2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 Results

Amsterdam, 8 May: Englishman Bradley Wiggins won the opening 8.4 km time trial of the 93rd edition of the Giro d'Italia and wears the first pink jersey. Wiggins covered the 8.4 km in 10 minutes 18 seconds, averaging 48,932 km/h. Rain and wet roads made the course tricky in the corners. In second was the surprising ride of American Brent Bookwalter, who will wear the red points jersey, at - 2 seconds; Bookwalter held on to 1st place for more than two hours before Wiggins' ride. World Champion Cadel Evan finished 3rd also at -2 seconds. Vinokourov finished 4th at -5 seconds. The best placement by an Italian was that of time trial specialist Pinotti in 10th at -9 seconds. Nibali was a surprise as he was relaxing in Sicily when he was called up only a few days before the Giro start to replace Pellizotti, nevertheless, he finished in 11th at -10. Ivan Basso finished 37th, -23 seconds.

Wiggins said, "It kind of sounds corny, but I'm such a fan of the Giro and always have been since I was a kid. I know a lot about the history of cycling. To wear the pink jersey in the Giro is special. It's such an iconic jersey. I grew up watching videos of the Giro, seeing [Maurizio] Fondriest and [Gianni] Bugno wearing it. I realize what I have on my shoulders. And that's quite special in itself because it will hang on my wall for the rest of my life. It means a lot to me. To be able to enjoy that moment tomorrow, whether it’s for a day, two days, or however long, it's very special. To take it in such style in Amsterdam, is probably even more special."

Wiggins, whose main objective for this cycling season is the Tour de France, is now reassessing his Giro plans. "The plan was never to try to do that (win the Giro). But now we're in this position we'll fight hold on as long as possible. We'll fight to hold it. If we lose it we'll fight to get it back it at some point. The plan is to race this race, not just sit back and enjoy it."

Tomorrow the 2nd stage with be 210 km from Amsterdam-Utrecht. The stage for sprinters is in fact more complicated than it appears on paper due to pitches and turns.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia Starts Tomorrow with TT, Stage 1

The press conferences, and the official presentation, in Amsterdam are finished. Finally, the Giro start is tomorrow.

The 93rd edition of the race will commence with an 8.4 km individual time trial from the city's museum square (Museumplein) to the stadium square, outside the 1928 Olympic Stadium. Weather may complicate the final standings with rain and 9 C temperature predicted. Average speed is expected to be in the 50-55 km/h range for riders "with courage and precise riding".

Milram's Matthius Russ is scheduled to kick-off the time trial at 13:55 CET on Saturday, however, the German will be preceded by 19 year-old Jasper Ockeloen of the Rabobank Continental squad. The Dutch youngster has been given the honour of being the first to cut through what is bound to be a corridor of noise. André Greipel (HTC-Columbia) will be the last man to roll of the start ramp, at 17:34 CET. Start times for podium contenders: Basso (17.12), Evans (17.14), Garzelli (17.24), and Sastre (17.28).

The oddsmakers favor Bradley Wiggins (at 4,50) followed by David Millar (5) who recently won two similar TTs. At 7 to 1 odds are Alexandre Vinokourov who won the prologue at the Giro del Trentino, and Italian national TT champion Marco Pinotti.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Foreign Riders at the Giro d'Italia

"Contador and Menchov won the last two editions of the Giro. One from Spain, one from Russia: both foreigners. Nevertheless, for a long time before that, the Giro d'Italia was an all-Italian domain. It was only at the 33rd edition in 1950 that Swiss rider Hugo Koblet, the first ever foreign winner, broke this tradition. Since then, another 27 Tours have now gone to foreign riders making it a fully-fledged and truly international event. Three quarters of the riders taking part nowadays are all foreign. In the early days, the names of the riders used to be linked to their hometowns: Gerbi from Asti, Cuniolo from Tortona, Ganna from Induno Olona, Girardengo from Novi Ligure, and Binda from Cittiglio. The Giro was a national race fought in terms of shared rivalries.

