Database: PCM Daily DB - With some editing
Difficulty: Extreme
Evoulution of Attributes: 0.3
Team: Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox

I'll try to make this story as realistic as possible. That means i will participate in the same races like in real life. And also the same riders will participate, from my team. Damaged riders and rejected wildcards can prevent some. I will race every stage, never simulate. Unless it's a TTT.

It's a bit difficult to explain, but i'll try. The point of view is from a norwegian sports site. It is therefore, naturally, meant for the norwegian public, giving the opportunity to get a insight in a cycel directors job. This is a sort of collecting thread with all the news connected to Bardiani Valvone.

I am not perfect in english. Actually, im pretty bad in it. But i hope i'll make myself understood.

Norwegian sports director gets huge attention in Italy
March 27th, 2013

In Norway the name Tor Larsen doesn't say much to most people. But in Italy, the young norwegian is making great success as a sports director in the Pro Continental team Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox.

Therefore i've decided to meet this 27 years old man from Trondheim, Norway, to take a look at Bardianis future plans, the season so far, and to get a "behind the scene" impression off the team.

Bardiani has actually ridden so well, that they are fighting for a place in the UCI Top Tour next year, which will make him the second norwegian sports director in the top division - along with more known Kurt Asle Arvesen in Team Sky.

I met our new star on a cafe in Limburg, Netherland, after the one day race Volta Limburg Classic. He arrived 5 minutes late, as he claimed he always was. "I was born 5 minutes late", he said with a big smile on his face. He told me the team had managed to get a 4th place with their up and coming star Sonny Colbrelli, and that was a good reason for his great mood.

But that wasn't what we were here to talk about now. I wanted to know how this man, who had never been mentioned in Norwegian media before, was living the dream as a sport director star in Italy.

"What can i say? It's like a dream come true. Bardiani was searching for new inspiration. You know, it isn't easy managing a sinking ship. When Pozzovivo (Domenico Pozzovivo) chose AG2R last year, we lost our star.
It wasn't easy for Bruno (Bruno Reverberi, manager) to handle that.
It wasn't just him leaving off course, in Italy they've struggled alot with the doping history a long time. Therefore they decided to look north.
We scandinavians have a good reputation when it comes to attitude", he said, adding a good laught.

Langeng was obviously a talker. It became more and more a monologue. He immediately continued: "You know, in Italy it's seen as bad luck if you test postive, but in Norway it's a bloody shame! Therefore they contacted me, and with my contacts it wouldn't take too long before you see the first norwegian talent in our squad. The intention is to build up a really good reputation, and further attract really good riders"

"So you're thinking of an Italian-Norwegian cooperation?"

"Yes, thats the plan at least. Despite our success so far this year, we struggle with the sponsor. And our contract ends after this year. We have exiting times ahead."




Børre Stenslid, sports journalist
Part 1

Bardiani Valvole - Results from January to April
April 13th, 2013

I've moved from Limburg to Tirreno now. I got the generous offer from Tor, staying at his appartment for a couple of days. The plan was to get a insight in his work, and maybe an exclusive interview as well. Most sport stars avoids us journalists like the plague, so i was surprised when i got this offer. Actually, it was perfect timing as the 5 day race Giro del Trentino startet during the next few days.

I used this opportunity to ask for the season so far. And it wasn't difficult to make him speak.

"We started the season in Argentina. Tour de San Luis is a stage race over 7 days. We knew our guys were in bad shape, but that was also the plan so early in the season. Still we got a huge shock back in the car, when Modolo outsprintet the rest and won the first stage."




"He sadly had a bad crash the day after, and the rest of the race was as expected. Let me put it this way, it's not any results to brag about - for sure.
In Tour of Oman our goal was a stage victory, but it was an unusual strong start list. Colbrelli, as i mentioned when we met in Limburg, was the strongest of our riders. He managed to get a third place in a hilly stage down there. Not to bad actually."

"Anyway, those races was just ment to give the feeling of competition speed before the one day races in Italy at the end of February and start March. And when i come to speak of the italian races, we got a huge disapointment delivered in our mail, late February. We were not given a Wild Card in Tirreno-Adriatico. Frustrating! We got the feeling of not being supported by our own people, if you know what i mean? And it gets worse. In March, just before Milan San Remo, we got a new fucking mail telling us that Europcar was choosen instead of us in the Giro! Our biggest goal this year, without doubt. That was a pity. But we had to look forward, even if we were all disapointed. After some long conversations with the riders, we agreed to race like hell this year, proving those bastards took wrong. In a long term, this will better our reputation, you know. Within 3 years we will be in the top division, i'm just saying.

As we speak of the Giro rejection, we tried to call the organizers of Tour of California. But it was to late, they were already full booked. So instead we managed to participate in two races in Spain, and to my great joy, Glava Tour of Norway!"

Great news for the norwegian crowd at least. He took a small break, while he poured coffee into our cups.

"Well, were was i? Yes, the one day classics. Strade Bianchee is a big goal. The sponsor said before the season that Strade Bianchee should be one of our top prioreties in one day races, along with Milan San Remo and Il Lombardia. It wasn't much we could do back there (Read: Back in the car). The roads were narrow and winding, making it almost impossible to drop down to the car for supplies and a tactic chat. But we had a good talk in the morning, and the plan worked well. Over a very steep hill, we launched an explosive attack with the whole team, streching the peleton over a huge distance. The field cracked into several pieces, and from 50 km we rode like hell in front. 5 km from the finish line, we had 3 riders in the first group, containing 12 riders in all. But sadly we couldn't cope with Fabio Felline and Heinrich Haussler. They attacked 2 km from the line. Collbrelli won the sprint in the group, so it wasn't to bad.

I also want to mention Roma Maxima. We rode perfect there. All riders was giving it all to the end, getting a bunch sprint were Modolo won easily. You know, he is really fast! He hasn't showed much last year, but I tell you he can climb those short hills well to. I dont know if you remember, but he got a 4th place in Milan San Remo a couple of years ago. That proves his talent!"




