The high, lows and the funny moments - 2012 Giro d'Italia

After 3 weeks, 21 Stages, over 75 hours of live TV, 100s of tweets and countless webpages reviewed, the 2012 Giro d'Italia was over.  Totally exhausted, I climbed into bed with a degree of euphoria after watching one of the most exciting Giro d'Italia races.

As I laid in bed and clock was ticking over to 2am, I started to reflect on my highs, lows and funny moments of the Giro.

HIGH MOMENTS

The first Canadian to win a grand tour -  This race has been dominated by Italians for a long time. In 2012, it was dominated by a Spaniard and a Canadian. 20 days of racing through the flat roads of Denmark to the huge mountain passes of the Italian alps, it came down to one stage - an individual time-trial through the streets of Milan.  To everyone delight, it was the Canadian, Ryder Hesjadal (Garmin Barracuda), that overcome the time gap and win the Giro.  Hesjadal's win provides further evidence of the change in world cycling with the new guard, USA, Australia, and now Canadian, threatening the old powerhouses like France, Italy and Belgium. 

Matt Goss and GreenEDGE: First grand tour win - It took exactly three stages for new cycling entity, Orica-GreenEDGE to win its first grand tour stage win thanks to the perfect ride by Matt Goss. Matt White told the media that the GreenEDGE squad was capable of winning stages at the Giro.  I doubted the depth of the team and their ability to win a grand tour stage so early in the season. It was not the Tour Down Under or Tour of Turkey.  But I was happy to be proven wrong. Goss was close in Stage 2, but huge crash just before the finish line during stage 3 guaranteed Goss' first victory.  The news of the stage win had reached the shores of Australia as most main stream sports news programs picked up the win.  It was not long until the fickle news mob dropped the story as success started to wane.

Goss may have won Stage 9, but for Pozzato forgetting where the brakes were and he ran straight in Goss.

Unfortunately, it seemed to go downhill for Orica-GreenEDGE after stage 9.  As the roads climbed up to higher levels, so did the teams efforts.  The team struggled to get into any breakaways.  It was not a contender on my of the mountain stages. The team just seemed to struggle over three weeks.  The team was constructed with a lack of general classification glory.  And that showed over the three weeks.

Choice of wildcards - The choice of wildcards is always controversial for the race organiser.  Do they promote the local teams? Do the support their own riders? Race director, Michele Acquarone, explained the selection of his wildcards in a fully transparent manner.  http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/pink-admiral-michele-acquarone-blog/wildcards-how-we-made-our-decision

The organisers chose Farnese Vini-Selle Italia, Colnago-CSF Inox, Androni Giocattoli and German team, NetApp.  Acqua e Sapone complained as it could not give Stefano Gazzelli the Giro send off that had hoped for.

But Acquarone can be vindicated in his selection of wildcards.  With the exception of NetApp, the three other teams won stages, with Pozzivivo and Rabottini winning exciting stages.  NetApp did secure a 2nd place, but with Farnese Vini-Selle Italia, managed to gets themselves into many breakaways and TV coverage for their sponsors.

Rabottini breakaway - Who will ever forget Rabottini's almost start to finish win during stage 15.  Purito Rodriguez tried to secure victory in the last 400 metre, but somehow Rabottini, tired and weary, managed to get onto his black wheel and then pass him on the last corner.  Amazing ride.  A deserving victory.  And one of the rides of the giro. Rabottini performances ensured that he was the winner of the mountains classification.

De Gendt win -The Queens Stage, Caldes/ Val di Sole to Passo dello Stelvio, resulted in a almost giro winning move for Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM). The day considered of 5 huge mountain passes. A day to separate the men from the boys. Six years of training for De Gendt paid off when his final attack on the Stelvio with 16kms of climbing still to go succeeded and he broke away from Cunego and Nieve. De Gendt managed to get to a 5 minute lead on the maglia rosa group, which would have placed him into second place if it finished that way. It did not, De Gendt narrowly missing out on a podium spot to finish in 4th overall on the GC.

LOW MOMENTS

Not that crash -What was Ferrari thinking? The less said about this incident the better.  Thankfully it did not lead to the withdrawal for some the the big names that were involved in the accident. 

Italian cycling - Italians have won the race 67 times in its history. So it was not surprising that Scaproni, Basso and Cunego came into the Giro as favourites to win. With the exception of Cunego, two of the hot favourites had no form, no big wins and nothing to suggest that they were going to win. 

By 27 May 2012, there was no Italian winner.  In fact, it was the first time since 1995 that there were no Italian riders on the podium after the final stage. 

Italian riders still managed to win 6 stages, similar to the 2011 edition.  However, three of those wins came from riders from the smaller Italian teams.  In 2011, Liquigas-Cannondale dominated the podium with three stages. In 2012, they were a shadow of their best. Basso had them working overtime on the mountains, driving the peloton.  They delivered Basso to positions where he could have won.  But there was no spark. Basso was no capable of winning.  His time had passed.

The Italian media expected big things of Pozzovivo, who won the Giro Del Trentino only weeks before.  However, the little Italian climber seem to loose motivation once he won his first stage.  He was absent when it came to the big climbs in the Dolomites. 

Petacchi and Cipollini have dominated the giro sprints for a long time.  Andrea Guardini has been crowned the next big sprinter by the Italian media. We were expecting him to perform. But it took 18 stages before he got his first victory, when he out sprinted Cavendish. There are positive signs.  But much improvement yet.

There will be a lot of sole searching for the Italian teams. They were disappointing. Will they come out strong in 2013?


