Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Campagnolo Electronic: "STAY TUNED!"

Back in July, 2011, Campagnolo had a statement on their website, "STAY TUNED! Our new electronic transmission, currently successfully used by Movistar team, will be soon available in the market place."

Today, at the Eurobike show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, Campagnolo continued to hint with this poster that its electronic gruppo for the consumer market is close to being announced:


Opinion: Enough already, start selling it!

Related stories (among many, use custom search feature on right margin):
Giro:Movistar Pinarello with Campagnolo Electronic
Campagnolo Electronic at Tour of Flanders

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Giro d'Italia Events at Eurobike 2011

The Eurobike show begins tomorrow in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The following are the events that the organizer of the Giro d'Italia, RCS Sport, has planned:

Wednesday, 31 August through Saturday, 3 September
Stand: Vittoria (Hall B1, Stand 413)
On display: the Giro d'Itala "Senza Fine" (never ending) trophy


Wednesday, 31 August, at 13.30
Stand: Pinarello (Hall B3, Stand 402)
"The Giro d'Italia Meets the Pinarello Family"
Together to remember Andrea Pinarello and honor Giovanni “Nane” Pinarello, who will celebrate his 90th birthday in 2012.
Guest: Edvald Boasson Hagen, winner of stage 7, Innsbruck-Chiavenna, of the 2009 Giro.

Thursday, 1 September at 1500
Stand: Santini (Hall A1, Stand 308)
"Maglia Rosa 2012 Event"
The world premier of a new initiative to create a new bond between the Maglia Rosa and Giro d'Italia fans all round the world. Present will be Michele Acquarone, the Direttore Generale RCS Sport and also the new Direttore of the Giro d’Italia. Also present will be Cav. Pietro Santini, founder and President of Santini Maglificio Sportivo (SMS).
Guest of Honor: Ivan Basso, winner of the 2010 Giro d'Italia

Friday, 2 September at 12.00
Stand: Limar (Hall B2, Stand 100)
Limar presents Giro d’Italia products
On display will be the Giro d'Italia Special Edition Limar 777 helmet and eyewear made under a licensing agreement with the Giro d'Italia.

Note: trade visitors Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday; open to the public on Saturday.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Italy at Paris-Brest-Paris










Italy was well represented at Paris-Brest-Paris ("PBP"), the 1,200 km endurance test that riders must complete in 90 hours. Organized every four years by the host, Audax Club Parisien, Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur is the oldest bicycling event still run on a regular basis on the open road.

Photos courtesy of blufreccia which offered travel services and support for Italian riders.

Separately, Rapha has four stories here about this year's PBP.

If you would like to follow randonneuring and learn of events in Italy the website to visit is www.audaxitalia.com

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Mark Cavendish Italian Weekend in Tuscany



Ride with Mark Cavendish, and his two highly trusted lead-out men Bernhard Eisel and Mark Renshaw, in Tuscany, October 7-10, 2011. Organized by La Fuga, who promise "an extremely exclusive weekend in the Tuscan countryside, giving you the chance to ride with Mark, Bernhard Eisel and Mark Renshaw. Stay in luxury whilst exchanging tactics with the men themselves and becoming part of the best lead-out train in history. Enjoy gourmet cuisine and fine wine on this a once in a lifetime trip.".

£6,000 ($9775.00; 6740 Euro), excluding airfare

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

2012 Gran Fondo New York Registration + Maratona


This is the schedule for opening of registration for the 2012 Gran Fondo New York which will be held on May 20th:

"Survey respondents: September 6 at 12pm ET, the survey respondents have a 24 hour window when they can register. You will receive an email invitation directly from Eventbrite when registration is live.

2011 participants: September 7 at 12pm ET, 2011 participants can register and take advantage of the early registration. You will receive an email invitation directly from Eventbrite when registration is live.

General registration: September 8 at 12pm ET, general registration opens on www.granfondony.eventbrite.com.

The entry fee for the Gran and Medio Fondo remain the same: $195 and $165 respectively until October 31. Great news: we were able to waive the processing fee so the only additional cost is your credit card fee (3%). Hence, the actual entry fee is lower than 2011!

Spots are limited. If you want to race, make sure you register asap."


