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Why/How Basso improved in TT

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17 May 2005
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  1. From the Cervelo newsletter.
    Jan

    Eighteen months of focus paid off yesterday for Ivan Basso, as the
    once-mediocre time trialist blasted through the 45km 8th stage of the Giro d
    'Italia and left a path of distruction in his wake. On his brand-new P3
    Carbon with Wolf TT fork, Basso gained 1min39 on Garzelli, 2min7 on Cunego
    and 2min37 on Simoni. Even reknowned time trailer Sergei Gontchar lost 36
    seconds to Basso.

    But it hasn't been easy for Basso to get where he is today. Prior to riding
    for Team CSC, he had never trained on his time trial bike. He didn't have a
    TT bike at home, he didn't train on one in the training camps, the only time
    he would ride one would be in races. That all changed when he came to Team
    CSC. Realizing that without a good time trial a rider cannot win the big
    tours, Bjarne Riis put together a training schedule for him that heavily
    focused on improving Basso's skills in this area. Now he regularly puts in
    100km+ a day on one of the several Cervelo time trial bikes he has at home.
    He rode yesterday's Giro stage at least 20 times in training, knew ever
    corner and every pothole. He now feels as comfortable on his P3 Carbon as he
    does on his R2.5 and Soloist. And for the first time in his career, he now
    actually looks forward to the time trials as opportunities to gain time on
    his rivals.

    "Today's stage was very important, and I was fully aware of what I had to
    do. It's fantastic to be able to make a result like this, which is what
    Bjarne and I had hoped for. We've been working for a long time with this
    time trial, and I believe, I've done the route about 20 times. I've been
    training a lot in order to be able to make a difference in this discipline.
    Yesterday's time loss was just another motivation factor for me, and I was
    very determined to retaliate. I owe Bjarne a special thanks, cause he is
    also a big part of this triumph. We still have a lot of tough stages ahead
    of us, but today we took a giant leap forward," said Ivan Basso.

    The only rider Ivan couldn't beat yesterday was another Team CSC member on a
    Cervelo. In this case, it was Dave Zabriskie on a P3 SL, CSC's stock TT
    bike. It was the first time trial victory in a major Tour for the young
    American, even though the main reason to go fast was not to win the stage,
    but to scout out the course for Ivan. But that doesn't mean he didn't have
    victory in the back of his mind.

    "I'm very happy with my victory. I started early, so it was quite nerve
    wrecking to watch the other guys on TV. On the last part of the course we
    had headwinds, and I knew that would be to my advantage because of my
    position on the bike. I'm a time trial specialist, and this is definitely a
    victory I've dreamt about for a long time. I was allowed to take it easy in
    yesterday's stage, so I was able to aim for something big today," said
    Zabriskie.

    All in all, yesterday's results were a big victory for the team and for
    Bjarne Riis, who has always focused on time trials, from equipment choices
    to rider selection to training schedules.
    "It was a fantastic day for us. David showed his huge potential and Ivan did
    the time trial of his life. We couldn't expect more than this. Our
    preparations have paid off, and Ivan confirmed yesterday's time loss wasn't
    due to lack of strength. Our team is here to win the Giro with Ivan, and
    today we showed, that we mean business," said Bjarne Riis.

  2. Jan said:

    From the Cervelo newsletter.
    Jan

    Eighteen months of focus paid off yesterday for Ivan Basso, as the
    once-mediocre time trialist blasted through the 45km 8th stage of the


    Giro d

    Quoted message said:

    'Italia and left a path of distruction in his wake. On his brand-new


    P3

    Quoted message said:

    Carbon with Wolf TT fork, Basso gained 1min39 on Garzelli, 2min7 on


    Cunego

    Quoted message said:

    and 2min37 on Simoni. Even reknowned time trailer Sergei Gontchar


    lost 36

    Quoted message said:

    seconds to Basso.

    But it hasn't been easy for Basso to get where he is today. Prior to


    riding

    Quoted message said:

    for Team CSC, he had never trained on his time trial bike. He didn't


    have a

    Quoted message said:

    TT bike at home, he didn't train on one in the training camps, the


    only time

    Quoted message said:

    he would ride one would be in races. That all changed when he came to


    Team

    Quoted message said:

    CSC.

    Lets see..., he's shown dramatic improvement and he's riding for CSC...
    the only thing missing from this story is a positive test result.