FUNNY MOMENTS

One of the highlights of the giro was a desperate press release by Farnese Selle Italia DS, trying to locate one of their bikes. Apparently a fan in his undies took off with Rabottini's bike after he was left holding the bike while Rabottini was given a spare bike.  The mechanic pushed Rabottini  off, jumped in the car and underpants man was left there standing with a top of the range MCipollini RS1000.  You would have got a nice dime for that on Ebay. 

Canberra Cycling Corner

Canberra riders are having another huge week on the world circuit in a range of disciplines. 

Michael Rogers - First stage win in two years

Team Sky rider returned to the winner list with a stage 2 victory in the Bayern Rundfahrt and in the process took the overall lead of the race.

Rogers told TeamSky.com "It was quite close there at the end but I'm certainly really happy to take the win," He went on further to say that "It's been a good couple of years since Tour of California when I last took one" in recognition of a drought between his last win.

Rogers extended his lead in the race by winning the Stage 4 TT by 4 seconds over fellow Australian, Richie Porte.  With one stage to go, Rogers has a 25 second lead over Jerome Coppel of Saur - Sojasun

Great to see Rogers return to the winners list.  Canberra Cycling Club members doing well.

Chloe Hosking - Riding the Olympic course from Canberra

Hosking has been preparing for Olympics on a hi-tech bike at the AIS over the past week.  This re-con work will prepare her well for riding up Box Hill.  While other riders in Canberra have had to out up with sub-zero temperatures, Chloe has been enjoying the English countryside from the warmth of the AIS bio-mechanic labs.Check out the article in the Canberra Times http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/cycling/hitech-simulator-provides-riders-with-a-cutting-edge-20120524-1z84t.html

Chloe Hosking's next race will be the Giro del Trentino.  Good luck. 

Phelan returns to France

Adam Phelan's Drapac Porsche Team headed to the 2012 Tour de Gironde.  There is a heavy Canberra influence in the team with Stuart Shaw and Tom Palmer also racing. No success on the first stage, but after a hugely successful Fleche du Sud, I hope that the Canberra contingent can pick up a stage win.

Caroline Buchanan - World Champ

Buchanan confirmed that she is a favourite to pick up a medal at the London Olympics after winning the Superfinal time trial at the 2012 UCI BMX World Championships in England. It was Buchanan's first world title in BMX after winning the 2009 and 2010 world titles in four-cross. 

What have other Canberra riders been up to?

Canberra riders continue to be key selections for teams across Europe and the US. 

Matt Hayman rode the Glava Tour of Norway from 16 to 20 May.  No stage wins but his work help Edvald Boasson Hagen win a stage and overall title.

Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare) did not have the been TT and fell out of the top ten of the Tour of California.  Finished in 13th position overall after 8 stages.

Nathan Haas (Garmin) did a lot of work for Zabriskie and Danielsonto help them secure 2nd and 3rd spots respectively.  In Stage 8, Haas got into a breakaway with Sutherland.  But they were eventually swept up by the Peleton. 

Michael Matthews (Rabobank) A crash on Stage 1 of the Tour of California put an end of Matthews' hopes of winning a stage. 

Myfanwy Galloway (Faren Honda Team) Riding in the Exergy Tour in Idaho (US).  Doing a lot of hard work for her team.

Jessie Maclean (GreenEDGE-AIS) Currently sitting in 50th spot after two stages of Exergy Tour.

The Giro - Week in review

The Giro has entered its third and decisive week. After 12 stages, the riders finally got their much deserved rest day.  But not without first dropping a few riders. We said goodbye to Matt Goss, Mark Renshaw and Graeme Brown.  It was not only Australians that pulled out before the second rest day.  Giro favourite (or at least in his own mind), Frank Schleck, had enough and took his Trek back home in a thumbs up (or was that finger) to Johan Bruyneel.

The Giro has now returned to the Italian Alps. The GC contenders finally take the spotlight over the next five days. Although sprinters will get one last chance during the short stage 18.  So who will be there when the giro caravan rolls into Milan?

Before we get there, we should have a look at the last week.  A week of solo efforts, brazen descents made to look easy and more crazy crashes. 

Rabottini - the solo king

The highlight of the week, if not the Giro, has to be Matteo Rabottini's (Farnese Selle Italia) solo effort and powerful finish to win Stage 15. We have had Tornado Tom Boonen during the spring classics, now we have Rambo Rabottini in the Giro.

Rodriguez must have thought that the Stage win was in the bag after he passed Rabottini with 400m to go.  Rabottini was not going to let anyone snatch his much deserved victory. Somehow he mustered enough energy to get on to Rodriguez's wheel and passed him on the last corner. 

Rabottini won the stage and Rodriguez was back in Pink.  Any other result would have been a mis-justice.

What was Pozzato thinking?

GreenEDGE was unlucky to miss out on a second stage win when Pozzato (Farnese Selle Italia) was too busy looking at the cameras and plowed straight into Matt Goss on the last technical corner in Frosinone. Somehow Pozzato hit the accelerator rather than the brake. Cavendish was again caught up in the crash, but this time he did not leave half his skin on the road.  Movistar's Ventoso took advantage of the crash to claim the stage win.

Pozzato did not start stage 10, having to pull out due to a fracture.

The descending skills of Amador

Costa Rican rider, Amador (Movistar) has had an amazing giro.  He backed up his third place on the 12th Stage of the Giro with a win on the 14 Stage - the first high mountain stage.

