Tour de France 2009, Departure of the 14th stage:

Tour de France 2009

Departure of the stage 14: Colmar-Besançon

Saturday July 18^th 2009

Saturday morning, it’s 8 o’clock and I’m in my bed. Oh no!!! My mother wakes me up… I’m so tired and I just want to sleep. But I remember why she is waking me up: today we go to Colmar to see the departure of the 14^th stage of the Tour de France.

Ok, I hurry up. I wear a t-shirt, jeans and Converse - simple and comfortable.

In the car, on the radio they speak about the last stage and about this mad person who shoots a gun at the riders. At that moment, I think that there are people who are really, really stupid.

I arrive in Colmar at 9.30am. I’m so excited; it’s been a long time since I’ve last seen a race.

Too bad, it’s raining. Then I walk to a hotel. Unfortunately, no teams are there, just journalists.

I’m on the starting line. I had forgotten that the Tour de France was so big.Whoa!

I find a place with no people around so that I can see the riders when they sign in. Behind me is the “Village Départ” and in front of me there are the team cars.

Let’s go! The first rider to arrive is Mikhail Ignatiev.

For now, the atmosphere is still calm. I can see Laurent Jalabert; Christian Prudhomme; Raymond Poulidor; Bernard Thevenet; and the Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterand.

There are more and more riders coming. My mother is asking “Who’s this one? You like him?” every two minutes. But the ones that I really like aren’t there yet.

Amongst the riders that I see there are Thor Hushovd, Fabian Wegmann and Daniele Bennati. Many French riders are passing: Lefèvre, Dessel, Lequatre, Bonnet, Haddou and Brice Feillu.Suddenly, we hear a lot of noise. "Oh!" ;Riders from Saxo Bank: Fabian Cancellara, Nicki Sorensen and Jens Voigt. Just after, Andy Schleck. And it’s not finished yet: there is a big ovation in the stands. I’m wondering for whom. Of course… Lance Armstrong. I thought that he was not so popular in France but no, people love him. He has a bodyguard. This guy has class. Really. A few minutes after him, Alberto Contador arrives. But now, it’s another atmosphere. People hiss him. I don’t understand why, even if you don’t like him (which is not my case), a little bit of respect is not that difficult…The riders that I wanted to see are gone. There is the yellow jersey Rinaldo Nocentini who arrives and… his wife who runs after him.

Twelve o’clock - the riders depart. There are some of them who are late, like Mark Cavendish. And it’s over; everybody is gone.

I hope that the Tour de France returns close to my home soon…

-Written by Delphine (delphsworld.tumblr.com)

Delphine is a supporter who lives in France, near the border with Switzerland and Germany. She has been a cycling fan since the last victory of Lance Armstrong in 2005. After that, she started watching the races on TV and if one comes near her home, she goes. Her favourite riders are Jakob Fuglsang, Fabian Cancellara and the Schleck brothers. Besides cycling, Delphine likes shopping and fashion.

Giro Donne 2010, 2nd and 3rd stage:

The hot weather, the efforts, the beautiful girls, the Maglia Rosa, the 'Have you already closed the road? If not, can I pass, please?', Tatiana Guderzo suffering under the sun, Lorenzo Roata's sandals...

2nd and 3rd stage of Giro Donne, seen from my point of view (sorry for the length, I understand you if you don't read the whole post!)

What does it mean to be a cyclist nowadays?

I'd like to ask this question to a girl. But not one of the girls who rides their bikes just once in a while. In fact, I'd like to ask this question to a girl who chooses cycling as a job.

How many things could we understand from a chat with a girl like that? How many good tales would we get from it? One day, I'd like to have one of these girls for me (I don't mean it in the naughty way!), so that I could ask her many things about what it's like to be a professional cyclist in the female peloton. SACILE-RIESE PIO X, 3rd of July 2010, Saturday Riese Pio X welcomes me again just one week after the Italian Championships. The car parking is the same as the previous time, also the finish-line is in the same place. Is the weather the same? No! This time it is even worse: it's so hot that we seem to be in an oven!