"Milan San Remo, what a wonderfull race. Collbrelli, Battaglin and Modolo was our protected riders, trying to shock the rock solid peleton. This is one of the few races we compete in with international broadcasting. We just had to have a rider in the breakaway, and young Nicola Boem managed to do it. But the breakaway got caught as it always do in these big one day classics. The group was reduced to 50 guys or so after Cipressa, and we still had 3 guys fighting for the victory. Big names like Kittel and Bouhanni was gone.

I remember it as yesterday, shouting at Bartaglin at the top of the hill. "Gogogo!" He's known for his uphill capability, but he is great in those technical downhill sections too. As you probably know already, he got reeled in 2 km from the finish line, but that was surely the most exiting 4 km so far this year.

Modolo had a bad day, sadly enough. But Collbrelli tried his best at the finish, ending on 16th place. I wasn't surprised that Sagan took the win pretty easy, but Cavendish and Greipel both managed to get over the last two climbs, and therefore he impressed me with the awesome sprint he made."

If any of you didnt watch the race, Sagan made a perfect long sprint 500 meters from the line. Cavendish came extremly fast at the end, but it was to late. Cavendish ended up second, and Goss third. Boasson Hagen took a great 7th place.

He paused a little. Probably thinking on the race again. I took this rare opportunity to speak, and asked if he followed the norwegian continental teams.

"Yes, I surely do! Many of these young talents are interesting for us for the years to come. Therefore its important to follow them. I heard about Oscar Svendsens great performance in the Tour de Normandie prologue. 2nd was really impressing. He really showed that he can do more than the Junior VM ITT victory. I've heard the rumours, you know, that it was just luck. A one time coincidence. But i'm convinced that Joker Merida did a bargain when they bought him"




It was time for team training now. 3 hours easy ride he said. But he promised to talk about late March later. As he called it: "A perfect week!".

Børre Stenslid, sports journalist
Part 2

A perfect week
April 15th, 2013

In the last weeks I've written about the norwegian up and coming sports director in Bardiani Valvole. Many of you have certainly read about it. Now I will release the last part of the conversation i had with him. It was at the end of March, just after the Wild Card rejection in Giro d'Italia, the team had the perfect week as he called it.

"In the end of March we had two stage races to come. Settimana Coppi e Bartali in Italy, and VDK-Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde in Belgium. I'll start with Bartali.

Bongiorno had proven magnificent shape at training, and he was ment to be our captain. Alongside, we had a super strong team, with Pirazzi, Battaglin and Loccatelli to mention a few.

But it was a role change after the first stage, when Loccatelli had an extremely good day. He launched an attack from the very start and got in a two man breakaway. Because they were just two guys, the peleton gave them a huge gap. But they miscalculated. It was almost impossible to organize a chase at the narrow roads, with the road turning from one side to another every meter. And Loccatelli, who had left the other guy behind 50 km from the line, was cycling like a hero. He did a solo effort of dimensions and took the victory 2 minutes ahead of the chasing field.






We then decided to give it a try, to protect the leader jersey from start to finish the 5 days to come. And they all agreed, and rode a perfect race. Pirazzi, who was much stronger than Loccatelli that day (Stage 4), reeled in one breakaway attempt after another. And the result of the stage was 12 riders at the same time on the queen stage. Locatelli was the last man in that group. I just have to say I admire the effort Pirazzi did. He could probably won that stage easily.

But it wasn't over yet, the next stage was an individual time trial. And Loccatelli ride these ITT's worse than my grandma. He lost over 1'30 to many rivals, and the stage was 11km long! Only 6 guys were behind him on that stage,and he rode with the leader jersey on him! The myth about the boost effect the leader jersey gives was now busted. Now he had 20 to 30 second at a bunch of Androni guys, M.Rabottini (Vini Fantini) and T.Løvkvist (IAM).

The last stage was extreme. I looked at last years results, because the stage was the same, and the gaps were shocking. Last year the riders crossed the line one by one. It was going to be a hard day for sure, almost impossible to controle.





But we tried. The stage ended with 4 rounds in Modenese, and the road was so narrow that you could not fit more than three riders in width. At the last round, two Androniguys and Løvkvist had a 40 second lead on the group behind, containing Loccatelli and Battaglin. Now it was Battaglin's turn to help. Loccatelli was totally worn out. At the last 8 km, the first five was slightly downhill, and the last three was flat. Battaglin reeled in the breakaway all by himself! It was fantastic to follow the race from the car. We were in ecstasy when we realized it was gonna be a bunch sprint. That be said, there were only 8 riders left, and Loccatelli was one of them! He got our first overall win this year. And now we sent the baton to the rest of the team in Belgium.

I wasn't in Belgium my self of course, because the race started the day after. But I saw it on television, and got reports from the guys there. To make a long story short, the team was so strong they splitted the field into several pieces every day. And after they've tortured the opponents all day long, Modolo won. That was the recipe the first 3 days.




The last stage was an ITT, and with only 18 riders less than a minute behind, Modolo had a chance to get the overall too. But it didn't go as we hoped. Despite the technical course, which Modolo is very good at, he didn't have the legs. The result was 11th place overall. But with 3 stage victories in a row in Belgium, a stage victory and the overall win in Coppi e Bartali, I would call those 9 days for perfect outcome."

And that was the last from this interview. But don't be sad, you will hear more about this 27 year old norwegian. I actually have interesting news. It will be announced in the next few days to come.


Børre Stenslid, sports journalist
Part 3

A new blog writer in our staff!
April 16th, 2013

I'm happy to annonce that Tor Lange has acceptet our offer, to blog here in TV2 Sport now and then. Now you dear readers will have this rare oppurtunity to read about how it's like to manage a professional cycling team. That includes the many upcoming races and tactics, which will give you a good insight how it's like to take part in the cycling circus.

Børre Stenslid, sports journalist

Team presentation
April 16th, 2013

Hello!

My name is Tor Lange, and I am a sports director in Bardiani Valvone - CSF Inox. I'm honoured to be given this opportunity to write a blog on the biggest sports site in Norway. This first update will be a short cover of the team. Team presentation, the race schedule, and key races.




