Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
2013 Tour de France, June 29-July 21
Running from Saturday June 29th to Sunday July 21st 2013, the 100th edition of the Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,479 kilometers.
These stages have the following profiles:
7 flat stages
5 hilly stages
6 mountain stages with 4 summit finishes
2 individual time trial stages
1 team time trial stage
2 rest days
I recommend a read of, and having as a reference, inrng's Tour de France Overview.
Of the twenty two teams only two are Italian registered teams: Cannondale Pro Cycling and Lampre-Merida.
Cannondale Pro Cycling
The first version of the Liquigas team, heir of Brescialat with, from 1999 to 2001, riders such as Serhiy Honchar and Davide Rebellin, is a far cry from the major Italian team of the last eight seasons, whose history dates back to 2005 and continues this year under the moniker of bicycle manufacturer Cannondale, which has now taken up the baton alone from the Italian energy provider.
For a long time, the team managed by Roberto Amadio proved to perform less well on the Tour de France than elsewhere: a two times winner of the Giro d'Italia (with Danilo Di Luca in 2007 and Ivan Basso in 2010) and the Vuelta a Espana (with Vincenzo Nibali in 2010). It only boasted a single stage victory (Filippo Pozzato at Autun in 2007), upstaged by the crash on that day of favorite Alexandre Vinokourov and outsider Andreas Klöden. Indeed, Liquigas stood out mainly on the roads of Le Tour thanks to the fighting qualities of its young riders, Vincenzo Nibali and Roman Kreuziger, in 2008 and 2009, until the hat-trick of stage wins achieved by Peter Sagan in 2012.
The Slovak, the first rider born in the 1990’s to win a stage, outshone all his rivals in the race for the green jersey and prepared the terrain for Vincenzo Nibali, the leading rider (3rd) behind Sky’s one-two in Paris. Now that the “Shark from Messina” has left for Astana, Sagan, who instantly became a star on Le Tour, now bears the responsibilities of team leader alone, which does not frighten him in the slightest.
Stage victories: 4
- 2007: Filippo Pozzato in Autun.
2012: Peter Sagan in Seraing, Boulogne-sur-Mer and Metz.
Victories in secondary classifications: 1
2012: Peter Sagan, green jersey
Yellow Jerseys: 0
KEY FIGURES
141: the massive lead of Peter Sagan, new to the race, over runner-up André Greipel in the points classification on Le Tour 2012.
KEY DATES
12th July 2007: in Autun, Filippo Pozzato wins the sole stage victory for Liquigas at the time.
14th July 2008: in Hautacam, Vincenzo Nibali obtains the white jersey for best young rider that he reluctantly has to hand over to Andy Schleck six days later, when Le Tour visits Prato Nevoso in Italy.
12th July 2012: at La Toussuire, Vincenzo Nibali rises up to 3rd place in the general classification where he would remain for the rest of the race.
LAMPRE-MERIDA
By finishing seventh on the Tour de France 2011, Damiano Cunego boosted the reputation of Lampre, a team that had been rather discreet up until then during fourteen participations on the Tour de France, having treated the Giro d'Italia as a priority. However, this was not the best overall classification of one of its riders: Lithuanian Raimondas Rumsas climbed onto the podium (3rdin 2002) and Roberto Conti, the third Italian winner at Alpe-d’Huez after Fausto Coppi and Gianni Bugno, in 1994, finished sixth that same year.
The pink and blue jersey of the Italian laminated steel manufacturer has been present on the roads of Le Tour since 1993, the year in which Uzbek sprinter Djamolidine Abdoujaparov achieved his best performance on the Big Loop, winning three stages and the points classification. The team, however, dipped out of existence between 1996 and 1999, but thanks to the will of the Galbusera family (the father and son managing the firm), it resumed its cycling history by re-launching the career of another sprinter, Czech rider Jan Svorada, a stage winner during both periods of the team’s existence (in 1994 and 2001). Before the arrival in its colours of two of the greatest Italian sprinters of the modern era, Daniele Bennati and Alessandro Petacchi, the Lampre team gave the Tour de France one of its biggest thrills in 2002 with the unexpected charge, right under the nose of the pack, by young Swiss rider Rubens Bertogliati, who broke away in Luxembourg under the red flame signalling the last kilometre, to the great displeasure of Erik Zabel, who was still the king of sprinters for some time to come.
