Giro stage 3

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Kathryn

While Belfast painted the town pink to celebrate the Giro, Dublin opted to play it cool with just a little bunting and a few Giro related posters around town. Belfast 1, Dublin 0.

 

Finish line preparations.

 

Working on the gantry and cameras.

 

The finish line itself is always a bit of a production because it's obviously essential that it is as exact as possible. Here, a crew lays down an adhesive finish line, casually affixing it with a little but of duct tape.

 

Hours passed. It was sunny. It rained. It was sunny. It down poured. It was sunny. It bucketed. It was…cloudy. In the end, the crew had to use a broom and propane tank to dry the road and then use adhesive, drills, hammers, and nails before they were able to fix the finish line in place. (And I had to use my rain coat and the umbrella of a generous Irishman to fend off the determined rain!)

 

Fortunately a burnt finish line still works.

 

With no nearby screen today, I had to wait for the commentators to give periodic race updates. A five man break was caught in plenty of time for the sprinters' teams to assemble their lead out trains, but not before a few nasty sounding crashes.

 

The good news is that what Dublin lacked in citywide celebration (or even acknowledgement) of the Giro, it made up for in spectator numbers.

 

Waiting…

 

And waiting…

 

Not yet…

 

Soon…

 

Almost…

 

Now! Marcel Kittel beat Ben Swift and Elia Viviani for the win!

 

For the second stage in a row, Tyler Farrar nabbed tenth place. Below: Maxime Monfort and Leonardo Duque come in for 19th and 20th place, respectively.

 

Luke Durbridge rolls in ahead of teammate Ivan Santaromita and Nairo Quintana.

 

Ivan Basso, Cadel Evans, and Michel Koch.

 

Andre Cardoso.

 

King of the Mountains Maarten Tjallingii comes in on Svein Tuft's wheel.

 

I have never seen so many riders cross themselves at the finish line before. Below: Francesco Manuel Bongiorno gives a kiss to finish the sign of the cross as he rides in next to Boy van Poppel.

 

Nathan Haas.

 

Luka Mezgec and Bert de Backer high five to celebrate their teammate's stage victory.

 

Lonely Bernie Eisel.

 

After a gap of nearly 6 minutes since the last rider finished, Marc Goos and Jetse Bol crossed the line, only to cross it again a moment later when they found their exit blocked by press and fans waiting for the podium ceremony to start.

 

Accompanied by a motorcycle, the final 4 riders had a little more success getting through.

 

With crowds like this, I had no chance of getting to the podium until the police opened up the road. Below: cameras and phones snap photos of birthday boy Kittel receiving his champagne as the stage winner.

 

Michael Matthews held on to the maglia rosa today by 8 seconds. He's been on the podium with champagne after every stage of the Giro so far.

 

Kittel returned to receive his red sprinter's jersey and throw his flowers to the crowd.

 

Maarten Tjallingii kept his King of the Mountains jersey and also launched his flowers.

 

Back again to collect the white jersey, Matthews followed suite and tossed his bouquet.

 

Team Colombia received just one bouquet to share for their award of best team for the stage but there were enough creepy stuffed animals for everyone.

 

Not to be left out by a lack of flora, one rider threw his hat and in an instant, they'd all removed their hats and ran around the stage to fling them in different directions! Jarilson Pantano (far left) nearly sacrificed his sunglasses, but suddenly remembered to grab them at the last second. It was fantastic to see them all so excited! Normally I'd say chapeau, but I'm not sure if that works here.

 

Receiving the super team award for best cumulative team time, 4 riders from the aptly named team Giant accepted the prize.

 

Friday marked the third anniversary of the death of Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt after suffering a fatal crash during a descent on stage 3 of the Giro. The 26 year old's race number was 108 when he died.

 

On a much, much brighter note, I realized that this is the second consecutive year I've stood in the rain for hours under the Giro's finish line on Mother's Day, so happy Mother's Day! Happily, I'm much less soggy this year.

 

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Giro stage 2

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Kathryn

Blue skies! Don't worry, it won't last.

 

Stephen Roche: father of Tinkoff Saxo rider Nicholas Roche and winner of the 1987 Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and World Championships.

 

The senze fine.

 

Belkin arrived as a team and one or two riders took a moment to snap a few pics of the senze fine before signing on. I nabbed an autograph from Maarten Tjallingii to add to Stephan Roche's and Sean Kelly's signatures.

 

Europcar.

 

The arrival of pink! Svein Tuft and Ivan Santaromita getting chased by paparazzi.

 

Time trial specialists Luke Durbridge and Svein in their white and pink jerseys.

 

I was thrilled when Svein came over to say hi to me. Pink hasn't changed him, no surprise there.

 

Sky.

 

By now, that blue sky was a distant memory and rain had announced its arrival. With about 150 of the remaining 196 riders yet to sign on and just 20 minutes remaining, I decided to check out the buses for a change of pace.

 

Pros and not-pros.

 

The Scotish branch of the Domenico Pozzovivo fan club.

 

A little rain doesn't scare off the people of Belfast and neither does a lot of rain.

 

I went searching for the starting line and walked by these 2 pillars about 6 times. For a Grand Tour, the Giro's starting gantry is underwhelming.