The highlight of the win would have to be Amador's crazing descending skills.  He was not afraid to race his pinarello at its limited.  A win at all costs mentality. A delight for all cycling fans.  He was able to reel in Jan Barta (Netapp), who did not have the same ability to throw his bike around the corners.  A special mention for descending bravery goes out to Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD).

Ferrari - Was any one cheering?

Who can forget Roberto Ferrari's effort during the infamous Stage 3 of the Giro.  He had to check his passport to see if it was Italian.  Any other nationality may have seen the sprinter evicted from the race.  He was not.

But, he was relegated to last.  With the Giro heading back to Italy, Ferrari was chasing redemption both within his team and from the Italian tifosi. That came during stage 11 when Ferrari managed to not get caught up in the Modolo crash and whip around Vaitkus (GreenEDGE) to take the stage win.  Cavendish came in third, but given Ferrari track record, may be Cav did not trust getting onto Ferrari's back wheel.  Anything could happen, right!!!!

Giro disappointments

With some of the biggest mountain stages yet to come, there may well be a chance to Scarponi, Cunego and Pozzovivo to shine.

So far Lampre's co-captains have been the biggest disappointment.  Scarponi and Cunego have not been show why they were early contenders.  Failure to make up some time on either Stage 16 or Stage 17 will make it very difficult to come away with the trophy in Milan.

Pozzovivo came into the Giro as the form mountain goat after victory in the mountainous Giro Del Trentino. He managed to get his first stage win in Lago Laceno (Stage 8), but as the rain and weather closed in, so did any chance of victory in any of the early moutain stages.  Still has the potential to pick up a stage win yet. Providing there are no downhill finishes.  But the sun will need to be shining.

 What to look out for this week


Stage 20 is the highlight of the 2012 Giro d'Italia with two famous climbs in one day - Mortirolo and Stelvio.  This could make or break the GC contenders.  A legend could be born during this stage.

Just do not expect any of the riders to descend it like Calore.

 

Special mention

I thought I could not close out the week in review without a quick congratulory mention of both Farnese Selle Italia and Netapp.  Both these teams received wildcards from the organisers. Both have given their sponsors a lot of coverage by getting in many of the breakaways.  Well done lads.

Canberra Cycling Corner

It has been a while since my last Canberra Corner post. It is not surprising that Adam Phelan (Drapac Porsche) leads the roundup.

Phelan - Chasing down a worlds berth

20 year old Adam Phelan returns to Europe to race in a number of smaller European races.  A series of crashes have marred the start of his season, the worst being a crash in training in the Victorian Alps that smashed his helmet and led to swelling of the brain. Thankfully, he fully recovered and we saw him return to the Canberra Criterium races. It was not long before he back on the world stage showing that he is Canberra's next star of the World Tour. He secured a second spot in the opening time trial of the Tour of Langkawi.  But a crash on the second stage led to him withdrawing from the event. 

Check out a great article on Phelan on the Cycling Central Website.

http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/road/news/36559/Phelan%20doing%20all%20he%20can%20to%20earn%20worlds%20berth
 
Phelan is ripping it up at the Fleche du Sud in Luxembourg at the moment.  He secured a third spot on Stage 3 from Tandel to Wiltz before going one better in the Individual Time Trial to move into overall fourth position and second in the U23 classification.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=944611&l=7db1ed644a&id=157548020961450

With a strong contingent of aussie u23 cyclists in 2012, spots in the World Championships team will be tight and very competitive.  But results like this in Europe will ensure that Phelan is at the front of the queue for selectors.

Rory Sutherland - Working his magic in the USA

Rory headed over to Europe with United Health Care team earlier this year.  Races at the Giro Del Trentino certainly put him in good stead to win the biggest race of his career - The Tour of Gila (USA). All taking the leaders jersey after the first stage, the team put everything on the line for Rory to ensure that he took out the overall race honours. 

http://uhcprocycling.com/2012/05/06/rory-sutherland-wins-26th-annual-sram-tour-of-the-gila/

He is backing up this great result at the Tour of Gila at the Tour of California, where he is currently 8th after six stages.  He is expected to finish in the top 10 for the third year in a row.

Chloe Hosking - Continues to win in Europe

A strong string of strong performances by Hosking has guaranteed Olympic selection in the road race, even with a strong GreenEDGE womens team. Hosking rides for the Specialized-Lululemon team and has already secured two big victories.  She backed up victory at the Drentse-8 to win the Halle Buizingen on 15 April.  The solid start to the season started with a 5th place at the Women's Tour of Qatar.

Solid Olympic representation

Canberra riders are likely to be well represented across all disciplines at the London Olympics with Caroline Buchanan and Chloe Hosking likely to be our best medal hope.  Likely team are:

Caroline Buchanan - BMX
Chloe Hosking - Cycling
Matt Hayman - Cycling
Alex Bird - Cycling (Track)
Michael Rogers - Cycling

Paralympics

Brandie O'Connor - Cycling
Kerry Knowler - Cycling
Sue Powell - Cycling

So who is Domenico Pozzovivo?

The European cycling season has been going for four months and we have entered the second week of the first grand tour.  Two things are struck me about the season so far.  Tornado Tom Boonen's return to his former glory and the diminutive Italian climber, Domenico Pozzovivo.

