quintana is in 10th only 40 seconds behind.
Stage 13
In a quite hilly stage Capecchi took the win for Movistar out of the breakaway.
Pellizotti finished with the main favourites and luckily for him Quintana missed the split and lost a fair bit of time but not too much. Pellizotti now 8th in the GC.
Stage 14
Rubiano got into the breakaway for the team.
Pellizotti tried an attack with race leader Nibali.
They were trying very hard but so were the Peloton behind them.
They were caught with 20km to go.
Porte took the win for Sky. Pellizotti's earlier efforts took a lot out of him and he lost a lot of time. Now not even inside the Top 10 of the GC.
GC After Week 2:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
54h00'48
2
Carlos Betancur
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 47
3
Richie Porte
Sky Procycling
+ 1'14
4
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin - Sharp
+ 2'20
5
Roman Kreuziger
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
+ 3'26
6
Robert Kiserlovski
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 6'50
7
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 6'54
8
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
+ 8'51
9
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - Merida
+ 8'59
10
Wilco Kelderman
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 9'00
11
Franco Pellizotti
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 9'49
12
Ivan Basso
Cannondale Pro Cycling
+ 10'42
13
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
+ 14'01
14
Dario Cataldo
Sky Procycling
+ 14'26
15
Domenico Pozzovivo
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 15'37
It is looking a bit concerning for Pellizotti who is 49 seconds behind Kelderman. We are hoping that he can improve and take back his top 10 spot in the final week of racing.
The second week ended badly and may have put Pellizotti out of top 10 contention according to the race commentators but he is sitting only 50 seconds behind 10th place Kelderman. Will the old timer beat the young gun? And the team continues their hunt for a stage win.
Stage 15
Gesink took a solo win from the breakaway.
Pellizotti loses more time to Kelderman who is now 1 minute and 56 seconds ahead of the Italian.
Stage 16
Rosa joined the break and had Burton and Westra for company.
The break later became 6 men strong.
A messy looking Peloton saw the main favourites already attacking. Pellizotti attacks the peloton which still includes Kelderman.
Battaglin won it from the break with a late attack. Rosa finished in 3rd with Cancellara outsprinting him for 2nd and CAS in 4th.
Unsurprisingly Nibbles increased his lead on the other GC riders.
Pellizotti finished 19th on the stage in a group 1'30 in front of group Kelderman. The gap between them now down to only 26 seconds. Rosa also jumped up the GC into 16th.
Stage 17
The team has a breakaway member again, this time it is Sella.
Three minutes is the lead with 20kms to go.
A group containing Pellizotti (top right) jumps away following attacks by the stronger GC riders. Kelderman is nowhere to be seen.
The breakaway took the stage win as it came down to a sprint between Sella, Fedrigo and Gorka Izagirre. Unfortunately Fedrigo was the strongest and Sella could only manage 3rd, although nothing bad with to podiums in a row.
Pellizotti finished on the same time as Evans in 17th 38 seconds ahead of the big group containing Kelderman. Pellizotti back into the Top 10 now 12 seconds ahead of the young Belkin rider.
Stage 18
A Mountain TT which is won by Quintana ahead of Nibali. Pellizotti loses 31 seconds to a strong Kelderman, gap between them in the GC is only 19 seconds with two decisive stages still to come.
Stage 19
A big mountain stage. This should decide whether or not Pellizotti finishes in the Top 10.
There is a breakaway in front which should take the stage but we skip to the Gc action further down the road. Pellizotti looking strong here.
Pirazzi wins the stage.
Pellizotti and Kelderman finish in the same group. Tomorrow's stage should be the final decider in this EPIC battle (get it, EPIC )
Stage 20
Shalunov in the break today which is quite alright.
Pellizotti this time starts the GC boys attacks 3km from the top of the third last climb of the day.
And he tries again on the second last climb.
At the summit of the second last climb Pellizotti has joined forces with Quintana and Nibali!!
The break was caught by the 3 men.
Only a few kilometres to go and Pellizotti has been dropped by the two strongest climbers in Italy at the moment.
