It was only a few days ago that we had Vini Fantini-Selle Italia's Mauro Santambrogio wonderful stage 14 victory which ended on the steep slopes of the Jafferau climb in fog, rain and snow. Today the team faces the news that Danilo Di Luca has tested positve for EPO (A sample) and is suspended from this year's Giro.
Di Luca has a long history of doping:
2007: winner of 2007 Giro d'Italia, irregular sample taken during race suggested an illegal blood transfusion; cleared due to insufficient evidence
2009: suspended for positve for CERA during 2009 Giro d'Italia
2011: after suspension rode for Team Katusha for no salary
2012: joined Acqua & Sapone as team captain; team was not invited to 2012 Giro d'Italia (Garzelli, also caught doping in his career was on the team as well)
2013: joined Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
Below is the statement today from Vini Fantini-Selle Italia:
Following of the news Danilo Di Luca's positive result at an out-of-competition test performed on April 29th, the team Vini Fantini Selle Italia through its team manager Angelo Citracca specifies the following: "Danilo Di Luca is an athlete who was not part of our group, not wanted by the team and he was included in organic by our Main Sponsor Valentino Sciotti, for friendship and geographical proximity to the cyclist, he insisted and created the conditions for the inclusion of Di Luca in the team. Danilo Di Luca repeatedly involved in problems related to doping and already disqualified for similar violations, repaid the trust of a friend and great entrepreneur with another mistake, whose consequences damages Vini Fantini Selle Italia team even if it is innocent. The athlete, already returned after a disqualification with other teams, was not included in the philosophy and programs of our team, working for years in the discovery and growing of young athletes. Following the news, learned with regret in the morning, the team has dismissed the athlete, intimating him to get away. At this point, Vini Fantini Selle Italia will ask for a compensation for damages, in accordance with the internal Rules signed by all the members of the team".
The sports director Luca Scinto points out: "I'm devastated, I never wanted Di Luca in the team and I've never made any secret to anyone of this, even receiving some critics. We have built our group on the sacred values of the cycling and we made the mistake to satisfy the request, expressed many times by our main sponsor, who is a uccessful entrepreneur passionate about this sport, to try to give confidence to an athlete dear to him for friendship. Unfortunately this trust has been rewarded with an incredible mistake, which I still can not understand". Echoes the disappointment of Scinto, the deep sorrow of the Main Sponsor, Valentino Sciotti: "What can I say? I believed in man and in the athlete and it is right that I take all the blame because I made a mistake. Maybe I was wrong to believe that after a mistake you can redeem and learn not to repeat the mistakes, maybe I'm wrong to want to help a person I saw in trouble, maybe I was wrong to follow the religious values that my family gave me, maybe I'm wrong in believing that when you talk to a person looking into his eyes, you can also read his heart. I was wrong and I must ask to forgive me the fans, the Team, the other sponsors, my partners and all the other cyclists who are racing Giro d'Italia fairly and honestly and all those young athletes who will be shaken by this news".
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Friday, May 24, 2013
Danilo Di Luca Positive, Suspended
Danilo Di Luca (Fantini-SelleItalia) has been provisonally suspended for an out of competition for EPO discovered in an out of competition control. TheUCI Statement:
"This morning the UCI advised Italian rider Danilo Di Luca that he is provisionally suspended. The decision to provisionally suspend this rider was made in response to a report from the WADA accredited laboratory in Köln indicating an Adverse Analytical Finding of EPO in a urine sample collected from him in an out of competition test on 29 April 2013.
The provisional suspension of Mr. Danilo Di Luca remains in force until a hearing panel convened by the Italian Cycling Federation determines whether he has committed an anti-doping rule violation under Article 21 of the UCI Anti-Doping Rules.
Mr. Danilo Di Luca has the right to request and attend the analysis of his B sample.
Under the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, the UCI is unable to provide any additional information at this time."
He was also suspended following a positive doping test (CERA) during the 2009 Giro d'Italia and returned to racing in 2011.
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"This morning the UCI advised Italian rider Danilo Di Luca that he is provisionally suspended. The decision to provisionally suspend this rider was made in response to a report from the WADA accredited laboratory in Köln indicating an Adverse Analytical Finding of EPO in a urine sample collected from him in an out of competition test on 29 April 2013.
The provisional suspension of Mr. Danilo Di Luca remains in force until a hearing panel convened by the Italian Cycling Federation determines whether he has committed an anti-doping rule violation under Article 21 of the UCI Anti-Doping Rules.
Mr. Danilo Di Luca has the right to request and attend the analysis of his B sample.
Under the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, the UCI is unable to provide any additional information at this time."