Note also that the GF NY is organizing a trip next year that will include entry into the Maratona dles Dolomites. Initial info:

"Join Team Gran Fondo New York for an exclusive trip to the 2012 Maratona dles Dolomites on July 1. Not only will you enjoy a guaranteed spot for one of the most spectacular and challenging Gran Fondos but also have everything taken care of from the moment you land in Venice, Italy. And while you're there, you'll also get to ride legendary climbs like Stelvio and Cime di Lavaredo as well. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Tentative itinerary:
- arrival June 23 and departure July 2
- accommodation in *** or ***S Hotel
- roundtrip transfer from Venice airport
- June 24: Sella Ronda bike day
- June 25: day off
- June 26: Passo Stelvio
- June 27: Tre Cime di Lavaredo
- July 1: Maratona dles Dolomites, entry for second start block

Package includes:
- a local guide from the 26th to the 29th for the different rides
- mechanical assistance on place from July 25th to 30th
- Gran Fondo New York kit
- bike rental can be arranged
- companion/non-rider activities: every other day of the week there will be guided walks around the Dolomites
- the estimated cost is $2,800 for the riders (less for companions) plus flights to/from Venice, Italy

Check out this video of the Maratona 2011!

Bookings: Please email us at info@granfondony.com and we will put you in touch with the Official Tour Operator "Holimites" (Holidays in the Dolomites). Packages start selling mid September and must be booked by November."

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Cipollini Just Has a Away About Things

Like this teaser about what is coming next from MCipollini.


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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.


1935, the Beginning of Selle San Marco


Selle San Marco has created a new "History" page on their website.

The story begins in 1935 with, "Selle San Marco is a famous and historical handmade saddles italian firm. Based in Rossano Veneto, in northeastern Italy, this small town is famous in the world thanks to the production of racing saddles. Modern saddles, but with a glorious past. Luigi Girardi was the man who made Rossano Veneto the undispuhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifted world capital of saddles by opening Selle San Marco here 75 years ago. No stranger to hard work, having started at an early age in the local spinning mill and as a hand street sweeper, young Girardi in 1935 parlayed a 100-lire loan into a business distributing bicycle accessories."

See www.sellesanmarco.it/storia-collezione.html

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Monday, August 22, 2011

The Most Beautiful Climb

Guest contributor Rich, who was on a tour with CycleItalia, sends in his last story about the Legendary Climbs Tour.

The Most Beautiful Climb

‘Bella’.

I was riding the last 4 kilometers of the Passo Pordoi alongside an Italian cyclist from Rome. We had gotten acquainted using his limited English and my almost nonexistent Italian. We were both riding well below our maximum effort and enjoying the incredible weather (sunny and about 70 degrees) and the spectacular views on what might be the prettiest pass there is. My companion looked around at the scene and uttered that single word that summed up a moment I will remember for a long time. That same word, ‘bella’, is also the single word that best describes my entire Italian experience.

Our tour group reached the start of the Passo Pordoi as the second climb on another four passo day. We had already been up the easy and scenic Passo Campolongo just outside of our hotel in Covara, and after a very quick descent we regrouped in Varda to begin the 10 km climb up the Pordoi.



Compared to many of the other climbs we would encounter in Italy, the Pordoi is not exceptionally difficult, even though it is longer and steeper than either side of our local favorite Ebbets Pass. But what makes the Pordoi stand out is how beautiful the climb is. The road curves back and forth on an open grassy field, with stunning views of the high mountains to either side. I could see down to the village where we started the climb, seemingly impossibly far below. Did I really get this high this fast? And when I looked up the road I could see the roof of one of the refugios at the summit, clearly showing me that I would be on the climb for quite a while yet. But that was fine. This climb is so scenic and relatively easy, by Dolomite standards anyway, that unless one is racing up it, there really is no hurry. This is a climb that deserves to be savored, and my new friend and I were doing just that.


The picture above shows the road and the valley where we started far below, and the next photo shows the uphill view to the saddle at the summit.



As we neared the top, my Italian friend told me to be sure to see the ‘Simoni monument’, which was actually a plaque with a list of all the Giro riders who had won the Cima Coppi on the Pordoi in the years when it was the highest point of the race. And of course, every cyclist coming here has to have a photo at the Coppi Memorial. The designers of this tribute have done the Il Campionissimo proud. The sculpture is profound and the backdrop beyond magnificent. At times groups of cyclists have to wait in line for their turn to get their photo at the monument, but despite the beautiful day and large number of cyclists milling around the summit, there was a lull that our group took advantage of, and everyone handed their camera to Heather who took pictures with each one. Mine photo is below. From left to right: Dave and Jacki (Pleasant Hill CA), our guide and host Larry, Jack (Walnut Creek), Rich and John (upstate New York).I suppose our newlyweds did not get the memo to wear the official CycleItalia jersey for this dramatic photo op.


