Tag: Team Liquigas

We're in Seravezza. 'Sad news, Donna Summer has passed away' said the text from Martyn Frank. That news cast a shadow over a day of bright sunshine and hills. The start was down on the coast - it's not quite beach season, so it's not heaving yet.

I didn't make it up to the Phil Young memorial race this year, work got in the way. I need to get my values sorted out. I should put the memory of a friend before commercial activity, but when you are under client pressure to get a job finished, it is difficult. Phil had his priorities right, though: "the bike" was number one, and everything else was organised around that.

With the ink dry on our page of the Scottish National “10” Championship report and thoughts now turning to the ‘25’ we thought we best have a word with the medallists on what was a changeable but ultimately very rapid day.

There’s a great Spanish movie from 2001 starring Max von Sydow called ‘Intacto.’ The premise of the film is that for some people luck isn’t a matter of sheer chance; it’s a commodity which they possess and which they can trade – or steal. Argos fast man John Degenkolb may be one of them. Granted it wasn’t luck that he was actually in the group of 95 which contested the finish – which is more than can be said for Cav, Gavazzi, Goss and Modolo.

Nico Mattan was in the DFL team car with Evan at the Tour of Britain 2007, having his first taste of Kendal mint cake when I rang on Friday; we'll hear more wisdom from Nico later, but he did like the mint cake. Nico does love his beer. He DNF'd today, so will likely be home enjoying a lovely cold Leffe Blonde as you read this.

The strangest stage of the whole race from the point of view of the staff is the finale into Paris. Our team base is in northern Spain, and so all non-essential equipment went from Bordeaux back to Spain (rather than go to Spain from Bordeaux via Paris — a 1200km detour). Thus we were truckless (or untrucked?) for the only time in the race. Very Tardy.