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FEATURES: THE GIRO PRELUDE
Tim Maloney
May 7, 2011
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The 2011 Giro d'Italia starts this year in Torino, a working class city
of almost a million souls in northwest Italy. Torino is the capital of
the Piemonte region and the home to Fiat, Italy's car brand. Torino is
also the site of the great celebration of the 150th anniversary of the
unification of Italy and Road Bike Action will be following the 2011
Giro d'Italia. The 2011 Giro d'Italia promises to be one of the
toughest, most exciting Grand Tours in recent years. 2010 Tour de France
winner Alberto Contador, who won the 2008 Giro d'Italia told the
Gazzetta dell Sport "this Giro is really difficult; it's harder than the
Giro I won three years ago."
For now, just to get you in the mood, we thought we'd give you just a little off-bike precursor to the hard racing to come .
On a soft May afternoon, I made my way to the QuartiereTappa, the race
HQ to get RBA's race accreditation sorted out. As usual, the Giro
organization was like one big, chaotic family authoring; much less
impersonal and much more friendly than the French outfit in July. After
getting sorted we headed back across Torino to have lunch in the
Piemontese capital at the great Italian restaurant, Eataly. Look for
more "Being There" reports to come on the 2011 Giro d'Italia on
RoadBikeAction.Com. We'll bring you tante belle cose from Italia!
Mission Accomplished! Got the badge, the car pass and even a souvenir
2011 Giro d'Italia pen. And unlike my RBA colleague (Young) Michael
White up the road with the Cannondale mob, I was able to get on-line at
my hotel!
Eataly is an emblem of the fantastic food that unifies Italia. Opened by
Oscar Farinetti four years in a closed vermouth factory in the Lingotto
district of Torino. Eataly is a megastore of Italian cuisine, kind of
Whole-Foods meets an Italian street fair. Total wow for foodies! Eataly
has branches in Milano, Tokyo and New York, with more to come worldwide.
If it's worth seeing once, it's worth seeing again...Pranzo di
Perfezione! Pizza with special aged prosciutto and crescenza, a fresh
cows-milk cheese from Lombardia.
Another kind of "Giro".One reasons riders prefer the Giro d'Italia to
any other Grand Tour is the variety and quality of the food served to
them. One way to go at Eataly in the wonderful food book section, with a
vast variety of titles including all from Torino's famous Slow Food
movement.
AS FOR THE TEAM RELEASES....
Wilier Triestina USA announced the release of its new ProTour time trial
bike, the TwinFoil, to be ridden by Team Lampre Isd at the Giro
d’Italia.
The TwinFoil was created to overcome three fundamental challenges in
aero bike design: material deformation, mechanical inefficiency, and –
of course – aerodynamic inefficiency.
Wind tunnel testing demonstrates that the most significant obstacles in
cycling aerodynamics are a rider’s mass, position and movement. Reducing
frontal area is important, though the key to speed is the efficient
redirection of airflow around all parts of the bike and rider. This
emphasis makes the TwinFoil unique in both appearance and function.
“We’ve spent a lot of time in wind tunnels, both in Europe and in the
US,” explained Angelo Cilli, President of Wilier Triestina USA. “We are
excited to introduce a UCI approved time trial bike that leverages
design features which make it fast as well as differentiate it from the
rest,” concluded Cilli.
Aerobrakes provide maximum clearance from air turbulence generated by
spinning wheels while providing optimal braking power and modulation.
The rear Aerobrake caliper is positioned beneath the chainstays, tucked
behind the bottom bracket cluster and hence “hidden” from the wind.
The same principle of maximum clearance has been applied in the design
of Wilier’s proprietary TwinFoil fork, seatstays and chainstays,
minimizing air turbulence and drag generated by rotating wheels. In
other words, Wilier has sought to eliminate power transfer and airflow
inefficiencies inherent in conventional designs.
Wilier’s innovative rear dropout system enables custom and precise
positioning of the rear wheel via four adjustment bolts. This unique
solution offers mechanics and riders the ability to establish ideal
wheelbase. It also facilitates identical positioning of the cogset in
relation to the rear derailleur, including during wheel changes, to
ensure optimal drivetrain performance.
The TwinFoil boasts an integrated seatpost binder assembly housed within
the top tube. This expansion assembly securely anchors the airfoil
seatpost within the aero seat tube while preserving seamless
aerodynamics.