The close up view of the monument is worth a look too. The tifosi and their Campionissimo.



The rest of the day was a little less exciting. We climbed the Costlunga, and while I can’t remember a single thing about that climb I do remember the excellent pizza lunch I enjoyed at the top. This was followed by a long (18 km!) fast downhill which included a tunnel and then, what looked on the profile like a relatively minor climb up to Nova Ponente and Monte San Pietro. The climb turned out to be not so minor. Three of our group decided to sag this one, including John, who had been here before. I think he knew something, as this climb turned out to be longer and steeper than expected, and it wasn’t very scenic either. Only Jack and I took it on, and he disappeared up the road leaving me on my own. This climb resembles doing the Three Bears out of Lafayette for around 10 miles, with long straight grinds and nary a switchback in sight. We were at a lower elevation of only 1200 meters, and for the first time on the trip I was hot. And pretty tired. But Larry and the van were waiting for me at the false summit (the others had remounted their bikes to do the last 1 uphill km and the fantastic 10 km descent to our hotel), and I got some cool water and finished the climb feeling drained of energy but still glad I did the whole thing. The scenery near the top improves, and there are views of hay fields and cows and of the mountains on the other side of the wide valley at the bottom of our drop to the hotel.

But the rather ordinary end to the day did nothing to diminish the pure joy of having been at the top of the Pordoi, a passo that has seen many Giro’s cross over its summit and many champions excel there with tremendous efforts of determination and ability. There is no feeling like riding to the top of a Passo like this, a spot beautiful on its own merits, but made even more magnificent by the history of the great bicycle racers who have triumphed and suffered on its slopes. I’ll never forget being next to Coppi’s monument and the joy I felt in that moment. And there were multiple moments like this on CycleItalia’s Legendary Climbs Tour.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Cicloturistica d'Epoca "La Ottavio Bottecchia"



One of the growing number of vintage bike events in Italy, the Cicloturistica d'Epoca "La Ottavio Bottecchia", will take place on September 25th, 2011. Starting in Piazza Minucci in the Serravalle quartiere of Vittorio Veneto, situated in the province of Treviso, riders will have the option of 59 km and 115 km routes. The routes will take the riders on the white roads of Trevigiana.

Only vintage bikes are allowed, racing bicycles made up before 1987. Riders are also asked to wear vintage cycling kits.

You have to love the very reasonable costs of such events. For a 20 Euro entry fee you receive lunch; refreshments; shower service at the arrival; gadget of the event; and for those that enroll before 17th September a gift box that contains typical food products and a bottle of “DOCG Prosecco – Vigna Rossa”. And, entry in a weekly drawing to win one of De Marchi's vintage wool jerseys!

Event details at www.laottaviobottecchia.it

Related story: "Ottavio Bottecchia"



The following is a place holder for a future translation of this story about Bottecchia's life:

A Vae Mi

Sacrificio: SerietĆ : Passione: nell’impegno sportivo
Ieri ed Oggi

San Martino di Colle Umberto mercoledƬ 1 agosto 1894.
Oggi ĆØ nato Ottavio figlio di Pietro Bottecchia e di sua moglie Elena Tonel.

Sarebbe potuta cominciare cosƬ la storia di un figlio qualsiasi di questo paese nell’alta marca Trevigiana, invece questa ĆØ, se pur breve, una vita coronata da straordinarie imprese. L’infanzia di Ottavio svanƬ presto, nella sua vita entrĆ² il lavoro dovendo contribuire al sostentamento della famiglia. Intanto nasceva la passione per le corse in bicicletta, alimentate dalla disponibilitĆ  del fratello Giovanni, a fargli usare la bici che aveva acquistato e con la quale poteva partecipare alle gare locali domenicali in cui emersero subito le sue doti atletiche. Allo scoppio della 1° Guerra Mondiale Ottavio e Giovanni furono arruolati nel 6° Bersaglieri ciclisti.

