Thursday, April 25, 2024

Tag: Giro d'Italia 2007

Danilo di Luca, to the victor, the spoils…

When Sci'Con set out to celebrate the victory of Danilo di Luca in the 2007 Giro d'Italia, what better way than with an all-pink Aerotech Evolution Art. 70 rigid bicycle case, produced as a single specimen colored to match the Giro d'Italia winner's jersey.

Giro d’Italia – Day 7: Stage 6, Tivoli – Spoleto

It's our last stage today, it's Friday morning and we're in Tivoli, headed for Spoleto. Yesterday was an up and down sort of day, although by the sixth grappa last night it seemed fine. We left our hotel (as featured in George A Romero's movie - Zombies, Dawn of the Dead) and headed for the stage start at Teano, we would never have found it if we hadn't tagged-on to the Mavic neutral service cars.

Giro d’Italia – Day 6: Stage 5, Teano – Frascati

Thursday 08.30, Caserta, Frascati. We're in Italy's answer to that hotel where Jack Nicholson lost the plot in 'The Shining'. Huge, empty corridors, plumbing and electrics that have a mind of their own, plus the world's most disinterested and rude staff - maybe they are zombies? Still, we were glad to lay our heads down here late last night: it was a long day.

Giro d’Italia – Day 5: Stage 4, Salerno – Montevergine Di Mercogliano

"Rest day", that's a misnomer right away. The ferry was late into Civitavecchia; we had to do a death march with our bags across town to get our Hertz car; then there was a 300 K drive south; the Permanence in Montevergine Di Mercogliano wasn't set-up (there were mountains of rubbish in the streets, so maybe it wasn't surprising) and to finish-off we had to pad the streets of Salerno until we found an internet cafe.

Liquigas in pink: First Gasparotto, then Di Luca, then Gasparotto again

The "Green Machine" took first place in last Saturday's team time trial that opened the 90th edition of the pink race. The first to cross the finish line in La Maddalena was the ex-Italian National Champion Enrico Gasparotto who took an unexpected pink jersey.

Giro d’Italia 2007 – Day 4: Rest Day

Giro d'Italia 2007, It's 05.00 hours, Tuesday, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, somewhere west of Civitavecchia - that's the sea port for Rome. "An ugly and forgettable port that's best avoided" according to the 'Rough Guide to Italy', so we won't be lingering here!

Giro d’Italia 2007 – Day 3: Stage 2, Tempio Pausania – Bosa

It's 06.30 on Monday morning and we're in Macomer, Tempio Pausania, Sardinia. It's going to be another beautiful day; there's not a cloud in the sky and the sun has begun its climb. Yesterday was one of those days that makes you realise, you only think you know about pro bike racing.

Giro d’Italia 2007 – Day 2: Stage 1, Caprera – La Maddalena (Team TT)

It's now 19.45 on Saturday evening, and we're sat in the car en route La Maddalena listening to The Pioneers, 'Let your yeah be yeah' - crucial, John. The ferry port at Maddalena is grid-locked, but we've got our reggae and a cold Dreher beer, so waiting for the ferry isn't so bad. We shared the ferry out with CSC and Saunier, but they are long-gone on the first ferry out. It's been a cracking day, weather and gig-wise.

Giro d’Italia 2007 – Day 1: Getting there

Giro d'Italia 2007. Sardinia is hot, damn hot, real hot, but our Peugeot 107 has air-con and a CD which plays John Hardie's 70's compilations just fine. It's 09.10 and we're north-bound to catch the ferry from Palau out to the island of Maddalena, where tomorrow's TTT takes place.

At Random

Michael Nicholson – “Racing Hard and Expecting Drama”

I wish I'd tried it; pals Dave, Ivan, Viktor, and our Editor Martin all did - save up your dough over the winter, take the ferry, doss in the cold little room in Gent. The ride out in the rain to the kermis, change in someone's parlour, the inevitable punctures and kickings, the phone call home from a payphone on Sunday night...

Memories of Jason MacIntyre

Six years ago Jason MacIntyre was fatally injured in a collision with a lorry whilst out for an easy ride around his home town of Fort William. Jason had won British Championships in a convincing manner and by doing so - and in the way he conducted himself on and off the bike - he had forced his way into the attentions of British Cycling.

John Archibald – “a four minute (Pursuit) effort is something I think I could be good at”

Season 2016 saw John Archibald record times of 50:07, 50:04 and 50:03 for 25 mile time trials - so a big goal for him was to dip below the magic 50 minutes. On Sunday past on the rolling dual carriageway between Brechin and Forfar he didn’t just dip inside the 30 miles per hour standard, he left it way behind with a stunning 47 minutes and 57 seconds ride. In the process he took 46 seconds off Graeme Obree’s 1994 record of 48:43; we just had to, ‘have a word.’

Talking About The Green

Talking About The Green. We're into the final couple of days prior to the big show starting, and I reckon it's time to throw my two cents into the prediction ring. I'll start with the green (or points) jersey-a jersey that two of the boys from Garmin have worn in the past two seasons, but which neither actually held. Wiggo and Millar both rode in the green jersey the day after the Prologue, yet neither was leading the points competition, which was lead by Fabian Cancellara, who happened to also be holding the yellow jersey, and so of course wore that on the day.

Le Tour de France 2013 – Stage 8: Castres > Ax3 Domaines, 194km. Froome Decimates the Race

Yesterday we alluded to the fact that a ‘break might stick’ and ‘Froome in yellow?’ We got the first one wrong but even we didn’t realise how spectacularly right we’d be on the second one finishing into Ax3 Domaines.

Commonwealth Games 2014 – Track, Day Two

Highlight of the day at the Commonwealth Games 2014 velodrome was without doubt the gold medal won by Neil Fachie and Craig MacLean in the Para B2 Tandem Kilo Time Trial. Going off last and fastest at every check, the pair were carried along by the enormous, ear-splitting roar from the full-capacity crowd, with lots of Scots but also a fair percentage of other nations too all voicing their support for the effort and spectacle.