Evergreen Garzelli?

Posted on June 7, 2011 by

Fotoreporter Sirotti

 

One rider who has impressed me in the last few years is Stefano Garzelli. Perhaps the shadow of his doping positive from 2002 shall haunt him forever, but he is a rare breed of riders who can climb, TT, and sprint well. His palmares certainly prove so.

Garzelli began his career as a domestique for Marco Pantani‘s Mercatone Uno team and was a key member of the Giro-Tour double-winning team of 1998. Pantani’s return in 2000 after his doping suspension wasn’t quite as well-prepared as expected: when il Pirata showed up overweight to the Giro d’Italia, the team pointed to Garzelli to be leader, and Pantani gamely worked on behalf of his former domestique. The 2000 Giro d’Italia is Garzelli’s biggest accomplishment so far, a close all-Italian battle against Francesco Casagrande and Gilberto Simoni, won only in the final TT.

Having proven himself a grand tour contender, Giorgio Squinzi of the Mapei super-team recruited Garzelli to be its leader. After a fairly slow 2001, 2002 saw Garzelli work with Paolo Bettini to earn the latter’s second win in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, showing some of the best tactical teamwork ever. A strong start in the 2002 Giro d’Italia saw Garzelli win Stages 2 and 5 and earned him the maglia rosa. However, a drug test following Stage 5 showed him positive for probenecid. (While I won’t go into the details of the case, both team owner Giorgio Squinzi and team trainer Aldo Sassi claimed that it was a conspiracy against the team’s anti-doping stance.) The resulting fracas eventually led to Mapei’s departure from direct team sponsorship.

Many expected Garzelli’s career to end at that point, even as he insisted on his innocence. But the following year he came back with Vini Caldirola to win two more stages in the Giro d’Italia after a strong ride in the Giro del Trentino. Garzelli also showed some promise in the Tour de France, and after moving to Liquigas-Bianchi he continued to ride well in the Giro d’Italia.

Since 2007, Garzelli has raced for Acqua & Sapone, a smaller Italian outfit with little presence in races outside of Italy. The consistent results in the Giro d’Italia continued with perhaps the most surprising being his Stage 16 win in the 2010 Giro when he won the uphill TT up the Plan de Corones ahead of then-world champion Cadel Evans. The win convinced him to continue for another season and this year the Italian won the Giro’s maglia verde as Best Climber.

Overall, Garzelli has won just about every race and Italian could wish to win: including the Giro, the Tour de Suisse, and Tirreno-Adriatico to go with several other stage wins and one-day victories. Is he the best ever? Absolutely not. A bit underrated? Perhaps.

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The Sticky Bidon – June 6, 2011

Posted on June 6, 2011 by

Fotoreporter Sirotti

Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, June 6, 2011

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Monday Musette РLuxembourg, Dauphin̩, & Philadelphia

Posted on June 6, 2011 by

Fotoreporter Sirotti

 

Here’s this week’s Monday Musette:

1. Leopard Trek enjoyed a banner Tour of Luxembourg, winning three stages and the overall title by the end of the 5-day race. For Linus Gerdemann, the win is but a fleeting reminder of the stage race potential the German once displayed.  Now he’ll likely head to the Tour de France in service of the Schleck brothers.

2. After finishing more than 15 minutes off the pace in Luxembourg, is Vacansoleil’s Stijn Devolder officially washed-up? Other than Roman Feillu, the Dutch World Team is having a hard time getting itself on the top step of the podium.

3. One final Benelux note: look for Maxime Monfort to be the Schlecks’ strongest ally at the Tour de France. He’s riding himself into terrific form—in fact, I Belgium’s consider him an outside bet for the win in Switzerland next week. If given a bit of freedom, he could really shine.

4. And speaking of Belgians in the limelight, Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Jurgen Van Den Broeck won Stage 1 of the Criterium du Dauphiné with a stunning attack on the day’s final climb. But the question remains: is it enough to reassert his Tour captaincy? With Philippe Gilbert and Andre Greipel all looking forward to July to prove their Tour mettle, Lotto will have some tough decisions to make come in two weeks time. Wednesday’s 42.5-kilometer time trial will be the next big test for the Belgian.

5. And while we’re in a questioning mood, here are two for Team Sky. First, is Bradley Wiggins poised to prove his doubters (myself included) wrong? And second, is Edvald Boasson Hagen back to his old race-dominating self? To be continued…

6. Speaking of race domination, HTC-High Road won it’s third consecutive title in Philadelphia Sunday as Alex Rasmussen took the win in the TD Bank International Cycling Championship (while the name has changed, the event is the same).  In the 1990’s the race almost always produced an exciting breakaway winner. But in the past decade, a new formula has arisen for success in Philly: let a breakaway spend all day off the front, reel them in by the end of second finishing circuit, and sprint. While I can’t blame teams for successfully employing a proven race-winning strategy to perfection, it does beg the question: has the race lost its prestige? Philadelphia used to be one of the more popular events on the US calendar, now it struggles to find enough truly professional teams to fill its start list. What gives?