  3. routebeer said:

    Lets see..., he's shown dramatic improvement and he's riding for CSC...
    the only thing missing from this story is a positive test result.

    Dumbass,

    That's the thing that's missing from the CSC story in general. Their
    success comes from a combination of tight Fassa-like control and
    Euskaltel-like cohesion and camraderie.

    -Sonarrat.

  4. sonarrat said:
    routebeer said:

    Lets see..., he's shown dramatic improvement and he's riding for


    CSC...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    the only thing missing from this story is a positive test result.

    Dumbass,

    That's the thing that's missing from the CSC story in general. Their

    Quoted message said:

    success comes from a combination of tight Fassa-like control and
    Euskaltel-like cohesion and camraderie.

    -Sonarrat.

    Oh yes, so he needs to leave and then test positive. I knew I forgot
    something.

    I don't know how tight they can be when you consider how quick Olympic
    Gold Medalist Tyler Hamilton disappeared from their ranks after a
    little success during a stage of the Tour. But Bjarne does look like a
    pretty cool boss to work for.

  5. routebeer said:
    sonarrat said:
    routebeer said:

    Lets see..., he's shown dramatic improvement and he's riding for

    CSC...

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    the only thing missing from this story is a positive test result.

    Dumbass,

    That's the thing that's missing from the CSC story in general. Their

    Quoted message said:

    success comes from a combination of tight Fassa-like control and
    Euskaltel-like cohesion and camraderie.

    -Sonarrat.

    Oh yes, so he needs to leave and then test positive. I knew I forgot
    something.

    I don't know how tight they can be when you consider how quick Olympic
    Gold Medalist Tyler Hamilton disappeared from their ranks after a
    little success during a stage of the Tour. But Bjarne does look like a
    pretty cool boss to work for.

    Tyler's defection to Phonak was about money. The one thing Riis cannot
    offer is a big paycheck, because he's working with a very small budget
    compared with the heavy hitters. Phonak does not have that problem.

    -Sonarrat.

  6. Actually you're wrong there. Phonak offered Tyler a team that would
    back him up. Riis offered him a team of good riders who might ride for
    themselves alla Simoni and Cunego.

    One of the reasons that Lance is so successful is that it doesn't
    matter to the team management if he's feeling bad today, their money is
    on Lance and Lance alone. He doesn't have to worry that Chechu is going
    to try for his own sake instead of the team. He doesn't have to worry
    that Azevedo, who can put the hurt on any other rider when he's good,
    will try to show everyone how good he is and forget the team.

    Tyler did the right thing. The questions about his positive still ring
    loudly. Why is WADA refusing to do a False Positives Study?

  7. "Tom Kunich" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Actually you're wrong there. Phonak offered Tyler a team that would
    back him up. Riis offered him a team of good riders who might ride for
    themselves alla Simoni and Cunego.

    One of the reasons that Lance is so successful is that it doesn't
    matter to the team management if he's feeling bad today, their money is
    on Lance and Lance alone. He doesn't have to worry that Chechu is going
    to try for his own sake instead of the team. He doesn't have to worry
    that Azevedo, who can put the hurt on any other rider when he's good,
    will try to show everyone how good he is and forget the team.

    Tyler did the right thing. The questions about his positive still ring
    loudly. Why is WADA refusing to do a False Positives Study?


    I have to agree with Kunich on this. I saw a piece on Danish TV about Tyler
    in the Tour 2003. He was livid when Riis went to look after the eventual
    stage winner (don't remember if it was the stage Pil won, or the won Sastre
    won) and left him without support. Wasn't a very flattering view of Tyler.
    He came off looking like a spoiled brat. Of course he was in a lot of pain
    at the time from a shoulder broken in two places, so maybe some allowances
    should be make for that.

    He gave his reason for going to Phonak as being able to have a team built
    around him for the Tour. Plus, if he had won the Tour or even come in second
    behind Armstrong, he could have cashed in probably more than any salary
    boost the Phonak would be good for. So if he thought he had a better chance
    of success with CSC in the Tour 2004, he might have stayed with them even
    for, rather than is spite of monetary reasons.

  8. "trg" <[email hidden]> wrote in
    news:[email hidden]:

    Quoted message said:

    He gave his reason for going to Phonak as being able to have a team
    built around him for the Tour.

    Guys with the same blood type?