Wilier has implemented an orbital front derailleur adjustment bolt, as
well as adjustability in the braze-on itself, to ensure proper and exact
positioning of the front derailleur. These features facilitate optimal
orientation of the front derailleur cage in relation to chainrings
across all prominent drivetrain systems for easier setup and enhanced
shifting. For more info: Wilier USA.
MEANWHILE, OVER IN THE GEOX/FUJI TEAM CORNER...
For the 2011 Giro d'Italia, GEOX-TMC will be riding Fuji Altamira 1.0
road bikes, and for time trials, two ASI-branded bikes: the Fuji D-6 and
the Kestrel 4000. The bikes are equipped with Oval Concepts wheelsets,
handlebars, and stems. For more info on GEOX-TMC's team bikes,
With leaders like 2009 Giro d'Italia champion Denis Menchov and 2008
Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre, as well as emerging stars like
Fabio Duarte and Rafael Valls, GEOX-TMC will not only be among the top
contenders for the pink jersey; they have a chance to win. For more info: Team Fuji
AS FOR WATCHING THE RACE...
Sports presents over 45 hours of LIVE comprehensive coverage of the
2011 Giro d’Italia Grand Tour cycling event. The network will cover the
race on its television, on-line and mobile platforms beginning this
Saturday, May 7 at 9:30 a.m. ET. The 94th annual race will feature many
of the world’s top riders as they battle across 1,500 miles through
mountainous Italy with the hope of obtaining each day’s coveted prize,
the “Maglia Rosa,” Giro’s pink leader jersey.
Universal Sports will have daily live coverage of every stage, including
a post-race report, and primetime re-airs nightly at 8:00 pm ET. On
the two rest days, the network will air the “Giro Race Review” show,
featuring highlights of the race so far and an analysis of upcoming
challenges. The broadcast team consists of Steve Schlanger on
play-by-play and Todd Gogulski, former teammate of Lance Armstrong and
Greg LeMond, serving as the network’s cycling analyst.
The network’s digital platform, UniversalSports.com, will offer the
ultimate online experience for cycling fans with live, pay-per-view
coverage of the complete race that will include athlete profiles, expert
analysis, highlights, photos and recaps. Universal Sports’ Facebook
page will host a free viewing party of stage one on Saturday, May 7 at
9:30am ET and fans will get the opportunity to LIVE chat with Brent
Bookwalter from the BMC Racing Team.
Alberto Contador of Spain enters the 2011 Giro d’Italia in search of his
sixth Grand Tour title. He won the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta á
Espana in 2008 and then went on to win the Tour de France in 2010.
During that Tour win, however, the Spaniard tested positive for a banned
substance and was suspended from competition. He's since been cleared
of wrongdoing by the Spanish Cycling Federation, but the UCI (cycling's
governing body) and WADA (World Anti-doping Agency) have appealed to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport. The CAS said it will make a final
decision before the 2011 Tour de France.
With reigning champion Ivan Basso concentrating on other races, 2009
champion Denis Menchov will look to join an elite field of riders to win
the Giro d’Italia more than once. Italians Stefano Garzelli, Michele
Scarponi and Basso’s teammate, Vincenzo Nibali, will all look to keep
the pink jersey in Italy.
Highlighting the 2011 Giro field for the Americans are sprinter Tyler
Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo), climber Craig Lewis (HTC-Highroad), Chad Beyer
(BMC) and Peter Setina (Garmin-Cervelo). Farrar will look to take home
the coveted sprinter’s title. He is considered one of the fastest
sprinters in the field and won two Stages during the 2010 Giro d’Italia.
However, the American will face strong competition from Britain’s Mark
Cavendish of HTC-Highroad, who won multiple sprint stages in both the
Tour de France and Vuelta á Espana last year. With Cavendish’s speed
and Lewis’ strength as a climber, HTC Highroad could be a strong
contender for the overall team win. Beyer and Setina will be making
their Grand Tour competition debut and look to be solid contributors to
their respective teams.
Universal Sports’ complete cycling coverage includes more than 10
premier road cycling races, including two of the three Grand Tours of
cycling—Giro d’Italia and Vuelta á Espana—as well as many other UCI
Championships and World Cup races in road cycling, track, mountain bike
and cyclocross. A complete schedule of all Universal Sports cycling
programming is available at universalsports.com/cycling.
Follow US on
Twitter: twitter.com/Universalsports
Facebook: facebook.com/UniversalSports |
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