Daily Archives: April 20, 2012

Stage races

Giro del Trentino review

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Pocket rocket Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago-CSF Inox) took the biggest win of his career  – his first for two years – and recorded a prestigious victory and welcome boost for his ProContinental team ahead of the Giro d’Italia, when he emerged victorious to win the 36th edition of the Giro del Trentino. In addition, he won both the third stage and the mountains classification.

With the exception of the team time trial on stage one, won by BMC, this really was a race for diminutive mountain goats – the more diminutive the better.  On the queen stage three, we were treated to that rare spectacle, riders in 34×29 granny gears, moving as if in slow motion, up the 15% average gradient along little more than a track to Punta Veleno. Runner-up Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) said it was even worse than the Zoncolan! Sylvester Szymd (Liquigas-Cannondale) rewarded his team’s efforts by hanging onto third place overall. Continue reading →

The Big Feature

Friday Feature EXCLUSIVE: Up close & personal with Sky’s Bobby Julich

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Bobby Jullich Sky Pro Cycling Team Race Coach (image courtesy of Sky)

Bobby Julich, Sky Pro Cycling Team Race Coach (image courtesy of Sky)

I’m sitting here on the VeloVoices terrace, conveniently relocated on the Cote d’Azur, drinking an espresso and chatting with Bobby Julich. After a long and successful career as a professional rider – 15 years, during which he won an Olympic medal, became the second American to stand on the podium at the Tour de France and the first to take overall victory at Paris-Nice – Bobby retired in 2008, remaining with what is now Saxo Bank in a management position, before leaving at the end of 2010 to join Team Sky’s coaching staff as a race coach, working alongside Rod Ellingworth. Continue reading →