  9. Apparently those big Swiss drug companies are better than the little
    Danish ones too.

  10. "trg" <[email hidden]> skrev i en meddelelse
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    "Tom Kunich" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de
    news:[email hidden]...
    I have to agree with Kunich on this. I saw a piece on Danish TV about


    Tyler

    Quoted message said:

    in the Tour 2003. He was livid when Riis went to look after the eventual
    stage winner (don't remember if it was the stage Pil won, or the won


    Sastre

    Quoted message said:

    won) and left him without support. Wasn't a very flattering view of Tyler.
    He came off looking like a spoiled brat. Of course he was in a lot of pain
    at the time from a shoulder broken in two places, so maybe some allowances
    should be make for that.

    It was Sastre who won. Riis said in the same broadcast that it was the
    toughest decision he ever had to make, whether to stay with Tyler og go with
    Sastre. Personally I think Tyler had the support he could expect. He had a
    broken collarbone and was barely hanging on the peloton in the first stages.
    He could not count on the entire team (and the sponsors) sacrificing what
    turned out to be 2 stage wins at the price of everyone dragging him through
    day after day.

    Quoted message said:

    He gave his reason for going to Phonak as being able to have a team built
    around him for the Tour. Plus, if he had won the Tour or even come in


    second

    Quoted message said:

    behind Armstrong, he could have cashed in probably more than any salary
    boost the Phonak would be good for. So if he thought he had a better


    chance

    Quoted message said:

    of success with CSC in the Tour 2004, he might have stayed with them even
    for, rather than is spite of monetary reasons.

    He had the team built around him in the 2004 Tour, and skipped because of
    back pain...hmm, and the year before he didn't have the team he wanted and
    he sat thru 3 weeks of hell!?. I think he went for the money, which is fine
    by me, he should just have come clean (no pun).

    HB

  11. "HB" <marrone-ALPHA_A-sol.dk> a écrit dans le message de
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:


    "trg" <[email hidden]> skrev i en meddelelse
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    "Tom Kunich" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de
    news:[email hidden]...
    I have to agree with Kunich on this. I saw a piece on Danish TV about


    Tyler

    Quoted message said:

    in the Tour 2003. He was livid when Riis went to look after the eventual
    stage winner (don't remember if it was the stage Pil won, or the won


    Sastre

    Quoted message said:

    won) and left him without support. Wasn't a very flattering view of


    Tyler.

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    He came off looking like a spoiled brat. Of course he was in a lot of


    pain

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    at the time from a shoulder broken in two places, so maybe some


    allowances

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    should be make for that.

    It was Sastre who won. Riis said in the same broadcast that it was the
    toughest decision he ever had to make, whether to stay with Tyler og go


    with

    Quoted message said:

    Sastre. Personally I think Tyler had the support he could expect. He had a
    broken collarbone and was barely hanging on the peloton in the first


    stages.

    Quoted message said:

    He could not count on the entire team (and the sponsors) sacrificing what
    turned out to be 2 stage wins at the price of everyone dragging him


    through

    Quoted message said:

    day after day.

    Quoted message said:

    He gave his reason for going to Phonak as being able to have a team


    built

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    around him for the Tour. Plus, if he had won the Tour or even come in


    second

    Quoted message said:

    behind Armstrong, he could have cashed in probably more than any salary
    boost the Phonak would be good for. So if he thought he had a better


    chance

    Quoted message said:

    of success with CSC in the Tour 2004, he might have stayed with them


    even

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    for, rather than is spite of monetary reasons.

    He had the team built around him in the 2004 Tour, and skipped because of
    back pain...hmm, and the year before he didn't have the team he wanted and
    he sat thru 3 weeks of hell!?. I think he went for the money, which is


    fine

    Quoted message said:

    by me, he should just have come clean (no pun).

    HB


    I don't think it was about the level of pain. It was about the performance
    possible given the injury. I've both broken a shoulder and also had back
    problems, they both hurt like hell, but you screw up your back and game over
    for just about any sport. Hamilton said he no longer had any power after the
    back injury. I believe him. Besides, as I said, if he could come in 1st or
    even second behind Armstrong while on CSC, the money that would generate for
    him would more than make up for any pay raise that Phonak would give him.

    BTW, if there was a pun that you were avoiding with "come clean", I missed
    it. Maybe it only works in Dansk, or maybe I'm just thick today 🙂

  12. "Tom Kunich" <[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
    news:[email hidden]...
    ....

