News 2007/02

9. August, GP di Camaiore

After last sundays shocking race I felt much better today. I must have eaten something bad. I still had problems with my stomach at the beginning of the week, but then it got better day by day. Todays race was flat for the first 60 km, then we went on a circuit of 24 km with a climb on which we had to do 6 laps. Basically I felt normal throughout the race. But towards the end I ran out of gasoline. On the second last climb I got dropped from the leading group.

5. August, Giro dell'Appennino

Today I felt horrible. I was in the first group which attacked, but soon felt that there was something wrong with me. I had no power and felt like throwing up. In the first climb I couldn't keep up with the breakaway group anymore. Whenever the pace was lifted I felt like spewing. In the second climb I got off the bike. There was no point to carry on.

29. July, Brixia Tour

I kept the jersey! Right from the start of the stage I had to defend the jersey. First attack, 3 riders went off the front. I had to react immediately, because the only rider who would have been able to take over the lead in the sprint classification was in that group. So I closed the gap, and later another 4 riders joined us. The rest is history. Otherwise it was the easiest stage of the tour, and I was able to look forward to the presentation of the winners jersey;-) This tour was perfect to get going again after the break. I hope I will be feeling the effect of the training at high altitude in the next few races.

28. July, Brixia Tour

A perfect day! Again I was able to get into the right break and get maximum points in all the 3 sprints. The rider with the sprints jersey wasn't in our group, and I took over the lead in the intermediate sprints classification. 15 km from the finish, at the bottom of the final climb up to 1800 m, we got caught. I was really gone at that time. But if you can get up to the podium and get dressed in a leaders jersey, you soon forget how though the mountaintop finish was :-D

27. July, Brixia Tour

The 2 stages today were very hard. In the morning we did 80 km with an average of 50 km/h. I was still tired from yesterdays escape and lost points in the hunt for the sprint classification jersey. I the heat of the afternoon with 35 degrees I felt much better. I was able to make up another point.

26. July, Brixia Tour

I started very well into the second half of the season. In the first stage I was able to get into a breakaway with four other riders. About 25 km from the finish, in the climb up to the last mountain, we got caught by the peloton. I missed the jersey for the sprint classification by a small margin. What a shame, that would have been perfect. My teammate Bailo got a very good second place in the stage. Now I have achived already what I wanted to do in this Tour.

9. - 23. July, Traingcamp in the mountains

I have used the last two weeks to prepare for the second half of the season. The first week I slept on top of Mount Säntis and trained in the region of Appenzell during the day. Then I moved up to the Berninapass for another week. The conditions were perfect for long rides of up to 7 hrs. I would like to use my next race (Brixia-Tour) to further improve my form and then later get one or two more top results.

1. July, National Championships Roadrace

In the past few years the NC roadrace was always dominated by Phonak. This time, it was more open, but the race developed just like it used to in earlier years. The deciding break went already in the second of 12 laps. I just didn't have the legs to go with them at that time, and so they went without me. Then as the race went on I started to feel better. We chased and increased the pace of the peloton until there were only 15 riders left in our group. But we didn't work together perfectly and so the gap to the leaders remained at arround 2 min. With every lap on this hard circuit our energy level got lower and lower, and we realized that we were not going to catch them. Beat Zberg won the titel. I am happy for him. He had to ride against a united Phonak team in the past years and deserves the red jersey. With this race, the first part of the season, which was already successful has ended. I am looking forward to a break and will then prepare for the rest of the season.

24. June, Criterium Schaffhausen

This criterium was run under a special constellation. The first few laps worked out OK for me. I was able to get points in the sprints and lap the peloton at about the halfway mark, with a group of riders. But then 4 riders also escaped, and they didn't close the gap to get the bonus lap for a long time and therefore they were getting all the points. They got the extra lap only just before the end of the race. I attacked several times to get away for a second time, but I couldn't get any support from anybody. At least I was able to show myself and get a good workout before the national title roadrace on the weekend.