 

At least 1 Team Colombia rider clearly shares my perspective on the gantry.

 

Another surprise: in stage races, the big names and the riders with the leaders' jerseys are usually ushered to the front, occasionally shielded from the rain by race crew with umbrellas. Here, riders settled in wherever they pleased and the models sheltered themselves. Unexpected.

.

 

Nairo Quintana practices his GQ poses.

 

Go!

 

Nathan Haas, banged up from yesterday's disastrous TTT but in good spirits.

 

Two of my favorite Germans in the peloton, Fabian Wegmann and Simon Geschke.

 

The pink jersey concealed under Svein's black rain jacket.

 

 

An impressive crowd quickly grew at City Hall for the stage's finish. Most of us passed much of the time by putting on and then removing layers as the rain and sun battled it out. Eventually the rain won.

 

Small fans grow into big fans.

 

The city's Lord Mayor went for an understated look today, pairing his snazzy Chain of Office with a traditional button down shirt.

 

Meanwhile, the race was going full gas! After riding the entire stage in a 3- and 4-man breakaway, last man standing Maarten Tjallingii managed to evade the peloton until 4 kilometers to go. The crowd roared in appreciation of his tremendous ride as the peloton descended on him.

 

The approaching lights of the vehicles meant the peloton had entered the final straightaway!

 

Not for the first time, no one could catch Marcel Kittel! I was happy to see Tyler Farrar slot in at 10th place given his limited resources.

 

A soggy peloton rolled in.

 

Podium-bound riders doubled back to make their way to the stage.

 

Another big crowd!

 

Kittel received his flowers and champagne as the stage winner.

 

Michael Matthews assumed the maglia rosa from teammate Svein.

 

Belfast apparently has a massive confetti budget.

 

A happy man indeed.

 

Kittel in the sprinter's jersey.

 

Tjallingii, the sole autograph I got from the riders today, earned the King of the Mountains jersey.

 

Matthews was back to receive the young rider's jersey from teammate Durbridge.

 

Svein, Durbridge, Santaromita, and Matthews on the podium to represent Orica GreenEdge for best team. They received funny little stuffed troll dolls for their efforts.

 

The 4 walked off the podium and then turned around a moment later to receive the prize for super team. I would love to know how this differs from best team.

 

I was a little sad shuffling out of the City Hall grounds. Tomorrow's stage travels from Armagh to Dublin, so Belfast is out of the picture. Belfastians have been so keen to see the Giro, they were even stopping to watch workers disassemble the gantry.

 
The 3 autographs from yesterday and today: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche (with bicycle doodle), and 48 Maarten Tjallingii.

 

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Giro stage 1 TTT

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Kathryn

It was one of those days with a dozen moments that individually would have made my day complete, although there was one huge shadow later to come.

 

The roads were closed to traffic in the morning so the teams could prepare for the 22 km team time trial. When I arrived, the road was packed with school kids looking every which way and screaming their hearts out for every passing team.

 

Orica GreenEdge announced from the start they planned to win this stage so it was no surprise to see them on the course a few times.

 

Giant. Even Marcel Kittel took note of the excited kids.

 

Astana.

 

Katusha.

 

Garmin, my boys in blue.

 

Tinkoff Saxo got a huge reception, thanks to Nicholas Roche.

 

FDJ.

 

Belkin.

 

Movistar. Nairo Quintana far right.

 

BMC.

 

AG2R.

 

Sky.

 

Team Colombia.

 

Trek.

 

Lotto Belisiol.

 

In the afternoon, I headed to the site of last night’s team presentation, City Hall, to wait at the finish line. I thought I had spotted Sean Kelly riding the TTT course this morning, drafting behind the cars, and sure enough when I saw him a few hours later, he confirmed it was him. He was kind enough to give me an autograph. I turned to let him pose for photos and sign for half a dozen other people, so I was quite surprised when he then approached me and asked if we’d met at the Tour de France last year. Good memory! That’s indeed where I first met the legendary Irish rider, so we had a good chat.

 

The sky alternated between scorching sun and pellets of rain. The race was underway and the first 2 teams were nearly done with the course when the rain picked up again, soaking the roads. A few people scattered but I wasn’t going anywhere, especially since there was a big screen broadcasting the race directly across the street.

 

Team Colombia pulled off a mediocre performance but I don’t think much was expected of them tonight.

 

Meanwhile, Orica GreenEdge had lit up the roads with a blistering pace. Crossing the finish line, Svein Tuft’s tongue fell out of his mouth as if he had no energy left to shut his jaw and half the team hung their heads in exhaustion. They had left everything on the road and now they had to sit and wait for 20 more teams to cross the finish line before knowing if their efforts had been good enough.

 

Tinkoff Saxo.

 

FDJ.

 

Katusha.

 

Belfast’s Lord Mayor fit in with his pink poncho and pink hair.

 

I’d heard lots of people talking about how Movistar would challenge Orica for the TTT win, but I never considered them a threat and they proved not to be.

 

Lotto Belisol.

 

Trek.

 

Belkin.

 

Europcar.

 

Lampre.

 

With probably half of the teams either finished or on course, leaders Orica returned to City Hall to watch the rest of the race on a small screen and in front of half a dozen members of the media.