He was also suspended following a positive doping test (CERA) during the 2009 Giro d'Italia and returned to racing in 2011.
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Today's Stage 19 CANCELLED Due to Snow, Stage 20 Modified
Due to adverse weather conditions and, in particular, snow on the stage route in its entirety, stage 19 from Ponte di Legno to Val Martello/Martelltal, has been cancelled.
Tomorrow's stage 20 has been modified due to the adverse weather: The new route is 210 km as follows, bypassing the planned Passo Costalunga, Passo San Pellegrino and Passo Giau:
I think the Giro d'Italia will have to look towards moving back later in the calendar, back to the days when the race started later in May and went into June (even though you can have snow on the Stelvio in July).
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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Tomorrow's stage 20 has been modified due to the adverse weather: The new route is 210 km as follows, bypassing the planned Passo Costalunga, Passo San Pellegrino and Passo Giau:
I think the Giro d'Italia will have to look towards moving back later in the calendar, back to the days when the race started later in May and went into June (even though you can have snow on the Stelvio in July).
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,900 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 18 Results
Despite the rain that affected the last starters, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) won the mountain trial trial from Mori to Polsa. He completed the hilly, 20.6 km course in 44 minutes, 29 seconds, averaging 27.785 kmh. Nibali beat second-placed Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel Euskadi) by 58 seconds. Third was Damiano Caruso (Cannondale Pro Cycling), at 1 minute 20 seconds. Cadel Evans was 25th, losing 2'33 ", almost certainly losing any possibility of winning but also allowing Uran and Scarponi the opportunity to push him off a podium spot in the next two stages.
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Stage Winner and Maglia Rosa:
How did the rain affect your ride? "My tyre pressure was very high, so I had to be very careful on the corners. I could feel it slipping on the corners."
What is there left for you to prove? "First I have to keep the vantage I have (4 minutes, 2 seconds over Evans who is 2nd). With the advantage I gained today, I can defend the lead better with the team. Then there’s the weather. It remains a mystery. Even today, the stage started in sunshine and ended in the rain."
What did you expect from Evans today? "Cadel has been well hidden in the group for a few days, so I didn’t know what his condition was. Today, I feared he might do a better ride, but he was my reference point in today’s stage, so when I saw him ahead of me in the final kilometers, I pushed even harder."
The coming mountain stages: "Today I’ve taken another major step towards winning the Giro. I hope the weather remains good. Whether or not we can ride the mountains stages as planned, changes little (after his press comments changes in tomorrow's route were announced; no Gavia and no Stelvio tomorrow). I ‘m in good shape anyway. If the stages are taken out, with the team, we can control the race better. My shape is what it is. I’ve demonstrated that again today. So I’m relaxed."
Finally, Italian cycling has a champion: "This Giro has been good to Italy, and good for the South of Italy, with Visconti’s stage wins. People are more and more passionate about cycling. Over the last three stages, the crowds have been very big. Even today, despite the rain, there were plenty of people at the roadside. Perhaps this Giro has relaunched Italian cycling. That’s what we all wanted. I think we’re on the right road."
Cadel Evans (BMC):
"It's not for lack of trying that I lost a minute or two minutes," Evans said. "I came to this Giro with high hopes, but not high expectations. My real objective was to give my best, and, until this point, I've made a few mistakes, but nothing big. So in that regard, in terms of giving my best, that's great. But when you need winning, of course you want to be winning – and that's maybe when your hopes rise above your capabilities." With two straight mountain stages to come and a flat finale on Sunday, Nibali is 4:02 ahead of Evans. "I'm unlikely to win, but I came here for training for the Tour de France," Evans said. "Second place at this point is not so bad."
Stage 18 highlights:
Top 10 Stage 18:
1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:44:29
2 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:58
3 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:01:20
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:01:21
5 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:01:25
6 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:01:26
7 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:01:32
8 Stef Clement (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:01:36
9 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Sky Procycling 0:01:41
10 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:52
Top 20 GC:
1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 73:55:58
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:04:02
3 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:04:12
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:05:14
5 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 0:06:09
6 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:06:45
7 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:06:47
8 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:07:30
9 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:08:36
10 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:09:34
11 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:09:45
12 Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:10:19
13 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:10:27
14 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 0:11:02
15 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha 0:11:24
16 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack Leopard 0:12:05
17 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:15:24
18 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:17:03
19 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:20:20
20 Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia 0:25:58
Tomorrow: Due to snow on the mountain tops both the Passo Gavia and Passo dello Stelvio will be bypassed tomorrow. The new stage will be 160 km, a hard stage but less so than originally planned. The Passo del Tonale is 8.3 km at 7.5%, 10% max; the Passo Castrin is 8.4 km at 9.5%, 13% max; the finshing climb is the same,Val Martello/Martelltal, 22.4 km at 6.4%, 14% max. More unpleasant weather tomorrow!The new stage profile:
The finishing climb:
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New Stage 19 Route Announced
The Giro has decided that they do not want to put any riders at risk tomorrow and have just announced that they are going forward with plan B. The new route for tomorrow's Stage 19 is as follows (you can click on image to enlarge as is the case with almost all the images in the blog):
The original route, now cancelled:
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The original route, now cancelled:
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Possible Stage 19, Tomorrow, Changes
Note that the Giro has developed a "plan B" for tomorrow that could bypass Passo Gavia and/or Passo dello Stelvio due to snow conditons.
