Tour de Romandie

[Andrija]

People,
Savoldelli's mountain domestiques for the Giro are in the Dolomites and Italian Alps at the moment, reconnoitering crucial stages, what Il Falco did few weeks ago and during TdG.
He never complained about his status in DC... It's just that cycling fans think that he doesen't have support he deserves (last year at the Giro that was crystal clear).
This year (and Bruyneel confirmed that long time ago) he'll have team like Lance had it for the Tour (I'm not sure about Danielson's role but...). So everything is going to be just fine.
But I also think he should have some climbing support in Tour de Romandie... Just for practice if nothing more.

 

[rejobako]

But I also think he should have some climbing support in Tour de Romandie... Just for practice if nothing more.

From a tactical standpoint I can understand this argument. Hey, if Discovery is as unsupportive of Savoldelli's success as some claim, then perhaps they are trying to prepare him for being left alone in Italy by doing the same in Romandie. Why expend energy and risk injury to domestiques who will be valuable in France if Savoldelli can win Grand Tours all by himself?

 

[rejobako]

I think your view is closer to the reality.
At the Giro in 2005, Savoldelli received minimal support from the other DC riders in the race.
He was the only DC rider to finish the race, i think.

Say what? DC had 6 riders finish including Savoldelli, and I remember during the last stage especially that his teammates were clustered around him at the front of the peleton as they got onto the Corso Venezia and did the first few circuits as the other teams jostled for position. No doubt he didn't have the strongest team with him last year, and he was not expected to contend as the Giro began, but when it became clear he had a chance to win, the Team management acted appropriately, and the result speaks for itself.

 

[musette]

Bruyneel didn't bother to go to Italy for the Giro.
Sean Yates acted as DS for DC at the Giro.

While Yates was DS (this year, I expect another DS to go with Yates) at the Giro last year, Bruyneel did bother to go to Italy. LA and Bruyneel flew in unexpectedly, around one of the rest days I believe, to surprise most of the riders (including Il Falco) and encourage them.

The background is that Il Falco wasn't expected to contend for the GC win as strongly as he did. So Yates was the only DS. Half-way through a stage race, when Il Falco was obviously contending very strongly, one can't "take the DS position back" as Bruyneel, or otherwise try to usurp Yate's already decided-on role. Basic delegation skills!

 

[limerickman]

People,
Savoldelli's mountain domestiques for the Giro are in the Dolomites and Italian Alps at the moment, reconnoitering crucial stages, what Il Falco did few weeks ago and during TdG.
He never complained about his status in DC... It's just that cycling fans think that he doesen't have support he deserves (last year at the Giro that was crystal clear).
This year (and Bruyneel confirmed that long time ago) he'll have team like Lance had it for the Tour (I'm not sure about Danielson's role but...). So everything is going to be just fine.
But I also think he should have some climbing support in Tour de Romandie... Just for practice if nothing more.

Exactly : Savoldelli's not a whinger - he gets on with the job.
The fact is that Savoldelli was not given the level of support which he, as a GT winner, should have received at the outset of the Giro.

Just another small anecdote but indicative of just how DC regarded Savoldelli.
The DC website continually mis-spelled Savoldelli's surname during 2005.
It's just a small detail perhaps - but it adds further evidence of just how DC viewed Savoldelli.

Another anecdote is the retrospective revisionism concerning the Giro 2005
victory.
Bryneel stated that he visited Savoldelli at the Giro.
People visit relatives.
If a team DS was seriously interested in a rider's performance in a GT - that DS is there for the GT. And not visiting his rider on a whim.

This year of course, Bryneel has no choice but to give Savoldelli full support.
Savoldelli is DC's best prospect of a GT win for 2006.
Personally I hope Paolo goes well - he's a great rider and he did a great ride in the most exciting GT of 2005.
Not that his team or his management were of any real help - apart from Sean Yates that is.