It's late in the morning and I take a look around. Men are working hard, I take some pictures and then I look for a place where I can eat something. I stop at a crossroad when a man asks me where he can find more information about the Giro Donne stages. I tell him where the finish-line of this stage is; I tell him that the athletes will face 3 laps before the final sprint; and I tell him when the race is supposed to end. Three steps later, I'm stopped again, this time by an old woman. She asks me what race is that; at what time the riders arrive; and if the road is closed. I answer her as well as I can and then I say goodbye. While I'm doing this, a younger woman stops her car next to me and asks me whether I can let her pass on the road. 'Listen, could you please let me pass? Or have you already closed the road down there?'. I had two chances: telling her a lie ('Of course you can pass, as long as you drive slowly there are no problems, if you want you can ask my colleagues - colleagues?!? Which colleagues?!? - whether they can let you pass, I'm sure they will help you!') or I can confess to her that I have nothing to do with the race organisation. I go for the first option and viva il ciclismo! After asking two people for advice, I find a nice place where I can eat. It isn't a great restaurant, but it isn't bad either. Also the price is good and the lunch is put away fast, accompanied by a glass of wine. After lunch, the sun is terrible. I turn on my mobile phone and I get two messages from my friend Alessandro: he's at sea, while I'm in Riese, the sun is killing me and I'm the only one on the streets. Actually, there is a cat together with me. It's under a tree and it watches me in a very specific way. Here comes the carovana; it's almost two o'clock and the few people who have appeared on the roads start getting excited. I can't understand why, since Tatiana Guderzo hasn't arrived yet. Lorenzo Roata, RAI's journalist, is on the other side of the road, next to a barrier. He's terribly sweaty, talks with two colleagues and he drinks a 0.5 liter water bottle in 10 seconds. He wears elegant sandals, Franciscan style. Don Lorenzo disappears before reappearing 20 minutes later; ready for the interviews with a new, clean shirt; a boss-style look; sunglasses and a cigar that produces more smoke than a car that breaks its motor during a F1 race. You actually can't see Roata - you can just see a cloud of smoke! At the first lap of the race the cyclists are more in number than the viewers; at the second lap, the viewers are almost as many in number as the girls; at the third, the viewers haven't reached the numbers of the racers and the sun is killing me. At the second lap, the bell rings and Brunello Fanini gets very nervous and excited when he sees one of his girls at the head of the race. Hey, Brunello, take it easy! There's still a lap to go! At the third lap there's the sprint, Teutenberg wins, but she can't raise her arms because Giorgia Bronzini is immediately behind her. During the podium ceremony, however, it's Giorgia the one who wins her own special stage: she gives her flowers to an old person in a wheel-chair, with which she also has a photo taken. Maglia rosa! A step back: After the arrival of the first girls, the other cyclists seem to have disappeared. Where are they? The news eventually arrives: there has been a terrible crash right after the '1 km to go' mark.

The girls arrive in little groups. If the time hadn't been neutralised with 3 kms to go, Tatiana Guderzo would have lost almost a minute from Ina-Yoko Teutenberg! Miss Gruppo, Monia Baccaille, crosses the finish-line while she pedals with just one leg: the other is too sore. Then we hear the name of Rochelle Gilmore and we see other girls arriving with their knees covered in blood.

In the evening we see the race on tv: a bad crash, ten girls down and the peloton is broken in two parts. I take my last pictures and I start to wait for the following day - that will be even hotter. BIADENE DI MONTEBELLUNA, 4th of July, Sunday; A super-hot day. 4 kms out of Biadene, in order to park in the best possible place, I start to follow the team car of Columbia, which has riders like Cantele, Teutenberg and Arndt who are all trying the parcours together. I grab the occasion and, thanks to the presence of Columbia's car, I can pass at the stops, since the traffic agents stop the traffic for the girls and their team car (and for us, who are following them). I follow the team until the finish-line, so that I can drive even when other people can't and so that I can park in the best possible place, 200 meters away from the finish-line. Many, too many girls (Guderzo included) don't wear helmets during their trainings. Warm weather doesn't justify stupidity. After walking through the town for some time, I have a pizza for company at midday. In the meanwhile, the race has already started. The girls ride as fast as missils also thanks to the last meters, which are slightly downhill. At 1.30 pm we go towards the finish-line, where we can take pictures of the girls while they're relaxing. Don Lorenzo still wears the same sandals of the previous day;, Edita Pucinskaite seems unable to stop chatting; the other girls, haunted by the warm weather, look for shelter under the trees, which aren't many. The last girls arrive and then the podium ceremony begins. Tatiana Guderzo spends some time chatting with a supporter, who had told her to give him her champagne bottle after the podium. 'No, I'll keep it for me and I'll drink it veeery slowly!', she answers him. Tell me if this girl isn't amazing! Then everyone starts complaining because, just like the day before, Marianne Vos has disappeared right before the podium ceremony. She eventually arrives (just in time to not get a fine) and all the best riders start chatting under a big gazebo. Guderzo looks more tired than the other girls and she chats with the supporters rather than with Vos, Teutenberg, Wild and Arndt (Tatiana, English is useful!). Finally, we can take some pictures. Then, it's time to go. Before going back to the car, we stop at a bar. Supporters and relatives of Guderzo start arriving, looking for a cool place.