Pozzovivo's prowess first came to my attention in the Giro Del Trentino.  During the second stage, from Mori to Sant'Orsola Terme, Pozzovivo missed the breakaway that contained most of the major contenders. He did not panic, but tied to chased down the breakaway group with no team assistance over the Palu del Fresina, which is over 17 kms long with an average gradient of over 7%. While he did not reach them, he limited his losses so he was still a threat to the overall General Classification title. But even with that extraordinary effort, he then backed up this effort to win stage 3 of the Giro del Trentino, which included the climb up Punta Veleno, a 12km climb with an average gradient of 15%. As he danced on the pedals, he blew away his GC competitors like Scarponi, Cunego and Basso. It was enough for Pozzovivo to take the overall lead with one stage to go.  Another strong performance on the fourth stage gave him the overall title.  It was then an easy decision for the team managers of Colnago CSF-Inox to make him team captain for the 2012 Giro d'Italia.

So what do we know about Dom Pozzovivo? He is not your typical cyclists.  He holds a degree in Economics. Has a passion for history and politics. Given the state of Italian politics, Pozzovivo would not be short of discussion material.

He is one of the shortest riders in the peloton at 165cm and only 53kgs. He is not a sprinter, but a scalatore - Italian for climber. He has the perfect climber's physique, but not so perfect for the podium girls.

Photo: Bettini

Since turning professional in 2005, Pozzovivo has only ridden for three related teams, Ceramica Panaria-Navigare, CSF Group-Navigare and Colnago-CSF Inox team.  He has not been a prolific race or stage winner. Until 2012, Pozzovivo had only had 6 victories, including the overall GC winner of the 2010 Brixia Tour, Lombardy.

That had all changed over the last month. He won the 2012 Giro del Trentino, Stage 3 and the mountains classification.  But his biggest victory of his career come on Stage 8 of the Giro d"Italia from Sumona to Lago Laceno, the first of the mountain top finishes. He attacked on the Colle Molella, 6.8kms from the finish. He not only surprised Liquigas again, which should have learned from the Giro Del Trentino not to let him go during an attack, but also the rest of the peloton.  He showed the world that he was only only a classy climber, but a true contender for the Giro d'Italia title.

I do not expect this to be his last stage victory at the 2012 Giro d'Italia.  Watch out for him once the Giro reaches the provinces of Trentino and Veneto.

After seeing Pozzovivo's performances over the last month, it is easy to jump to conclusions and compare him with one of the most famous Italian climbers, Marco 'Il Pirata' Pantani. That may be a bridge to far, but he has a climbing ability that is exciting and fresh. He may be the part of the next wave of Italian climbers that will dominate the Italian Alps. Winning a grand tour will always be difficult given his time-trial skills are not as refined at Nibali or Cadel Evans. But he will make valuable time in the mountains and win stages and secure time bonuses.

Pozzovivo's victories have all come in Italy. He will need to win outside Italy and more importantly at the Tour de France if we are going to compare him with 'il Pirata'. That will mean Pozzovivo will need to leave his beloved Colnago CSF-Inox for a World Tour Team to gain entry to these events. Given the lack of pure climbers in Orica-GreenEDGE, might want to consider added him to their roster as he would be a very useful addition to the team. Liquigas-Cannondale might want to have a look at him if Nibali chooses to shift to Astana or BMC. I am sure that he will not be short of offers if his form at the Giro continues. 

Whatever team Pozzovivo rides for in 2013, I am sure he will excite the fans as he shows us his now trademark - Dancing on the Pedals' climbing style.

Giro d'Italia 2012 - A week in review

It is hard to believe that it has been 1 week since the Giro d'Italia started. In that time the Pink show logistical nightmare has led to riders, bikes and media being uplifted half way across Europe and the riders having already ridden half way down the Italian Peninsula from Veneto to Campania. 

In the lead up to the race, several journalists had pointed out that cyclists were skipping the Giro for the Tour of California.  Others were suggesting that the Giro and the Tour could not be won in the same year again.
I think that the Giro's first week has dispelled some of those stories. There are not enough superlatives to describe the first Giro under new race director, Michele Acquarone. And the true Alp stages have yet to commence.

The first week marked three notable firsts:

1. the first time that the Giro has started in Denmark and the first time in a Scandinavian country; 
2. the first time that Orica-GreenEDGE has won a stage of a grand tour; and
3. the First time that a Canadian has worn la maglia rosa, Ryder Hesjedal from Garmin - Barracuda

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FIRST WEEK


Stage 3 Horsens-Horsens - What will be stage 3 be remembered by : was it that crash or was it Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE) winning his first, and GreenEDGE's first grand tour stage win.

The tactics of GreenEDGE were exceptional.  They controlled the race. The sprint train after all the training at the Tour of Turkey was in prime position. They fired Matt Goss to the front.  Cavendish was cranking up into top gear and then bang.  Ferrari decided moved across the road and took out Cavendish's front wheel and the Peloton went down. 

Watch the bike handling skills of Demare (FDJ-Big Mat) and Favilli (Farnese Selle Italia).  Amazing evasion skills at such a high speed.

 

A rider to watch in the Future:  Forget about Thibaut Pinot, the next big prospect coming out of France is sprinting superstar in the making Arnaud Demare (FDJ-Big Mat).  He is a huge talent and one to put France's sprinting prowess back on the World Stage.  The under 23 road race world champion and winner of a Stage of Qatar stage is participating in his first grand tour. He secured a fourth place in the crash marred Stage 3 and then a ninth place in Stage 5 Fano.  Watch for him in the Tour de France in 2013.  He has bucket loads of skill and the extra year under his belt will serve him well in 2013.

