gone
06-15-2006, 01:12 PM
As mentioned elsewhere, while in Italy recently I went and saw the time trial at Pontadera and here are some of my memories.
Those guys are really fast! I rode the course a couple of days before and though the route profile showed it as being essentially flat, there are a lot of sections of false flat where you're really having to work. Averaging 50kph is absolutely amazing. Not to mention it was really hot on the day.
How do you tell someone who's participating in a grand tour? 1. His knees are scarred (varying degrees of freshness). 2. He's really thin. I mean really thin. 3. He looks tired.
The spectacle around the compound where they park the team buses is pretty amazing. Damiano Cunego draws more attention than a rock star.
The top level guys are treated pretty darned well by the reps. I saw the Sidi guy hand Robbie McEwen several boxes of shoes and the Polar guy give him 4 boxes of HRMs.
Mario Cipollini was there at the Liquigas team bus. I've never seen him in person before and he has a really interesting physique. He's about my height (6'2") but he has really short legs - I'd be willing to bet his inseam isn't more than 30". His torso and legs appear to be about the same length. Also, he has a butt that would make a lot of women proud - some serious power in those glutes! He also draws more attention than a rock star.
Basso is respected, Pantani is loved. If I had a euro for every time Pantani's name was said during the tv coverage of the race I could buy a pretty nice bicycle, fully equipped. At the risk of a sweeping generalization, I think Pantani's brilliance and flaws appeal to the romantic nature of the Italians. I also think it's why they never really warmed to Armstrong, never showed any signs of weakness.
It's possible that Basso could have won the time trial. I was at about 2k from the finish and there was a long straight with a u-turn under a railroad then another long straight to the finish. Basso was overtaking Cunego at a very high rate of speed and it was clear that if he kept going at that rate he'd have to cut him off near/at the entry to the turn. He sat up about 200 yards before they got there and coasted, followed Cunego through the underpass and onto the next straight then accelerated past him and got back into his tuck. He ended up finishing 28 seconds behind Ulrich.
Interestingly enough, nearly every Italian I talked to while the race was going on didn't think Basso would win. This was right up to 3 days before the end. They all had different reasons (supporting someone else, what he did last year, etc) but it was surprising to me how many of them thought someone else would win.
I spoke to Michael Rasmussen and asked if he was going to win the time trial :) He's got a sense of humor because he said yes.
I've attached a few photos, note the name on the disc wheel on the tmobile equipment trailer.
Those guys are really fast! I rode the course a couple of days before and though the route profile showed it as being essentially flat, there are a lot of sections of false flat where you're really having to work. Averaging 50kph is absolutely amazing. Not to mention it was really hot on the day.
How do you tell someone who's participating in a grand tour? 1. His knees are scarred (varying degrees of freshness). 2. He's really thin. I mean really thin. 3. He looks tired.
The spectacle around the compound where they park the team buses is pretty amazing. Damiano Cunego draws more attention than a rock star.
The top level guys are treated pretty darned well by the reps. I saw the Sidi guy hand Robbie McEwen several boxes of shoes and the Polar guy give him 4 boxes of HRMs.
Mario Cipollini was there at the Liquigas team bus. I've never seen him in person before and he has a really interesting physique. He's about my height (6'2") but he has really short legs - I'd be willing to bet his inseam isn't more than 30". His torso and legs appear to be about the same length. Also, he has a butt that would make a lot of women proud - some serious power in those glutes! He also draws more attention than a rock star.
Basso is respected, Pantani is loved. If I had a euro for every time Pantani's name was said during the tv coverage of the race I could buy a pretty nice bicycle, fully equipped. At the risk of a sweeping generalization, I think Pantani's brilliance and flaws appeal to the romantic nature of the Italians. I also think it's why they never really warmed to Armstrong, never showed any signs of weakness.
It's possible that Basso could have won the time trial. I was at about 2k from the finish and there was a long straight with a u-turn under a railroad then another long straight to the finish. Basso was overtaking Cunego at a very high rate of speed and it was clear that if he kept going at that rate he'd have to cut him off near/at the entry to the turn. He sat up about 200 yards before they got there and coasted, followed Cunego through the underpass and onto the next straight then accelerated past him and got back into his tuck. He ended up finishing 28 seconds behind Ulrich.
Interestingly enough, nearly every Italian I talked to while the race was going on didn't think Basso would win. This was right up to 3 days before the end. They all had different reasons (supporting someone else, what he did last year, etc) but it was surprising to me how many of them thought someone else would win.
I spoke to Michael Rasmussen and asked if he was going to win the time trial :) He's got a sense of humor because he said yes.
I've attached a few photos, note the name on the disc wheel on the tmobile equipment trailer.