Alla fine del conflitto i due ritornarono a casa con due medaglie al valor militare;d’argento per Giovanni e di bronzo per Ottavio.Ritornato alla vita civile si diede a fare il carrettiere e nel contempo riprese a correre, si tesserĆ² all’U.V.I. per i colori dell’ U.S. Pordenone i cui dirigenti e Teodoro Carnielli gli fecero avere una bici con il consenso di Luigi Ganna. Nel 19 vinse il campionato Veneto dilettanti, il giro del Piave, la Coppa della Vittoria giungendo 3° al Giro del Friuli e 4° alla Coppa S. Giusto a Trieste. Poche le gare nel 21 fra cui vinse ancora il Giro del Piave, il Giro del Veneto e quello del Monte Grappa.

Promosso professionista di seconda categoria si iscrisse al Giro del Sannio del 22 ed ottenuto un rimborso spese vi partecipĆ², vinse Gremo seguito da Bottecchia, finƬ l’anno con un ottavo posto nel Giro di Lombardia. Milano-Sanremo del 1923,sedicesima edizione, vinse sul traguardo volante del Turchino portandosi a casa le sue prime mille lire, giunse 8° all’arrivo. Ormai convinto di fare solo il professionista si classifica 12° nella Milano-Torino, 6° al Giro di Romagna 2° alla coppa di Caivano a Napoli. Giunse cosƬ dalla Ganna la sua iscrizione al Giro d’Italia nella categoria isolati. Alla conclusione del Giro arriva primo degli isolati e 5° in assoluto.

Dopo questo risultato conobbe Borella emissario dell’Automoto che lo ingaggiĆ² per il Tour de France in compagnia del piemontese Giuseppe SanthiĆ . Tour de France 1923! Bottecchia giunse 2° al Parco dei Principi dopo aver passato a PĆØlissier la maglia gialla, ĆØ Ottavio la piĆ¹ fulgida rivelazione che ci giunge da quel Giro di Francia. Chiuse l’anno con un 4° posto alla XX Settembre e vincitore al Giro di Lombardia. Inizio stagione 1924 affina la preparazione partecipando alla Milano-Sanremo giungendo 5°, disputando poi in Francia gare di avvicinamento al Tour. Al via, avendo come avversari fra gli altri gli italiani Brunero ed Aymo, attacca subito giungendo al traguardo con piĆ¹ di tre minuti sul secondo, dominĆ² la 6° e 7° tappa,vinse pure la Dunkerque-Parigi in volata: maglia gialla per tutta la gara, primo trionfo Italiano al Tour con 35’36’’ di vantaggio su Nicolas Frantz. Tour de France 1925:la prima tappa Parigi Le Havre ĆØ vinta da Bottecchia che si alternerĆ  con il Belga Benoit alla guida del Tour per conquistare definitivamente le insegne del primato nella 9° tappa e vincendo l’ultima, facendo suo il secondo Tour consecutivo con 54’20’’di vantaggio su Lucien Buysse. Vinse pure in quell’anno la 100 KM a coppie con Girardengo, battendolo nell’individuale, con un giro di distacco il mese prima.

Nel 1926 il Tour iniziĆ² nella sfortuna per le numerose forature e nel constatare che neppure i compagni si fermavano piĆ¹ per aspettarlo, cosƬ fiaccato nel corpo e nel morale quando giunse ad Arreau disse addio per sempre al Tour, era11°in classifica. L’anno dopo durante la preparazione alla Milano-Sanremo cadde e si lusso una spalla, costretto a rinunciare alle prime gare si presentĆ² alle successive in poco buone condizioni fisiche. A Vittorio Veneto veniva investito da un’auto Giovanni, fratello di Ottavio che per le gravi ferite spirava il giorno dopo, 23 maggio 1927. Di buon’ora come suo solito Ottavio si appresta a partire per il consueto allenamento, era una giornata di sole quel 3 giugno, chissĆ  che pensieri affollavano la sua mente dopo le tristi vicende dell’ultimo periodo. Ottavio venne raccolto in stato di semi incoscienza alle porte di Peonis quello stesso giorno e trasportato all’ospedale di Gemona: spirĆ² il 15 giugno 1927 alle 10,40 all’incirca la stessa ora dell’incidente di 12 giorni prima.

