2007 Giro di Puglia Report, Part I

The week, 3-10 June, went by so quickly it seems like a blur. What I remember best:
-the fun we had,

-eating way too much,
-640 Km (398 miles) of riding over 6 days, most along the "Litoranea" coastal road; the longest day being 192 Km (119.3 miles)
-getting lost,

-deluges,
-how different Puglia is from the Veneto
-beautiful coastline ranging from tranquil bays with sandy beaches to craggy and wild

The cycling stages were:
Castellaneta Marina to Gallipoli
Gallipoli to Santa Cesarea Terme
Santa Cesarea Terme to Otranto, interior ride and back to Santa Cesarea T.
Santa Cesarea Terme to Torre Canne
Torre Canne to Alberobello , and back along the coast to Torre Canne
Torre Canne to Castellaneta Marina, and later a visit to Matera

Participants: me, Giuseppe, Ester, Gianni, Barbara, Giuliana, Manuela, Daniela Attilio, Franco and Tricia (Antonio was taking the photograph).

The club van + 2 cars were used for the trip to Puglia. The cars remained at our first hotel while the club van


Photos: the Gruppo 1 van loaded with our bikes for the trip to Puglia, ready to start our tour from the Nicotel Hotel in Castellaneta Marina, we had rain several days and sometimes we could see it coming, warming up after getting drenched and finding shelter, the sun came back out and we could see Gallipoli in the distance

Opportunity to Enter Maratona dles Dolomites

There is a last minute opportunity to enter the Maratona dles Dolomites according to this announcement by the organizers:

"Do you want to take part in the Maratona dlesDolomites with the preparation of a professional? Do you want to discover the secret of speed directly from Michele Bartoli? Do you want to live four days of real passion on two wheels? The answer is Campagnolo Passion 2 Ride – Maratona dles Dolomites. It doesn’t matter what groupset your bike out, what matters is your passion. On Wednesday 27 June the Campagnolo Passion 2 Ride – Maratona dles Dolomitesshall start. It is an event organised by Campagnolo and dedicated to those who live the bike as a passion.Campagnolo Passion 2 Ride is both an event of pure enjoyment and a character-building experience with high technical content. Technical classes followed by practical road tests shall allow you to increase your confidence on the bike in every situation. Youwill learn to ride more precisely, to make your pedalling more effective thanks to the advice of great former champions such as Michele Bartoli,Francesco Casagrande and Maximilian Sciandri. The Campagnolo Passion 2 Ride package includes theoretical and practical training, Campagnolo mechanical service during the outings and at the hotel, full-board treatment in a four-star hotel, gift-pack, Campagnolo wheels-test and subscription to the Maratona dles Dolomites. Campagnolo Passion 2 Ride is bi-lingual: Italian and English. It is possible to subscribe only via the Campagnolo Passion 2 Ride website. There are still 15 places available, what are you waiting for?"http://www.passion2ride.com/jsppassion2ride/index_eng.jsp

June 2: Bardolino - Verona (TT), 43 km

I went to pickup my packet for the PEDALATA IN ROSA on Thursday. In addition to the pink jersey to be worn during the ride there were bottles of wine, olive oil, and a package of riso and some pastries. The jersey is a very nice souvenir since it says "Bardolino Verona, 2 giugno 2007".


Today, June 2nd, was an early wake up day. The weather looked nasty, it was chilly, and rain was forecast. I met my friend Tricia (an American that grew up in Verona but now lives in Sacramento and comes to Verona from time to time mainly to bike ride) in Piazza Bra at 7 a.m.

We took the most direct route and did a good pace and arrived in Bardolino at 8:10, in time for coffee. Just as we arrived it started to rain. We then paid a visit to Paola Pezzo (2 time MTB World Champion) and Paolo Rosola (14 Giro stage victories, wearer of the pink jersey in 1983) at their "Olympic Bike Center" in Bardolino (a must visit if you are at Lake Garda).


Everything was well organized and the start, with 500+ riders, went off on time at 9 a.m. Lots of motorcycles, and a lead car to clear the roads all the way to Verona on the actual TT course the pros would be riding in a few hours. We also had the same intermittent rain and winds that the pros would face in a few hours. I tried to imagine the insane risks the pros would take in order to move up some slots in the GC.


The details of the TT course:
Starting in the Bardolino wine region next to Lake Garda, the penultimate stage headed along the lakefront of Lago di Garda at Lungolago Lenotti, then looped through town and headed north to Garda, past Paola Pezzo's bike shop, due east up a climb to Costermano and to the first time check in Albarè after 10.3 kilometres. It then continued east to Rivoli Veronese, site of a famous Napoleonic era battle. The course turned south towards Verona through the vineyards of Valpolicella. The second time check, at 20.8 kilometres in Sega, then up and over the Pastrengo climb at mid-race then southeast towards Verona. Third time check was at Bussolengo at 29.8 kilometres, then it was a straight shot on fast, wide roads into the center of Verona to finish next to the famous Arena di Verona in Piazza Bra.