From 1909 — The 1909 Giro was the first one to see foreign riders. These were four Frenchmen - Petit-Breton, Trousselier, Pottier and Decaup - and one Austrian from Trieste, Heller. The two Tour winners, Petit-Breton and Trousselier, guaranteed a high standard of riding. The teams competing included the British cycle manufacturer Rudge Whitworth, who brought Galetti, Cuniolo, and Ernesto Azzini. Package trips were organised by the legendary London-based Thomas Cook, which offered 8 days from Milan to Naples for 205 lire. The first Germans took part in 1910: Arno Ritter from Berlino and Dresda-based Karl Dittenbrandt. On 20 May in Bologna, Gascon Dortignacq was the first foreigner to win a stage. This did not go down well and he was physically attacked. Judges declared that the guilty parties would be reported to the "Procura del Re" (Royal Prosecution Office).

Cardani and Maubert — 1911 saw the first South Americans. Luigi Cardani and Albert Maubert arrived in Genoa from Buenos Aires with newspapers hailing them as "the proud bearers of the title of Argentinian champions". It came as no surprise that they failed to make their mark on the race. Nevertheless, there was however a historic happening that year: a foreigner at the top of the leaderboard. On 31 May in Sulmona, the magnificent Petit-Breton led the GC with 37 points, ahead of Galetti at 40, and Rossignoli at 43. In the next stage from Sulmona to Bari however, he found himself in a breakaway group with 5 Bianchi riders and whilst he fought courageously against the five, he was annihilated.

Revival — In 1912 the Italo-Turkish war over Libya was underway and the French pulled out of the race, leaving not even one foreigner on the starting line. This happened again during the Fascist years from 1923 to 1927, in 1929 then again in the "Giro della Rinascita" (the revival tour) in 1946. Gradually, foreign riders returned to the Giro until their presence became the majority. In 1913, the first Swiss riders, Guyon and Morini, came. The year after, it was the first Belgian, Goffin, and London-born Frederick Grubb, Cavendish's grandfather. Two years earlier, Grubb had won silver at the Stockholm Games in the road race, a killer, 320km-long timetrial.

ONE PASSPORT: the truth — It was only in 1931 that the first Spanish riders took part: Mariano Canardo from Navarro (ancestor of Indurain), and Basque-born Ricardo Montero. One year later, on 15 May 1932 in Udine, Germany's Hermann Buse was the first foreigner to wear the pink jersey. He died thirteen years later in house-to-house fighting in Berlin, defending his city from the Red Army. In 1949, Italo-American Angelo Di Bacco was the first rider to represent North America but was promptly disqualified for towing. After this, the Giro was populated by Australians, Japanese, Colombians, Poles, Russians, Africans, Mexicans and Kazakhs. Foreign riders started making the headlines with Gaul, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Indurain and Contador. Then again, foreigner is almost an old-fashioned expression by now. It stems for the Latin "extraneus" meaning "not from our country", "outsider". This is a thing of the past for the Giro. As early as 1950 when Koblet won, Gianni Brera wrote an article claiming: "There are no foreigners in the sports world." The only passport you need at the Giro is the truth."

Source: Gazzetta dello Sport

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Francesca Rossi, Manager of the UCI’s Anti-doping Service

Ms. Francesca Rossi replaced Anne Gripper beginning March 5th, taking up the post of Director of the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF).

Ms. Rossi was Administrative and Scientific Manager of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) for three years. Before that, she was Deputy Director and Routine Activities Manager at the Anti-doping Laboratory in Rome. She is a graduate of the Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza'.

Regarding the recent commencement of disciplinary proceedings on the basis of the biological passport findings for Franco Pellizotti (ITA), Jesus Rosendo Prado (ESP), and Tadej Valjavec (SLO), Rossi said, "We will have new cases but I can’t say to you the timing. You never know when. We are continuously testing (riders) and involving our experts. When, statistically, the case is solid we can proceed.”