Bardiani Valvone consists of 17 riders.
* Sacha Modolo is our sprinter. With a acceleration of international quality, he can win a lot of races in the years to come.
* Enrico Battaglin is our captain on the hilly stages. A fairly good acceleration and a good engine uphill gives him an advantage in the short steep hills. He also ride well downhill, and his sprint is pretty good. Watch out for this super talent!
* Stefano Pirazzi is a pure climber. He will try to fill Pozzovivos footprints. Pirazzi is also an extremely good fighter, and therefore he is always a name people will mention when it comes to the climber jersey.

This is our three captains. Sonny Collbrelli has proven his strenght so far this year, being a good allrounder. He's not as good as Modolo in the sprint, he can neither match Battaglins hill capability, but this is our guy for the small bunch sprints after a long hard day. His good stamina is a good advantage for this young italian. Last i will mention Stefano Loccatelli and Francesco Borgiorno. They are both climbers, given a free role now and then.




Bardiani Valvone and CSF Inox have both made a small list of races where it will be important to show our light green jersey.




For us in the team, these are the key races. Unfortunately they didn't give us a Wild Card in neither Tirreno Adriatico or Giro d'Italia. That means extra pressure on the key races left. Roma Maxima and Strade Bianche were two succesfull races. Next key race is Giro del Trentino.

Victories from January to April:
Tour de San Luis - Stage 1
Tour Mediterraneen - Stage 3
Roma Maxima
Settimana Coppi a Bartali - Stage 1
Settimana Coppi a Bartali - GC
Driedaagse De Panne - Stage 1
Driedaagse De Panne - Stage 2
Driedaagse De Panne - Stage 3
Driedaagse De Panne - Overall points ranking

Other noteworthy results:
3rd Strade Bianche
3rd Tour of Oman - Stage 3
4th Volta Limburg Classic
16th Milan San Remo





Tor Lange
Sports director in Bardiani Valvone - CSF Inox

Giro del Trentino
April 19th, 2013

Giro del Trentino is a five day race in - yeah you guessed right - Trentino. We brought a strong squad, aiming for the climber jersey, and a top 5 result in the GC (General Clasification).




We had a strong team at start, in this high priority race. It was actually a key race. But we had some strong opponents.





Stage 1



Stage 1 was a hectic stage. A morning breakaway never got away. Europcar held a high pace from the very start. The first breakaway that was let go was actually 58 km from the finish line. And Locatelli was there! But he had big competitors, like P.Van Hecke and D.Arroyo. I have to say I got a flashback from Coppi e Bartali, hoping for the same outcome.




When the riders met the steep hill near the line, the breakaway had around 2 minutes. It didn't look to well, as the peleton had an extremely high pace up the hillside, smashing the field into several pieces. At the top, P.Van Hecke and D.Arroyo got a small, small gap to our man Loccatelli. And they still had over a minute. Behind, the first group contained around 50 riders, were we had 4 guys. The group were riding like hell, hunting the front group like cat and mouse. This time the mouse won.




It was clear to us that Loccatelli didn't have a chance in the sprint. His body language said it all, completely empty trying to reel the duo in. Preben Van Hecke was the strongest, and could triumf on the podium




But that wasn't all. A few kilometers from the line, in a roundabout just after a sharp turn, an Europcar rider smashed to the ground. And who was just behind him? Battaglin. Of course it was him. With his luck he always ends up in trouble. But he wasn't the only one who crashed. A group of 20 riders lay strewn on the ground when I arrived some seconds later. I found Battaglin first, scrubbed up to the meat. He yelled "Give me a bike!", jumped on and continued. Luckily. But i can tell you that was his adrenaline, he wasn't nearly as optimistic at the hotel later that evening. One rider after another raised up and continued. But 4 riders had to quit.
In a ditch, just by the road, i saw another light green jersey. It was Marco Coledan. He was nearly unconscious. Immediately i yelled for a doctor. Sadly, one of those 4 was ours. Later we got the message about his injury. It was a tendon tear, and all the flesh and blood that follows.




The result showed a group of 32 riders at the same time. A group of 35 ended up 2.16 behind. Strong names like Duarte, Voeckler, Rabottini and Rebellin had suffered badly from this crash. Who said action was reserved the major races?



Stage 2



What a frustrating day. This Team Time Trial was a stage were nothing went as it should. I'll make it very short: We ended at 19th place. In other words - Last!
I knew TTT wasn't our strongest thing, but that was a shame. Now we could just forget the GC. It is difficult to express how disappointet I am right now...



Stage 3



After a good night sleep, we got rid of the frustration. Most of us at least. Pirazzi sat at the end of the dining room, pounding. I gave him clearly instructions to focus on the climber jersey.
Because this was the hardest stage we had ridden so far this year. 220 km, with 2 big mountains. Pazzo Laveze and Vetriolo Terme. A perfect day for Pirazzi.

Despite the distance, people launched one attack after the other from first kilometer. IAM and Tschopp tried their best to controle. Loccatelli tried to attack. Pirazzi tried. Bongiorno tried. Finally the break got a good gap, after the third attempt.



E.Chaves and Bongiorno should be the best climbers in this breakaway on a normal day. V.Jerome, A.Proni and G.Malacarne were the other riders.

After a while, Bongiorno told me he had terrible legs. I replied that he should give it all for the first mountain, taking the first place giving him 16 points. From there on, he had no pressure.
In the bottom of the climb, they had 8 minutes. 23 km steep uphill was next.



Chavez was the strongest this time, taking the first place. Borgiorno took second.
Behind it was serious action. I got this crazy idea, and I gave it a try. When we were so far behind in the General Classification, what if we just tried to attack 100 km from the finish? Yeah, that sounded wise in my ears. A very impulsive thing to do, but my riders followed the order. A 8 minute lead was changed to 2. 8 riders had taken the chance. Pirazzi, Loccatelli and Battaglin was there.

Further behind, IAM tried their best to controle, but they didn't have enough strengt uphill. They came 6 minutes behind over the first top. And noone would help them chasing the breakaways. The flat midle section was going really fast. At the bottom of the last climb, the situation was dramatic for the race leader Tschopp.
The first break away had still a 2 minute lead on the Pirazzigroup. One rider, Firsanov from Rusvelo, had managed to jump from the second group to the first. The second group contained these riders: Pirazzi, Battaglin, Ochoa, Van Niekerk, Rovny, Euser and Loccatelli.
Behind them, a group of 30 riders arrived 8 minutes behind! Tschopp was there, but now all his helpers was gone exept Løvkvist.

