The Sticky Bidon – June 1, 2011

Posted on June 1, 2011 by

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Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, June 1, 2011

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2011 Giro d’Italia – Win, Lose, or Draw

Posted on June 1, 2011 by

Pavé would like to thank Laekhouse for supporting our coverage of the 2011 Giro d’Italia.

Fotoreporter Sirotti

 

Did the 2011 Giro d’Italia turn out to be a great edition worthy of the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification? Or was it a political flop that drove riders, teams, and organizers to agony? Here’s a special Giro-edition of Pavé’s favorite game: Win, Lose, or Draw.

Win

1. It’s hard to imagine a bigger winner than Saxo Bank’s Alberto Contador. Even with seemingly little preparation, thanks to the ongoing discourse on his doping allegations, Contador triumphed over a field of aggressive contenders in an extremely difficult Giro. Yet, he himself remarked that his 2008 Giro d’Italia win was his most beautiful of all.

2. Italian contenders Vincenzo Nibali and Michele Scarponi put on brave shows even when it was becoming clear that Contador was unbeatable on any terrain. I was particularly thrilled by Nibali’s impressive display of descending skills. Time and time again he would lose minutes on the ascents only to regain them on the descents. With age on his side, look to Nibali to make a strong showing in the future.

3. Basque squad Euskaltel-Euskadi had their best Giro d’Italia ever with back-to-back wins by Igor Anton on Zoncolan and by Mikel Nieve on Val di Fassa. After years of searching for the next great Orange-clad mountain goats, they might have found two great ones.

4. Smaller Italian teams such as Androni Giocattoli and Farnese Vini measured-up to their main objective of the year with Jose Rujano and Angel Vicioso scoring wins for Androni (even if the latter was shadowed by the death of Wouter Weylandt) and Oscar Gatto surprising the sprinters with his uphill prowess on behalf of Farnese Vini.

5. Last but not least, this year’s Giro represents a win for the mountains. Many had feared that GC contenders and stage hunters alike would take a pessimistic approach, self-neutralizing a race many thought would prove too hard. But in almost every mountain stage this year we saw multiple battles between GC contenders and stage hunters alike. John Gadret, Stefano Garzelli, Jose Rujano, Jan Bakelants, and others put on fantastic performances, animating each stage from start to finish. Yes, we lost the sprinters, but with the final stage in Milan being an ITT, there wasn’t much for them to hang around for anyway.

Lose

1. After leaving high-profile rider Filippo Pozzato behind in order to bank everything on Joaquin Rodriguez’s GC hope, Katusha came home from this year’s Giro with little to show for its efforts. Team manager Andrei Tchmil may be doing a bit of damage control by espousing the “fffectiveness of team strategy,” but such a non-result cannot be hidden from view. Most tellingly, botched bike changes during the TTT meant that Rodriguez started the race already minutes behind on GC. Can Tchmil manage a team with true grand tour aspirations?

2. Geox-TMC did little to show the world that it deserved to be invited to the Tour de France, never really factoring in the 3-week event. The team still salvaged an invitation to the Vuelta, but it’s anyone’s guess as to how they’ll perform in Spain.

3. Last but not least, it goes without saying that the worst moment of this year’s Giro was Wouter Weylandt‘s untimely and unfortunate death. His constant laughter, on-the-bike grin, and charming spirit will certainly be missed.

Draw

1. Another notable Italian of Nibali’s vintage is Farnese Vini’s Giovanni Visconti (who not too many years ago was heralded as Paolo Bettini’s successor). Riding for a smaller Italian team means that the Giro d’Italia is the biggest show of the year. Perhaps his temper got the better of him, but taking his hand off the bar TWICE to push a rider off his line is understandable justification for relegation. The man to benefit was youngster Diego Ulissi, a great talent in Lampre’s long line of protégés—someone I look forward to watching in future races.

2. Although I can understand that sprinters are not suited for this year’s tortuous mountain climbs, the massive defection of sprinters including Alessandro Petacchi, Mark Cavendish, and many others still seems a bit weak to me. To be fair, even the GC contenders seemed content to settle with a cease-fire on the penultimate stage, allowing breakaway rider Vassili Kiryienka of Movistar to dedicate his win to recently deceased teammate Xavier Tondo. Kiryienka has been steadily improving and I expect him to figure in future stage races and hilly one-day events.

So those are our picks—what about you? Share your Win, Lose, or Draw contestants below.

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The Sticky Bidon – May 31, 2011

Posted on May 31, 2011 by

Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, May 31, 2011

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Monday Musette – Memorial Day Edition

Posted on May 31, 2011 by

Pavé would like to thank Laekhouse for supporting our coverage of the 2011 Giro d’Italia.

