No more previews in 2013

My preview of Sunday’s Il Lombardia was the last of its kind this year. My season is over and there won’t be any more previews here in 2013. I want to thank you all for reading during the season - I’m very happy for your kind words! Now I’ll take some days off and then I’ll start planning 2014.

For weekly cycling updates, be sure to follow me on Twitter at @mrconde. 

Thank you for a great season!

Mikkel

Paris-Nice: Favorites & Jokers

Right after the three Grand Tours we find Paris-Nice when we talk about the toughest races of the year. It’s still very early and eight days of cold weather, heavy wind and difficult climbs make it a hard race to win. 

Last year Bradley Wiggins came as the big favorite and won. This year it’s very open! Looking at the start list, I see at least four riders with an equal chance of winning. Let’s take a look at them.

Tejay van Garderen has already shown good shape in San Luis and despite the last time trial being on Col d’Eze and not a flat one, I would be very surprised not to see the young American on the final podium. BMC have a strong team of riders to protect TJ on the flat - and windy - stages and according to TJ himself he’s climbing very well these days. It will be difficult for TJ to stay with the pure climbers like Robert Gesink and Nairo Quintana on the final climb on stage 5, but he shouldn’t lose more than he can take back in the time trial. Of course he can’t afford to lose a minute or more, but if he can minimize his time lose to 30-45 seconds I think he’ll end up winning the race.

For Robert Gesink it’s the complete opposite scenario. He needs to gain as much time as possible on the climb and then hope its’ enough to keep strong time trialists like TJ, Talansky and Westra behind him in the GC. Blanco have sent a strong team to support Gesink and especially Kelderman and Kruijswijk will be vital on stage 5. Alberto Contador managed to distance number two (Fränk Schleck) with almost a minute on La Montagne de Lure  in 2009 and Gesink probably needs to do the same if he wants to win overall. Together with Nario Quintana he’s my favorite for the stage win that day, but will it be enough?

While TJ needs to minimize the gap on the climb and Gesink needs to minimize the gap on the time trial, I think Andrew Talansky could be the full package. Talansky is strong on the climbs and the uphill time trial suits him perfectly. He has had a great winter season and he always gets better when the rest of the field are getting tired. Talansky was less than a second from beating Bradley Wiggins in the time trial in Tour de Romandie last year and he distanced Robert Gesink on most of the tough climbs in the Vuelta. If Talansky comes to the last three stages without any bad luck or time losses, he will be very difficult to beat, I reckon.

If anybody can beat him though, it’s Lieuwe Westra. The Vancasoleil captain got a big breakthrough in Paris-Nice last year where he won on Mende and finished second on the Col d’Eze time trial (just two seconds behind Wiggins) and according to Westra he’s actually feeling stronger this year. The big question here is if Westra can keep up with the best on La Montagne de Lure. On a good day, he shouldn’t lose more time than he can get back in the time trial, but if he doesn’t have one of his best days, I’m afraid he can only fight for the lower spots on the podium.

The last couple of years I’ve been praising Rein Taaramae but being sick just a few weeks before the race, I doubt he will do much damage. That doesn’t mean Cofidis won’t be in the front though. Buying in new strong riders to help Alberto Contador, Team Saxo-Tinkoff couldn’t effort to keep Daniel Navarro at his current salary, so instead he went to try his luck as team leader of Cofidis. So far it’s been one of the best decisions in Navarro’s career as he has started out the season in a great way.  He stayed with the best on the climbs in Ruta del Sol where he finished 10^th overall and just a few days later he won Vuelta a Murcia. Navarro is not good in the wind, but if he can manage to position himself up front in the flat stages and come to mountain stage without a significant time loss I think he can do some real damage. The climbs in this race suits him very well and he really likes Col d’Eze too. Last year he surprise quite a few - myself included - when he finished 11^th on the that time trial and being a lot stronger this year and having to prove himself as team leader, I think Navarro is set for minimum top5 overall.