Marianne Vos is outside, alone, waiting for her team car. Luckily they pick her up after a few minutes, otherwise she would have melted because of the heat.

After two minutes, while we're waiting at a bar table, here she comes, calm and warmed by the sun. The Angelo Azzurro arrives with a big rucksack. I'd like to have a few words with Tatiana, but I'm too tired. A picture with a boy and then she runs to the bathroom in order to change her clothes. When she reappears, they ask whether she wants to drink something refreshing. 'No, please!', she answers. You can tell from her face that she's melting and she's looking forward to having a shower (the second one of the day, probably).

When I get back to the car, Biadene is hot and a desert. Before leaving the car park, I meet the relatives of the world champion and I stop a minute with them because I want to ask them information about the classification and about the condition of the rider from Marostica.

Then it's time to say goodbye to Biadene, to Treviso and to the Giro. Will we see each other in 2011? Perhaps not, because the organisers want to take the race to the South next year. One year in the North and one in the South, a year for me and one for you. But even this time the adventure has been great, although the organisers could have done better if they had put in a slightly bigger effort. But that's an old story and I'll talk about it another time.

-Written by Manuel

Manuel is an Italian man who lives in Feltre and loves cycling. He often goes out riding and he follows both men and women cycling. On his blog, http://ciclismopst.blogspot.com/, he often talks about races, he comments on cycling news and he gives his opinions about different topics (doping and the poor attention that the media gives to women's cycling, for example). He also writes nice stories about his training rides and about 'natural cycling', the one in which you don't need vitamins or things like that, but just a tasty roll and a glass of wine. In case you hadn't understood it yet, his favourite rider is Tatiana Guderzo. You can find the Italian version of this post here.

Manuel è un tifoso italiano che vive a Feltre. Si allena spesso in sella alla sua 'Specialissima' e segue il ciclismo sia maschile che femminile. Sul suo blog, http://ciclismopst.blogspot.com/ , parla delle corse più importanti, commenta le ultime notizie ed esprime le sue opinioni riguardo a vari fatti (casi di doping e la scarsa attenzione che viene prestata al ciclismo femminile, ad esempio). Inoltre, Manuel scrive ottime storie sui suoi allenamenti e sul ciclismo 'naturale', quello in cui si va a pane e a salame, senza dover ricorrere ad integratori e robaccia simile. Se non l'avevate ancora capito, la sua ciclista preferita è Tatiana Guderzo.

Puoi trovare la versione italiana di questo post cliccando qui .

La Vuelta a Drenthe.

August 29, 2009 - Assen.

It's a typical Dutch day when I visit the prologue of La Vuelta 2009. The sun is peeking through the grey clouds. A soft breeze blows through my hair, but any Dutch person knows it could be raining by the end of the day. I don't want to think about that and forget to pack my umbrella.

The hectic day begins at the train station of Assen. When I arrive, tons of people are waiting for the special buses to bring them to the TT course. I didn't know so many people loved cycling too!

To refresh your memory, the Vuelta started in a 'remote' part of the Netherlands, called Drente. `Remote´ makes it sound like there are no people, but what I mean is that there is no big city like Amsterdam (Giro) or Rotterdam (Tour) nearby. Assen itself is not that big. The prologue was held at the famous auto racetrack called TT Circuit Assen.

In the bus to the TT, we were in a huge traffic jam. Next to us, on the other lane, was the Astana bus. Everyone was trying to see something but unfortunately, the windows were blinded. The driver of the Astana bus looked very pissed. They were probably late and weren't expecting to end up in a traffic jam with all the normal people. Then it was time to get off the bus and walk to the TT parcours.

It was the first time I had ever visited a race, so I didn't know where to go. I took a friend with me, but she didn't know anything about cycling at all. So we just followed the crowd. We got a Vacansoleil hat, a Vuelta pen and some other goodies. We walked to the buses and stopped at the SaxoBank bus. They had a great line up, with Fabian, Andy, Frank and Jakob. I had seen pictures of people visiting TT's where all the bikes were standing next to the bus with the riders doing their warm up... But I saw no bikes, no riders. We left and walked to the tribunes and tried to find a good seat. The race had already started!

The best seats were taken by VIPs or lucky winners of a ticket for those seats. We took a seat near the last corner before the finish. It was a tricky corner, so most of the riders slowed down. So we could see them quite well. On the other side of the road was a big screen which made it possible to see the race on TV as well.