 

[DiabloScott]

Just another small anecdote but indicative of just how DC regarded Savoldelli.
The DC website continually mis-spelled Savoldelli's surname during 2005.
It's just a small detail perhaps - but it adds further evidence of just how DC viewed Savoldelli.

Oh come on - the misspellings of some website designer hardly reflect on the management of the team. Some flunky probably entered it into the spell checker wrong.

As with most things - Discovery's support for Paolo was neither as bad as some would have us believe, nor as good as others would say.

 

[limerickman]

Say what? DC had 6 riders finish including Savoldelli, and I remember during the last stage especially that his teammates were clustered around him at the front of the peleton as they got onto the Corso Venezia and did the first few circuits as the other teams jostled for position. No doubt he didn't have the strongest team with him last year, and he was not expected to contend as the Giro began, but when it became clear he had a chance to win, the Team management acted appropriately, and the result speaks for itself.

I am not taking away anything for Savoldelli.
I think he's a class rider : and I thought he rode a great Giro despite the best efforts of DC management not to support Savoldelli.

Yates is a honest guy - he tells it like it is.
February 2006 Cycle Sport, in it Yates wrote his won article on pages 70 - 73.
What Yates states in his article directly contradicts what others here project.

 

[Eldrack]

Well, Savoldelli was very isolated today, it showed because of the flat finish, people were attacking and he had to do work to bring them back himself. Tomorrow should be interesting, big mountain top finish: http://www.salite.ch/8177.htm. They don't go all the way to the top, finishing at 1318, but its still a good 900 metre altitude difference. Should be a really good mix up of the GC before saturdays stage, maybe Savoldelli back in yellow, or maybe Valverde or Evans.

Didn't see much of Jan on the cycling.tv channel, he must have been hiding in the bunch.

 

[Andrija]

Tomorrow should be interesting, big mountain top finish: http://www.salite.ch/8177.htm. They don't go all the way to the top, finishing at 1318, but its still a good 900 metre altitude difference. Should be a really good mix up of the GC before saturdays stage, maybe Savoldelli back in yellow, or maybe Valverde or Evans.

I think tomorrow is Valverde's stage... He's in great shape and this is his opportunity to take yellow and make the difference before last TT, where Savoldelli has advantage... The most interesting thing will be to see if Savoldelli can follow Valverde and how much time will Jan lose on that climb and how he will handle it (climb)... That should give us a hint about his real condition... He already told that he will suffer on climbs but I'm just wondering how it will look.

 

[doctorSpoc]

I think tomorrow is Valverde's stage... He's in great shape and this is his opportunity to take yellow and make the difference before last TT, where Savoldelli has advantage... The most interesting thing will be to see if Savoldelli can follow Valverde and how much time will Jan lose on that climb and how he will handle it (climb)... That should give us a hint about his real condition... He already told that he will suffer on climbs but I'm just wondering how it will look.

+1.. i think Valverde will be wearing yellow tomorrow too.. unless Salvodelli has some form under the hood that we haven't seen yet..

all the others had at least one guy with them to help them out at the end except Salvodelli.. did you see phonak and liberty just blow by the discovery 'train' like they were standing still? then Rodriguez took over for Valverde for most of the rest of the climb... are you guys for real?!? oh well, they tried, they were just out gunned.

Salvodelli will need to try to cut his losses and dig the TT at the end... looks like his only hope against Valverde... the one thing Savodelli has going for him is that no one will work with Valverde... don't want to bring that guy to the line with you.. kinda like bringing Boonen to the line with you... you're going to loose.

 

[limerickman]

Very good stage win today (stage 2) for Chris Horner.
The more I watch this guy race, the more I like him.
He's a gutsy rider and he gives it his all.
He was there is the Ardennes Classics too and he tried.

Good win today.

Valverde's going really well too.