 

Sky.

 

Cannondale.

 

Giant.

 

AG2R.

 

Androni Giacattoli-Venezuela.

 

The only team I could handle beating Orica’s leading time of 24:42 was, of course, Garmin, yet their first time check didn’t reveal any indication that they could touch Orica.

 

And then disaster struck.

 

On the big screen, I watched helplessly as Garmin, riding in a long line of 9 cyclists, tumbled like building blocks. It looked like the sixth rider went down, whether he touched wheels or hit something on the ground, and then 3 riders after him could do nothing but crash like dominoes at upwards of 50 kph.

 

Carnage.

 

Bikes and riders lay scattered about the road as aerial shots showed the 5 riders still standing circling back to see what had happened. And while there is never a rider you’d want to see in pain on the road, it was sickening to realize Dan Martin was one of those riders. He has been in such great form and was so optimistic and excited for the Giro despite suffering that recent crash at Liege Bastogne Liege when he was quite likely on his way to the podium.

 

No.

 

Unidentified riders with shredded kits cradling their elbows, the hallmark of a dreaded broken collarbone.

 

Oh no.

 

And to think how Dan Martin had crashed out of the Vuelta a España this past year during the race’s TTT opening stage and to see it happening again.

 

Please no.

 

I wanted to cry.

 

The merciless clock kept ticking.

 

A handful of shocked Garmin riders crossed the finish line together, receiving the loudest applause of the entire night.

 

I didn’t know what to feel. A huge part of me was on cloud 9, hoping that Orica would pull off the win, landing my countryman and friend Svein Tuft in the coveted pink jersey on his birthday. An equal part of me was stunned at Garmin’s crash, worried and desperate to learn the consequences of the devastating accident.

 

And yet the race carried on.

 

Bardiani CSF.

 

BMC were riding well, but were still several seconds off Orica.

 

Omega Pharma-Quick Step.

 

With just 2 teams remaining on the course, neither had a chance at beating Orica’s standard so I ran and ran and ran to grab a spot in front of the stage where Svein and his teammates would soon be declared the winners of both the stage and maglia rosa. I was about 5 rows back from the stage and getting my flag ready to wave when the man next to me started a conversation. I mentioned that Svein is a friend and, after his jaw had dropped, he gave me a friendly shove and insisted that I push my way closer to the stage.

 

I navigated through dozens of people, apologizing and explaining that I wanted to see my friend receive the pink jersey on his birthday. Half of them gave me funny looks that said, “Yeah, right, lady, sure you’re friends with this guy, uh-huh.”

 

The rain clouds rolled in as the pink flood lights on City Hall switched on.

 

And then–the 9 teammates of Orica GreenEdge took the stage! Svein was presented with a bouquet of flowers…

 

…and everyone received a bottle of champagne. I’ve come to really enjoy seeing the inevitably awkward scene when the podium tries to majestically and impressively pop the cork. It almost never turns out that way. It tends to look more like this.

 

But what a celebration once they got those corks off! Pink confetti exploded through the air as they sprayed each other with champagne and dumped it over Svein like he was a victorious college football coach. To hear so many grown men giggle like that is a rare treat.

 

Class act, Orica.

 

Time for the pink jersey to be presented!

 

This whole time, I had been waving my flag, clanging my cowbell, and shouting with joy, which explains why so many of my podium photos were uncharacteristically out of focus.

 

I did manage to capture one particularly special moment, but let me preface it.

 

As usual, I wasn’t sure if he’d seen me since he tends to be a low key guy, but just as I took this photo, I realized Svein was gesturing that he was going to throw me his bouquet.

 

There are a lot of riders I call my friends. Today I realized that Svein calls me his friend, too.

 

Luke Durbridge earned the white jersey as the best young rider and the entire team came on stage one last time.

 

Svein and Luke, in the tent somewhere beind all the cameras.

 

Fans cheered as the Orica bus pulled away.

 

Me and my maglia rosa flowers, a gift from my friend on his birthday. Thanks, Svein.

 

Categories: Northern Ireland | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Giro d’Italia 2014 team presentation

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Kathryn

It seems you can't swing a dead cat in Belfast this week without hitting something Giro related. It's fantastic! Every storefront, every street corner, every person is decked out in pink.

 
After an extremely anxious 90 minutes online last month, I was able to secure 2 free tickets to tonight's Giro team presentation held at Belfast's City Hall. Neither of my friends were able to attend, so I had the chance to repay some of the enormous generosity I've experienced from the cycling community and gave my extra ticket to a keen fan who had traveled from England.
 
I spent a good few hours in the queue before fans were allowed onto the City Hall grounds. As usual, the hours passed quickly as I made friends with the guys in line with me. Also as usual, I got interviewed, this time by a local radio station.
 
When the gates opened, we all dashed to the front of the stage. The set up didn't look like it would result in any autographs, so I was happy enough just to be front and center.
 
Even though this is Northern Ireland, the race is at all times extremely Italian. Case in point: the trophy and the 4 leaders' jerseys were introduced to the crowd by leggy models wearing unbelievable heels and sashaying up the ramp like it was fashion week in Milan.

 

The teams! First up: Lotto Belisol.

