Dice the sentence

There is something seriously wrong with the cycling system and I doubt many will argue with that fact. Alexander Kolobnev seems likely to slip through with a small fine, Alex Rasmussen and Jeannie Longo go free despite 3 missed anti-doping tests while the Ezequiel Mosquera and Alberto Contador cases drag out. Everybody knows how long the Contador case has been going for now and apparently the UCI didn’t even send their case against Mosquera to the Spanish federation until the end of April even though his positive test occurred during the Vuelta in September.

How come it has to take this long to determine if a rider is guilty or not and why are the end results so far from each other? Sometimes it really looks like the cycling organs deciding these things just end up throwing dices to decide…

I wouldn’t be surprised if the UCI, WADA and all the national federations have this site on the top of the bookmark list.

The system needs to get fixed - same rules for everybody, ya!

EXCLUSIVE - New sponsor just around the corner for Gianetti and Matxin

Gianetti & Matxin in Venezuela...

Mauro Gianetti and Josean Fernández Matxin have been working very hard to secure a new sponsor deal since GEOX announced the end of their sponsorship a month ago. Right now they have 2 “concrete deals” to choose between.

Last week Gianetti and Matxin went to Venezuela in order to set up a deal with the Venezuelan government, more specifically the tourism board, under the name of “Venezuela - País de sueño”. The two stayed in South America for three days where they managed put together a pretty good plan. Very much like Katusha and Astana the idea is to set up a big national cycling project, bankrolled by the Hugo Chavez government enrolling the pro.-team (what’s left of Team GEOX), a track team, mountain bike etc. etc. “A very interesting project”, as Mauro Gianetti describes it. All there is left now is for President Hugo Chavez to green light to the project.

Should the Venezuelan project fall apart, Mauro Gianetti has yet another Ace up his sleeve.

“We have two concrete deals right now. One of them is the one with the Venezuelan government, the other one is more a regular one with a big international company as the main sponsor”, Mauro Gianetti tells me. “We have not signed anything yet, but we hope to close the deal very soon. It could be any day now. For me it doesn’t matter which deal we end up taking. The Venezuelan one is a very interesting project with the government and the other one is with a good, serious company that we know very well. We will see”.

No matter what deal Mauro Gianetti and and Josean Fernández Matxin end up taking, the leader of the team next year will still be Vuelta España winner Juanjo Cobo who, not like Menchov, Duarte, Felline, Ardila etc., has chosen to stay with the team in this difficult time. Also Rafael Valls and David de la Fuente are expected to stay.

Most interesting signings for 2012

I’m sorry I’ve been M.I.A. for a while now, but I had some personal things to sort out. Anyway now I’m back and I think it’s time to take a look at the transfer-window and see which teams made the best deals for 2012.

It’s easy to point out BMC’s aggressive strategy (BuyMoreCaptains) with riders like Philippe Gilbert, Thor Hushovd, Marco Pinotti and Tejay Van Garderen signing on for 2012, but instead of that I rather want to look at some of the scoops for next year.

Manuel Belletti

First of all, we have Ag2r. Despite having promising French sprinters like Lloyd Mondory and Anthony Ravard, team boss Vincent Lavenu still felt the need to grab three new fast guys. French veteran Jimmy Casper, Italian up-and-coming Manuel Belletti and Russian 12-wins-so-far-this-season Boris Shiplevski. The name to remember here is of course Manuel Belletti. He has been stuck in the Italian calendar for some years now and I’m really looking forward to see what he can do in the big races, especially in the Grand Tours where he doesn’t have to share the sprinter-role with Sacha Modolo anymore. Look out for Belletti, he will be taking home many podium places in 2012! Great transfer!

Angel Vicioso

What seemed like a Russian revolution in the Tour this year, has now been changed quite a bit at Team Katusha. A lot of new, international personalities are now to find at the team, who once again managed to sign some very interesting riders! It would be too easy to say Oscar Freire, so instead let’s focus on another Spaniard, Angel Vicioso. Together with Freire, he will be a key player in the one-day-races, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he snatched a win in of the spring classics. Great transfer!

