Showing posts with label Astana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Astana. Show all posts
Wednesday, 3 July 2019
Monday, 6 May 2019
Friday, 4 January 2019
Cycling Impressions Interviews: Elena Pirrone
We had the pleasure to interview a World and European Champion: Elena Pirrone.
The talented girl from Bolzano, Italy, is currently riding for Astana Womens Team in the UCI Women's World Tour.
Here is what she told us at the start of 2019 cycling season.
Hi Elena and thank you, I'am excited and a bit nervous. I've never interviewed a World Champion before! I'll try to do my best.
Where does your love for cycling come from?
Hi! It is a pleasure for me too. My passion for cycling comes from my parents.
They are both former riders. When I was younger I loved following my dad at his races to cheer him.
This is nice! When did you jump on a bike for the first time and who put you on it?
To be honest, I can't remember how old I was, probably I was 3 but I'am not sure.
What I remember is that I had a red tricycle which I really loved and with which I always went around.
Let's move to your first races. Did you start with road cycling or cyclocross and which is your favorite?
I don't like cyclocross. When I was sixteen I did a couple of races just for fun but I prefer road cycling.
Cyclocross is too muddy and cold for me! I like watching it on TV.
Ahaha, I see your point. You have already won a World title and a European title, which is something fantastic, but what is your favorite race?
I love hard races in general.
I like Strade Bianche and the Ronde Van Vlaanderen but, unfortunately, I haven't had the occasion to race them yet.
Last question and thank you again for your time Elena. What do you want to say to boys and girls that would like to try to be pro riders?
All I can say is to always follow your dreams and never give up, because if you really want something it will come true.
Thank you very much Elena and good luck! Cycling Impressions will always be a fan of you!
Thank you!
Tuesday, 13 February 2018
Friday, 26 January 2018
Start of the Season
The new season just started and nothing seems to be changed.
Sagan is bossing in and out the competitions, his meeting with the Pope has been fantastic and showed us a grown Champion.
Greipel said again he is still in the game and in pure sprints he is the one to beat.
Degenkolb after a troubled season has already won a race, but will he return to be the champion he was before the horrible accident? I really hope so.
Porte seems to have done this, he won again on Willunga Hill, 6 months after his dramatic crash at le Tour de France.
In conclusion, what can we say about Quick-Step Floors? They have started the season reaffirming their enormous superiority in the UCI World Tour, they have already won 3 races with 3 different riders.
Do we have to prepare ourselves for another spring of Sagan vs. Quick-Step Floors?
This are the first few 2018 impressions because I don't want to say a word about so many teams that, at first sight, appear significantly below expectations.
Sunday, 7 January 2018
Peloton 2018 - Rider Transfers
How will be the 2018 Peloton?
Here is a summary of the most important transfers:
AG2R La Mondiale
In: Benoit Cosnefroy (Neo-Pro), Clément Venturini (Cofidis), Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal),
Silvan Dillier (BMC Racing Team), Aurélien Paret Peintre
Out: Christophe Riblon (Retires), Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida),
Sondre Holst Enger (Israel Cycling Academy), Hugo Houle (Astana)
Extended: Romain Bardet, Oliver Naesen, Pierre Latour, Ben Gastauer, Axel Domont,
François Bidard, Alexis Vuillermoz, Mikaël Chérel, Gediminas Bagdonas, Nico Denz,
Julien Duval
Friday, 15 September 2017
Rider of the Vuelta a España 2017
This is not a fairy tale, you did it! You have been elected rider of the Vuelta 2017, the last race of your outstanding career!!
Contador's victory of our special classification has been a sort of plebiscite, he has taken 58% of the votes (the second, Froome, 17%, just to give you an idea) and has been elected rider of the Vuelta 2017.
I can just thank this incredible champion and I think we will miss him so much.
I hope he will continue his work with his team of young talents, teaching them to attack and never give up and maybe, in the future, we will have another Contador. Maybe...
Monday, 11 September 2017
Tuesday, 5 September 2017
La Vuelta 2017 Pt. 2
Froome is struggling to keep his leader jersey as he never did before.
If he will bring the red jersey to Madrid I think this would be maybe his best victory of a Grand Tour.
He has been fighting since the first day, proving that he is able to ride also far away from the flat Tour de France stages.
In case of win, he would complete his first double and he would definitively enter the legends' club.
He would be remembered as one of the most successful Grand Tour riders.
La Vuelta made us discover also a new talented rider named Lopez that is literally bossing everyone when the road climbs.
