Giro d'Italia, Grand Tour

Week 1     9     10     11     12     13     14     15     Week 3    

Marcel Wust Reporting from his Bike

Expect him to be up when the sprints are on and not so up when the hills start.

Whatever, it will be a lot of fun.

Stage 9, Foggia - Vasto, 167 kms:

The race was fast, with a hill in the beginning where the bunch x-ploded...my group (the last) chased 45km to get back on, then straight to the front again, controlling and looking after Alex. Glenn won the sprint with Cipo sprinting the fastest but from too far back.

We'll have too defend the jersey another day and I really am starting to like it. Heaps of riding in the wind which I usually avoided, but with Uriarte missing, it is up to Boscardin and myself to do the most to keep the climbers in shape for the last week.

Today's hotel is right on the beach (dirty), has 3 stars(worth 1!!) and when you want to have a bath after the stage you can't...the warm water is brown...and not warm.

...the phone looks like I've gotta put another McGyver session in...

that's it for the day
mw

Stage 10, Vasto - Macerata, 212 kms:

today was flat with a hill at the end and we had a serious headwind all the way along the coast. After a usual easy take off and "local breakaway" (Di Renzo lives there) with a buffet, cake and coke it turned out to be a serious race with attacking all over the place and a break of 5 getting up the road.

By the way for all of you watching this on "eurosport": when the transmission started we were probably NOT riding in the front, but remember they only show the last 50km and we had to do 215km today. Even the RAI (Italian TV) started worrying about me today and asked Bruno (Roussel, Team Director) why l was riding in the front and not waiting for the sprint, and that there were not many sprinters left, and it would be more challenging, and, and...

... even not winning they talk about me and I get more and more journos starting to ask questions.

It looks like they are more worried about my new role then me... one thing is for sure though: it's much harder then what I was usually doing before (sucking wheels and sprinting!!)...but one consolation: it's only for the giro!!

send me some encouraging emails...I start to need them!!
mw

[Bill notes: I'll pass them on to Marcel]

Stage 11, Macerata - San Marino, 220 kms:

Short summary: 17 up the road...needed to ride... Boscardin and me (at the end helped by 3 TVM's) spent the day chasing 130km...until we hit the first of 3 hills at 65 from the finish we had an average of 46 and the break was 5 min up the road. Oin this same hill I got ejected and spent the last 63km of the stage with me, myself and I...

Double hit, as I was not only last of the stage (at 20min) but went into last spot overall

as well...but no worries, still best german!!!

Haven't been talking much today, so no new gossip...but I'm too fucked to type it anyway.

more tomorrow...promised!!
mw

PS: the first and the last of the giro in the same room...I keep telling alex he's lazy...I've been riding an hour and a half longer then he did since we started in Nice!!

Stage 12, San Marino - Carpi, 202 kms:

So now about the last day:

Oh what a nite... after going to bed late because todays start was scheduled at 12:30 I thought I'll have a good night's sleep...but f'ing nothing...the "vampires" came! the UCI did the blood testing this morning..up at 7.30 am, with gave me only 6 hours sleep. A total of 46 riders got tested and we all were below the allowed htc of 50. When they took Belli's blood they missed the vein and he has a big blue pot on his arm...he's spewing!!!

So after yesterday's big chase I planned to take it a bit easy today...and I could until we got to the last 60km where a break got up the road (21 riders) So I still spent 1:05hrs flat out in the front, thats how long it took to do the last 60km!!!!!!!! it was also pissing down rain

And 6 of the 8 guys on the team crashed...Alex and myself included.

To end with: we finally lost the jersey, not by much but by enough to have 2 days sitting in the wheels and try to recover, because I really need it. I'm really not used to this shit. I'll be happy when I'll be able to return to my normal wheelsuck and sprint job. But for sure this Giro will make me much stronger, although there is no way I'll get close to Neil Stephen's riding in the wind record...I'll have to be pro 4 another 20 years.

The morning it always pretty relaxed when we go to the hospitality village and have coffee read the Gazetta and get up to date with the new gossip. The best thing are my new Oakleys...a-wires...only 2 pairs in europe, the other one you can enjoy on Gian-Carlo Fisicellas face...pretty cool eh!

This diary has been a complete succes, can't really believe it, but only positive echoes. I'm still pro cyclist though and not a journo...but I really like writing this to change the ideas a bit after the stages, thinking only bike, bike, bike for most of the day and if you guys like it...even better!!.

It's still pissing down rain right now (10pm), and I'm ready for bed. At least we have the best hotel so far, and on my side of the huge room is almost all my stuff out of the suitcase and on the floor... I explained to Alex this is much better because you see right away where all the stuff is...looks pretty messy though. at least no McGyver acts today, we have 2 phones in the room and I can connect right from here on this little desk... it'll save me a few minutes I can invest in the thing l need most for the moment: SLEEP!!!

by til tomorrow
mw

Stage 13, Carpi - CARPI - Schio, 166 kms:

Lets talk about todays stage...WONDERFULL!!! even doing 48 avg. In the first 50min it was easy compared to the other days...TVM chased them all down and I was sitting in the wheels just close enough to Alex to make a move to the front with him whenever it would have been necessary...it never was.