Furono tre i funerali organizzati, uno a Gemona, il secondo a Pordenone ed il terzo a S.Martino il giorno dopo, con la presenza di una delegazione del Tour guidata dai Pelissier, da allora riposa nella tomba di famiglia. Da quel giorno finƬ una splendida storia ed iniziĆ² la leggenda.

S. Martino di Colle Umberto sabato 18 giugno 1927 Guido Salamon

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Friday, August 19, 2011

New "Concor" from Selle San Marco


A re-design of the iconic Selle San Marco "Concor" saddle will be in use by Lampre-Isd, Vacansoleil-DCM and Ag2r La Mondiale at the Vuelta a EspaƱa. The new Concor will be available in stores beginning in October. Technical details:



Fortunately, the original style Concor used by Hinault, Saronni, Armstrong and Bettini will remain available.


Note: "Thanks to Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-Isd), the new San Marco saddle, evolution of the legendary Concor, took its first historical win at the Vuelta on stage 18.

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

2011 Vuelta a EspaƱa


The 66th Vuelta a EspaƱa will begin Saturday and run through Sunday, September 11, 2011. The race will cover 3,300 km and will have 21 stages with the following profiles:

9 flat stages,
10 mountain stages
1 team time-trial stage (the opening stage)
1 individual time-trial stage


Distinctive aspects of the race:

6 summit finishes
2 rest days
14 km team time-trial
40 km individual time-trial stage

Teams participating:
UCI ProTeams:
AG2R LA MONDIALE (FRA)
BMC RACING TEAM (USA)
EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI (ESP)
HTC-HIGHROAD (USA)
KATUSHA TEAM (RUS)
LAMPRE - ISD (ITA)
LEOPARD TREK (LUX)
LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (ITA)
MOVISTAR TEAM (ESP)
OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO (BEL)
PRO TEAM ASTANA (KAZ)
QUICKSTEP CYCLING TEAM (BEL)
RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (NED)
SAXO BANK SUNGARD (DEN)
SKY PROCYCLING (GBR)
TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO (USA)
TEAM RADIOSHACK (USA)
VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (NED)

Invited Teams:
ANDALUCIA CAJA GRANADA (ESP)
GEOX-TMC (ESP), Italian owned team registered in Spain
COFIDIS, LE CREDIT EN LIGNE (FRA)
SKIL - SHIMANO (NED)


Vincenzo Nibali (above) of Liquigas-Cannondale, last year's winner, will be returning to defend his title after skipping the Tour de France. Nibali's teammate Peter Sagan is on form and will be on fire. Michele Scarponi, who was 2nd to Nibali's 3rd in the Giro d'Italia in May will be the Lampre-ISD leader. Teammate Alessando Petacchi will be looking for sprint victories. For GEOX-TMC the two time Vuelta winner Dennis Menchov (2005 and 2007) and Carlos Sastre, winner of the 2008 Tour de France, will be hoping to bring the first major victory to the team.

The teams:
LIQUIGAS:
NIBALI Vincenzo
CAPECCHI Eros
CARUSO Damiano
DA DALTO Mauro
DALL'ANTONIA Tiziano
MARANGONI Alan
NERZ Dominik
SAGAN Peter
WURF Cameron

LAMPRE-ISD
SCARPONI Michele
KVACHUK Oleksandr
MARZANO Marco
MORI Manuele
NIEMIEC Przemyslaw
PEREZ ARRIETA Aitor
PETACCHI Alessandro
RIGHI Daniele
SPEZIALETTI Alessandro

GEOX-TMC
COBO ACEBO Juan Jose
BLANCO RODRIGUEZ David
DE LA FUENTE RASILLA David
DUARTE AREVALO Fabio Andres
DURƁN AROCA Arkaitz
FLORENCIO CABRE Xavier
MENCHOV Denis
SASTRE CANDIL Carlos
VALLS FERRI Rafael

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Giro di ....Where? Padania


If you have never heard of "Padania" read on....

The Lega Nord, or Northern League, is a political party founded in 1991 by Umberto Bossi. Arguing that the poorer south is a drag on the wealthier, industrialized north, the Lega Nord champions what it calls "Padania", referring to regions around the Po River Valley. The Lega Nord promotes either secession from Italy, or larger autonomy, for Padania. In 1996, Bossi went so far as to declare Padania an independent republic.