    Quoted message said:

    Tyler did the right thing. The questions about his positive still ring
    loudly. Why is WADA refusing to do a False Positives Study?

    I don't think such a study is necessary. The test that found Hamilton
    positive clearly detects different red blood cells and Hamilton did not
    dispute that. This means that he himself did not believe in the possibility
    of a false positive.

  13. Both Zabby and Basso looked really great (positions) on their TT bikes
    in the photos I saw. More evidence of the influence that Riis has on
    his team. It is very cool to watch unfold. I can't wait for Christian
    to start moving up too. At this point Riis' reputation helps him
    attract a lot of talent without getting too outrageous with salary
    offers.

  14. Dumbass, Riis' management style is the opposite of the iron-man.
    And...where do you get "cohesion" from the orange machine? You say it
    as if you know what you are talking about and hope for the best. That
    seems to sum up you posting style. CSC stands alone in their superior
    team culture that gets the most out of the talent of the team as
    individuals and a group. There is no other team that even comes close.
    Bartoli and Tafi were the only riders that did not have his best
    results while riding for CSC. They were way past their prime and I
    can't hold CSC responsible for that. That leaves about 95% (or more) of
    the team that is having their best results of their careers.

  15. I'd say getting passed by Lance on l'Alpe d'Huez last year spurred him
    on. Thinking that if he's ever that high in the GC again he doesn't
    want the door slammed shut but a TT.

    D

    On Tue, 17 May 2005 10:15:56 +0100, "Jan" <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:

    From the Cervelo newsletter.
    Jan

    Eighteen months of focus paid off yesterday for Ivan Basso, as the
    once-mediocre time trialist blasted through the 45km 8th stage of the Giro d
    'Italia and left a path of distruction in his wake. On his brand-new P3
    Carbon with Wolf TT fork, Basso gained 1min39 on Garzelli, 2min7 on Cunego
    and 2min37 on Simoni. Even reknowned time trailer Sergei Gontchar lost 36
    seconds to Basso.

    But it hasn't been easy for Basso to get where he is today. Prior to riding
    for Team CSC, he had never trained on his time trial bike. He didn't have a
    TT bike at home, he didn't train on one in the training camps, the only time
    he would ride one would be in races. That all changed when he came to Team
    CSC. Realizing that without a good time trial a rider cannot win the big
    tours, Bjarne Riis put together a training schedule for him that heavily
    focused on improving Basso's skills in this area. Now he regularly puts in
    100km+ a day on one of the several Cervelo time trial bikes he has at home.
    He rode yesterday's Giro stage at least 20 times in training, knew ever
    corner and every pothole. He now feels as comfortable on his P3 Carbon as he
    does on his R2.5 and Soloist. And for the first time in his career, he now
    actually looks forward to the time trials as opportunities to gain time on
    his rivals.

    "Today's stage was very important, and I was fully aware of what I had to
    do. It's fantastic to be able to make a result like this, which is what
    Bjarne and I had hoped for. We've been working for a long time with this
    time trial, and I believe, I've done the route about 20 times. I've been
    training a lot in order to be able to make a difference in this discipline.
    Yesterday's time loss was just another motivation factor for me, and I was
    very determined to retaliate. I owe Bjarne a special thanks, cause he is
    also a big part of this triumph. We still have a lot of tough stages ahead
    of us, but today we took a giant leap forward," said Ivan Basso.

    The only rider Ivan couldn't beat yesterday was another Team CSC member on a
    Cervelo. In this case, it was Dave Zabriskie on a P3 SL, CSC's stock TT
    bike. It was the first time trial victory in a major Tour for the young
    American, even though the main reason to go fast was not to win the stage,
    but to scout out the course for Ivan. But that doesn't mean he didn't have
    victory in the back of his mind.

    "I'm very happy with my victory. I started early, so it was quite nerve
    wrecking to watch the other guys on TV. On the last part of the course we
    had headwinds, and I knew that would be to my advantage because of my
    position on the bike. I'm a time trial specialist, and this is definitely a
    victory I've dreamt about for a long time. I was allowed to take it easy in
    yesterday's stage, so I was able to aim for something big today," said
    Zabriskie.