What happened to the Italians - Italians have made the Giro their own race, winning 66 editions of the Race.  Yet in 2012, they have been very inconspicuous.  That was until Stage 6, when little known Adriano Malori (Lampre-ISD) took the maglia rosa.  He is the current Italian Time Trial Champion.  Before that Malori was probably better known as the 2010 winner of the Tour De France's Lanterne Rouge.  Scarponi and Cunego suddenly went from Co-Captains to domestiques to Malori.  That was short lived, and Malori lost the maglia rosa on the seventh stage.  

 

Tiralongo - A late bloomer - It took eleven years for Paulo Tiralongo (Astana) to win his first stage of the Giro d'Italia.  His first win in 2011 was a thank you gift from Alberto Contador on Stage 19.  Yesterday, Tiralongo showed that he was capable of winner a stage of the Giro without Contador's assistance.  Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) must have been licking his lips only to see victory taken away from him by a rider that was more hungry for a stage win. Next time Scarponi, race to the end of the road.

Hushovd - A fallen champion - Thor Hushovd was a surprise withdrawal from the Giro on Friday.  His reason was fatigue and he had nothing left 'to give'. As a former world champion, it was a disappointment to see Thor withdraw especially given that the Giro had not even experienced a high mountain stage. This was certainly a career low light for Hushovd.  For a fan, I wonder if he has the motivation or the fire in the belly to continue in this high level.  He may be feeling rejected, given the BMC has the likes of Gilbert and Evans in their team and therefore limiting the opportunities for Hushovd. It was made worse by Phinney win the maglia rosa during the first stage, which meant team resources were spent protecting the jersey rather than supporting Hushovd. Prediction of 2013.  Thor Hushovd will not be in BMC colours in 2013. 

It has been a great week.  The Giro enters Campania today, the province of my wife.  Stage 8 will certainly be the day of Scarponi if he wants to show that he can be a back to back winner of this great race.

What to expect from the teams at the Giro – Part 3

Rabobank Cycling Team

This will be Mark Renshaw’s first Giro d’Italia in the Rabobank colours. There will be no supporting Mark Cavendish in 2012.  All the pressure will be on the shoulders of Renshaw to secure Rabobank a stage win.  The success or the failure of the team will depend on Renshaw. But will the Dutch team support Renshaw or will the team get behind Theo Bos?

Renshaw finally got the monkey off his back and won with his first Stage of the season at the Tour of Turkey.  It has taken a while for Renshaw to adjust from being the best lead out man in the world to a first class sprinter.  The only problem for Renshaw is Theo Bos also won two stages at the Tour of Turkey.  If the team see Renshaw falter, expect the team to get behind Bos, leaving Renshaw stranded. 

Lurking in the shadows of Renshaw and Bos is Graeme Brown - the angry man of cycling.  But he still knows how to get to the front of the peloton to win a sprint.  The only problem for Brown, is the team will be supporting either Renshaw or Bos, which will limit his ability to win a stage. 

Rabobank’s chance rests in the sprints.  With Peter Weening leaving the squad for GreenEDGE it limits the team’s ability to spend any time in pink.  No one in the squad is capable of challenging for the general classification.

Prediction: 1 or may be 2 stage wins. 

RadioShack-Nissan

It looks like the team only half listened to Eddy Merckx when he advised Andy Schleck to race the Giro d’Italia.  For Merckx, winning the Giro was more important than coming second in the Tour de France. 

Rather than send Andy the Giro, the team though that it was best to give Frank a chance at winning a grand tour.  But where is Andy? The Schleck brothers are joined at the hip.  Who will support Frank?

Frank was called up only after Fuglsang succumbed to a knee injury.  What does this mean for Frank.  According to himself, he is capable of a top 5 position.  Unfortunately for Frank, he will be needed to support Andy’s doomed Tour de France campaign (too many TTs for Andy to win), so I am not expected too many surprises for Frank.  A Top 10 contender only.  

Let’s bring in Daniele Bennati. RadioShack’s sprint hope.  He went to the World’s as one of Italy’s protected riders.  But without success!!!  I think the Giro in 2012 will bring just as much success for Bennati as the Worlds did last year. Bennati may be targeting Stage 1 in Herning, but did someone forget to tell Bennati that Phinney, Malori and Pinotti were also racing? 

Radioshack (Leopard Trek) will be well supported by the Italian tifosi since their Giro in 2011 was cut short due to the tragic death of Wouter Weylandt.  But support alone will not win them any stages.

Watch out for Jesse Sergent.  Certainly capable of  putting a cat amongst the pigeons in the chase for the white jersey.

Prediction: 0 Stage wins

Sky Procycling 

Did someone forget to tell Sky that it is the Giro d’Italia?  In their efforts to support Mark Cavendish, they forgot to select an Italian rider as someone decided to leave a potential superstar in the making at home – Salvatore Puccio.

Just selecting Mark Cavendish in your team is enough to suggest that the team will win 3-4 stage wins.  Especially in 2012 where the course gives sprinters more opportunities than in previous years. Watch for Cavendish to target Renshaw’s back wheel 300 metres from the finish!

But the team is not just about Cavendish. Geraint Thomas will be looking for stage victory before focussing his efforts on the oval track at the 2012 Olympics.

The second week of the Giro will give Flecha a chance to stand on the podium after missing out on spring classic glory.  By the time we get to the third week, Uran will be looking for match it with the climbers like Pozzovino. He will not be getting any support from Cavendish and Thomas by this stage which will be back in the bus by this stage (that is if they have not pulled out).  Thankfully, Eisel will help Uran on this big Italian climbs.  But he might be spending more time watching the backs of Scarponi, Basso and Cunego to be a real threat. 