16. June, Tour of Slovenia

We got very close to our stage win, we almost had it in the bag. During the race we made sure that nobody could get away. In the mass sprint we rode for our rocket Borut, but had with Marzoli another joker. During the last few kilometers a thunderstorm broke out. The roads were under water and the corners became very slippery. So it just had to happen... a big mass crash in the last corner. Our 2 sprinters managed somehow to stay on the bike and finished second and third. 2 riders on the podium in the final stage, thats very nice. I felt much better today. My appetite came back and I ate whatever I could get into my hands. Now I have got 2 weeks to prepare for the national championship as good as possible.

15. June, Tour of Slovenia

During the queen stage I had to fight for survival and to finish the stage. I had stomach- and headaches. But I didn't want to abandon the race because we still have a chance to win the stage tomorrow with Borut. I had to give everything to get to the bottom of the final climb with the leading group. But then I took it easy and rode up to the finish in the "gruppetto".

14. June, Tour of Slovenia

Another day without a stage win for our team. In the first few kilometers Borut broke his chain. Just at a time when the bunch rode very fast into a crosswind. We had to work very hard to get him back into the peloton. In the climb up to the last mountain Nibali attacked and went away solo. We tried, together with a few other teams, to catch him in the last 20 km. But he won the stage solo. Even if we would have been able to catch him, we still wouldn't have got the stage win. Because Liquigas got second place as well.

13. June, Tour of Slovenia

The pace in todays stage was relativ easy, which was perfect for my legs. Then in the last 50 km we had 3 climbs. On the last one, with about 20 km to go, I was with Borut and we lost contact with the leading group. But on the descent I chased hard and closed the gap. The last km was a steep climb of 10% gradient up to the finish. I placed Borut and Solari, he was the only one uf us who didn't get dropped from the leading group, right in the front for the final climb. But they didn't have enough left for a top result.

12. June, Tour of Slovenia

During the first stage we went from the rain into the sun. As expected it ended with a mass sprint. We did a lot of work for Borut, but he couldn't get a top place. I still havn't recovered completly yet from the race in Gippingen. Only towards the end, my legs were getting better.

10. June, Gippingen

Right from the start of the race I rode very activ, because I didn't want to miss the deciding break. I was in a few escape groups, but we never got very far. When the right group went off the front I was blocked for a moment. The advantage of the leaders grew fast and when it got to 3 min I just had to do something and attacked. I had two other riders with me and we got closer and closer until we got to the leaders with 3 laps to go. But this effort had cost me a lot of energy, and so we decided to ride for my two teammates which were already in the breakaway group. I the climb on the last lap 4 riders got away. Amongst them was our Ferrara who got a strong second place in the end. Not far from the finish another rider attacked and Solari went with him. I won the sprint of the remaining riders. Afterwards I thought that it might have been better to keep the group together. So I got another important top result. The cheering from the side of the road was really worldclass. It sent chills down my spine and my legs were tingling. I would love to win this race one day. Thanks a lot to all my fans!!!

4. June, I am back, training again

During the past week I had problems with my stomach. For 3 days I felt bad and didn't have any appetite. So I had no choice and reduced my training. Towards the weekend things returned to normal and I was able to eat again. I felt much better on the bike as well. In order to keep my race rhythm I decided to take part at the national roadrace in Rothenburg and I didn't do too bad. I attacked out of the peloton with another rider, to chase a 5 man escape group. We rode together for about 25 km, but couldn't close the gap to the leaders. But at the same time we didn't get caught by the peloton either. This coming week I will try to improve my form further, because I want to ride a good race in front of my home fans in Gippingen on sunday.

20. Mai, Tour of Rheinland-Pfalz

We couldn't defend the leaders jersey, but had another reason to celebrate - my second win of the season!! At the first intermediate sprint for time bonifications we were able to trick Team Telecom. They controlled the race from the start. But Ciolek won the second sprint, got 3 seconds and took the lead in the overall classification. Now it wasn't up to us anymore to make the race. I asked our leader for permission to attack and he gave me the green light. I found the golden moment on the last kilometer. None of the teams were making pace and I got a big gap straight away. My legs hurt like hell, and I was out of steam towards the finishline. But it was just enough to hold out for the win. What a feeling!!!