Next up is Lampre. On one hand it seems like they want to back Alessandro Petacchi even more than this season with lead-out signings like Viganò, Paolini and Ongarato, but on the other hand they have also signed two of my favorite younguns in, future GC star, Mattia Cattaneo and Davide Cimolai who is planned to take over from Petacchi when he can’t win anymore, probably already this year. Two young Italians with huge potential  good transfers!

Giovanni Visconti

Without BMC, I would say Movistar has been making the best deals for next year. Youngsters like Castroviejo, Herrada, Quintana together with already established Karpets and Visconti, well that's just impressive. Especially Giovanni Visconti who I think finally will get his big break through on the international scene, meaning winning big races – not “just” those on the Italian calendar (no offense). And by the way, don’t forget Movistar also gets Alejandro Valverde back in 2012. Outstanding transfers!

Astana has also been quite aggressive, signing Brajkovic, Seeldrayers, Bozic etc for 2012. It’s no secret that I've already pointed out Janez Brajkovic as one of my top candidates for the Giro d’Italia next year, but let’s look at another new name at the Kazakh team instead. Francesco Gavazzi. Gavazzi has been riding in the shadows at Lampre his whole career and even though he has been able to shine a few times, like when he won a stage in the Vuelta España this year, I expect him to show his full potential in 2012. Gavazzi is a rider who should be named among the candidates for races like Milano-San Remo and Amstel Gold Race and without any other hilly sprinters at Astana, I think Gavazzi will turn out to be a really important signing for Team Vinokourov. Great transfer!

Mark Renshaw

With Oscar Freire and Graeme Brown leaving Rabobank, Matti Brechel focusing on the classics and Theo Bos far from consistent I think new-signing Mark Renshaw could be quite a scoop. Renshaw has been the world’s best lead out man for a while now but has also always delivered when given the chance. Mark Cavendish was upset to see his best man leave, and it will be very interesting to see the two going on head-2-head (get it…) in the mass sprints next year. Great transfer!

Last team for now is Team Sky. Everybody expected Mark Cavendish to sign on and of course he did just that. Cavendish is a guarantee for victories and that is exactly what Team Sky needs. Therefore Cavendish is the most important transfer of the season, no doubt. Still I would like to focus on little less known Salvatore Puccio. The young Italian won the U-23 version of Ronde van Vlaanderen this year and is a rider much like his hero Oscar Freire. Puccio is still very young and has a lot to learn, but I think we will already see some of his enormous talent next year. Great transfer!

Well that’s it for now. These are the signings I see as the most interesting for 2012. Please feel free to comment if you agree or disagree.

For my view on Team Saxo Bank’s transfer situation please read my piece “Explanation - Why Saxo Bank hasn’t signed a new star to help Contador” by clicking here.

Explanation - Why Saxo Bank haven't signed a new star to help Contador

Contador really needs a strong climber - but who?

As everybody who read my interview with Jesus Hernandez knows, Alberto Contador really wants one more strong climber to help him in the mountains next year. Many could argue that Jesus Hernandez himself or team mate Dani Navarro should be that rider, but as shown during the 2011-season, that’s just not the case. And when Richie Porte decided to leave the team together with Gustav Larsson, it seemed clear Bjarne Riis had to get some reinforcements.


So far the newcomers who can help in the uphill sections are the two Portuguese riders, Bruno Pires and Sergio Paulinho. Even though they are both solid climbers, they are nowhere near the level requested by Contador. So how about a rider like Juanjo Cobo who has just won the Vuelta España and right now is without a team for next year after GEOX had pulled the plug on their sponsor deal or the other former GEOX-captain Denis Menchov? Well, the answer is simple: Riis has neither the money nor the desire to do so.

Let me explain:

First of all, it’s a common mistake to think that just because Saxo Bank boss Lars Seier Christensen said the Danish bank is willing to pump more money into the team if they come up with the right name, Bjarne Riis has a blank check waiting for him. “There is a clause in the contract saying that we will release more money for the team if Bjarne finds the right rider”, it was said at the press conference back in July this year.