 

The amazingly yellow shoes of Italian team Neri Sottoli deserve a special mention.

 

High fives from Team Colombia.

 

Europcar.

 

Perrig Quemeneur coming in for a high five.

 

Androni Giacattoli-Venezuela.

 

Belkin.

 

Trek Factory Racing.

 

I love it when they put the shortest guy next to the tallest guy.

 

Italian road champion Ivan Santaromita and Orica GreenEdge.

 

AG2R.

 

Bardiani CSF (this photo is an example of what happens when I multi task).

 

A familiar smile and a high five from Lampre's Winner Anacona.

 

FDJ.

 

Giant.

 
I can't quite tell if Simon Geschke really is that small or if the rest of the team really is that big.
 
The crowd loved Marcel Kittel and he loved the crowd.

 

Tinkoff Saxo.

 

Thunderous applause for Irishman Nicholas Roche. Roche's father won the Giro in 1987, as the emcee was quick to remind him.

 

The photographers went into hyperdrive for Team Sky.

 

Bernie Eisel and Edvald Boasson-Hagen.

 

Irishman Phil Deignan.

 

Elia Viviani of Cannondale.

 

Ivan Basso.

 

Garmin!

 

I won't pretend to be unbiased, but the Garmin boys were by far the happiest and most relaxed team on stage all night. They were taking photos and elbowing each other in the ribs to share a joke the entire time. Seeing a whole team soaking in the atmosphere like this and laughing so easily together is one of the things that make me throw my support behind a team and Garmin's riders, no matter who is on the start list, are always goofing off. I love it. Below: Thomas Dekker and Tyler Farrar, amateur photographers.

 

Ryder Hesjedal, Andre Cardoso, Thomas Dekker, and Tyler Farrar share a laugh.

 

Dylan Van Baarle makes Fabian Wegmann laugh.

 

The final Irishman of the night, Dan Martin, got a wave of cheers when he rode on stage. Even better, his teammates, especially Hesjedal, all had the biggest grins when they saw Martin's reception. That's what it is to be a team.

 

Hesjedal and the trophy he won in 2012.

 

Astana.

 

Omega Pharma-Quick Step.

 

Rigoberto Uran and his Go Pro.

 

Uran, eyeing the trophy.

 

BMC.

 

Cadel Evans was as happy as I've seen him outside of Australia.

 

Katusha.

 

Joaquim Rodriguez.

 

Movistar.

 

I almost didn't recognize Nairo Quintana. Through the Tour de France last year, he was all business and seriousness. I don't remember him cracking a smile once. But tonight? He was waving and high fiving, smiling like he'd already won the Giro!

 

When the emcee asked him a softball question, Quintana enthusiastically replied that he came here to win.

 

When the Lord Mayor of Belfast and other VIPs lowered the flag to officially open the 97th edition of the Giro d'Italia…

 

…the sky filled with pink confetti and balloons, as if the world's biggest bottle of Pepto Bismol had just exploded.

 

After the main event, there were performances by an opera singer, break dancers, and BMX riders, but this guy (who I can only assume is Flava Flav's Northern Irish cousin) stole the show for me.

 

 

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Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Kathryn

La Doyenne, the old one, not a bad nickname for a race that dates back to 1892 and is celebrating its 100th edition.

 

The only way I can begin to understand the ridiculous amount of barriers erected by the race organizers is to assume that their goals were threefold: (1) to keep fans always from riders; (2) to keep riders away from the podium; and (3) to let scores of absent minded VIPs saunter about a road that would be jammed with the world's top cyclists and all sorts of motor vehicles.

 

Is my sash crooked?

 

Buses, team cars, VIPs, and perhaps the occasional rider. I know I may go on about why I do or don't like the way a particular sign on has been organized and part of that reason is purely selfish–I take huge delight in interacting with the riders–but I also think it is in the sport's best interest to minimize the chaos at the start of an event. Poorly set up sign ons create additional stress and unnecessary hazards for the riders, their support staff, race officials, police and security, and drivers trying to navigate giant buses on narrow roads. Riders struggle to find an open pathway to even get to the podium, let alone doing so without knocking over some VIP's unattended child or getting knocked over themselves by a VIP taking a selfie. Considering that this particular race is now in its third century, this sort of scene makes the sport seem amateurish and I love cycling too much to let it be disrespected in such a manner.

 

Teammates Yukiya Arashiro and Natneal Berhane signing on.

 

We managed to snag just a few autographs but to be honest, given yesterday's impressive haul and the excess fences, I didn't try terribly hard.

 

Tosh Van Der Sande.

 

Laurent Pichon.

 

Matteo Bono.

 

A smile and a wave from Dan Martin.

 

Miraculously, Rui Costa was one of the first cyclists to find his way through the dozens of VIPs standing around like statues in front of the shortcut to the podium.

 

Somewhere in the center of all these microphones and cameras is the King of Belgium, making an unannounced appearance.

 

All the king's men.

 

Two trains and a long walk later, I stumbled upon the last corner and the final 200 meters of the course. Having watched the final Ks of last year's race multiple times, I got chills standing in the place where Dan Martin launched his winning attack and rode away from Purito Rodriguez (and a man-sized panda).