Fotoreporter Sirotti

 

Here’s this week’s (Memorial Day) Monday Musette:

1. Julius, one of Pavé’s Contributors, is putting together a more substantial Giro d’Italia Wrap-Up, but let’s take a minute here—at least until we hear otherwise—and give Saxo Bank’s Alberto Contador some credit for winning what many consider to have been the hardest grand tour in quite some time. Contador’s greater than 6-minute margin of victory was the largest since Ivan Basso’s 9-minute win in 2006. Let’s just hope he’s not forced to take a “break” similar to Basso’s.

Seriously speaking though, Contador has now won 6 of the 7 grand tours he’s entered—a perfect 6 for 6 since finishing 31st in his first Tour de France in 2005. So here’s my question for you: given the controversy surrounding his victory in last year’s Tour de France, can we rightfully call El Pistolero the greatest grand tour rider of his generation? In other words, to what extent or degree do you take his success seriously?

2. And while I have a feeling Julius will touch on at least a few of them, the performances of several young riders caught my attention at this year’s Giro. First off, Rabobank’s Steven Kruijswijk rode a spectacular final week to cement himself firmly inside the top-10. Did you know the 23-year-old finished 18th in last year’s race? That’s progression if you ask me. Were it not for Roman Kreuziger, Kruijswijk would have taken home the white jersey as Best Young Rider.

3. Garmin-Cervelo’s Peter Stetina finished 22nd overall, an impressive result for the young American—but one that went largely unnoticed anywhere but in the USA. It was his first grand tour too!

4. Finally, was it just me or was Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Jan Bakelants in just about every breakaway? Bakelants drew some attention with a high finish during last year’s rain-filled stage on the strade bianche and proved this year that his performance was no fluke. A constant animator, it’s too bad he couldn’t score a stage win. He reminds me of a young Philippe Gilbert. Those are some tough shoes to fill, but a pair that suit the young Belgian’s aggressive style.

5. And speaking of Gilbert, the kopman from Lotto took an Ardennes stage win Saturday at the Tour of Belgium, securing his overall victory in the process. By winning his national grand tour, Gilbert alos defended his #1 spot in the World Tour rankings against Contador. Look for Gilbert to try and win his national championship, before shooting for yellow during the first week of the Tour.

6. Gilbert’s win came at a time when every team in the World Tour appears to be interested in his services for next season and beyond. In fact, we could be looking at one of the most interesting off-season markets for classics specialists in recent history with riders such as (my guess only) Gilbert, Boonen, Ballan, Hushovd, and Pozzato available.

7. Speaking of classics riders, someone asked me if Stijn Devolder losing almost 16 minutes in a stage at the Tour of Belgium (a race he won last year) was a bad thing. Yes it is.

8. Did you notice: in the past two weeks, Landbouwkrediet’s Lithuanians Egidijus Juodvalkis and Aidis Kruopis won stages at the Tour de Picardie and Tour of Belgium, respectively. Those aren’t bad results considering the caliber of competition. Keep an eye on these two, but don’t worry about learning how to say their names just yet.

9. The Vuelta handed-out its last four invites to Andalucia Caja Granada, Cofidis, Geox-TMC, and Skil-Shimano. Cofidis makes sense—David Moncoutie can rest easy as the second half of his season is now secured. Andalucia has obvious local interests, so they’re no surprise. But Skil-Shimano and Geox-TMC? At least we’ll get to see Fabio Duarte finally get a big win or two. Mark him down now for a stage win and place inside the top-10 on GC.

10. The Tour of Luxembourg begins tomorrow, with Leopard Trek an obvious choice to dominate the 5-day event. With Frank Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, and Jens Voigt all on board, how could the squad not be? The strongest challenge should come from Radio Shack’s Andreas Kloden, but this is Leopard’s race to lose.

11. Speaking of Radio shack, the team added the 2011 US Professional Road Race title to Chris Horner’s win in the Tour of California thanks to Matt Busche’s surprise victory. Then again, the win was no surprise to anyone who saw Busche’s selfless teamwork on behalf of Horner and Levi Leipheimer in California (too bad they weren’t around to return the favor). Here’s hoping we’ll see the stars and stripes in the Tour de France this July.

12. And last but not least, thanks to another bout of mononucleosis, it looks as if we won’t see Sky’s Mick Rogers in this year’s Tour de France. He’s not ruling it out yet it seems, but it’s hard to imagine him being up to the challenge. I’ve never ridden the Tour, but I’ve had mono before—and it’s not fun. Luckily, his team got back to winning ways in the Bayern Rundfahrt, with Gerraint Thomas emerging victorious after Saturday’s time trial. One of the most talented young riders in the sport, don’t expect Sky to afford Thomas for long.

Share your thoughts and comments below.

 

 

 

 

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Weekend Preview – Giro, Belgium, and Bayern

Posted on May 27, 2011 by

Pavé would like to thank Laekhouse for supporting our coverage of the 2011 Giro d’Italia.