Therefore, the real question is, what exactly does “the right rider” mean? Does it mean Bjarne Riis can just pick any available rider on the market and then turn to Saxo Bank for extra money? Or does it mean that if Riis manages to find the rider he is looking for Saxo Bank will help out with the salary? I back the latter…

Riis wanted Hushovd to join Contador

Think about it. During this year’s Tour de France, Bjarne Riis made no effort in hiding how interested he was in signing Thor Hushovd for 2012. Normally, the team may not have the necessary means but with Saxo Bank’s additional financial support this may change. Unfortunately for Riis, the BMC team had a lot more capital to operate with and Hushovd therefore chose to sign with them instead.

In fact it seems like Thor Hushovd wasn’t the only one Riis was chasing. At the 2012 Tour presentation he said: “There have been some riders I would have liked to sign, but financial problems and other stuff got in the way”.

It’s understandable that Bjarne Riis doesn’t have the same capital as a team like BMC but if Saxo Bank really was ready to pump more money into the team in order to get another ‘name’ on the roster, how can it be that a rider like Juanjo Cobo (who signed a €800.000 contract with GEOX just before the sponsor left) isn’t an option? Well, remember what I said about desire?... the same applies for Denis Menchov. Rumor has it he requests €1.80 million a year - not exactly desirable taking into account Saxo Bank already pays Alberto Contador around €5,00 million a year.

I talked with Team Saxo Bank’s press officer Anders Damgaard about it but unfortunately he couldn’t elaborate further since “that specific deal between the cycling team and Saxo Bank is confidential”.

Martin remains an opponent for Contador

Still it doesn’t take a genius to see that if Saxo Bank was willing to pay for the right rider, and Bjarne Riis has been chasing specific riders since July, well then the Dane’s mission hasn’t really been very successful, has it?

Tony Martin is another rider Bjarne Riis had hoped to get on the team with the extra bag of money from Saxo Bank but, like Hushovd, Martin decided elsewise.

So to answer the headline’s question, ‘why hasn’t Saxo Bank signed a new star to help Contador’. There are three reasons:

1. The extra money from Saxo Bank isn't just for 'any rider'.
2. Bjarne Riis hasn’t managed to close the deal with the riders he wanted to use the extra money for.
3. No ‘desirable’ riders are left on the market.

Entrevista - Mikel Nieve (Rider, Euskaltel-Euskadi)

Mikel, enhorabuena por la impresionante temporada. ¿Como la describirias?
Ha sido una temporada muy buena tanto para el equipo como para mi. Hemos conseguido ganar en las tres grandes vueltas y la gente joven ha dado un pasito más. Para un equipo con nuestra filosofía, ganar en Arrate, Zoncolan, Gardeccia, Luz Ardiden y Bilbao es maravilloso. Individualmente, estoy muy satisfecho porque pienso que he dado un paso más como ciclistas. Ganar en Gardeccia fue especial, fue un etapón tremendo y la alegría fue increible. He sido muy regular toda la temporada, acabé 11º el Giro y 10º la Vuelta. Pienso que esa regularidad y el triunfo en Gardeccia son un gran balance.

¿Cual ha sido el mejor recuerdo de la temporada?
A nivel individual, el mejor recuerdo es la victoria en Gardeccia. Después de que Igor ganase en Zoncolan, repetir al día siguiente fue espectacular. Fue un Giro durísimo y aquel día sufrí lo impensable. Pero conseguí la victoria y conforme pasa el tiempo, lo valoro más.

Undécimo en la clasificación general en el Giro y décimo en la Vuelta, cuál de las dos ha sido la mejor experiencia?
Las dos experiencias han sido bonitas. El recorrido del Giro fue más exigente que el de la Vuelta. La última semana del Giro estuve enfermo y se me escapó el top ten. Me fastidió un poco, pero ya no queda vuelta de hoja. En cuanto a la Vuelta, llegué con la misión de ayudar a Igor a disputar la general de la Vuelta y luego tuve que disputarla yo. Tuve que cambiar mi papel y al final conseguimos entrar en el top ten. La etapa de Ancares fue clave, el ataque que hicimos como equipo me metió en la pelea por el top ten y finalmente conseguimos entrar. Estoy satisfecho de ambas clasificaciones porque son dos de las mejores carreras del mundo y en ambas estuve competitivo.