 

The homestretch!

 

I've said it before that one of my favorite things about going to races is the people you meet. So even though I stood barely one meter beyond the finish line for close to 5 hours before the riders showed up, it didn't feel like nearly that long as I practiced my abysmal French with a new friend who works the finish crew, chatted with Colin, my photographer friend, and discussed the ins and out of being a North American cycling fan with Harold and Mary from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

Being right on the finish line, I could only just glimpse a piece of the screen so I had to rely on Daniel Mangeas's French commentary to follow the final 2 hours of the race. Every update indicated it would be a tight finish with a doomed breakaway inevitably getting reeled in as the race favorites jockeyed for position near the front. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened.

It was only at the last second it occurred to me to take a photo, the moment was that intense, so I missed Simon Gerrans celebrating his big win. Here, Alejandro Valverde takes second with Michal Kwiatkowski in second.

 

The riders coming in (Jelle Vanendert in 11th).

 
Golden shoes and a grimace for 2008 Olympics gold medal winner Sammy Sanchez.

 

Celebrating his teammate's win.

 

A battered Dan Martin, looking heartbroken and bearing evidence of a crash.

 

Darwin Atapuma.

 

Ryder Hesjedal.

 

Fans heading to watch the podium ceremony.

 

Kwiatkowski stepped onto the podium while the peloton continued to trickle in.

 

A second time finishing third for Kwiatkowski this week.

 

Valverde also on his second podium this week, this time as runner up.

 

I've seen a lot of bike riders win a lot of races but I honestly can't recall the last time I saw a rider as excited as Simon Gerrans!

 

The podium, flanked by Bernard Hinault on the far left and UCI president Brian Cookson, far right.

 

Gerrans's trophy.

 

No champagne for the winner in this race but Gerrans was presented with a massive Liège ham.

 

Valverde isn't necessarily my favorite rider and I'm not one to find kids of strangers either adorable or precious, but this was a lovely moment to witness.

 

Scenes in the buses.

 

This kid sat on his dad's shoulders and screamed for Philippe Gilbert amidst a crowd in front of the BMC bus.

 

This kid is in charge of luggage and coolers at Garmin.

 

Ramunas Navardauskas meets a Lithuanian fan.

 

Tom-Jelte Slagter (6th place) and the press.

 

Until next year…

 

Today's 5 autographs came from: 42 Matteo Bono, 84 Laurent Pichon, 124 Bart De Clercq, 130 Tosh Van Der Sande, and 133 Tom Dumoulin.

 

And thus ends the 2014 classics.

 

Categories: Belgium | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Liège-Bastogne-Liège team presentation

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Kathryn

By far, the most formal team presentation I've seen to date: a tent, a band, even chairs for the spectators! Of course, I stood by the fence where I figured I'd have a better shot of saying hi to the riders.

 

Cofidis.

 

Lotto Belisol.

 

Trek Factory Racing.

 

BMC.

 

The crowd was reasonably sedate but they did get pretty pumped when local boy Philippe Gilbert was introduced–one of the commentators even serenaded Gilbert!

 

Topsport Vlaanderen.

 

IAM Cycling.

 

Garmin(!).

 

I won't pretend to be neutral: this is my favorite team and several of my favorites are racing LBL! So even though the audience wasn't doing much more other than politely cheering, I couldn't help but give a rousing, “Navardauskas!” when he was introduced.

 

Dan Martin, defending champion.

 

When Garmin left the stage, Navardauskas, Nathan Haas, and Ryder Hesjedal all said a familiar hi to me, which I especially enjoyed as it bewildered the annoying guy next to me.

 

Last week at Brabantse Pijl, Dan Martin moaned that I hadn't left him a big enough space to do a big signature, so today I had a photo of last year's LBL win just for his autograph. He laughed that I was so accommodating, but when he handed the marker back to me, he complained that it was brown. There's just no pleasing some people.

 

FDJ.

 

Belkin.

 

Europcar.

 

Today is Perrig Quemener's 30th birthday so the band played him “happy birthday.”

 

Giant Shimano. I'm always happy to see Simon Geschke (and his beard) and Johannes Fröhlinger.

 

Cannondale.

 

Omega Pharma Quick Step.

 

Sky. Apparently half the team was on a late flight as only Danny Pate, Nathan Earle, Josh Edmondson, and David Lopez attended the presentation.

 

Colombia. I'm thrilled that my favorite South American country is so well represented in the peloton.

 

Movistar.

 
Alejandro Valverde turned 34 yesterday, so the band played “happy birthday' for a second time.

 

Tinkoff Saxo.

 

Mick Rogers is returning to racing for the first time since he tested positive for clenbuterol after his Japan Cup win last fall. This week it was decided that he had eaten contaminated meat, though he was still stripped of his win (which went to Garmin rider Jack Bauer).

 

Orica GreenEdge.

 

Katusha.

 

Astana.

 

AG2R.

 

Lampre.

 

Rui Costa.

 

Wanty Group.

 

MTN Qhubeka. The band played “We are the world” as they walked on stage, which just felt oh so wrong. Songezo Jim, who I first met at Ronde Van Vlaanderen and again at Scheldeprijs, recognized me immediately and flashed a huge grin from the stage. I'm guessing there aren't too many other people in Belgium who recognize him.