Before ending this preview, I would like to point out Nairo Quintana again. I know I already said it many times last year, but this guy is a future Grand Tour winner. He makes the toughest climbs look like nothing and I won’t hesitate to pick him to win stage 5. If Quintana really has a great day he can distance the rest of the field with about a minute on this stage and if he can attack Col d’Eze the same way he actually has a chance of winning this race overall. The way I see it, Nairo Quintana can either win Paris-Nice of end around top5-10. With strong time trialists like TJ, Talansky and Westra, winning might be too much to ask for, but I’m sure Quintana will show you why he needs to be mention among the race favorites.

As always, I have a few jokers too. First up is Ion Izagirre. The Basque fighter showed in the Giro last year that is to be taking seriously and he has started out this season in a very strong way. He finished 4^th overall in Tour Down Under and put it some strong attacks in Ruta del Sol where he ended 15^th overall. He can count on support from his brother Gorka and pure climber Mikel Nieve who also did well in Ruta del Sol. Izagirre is good in the short prologs and the climbs in Paris-Nice suit him just fine. He won’t win this race, but I’m sure you will notice him.

My second joker is Maxime Monfort. He was very close to winning Tour Med overall, but couldn’t keep up with Thomas Löfkvist on the steep climb. Monfort was also hit by the stomach flu that kept many riders from doing their best but I’m sure he will be ready for Paris-Nice. Last year he finished 7^th overall and despite a significant stronger field this year, I still think he will finishi in close to Top10. The big climb isn’t too steep for Monfort and the final time trial on Col d’Eze shouldn’t be too much for him either. Monfort is good against the clock and he’s never too far off on the climbs.

Like I wrote in the beginning, the field for Paris-Nice 2013 is very strong and the race very open! I think the winner will be one of the first four mentioned, but there is a large group of riders ready to challenge them. Here I’ll try to give my view on the final classification:

1. Tejay van Garderen

2. Andrew Talansky

3. Robert Gesink

4. Lieuwe Westra

5. Daniel Navarro

6. Nairo Quintana

7. Richie Porte

8. Jakob Fuglsang

9. Denis Menchov

10. Ion Izagirre

11. Michele Scarponi

12. Jean-Christophe Peraud

13. Maxime Monfort

14. Peter Velits

15. Rui Costa

16. Bart de Clercq

17. Gorka Izagirre

18. Mikel Nieve

19. Simon Spilak

20. Sylvain Chavanel

Exclusive Interview - Thomas Löfkvist (IAM Cycling)

Thomas Löfkvist.

Thomas Löfkvist has had an awful year on the bike in 2012 where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Now the Swedish rider, based in Switzerland, hopes that 2013 will bring more luck as he is set to lead out the new Swiss IAM Cycling team. 

Thomas, first of all, congratulation with the new contract with IAM. What made you pick IAM over the other teams interested in you?

Thanks a lot. My choice of IAM was something that evolved. I was in Geneva a couple of times to talk with the management. The important factor, which made me pick IAM in the end, was the way they wanted to build up the team and the enthusiasm Mr. Thetaz showed for the project.

You’ve just been at the first team camp in Geneva. How was your first impression of the team and your new team mates?

Yes, we were five days in Geneva to meet the team administration, to get our new bikes, new clothes and to spend some time getting to know each other. Last Friday we had a Christmas dinner with the whole IAM SA. I think it’s a great group of people and I went home with a very good “gut-feeling”.

How is IAM Cycling different from your previous teams?

IAM have a whole new structure meaning we are starting from scratch without any preconceived ideas about how things should be done. I was really surprised how open minded they are. That is especially thanks to Kjell Carlström who has brought many new ideas to the table.

Do you already know your race schedule for next year?

Well, I have received a preliminary schedule that will be focused on the one-week stage races and I’m very happy with that.

I guess Tour de Suisse and Tour de Romandie will be the two biggest goals for the team next year?

No doubts about that. With a Swiss sponsor Tour de Suisse and Romandie will be the team’s two main goals and that goes for me too. I have ambitions of showing off the IAM colors successfully in those races!

Which other races are you aiming at next year?