The last climb was crucial. It was early made clear that Chaves and Firsanov would fight about the victory. Borgiorno tried to save power to help Pirazzi when he came flying. Loccatelli and Battaglin tried their best, giving it all up the hillside. With 5 km to go, Pirazzi was on his own. Loccatelli, Battaglin and Borgiorno had all done their job, in the same order.
But Pirazzi had no chance against the russian and colombian further up the climb. Chaves was so strong he had managed to get rid of Firsanov, riding solo to the line. What a win from that little comlombian. He was so strong! Even if he was in the breakaway all day, he had the best time up the long last climb. Firsanov came second, and Pirazzi came third. The Tschopp group had cracked into several pieces, the pace was high, but they had given way to much time to the breakaways before the climb.

This changed alot. We now had Pirazzi third in the GC, after almost giving up when we came last in the TTT. Bongiorno was second in the fight for the climber jersey as well. I just have to say it: I love this unpredictable sport!





Stage 4



Todays stage was rough. We decided it was positive for us, trying to put pressure on Chaves and his team Colombia. Chaves and Firsanov had a good lead on the rest, and it looked like the fight for the GC victory was between them. But we didnt give up.
Thinking on the climber jersey, we decided to put Loccatelli in the break away. But we wasn't let go because of his 12th place in the GC. When he and his companions was reeled in, Zardini went contra and was soon given a big gap. In the bottom of the first climb, the breakaway had 6 minutes.
D.Veilleux, J.Ghyselinck, J.Moyano, C.Butler and A. Niyonshuti was together with Zardini looking for attention.

As the road went up, the break cooperated badly. Many tried to go solo, but at the top it was all together again. Zardini tried his best getting those important points.



Good job from our Italian. The race went on, and the break was loosing their advantage. At the last climb, they had a lead of 1.30. 25 km left.
From the main group, Fabio Felline was giving it a try 4 km from the top. He was aloud to go, giving no threat on the overall standing. Columbia held a high pace after that, alowing no other attacks.
At the top the leader jersey group contained 18 riders. Colombia had still more power left, organizing a solid chase to the line.
A small minute before the Chavez group, C.Butler and J.Moyano had left the others behind. Zardini had lactic up to his ears, but still managed to get the third place at the mountain pass. He was immediately caught back by the remains of the break.



From the top and to the finish line, it was status quo. One of those two in the front was todays victor. Butler had a surprising attack in a roundabout a couple of kilometres from the line, and Moyes was never able to catch him back.



The remains of the breakaway got company by Fellini, who i mentioned before, and they sprinted for the third place. Zardini ended last in that sprint, just in front of the chasing group behind. Battaglin, Loccatelli, Borgiorno and Pirazzi sat all there.

Some of the top 10 GC contenders had a bad day. Yesterdays work had probably costed to much. But in top 3, nothing was changed. Just one day left! A brutally though stage.



Stage 5



Todays stage went from Arco to Sega di Ala. A flat route from the beginning, just transportion to Brentonico - a mountain with two sections. The first is not steep, but the second part raises against heaven. After that challenge, the last climb was 12 km up to Sega di Ala. The very last miles of this years Giro del Trentino will separate mice from men.
We had decided to focus only on Pirazzis third place in the GC. Chaves, besides wearing the pink leader jersey, also leaded the climbing competition. He had 32 points, and the only man with the opportunity to steal it, was Bongiorno, with his 20 points. The problem was that Bongiorno also had the 4th place overall, and would never be allowed to go in a breakaway. Therefore we called our sponsor, telling them about our little dilemma. Let me put it this way: Im glad Oleg Tinkoff isn't our sponsor. CSF - Inox, who had given us this goal at the pre season meeting, told us to forget it. The GC was way more important. That eased the burden considerably.

The transportation from Arco to Brentonico was easy, Colombia controlled the five man breakaway. The best guy in the break was over 27 minutes behind, and was not a threat to anyone top 10 in the GC.



As Brentonico was closing, the pace naturally went higher. Now the action would begin. The break had 2'10 on the peleton, with 45 km left. A breakaway win seemed almost impossible. Now 7 km climbing was right ahead.

The pace was constantly high, Colombia seemed to have a good grip on this whole ting. At the top, just 40 riders managed to follow the high pace. And the only one left in front, was the always aggressive A.Niyounshuti from MTN-Qhubeca.




Bongiorno tried to take some points at the climb, despite i told him to forget the jersey at the tactic meeting before the stage. A waste of power! He told me later he got really tired because of that, and the result was not a single point! I have to teach him some disiplin later.

It went down the other side, while we desperately tried to find out if any dangerous riders had lost contact. Over the radio we heard V.Jerome was left behind, the frenchman holding the 10th place in the GC. The rest was still up there in the front.




As we had 4 riders top 10, because of the fantastic third stage, we tried to panic the Colombian train a little in the flat midle section before the last climb. But we were the only one, and it resulted in just wast of power. Battaglin and Bongiorno tried a few times, and wasted a lot of power. They tried to tell their legs to shut up. But early in the climb, they had to find their own pace. Too bad, now Pirazzi just had the lojal Loccatelli protecting him.

Columbia tried to controle the first kilometres. With 8 km left, Tschopp attacked. At the same time, Loccatelli was going further and further behind in the group. Now Pirazzi was on his own.



3 km later, the group was reduced to 10 riders. Just in front of it, Garzelli struggled, trying to reel Tschopp in. Tschopp had a 20 sec lead on Garzelli at that time, and another 20 sec at the Chaves group. Columbia still controlled, with the climber specialists Atapumba and Duarte. Still Firsanov sat calm. Chaves sat glued to his wheel.



With 2 km left, Tschopp could spot the 1km to go mark. He was still on his own. A solo effort so strong, he had increased the gap to Garzelli and the rest. Actually, he had dobbled from 20 sec to 40 on Garzelli. And he had 1'10 to the Chavez and Pirazzi group, now counting 7 men. I can imagine how frustrated he is over the bad miscalculation on stage 3. That surely costed him the GC victory.