So I got a free ride until the last hill (12km to go) and just worked enough to make sure that "the panther" (he is not pink anymore, but will be soon again!) and Belli made it in the first few riders at the bottom of the climb. then my tactical masterpiece took place...

...I flicked Leporati who went with the big grupetto, and stayed with the poor TVM bastards who had been riding all day, and Matt White. So I moved back to last which I announced this morning to my team mates as my goal of the day. Matt was really pissed of with his team manager (he rides 4 Amore e Vita, but his director is NOT the Pope!). he made him attack after the break of 3 which was 4min. up the road...

...3 times. I could say he made him look stupid as well. Normally you can say the smaller the team the more fucked up are the tactics...and the less they respect their riders. There were heaps of people in the climb and Matt and me were joking about how it would be going up Mt. Buller or Bumble Hill with a crowd like this...

[Bill notes: Mt. Buller is in Victoria and Bumble Hill is near my home in NSW, both steep and famous bike racing hills in Australia]

So I can say I had the first day EASY in this Giro!! It was about time, and looking towards tomorrow it looks like I have another one...all flat and then up a Cat 1 climb...no worries, as Asics will pull in the front all day. (American pull, not Australian :-))

...and then an easy time trial....starting first and then watch the big guns on TV while I get a massage.

Only one little worry: today a tendon in my left leg started hurting a bit...but as a well organized team we have the right people to look after this. I did a 15min ultra sound, then ice and overnight I'll put a special anti anflammatory package on it...should be right!

Another worry...the plastic bag I have the ice in leaks...and It looks like I have to sleep in a flooded bed tonight.

good nite anyway...I got rained on for the last 2 days so that little water in my bed should not make any difference.

later
mw

Stage 14, Schio - Piancavalloo, 165 kms:

At the start we went flat out for 50 min...avg 50 something, but it was not me or Boscardin or anyone else of us chasing...it was Asics, and sitting in the wheels my heart rate rarely went over 130 :-)

Then the complete slowdown for about 80km...25kph was considered a good speed for all of us, including another buffet stop prepared by the fan clubs of the locals.

I talked a lot with Laurent Roux and Matt White. Laurent was really enjoying his day in pink yesterday, just a shame that when he really started realizing he was leading one of the 3 big tours it was over again. We talked lots about the winter...vacation time, doing things you usually can't do because there is no time...travelling to other countries Where summer never leaves...like the maldives...Caribbean...or like Australia.

Talking oz...best Aussie in the race Matt White...and we spent all the last part of the stage together, saving energy for the last week, going up the last climb easy with the big grupetto.

I dunno what other teams get as race food, but ours is quite good. Lots of cakes, and little bread rolls with cream chease and jam, not too many bars (just 1 power bar and gel).

Matt and myself reckon that todays Festina cakes looked more like fair dinkum aussie meat pies...all we missed with it was some tomato sauce and a Toohey's cold on tab...or at least a slab of VB [Bill notes: Toohey's and VB (Victoria Bitter) are Aussie beers].

....back to reality: this would be no good to digest before the climb, better leave that for next winter!!

Now we have another transfer to trieste where I'll have my personal rest day...the individual time trial. I'll really need to recover well, because the panther we have on board turned into pink again after today's top of the mountain finish...and there is no way he'll lose it in the TT. That means lots of work on Monday and Tuesday, and then save my arse inside the time cut on Wed. and Thursday... It'll be really hard, because usually I never work in the front and JUST make it through. But I am starting to enjoy writing this diary so much that I will put some x-tra effort in to make to Milano and produce a few smiles every day.

Right now in the bus we have the big discussion going on what is the official language for this giro: maybe French, because the team is French and the director as well...but Alex would not understand jack shit...so NOT French.

maybe Italian because it's the Giro and Belli is Italian and everybody knows "dio cane"...but that about all Italian everybody knows so it's NOT Italian. how about German? 4 of us riders speak and understand it no worries...but no one else, so it's NOT German. Spanish is spoken and understood by all of us, some more and some less but at least we can communicate and as Festina's headquarters are in Barcelona it sounds like a good compromise...just KIVILEV reckons it should be Russian..."nazdrovie tovarich"

later
mw

Stage 15, Trieste, ITT 40 kms:

no, ehhh he did not win...he just started first!!!

thats about my cycling day......here we go for the rest.

I rode my bike back to the hotel, real easy of course, came past the pizzeria I smelled already in the race. it was lunch time too. lucky I'm an old experienced pro...never go without money...so I stepped in asked if it was no worries to take my bike in and finally had what I was dying for for the last week. PIZZA. I just ordered the basic with tomato, cheese and ham, but it was the thing that made my day.

it was nice as well to lay on the massage table and watch Alex kick lots of butts!!!

Tomorrow will be heaps of riding in the wind, and again the finish is kind of hard, so I hope I don't have to ride as much on my own then the other day. did you ever realize that when you don't do much you get lazy, and if you do less even lazier??

I had a lazy day...and I'm really lazy typing today :-)

keep smiling

mw