Giro d'Italia, Grand Tour

Week 1     Week 2     16     17     Back in Germany

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 16, Udine - Asiago, 227 kms:

This took 140km...up the hill of Cat. 3, but then when the time was 16min, the rest of us and mapei starded going full on...I x-ploded and finished with 3 others totally fucked...I feel right now how I usually felt in the other Giros after the 2nd mountain stage which meant only one to go...I feel like this now before the first of the 3.

I have a feeling if I have to work tomorrow in the flat part before the 4 Cat 1 hills I might not make it inside the time cut...but no worries, maybe the race will go well and there will be a big group.

After all this whining a funny story: last night we sent our masseur to ask for "fragola and pompino gelato"...this means like "strawberry blowjob icecream" he did not now and got a funny look from the waitress...we had our big laugh of the day....hope I'll be still laughing tomorrow...

mw

Stage 17, Asiago - Selva di Val Gardena,217 kms:

So sorry guys this will be the last update on the 98 Giro...I was in the group with all the others, including Bartoli, a total of 4 Polti, 4 Ascics, 4 Amore e Vita, 3 Kelme...thanx chief commisaire for sending us home. so only 98 riders left and if you ask me there will be another 20 going home before Milano. Sad if a big tour finishes with only 80 or so riders.

Alex had a bad day yesterday but no worries he is sure he'll be on top again today and tomorrow and stay at not more then one minute behind Pantani...and then get him in the last time trial. I have no regrets in this Giro. It was a great experience to look after a top guy like Alex, but all this extra work which I'm not used as a sprinter killed me at the end...

I hope I can go back to my real job in the Vuelta...I feel like kicking some butt in the sprints again!!!! the funny thing in yesterday's stage, we came through a village called "stoner"...I wonder what they grow there...

"THAT'S ALL FOLKS" gotta catch a plane home soon, and THANX again for all the encouragements and positive echoes I received through Bill.

It's almost sure that there will be a VUELTA ESPAGNA diary in September....

bye now
mw

PS many people did email me saying that they did not know the difference between an american and an aussie pull :-) If an american pulls, he rides hard at the front of the bunch, if an aussie pulls he has a wank!!! I see you guys even learn through my diary....

[Bill: if I take enough Toohey's with me when I go to Europe in July I might be able to persuade Marcel when I see him to write for the Tour of Spain. Although his fanclub is booming now and I cannot see him refusing. Maybe he will have to pay me the beers!]

Reflections from Marcel on the Giro

but then if you look at it closely it does not suck that much...personally I had my "excuse" for not winning, I was working a lot, even so much that it was impossible for me to finish. We won 3 stages (well Alex did!), had the pink jersey for more then half the giro..

But satisfaction always depends on what you want to do in the first place, and we came with one thing in mind...winning the Giro, so at the end we failed, or I could say it even worse:

"Alex failed", the team was always strong enough to support a Giro winner, and everyone did what he had to do, except him. HEY!!! STOP.... STOP! Hold on a minute, this is what OTHER people might think about Alex and the Giro, but there is more than that:

I reckon he is a great champ on the bike and off as well, and winning these days is not as easy as 30 years ago. we work in one of the hardest jobs in this world, and if you don't make it to where you think you will, it's always bad, but it's worse for yourself...this time Alex. I can imagine how he felt when he got dropped on Croce Domini, and for sure it was no nice feeling...I felt like this before, but I'm not the kind of champ like Alex. No-one expects him to fail, so when he wins, it's normal but when he does NOT win there are heaps of people waiting to destroy him....I felt so bad when I saw him in trouble on TV. Not bad about the money we would not win, not bad about sacrifying my chances for him, but bad because of the mental pain he was going through when he realized that he would disappoint all the people who had placed their trust in him...all I can say now to you Alex:

"You'll get over it and will kick some major butt again. You have proved you're one of the best and you still are. Thanks that you have made me feel proud to be on the festina team for the 1998 Giro"

Typing this from home is really different and I don't really like it...but I thought this had to be said...more from the vuelta

take care
mw