There was nothing we could do with Tschopp. Neither with Garzelli.
But Pirazzi tried his best to get the third place, "sprinting" against Firsanov and Taaramae. Chaves looked weak the last couple of kilometres, but with great help from the two team mates i mentioned before, he got the same time as Firsanov.



Pirazzi ended 5th on the last stage. And that secured the last spot on the podium. A good performance, and all in all we have to be happy with the race, despite not getting the climber jersey or taking a stage win.
It is also worth mentioning Borgiornos 7th place and Battaglins 8th place in the GC. They fought until the bitter end. Not just because of the overall ranking, but that secured a very nice win in the team classification. A good boost on the moral!






Tor Lange
Sports director in Bardiani Valvone - CSF Inox

Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey
April 30th, 2013

I personally had a break until Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid and Vuelta Asturias in May. But Bruno Reverberi and the rest of the staff traveled to Turkey along with these 6 riders:



Many of our guys were in good shape, but this wasn't a big race for us. It was initially intended to be the last race before Giro d'Italia, but as you all know, we didn't get a Wild Card. In Turkey, we aimed for a stage victory with Modolo. Pagani was given a free role in the mountain stages, but he was on his own. The rest was pure helpers.

Stage 1



The first stage was flat and short. A high pace all the way, resulting in a bunch sprint. We had Modolo, Collbrelli and Fortin, hoping for a good lead out train. But the first stage ended in failure. Not a single rider top 10.
L.Duque won the first stage. He outsprinted italian A.Bazzanza and M.Cardoso.

Stage 2

The second stage was also a flat stage. A breakaway went early, Colombia controlled it to the end, and it was all set up for a sprint again. We used the same recipe, trying to lead Modolo to a victory. Fortin was first on the train, Colbrelli next, and Modolo at his wheel again.



The last kilometre was straight forward, and Bardiana showed strength positioning Modolo perfect. The riders was lined up in one, long line. B.Planckaert startet the sprint early, and Modolo tried to jump from Collbrellis wheel. M.Brammeier and Modolo fought to have B.Planckaert's wheel, and they both lost a little speed. L.Krasnov passed them, but Modolo got a free line on the left side with 300 meter to go. He acceleratet, and passed both B.Planckaert and L.Krasnov. They had startet a bit early, and had to pay for that.



Our goal was allready completed after the second stage. What a performance from Modolo! What a performance from the team!

Stage 3



Stage 3 was this years queen stage in Tour of Turkey. The only mountain stage this year. A relatively easy ride the first 80 km. From there, it was 10 km up Goltarla, a 30 km flat route in the high land before another climb to the finish line. The last climb, Gogubeli, would probably change the overall standings totally.

We decided to take "a day off". The riders was ordered to save their powers, chilling in the groupetto from Goltarla. Battaglin ended 7th overall in Tour of Turkey last year, and Pagani was the only rider given the opportunity to defend it.

The race started as usual. A breakaway got a solid gap early. But no strong riders was in front, and noone feared the break. All my guys, exept Pagani, sat at the back of the peleton, resting and talking with each other. Fortin cycled up now and then, fetching water bottles to Pagani.
After 90 km, the groupetto was etablished. An easy day at work for most of my guys.

Pagani sat in front, looking a bit lonely up there. He was surrounded by plenty of riders from Colombia. They have ridden strong the whole year, and was a respected team. On the flats on the high lands, the pace was extremely fast in front. Pagani was struggling. At the bottom of the last climb, one rider was left in the break. He had a 30 second lead on the chasing group, containing less than 40 riders. Now let this party startin'.
Caja Rual took the responsibility, controlling at first. One by one had to find their own pace. Pagani felt surprisingly good. And he was offensive. He tried his luck, attacking with 3 km to go.



But as we expected, A.Piedra, the captain in Caja Rural, attacked right after. F.Duarte was at his wheel, and they flew past poor Pagani. He is just not ready for this level yet, but a nice try.



With one kilometer left, the duo got company by D.Rebellin (CCC) and S.Pardilla (MTN). At the same time, F.Duarte took advantage of the speed reduction. He finished solo, but was too tired to celebrate the victory.





Pagani crossed the line in 9th place, 1'20 behind Duarte.



Stage 4



Stage 4 was a short stage. 130 km exactly. It went up and down all day, but we thought it still would end up in a mass sprint. Modolo was our man, but Collbrelli could possible be the man we rode for at the end, compending on the pace. If the stage was a little longer, it would haved suited Collbrelli perfect.

The peleton wanted an easy ride today. A five man break had 2'40 with 20 km left of the stage. Then it exploded.
We were sleeping, not keeping attention, when D.Rebellin made a surprising attack. M.Vantomme, P.Deignan, L.Duque, S.Pardilla and A.Piedra followed.
A bit surprising that L,Duque followed, when they had F,Duarte leading the race.



We had to respond. The same did Colombia. And in the bottom of the last hill, the favourites was all together. Then Colbrelli went contra.
But the whole field was paying attention now, and he immediately got reeled in. Now it looked like everyone had fresh legs, and the attacks went on and on up the hill. At the top, M.Reimer and R.Honig from the breakaway had a 40 second gap on D.Rebellin and F.Duarte. They had 20 seconds on the main group again. 8 km left.



With 1 km to go it was clear that the win would be fought between M.Reimer and R.Honig. They had managed to keep the distance, while D.Rebellin was eaten up by the big group. F.Duarte was somewhere between.
M.Reimer and R.Honig are both good sprinters. They slowed down, looked at each other. The game was on. Reimer startet the sprint. He tried to surprise Honig, but he managed follow. With 200 m left, R.Honig sprinted past the german, taking his first win this year. Behind, F.Duarte was reeled in as well, and the group crossed the line a few seconds behind the breakaway. Modolo was the only sprinter left, taking an easy 3rd place. A bit disapointing that we didn't manage to catch the break. But shit happens now and then.