“It’s the beginning of the story,” Rossi said. “I am sure that in time the procedure is improving and we are going to be faster when we have a case.”

Before joining the UCI, Rossi worked at the World Anti-Doping Agency accredited lab in Rome, where she helped develop steroid profiling, which will soon be introduced in cycling. “As usual, we will be the first to implement,” Rossi said, highlighting how cycling is at the forefront of the fight against doping.

The UCI also intends to crack down on “microdosing”, which involves an athlete taking smaller but regular amounts of banned drugs such as EPO. The smaller doses mean that the drug quickly clears from the body and so is far more difficult to detect. BMC rider Thomas Frei, who recently tested postive for EPO, said that he used the microdosing technique.

“You have to target the rider (for testing) as close as possible to the microdose,” Rossi said. “Everything is really like a chess play. You have to make provision for what is the next move you have to do.”

The following interview with Rossi appeard in www.cyclingnews.com in mid-March:

The UCI's anti-doping department recently experienced a major change when Anne Gripper stepped down as its manager. Having spent over three years in the role, she took the decision to leave for personal reasons and has been replaced by Francesca Rossi.

The Italian spent three years as the Administrative and Scientific Manager of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations). She previously spent a decade working for the anti-doping laboratory in Rome, having acted as Deputy Director and Routine Activities Manager.

Rossi takes up the new position at a time when the biological passport is fully implemented and continuing to build data. Several riders have been suspended as a result of the longitudinal studies and, as time passes, the analyses should become more precise. This should make the passport even more effective.

Steroid profiles will also soon be added, thus tracking hormonal changes in riders and seeking to identify those who are using other methods to try to gain an unethical advantage.

Cyclingnews: Can you tell us a little about your background?

Francesca Rossi: I don't have a real background in sport, but I do have a background in anti-doping. I worked for 10 years in the anti-doping lab in Rome, starting in 1997 after getting my degree in pharmaceutical chemistry. I worked there until 2007 when I left; I then went to Monaco, where I worked for the IAAF as a scientific and administrative manager.

I was the deputy of Dr Dollé, the head of the anti-doping department there. In that location I had the possibility to really become familiar with how a federation works.

I was the head of the ISO [International Standards Organisation] project, and now the medical anti-doping department of the IAAF is ISO-accredited. I am also part of the WADA lab committee, which is keeping an eye on the labs.

CN: How did it come about that you replaced Anne Gripper?

FR: I met Anne a year ago. She came to the IAAF for a meeting about the blood passport, as athletics is starting the blood passport programme. We invited her to explain the strong and weak points to us.

I knew that she was leaving for personal reasons, and I sent my application as for me it was time for me to change a little.

I applied exactly as the others candidates. The UCI received my application, they said 'come' and we had a meeting. In the beginning they wanted a lawyer, someone with that background, but after a while they changed their mind and my candidature was the most appropriate for them.

It was really by chance. It was the same as how I got the IAAF role - I applied for that by chance, too. At the time, I was working at the Winter Olympic Games in Torino. I was the logistics person. After that, I said 'Basta' ['Enough'] I wanted to go in a different direction. Ten years with samples was enough for me.

CN: Do you know much about cycling?

FR: I know sport as an independent person. Being in anti-doping for a long time, you are obliged to know about rules in sport and what is going on in sport. I don't really have a specific knowledge, but I was always interested, from a personal point of view and also professionally.

My knowledge is an indirect one; I know sport, as I must know when is the best time for an athlete to dope. In this way, I must know when is the best time for a sprinter, or a cyclist or for somebody else to use substances.

CN: Taking over in your new role is undoubtedly a big task. Did you work alongside Anne Gripper before she left?

FR: I started on the 24th of February, so it was not so long. She tried to communicate everything to me, but of course it's quite complex. Anne is a person who is in contact with lots of people; I think that a network is a personal property. It is not possible to simply communicate a network to another person.

