No Garzelli at Giro: An Italian Travesty

No Garzelli at the Giro is like not having Christophe Moreau at the Tour de France

Stefano Garzelli burst onto the scene of professional cycling in the year 2000, taking the overall title at the Giro with the support of his teammate, Marco Pantani. He climbed well in the high passes, and distanced his rivals further in the time trials. In 2003 he finished a second overall to a then dominant Gilberto Simoni, and netted the sixth overall position in thew 2004 edition, behind the other Saeco stage racer, Damiano Cunego. Over the years, Garzelli has shown himself at the front of the Italian stage race, and even took two stages in last years Giro.

How can a former Maglia Rosa (2000) not be invited to compete in the Giro???

But Garzelli won't be at the 2008 Giro d'Italia. One of the top Italian riders, both a stage and overall threat, will not be able to ride the event as his team was not invited. Aqua & Sapone goes way back, all the way back to the "Lion King," Mario Cipollini. Any sponsor that is more than five years into their role as financier, shouldn't one assume that they would be invited to their country's home tour? And who deserves to race more than Garzelli? A former winner and constant animator, who could be better for the overall Giro d'Italia experience? If Garzelli can't ride, then you may as well take away the other Italian fixtures over the last few years, names like Simoni, Di Luca, Salvodelli, and Pinotti.

Garzelli has had success throughout his career, and has ridden almost exclusively for Italian sponsored teams

Stefano Garzelli has only a few more years as a top cyclist, as he is fast approaching his 35th birthday this July. As a former stage and overall winner, Garzelli should get his chance each year to contest his country's home stage race. When his time is up, Garzelli will be remembered as an excellent all-around rider who was capable of winning many different types of races. He can time trial, climb, and sprint, and he has a good nose for the front of a race. When the Giro heads into the high mountains, Garzelli's big engine and tactical prowess will be missed.

Amstel Gold: Cunego Breaks Through as Fleche, Liege Lurk

Damiano Cunego finally got a win in a early season classic, with his Amstel Gold win on Sunday. "Il Piccolo Principe" showed himself to be a rider to watch for 2008 at the Klasica Primivera, and confirmed his good form again on Sunday with the win in Holland. Cunego now is a favorite for the upcoming Liege-Bastogne-Liege race his Sunday, as the characteristics of the world's oldest classic play to some of Cunego's biggest strenghts.

Other riders looking good heading into the remaining hilly classics include Davide Rebellin, who placed a respectable fourth at the Amstel, and Frank Schleck, who was right there at the end but didn't have a sprint to compare with Cunego in the finale. Rabobank's Thomas Dekker looked good coming in fifth, and the youngster may have a better time of things at the Fleche Wallone race on Wednesday.

This year's Amstel confirmed what most already know: the Wallonian classics will be won by good climbers, not sprinters. Erik Zabel and Oscar Freire were both over a minute off the winning pace, confirming the fact that the upcoming races are not for those that can't ascend.

Cunego used his sprint to take the Amstel Gold race in his first try

The Fleche Wallone on Wednesday will give Cunego another chance at some serious early season hardware, and Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege is well-suited to the small 26 year old Italian climber as well. Best of all, the pressure is now off for Cunego as he has a classic under his belt ahead of his bigger targets for the year. Cunego will have sky-high morale heading into Wednesday's race, and his experiences in the coming week will help him at the Tour de France this July. 2008 should continue to be a good year for Damiano, as the Italian continues to improve in all types of cycling races.

Upcoming: 42nd Tirreno-Adriatico, March 12-18

The Italian stage race Tirreno-Adriatico commences on Wednesday, marking the build up to the year's first Classic, Milan San-Remo. A prestigious event, TA has been won by many great pros in its 41 year legacy, including Davide Rebellin, Oscar Friere, Abraham Olano, Francesco Casagrande, Tony Rominger, and Michele Bartoli. Roger de Vlaeminck, the rugged Belgian, took the event a record six times, all in a row, from 1972 through 1977.

Roger de Vlaeminck took Tirreno-Adriatico a record six times, and all in a row

When examining the variety of riders that have won Tirreno-Adriatico, you realize that the race can be won by almost any type of rider. Rebellin and Friere are great sprinters who can climb well enough, Rominger and Casagrande were both climbers, stage race guys, while Olano and de Vlaeminck were big engines with tremendous power. Last year's winner, Andreas Kloden, won't defend his title as the Astana team hasn't been invited to Tirreno-Adriatico or any other race organized by RCS Sport.

Tirreno-Adriatico: Touring old Italy on two wheels

The route for the 42nd edition is one built for the all-arounder. Stage one is for the sprinters, as it finishes flat after some climbing in the town of Civitavecchia. Danilo Hondo will be eager to try to get the win and the event's first leader's jersey after two years on suspension. But there will be stiff competition in Hondo's way, as big guns Tom Boonen, Paolo Bettini, "Ale-Jet" Allessandro Petacchi, Robbie McEwin, Oscar friere, Mark Cavendish, Baden Cooke, and Luca Pagliarini all will be on hand to compete. In fact, TA will have the best contingent of sprinting talent thus far in 2008, which should make for great, animated riding.