Paolo Savoldelli won the stage at a speed of 49.299 km/h (30.63 mph) in 52 minutes, 20 seconds. INSANE. DiLuca rode a fabulous TT, finishing 8th and giving him a 1 min 55 second lead over 2nd place Andy Schleck. In essence, DiLuca won the Giro today and said, "Il giorno più bello della mia vita" (the most beautiful day of my life).


Photos: PEDALATA packet contents, me in Bardolino, DiLuca on the TT course, DiLuca celebrating in Verona, Tricia and I in Piazza Bra

I'm off to Puglia!

Cycling Art by Antonio Tamburro, Part II

Some other examples of oil paintings by Antonio Tamburro:

Ultimo Giro

La Caduta

Gruppo

His paintings are typically 100x100cm, 140x140cm or 150x150cm

Cycling Art by Antonio Tamburro

The Galleria Ghelfi in Verona has, as part of the Giro festivities, an art exhibit on display by Italian painter Antonio Tamburro. The exhibit is entitled, "Il CICLISMO E I SUOI PROTAGONOSTI". Besides being a fine artist Mr. Tamburro is a passionate cycling fan.

The images above are of some of the works that appealed to me. I love the "epic" era of cycling so these appealed to me the most:

Bartali 1950

Coppi 1954

Stelvio 1953

For more information on Mr. Tamburro's paintings contact:
GALLERIA GHELFI,

Piazza Delle Erbe 31,

37121 Verona
+39045595995 (info), +39045597375 (fax)
info@ghelfigallery.it
http://www.ghelfigallery.it/

How the Giro TT to Verona is Shaping Up

"I never thought I would be here, at this point in the Giro with an advantage like this," said maglia rosa wearer Di Luca, obliviously happy with his 2'24" lead over Andy Schleck (Team CSC). "The race is not over, and I have to watch out for Schleck."

He is prepared for Saturday's run. "I have done the complete 43 kilometres in training, and I know the parcours."

The Maglia Rosa reckons he has an "80 percent chance of winning the Giro now. ... This is already a high percentage." He continued, "I feel much more secure now that Mazzoleni is two minutes further [back] than before this stage. Until Saturday evening, it's impossible to say more." And, "I am not afraid of the crono; I will do it at my maximum - I have too. I will make sure to get time checks over the whole course."

Schleck will confront his final exam in the Corsa Rosa; the 43-kilometre run to Verona should give pundits an idea of what he can do in a time trial after nearly 21 days of racing. "Now I have two objectives, the Maglia Bianca and the podium," continued Schleck. "But it is not a dream, the only stage that will make the difference will be the time trial; I can't catch Di Luca, and Simoni should not catch me." The white knight put enough time into Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Prodir) to ensure the young rider's jersey would stay on his shoulders, and, at 2'24" behind Maglia Rosa Di Luca he seems ready for a podium spot in Milano.

The top 10 in GC going into the TT stage:

1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 86.46.28

2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 2.24

3 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 2.28

4 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 3.29

5 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Astana 3.46

6 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 5.19

7 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System 8.20

8 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 10.00

9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 10.39

10 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 10.55

Photo: DiLuca on Zoncolan where he held onto the maglia rosa and established his lead time before the TT stage.

Text is from www.cyclingnews.com

2007 Giro della Puglia

After the Pedalata in Rosa the next planned trip is the annual Gruppo 1 one week club ride. This year it is to Puglia, the "heel" of Italy.

Last year we did a giro around the entire island of Corsica, a 650 km ride with lots of climbing. That left little time for enjoying the beaches so this year's tour will be decidedly less intense. This year we are "only" riding 565 to 600 Km.

We will be taking the club van and two cars from Verona and driving to Castellaneta Marina, a distance of 890 Km.

The giro stages will be:

Castellaneta Marina to Gallipoli

Gallipoli to Santa Cesarea Terme

Santa Cesarea Terme to Otranto, interior ride and back to Santa Cesarea

Santa Cesarea Terme to Torre Canne

Torre Canne to Ostuni, interior ride and back to Torre Canne

Torre Canne to Castellaneta Marina

Then return to Verona

The ride plan calls for always riding the coastal roads, except for going into the interior as indicated.

Full story and photos when I get back.

Photo: the dark green section of Italy is the Puglia region