That said, she was very clear with me about the duties. She communicated everything. She left the UCI under the best conditions; she was not angry with the UCI or anything, but rather she really wanted to change her life. She wanted to have a different perspective.

CN: What is your view of what Anne Gripper and the UCI have done thus far regarding the fight against doping?

FR: I like the UCI anti-doping programme. Anne Gripper was very good and she built a very consistent programme for the blood passport. For me, this was a very important step in the right direction. It is more and more difficult to discover, in a direct way, doping by athletes. Now, with this system, this indirect system, we have more chance to discover what is going on in the doping world.

For me, the UCI programme is a really consistent one. I like it. This was also a reason why I decided to come here, to say yes. I knew Anne Gripper and she was a real pioneer in this sense. For me, it is more or less straightforward at this stage to move into her place; the programme is running very well, and I am very happy about this.

I am still at the beginning, so maybe sooner or later I will discover some things that are not perfect, but for the moment the impression that I have [of the biological passport] is very positive.


CN: Recently a sportsman was suspended as a result of a test for Human Growth Hormone and the substance has long been perceived as undetectable. Will the UCI also introduce this test?

FR: Yes. I am almost sure that we are going in that direction, even though there are some difficulties. That is usual at the beginning, when you are speaking about proteins. It was the same at the beginning of the EPO test... before having a positive that was really consistent, they spent a long time studying. There were some kamikaze cases before the programme was consistent.

But I think that it is time for this. I was also involved in the WADA project for hGH, which we developed in the IAAF, and I had the opportunity to follow it. Now it is time to come out with this kind of analysis. They are ready. I am sure that we will also start a programme in this sense.

CN: To what extent will there be retrospective testing for hGH? Will the UCI re-examine old samples?

FR: I think the test for hGH is done via blood, and we don't have so many blood samples. It is a little difficult to make a retrospective analysis in these situations. It is not a case that you can work with stored urine, which you can test for years - blood is a little bit different and more delicate.

I think that for this part, we don't have so many retrospective possibilities. But we have so many athletes for the future [that can be tested]...

Retrospective analyses in general are really tricky. You cannot apply this for every sample in every time. So it is really a complicated matter for me, in general.

CN: What do you mean?

FR: Well, what I mean is that you cannot always act in the same way. Only in some competitions, in others not; for some athletes, for others not.

CN: Do you mean that this retrospective analysis is less precise?

FR: No, not less precise, because the technique is always the same. I am not speaking about it being precise or not precise. I am speaking about the fact that you cannot apply the same analysis on all samples that you have, because it depends if the labs have kept the samples or not.

Going by the rules, they should keep the samples for three months. By chance, if they have the samples longer, you can make a retrospective analysis. So it is really a different view in this sense.

Ideally, you'd ask the lab to keep the sample for years, but they don't have the space. They can do it only for some competitions, not for others. So it is not a question of technique or science. The science is safe, it is okay. The problem is to choose the right athletes or competitions - it is a little bit delicate in this sense.

I think that in this area WADA should work together with the IOC. They should decide which way to act to keep samples. This is the concern that I have. You cannot do this kind of retrospective analysis on all samples... it is impossible. Maybe they should create a very big, big fridge to keep all samples forever!

CN: Should WADA develop guidelines on sample storage time?

FR: Yes. I think that the guidelines should be updated and be consistent with what they want. We will see what is the right decision in the future of this retrospective analysis.

CN: What do you want to achieve in your role with the UCI?

FR: I hope to survive, first of all! The passport is an ongoing project and we will continue to develop the system, continue to follow athletes. The new athletes will have a lot of controls and we will have the passport for them, and of course we will have steroid profiles.

CN: Is it only blood levels that currently make up the passport?

FR: Yes, at the moment it is only blood parameters. For the future, WADA is working very hard on the urinary profile for the steroids. We will be involved as a test model as usual... But it is good, doing this brings very good results.

