doppio: 09
DESCRIPTION
The Doppio is Rapha's weekly double shot of road racing reportage. A two-sided publication of the week's action and what's up the road, every Wednesday we review and preview the week's biggest races and fill you in on the details in between. We're midway through both the Giro and the Tour of California, so stage-race treats abound. There's a guide to the next week's Giro stages, as the riders continue their journey through the high mountains towards the mighty Galibier just over the border in France. We also have a primer on the remaining Tour of California stages, plus a couple of nuggets we picked up in the team hotels, as well as an appreciation of the Tour of California and its mythmaking potential from Bill Strickland, editor-at-large of Bicycling magazine. Last but not least, we have a report on the Rás, the tour of Ireland, being raced next week by Rapha-Condor-JLT and Rapha's very own Ultan Coyle. Best enjoyed with an espresso or two.TRANSCRIPT
a weekly double-shot of road racing Wednesday 15th May 2013
rapha.ccissue 09
adam hansen’s shoes: # prost y le
the giro this week
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19SATURDAY
— Giro d’Italia S8SUNDAY
— Giro d’Italia S9— Tour of California
S1
MONDAY
— Giro d’Italia Rest day
— Tour of CaliforniaS2
TUESDAY
— Giro d’Italia S10— Tour of California
S3
WEDNESDAY
— Giro d’Italia S11— Tour of California
S4
THURSDAY
— Giro d’Italia S12— Tour of California
S5
FRIDAY
— Giro d’Italia S13— Tour of California
S6
SATURDAY
— Giro d’Italia S14— Tour of California
S7
SUNDAY
— Giro d’Italia S14— Tour of California
S8— Rás S1
an post rás tailteann
e Fighting IrishAhead of this year’s edition of Ireland’s biggest road race,ex-pro Tom Southam reflects on the lesser known ridersthat make ‘e Rás’ unique (and very, very hard).e An Post Rás Tailteann is an eight-day pro-amstage race that has taken place in Ireland since 1953.Known simply as ‘e Rás’, its uci status, along withIreland’s proximity to the uk, means the race attractsa number of Continental teams. But its strong heritagealso means the field includes a number of Irish countyteams who, in turn, include some of the most deter-mined club-level riders on the planet. With the soleaim of attacking whenever and wherever they can, itis these riders, not the pros, that make the race unpre-dictable, chaotic and very, very hard. Ultan Coyle, long-time designer for Rapha and also thecurrent British 24-hour Time Trial Champion, is onesuch rider who, despite little experience on the road,leapt at the opportunity to take part in this year’s Rás.“When I was back in Ireland at the start of the year, Iwent for a ride with a guy called Rooster, who I met ina pub. He mentioned that he and a few others werelooking for another team member to do the Rás; twomiles into our first ride, he asked if I’d like to do it. Despite pointing out I’d never ridden a stage race in mylife, he replied, in the best Irish way, ‘You’ll be grand’.”For many riders, simply completing the event will countas a victory. e Continental teams, unsurprisingly, go tothe race with more weighty ambitions. One of them isRapha-Condor-jlt. e team’s manager, John Herety,has a special relationship with the Rás, having been incharge of the winning team four times.“e Rás has given me a great deal of satisfaction,” saysHerety. “Every time I’ve had riders win, it has been acompletely different tactical approach. You just can’tbe sure what will happen.” “e terrain is perfect for ambushes, with strong winds,small roads, and a succession of tough climbs. e Irishhave a real fighting spirit and don’t like getting beatenby the English. It’s very friendly but makes for reallytough racing.” e full version of this article will appear on the Raphablog tomorrow, 16th May: rapha.cc/blogs. e An Post RásTailteann gets underway on Sunday 19th May. For raceupdates and results via Twitter, follow the Rapha-Con-dor-JLT team: twitter.com/raphacondor.
Wednesday | STAGE 11 | 182kmTarvisio → Vajont Another summit finish, in the shadow of the Vajontdam, will suit a punchy rider but today’s main climbis less tough than yesterday’s.
Thursday | STAGE 12 | 134kmLongarone → TrevisoSprinters will appreciate today, as it’s flat from 40kmout. Team Sky may well want to drop by the Pinarellofactory, near the finish.
Friday | STAGE 13 | 254kmBusseto → Cherasco A long transition stage today, along the Po valley andinto Piemonte. e hills roll in around 60km fromthe end.
Saturday | STAGE 14 | 168kmCervere → BardonnechiaAll hail the high mountains, and a mean final climb.Fireworks maybe, but lesser men might save energyfor tomorrow.
Monday | REST DAYIt’ll be fondue night tonight as the riders relax andrecover in Valloire, in the valley between yesterday’stwo French cols.
Tuesday | STAGE 16 | 238kmValloire → Ivrea Back into Italy and a long flat, before a Cat-3 climboffers the perfect springboard for a breakaway.