Last September, Bossi, still the Lega Nord leader, declared "I want the Giro di Padania". A year later his wish has become a reality with an international stage race on the UCI calendar. The five stage race will take place from September 6th to 10th. The event website is www.girodipadania.it .

The leader's jersey is green, the official color of the Lega Nord:


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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Fun with FUNTOS BIKE







The FUNTOS BIKE and PEDALE GODIASCHESE clubs organized a joint ride on Saturday featuring a visit to Lago Maggiore, the second-largest lake in Italy, and a 12 km climb of the Monte Mottarone.

Fifty riders started from Gravellona Toce, in the province of Verbania. The 70 km route took them along the shores of Lake Orta, then to Armenia, and then to the top of Monte Mottarone. After a couple of hours of fabulous sunshine at the 1491 meter summit the ride continued towards Stressa from which they enjoyed beautiful views of Lago Maggiore and the the Borromeo Islands.

There are about 11 islands on Lago Maggiore but probably the most famous ones form the cluster of islands known as the Borromeo Islands - Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori, which are located between Stresa and Verbania.



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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.


Monday, August 15, 2011

Italian Cycling in New Zealand

From New Zealand this story of an Italian cycling journey.

"Ask American cycling fans what they know about New Zealand, and if you’re lucky a few might know of Julian Dean, lead-out man for Garmin Cervelo’s Tyler Farrar and once called “the greatest lead-out man in the world” by Thor Hushovd. Ask Italians the same thing and they’re more likely to mention New Zealand’s world-beating All Black rugby team. While New Zealand is gaining some profile in the peleton, the country still remains an enigma for most people: 4 million people on two islands to the east of Australia. Best known for being the location of the Lord of the Rings movies, the Flight of the Conchords, and sheep. Lots and lots of sheep.

So consider the isolation of New Zealand back in the 1970s and 1980s; the dark days before the internet, when crocheted cycling gloves were de rigueur and helmets were for horse jockeys. Back then, New Zealanders could be forgiven for knowing as little about Italian cycling as Americans and Italians knew about New Zealand. Although track and road cycling was huge in pre-1970’s New Zealand, by 1983 it was firmly a niche sport. BMX had been the only fresh thing for years and triathlon and mountain-biking was yet to get started. Greg LeMond was three years from his Tour de France win and Breaking Away was just an oddity that had made the New Zealand film circuit for a brief few weeks four years before.


But take a look at this photo, from 1983 Auckland, New Zealand. Holding those cups for 1st place and fastest time is a lanky David Carman, astride his Italian hand-built Viner, wearing a woollen bike jersey in that ideal colour combination – red, white and green – that he had bought on an overseas holiday. In a country besotted with rugby and cricket, that 17-year old Carman may as well have been an Italian exchange student (or a student pretending to be one, a la Breaking Away).

Carman can’t quite pick what it was that sparked off his love of Italian cycling, but is adamant it wasn’t Breaking Away: “I can’t even remember seeing it – it was more to do with the riders of that time, the heroes like Francesco Moser, and the ones preceding them like Bartali and Coppi. To my cycling friends, the style and panache of Italian cycling was about as far removed as you could get from the thuggish rugby players that New Zealanders tend to adore. So like a lot of teenagers trying to rebel against the mainstream, we chose the opposite to what everyone else was following - Italian cycling”.

Fast-forward 25 years and Carman has forged his own business, working from his rural property in the adventure sport and mountain-biking capital of New Zealand, Rotorua. Carman’s Soigneur range of merino wool cycling jerseys celebrate the classic styles and heroes of professional cycling and he has customers throughout the world and within the pro peleton.

So how did Soigneur come to fruition? A qualified textile technician by trade, Carman sat down a few years back and asked himself how he could create a business that would survive against the Chinese clothing powerhouse. The answer? Carman simply decided to have a go at creating what he wanted the most himself – the best quality, most beautiful cycling jerseys that he and anyone else with a love of ciclismo moda would appreciate.


Check out www.soigneur.co.nz and you’ll see that Carman has certainly achieved what he set out to do – you’ll see a beautiful range of retro-styled hand-made merino wool cycling jerseys, paying homage to the greats – Coppi, Merckx, Anquetil, Gaul and Simpson, as well as one for Alpe d' huez and national jerseys for Switzerland and of course Italy – the first design Carman created.