CN: Cycling is used as the model by WADA and other sports. You mentioned that the IAAF is now introducing the biological passport...

FR: The problem facing the IAAF is that the athletes are located all over the world. This was the main difficulty for them and so they hadn't started earlier. In a certain sense, the UCI was lucky as its athletes are mostly in Europe. So they had the opportunity to develop the system in a really strong way.

I think that the UCI is really a model. The IAAF is in contact with the UCI; I think they want to learn the way to act.

When I was still with the IAAF, we invited Dr. Zorzoli to come to our medical anti-doping commission in February. He presented the UCI programme there. Really, the IAAF would like to hold up the UCI as an example, a good example.

CN: A few months ago the UCI said that it was reviewing some suspicious profiles. Is there any news on these ongoing cases?

FR: We are continuing and studying it... the situation is ongoing. It is one that is in progress.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Petacchi Likes His Selle San Marco "Regale"

Ale-jet has changed teams for 2010 but not the saddle. Petacchi will continue racing on his REGALE, the model that he has personally tested during the last season, using it both in training and in competition with excellent results. His REGALE has been personalized with the blue and fuchsia colors of Lampre.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia Start List

BMC RACING TEAM USA
1 EVANS Cadel AUS
2 BOOKWALTER Brent USA
3 KOHLER Martin SUI
4 LOUDER Jeffry USA
5 MORABITO Steve SUI
6 MURPHY John USA
7 SCHÄR Michael SUI
8 STALDER Florian SUI
9 WYSS Danilo SUI
D.S. LELANGUE John
Replacement
ZAHNER Simon SUI
KRISTOFF Alexander NOR
SANTAMBROGIO Mauro ITA
BALLAN Alessandro ITA

ACQUA & SAPONE D'ANGELO ANTENUC ITA
11 GARZELLI Stefano ITA
12 ANDRIOTTO Dario ITA
13 CODOL Massimo ITA
14 DONATI Alessandro ITA
15 FAILLI Francesco ITA
16 MASCIARELLI Andrea ITA
17 MASCIARELLI Francesco ITA
18 MIHOLJEVIC Vladimir CRO
19 SARMIENTO TUNARROSA Cayetano COL
D.S. CENGHIALTA Bruno
Replacement
FANTINI Alessandro ITA
MARZOLI Ruggero ITA
ORTEGA ORTS Didac ESP
PALUMBO Giuseppe ITA


AG2R LA MONDIALE FRA
21 VALJAVEC Tadej SLO (WILL NOT START, suspected of doping under bio passport)
22 BONNAFOND Guillaume FRA
23 EFIMKIN Alexander RUS
24 GADRET John FRA
25 HINAULT Sébastien FRA
26 KRIVTSOV Yuriy UKR
27 MANDRI Rene EST
28 RAVARD Anthony FRA
29 TURPIN Ludovic FRA
D.S. BIONDI Laurent
Replacement
DUPONT Hubert FRA
ARRIETA José Luis ESP
ELMIGER Martin SUI

ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI - DIQUIGIOVA ITA
31 SCARPONI Michele ITA
32 BERTAGNOLLI Leonardo ITA
33 BERTOLINI Alessandro ITA
34 BERTOGLIATI Rubens SUI
35 LODDO Alberto ITA
36 OCHOA Carlos José VEN
37 RODRIGUEZ Jackson VEN
38 SERPA PEREZ Jose Rodolfo COL
39 WURF Cameron AUS
D.S. SAVIO Gianni
Replacement
GINANNI Francesco ITA
BERTOLINI Thomas ITA
MARGUTTI Damiano ITA
PIEMONTESI Fabrice