The pink Nibbles takes the stage win ahead of Quintana. Another 3rd for the team as Pellizotti finishes after a valiant effort. He took 3 minutes on Kelderman to be comfortable in 10th only a minute behind 8th place. All he must do is finish well tomorrow.
Stage 21
A crash with 17kms takes down a few riders. Luckily no Andronians involved.
5kms to go and Pellizotti attacks along with Quintana, this attempt unfortunately fails.
Hoogerland takes the stage win just ahead of the Peloton. With both sprinters and climbers in the Top 10 on the stage Franco Pellizotti finishes comfortably, in 5th!
And so he has done it!!!!!!!
Pellizotti takes 10th in the GC and completes our Hard Goal and Season Goal. Great work from the team and a great show of experience and strength by the old Italian
My Comment:
What a great Giro. Although we did not manage a stage win we achieved numerous podiums and were involved in many successful breakaways throughout weeks 2 and 3. Great work from my team lead to an amazing 10th in the GC from Pellizotti. It was greatly deserved. We would also like to thank Shonak for bringing us fantastic coverage of the great race as well as our supporters (mainly of Pellizotti) and Gesink, without whom we probably would have finished 11th. A great race with a great outcome. Hard Goal= Achieved
After his abymsal Giro d'Italia, tensions have been high with Calzone. Reports suggest that the Future Emperor of the Road (his newest title) was neither pleased with his own performance and thus, also not with his team's. He also lost too many race days for shitty mountains in the Giro d'Italia, suffering through those cold and hot days, without any reward whatsoever. Frankly, Calzone stated, "that it was an awful idea to want to ride Giro d'Italia. Scuzzi to myself."
In another interview, he was a bit harsher: "Screw Grand Tours, I only care about Mailand San Remo in future!", he stated while shagging a journalist, who was looking for an exclusive interview and had to pay the price.
Recent rumours suggest that at least one World Tour team is interested in The Calzone. However, even his own agents have not been able to reach Calzone so far since he's on a cruiseship, trying to forget the last months with a shitload of coke & hundreds of hours on a Home Trainer. It's suggested that the Calzone wants to prove at least his worth in the upcoming weeks once again, and then decide where his future will take him.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
As the end of the season approaches we have made the decision to release information regarding who will stay and who will be available.
Definitely Staying:
Fabio Felline
Diego Rosa
Not Available (Unless a good Trade):
Mattia Gavazzi
Franco Pellizotti
For Sale or Trade (Decent/Good Offer Needed):
Francesco Reda
Miguel Rubiano
Emanuele Sella
Ricardo Chiarini
Marco Frapporti
Available (For not too much):
Jackson Rodriguez
Carlos Jose Ochoa
Yonder Godoy
Please Take Them (Not much Money required):
Patrick Facchini
Matteo Di Serafino
Giairo Ermeti
Tomas Gil
Antonino Parrinello
Omar Bertazzo
Alessandro Malaguti
Detials Regarding Targets to be released at a later stage but all we can say for now is that our team will certainly be different next season.
Carlo Calzone has never been a man of a modest lifestyle, and neither has his extravagant demands ever settled for anything less than first place (except when it comes to cycling...). So despite his enjoying stay at Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela, it has no kept him from signing with a World Tour team for the next season. The Italian will join the likes of Valverde, Quintana & russian locomotive Ilja at Movistar, in order to become the most recognized sprinter in the peloton in the coming years. To achieve a trade mark name like The Tashkent Terror and equal the popularity of Cipollini, it seemed as a logical move for the proud heir of Italian Sprinting to take the next step.
In a press statement, Calzone stated: "I'm very proud to have signed for Movistar. This team can break any barriers, as much as in mountains as well as in sprints soon.
My new coach has already demonstrated a great gift in setting up sprint trains in a parallel universe, and I'm sure that I can benefit greatly from that. I'm sure there will be great signings coming, where we all profit from.
I look forward to next season, and riding in Movistar's colors. Truthfully, Movistar has finally its very own... Movi(e)sta. Ergo, Rockstar. Me."