"The Cobra" winning at last year's Tirreno Adriatico

Stage five, a 26 kilometer time trial, marks the event as the winner will no doubt be someone who can put up a strong race against the clock. Look for world time trial champion Fabian Cancellera and Belgian champion Stijn Devolder to have a decent ride, as well as Vladimir Karpets of Caisse d'Epargne, Gerolsteiner's Sebastian Lang, and Slipstream's David Zabriskie. Finally, watch out for "il falco" Paolo Salvodelli, who now rides for the continental team LPR. A wily veteran with a big engine, Salvodelli will be keen to show himself ahead of the upcoming Giro d'Italia, which could be the last for the old pro.

Karpets is a good time trialist and climber, perfect for the overall title

For the climbers, three of the stages feature punchy little climbs at the finish. Stage two into Gubbio will give the climbers a chance to show themselves. The "Cobra," Riccardo Ricco always tends to use Tirreno-Adriatico as a launch pad for his season, and Andy Schleck, the younger of the two Schlecks, will be ramping up for the upcoming Giro. Stage three finishes with a nice little incline as well, which may give German champ Fabian Wegmann or "pippo" Pozzato, both riders with nice bursts on short climbs, a chance for a win. Again a stage finishes with a climb for stage six, as the field will ascend a stiff climb in the town of Castelfidardo five times. Franco Pellizotti could try his hand in stage six, as could big George Hincapie of the High Road team.

Fabian Wegmann will hope for better luck in Italy after falling ill in California

Tirreno-Adriatico should be an exciting race with fast finishes and intense competition. The last stage race before Milan-San Remo, TA will allow the sprinter's teams one more week to get things straight ahead of the meat of the Classics season. Meanwhile, the stage racers and climbers will be looking to perfect their form ahead of the Wallonian Classics and the Giro. Expect most of cycling's heads of state to be at the front of the peloton at some point during the race, with the victor having to fight all the way through to the final stage into San Banedetto del Tronto for the overall win.

Slipstream Leads the Charge in the Fight Against Doping

Cozza and team Slipstream plan on racing, and winning, clean

It is well known in the cycling world that Jonathan Vaughters and the Slipstream team are at the forefront in the fight against doping. Steven Cozza, the 22 year old pro out of Petaluma, California, spoke with me about doping in cycling between training for the Tour of California earlier this week. An easy-going guy, Cozza explained the Slipstream anti-doping mantra over a burrito at Solo Pollo in Petaluma. “The team (Slipstream) is still dedicated to clean cycling, we are still tested by A.C.E. (The Agency for Cycling Ethics) and this year they’ll be doing quite a few tests throughout the year on us. Plus, other teams have adopted the same program, so we feel we have kind of started a movement in cycling.”

Cozza has only been with Slipstream for a short time, so he is still getting used to the whole process of medical testing. “It’s kind of a hassle for the athletes to be tested so much,” he says, “but we’re all starting to get used to it. I think it will feel normal after awhile.” Another benefit of frequent testing for Cozza is “then we don’t have to race against guys that are 100 times faster than us (laughs).” Benefit indeed.

So how does the whole process work? Cozza explained that more times than not, the testers typically arrive early in the morning. “They (the UCI medical control officers) usually visit me at around 7:00 in the morning, but on a race day they’ll sometimes wake you up at 5:00 to be tested. We call them the vampires.”

The UCI's commissioner of doping Anne Gripper typically dispatches her "vampires" early in the morning

However, he cautions that he is not necessarily in agreement with the “get to them early” mantra of the testers. “If they (the UCI) have the opportunity to test later or closer to the start of a race, I don’t see why they don’t, because when they do it at 6:00 in the morning, I could easily fill myself up with blood, take something . . . . if they test you right before the start, there’d be no time to do that. But I think testing is getting better, look at the Tour de France last year.”

When speaking about the past and riders that have betrayed the trust of teammates and fans, he says he doesn’t necessarily feel a sense of resentment to past riders that have doped. “I’ve only been riding as an elite pro for a few years so I don’t feel betrayed, but a guy like Danny Pate should be pissed. I mean, he’s had a great career, but doping in a sense has made it so that he’s not been able to get the results he may have liked over the years. He could have easily resorted to taking EPO if he wanted to, but he has integrity, unlike a lot of people who have tested positive, so I respect him for that. He could have been a multi-millionaire by now but has chosen not to go that route, so he has a lot of integrity. He’s definitely respected in cycling.”

Cozza sees Pate as a team director in the future, but for now he still has plenty of racing left in him

Danny Pate appears to be the teammate that Cozza most admires and longs to be like within the Slipstream team. He speaks highly of the five year veteran, and sees a very bright future for the former under 23 World Time Trial Champion. “There are certain riders on the team that are great to be on the team with because you can go to them for advice. Danny Pate is really a great resource for me. I could see him being a director in the future. He’s a natural at teaching things without coming across as arrogant. He’s super-relaxed and has a really good head on his shoulders. He’s respected.”

In regards to the sanctioning system in place for cheaters in cycling, Cozza would like to see it get even stricter than it is now. “I think if you are caught once you should get a four year ban instead of just two. And if you’re caught positive for EPO, I think you should be done for life. If you have EPO (in your system), you’ve cheated. There’s no way to mess that test up. Kick them out for good and you’d scare a lot of riders.”

Looking ahead to the future of cycling, Cozza is optimistic. “I’m glad for what the future holds. I have many more years left to race as long as I keep progressing. And I look forward to the future because it will only get cleaner, it will only improve. Cycling is going in a positive direction. I think for the most part the sport has hit rock bottom. I think the whole attitude within the peloton has changed for the better.” For the sake of cycling, let's hope he's right.

Hard work and determination are the only ingredients Cozza needs for success