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Eddy Merckx, History, News -

Happy Birthday, Eddy Merckx !!

One of cycling’s biggest luminary, Eddy Merckx, turns 75 today. Gelukkige verjaardag Eddy !! Merckx turned professional in 1965 with the Solo-Superia team after a successful amateur carrier winning more than 80 victories along with the 1964 World Championships Road race. From there, Merckx would go on to win virtually every major race and Grand Tour event that lay before him. During his career from 1965 to 1978, Merckx proved to be unbeatable, with no fewer than 11 grand tour overall victories. And, upon his retirement, he had racked up a total of 525 wins – netting 445 wins out of the 1585 races he competed in. In 1971 Merckx won 45 percent of the races he started. Come up against Merckx during that season and your chances of victory as a rival rider were as good as halved before you’d even begun. On 25 October 1972, “the Cannibal” set a new hour record at 49.431km in Mexico City wearing a refined aero body-suit made by Amando and his son Maurizio Castelli (branded Vittore Gianni), and a specially constructed Colnago road bike with the same measurements as Merckx’s track bike. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EDDY !! Images: Foto Reporter Sirotti, Castelli image ...

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andy, blizzard, Breukink, Epic Climbs, gavia, giro, Giro d'Italia, hampsten, History, Passo Gavia -

Passo Gavia: The Day The Big Men Cried

On June 6, 1988, the day after the 14th stage of the Giro d’Italia, one which crossed the mighty Gavia pass in a snowstorm to finish in Bormio, La Gazzetta dello Sport ran the headline “The Day the Big Men Cried”. Indeed it was. It was “only” a stage of 120 kilometers (75 miles) beginning in Chiesa Valmalenco, descending to the Passo dell’Aprica after 70 km, climbing 650 meters (2000 feet) to the 1181 meter summit (3700 feet) before dropping 480 meters (1500 feet) back into the valley. The next obstacle was the Passo Tonale, a long gradual climb to 1450 meters (4500 meters) that then forked northwards for the Gavia, starting at Ponte de Legno. The Gavia from this side is a staggering 17.3 kilometers long (10.8 miles) and climbs a mind-boggling 1363 meters (4200 feet) to a summit at 2621 meters (8600 feet) while averaging 7.9% grade. On the start line, the riders were met with heavy rain. But the forecast for the mountains was for much worse. At the morning meeting for the team directors, it was reported that it was snowing at the top, but the road was clear. Armed with that information, the 7-Eleven directors ...

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1987, giro, Giro d'Italia, History, Stephen Roche -

Not a betrayal, just business: Roberto Visentini and Stephen Roche

Most people remember the 1987 Giro for the “polemica” between defending champion Roberto Visentini and his teammate (and eventual winner) Stephen Roche of Ireland. After the Italian won the prologue, and Dutchman Eric Breukink took stage 1a, Roche won stage 1b: a unique time trial DOWN the famous Poggio descent into San Remo. The two later took the stage 3 team time trial with the Carrera squad with Roche claiming the pink jersey. He suffered a bad fall at the end of stage 10 and was frustrated as teammate Visentini rode past and offered no assistance. Bruised and battered, but still in the Maglia Rosa, he faced 46 kilometers, mainly uphill, on the Stage 13 time trial to San Marino in the Emilia-Romagna wine region. Visentini, reputed to be a bit of a playboy with suspect motivation, was nevertheless immensely talented. On this day he was brilliant, and absolutely turned the race upside down, winning by over a minute and putting nearly three into the injured 12th place Roche, handily reclaiming pink in the process. He would not keep it, however (see post 108) as Roche (with some mountain assistance from Scot Robert Millar of the Panasonic team) would recover, but ...

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1981, battaglin, campbell, dave, giro, Giro d'Italia, History, moser, saronni.bologna -

Giro d’Italia: 1981 Giro stands out for many reasons

The city of Bologna, in Emilia Romagna, has hosted the Giro on numerous occasions but the 1981 Giro stands out for many reasons. The 1981 Giro d’Italia was a purely Italian affair with no trips into the islands or neighboring countries. The riders faced four-time trials (including one for teams) and ten mountain stages, two of which featured summit finishes. The 3,896-kilometer course covered nearly the entire length of Italy from North to South, beginning in the Veneto region then reaching Reggio Calabria on the Southern tip after eleven days of racing and then making an air transfer North to Roma on the first of two rest days. The 24-day journey then wound northward towards the 35-kilometer time trial in Tuscany on stage 13. The mountains began in earnest when the race then left Milan on Stage 16 and headed east to the only true Dolomite stage. But what a stage it was, climbing the Tre Croce pass to Misurina and then finishing atop the mighty Tre Cime di Lavaredo just two days prior to the final time trial that would bring the race into Verona. Following Frenchman Bernard Hinault’s victory in 1980, this edition was expected to be an all ...

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castelli, Contest, history, milano, sanremo, sky, speed suit, team -

WINNERS OF MILAN-SAN REMO 2018 CONTEST

We want to send a big thank you to everyone who participated in the Sanremo Speed Suit contest and helped make it a success! And a special congratulations to Christopher Wright, Fabio Branco, and Wojtek Sienkiewicz, the winners of the Sanremo 3.2 Speed Suit prize. Stay tuned for our Northern Classics contest starting the week between Flanders and Roubaix. THE RIGHT ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS: 1.   The Sanremo Speed Suit was inspired by the Sanremo finish line back in 2009. What’s the name of the Castelli-equipped rider who was second to Mark Cavendish by a heartbreaking 3 centimeters? Heinrich Haussler Filippo Pozzato Thor Hushovd 2.   Who was the last rider to win both Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo in the same year? Roger De Vlaeminck Fabian Cancellara Francesco Moser 3.   What year did the first edition of Milan-San Remo take place? 1898 1907 1913 4.   What are the last two climbs of Milan-San Remo? Poggio Tre Capi Cipressa

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