ASTANA KAZ
41 VINOKOUROV Alexandre KAZ
42 TIRALONGO Paolo ITA
43 GASPAROTTO Enrico ITA
44 GRIVKO Andriy UKR
45 JUFRE POU Josep ESP
46 KIREYEV Roman KAZ
47 IGLINSKIY Valentin KAZ
48 STANGELJ Gorazd SLO
49 DYACHENKO Alexsandr KAZ
D.S. SHEFFER Alexandre
Replacement
SELVAGGI Mirko ITA
GOUROV Maxim KAZ
NOVAL GONZALES Benjamin ESP

BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM FRA
51 VOECKLER Thomas FRA
52 ARASHIRO Yukiya JPN
53 BONNET William FRA
54 CHARTEAU Anthony FRA
55 CLAUDE Mathieu FRA
56 GAUDIN Damien FRA
57 LE FLOCH Guillaume FRA
58 TROFIMOV Yury RUS
59 TSCHOPP Johann SUI
D.S. RODRIGUEZ Jean François
Replacement
JEROME Vincent FRA
TURGOT Sebastien FRA
VOGONDY Nicolas FRA

CAISSE D'EPARGNE ESP
61 BRUSEGHIN Marzio ITA
62 AMADOR BIKKAZAKOVA Andrei CRC
63 ARROYO DURAN David ESP
64 JEANNESSON Arnold FRA
65 KIRYIENKA Vasil BLR
66 LASTRAS GARCIA Pablo ESP
67 LOSADA ALGUACIL Alberto ESP
68 URAN URAN Rigoberto COL
69 ZANDIO ECHAIDE Xabier ESP
D.S. JAIMERENA José Luis
Replacement
PASAMONTES Luis ESP
PEREZ Francisco ESP
PERGET Mathieu FRA
DRUJON Mathieu FRA

CERVELO TEST TEAM SUI
71 SASTRE CANDIL Carlos ESP
72 CUESTA LOPEZ DE CASTRO Inigo ESP
73 GUSTOV Volodymir UKR
74 KING Edward USA
75 KONOVALOVAS Ignatas LTU
76 LLOYD Daniel GBR
77 NOVOA MENDEZ Joaquin ESP
78 RASCH Gabriel NOR
79 TONDO VOLPINI Xavier ESP
D.S. MAUDUIT Philippe
Replacement
APOLLONIO Davide ITA
BOS Theo NED
DENIFL Stefan AUT
WYSS Marcel SUI

COFIDIS, LE CREDIT EN LIGNE FRA
81 MONCOUTIE David FRA
82 BLOT Guillaume FRA
83 BUFFAZ Mickael FRA
84 CUSIN Remi FRA
85 DUQUE Leonardo COL
86 FOUCHARD Julien FRA
87 KRIIT Kalle EST
88 SIJMENS Nico BEL
89 VALENTIN Tristan FRA
D.S. VAN LONDERSELE Francis
Replacement
MONIER Damien FRA
ZINGLE Romain BEL

COLNAGO - CSF INOX IRL
91 POZZOVIVO Domenico ITA
92 BELLETTI Manuel ITA
93 MODOLO Sacha ITA
94 BISOLTI Alessandro ITA
95 CANUTI Federico ITA
96 FRAPPORTI Marco ITA
97 MARANGONI Alan ITA
98 STORTONI Simone ITA
99 ZEN Enrico ITA
D.S. REVERBERI Roberto
Replacement
PIRAZZI Stefano ITA
GAIA Michele ITA
PAVARIN Marcello ITA
BRAMBILLA Gianluca ITA

FOOTON - SERVETTO ESP
101 CAPELLI Ermanno ITA
102 BRANDLE Matthias AUT
103 CAPECCHI Eros ITA
104 CHEULA Giampaolo ITA
105 EIBEGGER Markus AUT
106 MAYOZ ECHEVERRIA Iban ESP
107 CORTI Marco ITA
108 MERLO Michele ITA
109 PEDERSEN Martin DEN
D.S. ZANINI Stefano
Replacement
FAIERS Thomas GBR
GIANETTI Noe SUI
FELLINE Fabio ITA
MERINO Pedro ESP