Will he continue is incredible growth? Has Astana found a new captain? Will Aru leave Astana? What is the strategy of the team?
We can still discover a lot, a new unpredictable week of Vuelta is starting.
Stay tuned!
Monday, 10 July 2017
How Many Riders Will Arrive In Paris?
This is the question murmured on the roads of le Tour de France.
One of the most boring Tour de France I can remember is being sadly animated just by bad crashes.
Nevertheless, they are part of cycling, as mechanical problems.
That's why I think that the weeping Froome should not have complained with Aru about his attack.
Following the policy of Froome I don't understand why the Tour is continuing on Tuesday with another stage. We should suspend the Tour and wait 30 days 'til Porte is fully recovered and ready to battle again. Ridiculous.
I don't even understand why the other contenders did not help Aru in the only true attack of the day at the yellow jersey. They preferred to wait for Froome and to be humiliated by him.
Condator is a former champion that is facing his natural decline and Quintana is still recovering from one of the hardest Giro of all time.
They had a chance, they missed it.
Friday, 30 June 2017
Rider of the Month : June
Congratulations Jakub, you did it!
Fuglsang is the first Danish rider that triumphs in this special classification.
He dominated the Critérium du Dauphiné and is ready to lead Astana in the upcoming Tour de France.
He is a solid and complete rider and can find in Aru something more than a helper.
The strategy of the multi-captain is one of the best but, so far, there is just one team able to do it tadily and it is Team Quick-Step Floors during the classics campaign.
Nevertheless, it is two years in a row that the rider who won the Criterium du Dauphiné, in late July, won the Tour de France too, will the tradition continue?
Tuesday, 27 June 2017
Monday, 26 June 2017
Italian National Championships
I've seen so many races during this weekend of National Championships all around the world and the one that impressed me the most was the Italian one.
Aru won like a champion with one of the best attacks I've seen this season.
He attacked on the last climb and never slowed down, always pushing hard on his bike.
Aru's cycling style is particular but fantastic to see in a day like yesterday (extremely hot) and on the hardest climbs.
He is an emotional rider, every stroke of the pedal is like a step towards his personal redemption.
There is the shadow of Scarponi on Aru's victory, he rode with the jersey that his friend gave him while they were training in Spain. This is cycling.
If Aru maintain this shape during the Tour de France, I'am sure it will be a great show.
It is a long time we don't have a Champion so close to the people, with a so expressive way of pedaling.
Sunday, 11 June 2017
Critérium du Dauphiné
One of the most famous pre-Tour races is over, but I don't think we could collect real info about the riders that will battle for the yellow jersey.
Porte fought hard during the last stage to win the race but he did it just due to his position in the General Classification and because a champion in such a position can't do in a different way.
Nevertheless I don't think this is enough to make statements and predictions about the upcoming Tour de France.
In my opinion, at the end of this Critérium du Dauphiné there are three notable events:
1) The great victory of Fuglsang and Team Astana that after really hard days are trying to rebuilt a dramatic (not in terms of results) season. The team fought harder than ever and, in the end, won.
It is really hard to comment a victory like this, so we can just enjoy it and think about it.
2) The birth of two young talent: a sprinter and a climber. Bauhaus and Bouwman took both their first World Tour win and seems to have promised us great shows in the future.
The victory of Bauhaus is the top of a maturation process that passed through a great Giro d'Italia. Will Bauhaus be the next German great sprinter?
3) Valverde is immortal and is one of the best riders of all times. He is one of the few rider (Sagan is another for example) than when takes part to a race you can be sure it will be an exciting one and you won't forget he is in the race. He is 37 and he is never complaining, this is a great example for so many riders that claim to be the best. and pretend so much.
See you soon to see what happened in the Swiss corner of the pre-Tour preparation.
Saturday, 22 April 2017
The Eagle Of Filottrano
You have no words when this kind of tragedies happen.
Nevertheless, I decided to write this article to pay a tribute to one of the most representative riders of the cycling world, Michele Scarponi.
I am very sad also because yesterday, answering to the last Tweet of Michele, I told him to bring to his children two pink jerseys too and He liked my comment.
This made me feel even closer to him, because this was Michele, a rider incredibly close to people and fans.
He has never been arrogant or conceited, he was always ready to joke with someone and this made him the rider of the people.
The career of Michele is out of the question, he has been one of the best riders of the last 20 years, but what makes the difference is that he will be remembered for his fantastic personality and this is the hardest trophy to conquer.
Remembering Michele, I just want to imagine that the Eagle of Filottrano will fly over the Peloton protecting the riders.
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