19. Mai, Tour of Rheinland-Pfalz

A hard day with a happy ending. It was very difficult to controll the race. If there would have been a small breakaway, we would have let them go. But because the first 100 km were completly flat, just about everybody tried to get away. And because they were always in big groups, we couldn't let them escape. So we had to chase them down. Then at the first climb a group of 10 broke away. Amongst them 2 riders which were dangerous for the overall classification. We didn't want to take any risks and closed the gap. With about 30 km to go, a group of riders which were not placed at the front of the overall classification escaped. We let them go, but now T-Mobile took over the chase, because they wanted to win the stage with Ciolek and get the time bonus. He was placed only 1 second behind Celli. At this stage my day was over. Ciolek finished fourth and didn't get any time bonus. We were able to defend the leaders jersey with great teamwork.

18. Mai, Tour of Rheinland-Pfalz

The third win of the season for Team LPR! At least one of us was in every breakaway during todays hard third stage. At about halfway a group of 16 riders got away in a climb. We had 3 riders in it. It was the deciding break. Unfortunately without me. Towards the end Luca Celli attacked solo out of the leading group and won the stage. He also got the leaders jersey by 1 second. Tomorrow we will have to defend his lead. It will be a hard day.

17. Mai, Tour of Rheinland-Pfalz

Another day in the rain. Today I dressed a bit better, because I didn't want to be as cold as yesterday. The pace of the stage was fairly fast right from the start. I was near the leader of the race all the time. Then 3 riders, with our Chairini, got away, and the peloton slowed right down. They got caught not far from the finish and the stage ended in another mass sprint. I had big problems with my vision and the brakes. In the end I was happy to get through the stage without a crash.

16. Mai, Tour of Rheinland-Pfalz

The way the Tour de Romandie ended on saturday, continued today - cold and wet! I didn't try anything. My legs didn't feel too good yet. During the final kilometer I worked for Marco, he wanted to contest in the sprint. I led the peloton for about 300 m with about 60 km/h. A good workout for my legs....

6. Mai, Tour de Romandie

I didn't have any ambitions in the timetrail. Firstly, my batteries are empty after yesterdays escape, and secondly, I have some bad memories of this circuit from last year. This time I used different tactics, started slowly, rode well within myself until the start of the final climb. Then I gave everything I had left up to the finish. That's the only way to ride, otherwise you will never get up the steep roads. This way I was faster, I think, then last year when I went full power all the way. So now my first highlight of the season has ended. I am happy with my performance in the Tour de Romandie, and think I gave a good account of myself.

5. Mai, Tour de Romandie

Yesterday it didn't work out, but I was lucky in todays deciding hard stage. After the decent from the first mountain I broke away from the peloton with 2 other riders. In pouring rain and cold temperature, the three of us rode up to the leading riders which had escaped earlier. From there on I was able to do some advertising for my team and myself. Only just before we went into the final climb we got caught by the remaining peloton. I got the raincoats for Roger and Nacho. Then my tank was empty. No more power in my legs. The show was over. It was very though and sometimes scary to ride on the limit on the decents today. But I am very happy to have been at the front in a Pro tour race.

4. Mai, Tour de Romandie

I lost a lot of energy early in the stage trying to bridge the gap to the breakaways. But luck wasn't on my side today. 3 riders got away, I missed it. They made the stage today. Towards the end I didn't have the good legs anymore. So I decided to help Roger and Nacho to get in to a good position for the final climb.

3. Mai, Tour de Romandie

My legs didn't feel too good today. During the first part of the stage I suffered a lot. Over the first mountain I had to give everything. Then the race became easier and I felt better, towards the end even very good. After the last climb I took a risk and attacked to be seen at the front. For a few kilometers I rode with a Quikstep rider in front of the peloton. In the mass sprint Borut got a super second place. It's like a win for us ;-)

2. Mai, Tour de Romandie

After yesterdays bad performance I did much better today. I was able to stay with the best riders over the 4 climbs of 4-5 km each in length. The last mountain was 30 km from the finish, so there was a big bunch left fighting for the win in the stage. I got a good place in the sprint once more. I am confident that I will be on the podium again soon ;-)

1. Mai, Tour de Romandie

I didn't get the good result I expected in the prolog. In almost all the corners on the descent my backwheel kept skiding when I applied the brakes on the bumpy surface. I wasn't able to take the perfect line arround the corners. But I also lost too much time on the rest of the circuit.