Stage 5



Stage 5 was a hilly stage as well, difficult to controle. It was shitty weather also, not making it any easier. Then rain poured down as the peleton started rolling. 190 km to Turgutreis was todays challenge. Perfect for Collobrelli, but he told the team before the stage that he was tired. That be said, i don't think he was the only one. We decided to ride for Modolo again anyway.
A 3 man breakaway got never more than 4 minutes, and they where caught back 10 km from the line. The overall favourites didn't make any move, and it was ready for another mass sprint.

We once again had the strongest leadout, giving Modolo a good position before the final metres. Colbrelli was a bit tired as i said in the morning. He was slowing down 350 metres from the line, and that gave Modolo no other choice than a long sprint. A.Stauff and L.Krasnov followed behind. In the final metres, L,Krasnov came like a cannon ball, and it was a close race to the line.



But once again Modolo was fastest. His second stage victory in Turkey. Also it is worth mentioning that he is only 4 points behind F.Duarte in the points ranking. That jersey would have suited him, for sure.

Stage 6



This stage was the last opportunity for those fighting for the GC. A pretty flat stage, with a steep hill at the end. Pagani was once again given a free role, while the rest took it easy, saving powers for the last two sprint days.
Actually, the whole peleton had an easy ride today. The pedals went around. Nothing less, nothing more. And just like that, the breakaway had a 4 min lead at the bottom of the finall hill. Now it was one fight in front, and one fight behind. The breakaway consisted of once again M.Reimer and R.Honig, along with M.Taciak and A.Serov. They fought for the stage victory. Behind, Panini was fighting for the overall lead, together with a handfull others.

The last five kilometers went straight up, arriving Selcuk, a small village. To my surprise, M.Reimer and R.Honig was the strongest this time also. I knew they had a good sprint, but in the hills i've never noticed them before.
The rest was gone with 2 km to go.

Behind, D.Rebellin and A.Piedra had attacked from a 12 rider big group. Pagani and F.Duarte was both there. To prove how steep the last hill was, the break lost near a minute each kilometer. With 2.5 km to go, Rebellin was just 2'10 behind Reimer and Honig.



With 800 meters left, the hill was rising over 12%. R.Honig had lactic up to his ears. He had to resign, and M.Reimer was riding all by himself, getting revenge from the stage 2 days ago.
D.Rebellin and A.Piedra had still a litle gap, but F.Duarte had a dangerous high speed.



Now F.Duarte was closing the gap himself, and the favourites were all together. Behind them, it was totally cracked up. They were all riding one by one, and Panini was rider number 11 passing the 1km to go mark.Now his pace were high.

M.Reimer took a comfortabely win, with R.Honig on 2nd place and A.Strelkov on 3rd. F.Duarte and D.Rebellin had most power on the end, and came right behind A.Strelkov. A.Serov and Taciak, the remains from the break, had resigned and lost over 4 minutes on the last 5 km.
Pagani advanced a couple of places the last kilomtre, and lost 1'01 to F.Duarte. Overall he was in 6th place. And even better, he was first in the youth ranking, a performance we are very happy for.



As mentioned before, the last two stages are flat, and therefore the GC will probably remain the same.



Stage 7

The seventh stage was completely flat. But we didn't want to do all the work. Therefore, we sent F.Fortin in the breakaway. Just A.Ciacchini followed.
You may ask why we sent a so important leadout man in a breakaway? Well, despite that, we choose him because so many breakaways had managed to keep the distance at this years Tour of Turkey. But with only 2 riders in the breakaway, it semmed difficult.

Difficult, but not impossible. It was so strange, with 40 km left, they still leaded with 5 minutes. I've never seen so lazy competitors before.
With 30 km left, they realized the danger, and shortened the gap to 3'20 within 10 kilometers. But 3'20 on 20 kilomters should still be enough. Bruno desperately tried to do some research on this Ciacchini dude. Without the fact that he rode for Team Novo Nordisk, we didn't knew anything. Was he a sprinter? Should Fortin try to go solo?

The exitement was huge as they closed Izmir, where the finish was. Then suddenly, out of the blue, he attacked. He took us by surprise, when Fortin was down by the car discussing what to do. Bruno,who was driving the car, and Fortin both paniced, almost crashing with each other. Fortin had to cath Ciacchini back.

From 10 km to 5 km Ciacchini had a 10 second lead. But then Fortin managed to get on his wheel. It all slowed down. Then again, 500 meter later, the Italian on Novo Nordisk tried again!

This time Fortin was paying attention, he had foreseen it. He was obviously not a sprinter, and now all Fortin had to do, was to take his wheel to the sprint. The field was still 2 minutes behind with 5 km to go, so the victor was in front. With 300 meters left, Fortin accelerated and easy past Ciacchini.



Fortin could celebrate long before the line, after a perfect day on the bike. His first victory this year!

Stage 8

The last stage was another completely flat stage. A big breakaway got a 3 minute lead from the very start. And when noone else would controll, we had to do all the work. We sent all the guys in front, exept Modolo and Pagani of course. It was our 4 guys against the 8 riders in front. To make a long painfull story short, we managed to catch them 4 km from the line. But we had no lead out for Modolo. He had to find a wheel on his own. Pagani tried to help, but his lack of speed was obvious as they closed the 1km to go mark.
No other teams managed to organize neiter, so it was pretty chaotic in front. Rusvelo tried, but when a bunch of Crelan riders attacked on all possible places on the road, it was a totall chaos.

With 500 meters left of Tour of Turkey, Modolo was to far behind, and he never got an opening for his sprint. It was a shame, he had a good shott at the point jersey. At the very last metres, Modolo found a spot, advanced a few places, but it was to late.

L.Duque could celebrate his 2nd victory, with M.Cardoso on 2nd place and R.Forster on 3rd.



When i summarise this years Tour of Turkey, i have to say it has been a fantastic stage race for us. Our goal was one, i repeat, one stage victory. We got 3 stage victories, 6th place in the GC, and we won the Young Riders classification!

What a pity we don't race the Giro.