On its fifteenth appearance on Le Tour, the team managed by former world champion Giuseppe Saronni just missed out on a thirteenth stage victory when Michele Scarponi lost out to Thomas Voeckler at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in 2012.
Stage victories: 12
- 1993: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov at Vannes, Bordeaux and Paris.
- 1994: Jan Svorada at Futuroscope and Roberto Conti at Alpe-d’Huez
- 1999: Ludo Dierckxsens at Saint-Étienne.
- 2001: Jan Svorada at Paris.
- 2002: Rubens Bertogliati at Luxembourg.
- 2007: Daniele Bennati at Castelsarrasin and in Paris.
- 2010: Alessandro Petacchi at Brussels and Reims.
Victories in secondary classifications: 3
- 1993: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (green jersey)
- 2006: Damiano Cunego (best young rider)
- 2010: Alessandro Petacchi (green jersey)
Yellow Jerseys: 2
- 2002: Rubens Bertogliati, two days
KEY FIGURES
10: the number of points by which Alessandro Petacchi led Thor Hushovd at the finish of the final stage in Paris in 2010
KEY DATES
19thJuly 1994: Roberto Conti (6thin the final general classification) won at Alpe-d’Huez even though Lampre only had three riders left in the race, the two others being sprinter Jan Svorada and domestique Marco Zen.
7th July 2002: Rubens Bertogliati breathed new life into the forgotten type of feat whereby a sole rider surprises the pack by breaking away a kilometre before the arrival to pick up the Yellow Jersey.
18th July 2006: Damiano Cunego was beaten by Fränk Schleck at Alpe-d’Huez but took a significant lead in the White Jersey race for the best young rider in which he was battling with German Fothen.
In total there will be only 18 Italian riders, out of of 211, in this year's Tour. Tomorrow we'll discuss how they might fare in the race.
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Colnago, Cinelli, Olmo, Gloria at Rembetis in Berlin
The Rembetis vintage bike shop/museum in Berlin:
Rembetis - Vintage bikes shop / museum from Pawel Steinke on Vimeo.
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Rembetis - Vintage bikes shop / museum from Pawel Steinke on Vimeo.
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
TdF Contest: Win a Campagnolo 80th Anniversary Equipped Diamondback
Velonews
is running a contest for the 2013 Tour de France with a grand prize
featuring a Campagnolo Record 80th Anniversary Special Edition equipped
Diamondback “Limited Edition” 2013 Podium 7 carbon road bike, plus HED
Stinger 4 FR wheelset and GTO cockpit.
Contest perticipants select their choices for the overall, then make your picks for each of eight stages. Prize winners will be selected based on the highest score from the overall and individual stages, combined.
Note: All picks for the overall must be in before 8:00 a.m. GMT on Saturday, June 29, 2013. Picks for individual stages are due by 8:00 a.m. GMT on the day of the stage.
All details here.
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Contest perticipants select their choices for the overall, then make your picks for each of eight stages. Prize winners will be selected based on the highest score from the overall and individual stages, combined.
Note: All picks for the overall must be in before 8:00 a.m. GMT on Saturday, June 29, 2013. Picks for individual stages are due by 8:00 a.m. GMT on the day of the stage.
All details here.
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
RHxDUE, Gavia and Mortirolo, with Alberto Contador, August 3-4, 2013
The Provinces of Sondrio and Brescia decided to join forces to promote the local area, and what better way to do just that than RHxDUE Contador, an event that brings together a major sports company like Zerorh+ and the great cycling champion Alberto Contador. Two days of awesome cycling up two mountain passes that have become international cycling icons: the Gavia Pass and the Mortirolo Pass. Both will be closed to vehicles during this non-competitive event.
Saturday, August 3, climb the Gavia Pass from either Bormio or Ponte di Legno
9.00-10.00 a.m.