Calzone would also like to thank Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela for the opporunitiy in his season as a Neo-Pro, to both fight in lesser races and to fulfill the dream of riding the Giro. Although not everything went perfect, Calzone will want to achieve the best in the races that follow. He'll ride Giro del Piemonte and the Tour of Hainan as a season finish, both a season goal for the team. You can be sure that he'll try to fulfill them as he did in Turkey prior. As for now, he has been reported to waste his time in a 5 star hotel in Las Vegas, celebrating his new fat contract with Movistar in a hot tub with way too much gambling & lots of chinese spring rolls.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Couldn't miss the chance to say Hi to all fans of Androni and to give a little insight on who their new signing is. My name is Dylan, and I'm from the Netherlands. So the first thing to ask is why am I called Dylan if I'm from the Netherlands. Well sure thing will be to tell you, that I currently write from the States, which have been my home the last 12 years. Or to be more exact, I currently write from my home in California, where I despite my age of 23 still live with my parents.
But it is cycling you've want to hear about and to give you a fact, that despite my 188 cm , I am a cyclist with a quick pace and thanks to my strong muscles I can ride in the high gears for an great amount of time. Some would say that I ride really conservative and that I am a tough one to pass, which gives me many attributes both in sprints and when pulling the screws in the pack.
I started cycling at a late point for a professional cyclist and it was not until 2 years ago I started cycling! The story about this might sound unmotivating, but the reason was that with my height was in the way of my dreams and I needed to find a sport, that I could focus on and see myself spending the rest of my life on. So I started with Basketball of course, it is the grand sport of our culture and with my height is was the first thing that crossed my mind.
But that project went down as we moved to the countryside, and I didn't feel like leaving home, so I would have to find another sport. And where we ended up, cycling was the very new thing that everyone participated in, yes participated in because you wouldn't have to pay for it, It was culture that once again had struck me and I felt obligated to do just that. Rest is history and my latest adventures with Novo Nordisk was enough for Androni to offer me a contract for the next season.
You might wonder if you heard that bird, which said that I was good at cobbles, and since everyone that is good at it, had to have some experience with it from the real life, then don't ask me that, because it feels natural on the cobbles and I don't get it myself!
Good luck with the rest of the season and see you soon !
The management at Androni are very pleased to announce that a rider has joined the team after a season riding under TMM at FDJ.
Delfi Cervero
The most talked about name throughout the EPIC world and community the great Delfi Cervero is a huge signing for our team. Many people around the EPIC World have mixed thoughts and feelings about the performances of Cervero this season but we at Androni believe that too high expectations were placed on him early in the season and now the way his manager thinks of him has really brought his confidence down which has not helped his performances. We also believe he did not receive enough support during races while at FDJ and we are planning to strengthen our hilly classics team by the start of next season so we can help Cervero brings in good results for himself and for the team. He is a strong and talented rider who we believe with a bit of help will achieve highly and become a future great in the world of cycling and therefore we are very pleased that he has joined our team.
This is all our news from now, we hope to bring you more in the near future. AndroniEdited by Luis Leon Sanchez on 14-11-2014 01:41
Hello everyone, Delfi here. I am delighted to announce my new team for the coming season will be Androni. Their offer was the one which I felt best suited me, probably because it was the only real offer. I think I will enjoy my time here, and hopefully it will herald a new era for me, as I hope to continue and extend my reign as the official Smiter of the EPIC.
Androni is a nice team to join, as I can sense the ambition almost in the atmpsphere here. They are clearly a team with ambitions to challenge in the Ardennes in the next few seasons. Hopefully I am a man who can head that challenge, having got a cheeky top ten last year. I understand that I am a risky signing, especially considering my less than outstanding palmares.
So far I have been underperforming, but I feel at FDJ there was a toxic and unforgiving atmosphere. The pressure and the threats from the management meant that I was unable to ride as I wanted, and therefore I was unable to fulfil my potential there. Now I see a patient and caring team management, hopefully we can stand by each other through the thick and thin and get some nice results on the way.
The only thing I ask from the team this season is time. I think I might yet have a good start to the year, but the worst case scenario is that I start slowly like last time out. If that does happen again, then I think I could salvage my season, unless there is a lot of criticism and pressure like there was early this season. It would be great if some support came for the classics, but other than that, I have a sneaking suspicion this will be a great year!
)
A Great Rider Signed for 2014 Season 