 

Netapp Endura.

 

Exodus.

 

Today's 22 autographs came from: Darwin Atapuma, Warren Barguil, Edward Beltran, Natneal Berhane, Matthew Bushe, David de la Cruz, Leonardo Duque, Tony Gallopin, Jesus Herrada, Maxim Iglinskiy, Michal Kwiatkowski, Gustav Erik Larsson, Dan Martin, Christian Meier, Marko Minnaard, Matej Mohoric, Przemyslaw Niemiec, Lars Petter Nordhaug, Danny Pate, Christophe Riblon, Preben Van Hecke, and Jussi Veikkanen.

 

The countdown continues!

 

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Fun & games at El Chorro, Spain

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Kathryn

I spent about 10 days rock climbing with friends in El Chorro, Spain at the tail end of March. Here, in 2 minutes, are some of our finest moments.

 

A proper video of our actual climbing is in the works!

 

Enjoy!

 

Categories: Spain | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

Flèche Wallonne

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Kathryn

A race two-for-one! The women raced up the Mur de Huy twice and three times for the men.

 

Tip: Google maps doesn't like it when you call this climb the Mur, so use its other name, Chemin des Chapelles, for all the little chapels along the way up.

 

When you say, “oh, it's a 9% climb,” that's just the average gradient. The Mur cranks it up to 26% at its steepest, meanest section.

 

In case you were trying to forget that you're climbing the Mur de Huy, good luck.

 

I was early enough to walk the entire climb and pace nervously back and forth like an expectant father as I tried to settle on my spectating spot. I ended up about 139 meters shy of the finish line and next to Wout Poels' fan club, a delightful group of Dutchmen in various stages of inebriation.

 

The leaders in the women's race.

 

German champion Trixi Worrack.

 

Lucinda Brand, Dutch champion.

 

Crowd shot. (Note the woman in the far right window. Creepy? You be the judge.)

 

The weather was great (and not just by Belgian standards): ice cream for the journalists and perfect drum-banging conditions for the happy man whose house is on the climb.

 

The main event! The men had already completed 115 kilometers by the time they hit the Mur for the first time.

 

I've mentioned before that when I'm really excited–and I do mean really excited–I don't always take the best photos. There was no screen near me broadcasting the race and no one near me had any race updates to offer so I was totally in the dark as to who was in the inevitable breakaway. I saw 3 riders round the corner and saw that one was Garmin. I pretty much lost my shit when I realized it was none other than Ramunas Navardauskas and started cheering like such a maniac that he actually looked up at me while riding this brutal climb. Oh, and so this was the only photo I managed to get was of Preben Van Hecke, one of the other escapees (Jonathan Clarke rounded out the trio).

 

Close to 6 minutes later, the peloton arrived already hurting.

 

A short intermission, just long enough for my neighbors to say, “Soooo, you like Garmin?” before the women's race approached the finish line. Lizzie Armistead leading Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Elisa Longo Borghini.

 

Marianne Vos, world champion, finished in 6th but struggled up the final meters.

 

Back to the men! Jonathan Clarke was dropped so Navardauskas and Van Hecke carried on, about 3:30 ahead of the peloton.

 

Wout Poels' fan club enjoyed my earlier screaming enough to join me in supporting my favorite Lithuanian on this lap.

 

Cyril Guatier and Jesus Herrada were the first of a dwindling peloton.

 

No one was immune to suffering here: Jan Bakelants.

 

Philippe Gilbert.

 

Alex Howes.

 

Marcus Burghardt.

 

Fabian Wegmann and Daniele Ratto.

 

Bob Jungles in the cars.

 
Less than 30 minutes later, the race was back for their final climb but I had no idea who would be leading! Looks like Garmin and Polish champion Kwiatkowski…

 

Could it be…?

 

Dan Martin!

 

Alejandro Valverde coming up fast as Dan rides like hell! Go, Dan, go!

 

Bauke Molema was just hanging on to Kwiatkowski's wheel. Who would be on the podium?!

 

Tom-Jelte Slagter stormed in for 5th place.

 

Gilbert just made the top 10.

 

Carlos Betancur, winner of last month's Paris-Nice, honestly looked like he might keel over at any moment.

 

Desperate to find out the results and confident that Dan would be somewhere on the podium, I sprinted up towards the podium and found myself next to a chain smoker as the finishers popped open cans of Coke and fizzy water.

 

An understandably tired Marcus Burghardt.

 

When you see a panda at a podium, you know it's good news for Garmin!

 

Third place for Kwiatkowski.

 

Second for Dan!

 

Valverde took the win.

 

After the men's awards, the women were up next. Lizzie Armistead finished second and also took the jersey for World Cup points.

 

Ferrand-Prevot took the win and Longo Borghini was third.

 

Men's and women's winners.

 

And that wraps up Flèche Wallonne for 2014!

 

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Amstel Gold 2014

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Kathryn

There's only one word I know that can accurately describe this morning's sign on at the 49th Amstel Gold race and autocorrect keeps changing that word to “cluster duck.”