Tor Lange
Sports director in Bardiani Valvone - CSF Inox

Battaglin's report!
May 1st, 2013

At the same time the last two stages of Tour of Turkey were ridden, We were also riding two one day classics in Italy. With a relatively small budget, we sent just one car, and a small staff with the riders.
Because off no broadcasting, I asked our captain Battaglin to give me a report. Here's what he wrote in a mail:

"Hello! I'll give you a report on those races you requested.

Here is the team for those two upcoming races:

GP Industria & Artigianato 27/4

An italian classic with start and finish in Larciano. 201 km in total lenght. I was hunting my first victory this year.
We had a super strong team, and they were all here to help me. What a privilegium. It is very satisfactory to know you have riders like Pirazzi, Bongiorno and Loccatelli to help you.

Todays favourite was me. Hehe, no just kidding. To be objective, the favourites were F.Pellizotti and E.Sella from Androni, M.Rabottini from Vini Fantini and up and coming E.Chaves from Colombia, who recently won Giro del Trentino.
I would say L.Konig, G.Larsson, A.Txurruka and myself are outsiders.

We didn't want to do much work from the beginning, so we tried to get a rider in todays breakaway. E.Barbin's attempt was a success. He has shown good form lately, and he could actually be mentioned as an outsider before the race.
7 riders were in the group, and Colombia had obviously thought on the same thing as us. They had D.Quintero in the breakaway. The other riders were F.Calabria, P.Simon, C.Fankhauser, J.Van Zyl and G.Palma.
I was 100% sure Barbin was the strongest rider in that group. That was comforting.

In my group, the pressure was on Androni and Vini Fartini's shoulders. They tried to controll from the start, along with NettApp.
When we arrived the final 4 laps in Larciano, with 110 km left, the breakaway had a 6 minute lead.

Quintero refused to cooperate in the breakaway. He told Barbin he was waiting for Chavez.

Barbin decided to test the legs up the hill, with 3 laps left. Just one rider could follow. He slowed down again, knowing that he couldn't possible manage to go solo with 70 km left.

Barbin testing his legs

With 2 laps to go, the pace was turned up in my group. The hill was probably 9% in average, and it naturally splitted the peleton into several groups. With 20 km left, it was just 3 riders left in the breakaway. Barbin was one of them.

But just 40 seconds behind, the chasing field.
E.Sella startet the show when the hill was closing the last time. He didn't accellerate to much, but kept a constantly high pace. He found a rythme, and i struggled to follow.

Suddenly he was gone. He slowed down. On the other side of the road, F.Reda attacked with team mate F.Pellizotti on his wheel. J.Atapuma managed to follow.

Barbin was caught by the attackers. I'm struggling to reel them in.

At the top they had a 30 second gap. I had Loccatelli by my side, and he gave it all down the other side. With 10 km to go, the trio in front had 25 seconds. Loccatelli was empty, and he was the only helper left.

Loccatelli tries to reel the trio in. I'm in the middle of the group, containing 10 riders

I just had to try something. As i'm preparing an attack, L.Konig goes on the left side. I follow, and go contra right after. Rabottini is on my wheel, not willing to do anything.
We got a little lead on L.Konig, D.Rosa and J.Acevedo. But it seemed to be to far up to the front trio.

I didn't give up. But i have to say it was pretty frustrating having a parasite on my wheel.
With 2 km to the line, i'm closing in. F.Reda is pulling alone in front, preparing for a sprint between F.Pellizotti and J.Atapuma.

I know i have a fast sprint compared to these guys. If i just could close the gap...

I made it, just before the sprint! But i felt tired, and i got a feeling a certain parasite would come flying past me...
I gave it all, passing both the Androni riders, trying to get Atapumas wheel. With 100 meter left, i had so much lactic, i had trouble pedaling. And on my left side, an ugly shadow came closer and closer.

Atapuma was to strong. I didn't see if i got 2nd or 3rd, it was a close race. But it didn't matter then, i just wanted to punch Rabottini in the face.
Afterwards, i got confirmed the 2nd place was mine. Not to bad, but me and Rabottini will never become friends after that situation.
By the way, a bit funny that the Androni guys collapsed at the end. I cant stand those guys neither.

Spoiler

Giro di Toscana 28/4

We had the exact same team on the startline in this classic. Many of yesterdays competitors also participatet in this race. Therefore it would be natural to mention F.Pellizotti and his Androniteam, L.Konig, J.Atapuma, and that bastard M.Rabottini as my biggest competitors.
Christina Watches participated as well in this race, and S.Schumacher could be a potential danger. By the way, i talked a few words with their norwegian, F.Wilmann, and he told me to tell you how impressed he is about your work.

Back to the race. This route was a little more easy, but still unpredictable. We wanted a man in the breakaway today also.
Loccatelli tried a few times, but he showed to much strenght yesterday. So did Barbin in my opinion, but he was surprisingly let go. But the reason was probably that they were just two in the breakaway.
The other rider was O.Lombardi. The biggest gap they got, was 7'30 with 100 km left.

Todays breakaway. Were do all the leaves come from?

I thought that because of yesterdays hard work, i would probably have very bad legs, or super legs because i needed some competition speed after a rest periode. But i was wrong. They were ordinary. But that could be enough.
Today was actually quite boring, until the last 30 km. IAM controlled the pace, probably riding for T.Løvkvist. And it was not difficult to controle with just two riders in front.

The course ended with two laps, each 15 km long, in Arezzo.

The peleton arriving Arezzo

The duo in front had a 1'30 lead when the laps began. They would probably not have a chance, and i sent my team in front to pay attention if anyone tried to attack.
Not long after, F.Pellizotti and L.Konig attacked over the hill 20 km from the line. I didn't follow, and ordered my team to reel them in as soon as possible. Easier said than done.
They were strong, flying past the duo in front. Barbin had no chance keeping that pace after many kilometers in the breakaway.

Pirazzi, Borgiorno and Loccatelli rode like a TTT in front now, keeping the distance on 20 seconds. With one lap to go, 15 km left, it seemed like we had a certain controll over the race.
Just before the last hil, all the favourites were together again. It slowed down a bit. Just for an second or so. I took the opportunity. I accellerated over the top, trying to go solo the last 5 km.