My friend had a great camera, so she was busy taking pictures of all the riders. I tried it too, but the riders were too far away. It was busy on the tribunes. It surprised me how many people came to watch this race. Soon I realized that most of those people didn't know anything about cycling. They were just there because something was happening in their region. Finally. It was nice to see how they enjoyed it. Whenever there was a Dutch guy riding by, they got very enthusiastic and they started to clap their hands and cheer for them.

When one of the Schleck brothers was riding, a buzz was going among the people. It's a Schleck brother! Who? Schleck! Yeah they're good! Oh okay.. Slek, you say? Yeah! Schleck! He's good!
Unfortunately, my thoughts earlier that day were right. Rain. The clouds were gathering... And the rain started to fall. Suddenly, everyone took their umbrellas and the whole tribune was covered with umbrellas and nice colors. Except me and my friend. We felt stupid. But, the riders were getting wet too! So we were not alone. The road got extremely slippery. All the riders needed to slow down a lot, because of that tricky corner. To my surprise, not many riders crashed. The rain stopped and the road could dry a little.
When the last ten men started, I had to pee so badly. I missed Tom Boonen riding the best time so far. Stupid me. Let's say it was my first race, so beginners mistake.

After that, we didn't want to walk all the way back to our seats, so we had a look at the VIP tribune. No one checked to see if we were allowed to go there, so we just went there. The atmosphere was great. The riders started and finished right before us. We were just standing next to all the other people, because of course there were no seats. At this place we could see Fabian Cancellara starting and finishing. Simply great, he's a machine. So smooth.. He won the race eventually!

After the race, everyone went back home immediately. I suggested watching the ceremony, and Fabian in his golden jersey. My friend had to go home, so I had to go with her. Deep in my mind, I didn't care. The rain made all my clothes wet. And I really mean ALL my clothes. We managed to jump in the first bus that brought us back to the train station. Oh what a lovely feeling to be in a warm bus. Then I knew how do the riders feel after a day in the rain.

- Written by Mar.

The Milan stage of Giro 2009:

The start of a cycling stage is like an ancient, holy ceremony. From the formal point of view, races always start in the same way: there's a little stage, the riders arrive there one by one or in little groups, get off their bikes, write their names on a sheet of paper and then they hop on their saddles again, ready for the long day of work that is patiently waiting for them.
However, don't let appearances fool you. In reality, although the ritual is always the same, the start of a cycling race is always unique. On some mornings, the weather is cold and the riders don't feel like smiling. Other times, the sun is shining and the day's task is going to be easy, so the riders chat and have fun together. On some occasions instead, they know that they have some steep climbs waiting for them. In that case, the athletes look concentrated, focused. Some of them cross themselves in a religious way before the start. Others try to hide their nervousness by chatting with the other guys. Some start calculating the time limit. A few, the most confident grimpeurs, talk with the journalists and announce that they're ready to fight for the victory.
Every day of the race is unique, just like the atmosphere at the start. It always seems the same, but it is never equal to the one of the day before

On the 17th May 2009, as I made my way towards Piazza Duomo in Milan, the atmosphere at the start of the 9th stage of the Giro was calm, relaxed, even joyful. The sun was shining, the tourists and the milanesi were enjoying a rare day without cars in the center of the town and the riders were happy because the first tough week of the Giro del Centenario was finally over. Said week had presented some tough stages, like the ones ending in Alpe di Siusi and in San Martino di Castrozza. As a consequence, after just 7 days of racing, the Maglia Rosa was already on the shoulders of Danilo Di Luca, one of the fiercest contenders for the overall victory.
The Milano stage was supposed to be a very calm and relaxing one. The riders would have to face different laps of a 11.6 km long circuit. Then after about 14 laps on this flat terrain, the sprinters would finally be able to fight for glory in the last few meters. Amongst the possible stage winners there were guys like Cavendish, Farrar and Petacchi, 'fast wheels' used to showing their brevity all around the world.

As soon as I arrived in Piazza Duomo, I was surprised to see it transformed in a kind of 'Piazza Giro'. A big, pink stage had been built on one side of the square and, when I made my triumphal entrance in the piazza, Cipollini was there speaking with a journalist. Immediately after Cipollini, it was Paolo Bettini's turn to use the microphone. At the time, Bettini had just retired from racing, so I found it strange to see him wearing usual clothes at the start of a Giro stage.