Prediction: 3-4 stage wins

Team NetApp

German team, Team NetApp, were one of the four teams to secure a wildcard to the Giro.  To send a message to the organisers that it was a good decision to extend a wildcard to the team, I expect that the directuer Sportifs to be telling their riders to get into a breakaway at every opportunity.  

If they do not, there will be no Giro in 2013.  Motivation will not be enough to ensure a stage win in 2012.  Does the team have the quality to win a stage?   

I have my doubts, but watch for Jan Barta who savoured Italian success earlier this year in the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali where he won the final time trial and overall victory at the Italian stage race.

Prediction: 0 Stage wins

Team Saxo Bank

Team Saxo Bank was celebrating earlier this week when they joined the Twitter ranks.  What took them so long? Unfortunately, it may be the only success for the team over the next three weeks. 

The team has struggled to win a cycling race since their star rider, Alberto Contador, was suspended for a doping violation.  

                                                    No  Contador?

It appears that the team has selected Matteo Tosatto as their team captain.  The choice of a 36 year old as a team captain shows the team owners that success at the Giro is limited.  May be it was a good will gesture to the Giro organisers given that they were reportly considering whether the team should be excluded from racing at the Giro.  

Not expecting fireworks from Team Saxo Bank.  In fact, I would have preferred to see Team Europcar or Acqua e Sapone at the Giro instead of Team Saxo Bank.  

Prediction: Making up the numbers

Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling

I have a little soft spot of for Vacansoleil-DCM.  Who can forget Hoogerland’s effort on the Montevergine last year?  While he did not win, he showed his strength and determination to bridge a gap.  But where is Marco Marcato?

Roman Feillu is there best chance for a stage win.  Feillu form in 2011 was outstanding, winning many races (mostly in France).  That form has not transferred over to 2012.  

Watch out for Marczynski, the Polish National Time Trial champ in Stage 1 and 21.  Whether he is good enough to win is another matter, but I expect him to push the favourites.  

Vacansoleil has not sent it best team to the Giro. I suspect that it has held back for the Tour de France. 

Prediction: 0 Stage wins. 

I hope you all enjoy the Giro d'Italia as much as me.  

I look forward to seeing how my view will pan out of the next three weeks.  

What to expect from the teams at the Giro – Part 2

FDJ-Big Mat

FDJ brings in Big Mat co-sponsor in.  This gives them the resources to play with the big teams.  With the extra funds, FDJ re-joins the World Tour and with that entrance to the Giro after a short absence.  

Laurent Fignon was the last French winner of the Giro, back in 1989. The lack of French success has led to the French directeur sportifs by not sending their strongest team. FDJ-Big Mat has followed this tradition.

 

Sandy Casar will feature in several of the breakaways, but he is unlikely to feature on the podium.  The rider to watch will be Arnaud Demare.  Winning a stage in the Tour of Qatar, he showed that his under 23 Road championship win was no accident.  Surely a strong possibility for the white jersey.  One to watch. 

Prediction: 0 Stage wins, white jersey winner. 

Garmin-Barracuda

No maglia rosa winner amongst the team.  

Their focus will be on winning stages.  Most of the pressure will then be on Tyler Farrar to get to the front of the peloton at the critical time.  This will be dependent on Garmin getting a train together. 

Farrar pulled out of the Giro early in 2011 after the tragic death of Wouter Weylandt.  He will be keen to show the Italians that felt his pain that he is back.  Back with a vengeance. One or two stage wins will do that.  

Apart from Farrar, I do not see much to get excited about.  It will be interesting to see how New Zealand young star, Jack Bauer is developing. 

 

Prediction: 1-2 Stage wins

Orica-GreenEdge Cycling

With new naming sponsor on Board, GreenEDGE will be keen to show Orica that there first foray into cycling will be a good investment.  Like Garmin, GreenEDGE will be chasing stage wins.  Will it be enough to get new sponsor Orica into the Pink jersey? Jack Bobridge will give that a crack in the first stage Time Trial in Herning. 

If GreenEDGE fails here, they will struggle to secure any pink glory.  Why did not they pick Weening.  He knows how to get into the pink and stay there for a few days. 

The hopes of securing a stage win will rest with Matt Goss.  Goss had a n outstandingTour of Turkey with several second places.  Unfortunately, the quality of the sprinter steps up to another level in the Giro, making it harder for Goss to win a stage win.  Goss’ best chances will be in the second week, when the rolling hills get a little higher and the flat sprints become a distant memory.  But he will need to beat Ballan from BMC who would have targeted this week as his giro glory. 

Bobridge will no doubt be challenging for the white jersey while supporting Goss.  Bobridge’s ability to win the white jersey will rest on his ability to get over those huge Italian alps.  Not an easy feat, even for our little world champ.

The choice of GreenEDGE to give Robbie McEwen a huge send off in the Tour of California has robbed GreenEDGE of some critical resources.  This may impact on their ability to win many stages.

Prediction: 1 Stage win

Katusha

Katusha has generally struggled at the Giro.  It has not helped to pick De Luca last year.  Rodriguez will be the one to watch. His ride in the Fleche Wallonne was outstanding.  But the Giro is 21 stages, not a one day classic.  Rodriguez believes that he can win a grand tour.  The Tour de France is probably beyond him.  He is definitely one to watch here. 

Pavel Brutt will be the main man to support Rodriguez.  Outside that, there will be limited success for the Russian team.  

Prediction: 1 Stage win, Top 10 contender.

