Over the coming weeks this blog will be taking a closer look at Italian cycling and cycling in Italy. To start, a quick piece on Filippo Pozzato. Why? Because he seems to be a media darling despite few results these days and a controversial past. His profile is bigger than his palmarès and here’s a suggestion why…
Ke BUFFONATA….
— Filippo Pozzato (@PippoPozzato) September 11, 2012
Che buffonata, what a farce. In two words Filippo Pozzato sums up the last three months and more.
Today saw the hearing of cyclist at the Italian National Olympic Commission (CONI) after he was charged with consulting Michele Ferrari, the infamous sports scientist. The case is both a farce and a serious issue.
Let’s play a word association. If say “Pippo Pozzato” and “Ferrari” then you might associate the flamboyant Italian cyclist with the Ferrari sports cars. It would be a good answer as Pozzato drives a red F430. But Italy’s second newspaper La Repubblica published an article alleging that Pozzato is associated with another type of Ferrari: Michele Ferrari, the infamous sports “doctor”.
With the 2012 season under way all the top teams have unveiled their colours. Amongst these team colours are the national champions jerseys. Just as the world champion wears a jersey with the “rainbow bands”, national champions get their special jerseys.
The winner of the annual national championships gets to wear a jersey that represents their country for the year. It’s usually a variation of the national flag or colours. For example you’ll see the French champion in a big blue, white and red tricolore jersey. But in recent years the design has started to change, moving away from a flag turned into a jersey into a more normal team jersey with just hint of national colour. Here’s a more detailed look at the how and why.
I wrote this earlier in the week but realised some readers might find it ‘inconvenient’ to read at work. So here’s something for the weekend… For better or worse, we tend to forget most adverts. Now the worst can be so bad they get talked about, the free publicity generated here can be worthwhile, viral … Read more