After meeting a friend, my family and I could find a nice place where we could watch the riders arrive on the square one after another. Pozzato arrived together with a journalist and he looked very relaxed, just like most of the other guys.HTC Columbia riders arrived all together, without leaving us the time to check the numbers on their jerseys in order to recognize them.
The only one who arrived alone was Thomas Lovkvist, who was wearing his well-deserved white jersey. My mother had asked him for an autograph, but he didn't stop when he saw her. Perhaps he didn't understand what she wanted from him or perhaps he didn't want to be bored by supporters already at the start of the stage. However, the girls of the family forgave him after a few seconds. In fact, when my sister told him, 'Bravo Thomas!' he turned his head towards her and smiled in an adorable way. No female creature in the vicinity could ignore such cuteness.

Also Saxo Bank riders arrived at the start all together. Jens Voigt said something to a German supporter next to me, but I couldn't understand what they had said (something hilarious, since they both laughed).

Armstrong arrived together with some policemen (as usual...), while an Italian rider of Fuji Servetto, while riding in front of me, said, 'Minchia, pavé!' ('Fuck, cobblestones!'). The funniest thing was that he wasn't even riding on cobblestones.... But perhaps the poor boy had some bad memories of the previous stage, during which the riders had to face Bergamo's cobblestones (which actually aren't as tricky as Paris-Roubaix's ones).

When the last rider (Armstrong) had arrived to the start, the race began. The atmosphere was very relaxed in the peloton and during the first laps Simoni and Basso even found the time to wave at two girls who were cheering for them.

During the afternoon, however, my family and I started to realize that the atmosphere was even more relaxed than usual in the peloton. Then, all of a sudden, the peloton stopped. There was a big TV screen in front of us and I saw Di Luca taking a microphone and starting to talk. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear what he was saying. A Rabobank car had stopped right in front of me and I could see the same scene on the little TV behind the passenger seat. A mechanic got out of the car for unknown reasons, but I was too shy to ask him what was going on.

However, the peloton soon started racing again. At 4 pm, anyway, they still had a lot of laps to do. I phoned home and found out what was going on: the riders had started a strike because they thought that the stage parcours wasn't safe enough. My dad was pretty pissed off at the news, but I was too euphoric to care about it.
Eventually, my family and I found a spot that wasn't very crowded near the finish-line (and right in front of the team buses). We went there to watch the two final laps of the race.
Katiusha's bus was right behind us. After the riders had ridden in front of us for the last time (Basso wasn't in the main group, but his time was going to be neutralized because of the strike), some fans went there (to the bus) to see the final sprint (which was won by Cavendish). As well as watching the sprint, I could take a glimpse of the inside of the bus, which looked very comfortable.
After watching the sprint on team Katusha's TV, my family ran to Columbia's bus (that you can see here)... ...while I ran to Saxo Bank's one. Saxo was my favorite team at the time and I was looking forward to meeting some of my favorite riders (Voigt and Cancellara) for the first time in my life.
As you can see in the photo below, right outside the team bus there was a little table with some nuts and crisps on it. In fact, the area around the bus got really crowded immediately after the finish of the stage and some lucky people could even go over the barriers and chat with the riders. The snacks were probably organized for those special supporters and a man with a lot of little rolls soon made his appearance on the scene.

Fabian Cancellara was one of the first riders to arrive at the bus. A boy asked for his gloves (in Italian) and Fabian replied by saying, "I'll give them to you if you give me 50 euros". He said it in a really funny way, with a smile on his face, and everyone started to laugh. After putting his bike next to the bus, the Swiss rider started to talk with the mechanic. He was speaking German and he said something about his bike wheel. Then he added something about the parcours (if I understood correctly, he mentioned the tram tracks) and he got on the bus in order to take a shower.
In the meantime, Jens Voigt had also arrived at the bus and he immediately started to sign autographs for the supporters. He was very nice with everyone and, when a woman told him about a bike crash that one of his friends had had, Jens looked very sorry to hear about it. After making sure that everyone had got his autograph, Voigt finally got on the bus to take a quick shower.

One after the other, Bak, Klostergaard, Lund, Van Goolen and Goss reached the team bus. When Cancellara got off it, he started talking with Riis and with other people. Once in a while he would pay attention to the supporters who were screaming his name and he would sign a few autographs.

At a certain point Lars Bak walked towards the supporters with lots of photos of him in his hand. He gave one of them to each fan outside the bus and then he signed them all. He eventually forgot whose pen he was using, so he tried to give it to me (he eventually remembered that the pen was actually his).

