Archive for June, 2011
GIRO d’ITALIA DONNE 2011.
Ashleigh & Marianne by Anton Vos
Well, you may have already heard that the women’s Giro d’Italia is getting tougher every year? Can it be tougher than last year? I guess only the climbers who race through until the final day can answer that after this year’s grueling 10 day tour.
On paper it looks tough and a few people who have done reconnaissance on the mountain stages confirm that it is as tough as it looks on the tour’s website; www.girodonne.it
Spain
Spain World Cup had evidently been a main target for a number of the world’s best sprinters.
Photo by Anton Vos
Many team’s arrived in Valladolid Spain with their strongest sprint specialists, leaving their climbers at home until later in the week when the known mountainous races were to begin; Durango & Bira.
It was only on the morning of pre race day when our director mentioned that the course had changed from the previous year. Last year the course was relatively flat and well suited to the sprinters.
China’s injury treated, packing for Spain
Firstly, I must apologise for not writing an update after the China World Cup! That was 15 days ago now and a lot has happened since then. I was very quiet in China about a knee injury that developed on the flight from Venice. In China I was pedaling with one leg, my left leg became so sore that my masseur could hardly touch it. My right leg with the painful knee injury was fine – it had done no work! It was my first experience with an injury as such so I had no idea what was going on inside my knee; most of my pain was behind the knee. By the end of the World Cup race my right leg was useless. I had perfect position with 200m to go (3rd wheel) but when I got out of the seat I just fell straight back into it and was passed by a heard of riders. I finished a disappointing 8th place in the World Cup.