Take a closer look and you’ll see that the jerseys are not simple replicas or cut-and-paste collections of old logos and brands. There’s no Molteni on the Merckx jersey and no Bianchi on the Coppi. Instead, you’ll find many of his jerseys emblazoned with the greats’ nicknames that only true tifosi will know – Le Cannibal; Campionissimo, M.Chrono and, more poignantly, the last words of Tommy Simpson on his jersey: “Go on, go on” (contrary to popular myth, Simpson’s last words weren’t “put me back on the bike” but for those preferring that legend then Carman will put those words on instead – how’s that for customisation?).

The Tommy Simpson jersey is Carman’s latest, and it marked a new design approach that he says worked well: “The Simpson jersey took a bit of work as there were a lot of potential design features that could have been used. So I put some early designs up on Facebook, took on board the comments, and came up with a much better design. It would be great if readers of Italian Cycling Journal became Facebook friends of Soigneur – that way they could all have a say in my future designs.”


It’s certainly the details that matter with Soigneur jerseys. One of the Coppi jerseys is a case in point. On the back you’ll see what looks like a normal race number, but note the colour and the number itself for that added attention to detail – a red 51, red being the colour of the most aggressive rider and 51 being the number worn by more Tour de France winners than any other.

Another detail appreciated by the fortunate riders who wear the form-fitting Soigneur jerseys is the ultra-fine 19-micron merino wool used in their construction. Such fine merino is the world’s softest wool, making the jerseys tough yet incredibly soft and luxurious to the touch, while also in possession of the unparalleled temperature management of fine fibre wool – cool in summer, warm in winter (even when wet), and never getting smelly like artificial fibres do because of the lanolin that naturally coats the wool fibre. They can even be washed with your normal clothes in the washing machine – these are not the bulky, itchy woollen jerseys your grandmother used to knit!

The results are clear - when reviewed by crossbikereview.com, they gave their Soigneur jersey five out of five, and cyclingnewsasia.com concluded that “without question... it will be the best investment you can make”.

And invest people are certainly doing. One aspect of the Soigneur business that is especially successful is the custom-design jerseys that Carman creates. His jerseys are increasingly being used by race promoters looking for prestigious prizes of unique class, and bulk orders from clubs and tour groups are picking up – including one recently led by Eros Poli, famed lead-out man for Mario Cipollini.

With company like that that, the Soigneur label is a success story that Carman can be proud of. Who will next be commemorated in merino? Bartali? Binda? Gimondi? Check out www.soigneur.co.nz and be sure to let Carman know your preference..."

And, not only jerseys are made by David :


David's knitting machine doubles as his bike stand:


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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Garda Lake Raid 2011


New on Lake Garda, in Nago-Torbole, is the Garda Lake Raid 2011 event. Teams of three persons will complete on a course of 20 km or 30 km (additional score points added for 30 km course) that will include mountain biking, orienteering, trail running, roping down and aquatic stages. Dates: October 1-2.

Details at www.gardalakeraid.com



Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Tre Cime di Lavaredo: The Greatest Show on Earth

Guest contributor Rich, who was on a tour with CycleItalia, continues his storytelling about the Legendary Climbs Tour.

Tre Cime di Lavaredo: The Greatest Show on Earth

In the 1970’s there were two feature films made by the Danish filmmaker Jorgen Leth about the Giro d’ Italia. “Stars and Watercarriers’ was the first, an account of the 1973 Giro. The lesser known film, about the 1974 Giro, is called ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’. This movie is short (only 75 minutes) and has fewer of the rather clumsy titles, cutaways and overly dramatic and oddly translated narration of the first movie. It also has lots of music to replace the dialogue, from a Verdi aria during a feature on Vincenzo Torriani, Lord and Master of the Giro, to a disco version of Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’ during a hot dusty stage.

“The Greatest Show” has a 10 minute segment near the end of the movie that features the dramatic climb of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, which was the mountain top finish of the next to last stage of the race. Jose Fuente, who had been wearing the maglia rosa until he was dropped on the stage into San Remo and lost huge time, set out to prove he was the King of the Mountains and perhaps get back some of his GC losses.

In the movie, it is a cloudy and cool day and it gets cold on the way up the climb. Since it is late May there is still snow beside the road (there could be some in July too, as I learned), but the cold day has not stopped the tifosi, who are blanketing the roadside in huge, and widely enthusiastic, numbers.