I didn't look behind, but i was told later that the Pellizotti and Konig again had a gap to the rest, chaising just 50 meters behind me.
Luckily they cooperated badly, and IAM reeled them in. They tried to organize a chase, and with 2 km left they were just 15 seconds behind me. It was going to be a close race.

I passed the 1km to go mark. Tried to accellerate and keep the speed high. It was so hurtfull, but i knew a victory was waiting for me 1000 meters further ahead. I didn't look back. Focused on giving all my strengt to the pedals, spinning around as fast as possible.
I saw the line now. This was going to be my day!

I thought at least.
What the fuck? 50 meters from the line, a rider from Accent Jobs - Wanty passed me. It was Davy Commeyne.

I can't express how disapointet i am right now. This 2nd place feels like i've lost. I need some time to get over this disapointment, two 2nd places in a row. So close.
SO CLOSE!

At least i beated the Androni guys and that asshole Rabottini, but that doesn't comfort me much right now.

Spoiler

Best Regards
Your favourite rider, Enrico Battaglin "

Tor Lange
Sports director in Bardiani Valvone - CSF Inox

Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid
May 14th, 2013



Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid is a 174 km long mountain classic, one of few. The classic start in Madrid, and end at the top of Puerto de la Morcuera. 3700 metres with climbing in total. Our captain was S.Pirazzi, without discussion. Other favourites were F.Duarte, E.Chaves (COL), L.Konig (TNA), S.Pardilla (MTN), C.Le Mevel (COF), R.Pauriol, B.Feillu (SOJ) and A.Txurruka (CJR).



The peleton counted just 102 men, and with only 14 teams at start, it could possible ble difficult to controle if many teams were represented in the breakaway. Therefore we decided to take controll from start, letting no more than 4 riders go. It was 60 intensive kilometers. Especially S.Modolo and S.Collbrelli did a tremendous job, and with 100 km left, E.Garcia from Cofidis was the only man in front.

With 50 km left, on the flats actually, E.Garcia got company. 8 riders had attacked, containing H.Broco, J.Salomein, I.Merino, A.Porto, J.Hivert, F.Jeandesboz, O.Sevilla and D.Hernandez. A potential danger, and we imediately sent four guys in front to controle. Escpecially O.Sevilla, A.Porto and the Sojasun guys were strong climbers, and we gave them never more than a minute.



At the bottom of the first real climb, the breakaway had aproxomately a one minute lead. Nearing the top, M.Canola and E.Zanini kept the pace high, and only 31 riders could follow. In front, the 4 riders i mentioned as the strongest riders in the breakaway, along with H.Broco, cooperated good and had raised the gap to 1'30.




12 km from the finall top, J.Hivert and H.Broco from the breakaway got company from L.Konig and E.Chaves. They had a 20 secound lead on a small group, were we had Borgiorno, Loccatelli, Battaglin and of course Pirazzi.

They didn't hold the distance for long. At the bottom of the last stage, they were all caugt, and F.Duarte accellerated. He was the biggest favourite, and would be extremely difficult to catch back. With 4 km to go, the prosentages were about 12% in average. Duarte was flying up the climb.



Behind R.Sousa and L.Konig were chasing. 20 seconds behind them again, D.Arroyo, E.Chaves and S.Pirazzi struggled.
S.Pirazzi tried to jump from 3rd group to the 2nd, but he ended up in middlle. With 1 km left, he got caught again by the duo, and E.Chaves, who had saved powers up tha last climb because of his team mate Duarte in front, attacked. Neither Pirazzi or Arroyo could follow.




Behind R.Souza had left L.Konig behind. R.Souza got the 2nd, and E.Chaves just passed L.Konig before the line, taking a 3rd place. Pirazzi ended in 5th.



Vuelta Asturias

Vuelta Asturias is a two day race. Almost exact same teams participated in Vuelta Asturias. Both stages are very hilly, and the stages are simular to some stages in Settimana Coppi a Bartali. And we all know how that went. We were in Spain the whole week, and all 8 riders from the classic participated in this stage race.

Stage 1



We controlled from start, because both Pirazzi and Battaglin were in super form. I summarise it shortly; the pace was so high all the way, than noone got a opportunity to attack.

With 3 km left, 8 riders were in front. As i said, noone had attacked, but behind riders had to find their own pace all stage long.
In the front group, Pirazzi was pacing, trying to get a sprint for Battaglin.



Pirazzi in first position. Behind S.Pardilla, L.Konig, D.Rebellin, E.Battaglin, J.Hivert, F.Duarte and C.Le Mevel in the same order. A kilometer later, D.Navorro managed to get back in the first group.
With 400 meter to go, Battaglin was the one opening the sprint. I bit early, but it could be successfull because the road went slightly downhill.
J.Hivert was on his wheel, and F.Duarte behind him again. Hivert had no chance, but with 50 meters left, Duarte was closing up on the left side. It was a close race to the line, but Duarte took it.



I feel so sad for Battaglin. Another 2nd place.



Stage 2



The second and last stage was also hilly. But this time, the finish was on the top of the hill. We did the job today also, controlling into the last climb. 13 km from the line, we stopped up, attacked with both Pirazzi and Battaglin, and tried to get a solid gap. The GC win was our goal, we had to trie something against Duarte.
At the first top, we realized it wasn't our day. L.Konig had flyed past our two guys, and leaded with over 40 seconds 5 km from the line.
But a rider with a even more terrible day, was the leader Duarte. I don't reallly know what happened, maybee some technical problems, but he was far far behind. In the bottom of the very last climb, Honig still had 50 seconds on Battaglin, Pirazzi and J.Hivert. 40 seconds behind them again, D.Navarro, E.Chaves, D.Rebellin, A.Piedra and C.Le Mevel were chasing.




L.Konig took a comfortabely win, both the stage and the overall standing. Battaglin outsprintet Hivert, taking 2nd on stage 1, 2 and the GC.
Pirazzi was full of lactic, and it went really slow up the last climb. He got passed by E.Chaves, but ended on 5th.
Duarte, who probably had some technical problems, ended up in 10th, and was todays looser.

Next up is Glava Tour of Norway!



Tor Lange
Sports director in Bardiani Valvone - CSF Inox