Fotoreporter Sirotti

 

Here’s a preview of this weekend’s main events:

1. I wonder if this year’s Giro d’Italia has passed as quickly for the riders as it has for the fans? Regardless, the season’s first grand tour ends this weekend with what looks to be a spectacular mountain stage and long individual time trial in downtown Milan.

Tomorrow’s 242-kilometer trip from Verbania to Sestriere looks straightforward enough: 195 kilometers of flat roads followed by two major climbs, the last of which marks the end of the Giro’s final road stage. That said these two climbs—the Colle delle Finestre and the Sestriere are anything but usual. The Finestre was first used in the 2005 Giro d’Italia and it’s two main protagonists then—Danilo Di Luca and Jose Rujano—are both riding this year as well. Rising out of an Alpine valley, the climb is perhaps most famous for its final 8 unpaved kilometers—a surface that should produce serious time gaps and stunning racing for fans.

After a descent that could favor those willing to take a few risks, the riders will tackle the final climb to the ski resort at Sestriere. Ironically, Sestriere was the scene of Lance Armstrong’s mountain stage win in the 1999 Tour de France—a rain soaked victory that saw him seize control of the race for good.

Saxo Bank’s Alberto Contador requires no such heroics. With more than a 5-minute lead on his nearest rival, the Spaniard can ride comfortably, knowing that it would take nothing short of a major collapse for him to lose his maglia rosa. On the other hand, the battle for second and third is alive and well, with two Italians, Lampre’s Michele Scarponi and Liquigas’ Vincenzo Nibali, separated by less than a minute. Look for Scarponi and Nibali to use the Finestre’s ascent and descent respectively to try and launch their final bids to be #2. Other riders to watch include Androni’s Jose Rujano (the stage winner here in 2005), Katusha’s Joaquin Rodriguez (a rider trying to salvage a rather lackluster race for his team), and Acqua & Sapone’s Stefano Garzelli (the current leader of the KOM competition).

In Sunday’s 31.5-kilometer time trial in downtown Milan, Alberto Contador will put his final stamp on what might just be one of his most convincing grand tour victories. As for the rest of the podium, if Scarponi and Nibali are still close, the stage favors the rider from Liquigas. Scarponi will need the ride of his life to defend any advantage smaller than 45-seconds. As for a stage winner, watch out for Saxo Bank’s Richie Porte (his form is improving) and Garmin-Cervelo’s David Millar (one of the Giro’s most aggressive riders) to battle for victory.

2. As for the Tour of Belgium—the other national tour wrapping-up this weekend—a familiar rider is now wearing the black jersey as race leader: Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Philippe Gilbert. Depending on how motivated he is, tomorrow’s Stage 4 is not a day that should challenge King Phil—a mini-Ardennes classic with several climbs including the Mur de Huy, the Stockeu, the Haute Levée, and an uphill finish. If he’s there at the end—and it’s hard to see any reason why he wouldn’t be—look for the day and the overall title to go to Gilbert. And if all goes well for Belgian fans, Sunday will see Quick-Step’s Tom Boonen take the stage and points title.

3. Germany’s Bayern Rundfahrt concludes this weekend with an individual time trial Saturday and a Sunday stage that will likely end in a field sprint. HTC-Highroad’s Michael Albasini won today’s Stage 3, winning a 9-man group sprint to the take the day and overall race lead. As the gap to the main peloton was over 5 minutes, look for one of today’s escapees—whichever has the better ride tomorrow—to take the overall victory Sunday. My money’s on Saxo Bank’s Nicki Sorensen, a talented time trialist who should take the lead tomorrow and defend it well Sunday. My sentimental pick: Garmin-Cervelo’s Andreas Klier, although a win for Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas would be nice to see as well. These three men all sit within 12 seconds of Albasini and appear to have the best chances to win the 2.HC event.

4. And finally, the US Professional Championships take place Saturday and Monday in South Carolina with all of the country’s best riders participating. In Saturday’s time trial, I see David Zabriskie taking the win over Levi Leipheimer and Taylor Phinney. On the other hand, national championship road races are always tough to call—look for the Radio Shack and Garmin-Cervelo to do the lion share of the work while the smaller teams do their best to upset the apple cart. In the end, fitness and experience will rule the day—in other words, look for Chris Horner to add the stars and stripes to his ATOC win. Garmin-Cervelo’s Andrew Talansky and BMC’s George Hincapie will round out the podium.

And there you have it—a quick rundown of what to expect this weekend. What are your picks and predictions?

And in case you have yet to do so, enter our Laekhouse Colle delle Finestre Contest. Guess the first rider over the Finestre and win a t-shirt from Laekhouse!

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The Sticky Bidon – May 26, 2011

Posted on May 26, 2011 by

2010 Milan-San Remo - Gilbert Attacks

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Interesting cycling items from across the Internet, May 26, 2011

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