After having signed autographs for everyone, Jens Voigt started to look around and, at a certain point, he came up to me. At the time I was still waiting for Cancellara to sign an autograph for me (or even just look in my direction), but Jens probably thought that I was waiting for him to write his name on the little note-book that I had in my hands. However, when he approached me, I told him (in German) that he had already signed an autograph for me and I thanked him again for that. Then I asked him whether I could have a picture taken with him. In fact, Jens is one of my favorite riders and I consider him one of the best sportsmen in the world, from the human point of view.

15 minutes after the photo was taken, I finally managed to get the autograph from Cancellara. I was sooo happy!!! Then, when the Saxo Bank guys eventually started to get prepared to go away, I went to meet my family near Columbia's bus.
In the meanwhile, my sister had taken some good pictures there. For example, here you have Michael Rogers talking with a supporter.Below instead there is Edvald Boasson-Hagen being interviewed by Norwegian TV. It was his birthday that day and so the journalist (a cute girl - that's what my mother told me) gave him a big birthday cake. All the fans noticed he was very embarrassed. In fact he blushed red and spoke in a very shy way to the reporters.

Of course, my sister also took a pic of her hero, Thomas Lovkvist. Unfortunately, she took the photo when Lovkvist had just started to walk towards the bus, so you can just see his back in it.
However, in spite of the low quality of her pic, my sister was on cloud-nine because she had eventually managed to see Thomas, to tell him 'Bravo!', to take a picture of him and to ask him whether he could sign her an autograph. He eventually agreed and my sister has always kept that little autograph-copybook next to her bed since that day.

Actually, it wasn't that easy to get Thomas' autograph.

In fact, my sister said that he had taken a strange path in order to get to the bus and so he had almost got on it without being noticed by the supporters who were waiting for him (my family and a couple of Swedish supporters). Anyway, the tifosi were more cunning than him and they waited for Lovkvist right in front of the bus' entrance, so that he had to stop with them for a few minutes if he wanted to get on the bus.

As soon as I rejoined my family, they also told me a nice story about Konovalovas, a young rider of Cervélo, who at the time hadn't won anything important yet. Ignatas was very nice with my mother, since he gave her a pic of his, a pic of Marcel Wyss and also a big poster of the team as a present. Then he signed his own picture. How nice!

Another nice rider was Silence-Lotto's Francis De Greef. He probably had to face the anti-doping after the race, so he arrived in the bus zone when his team bus had already left. He started to look for his shoes inside the team car, while his DS made a sign towards my family and I. We were the only supporters left in the area and the DS had a water bottle that he didn't need anymore. Therefore, he gave it to us. When I got the water bottle, I also asked Francis (a young and promising rider who did very well in that year's Giro) for an autograph and he really seemed surprised and pleased in that moment.

Amongst the last riders to arrive in the bus area, there was also Mark Cavendish, the stage winner.
We supporters (there were just 6 people waiting for the British rider) congratulated him on his victory and then one boy told him, "I'm your friend on Facebook!". Cav looked a bit thoughtful and surprised, then he said (In Italian), "No io. E'...American." ("It's not me. That guy is an American"). Then he agreed to take a picture with us supporters.

Then, while we were walking away from the bus area, we had a final surprise: in fact we saw Basso, riding fast towards us. The other supporters called him and he stopped to talk with them in a very kind and polite way. He signed autographs, accepted congratulations, had some photos taken and then he rode away, apologizing to us (!) for being in a terrible hurry. So, this was my experience at the Milan stage of Giro 2009, the infamous 'strike stage' of the Giro del Centenario. Supporters were said to be extremely angry at the riders but personally, I don't think that that day was a complete waste of time. OK, the race wasn't that exciting, but during it I could recognize many riders. Moreover, I could witness such a rare episode live. And then at the start and at the end of the stage, the riders were really kind with the supporters and they paid us back for our patience.

Here is the Top 10 of that stage and the general classification as it stood after the first 9 stages of the 2009 Giro:
Top 10:
1. Mark Cavendish
2. Allan Davis
3. Tyler Farrar
4. Matthew Brandt
5. Alessandro Petacchi
6. Robert Foerster
7. Robbie Hunter
8. Davide Viganò
9. Said Haddou
10. Thomas Fothen

General classification after 9 stages:
1. Danilo Di Luca
2. Thomas Lovkvist
3. Michael Rogers
4. Levi Leipheimer
5. Denis Menchov
6. Ivan Basso
7. Carlos Sastre
8. Christopher Horner
9. Franco Pellizotti
10. David Arroyo

Written by Fede

Welcome to Bananas About Bikes!

WELCOME TO BANANAS ABOUT BIKES!