Igor Antón éra el gran favorito para ganar la Vuelta, pero no tuvo piernas en las primeras dos semanas. ¿Tuvo que ser un comienzo muy duro para el equipo?
Fue dificil para el equipo, por supuesto, pero de estas situaciones hay que aprender, no estar lamentándose de lo que pudo haber sido y no fue. Me quedo con que el equipo no se vino abajo y seguimo trabajando, cambiamos los objetivos y la mentalización en marcha, algo que es muy dificil, y logramos tanto acabar entre los 10 primeros de la general como ganar una etapa, encima la de Bilbao. Me quedo con que ante las adversidades, aún nos unimos más y le dimos la vuelta a la tortilla.

El año pasado ganaste una etapa en la Vuelta y este año otra etapa en el Giro. Para el año que viene ¿una etapa en el Tour?
Si fuese por mi, lo firmaba. Trato de mejorar cada temporada, poco a poco. Tengo unas características determinadas y tengo que aprovecharlas. Ganar en Cotobello fue espectacular, y Gardeccia no fue menos. Pronto tendremos una concentración y se empezarán a definir los puntos calientes de la temporada 2012. Si el año que viene voy al Tour, mi papel será el de apoyar a nuestro líder, Samuel Sánchez. Ha sido cuarto y sexto en la general, ha ganado en Luz Ardiden, la montaña del Tour… Si voy a Francia, la misión será estar junto a Samuel en la montaña y aprender. Eso sí, si surge la oportunidad, no frenaré. Es muy difícil, pero hay que estar preparado.

¿Sabes ya cuáles de las grandes vueltas vas a correr en 2012?
En la cocnentración que hagamos a finales de noviembre se hablará de ese tema.

¿Y cuáles son tus expectativas para el año que viene?
Seguir mejorando. Será mi cuarto año en Euskaltel Euskadi y espero dar un pasito más. Si mantengo la progresión, los objetivos se irán cumpliendo.

Parece que Euskaltel va a retirar el patrocinio tras la próxima temporada. ¿Crees que habrá una presión extra sobre los corredores en 2012?
Desde el equipo nos han dicho que estemos tranquilos y que seamos tan profesionales como lo hemos sido siempre. Seguiremos entrenando con ganas y en competición nos esforzaremos al máximo, como siempre. Es algo que hacemos desde siempre, por nosotros mismos y por el equipo.

Y si el equipo no pudiese encontrar un nuevo patrocinador, ¿que significaria esto para el ciclismo vasco?
Esta pregunta aún no tiene respuesta. Confío en lo que me han dicho desde el equipo, que sigamos trabajando como siempre y los frutos ya llegarán.

Bueno, para finalizar. Tres preguntas rápidas.
¿Quien es tu mejor amigo en el equipo?
Tenemos muy buen ambiente en el equipo. Con el que más horas paso, Juanjo Oroz, es un excelente compañero y amigo.
¿Quien es el corredor más divertido del equipo?
Tenemos unos cuantos, pero con Pierre Cazaux me lo paso muy bien.
¿Y cuál es tu carrera favorita?
Giro d'Italia o Vuelta a España, ambas me han gustado.

Interview - Giorgia Bronzini

Giorgia Bronzini winning in Copenhagen

Giorgia Bronzini showed to be the strongest of all the Italian riders (including the men) at the World Champions in Copenhagen last month, giving Italy their only medal at the Champions and herself a second gold medal in a row!

Giorgia, first of all, congratulation with your gold medal! Can you describe the feeling when you crossed the line?
Thank you very much. I was incredible; I really didn’t think that I could win again this year. I gave everything I had to complete the excellent team work, especially the one made by my wife Monia Baccaille. When I crossed the line I couldn’t believe it.

How does this gold medal feels compared to the one you won last year in Australia?
Well, I think that the gold medal I won in Geelong may have been a surprise, because we [the Italian team] only decide that I should have a go in the sprint in the very end of the race. Now, I will say that this medal is a confirmation for me.

Take me through the last couple of kilometers. What was the Italian tactic in the final?
In the last kilometers, the final three, I was behind Monia [Baccaille]. She made a great job! In the end I managed to do, what was probably my best sprint in the whole season. To be honest the Italian team wasn’t the strongest one, we were not as strong as Germany and Netherland, but we worked together and that is our strength.

