Italian pro team Liquigas have had a semi-permanent base on the slopes of Mount Etna this year. Etna is an active volcano in Sicily, the large island at the southern tip of the Italian peninsula. It’s black slopes often contrast with a snowy peak and at times, the infernal glow of lava.
Liquigas’s mountain HQ is the Rifugio Giovanni Sapienza, a mountain lodge also the choice of the Astana team. A pumice stone’s throw away lies the Hotel Corsaro, as used by two more teams, Lampre and Katusha.
Russian Denis Galimzyanov is one of the sprint revelations of the season so far. The 24 year old rider with Katusha was up there in the results right at the start of 2011 with placings in the Tour of Qatar and Oman before taking his first full win in the second stage of the Three Days of De Panne (note he’d won a TTT with Katusha in 2010) and took home the points jersey too.
Who is he? Well nobody knows. Katusha aren’t the most open of teams but this guy looks like someone you can’t ignore. I got curious and tracked down some info on him, giving myself a headache last night trying to recall my pidgin Russian to translate relevant info. For me at least it was worth it as it turns out he’s probably the only pro with classical piano skills. Plus he knows karate.
Teams that are supposed to reflect glory upon their home countries can struggle. Astana quickly got to the point where Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme said “they cannot be trusted“. Several changes of management later and today we see the team still overshadowed by scandal thanks to Contador’s ongoing. Kazakhstan suffers from an image … Read more
Do you like the watch here? It’s got more ice than a polar cap. Just look at all those diamonds on the face and they’re not just for show: they rotate along with the hands. It’s the Solitaire, by the Swiss watchmaker Sarcar. The price is unknown but another Sarcar model is mentioned by hip-hop … Read more
Have you seen Kim Kirchen? The Luxembourg rider had been a force for several years, culminating in his stunning 2008 season where the Luxembourger won the Flèche Wallonne, took stages in the Tour of the Basque Country, the Tour of Switzerland, the Tour de France and many other prizes. Alive and well? Kirchen was so … Read more