 

[wolfix]

I had Horner picked for the longshot. This will not be the last we hear from him ...... Years ago , about a week after Lance won the World's I watched Horner put it to Lance....... It was Lance's first race back in the states a week after he won the World's. . It was a very important race for Lance to win or place because it was the last of a series of races that meant a lot financially for the overall victory of this series. . So Lance was pumped......He was wearing the Worlds' jersey for the 1st time. Halfway through the race it started raining....... Horner snuck off the front in a series of corners and the others did not see him go .... He got a few minutes off the front with 40 miles to go ...... The pack let him stay there for a time .... Then Armstrong and few other riders such as Davis Phinney and others who I can't remember right off started chasing.... They never caught him...... Horner soloed away for the win ..... After the race my daughter and I were standing next to Phil Liggett when Lance came rolling by and stopped to talk to Liggett. Liggett asked him if he thought Horner could compete in Europe..... Lance laughed and said ...... "In Europe I get to wear this jersey next year, [The World's jersey] but today this guy[Horner ] was better."

 

[patch70]

Two stages in a row for Davitamon-Lotto. Good to see them start to get their season going better than the during the Classics.

 

[musette]

Here's another cyclist, Horner, who could use some more brains:

"Afterwards on the descent, Savoldelli was... whooaaah - now I understand where [he gets his nickname] - it was the first time I'd seen it, and I thought for sure he was going to crash a couple of times he went into some of the corners so fas."

 

[tcklyde]

Here's another cyclist, Horner, who could use some more brains:

"Afterwards on the descent, Savoldelli was... whooaaah - now I understand where [he gets his nickname] - it was the first time I'd seen it, and I thought for sure he was going to crash a couple of times he went into some of the corners so fas."

Do you ever have anything nice to say?

 

[patch70]

Do you ever have anything nice to say?

Also, does she ever have anything intelligent to say?

It really is fantastic that musette thinks Horner should have more brains!!!! Gee, if he was that much smarter, imagine how many stages of LBL he'd win.

 

[Eldrack]

Awesome attack by Contador today, well deserving to be in the leaders jersey.

But more on my mind is: Where the hell was Savoldelli? Did he crack, was he ill? Either of these do not bode well for the Giro. If he cracked then he just won't be there at the Giro, if he's ill (more likely I think considering the wet conditions) then lets hope he has a swift recovery so he can make the Giro and increase the competition there.

 

[limerickman]

Awesome attack by Contador today, well deserving to be in the leaders jersey.

But more on my mind is: Where the hell was Savoldelli? Did he crack, was he ill? Either of these do not bode well for the Giro. If he cracked then he just won't be there at the Giro, if he's ill (more likely I think considering the wet conditions) then lets hope he has a swift recovery so he can make the Giro and increase the competition there.

Have you a link for today (stage 3) results by any chance?

 

[bobke]

Awesome attack by Contador today, well deserving to be in the leaders jersey.

But more on my mind is: Where the hell was Savoldelli? Did he crack, was he ill? Either of these do not bode well for the Giro. If he cracked then he just won't be there at the Giro, if he's ill (more likely I think considering the wet conditions) then lets hope he has a swift recovery so he can make the Giro and increase the competition there.

live ticker from tourderomandie indicates

il souffre d'un mechante diahree

thats all I got on Salvodelli...a crappy deal for him
at least its not in the giro like basso last year

 

[Andrija]

Awesome attack by Contador today, well deserving to be in the leaders jersey.

But more on my mind is: Where the hell was Savoldelli? Did he crack, was he ill? Either of these do not bode well for the Giro. If he cracked then he just won't be there at the Giro, if he's ill (more likely I think considering the wet conditions) then lets hope he has a swift recovery so he can make the Giro and increase the competition there.

Yeah,
And also - where the hell was Savoldelli... And what the hell is going on with him? I saw him in the bottom half of the bunch at the beginning of the climb and that was it. If it's truth this about the stomach bug... Then it's not so bad... It could be worse.
We'll see tomorrow and on Sunday... If he continues the race.

Lim, look at the official site of the race... There they give some live coverage and results.