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The Sticky Bidon – June 3, 2011

Posted on June 3, 2011 by

Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, June 3, 2011

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2011 Criterium du Dauphin̩ РPreview

Posted on June 3, 2011 by

Fotoreporter Sirotti

 

One of my favorite races begins this weekend: the Criterium du Dauphiné. One of two primary build-up races to the Tour de France, this year’s event features a challenging Tour-style parcours (2 time trials and 4 summit finishes) and a start list stocked with riders hoping for glory this July.  Here’s a rundown of this year’s favorites:

1. French squads Ag2r and Cofidis come to the Dauphiné with imports leading their teams. Ag2r’s Nicolas Roche is hoping to build on his performance in last year’s Tour de France; the Dauphiné will give us a chance to see if he’s up for it. Meanwhile, Rein Taaramae has shown flashes of brilliance at Cofidis, but has yet to secure a major result. With Davide Moncoutie at his side, this might be his best chance.

2. Cadel Evans has already won both Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of Romandie for BMC this season, now he heads to France as one of the favorites for his third prestigious win of the year. Evans has ridden well in the Dauphiné in the past and is suited to the race’s mix of time trials and high mountains. I’ve always said Evans would find more success were he to abandon his Tour aspirations in favor of hillier classics and one-week stage races—will the Dauphiné help him see the writing on the wall?

3. Euskaltel’s Samuel Sanchez narrowly missed a podium spot in last year’s Tour de France; this year he’s using the Dauphiné to put the finishing touches on his form. As for HTC’s Tony Martin, he won Paris-Nice in March and would love to add the Dauphiné to his resume. For someone mentioned as a future Tour-contender, the Dauphiné’s difficult course will provide a worthy test of the German’s skills.

4. As for Liquigas’ Ivan Basso, 2011 marks his full return to the Tour de France—at least in the sense that he’s structured his season around success in the French grand tour. While others have rebounded from poor performances in the Dauphiné to earn high finishes in the Tour, I suspect we’ll get an accurate assessment of Basso’s Tour chances by the end of next week. The time trials will prove one crucial indicator, but the Italian’s climbing will determine his ultimate outcome.

5. Meanwhile, all eyes in Belgium will be on Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Jurgen Van Den Broeck. Last year, VDBeke finished 4th at the Dauphiné before his spectacular fifth-place finish in Paris. This week will be our first chance to see if the Belgian’s more than just a one-hit wonder. And should he find himself in a position to do so, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win it. With Andre Greipel and Philippe Gilbert already jockeying for position within Lotto’s Tour-team hierarchy, VDBeke could use a big result to remind everyone that he’s the team’s best option.

6. Holland’s Tour hopes ride firmly on the shoulders of Robert Gesink, a fabulous climber who prior to this season had proven himself to be weak against the clock. But after some stunning performances earlier this season, it appears as if the Dutchman has finally found a way to contend. The Dauphiné offers two ITT’s in which Gesink can test himself. If he passes, he’ll be a top-3 contender in July.

7. For the French, while Europcar’s Thomas Voeckler will seek to continue his spectacular success, Saur-Sojasun’s Jerome Coppel will look to build upon his fifth-place finish last year. Arguably the most consistent French GC rider in the sport (that’s not saying much, I know), Coppel could be the next French GC-darling at the Tour de France. Saur certainly hopes so, as this will be the team’s first ever trip to the Grand Boucle.

8. At Garmin-Cervelo, two riders deserve your attention. Christophe Le Mevel rode an aggressive Giro d’Italia in which he was a major contender for the maglia rosa. That said, I think the Dauphiné will prove to be too much after such a difficult Giro. But in addition to contending for a stage win, Le Mevel should prove a valuable ally to Daniel Martin. In a race known for ushering in the sport’s newest champions, Martin’s just the type of rider who could surprise us all. His time trialing might be a liability, but his climbing is more than enough to earn a place in the top-5.

9. And last but not least, two former Dauphiné champions—one recently and one from years ago—deserve attention as well. Radio Shack’s Janez Brajkovic turned the race on its head last year with a performance that was downright Armstrong-esque (maybe there’s a better adjective). Regardless how you describe it, the Slovenian possesses the perfect mix of time trial and climbing ability to dominate a race like the Dauphiné. And if the new US Champion, Matt Busche, rides in France as he did in California, then Brajkovic might just have the best lieutenant in the race.

10. As for Astana’s Alexandre Vinokourov, he won the Dauphiné in 1999 and returns this year as part of what many believe could be his farewell season. I expect we’ll see Vino score at least a stage win on his way to a top-5 finish. The overall win might be just out of his reach—then again, he’s proved me wrong before.

As for my prediction, I’ve picked Cadel Evans twice this season and he’s won both races—I’m not changing anything. Robert Gesink will take second and Brajkovic third.

Who’s your pick? Share your comments below.

 

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The Sticky Bidon – June 2, 2011

Posted on June 2, 2011 by

Fotoreporter Sirotti


Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, June 2, 2011

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