Start from Piazza del Kuerc in Bormio, distance 26 km/16.2 miles (the side in the Province of Sondrio), and from Palazzetto dello Sport in Ponte di Legno, distance 18 km/11.2 miles (the side in the Province of Brescia). At the finish on the Gavia Pass all the registered entrants will be welcomed with hot tea, pastries and fruit. Alberto Contador will award the prizes drawn during preregistration.
Sunday, August 4, climb the Mortirolo Pass from Grosotto or Monno
9.00-10.00 a.m.
Start from Laghetto Pesca Sportiva in Grosotto, 14 km/8.7 miles (the side in the Province of Sondrio) and from Piazza del Comune in Monno, 10 km/6.2 miles (the side in the Province of Brescia). At the finish on the Mortirolo Pass all the registered entrants will be welcomed and revived with hot tea, pastries and fruit. Alberto Contador will award the prizes drawn during preregistration.
Registration is free but mandatory. Details here.
Riding the Gavia Pass from Ponte di Legno
Mind Ganmes on the Mortirolo
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Italy to Host Tour de France Start in Next Few Years
In February of this year we wrote about Tour de France Director
Christian Prudhomme's visit to the Veneto to discuss a proposal for a
start, between 2015 and 2017, in Piazza San Marco in Venice and a stage
to mark the Tour de France victories of Ottavio Bottecchia. If the Tour
starts in Italy in 2015 it would mark the 90th anniversary of the 1925
Tour de France victory of Ottavio Bottecchia (he first won the race in
1924). Read more here about Prudhomme's visit.
So, it was was interest that I read this story yesterday:
PARIS (AFP) — The Tour de France will continue to spread its wings, race director Christian Prudhomme has said, with traditional cycling powerhouse Italy high on the list of contenders to host the Grand Départ in the next few years.
The Tour has visited several countries in recent years for its overall start, including Ireland, Great Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Spain, but Italy has never enjoyed the honor. This year, the 100th edition will start from the French Mediterranean island of Corsica.
Prudhomme said that, given the depth and history of Italian cycling, it was unusual that Italy had never hosted the start of the race that has visited the country on several occasions.
“What has been evident in the last few years is the number of times Italy has put up a candidate and that is something that we will have to put right one day soon,” he said.
Florence, which will hold the UCI Elite Road World Championships in September, put in a bid to host the start of next year’s race, but it went instead to the Yorkshire city of Leeds, England. Venice has also been mentioned as a possible host to the Tour’s kickoff.
Prudhomme, who took over as race director from Jean-Marie Leblanc 10 years ago, would not divulge which cities had expressed an interest in hosting the start. But he singled out Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, and “naturally” Great Britain — a country where he said cycling had made spectacular progress on the back of last year’s successes of the Sky team and Bradley Wiggins.
This year’s Tour comes at a time when cycling is once again up against negative press, following the sensational doping admissions made by seven-time winner Lance Armstrong and the 1997 champion Jan Ullrich, and Monday’s news from L’Equipe that retroactive tests had revealed EPO use by former French champion Laurent Jalabert at the 1998 Tour. But Prudhomme said he believes that, despite all the adverse publicity, the sport still enjoys great affection among the general public.
“It’s true that cycling, more than ever, needs to be loved, and it is,” he said. “Not for one second has there been any sign of public disaffection. On the contrary, we see a phenomenal passion in the French regions and abroad.
“On my recent trips to Australia, England, Belgium, and The Netherlands I have witnessed a real enthusiasm for the Tour.”
On doping, Prudhomme said that while it remained a major problem for cycling, progress was being made.
“I really believe that in that area, great advances have been made in the last few years, especially as regards the introduction of the biological passport,” he said, referring to the program implemented by cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, in 2008. “At the same time, it’s true we do not live in a perfect world; that does not exist.”
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
So, it was was interest that I read this story yesterday:
PARIS (AFP) — The Tour de France will continue to spread its wings, race director Christian Prudhomme has said, with traditional cycling powerhouse Italy high on the list of contenders to host the Grand Départ in the next few years.