GARMIN - TRANSITIONS USA
111 MILLAR David GBR
112 VANDEVELDE Christian USA
113 FARRAR Tyler USA
114 BOBRIDGE Jack AUS
115 DEAN Julian NZL
116 FISCHER Murilo Antonio BRA
117 MARTIN Daniel IRL
118 MEYER Cameron AUS
119 TUFT Svein CAN
D.S. WHITE Matt
Replacement
HUNTER Robbie RSA
MEIER Christian CAN

LAMPRE - FARNESE VINI ITA
121 CUNEGO Damiano ITA
122 PETACCHI Alessandro ITA
123 SIMONI Gilberto ITA
124 BONO Matteo ITA
125 HONDO Danilo GER
126 MARZANO Marco ITA
127 LOOSLI David SUI
128 RIGHI Daniele ITA
129 SPEZIALETTI Alessandro ITA
D.S. BONTEMPI Fabrizio
Replacement
DA DALTO Mauro ITA
LORENZETTO Mirco ITA

LIQUIGAS - DOIMO ITA
131 BASSO Ivan ITA
132 PELLIZOTTI Franco ITA (WILL NOT START)
133 AGNOLI Valerio ITA
134 BODNAR Maciej POL
135 DALL'ANTONIA Tiziano ITA
136 KISERLOVSKI Robert CRO
137 SABATINI Fabio ITA
138 SZMYD Sylvester POL
139 VANOTTI Alessandro ITA
D.S. ZANATTA Stefano
Replacement
NIBALI Vincenzo ITA (Named in place of Pellizotti)
BELLOTTI Francesco ITA
ZAUGG Oliver SUI
QUINZIATO Manuel ITA

OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO BEL
141 LANG Sebastian GER
142 BAKELANDTS Jan BEL
143 BLYTH Adam GBR
144 DE GREEF Francis BEL
145 ELIJZEN Michiel NED
146 KAISEN Olivier BEL
147 LLOYD Matthew AUS
148 MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel ESP
149 WEGELIUS Charles GBR
D.S. DAMIANI Roberto
Replacement
AERTS Mario BEL
BRANDT Christophe BEL


QUICKSTEP BEL
151 CATALDO Dario ITA
152 ENGELS Addy NED
153 FACCI Mauro ITA
154 PINEAU Jérome FRA
155 REDA Francesco ITA
156 SAMOILAU Branislau BLR
157 TOSATTO Matteo ITA
158 VELO Marco ITA
159 WEYLANDT Wouter BEL
D.S. BRAMATI Davide
Replacement
KUNITSKI Andrei BLR
VEDEL KVIST Thomas DEN

RABOBANK NED
162 ARDILA CANO Mauricio Alberto COL
163 BROWN Graeme AUS
164 FLENS Rick NED
165 KOZONTCHUK Dmitry RUS
166 MOERENHOUT Koos NED
167 MOLLEMA Bauke NED
168 VAN EMDEN Jos NED
169 WEENING Pieter NED
D.S. DEKKER Erik
Replacement
STAMSNIJDER Tom NED
KRUIJSWIJK Steven NED
NUYENS Nick BEL
VAN WINDEN Denis NED

SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM GBR
171 WIGGINS Bradley GBR
172 BARRY Michael CAN
173 CIONI Dario David ITA
174 CUMMINGS Steven GBR
175 FROOME Christopher KEN
176 HAYMAN Mathew AUS
177 HENDERSON Gregory NZL
178 POSSONI Morris ITA
179 SUTTON Christopher AUS
D.S. YATES Sean
Replacement
CALZATI Sylvain FRA
NORDHAUGH Lars Petter NOR
STANNARD Ian GBR
THOMAS Geraint GBR