First of all the two Swiss stages races but also Tirreno-Adriatico in the spring. After that we will have to wait and plan the rest of the year.

What about this season? Is it best just to forget it or can you take anything positive with you from 2012?

I rather just forget this damn year. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.  I managed to time my peak perfectly for Tour de Suisse [Löfkvist’s big goal of this season], but that got ruined by my knee injury. Then I came back strong in the end of the season, but got hold up behind the big crash at the World Champions and in Emilia I was in the winning group when my derailleur broke. There is really nothing positive I can take with me from this year.

Looking at the future. IAM Cycling are hoping to do the Tour within a few years. Will that be with you as their team leader?

Well, my ambition of doing Top10 in a GC is still there, so I will keep on trying every time I can.

Last one. Since it’s Christmas and everything, what is your biggest wish for 2013?

A problem free year on the bike!

EXCLUSIVE - Gianni Savio wants to go ProTour

Gianni Savio at the Giro d'Italia 2012.

Team Manager of Androni Giocattoli, Gianni Savio, is no longer satisfied with his Italian team only being in cycling’s second division as a Pro-Continental team. The charismatic Italian plans to do what Mauro Gianetti and Joxean ‘Matxin’ Fernandez failed to accomplish last year when they went to Venezuela in order to save the crumbling GEOX team after the shoe company cancelled its sponsorship.

In the beginning of 2012, Gianni Savio -  who also acts as national coach for the Venezuelan cycling team - secured a deal with the South American government which meant the official team name in 2012 has been Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela. Building the team for 2013, Gianni Savio had to let go of three of his star riders when he couldn’t match the ProTour teams’ offers for Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale) and José Serpa and Roberto Ferrari (both Lampre) due to a small budget but if everything goes according to plan this won’t be a problem in the future.

“Right now I’m negotiating with the Venezuelan government about  the chances of upgrading the team to ProTour status. We talked about it at the Olympics this summer and in January I will fly to Caracas (the Venezuelan capital) to have another meeting about the project”, Gianni Savio tells C-Cycling and adds that it will probably take a couple of years until the ProTour team will be up and running.

“I think it will be difficult to have it all ready for 2014, but I hope that in 2015 it will be possible”.

You might ask yourself why Gianni Savio should be able to do what Gianneti and Matxin couldn’t. According to Savio, the answer is simple: “I know Venezuela. I know what is possible and what is not possible. They [Gianetti and Matxin] presented a project that simply wasn’t possible. I’m more realistic and that is also why I say 2015 and not 2014”.

Right now, Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela have 17 riders on contract for the next season and according to Gianni Savio the team will see a couple a new faces in the beginning of next year. “I think I will sign two or maybe three young Venezuelan riders in January. I think we have space for that”, he reveals.

In addition to the ProTour plan Gianni Savio will already lead a Venezuelan team with young riders from South America - helped out by a couple of his own riders - next year. “The Venezuelan government wants to invest in cycling and it would be good for the riders to come and try to race in Europe. I hope and think that this team will be ready next year.”, Gianni Savio explains.

A full interview with Gianni Savio will be online here on C-Cycling in the weekend. Stay tuned.

De la Fuente is running out of options

David de la Fuente wearing the polka
dot jersey in the Tour de France 2008.

David de la Fuente was one of the many riders without a team for 2012 when GEOX decided to stop their sponsorship last year and one year after de la Fuente finds himself in the same situation again.

Last year the Spanish climber managed to secure a contract with Caja Rural for this season but miscommunication and broken promises have put an end to that partnership. 

"As of today I have no team for next year", David de la Fuente tells 
C-Cycling and continues: "I have been talking with some teams but they are all already filled up for next year. The only thing I can say for sure is that I won't continue with Caja Rural. I was told I could prolong my contract, they gave me their word, but they didn't keep it and now I have to find another team."

David de la Fuente knows it won’t be easy to find a new

team but he hopes can manage as he feels that he still has something left in the tank.

"My situation is very complicated and things are generally not easy in today’s cycling but I hope there is a team who will give me a chance because I still feel I have a lot left in my legs", he assures.