You got a perfect lead out by Monia, when did you know that you would win?
I believed a lot in myself and as soon as I started my sprint I knew that I could win. It was a difficult arrival, but very suitable for me.

Any words for Marianne Vos? 2nd for the 5th time in a row...
To me, Marianne is number one. She is a very strong athlete who knows how to win and she has been demonstrating this during the whole season. At the Worlds her team just didn’t manage to make the perfect lead out train for her in the sprint.

What do you think about the Italian men’s tactic in the race?
I don’t think they did anything wrong. It’s a young team and not very easy for them to work together in the big races just yet. Still I think the Italian federation made the right choice in believing in the youth and in time that will pay off.

How about your plans for next year?
I only have one word; London. This is all I think about.

And one word to describe your 2011 season as well?
Humility, I didn’t start out very well, but I finished in a perfect way. I made some mistakes and I know that, so now I won’t make the same ones in the future.

Interview - Alexander Kristoff (Rider, BMC)

Alexander Kristoff is yet another future top rider coming out of Norway these years. His speed and characteristics gives him the perfect opportunities to become the next Norwegian top sprinter in the peloton. Coming from Joker - Bianchi to BMC this season, he will now join forces with Denis Galimzyanov at Katusha next year as a very strong and fast duo for the mass sprints.

Alexander. To start out, how will you describe your season this year?
I had an OK season. I was hoping to win some races this year and I only won 1 race (Nationals) so if you look at it that way it was not that successful. But feel I have grown as a rider since last year. I finished my first Grand Tour and got better results than last year with more top 5 results through the year.

Compared to last year, what has changed this year? Can you feel the improvement?
Generally, I feel stronger. I know a little bit more about how to work as a professional and how I can prepare myself better before the races.

In your opinion, what has been your best race this year?
It is always a good feeling to win so I have to say that my National Championship victory is the best this year. I also had a good period after my summer training with a 2nd and 3rd place in Tour de Wallonie followed by a 2nd place in Tour de Pologne.

You came very close to top3 spot on the Giro stage Gatto won, when Petacchi overtook you with a few centimeters. How will you describe your first Grand Tour experience?
It was a good experience when I look back. When I was there in the middle of all the mountains it was not very pleasant though. It was incredible hard! One day I had a total of 9 hours ride time with neutral and riding back to the bus. But I got some okay results in my first Grand Tour like that 4th place. You can always hope for more and if I had had a little bit of luck, maybe I would have ended 2nd on that stage, but that’s cycling.

When BMC announced the signing of Thor Hushovd, it only took you 10 days to announce your move to Katusha. Did the signing of Hushovd, as sprinter, have anything to do with your change of team?
No. I got the message from BMC, that I had to look for another team, right after the Giro, before I knew that Thor was coming to the team. It was nice of BMC to give me this message so early. That gave me the opportunity to start looking for other teams early on, and then it wasn’t a problem to find a new one. It would have been worse if I thought I could stay and then got the same message in September.

At BMC you were the main sprinter, but at Katusha they already have Galimzyanov. What will your role be at the Russian team?
I will have a meeting with Katusha in some days to figure out my calendar for next season. But I want to do one Grand Tour and some classics like Milano - San Remo. I will of course have to work with Galimzyanov and I look forward to help him in sprints - I think I can learn a lot from him. I also got signals from Katusha that they want to work with me as a sprinter and I will probably get my chances in other races where Galimzyanov is not racing or if he’s not in shape.

Is there a specific race on the 2012 calendar that you dream of winning?
When I was a kid I was dreaming about winning a stage in Tour de France, but to be more realistic I hope of winning more than one race next year. Maybe I can win a race like Vattenfall Classic, I have done this race 2 years now and I always felt good there. I will try to work hard this winter and be more prepared for the season opening, since I normally have a little bit of troubles getting started.

Despite only having a handful of riders in the peloton, Norway seems to produce one top sprinter after the other. What do you think the secret of this impressive tendency is?
Maybe, it’s how we are build or how we train. I am not sure, but it’s a fact that we have fast guys. This year we where 6 pro-riders and 3 of them are “sprinters” even though I have to say that Thor and Edvald are more than sprinters, they win many types of races.