    All in all, yesterday's results were a big victory for the team and for
    Bjarne Riis, who has always focused on time trials, from equipment choices
    to rider selection to training schedules.
    "It was a fantastic day for us. David showed his huge potential and Ivan did
    the time trial of his life. We couldn't expect more than this. Our
    preparations have paid off, and Ivan confirmed yesterday's time loss wasn't
    due to lack of strength. Our team is here to win the Giro with Ivan, and
    today we showed, that we mean business," said Bjarne Riis.

  16. Chris M said:

    Dumbass, Riis' management style is the opposite of the iron-man.
    And...where do you get "cohesion" from the orange machine? You say it
    as if you know what you are talking about and hope for the best. That
    seems to sum up you posting style. CSC stands alone in their superior
    team culture that gets the most out of the talent of the team as
    individuals and a group. There is no other team that even comes close.
    Bartoli and Tafi were the only riders that did not have his best
    results while riding for CSC. They were way past their prime and I
    can't hold CSC responsible for that. That leaves about 95% (or more) of
    the team that is having their best results of their careers.

    I refer to EE's "cohesion" not in sense of riding as a team (they
    certainly don't), but in supporting one another as Basque nationalists
    out to prove a point. Now if those anarchists could only get organized,
    they could accomplish great things.

    And Discovery certainly comes close to CSC's success. How many riders
    has Johan plucked from the anonymity of the domestic scene and
    transformed into top-level athletes? They have a different reason for
    wanting talented people, but they are still comparable.

    -Sonarrat.

  17. sonarrat said:

    How many riders has Johan plucked from the anonymity of
    the domestic scene and transformed into top-level athletes?

    Hmmm. Okay, I give up: how many?

  18. sonarrat said:
    Chris M said:

    Dumbass, Riis' management style is the opposite of the iron-man.
    And...where do you get "cohesion" from the orange machine? You say it
    as if you know what you are talking about and hope for the best. That
    seems to sum up you posting style. CSC stands alone in their superior
    team culture that gets the most out of the talent of the team as
    individuals and a group. There is no other team that even comes close.
    Bartoli and Tafi were the only riders that did not have his best
    results while riding for CSC. They were way past their prime and I
    can't hold CSC responsible for that. That leaves about 95% (or more) of
    the team that is having their best results of their careers.

    I refer to EE's "cohesion" not in sense of riding as a team (they
    certainly don't), but in supporting one another as Basque nationalists
    out to prove a point. Now if those anarchists could only get organized,
    they could accomplish great things.

    And Discovery certainly comes close to CSC's success. How many riders
    has Johan plucked from the anonymity of the domestic scene and
    transformed into top-level athletes? They have a different reason for
    wanting talented people, but they are still comparable.

    -Sonarrat.

    I would disagree that Discovery is on level with CSC. No one else comes
    close to CSC in terms of giving its riders space to ride, and finding
    ways for them to be successful. Riis really is remarkably good at that,
    and I don't think it has all that much to do with passing around the
    needle. The perfect TT positions of Basso and Zabriski didn't happen by
    accident. Nor, does having riders peaked out for races that suit them,
    as in the case of Bobby J at Paris-Nice. To me, there's nothing much
    remarkable about what Bruyneel is up to at Postal/Discovery. Train a
    monkey to drive the car, and Lance would probably still have won the
    Tour. Indeed, it seems at times as if the main difference between
    T-Mobile, often considered a black hole of talent, and Discovery is that
    Discovery scored the best Tour rider of his generation while T-Mobile
    ended up with the second best.

  19. On Wed, 18 May 2005 15:17:07 -0700, sonarrat <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:

    And Discovery certainly comes close to CSC's
    success. How many riders
    has Johan plucked from the anonymity of the
    domestic scene and
    transformed into top-level athletes?

    I can't think of any. How many do you think there are?

    JT

    ****************************
    Remove "remove" to reply
    Visit http://www.jt10000.com
    ****************************

  20. In article <[email hidden]>, sonarrat <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:

    Tyler's defection to Phonak was about money. The one thing Riis cannot
    offer is a big paycheck, because he's working with a very small budget
    compared with the heavy hitters. Phonak does not have that problem.

    -Sonarrat.

    You're correct, but I'd add that Phonak also promised to build a Tour
    team that was more focused on Hamilton as a sole leader than CSC could
    afford to do.

    --
    tanx,
    Howard

    Butter is love.

    remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?

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