The final decision about the route will be made in the morning.
In any case, the start will still be in Ponte di Legno.
The route as originally planned:
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The final decision about the route will be made in the morning.
In any case, the start will still be in Ponte di Legno.
The route as originally planned:
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
Campagnolo, More Focus on OEM Market
Via BIKE EUROPE:
"Yesterday, Valentino Campagnolo and his family – up to the 4th generation – celebrated the 80th anniversary of his company. At this party with lots of former cycling champions, business partners and friends as well as media, a strategic change for the iconic road race parts maker was announced.
This strategy change has nothing to do with Campagnolo's results during the past four years; since the start of the economic crisis. In the 2009 – 2012 period the Italian manufacturer saw its results grow with 21%.
Nowadays Campagnolo operates two production facilities in Vicenza, Italy, two in Romania and one logistics center in Taichung, Taiwan. Next to that the company also owns seven subsidiaries located all around the world. All in all Campagnolo employs about 750 people currently.
More money from Asia
The specialist road race and accessory component maker makes increasingly more money in Asia. Here Campagnolo's revenues grew with 13% in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In other Far Eastern countries 6.2% growth was registered in 2012 while in Europe results upped 3%. 64% of the company's turnover was made in Europe last year.
Updated strategies
Campagnolo makes the biggest part of its turnover with Aftermarket business; said marketing and sales director Lorenzo Taxis at the official part of the celebration's that marked the company's milestone. He also said that Campagnolo's Aftermarket business is changing.
"Customers used to buy frames and had it assembled with our parts into a complete bike. Now they buy ready to ride bikes which are pre-assembled. This means that our strategies have to be updated. We need to focus more on OEM business and need to provide better service to the bicycle makers and the bike brands, We are sure that our parts are suited for OEMs."
Following OEMs
When asked to elaborate on the updates strategies towards OEMs, Taxis said: "This company was very much focused on AM (Aftermarket), Now we want to focus more on OEMs. We do that by following them more closely in their ordering cycle and planning and for instance with our new logistics center in Taichung, Taiwan."
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,800 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
"Yesterday, Valentino Campagnolo and his family – up to the 4th generation – celebrated the 80th anniversary of his company. At this party with lots of former cycling champions, business partners and friends as well as media, a strategic change for the iconic road race parts maker was announced.
This strategy change has nothing to do with Campagnolo's results during the past four years; since the start of the economic crisis. In the 2009 – 2012 period the Italian manufacturer saw its results grow with 21%.
Nowadays Campagnolo operates two production facilities in Vicenza, Italy, two in Romania and one logistics center in Taichung, Taiwan. Next to that the company also owns seven subsidiaries located all around the world. All in all Campagnolo employs about 750 people currently.
More money from Asia
The specialist road race and accessory component maker makes increasingly more money in Asia. Here Campagnolo's revenues grew with 13% in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In other Far Eastern countries 6.2% growth was registered in 2012 while in Europe results upped 3%. 64% of the company's turnover was made in Europe last year.
Updated strategies
Campagnolo makes the biggest part of its turnover with Aftermarket business; said marketing and sales director Lorenzo Taxis at the official part of the celebration's that marked the company's milestone. He also said that Campagnolo's Aftermarket business is changing.
"Customers used to buy frames and had it assembled with our parts into a complete bike. Now they buy ready to ride bikes which are pre-assembled. This means that our strategies have to be updated. We need to focus more on OEM business and need to provide better service to the bicycle makers and the bike brands, We are sure that our parts are suited for OEMs."
Following OEMs
When asked to elaborate on the updates strategies towards OEMs, Taxis said: "This company was very much focused on AM (Aftermarket), Now we want to focus more on OEMs. We do that by following them more closely in their ordering cycle and planning and for instance with our new logistics center in Taichung, Taiwan."
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column. With more than 2,800 stories in this blog the custom search feature (right column) works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button underneath the search button.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.
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