Sunday | STAGE 15 | 149kmCesana Torinese → Col du Galibier e Giro dips its toe into France: a short, brutal stagethat finishes with the classic Télégraphe-Galibierone-two.
Wednesday | STAGE 17 | 214kmCaravaggio → Vicenza Perhaps the final chance for the sprinters, as the finalclimb is small. Vicenza is home to Campagnolo.
a weekly double-shot of road racing Wednesday 15th May 2013
adam hansen’s shoes: # prost y le
weekend weather
LondonWill spring nevercome? Rainy andcold, the odd patch of sun on Sunday. Rain Jacket, Rapha Cap.
San FranciscoSunny spells andin the 70s for thetoc’s visit to sf.Pro Team Jersey,Pro Team Bib Shorts.
Cesana Torinesee Alps are look-ing wet, 16c butcolder at altitude.Good luck on theGalibier. Pro Team Race Cape.
DunboyneChangeable, withstrong crosswindsat the start of theRás. Highs in thelow teens. Wind Jacket.
tour of california
New Media, New Mythse Tour of Califor-nia was born the sameyear as Twitter, a coin-cidence that happensto be significant be-cause it illustrates howthoroughly and per-vasively we have beenable to follow the race.
e riders tell us what they’re thinking right before astage (and right after) and on the rest days they sharethe rest. Had he been at the crest of Diablo, ten thou-sand hashtagged instant communiqués would havetold us that, actually, Bahamontes hadn’t stopped toget an ice cream but, rather, only because his spokeshad broken. ere’d have been plenty of six-secondvideos to prove it, too. at’s a shame.e Tour of California deserves some myth. And we– the fans – deserve our tour to have some myth. Forsheer riding, I’d take Sierra Grade as well as the Croced’Aune, except that at the top of the Italian mountainI can stop and wheel my bike over, and kiss the statu-ary cheek of Tullio Campagnolo inventing the quickrelease. On the Tourmalet, I hear ringing in my earsthe echoes of Lapize, spitting out his famous condem-nation of “assassins”. Descending the Portet d’Aspet,I pass the ghost of Vietto giving up his Tour de Franceby turning around and climbing back up to give hiswheel to Magne.I want such legends for California. Not for me, no,I’m long past the time when these stories can at firstunsettle my soul then settle deep into it. But some-where in California there is a kid who was at the sideof the road for yesterday’s stage, or who will be fortoday’s, who stands no taller than the top tubes thathold those strange, bronzed lean gods, swarming pastin a chaos of police sirens and helicopter blades chop-ping the sky apart and blatting car horns and grownmen and women screaming in a way that frightensand delights the child. at kid needs more than theability to Google the wattage of the winning racer, orto someday take a shot at the Strava segment.e magic can take years to grow, but it will. Rightnow, even in such an antiseptic world of information,the myths have been spawned, out of sight, invisibleto us, but alive and already immortal.
is is an extract of a piece written exclusively for Raphaby Bill Strickland, editor-at-large of Bicycling magazineand author of Ten Points, a memoir, published by Hyperion.Bill ’s full piece will be available from tomorrow, 16thMay, on the Rapha blog. To read it, visit: rapha.cc/blogs.
the tour of california this week
Wednesday | STAGE 4 | 134km/1,574m Santa Clarita → Santa BarbaraOcean breezes will welcome riders along to a sprintfinish in Santa Barbara after a long downhill to 'Sili-con Beach’. One for Sagan.
Thursday | STAGE 5 | 186km/2,370km Santa Barbara → Avila BeachA stiff climb up Foxen Canyon leads to a sprint finaleat Avila Beach – a slight rise in the final metres couldmake things interesting.
Friday | STAGE 6 | 32km/655m San Jose → San Joseis individual tt is identical to 2006 and is book-ended by two climbs – the finish is a 3km climb thatpitches over 10% at times.
Saturday | STAGE 7 | 147km/3,165m Livermore → Mt Diabloe race could be won or lost on this climb to MtDiablo. Expect large crowds and plenty of suffering.
Sunday | STAGE 8 | 130km/2,314m San Francisco → Santa Rosae Golden Gate bridge closes for only the thirdtime in its history as the peloton heads from sfto the finale Santa Rosa.
He’s Got BottleChris Jones (United Healthcare)is a strong contender for domes-tique of the year with his oftenunseen heroics. e heat has allbut consumed some of the riders, but Jones estimated hetransported something close to 50 bottles during one of the four-hour stages.
Surprise Attack Andy Schleck surprised morethan a few with his attack late inthe first stage. Apparently, he didso while only drinking a smallamount, and was overheard get-ting a talking to from teammateJens Voigt at the team dinner. Jenssupposedly advised: “Tomorrow,drink more.”
california’s golden nuggetsAs well as racing action to satisfy the most discerning fan’s appetite, the Tour of California is one of the world’s more intimate stage races. We dug up a couple of juicy morsels.