A whole new concept in cycling blogging is born. This blog cannot be compared to any other cycling blog. We are new, we are refreshing, we are bananas!
But what exactly are we? This is a blog behind the scenes of cycling. It's not about the latest news, it's about the experiences of fans behind the scenes. It's about the tales of cycling lovers who visit races. It's about what they saw during the races. Most cycling blogs talk about the races they see on TV. We want to talk about the races we see on the street. Before the start, behind the barriers and after the finish.
The blog is controlled by a group of fangirls from all over the world. But we need you too! We will visit races, we will write reports, but we can't be everywhere. This blog is also for you, and your experiences at the races. You can write reports; send us pictures. Everything is welcome. We love track cycling, MTB and women's cycling too! Don't hesitate, you can send it to us in almost every language! Take a look at the "Who Are We?" tab to read more about the moderators and their languages.

If you're interested, email us at bananasaboutbikes@gmail.com

If you hesitate, feel free to ask us more!

BENVENUTI SULLA PAGINA WEB DI BANANAS ABOUT BIKES!

Una grande novità è appena stata introdotta nell'universo dei blog dedicati al ciclismo. Questo blog non può essere paragonato a nessun altro. Siamo una novità, siamo innovative, siamo 'bananas'!

Ma cosa siamo esattamente? Questo è un blog dedicato ai 'dietro le quinte' del ciclismo. Non vogliamo pubblicare delle notizie in generale, ma vogliamo pubblicare i resoconti delle vostre esperienze al seguito delle corse. Vogliamo permettervi di leggere i racconti di persone che hanno visto alcune competizioni dal vivo. Vogliamo parlarvi di cosa hanno visto durante la gara. La maggior parte dei blog di ciclismo parla delle corse viste in tv. Noi vogliamo parlarvi delle corse viste dalla strada. Prima della partenza, da dietro le transenne, dopo l'arrivo.

Questo blog è gestito da un gruppo di tifose provenienti da tutto il mondo. Ma abbiamo bisogno anche di te! Noi amministratrici saremo alle corse, scriveremo i nostri racconti, ma non potremo arrivare ovunque. Questo blog è anche per te e per le tue esperienze da tifoso. Puoi mandarci le tue storie, puoi inviarci delle foto. Ci va bene tutto. Amiamo le corse su pista, la mountain bike, il ciclocross e il ciclismo femminile! Non esitare, puoi mandarci una mail in qualsiasi lingua! Dài un'occhiata alla pagina "Who Are We?" per saperne di più sulle moderatrici e sulle lingue che parlano. Io sono Fede e mi occupo delle traduzioni dall'italiano all'inglese (e viceversa).

Se sei interessato al nostro progetto, mandaci una mail (anche in italiano) a bananasaboutbikes@gmail.com .

Se hai dei dubbi, non essere timido: scrivici per avere maggiori informazioni!

VELKOMMEN TIL BANANAS ABOUT BIKES!

Et helt nyt koncept inden for blogs om cykling er født. Denne blog kan ikke sammenlignes med nogen anden blog om cykling. Vi er nye, vi er forfriskende, vi er bananas!

Men hvad er vi helt præcis? Dette er en blog, der går bag om cykling. Den handler ikke om de sidste nyheder, den handler om fans' oplevelser bag kulisserne. Den handler om cykelelskeres fortællinger fra løb. Den handler om, hvad de oplever under løbene. De fleste blogs om cykling fortæller om de løb, de har set i fjernsynet. Vi vil fortælle om de løb, vi ser på vejene. Før starten, bag barriererne og efter løbet.

Bloggen er styret af en gruppe fans fra hele verden. Men vi har også brug for dig! Vi vil tage til løb, vi vil skrive beretninger, men vi kan ikke være alle steder. Denne blog er også for dig og dine oplevelser under løb. Du kan skriver beretninger, sende os billeder. Alt er velkomment. Vi elsker også banecykling, MTB og kvindecykling! Tøv ikke, du kan sende fortællinger til os i næsten alle sprog. Se under "Who Are We?" for at læse om administratorerne og hvilke sprog de taler.

Hvis du er interesseret, kan du sende os en mail til bananasaboutbikes@gmail.com

Hvis du er i tvivl, er du velkommen til at spørge om mere!

BIENVENIDOS A BANANAS ABOUT BIKES!