 

Liquigas-Cannondale

Apparently the decision of Basso to ride the Giro was made very late in the day.  However, with Nibali focussing on the Spring Classics and the Tour de France, Basso riding the Giro was a foregone conclusion.

Basso’s form has been poor in 2012.  He has struggled to stay on his bike and abandoned two of his first stage races – Paris to Nice and Volta a Catalunya.  The big climbs of the Giro del Trentino were hard to get over (which will certainly add further favouritism for Cunego and Scarponi).  It did not help when he took a wrong turn on the Passo Veleno.  Definitely, should watch it on youtube if you missed it.  Szmyd will have to work hard to get Basso to the top of the big climbs like Valico di Valcava, Cortina D’Ampezzo and the Stelvio.

There will be no third giro win for Basso, even though he said he will ride the Giro d’Italia only if he can fight for pink. Best he can hope for is a top 10 finish.

The two riders that are capable of winning stages are Eros Capecchi and Elia Viviani.  Capecchi knows what it is like to win a stage and will be motivated to win another stage this year. Capecchi’s form in 2012 has been, well not quite there, but he is a huge talent.  

There will be Tour de France for Viviani as he concentrates on Olympic glory on the boards.  With the World Championships cut short due to a fall and a small facture, Viviani will be looking to win a stage of the giro as the best form of compensation. Viviani form on the road has been positive. Several early season wins shows he has the pedigree to win a stage.  The only question is whether keeping Basso in the hunt for the maglia rosa will limit his possibilities. 

Prediction: 2-3 Stage wins, Top 10 contender. 

Lotto Belisol Team

No Greipel, no stage win. 

Lotto has sent a team with little ambition and little desire to win a stage.  There are simply there to make up the numbers. 

It is great to see Australian Adam Hansen called up for the team.

Prediction: 0 Stage wins.

Movistar

Movistar brought in Giovanni Visconti from Farnese Vini in 2012.  The reason was simple.  Increase the exposure of the team in Italy and win more stages at the Giro.  It also helps to have an Italian bike manufacturer in selection choices. 

So it is no surprise that Movistar has chosen Visconti as its team captain. Visconti will have to be more focused if he is to win a stage at the Giro.  While he will get more support from a large World Tour team than at the smaller Italian pro continental team, he will need to stop pushing other riders as he approaches the finish line if he gets into a bad racing position - Ulissi affair. 

It was a surprise that Movistar is not bringing back Belarus rider Vasili Kiryienka.  A proven Giro stage winner, but I guess he will be challenging for a stage win in the Tour de France.  

Visconti is not the only potential winner.  Stage 6 winner from last year, Francisco Ventoso, will be returning to push for more honours in 2012.  The question will be whether Ventoso will get in the way of Visconti.  That could be a testing relationship. 

No General Classification winner at Movistar.  But certainly a chance to give Pinarello more glory in the Italy. 

Prediction: 2-3 Stage wins

Omega Pharma-Quickstep

Omega Pharma has had an exceptional year in 2012.  Boonen has secured 9 victories and Francesco Chicchi 5 victories to help build up a quality portfolio of victories.  

Unfortunately there will be no Boonen at the Giro.  Omega Pharma preferred to keep most of their stars at home in favour of a young and inexperienced team. 

But there will be Chicchi.  With his current form, how could not you pencil him in for a stage win?

Omega Pharma mountain men, Cataldo and Pauwels will struggle against other renowned climbers. 

It will not be an overly successful grand tour for the spring classic kings. 

Prediction: 1 Stage win

What to expect from the teams at the Giro – Part 1

The 2012 Giro d’Italia starts in less than three day.  After an all Italian affair in 2011 to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the unification of Italy (except for a brief interlude to Austria), the Giro is leaving the safety of Italy and the crazy ‘tifosi’ to start in Henning, Denmark.  After three stages, the Giro will be back in Italy.

So what can we expect from the teams in this year’s Giro?

I wonder if the Danes will have the same type of shop decorations for the Giro like in Spilembergo.

Lampre-ISD

Lampre is taking two captains to the Giro, with Michele Scarponi, the defending champion, and Damiano Cunego, the Little Prince.  The Giro organisers will hand the 2011 Pink jersey to Scarponi after the winner, Alberto Contador was stripped of the title for doping violation.  This may only be symbolic, but it will add fire to belly of the Scarponi to ensure that he is on the winner’s podium in Milan.

I am expecting the winner to come from the Lampre camp again in 2012.  Cunego is in great form and showed during the Giro del Trentino that he is capable of getting over the big climbs.  The time trials will be a problems.  But there are not of the length where Cunego will lose a bag full of time. 

Scarponi has not shown his early form that marked 2011.  But I am expecting him to hit his straps once the Giro gets to the first high mountains stage at Cervinia.

Two other riders to watch out for are Adriano Malori and Diego Ulissi.  Ulissi won his first Stage of the giro in 2011 after a push-fest with Giovanni Visconti.  12 months on, his hunger for another stage win may be enough to get him over the line.  Malori, the Italian National time trial champ, will be targeting Stage 1 or Stage 21 individual time trials.  The 30km effort in Milan may just be too tough for him.  Watch out for him in Henning.  

Prediction: 3 Stage wins and Giro champ. 

AGR2 La Mondiale

Frenchman John Gadret was an absolute revelation at the 2011.  One of the few riders to take it to Contador.  The Frenchman loves the Giro and is a capable climber, so I am expecting another strong performance from him in 2011.  

Is his love for the Giro enough to win? No.  Can he match his third place in 2012? No. Not expecting to see him replicate his 2011 form in 2012.  No French success in 2012.  