Because there were literally 3 rows of barricades to keep the fans away from the riders in front of the podium, there were apparently not enough barricades left to guide the riders towards the podium, leaving scores of underweight, Lycra-clad men desperately looking for Moses to part the sea of spectators.

 

Fabian Wegmann playing the role of Moses.

 

Despite this completely avoidable chaos, I managed to snag some autographs. (Huge thanks to Lot for sharing the following sign on photos!) Below: Alexander Kolobnev.

 

Nelson Oliveira.

 

Rafael Valls.

 

Dan Martin said he'd sign for me but, alas, he was swallowed up by journalists and not seen again for several hours.

 

Rui Costa.

 

Quickly among my Garmin favorites is Nathan Haas, shown here threatening to mow down anyone who doesn't get out of his way with his spinning front tire.

 

I'm guessing Marcus Burghardt was only able to find his way to the podium from Fien's sign! As it was, the scene was far too mobbed for him to properly stop and exchange his typical greeting.

 

Serious respect to the bus drivers who navigate roads built for horses.

 

We found our way to the famous Cauberg to watch 4 laps over the course of the afternoon.

 

A massive breakaway quickly gained something in the neighborhood of 10 or 11 minutes on the peloton.

 

When they did arrive, Michael Schär led them up the climb.

 

Simon Geschke and Alex Howes.

 

The wind was so strong it blew over a long row of fences and this crossing point sign. Fortunately the peloton had already passed and wouldn't return for a couple of hours.

 

Lots of reminders everywhere that Valkenburg hosted the 2012 World Championships, including faded paint from supporters on the road. It was here on the Cauberg that Philippe Gilbert won his World Champion's jersey and he won Brabantse Pijl just this past Wednesday. Would his current form and past success on the Cauberg land him on the podium today?

 

Lap 2 and the escapees were still enjoying their 8 minute advantage.

 

Michael Schär was still at the head of the peloton.

 

Burghardt and Velits.

 

A Giant Shimano rider, Yukiya Arashiro, Nathan Haas, and Simon Gerrans.

 

Dan Martin abandoned when he reached the buses at the end of the climb.

 

Navardauskas, nicknamed the Honey Badger after a popular YouTube video, refused water from the team car. Honey Badger doesn't need water!

 

Geraint Thomas must have friends at Tinkoff Saxo as he caught a nice little ride from their car.

 

We crowded around Fien's portable tv to keep up on the action.

 

The breakaway had fallen apart and only Christophe Riblon and Preben Van Hecke remained, barely ahead of several chase groups.

 

The fans were loving the excitement!

 

I cringed when I heard who was in the first chase group. There's just one rider I truly do not like out of a couple hundred cyclists. I can't stand to watch Thomas Voeckler's dramatic faces and over-the-too riding style. I find him arrogant and over rated. And yet, here he was, leading the chase up the Cauberg. Ugh.

 

Nathan Haas, gunning to join the chase ahead of him.

 

Riders had begun to slingshot themselves off the front.

 

Burghardt in the peloton.

 

Just ahead of the broom wagon with another lap to go.

 

Tension!

 

The riders were upon us with a new group of leaders a little over one kilometer to the finish! Simon Gerrans, Poland's Michal Kwiatkowski, Alejandro Valverde, Bauke Molema, and Philippe Gilbert, among others! A solid bunch, each one a worthy winner.

 

Fabian Wegmann.

 

Burghardt.

 

Dominik Nerz.

 

Riblon, talking into his radio.

 

And suddenly, a winner was declared over the loud speaker: Philippe Gilbert! When Gerrans was declared the 3rd place finisher, this kangaroo jumped the fence and ran uphill towards the podium.

 

Navardauskas and Haas.

 

Tony Martin suffered a minor crash and consequently a mechanical problem which had removed him from the runnings.

 

The grupetto.

 

Dutch Lion cheers for every rider.

 

The final riders.

 

Humans descending.

 

Despite the mild disaster that was the sign on, it was one hell of a race. A well earned win for Gilbert.

 

Today's 10 autographs came from: 23 Jakob Fuglsang, 62 Murilo Fischer, 75 Ramanus Navardauskas, 77 Tom Jelte Slagter, 84 Rui Costa, 85 Nelson Oliveira, 87 Rafael Valls, 114 Tony Martin, 154 Alexander Kolobnev, and 207 Jerome Pineau.

 

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De Brabantse Pijl

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Kathryn

Race organizer from Leuven #1: Hey, let's have the riders sign on in the shadow of our ridiculously beautiful Town Hall!

Race organizer from Leuven #2: Great idea!

And so it was.

 

It's possible the parking lot wasn't well marked or several of the bus drivers had heard about the beauty of the Town Hall and wanted to check it out for themselves. Either way, the buses from Giant, Garmin, and CCC Polsat Polkowice all had to pull tight U turns.

 

As the riders arrived, they left their bikes against the rails, some more gingerly than others.

 

At the Tour Down Under, it was a huge accomplishment to get an autograph from Simon Gerrans. This morning, all I had to do was ask politely.

 

Former teammates Pete Stetina and Alex Howes hung out while waiting to sign on.