TEAM HTC - COLUMBIA USA
181 GREIPEL André GER
182 PINOTTI Marco ITA
183 ALBASINI Michael SUI
184 GOSS Matthew Harley AUS
185 HANSEN Adam AUS
186 LEWIS Craig USA
187 RABON Frantisek CZE
188 REYNES MIMO Vicente ESP
189 SIEBERG Marcel GER
D.S. PIVA Valerio
Replacement
DOCKX Gert BEL
GRABSCH Bert GER
MONFORT Maxime BEL
VELITS Peter SVK

TEAM KATUSHA RUS
191 POZZATO Filippo ITA
192 KARPETS Vladimir RUS
193 MCEWEN Robbie AUS
194 CARUSO Giampaolo ITA
195 HORRACH RIPPOLL Joan ESP
196 IGNATIEV Mikhail RUS
197 MAZZANTI Luca ITA
198 PETROV Evgeni RUS
199 KLIMOV Serguei RUS
D.S. PARSANI Serge
Replacement
ESKOV Nikita RUS
BANDIERA Marco ITA

TEAM MILRAM GER
201 GERDEMANN Linus GER
202 FÖRSTER Robert GER
203 FOTHEN Markus GER
204 ROBERTS Luke AUS
205 ROELS Dominik GER
206 ROHREGGER Thomas AUT
207 RUSS Matthias GER
208 VOSS Paul GER
209 WEGMANN Fabian GER
D.S. HENN Christian
Replacement
FOTHEN Thomas GER
NERZ Dominik GER
KNAVEN Servais NED
WROLICH Peter AUT

TEAM SAXO BANK DEN
211 LUND Anders DEN
212 COOKE Baden AUS
213 SÖRENSEN Chris DEN
214 SÖRENSEN Nicki DEN
215 LARSSON Gustav Erik SWE
216 DIDIER Laurent LUX
217 HAEDO Lucas Sebastian ARG
218 MORKOV Michael DEN
219 PORTE Richie AUS
D.S. SCHMIDT Torsten
Replacement
KLEMME Dominic GER
HOJ Frank DEN
MARYCZ Jaroslaw POL
JORGENSEN Jonas Aaen DEN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

93rd Giro d'Italia Begins Saturday!

There are only three left before the start of the 93rd edition of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday. The final starting roster has 198 riders of 22 teams.

Teams will arrive in Amsterdam on Wednesday. Thursday night is medical night when the biological passports of all riders will be confirmed. The Giro begins on Saturday with a 8.4km individual time trial through key parts of Amsterdam. This will be followed by two stages. On Sunday Amsterdam-Utrecht (210km) and Monday Amsterdam-Mittelburg (224km). Tuesday will be a transfer day back to Italy.

Here are the bib numbers of the "big": (1) to Cadel Evans (last year's winner is not defending his title), Garzelli (11), Scarponi (31), Vinokourov (41), Gasparotto (43), Voeckler (51), Bruseghin (61), Sastre (71), Pozzovivo (91), Modolo (93), Capelli (101), Millar (111), Vandevelde (112), Cunego (121), Petacchi (122), Simoni (123), Basso (131), Freire (161), Wiggins (171), Greipel (181), Pinotti (182), Pozzato (191), McEwen (193), and Gerdemann (201).

Amsterdam is geared up for the Giro with "GIROMANIA" from May 1 through 10. Some of the upcoming events are:

Cycling photos by Cor Vos, a photo exhibition held at the Amsterdam Public Library from 10 April to 30 May 2010.

Style Procession: Maybe they won't be the fastest bikes but when the Amsterdam style bicycle procession rolls out from Museumplein to Olympic Stadium on Saturday 8 May be sure there will be about 4,000 unusual bikes with cyclists in pink outfits atop of them. Get involved.

The Giro Public Bicycle Tour Amsterdam will start on Sunday, 9 May. The tour covers the official time trial route and part of the second and third stages of the official Giro d'Italia. This tour is open to everyone. The tour starts and finishes at the Olympic Stadium.

The Outdoor Giromania Pink edition on Sunday, May 9, is for die hard spinners. 4.5 hours of blood, sweat and tears under the stimulating tunes of three live DJ’s.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.