At the steepest part, as we watch a few members of the grupetto struggling to stay upright and wondering what possessed them to become pro cyclists, the narrator speaks in a dry and emotion free voice the words that were running through my brain as I came past this point of the climb:

“The gradient is one in six. The temperature is minus two degrees (C). Three more miles to the top”

Well, it wasn’t minus two degrees C, it was more like 65 degrees F. But the gradient was in fact one in six (17%!) at least for a minute on my bike computer. And yes, there were three miles to the top.

The second day of our trip began by climbing the Passo Furcia, and after a break at the top to refuel we descended and continued through some rolling country to our lunch stop, where we were presented with two options. We could either ride to the hotel in Cortina, a 40 km jaunt with only one little climb and a long descent with a fair amount of traffic, or we could take on the Tre Cime climb, a mere 20 km but which would take much longer than the 40 km option and meant we would have to shuttle down from the top to reach the hotel in time to clean up and recover before dinner. Only John and I opted for the climb. John had done this tour the year before (a satisfied CycleItalia customer!) but had skipped the Tre Cime and wanted to do it this time. And this very climb was one of the reasons I came to Italy so I certainly wanted to give it a try.

I knew the climb was steep, but I hadn’t really studied it that closely. Looking at the profile below, I calculate the last 4 km average 11.9%. That is a pretty steep climb to finish off a day of 7300 feet of climbing in only 42 miles of riding. I think I flew up those last 4 km at about 6-8 km/hr. I was down in my 34x32 and thinking I should have brought even lower gears. But the scenery was incredible. I was trying to make it to the top without stopping, but after I passed our tour van which was parked at the steepest point, I came to my senses and paused ‘to admire the majesty of the Dolomites’. Exhaustion had nothing to do with it. From my perch one switchback above I could still hear our tour leader Larry calling ‘Forza!’ to riders going by and listen to ‘Nessum Dorma’ blaring from the van’s speakers. I was hoping that the Mozart Requiem wouldn’t be next.

Tre Cime di Lavaredo: The Greatest Show on Earth

As the refugio at the summit finally came into sight, I put on a burst of effort and reached the parking lot at the top, where I was met by a mass of busses and cars and motorcycles along with a few other cyclists. The Tre Cime Road is a dead end at a spot with one of the most beautiful views there is, and I asked a Dutch cyclist who had also made it up to take my picture. He obliged:


My riding partner John arrived at the summit a few minutes later, and we gawked at the view and took a few pictures and enjoyed a coffee before packing into the van for the shuttle to the hotel in Cortina. Since the other guests who had opted for the longer route with much less climbing would be arriving at the hotel soon, riding our bikes to Cortina really wasn’t an option, and when I saw the late afternoon traffic on the descent into town I was glad I was in the van. I thought this would be the steepest climb of the trip, but I was wrong, that honor was reserved for the Mortirolo. But this one was special too. I watched Merckx and Gimondi and Fuente and company climb this mountain in the movie, and now I had ridden up the same road. Just another ordinary day on the Legendary Climbs Tour.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Remembering Wouter Weylandt


Those that ride on the stretch of road between San Siro Foce and Borgonovo will encounter a small but significant memory to the young Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt who lost his life in this year's edition of the Giro d'Italia.

The sculptor, Luigi Santini, used a slab of sandstone from the quarries of Carniglia to carve Weylandt descending the tortuous turns. The dedication: "To Wouter with the affection of all".

The artist, with the consent of the mayor of Mezzanego, Danilo Repetto, was moved to create this plaque as a way of saying that Wouter Weylandt is not and will not be forgotten.


Note: thanks Jac Zwart for contribution.


Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.



Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Turning the Giro Clock Back to 1974

Featuring Fuentes, Merckx, descent into Sorrento, and a description of how the Giro was organized.



Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.



Monday, August 8, 2011

Pedalata per Andrea Pinarello

A ride to remember and honor Andrea Pinarello was spontaneously organized on Sunday in Treviso. More than 1,000 riders came to remember their great friend.

Fausto Pinarello (hands in face) with Andrea's wife Gloria


Giovanni Pinarello, with his wife Ida, speaking with Gloria (who is pregnant)




Gloria and Andrea's sister, Carla, hug


Giovanni and Ida in front of the Pinarello shop.