The Tour has visited several countries in recent years for its overall start, including Ireland, Great Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Spain, but Italy has never enjoyed the honor. This year, the 100th edition will start from the French Mediterranean island of Corsica.
Prudhomme said that, given the depth and history of Italian cycling, it was unusual that Italy had never hosted the start of the race that has visited the country on several occasions.
“What has been evident in the last few years is the number of times Italy has put up a candidate and that is something that we will have to put right one day soon,” he said.
Florence, which will hold the UCI Elite Road World Championships in September, put in a bid to host the start of next year’s race, but it went instead to the Yorkshire city of Leeds, England. Venice has also been mentioned as a possible host to the Tour’s kickoff.
Prudhomme, who took over as race director from Jean-Marie Leblanc 10 years ago, would not divulge which cities had expressed an interest in hosting the start. But he singled out Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, and “naturally” Great Britain — a country where he said cycling had made spectacular progress on the back of last year’s successes of the Sky team and Bradley Wiggins.
This year’s Tour comes at a time when cycling is once again up against negative press, following the sensational doping admissions made by seven-time winner Lance Armstrong and the 1997 champion Jan Ullrich, and Monday’s news from L’Equipe that retroactive tests had revealed EPO use by former French champion Laurent Jalabert at the 1998 Tour. But Prudhomme said he believes that, despite all the adverse publicity, the sport still enjoys great affection among the general public.
“It’s true that cycling, more than ever, needs to be loved, and it is,” he said. “Not for one second has there been any sign of public disaffection. On the contrary, we see a phenomenal passion in the French regions and abroad.
“On my recent trips to Australia, England, Belgium, and The Netherlands I have witnessed a real enthusiasm for the Tour.”
On doping, Prudhomme said that while it remained a major problem for cycling, progress was being made.
“I really believe that in that area, great advances have been made in the last few years, especially as regards the introduction of the biological passport,” he said, referring to the program implemented by cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, in 2008. “At the same time, it’s true we do not live in a perfect world; that does not exist.”
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Eros Poli Makes Tour de France 10 Memorable Moments
In www.cyclingnews.com, here, Eros Poli makes the 10 memorable moments of the Tour de France. The excerpt from the list:
1994: Poli conquers the Ventoux
If Mont Ventoux is ‘best’ remembered for the death of Tom Simpson, then Italian Eros Poli’s 1994 escapades on its slopes goes at least some way to redressing the balance towards more celebratory memories.
The Italian giant took on ‘The Giant of Provence’ in a battle everyone was expecting the rider to lose. With a 25-minute lead over his pursuers at the start of the climb, Poli dragged his huge, tired limbs up and over the Ventoux, and was still able to celebrate his stage win in Carpentras with a buffer of over three minutes on the chasers having risked everything on the descent.
Stage 15 of this year’s Tour will hopefully provide more stunning scenes on the Ventoux that will also be remembered for all the right reasons.
Video from that day:
Today, Eros is happily sharing his passion through his cycling tour business. More details at www.eros-poli.com
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
1994: Poli conquers the Ventoux
If Mont Ventoux is ‘best’ remembered for the death of Tom Simpson, then Italian Eros Poli’s 1994 escapades on its slopes goes at least some way to redressing the balance towards more celebratory memories.
The Italian giant took on ‘The Giant of Provence’ in a battle everyone was expecting the rider to lose. With a 25-minute lead over his pursuers at the start of the climb, Poli dragged his huge, tired limbs up and over the Ventoux, and was still able to celebrate his stage win in Carpentras with a buffer of over three minutes on the chasers having risked everything on the descent.
Stage 15 of this year’s Tour will hopefully provide more stunning scenes on the Ventoux that will also be remembered for all the right reasons.
Video from that day:
Today, Eros is happily sharing his passion through his cycling tour business. More details at www.eros-poli.com
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Italian Cycling Journal Search
Translate
Follow by Email
About Me
Visitors to ICJ
ITALIAN CYCLING JOURNAL
Posts
All Comments
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment