err.. the 13th Giro delle Pesche Nettarine di Romagna
factory team Bedogni Natalini Gruppo Praga Monsummanese wears the Bottechia name with pride in the race dedicated to nectarines
Bottecchia enthusiasts disappointed by the company’s absence from that other Italian Giro will be proud to know that the cycling icon is still dedicated making its presence felt on the national racing scene. Team Bedogni Natalini Gruppo Praga Monsummanese will be fighting for the prestigious maglia verde of the Giro delle Pesche Nettarine on the roads of Emilia Romagna, passing through noted regional centres like Imola and Ravenna. Let’s cheer on our team.
By the way, given the utter lack of cycling apparel for Bottecchia fans (in comparison with the abundance of fashionable shirts for Bianchi and Wilier), it might be nice for the company to start offering Team Bedogni Natalini Gruppo Praga Monsummanese shirts and shorts for sale on its website and through its dealers.
Lots of crashes marked the final stage of the 2008 Giro d’Italia in Sicily, with significant injuries eliminating Bradley McGee and Stuart O’Grady from Team CSC and young Italian star Riccardo Ricco suffering a dislocated finger. Much of the problems were blamed (especially by the riders themselves) on the uneven road surfaces already seen in the first two Sicilian stages:
Queste strade sono terribili … asfaldo viscido, viali stretti. Ma mandano qualcuno a vedere le strade, prima di disegnare un Giro?
These roads are terrible … slippery asphalt, tight streets. Do they send someone to look at the roads before they plan a Giro?
My supercool souvenir: a Crono water bottle from Slipstream
With my august position in the world bicycle industry, one of the perks is the possibility to attend the opening stages of the grand tours of professional cycling. This year I decided to watch the opening team time trial of the Giro d’Italia from Mondello, rather than the hospitality tents in the centre of Palermo, because of the promise of a great seafood pizza after the race. Mondello is the seaside playground of the Palermitani and the town’s beach and nightlife transfers there during the summer months.
Gilberto Simoni tries out the course before the time trial
As we staked out a place a couple of hours before the start, without meeting much competition, we had the opportunity to see many of the teams surveying the course, preparing their strategies for coping with the sharp curves and uneven asphalt.
Lampre compare the vintage and new asphalt
At about 3:45 pm the teams started to pass one by one by our post along the seafront. Despite all the hype in the media here about the “typically passionate welcome of the Sicilians”, the locals seemed pretty blasé about the whole thing. The only passion I witnessed came from two sources: 1) a lady and her daughter enraged by the prospect of walking the final 42 m to their front door and 2) an old guy who didn’t want me take some pictures of his ramshackle Bottecchia (I was keen to show Bottecchia’s only presence at the Giro this year…).
Liquigas moved through the quickest but lost time on return leg
The stage was won by Slipstream featuring Canada’s own Ryder Hesjedal, who came through wearing the red and white of the national time trial champ. I grabbed a water bottle that flew nearby as they passed – much cooler than the “Ghiro d’Italia” keychain with a stuffed toy rat.
See you along the course.
[Bottecchia Race Update: Thanks to the news section on Bottecchia's fab website, I've learned that Bottecchia was racing yesterday - represented by Bedogni Natalini Gruppo Praga Monsummanese in the 9ª Coppa Comune di Castiglion Fiorentino. Wow!]
From a time before the UCI took all the fun out of bike design
Produced for display at Expo86 to demonstrate the company’s technological prowess, with a sculptured and streamlined carbon fibre frame and wheels, computer controlled variable transmission, and cool space age gear levers.
Of course, the current management of Bottecchia continues to be on the cutting edge of biking innovation in 2008.
b) BS110 “Top Sprinter”
Complete BS
BS110 (what does the BS stand for?)
The use of black paint on the seat stays of the all aluminium (well except for the steel forks) BS110 is a brilliant technogical solution to the market demand for carbon fibre, ensuring lightness, ease of production, and aesthetic performance.
At the moment I’m in Europe and enjoying (as much as a Toronto Maple Leaf fan can) the opportunity to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs on NASN – the North American Sports Network. With all the games featuring live feeds from Hockey Night in Canada or TSN, NASN would be the greatest channel ever if it wasn’t for the continous repetition of irritating NHL promos where various star cross-checkers and cherry pickers declare that “The Cup Changes Everything.”
Why didn’t you play this hard all season?
What this really means is that the have teams of the league coasted through the entire regular season complacent in the knowledge that the have-nots (such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, LA Kings, and Tampa Bay Whatchamacallits) were already booking April golf holidays. 82 regular season games per team, in the far west and deep south of the US, to arrive at a foregone conclusion. Pfui.
Now I understand all those old guys who used to complain that they got bored of hockey after the 1967 expansion. It’s hard caring about any matches involving the Columbus Blue Jackets, Phoenix Coyotes, or Walla Walla Wild at any time, let alone during a pointless game towards the end of a pointless season. At least the California Golden Seals had novelty value – now stupid teams in sundrenched places with style-deficient uniforms are a dime a dozen.