 

In addition to my standard Canadian flag, I've also been gathering autographs from the dozen riders featured in the Pro Tour Pin Ups calendar. The ones who've signed so far have been mildly embarrassed so when I called Nathan Haas over, I was half covering the calendar with my flag. When he saw it, he said, “Sign the calendar? OH HELL YEAH!” and swept the flag away in order to make room for a proud, full page autograph. He paused for a moment and then pulled the calendar closer towards him to write “Enjoy March” at the top (who cares that it's already April?!). As he handed the marker back to me, he pointed out that his teammate Alex Howes is also in the calendar. I said that Alex had already signed but that I was missing Thomas Dekker, to which he responded by shouting, “Hey! Dekker! Come sign the calendar!”

 

And so he did! I do love this team.

 

In all, I used 8 languages (to varying degrees!) talking to riders this morning: English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Japanese, and Italian. The riders from Team Colombia were startled to hear me chatter away at them in Spanish, Beppu loved hearing me thank him in Japanese, Ivan Balykin and Maciej Paterski were both happy to return my greetings in Russian and Polish respectively, and even though Davide Frattini turns out to be an honourary Canadian (his wife is Canadian and they live in…Barrie!), I thanked him in his native Italian anyway.
 
Another highlight involved one of my favorites, Simon Geschke. I met him at the Tour Down Under (…a lot) and today he picked me out right away without even seeing my Canadian flag and asked how my long flight out of Australia was. His teammates Thierry Hupond and Johannes Fröhlinger also remembered me which left me tickled. I was a little disappointed not to have gotten a photo of him but my media relations department, also known as Hermano, later sent me this photo of Simon signing for us on TV.
 
Belgium has far too many retired cycling greats for me to recognize them all, so I was excited that Fien pointed out Johan Museeuw (pictured right) and we got him to sign for us.

 

The peloton awaiting the start.

 

The riders reappeared just minutes later, having completed a local lap before making their way to Overijse.

 

We headed off to the car, but I was a little disturbed by this sign. I'm not sure a toilet is where I would most like to enjoy an open bar.

 

We arrived in Overijse and enjoyed a picnic with Fien's family friends before claiming a spot about 500 meters before the finish on a short but steep climb.

 

A 6 man breakaway was barely 2 minutes ahead of the peloton on their first of 4 laps.

 

The peloton.

 

Thomas Dekker and his tongue, showing how difficult the climb was.

 

I could barely stop shivering at the sign on this morning but it turned into a surprisingly warm day in the afternoon.

 

Matthias Brandle leading the escapees.

 

A chase group with a Lotto rider and 3 from Omega Pharma-QuickStep were in hot pursuit.

 

Three cheers for Maciej Patterski and Poland!

 

Nick Nuyens and Yohann Gene.

 

Between the pros' laps, locals would kill time riding up and down the climb. This guy had a different approach to the descent.

 

Lap 3 and Gerrans, Haas, and Kevin Reza were on the attack!

 

Thomas Dekker and his tongue were still hanging in (out?) there.

 

Johannes Fröhlinger pulled one of the best faces I've ever seen on a rider over the age of 5.

 

Oh, Belgium, I love how you love cycling.

 

The fourth lap was also the finish! Young sprinter Michael Bling Matthews and veteran Philippe Gilbert were battling it out for the victory…

 

…Philippe! His first win of the 2014 season!

 

Simon Geschke finished 4th and Nathan Haas was 6th.

 

Cycling generally seems to bring out the best in people in my experience and today was no exception. Fien's family friends were able to get us smack in front of the winner's podium because they were former students of the principal whose school was the press room for the race. Yay!

 

Matthews congratulating Tony Gallopin on his 3rd place.

 

Years of scars on Gallopin's knee.

 

A happy Philippe.

 

We also got to watch the post-race press conference.

 

Behind me, a dozen journalists ignored Philippe and prepared their stories.

 

We caught Philippe as was on his way back from anti-doping control and got a photo with him! The eager Belgians all told him I was from Canada, but he took one glance at me and remembered me immediately. In fact, he had already posed for photos and was zipping up his jacket and preparing to ride off when he saw me and stopped for one more picture. Fien thinks he would have left had it not been for me!

 

Today's whopping 36 autographs came from: 7 Kevin Reza, 15 Amaël Moinard, 21 Dan Martin, 22 Nate Brown, 27 Nick Nuyens, 31 Jurgen Van Den Broeck, 37 Dennis Vanendert, 41 Jan Bakelants, 44 Julian Vermote, 46 Pieter Serry, 51 Simon Gerrans, 54 Michael Matthews, 57 Adam Yates, 61 Simon Geschke, 65 Johannes Fröhlinger, 66 Thierry Hupond, 76 Alexander Rybakov, 82 Fumiyuki Beppu, 87 Danny Van Poppel, 88 Kristof Vandewalle, 111 Davide Rebellin, 116 Maciej Paterski, 131 Fabio Duarte, 132 Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal, 137 Edward Diaz, 142 Matthias Brandle, 171 Ivan Balykin, 181 Bartosz Huzarski, 197 Martijn Verschoor, 214 Davide Frattini, 217 Martijn Maaskant, 221 Bjorn Leukemans, 223 Francis De Greef, Nathan Haas, Thomas Dekker, and Johan Museeuw.

 

 

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