But Manuel Belletti, the Italian sprinter will be looking to nab a stage victory.  Unfortunately, I just do not see that AGR2 has the team or train to get Belletti to the finish line first.  

Prediction: Zero stage wins.

Androni Giocattoli

Androni is bringing a raft of climbers to the Giro in the hope of matching the performance of 2011.  Who can forget Jose Rugano effort on the Grossglockner climb.  His assistance he gave to Contador guaranteed the stage victory.  He was also belatedly awarded Stage 9 (Enta) after the disqualification of Contador. 

In addition for the little Venezulean, Androni is also taking Jose Serpa and Emmanuele Sella. But Sella’s form has never returned to the heights of 2007-08 when he was busted for CERA. 

Outside these three climbers, I expect the Androni riders to just make up the numbers in the flat stages.

Prediction: 1-2 Stage wins.  All in Italy. 

Astana

Super domestique Paolo Tiralongo secured his first giro stage win in 2011.  Handed to him on a platter by Contador in recognition of all his hard work when Contador was at Astana.  Not a bad gift, but do not expect any freebies in 2012.  

Tiralongo will be doing a lot of the grunt work to get Krueziger to the line.  Krueziger left Liquigas but there was just no room in the team with Basso and Nibali.  In search of greener pastures, Krueziger landed at Astana. But his time at Astana has been disappointing at best.  I do not think that his current form is at the level shown in 2011, although he did spend some time in the white jersey. 

Kreuziger’s form at the Giro del Trentino suggests he will not be on the podium come Milan.  But I expect to see him in the top 10.  Can’t see him winning a stage either. 

Do not see many another chances in Astana for a stage win either.

Prediction: 0 Stage win, Top 10 finisher. 

BMC Racing Team

Thor Hushovd certainly did not suffer from the dreaded hoodoo of the rainbow colours, but his switch to BMC has not gone well.  He must be hoping to turn his form around at the Giro.  Does he have the form to win a stage? Questionable.  Does he have the pedigree? Definitely.  I would not be surprised if he wins one of the stages in Denmark. 

The other big hopes for a stage win will be Taylor Phinney and Marco Pinotti.  With no Wiggins or David Millar, I expect that either Phinney or Pinotti will target Stage 1 in Henning.  Phinney is quicker than Pinotti, but it will be tough for the Italian to give up the first road stage in Pink.  The quid pro quo may be a BMC onslaught in the team time trial in Verona where they will let Pinotti cross the line first.  Verona, a passionate city, it would only be fitting for an Italian to win. 

And then there is the Ballan.  His debut Giro, which is surprising given his age.  Ballan has had a brilliant spring classics and he also recently won the Giro della Toscana.  He will be hungry for a stage victory.  Watch out for Ballan once the Giro reaches the middle of Italy in week 2. 

BMC have some solid domestiques in Santaromita and Santambrogio.  They will spend some time guiding the peloton after a few breakaways to ensure Ballan gets that victory.  

Prediction: 3-4 stage wins

Colnago-CSF Inox

At the 2012 Giro del Trentino, Dom Pozzovino absolutely blew the competition away on the huge mountain climbs.  His effort on Passo Veleno was stuff of legends.  If he did not burn himself out, I expect Pozzovino to win one of the high mountain stages.  He may even win the Maglia Azzurra as the best climber.  Either way, watch out for this mountain goat. 

Sacho Modolo is their sprinting hope.  Fresh for victory in Stage 6 of the Tour of Turkey, Modolo knows how to get his way to the front at the right time.  Watch out for at least one victory. 

While Colnago is not a big team, watch out for Enrico Battaglin.  While no victories yet in 2012, he secured a fine 3^rd place in the Grand Prix de Lugano. While he will be expected to support Modolo, do not be surprised if Battaglin gets into a breakaway that stays away.  He must be one of the favourites for the white jersey.  

Prediction : 2 stage victories, Maglia Azzurra

Euskaltel-Euskadi

Who can forget Igor Anton solo victory on Monte Zoncolan.  Even as the rain came down, the crowd was mesmerised byis climbing ability.  Euskaltel was able to back up the next day to win stage 15 (Gardeccia – Val di Fassa) with Mikel Nieve.

Unfortunately, in 2012 there is no Igor Anton.  But Nieve is backing up for another stage victory.  Will it come.  I do not think so.  While you can never discount the climbing abilities of Euskaltel, I am predicting a baron time for the boys in Orange at the 2012 Giro.

Prediction: 0 stage wins

Farnese Vini-Selle Italia

The fluo giallo team with the best kit in the Giro in 2012.  Will the team be able to replicate 2011, where they won a stage (Oscar Gatto – Sapri to Tropea) to the surprise of Contador, and were found in most of the breakaways.

Farnese replaced Visconti with Pozzato in 2012.  Pozzato form was pretty good, until a knee injury has kept him in cotton wool over the last couple of weeks until victory at the GP Industria & Artigianato – Larciano last week.  He has had plenty of time to style his hair and work on his tan. No Giro success for Pozzato.

Gatto is a hot prospect for a stage win.  Form has been good.  He finished third in the Strade Bianche earlier this year.  

Farnese are taking a young team to the Giro.  One to watch will be Andrea Guardini.  He broke Graeme Brown all time stage wins at the Tour of Langkawi.  He struggled at the Tour of Turkey to get in the right positions.  In his first giro, I am not expecting Guardini to get his first stage win.  But he might just surprise a few of the established sprinters like Tyler Farrer.  

Prediction: 1 Stage win. 

More tomorrow.