Nace un concepto totalmente nuevo en el universo de los blogs dedicados al ciclismo. Éste blog no se puede comparar con ningún otro blog ciclista. Nosotras somos una novedad, somos originales, ¡somos 'bananas'!
¿Pero qué somos exactamente? Éste blog va detrás de las cámaras. No trata de las novedades de última hora, sino de las experiencias de los fans en vivo y en directo. Nosotras queremos contaros las historias de los aficionados quienes han estado en el epicentro. Queremos relataros lo que han visto durante la carrera. La gran mayoría de los blogs ciclistas hablan de las carreras que ven en la tele. Nosotras, por otro lado, queremos hablar de las carreras que hemos visto en la calle. Antes de la salida, detrás de las líneas y después de la llegada.

Éste blog está hecho por un grupo de fans de todo el mundo. ¡Pero a ti también te necesitamos! Nosotras iremos a las carreras y escribiremos nuestros relatos, pero no podemos estar en todas partes. Éste blog es también para ti y para tus experiencias y historias. Puedes escribir informes, mandar fotos. Todo es aceptable. También nos gusta ciclismo en pista, de montaña y el ciclismo femenino. ¡No dudes, puedes escribirnos en cualquier idioma! Echa un vistazo a la página de “Who We Are” para saber más sobre las moderadoras y sus idiomas.

Si te interesa nuestro proyecto, mándanos un e-mail en bananasaboutbikes@gmail.com

Si aún tienes dudas, ¡no tardes en aclararlas!


WELKOM BIJ BANANAS ABOUT BIKES!
Er is een nieuw concept geboren in de wereld van het wielerbloggen. Deze blog kan met geen enkele andere blog worden vergeleken. We zijn nieuw, we zijn verfrissend, we zijn 'bananas'!
Maar wat zijn we precies? Dit is een blog achter de schermen van het wielrennen. Het gaat niet om de laatste nieuwtjes, het gaat om de ervaringen van de fans achter de schermen. Dit zijn de verhalen van de wielerfanaten die de wedstrijden bezoeken. Het gaat om wat zij gezien hebben. Het is dus niet zoals de meeste blogs, over wat er op tv te zien was. We schrijven over de wedstrijd zoals die op straat te zien was. Voor de start, achter de dranghekken en na de finish.
Deze blog wordt beheerd door een groepje fans van over de hele wereld. Maar we hebben jou ook nodig! Wij zullen naar wedstrijden gaan, wij zullen er over schrijven, maar wij kunnen niet overal zijn. Deze blog is ook voor jou en jouw ervaringen. Jij kan ook een verslag schrijven of foto's insturen. Alles is welkom. We houden ook van baanwielrennen, MTB of dames wielrennen! Twijfel niet, je kunt je stukje in bijna elke taal insturen. Neem ook een kijkje bij 'Who We Are' om meer te lezen over de auteurs en de talen die ze spreken.
Als je geïnteresseerd bent, mail dan naar bananasaboutbikes@gmail.com
Als je twijfelt of meer wilt weten, stuur dan ook een mailtje!

WILLKOMMEN AUF BANANAS ABOUT BIKES!
Ein ganz neues Konzept in der Welt des Radsportblogs ist geboren. Dieser Blog kann mit keinem anderen Blog verglichen werden, denn wir sind neu, wir sind erfrischend, wir sind „BANANAS“!

Aber was genau sind wir? Dies ist ein Blog, der hinter die Kulissen des Radsports blickt. Er geht nicht nur um den Radsport allein oder über die letzten Nachrichten, er geht um die Erlebnisse der Fans, die selbst hautnah am Renngeschehen dabei waren. Die meisten Radsportblogs schreiben über die Rennen, die sie im Fernsehen gesehen haben. Wir aber möchten über die Rennen schreiben, bei denen wir live vor Ort waren. Vor dem Start, hinter den Barrieren und nach dem Rennen.

Dieser Blog wird durch eine Gruppe von Fanmädels aus der ganzen Welt kontrolliert. Aber wir brauchen auch dich! Wir werden Radrennen besuchen, wir werden darüber Berichte schreiben, aber wir können nicht überall sein. Dieser Blog ist also auch für dich und deinen Erlebnissen bei den Rennen. Du kannst Berichte schreiben oder uns Bilder schicken, alles ist willkommen. Wir lieben auch Bahnradsport, MTB und Frauenradsport! Verzweifle nicht, du kannst es und in nahezu jeder Sprache schicken! Schau auch mal bei „Who we are?“ um mehr über die Autoren und ihren Sprachen zu erfahren.

Wenn du interessiert bist, dann schicke uns eine E-Mail bananasaboutbikes@gmail.com

Wenn du Zweifel hast oder mehr wissen möchtest kannst du uns alles Fragen was du willst!