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 by: Bill Oetinger  5/1/2013

Spring Fever

I last devoted a full column to the pro peloton in November, with a weary review of the doping story. I said I was sick of that side of racing and wasn't going to pay any more attention to it. (And I haven't, studiously avoiding any and all of the Armstrong meltdown…truly a China Syndrome if ever there was one: he's sinking into a legal, financial, and judicial black hole, and who knows how far down he will drop before he bottoms out?)

But I also allowed as how I would be back for more bike racing; that regardless of the tacky soap opera surrounding the dopers, I am just sucker enough to still believe in the sport and to still find it entertaining and engrossing. A month after that dismissal of the drug scandals, I did have one more mention of the pro circuit in an end-of-the-year wrap-up in December…not a full column, but just a few thoughts about the season past and the season ahead, eager to pass out of the dark days of winter and on into the bright sunshine of springtime, where we now find ourselves.

I've been watching a fair number of races on streaming video: a mix of one-week stage races and one-day classics. So far, it has been everything any cycling fan could wish for. Normally, I might wait until after the Giro--ready to roll in a just a few days--to open my chronicle on the racing season. But this year, I just can't help myself: I'm rarin' to go here, and I want to review the first months of the year as a preview for what lies ahead…or just to celebrate what has transpired so far.

So let's hit rewind for the months of March and April and see what happened…

• March 2: Strade Bianche. Tuscany's version of the pavé roads in Northern France, with several long sections of gravel. Moreno Moser won, with his Cannondale teammate Peter Sagan just :03 behind.

• March 3-10: Paris-Nice. Sky's super-lieutenant Richie Porte was allowed to take the lead on this, the first real stage race of the year. He took control with a nice attack on the Stage 5 mountain finish, then nailed it down with a dominant uphill time trial in the final stage. Second in the time trail and second overall was young American Andrew Talanksy. Another young Yankee, Tejay Van Garderen, was a respectable 4th. Also of note: Nairo Quintana third in the mountain time trial behind Porte and Talansky.

• March 6-12: Tirreno-Adriatico. Vincenzo Nibali won for the second year in a row, with Chris Froome second and Alberto Contador third. That's a prime-time podium, so you know the big boys were there and working hard. The crucial moment came on Stage 6. This over-the-top stage featured three circuits, each of which included a short but steep ascent to the village of Sant'Elpidio al Mare, then a final descent to a finish in a nearby town. I'm going into a little detail here because this was one of the best, or at least most interesting stages of the spring season. My Belgian friend Marc said it reminded him of an Ardennes classic, with those many short but steep murs. Indeed, this climb is known as Muri di Sant'Elpidio. It had never appeared in a pro race before, so, to make up for that, they did it three times. This has to be one of the steepest roads I've ever seen. The sign at the bottom of the hill says it's 30%, and it looked every bit of that. It averaged 20% for over a mile. And it was raining…on bad pavement. Stand up and your rear wheel would spin out. Lose momentum and you stall out and topple over, just like on an Ardennes mur.

If you want to watch this crazy stage, it's available in its entirety on YouTube. Whoever posted it even included a marker that shows you where to fast-forward to get to the first climb up the 30% pitch. And if you'd like to read some interesting insight about the stage, read this blog. The writer makes a number of very good points.

Anyway…Chris Froome had been in the leader's jersey beginning the day. On the second time up this ridiculous wall, Nibali attacked, then opened up a gap with one of his spooky-fast descents in the rain. Then he attacked again the third time up the hill, and only two riders stayed with him. One was Joaquin Rodriguez. No surprise there: he's never yet met a 20% climb he didn't like. But the other was amazing: sprinter Peter Sagan. While Contador and Froome and Cadel Evans were all getting gapped, while Andy Schleck was abandoning, who stayed on Nibali's wheel on the 30% climb? This big 23-year old sprinting phenom. You watch this kid, and you wonder how good he might become in the next couple of years. He won this stage, while Nibali took the GC lead, looking like a man at the top of his game right now.

• March 17: Milano-San Remo. Gerald Ciolek won, with the busy Peter Sagan a close second and Fabian Cancellara third. This was the first win for Ciolek's tiny African team…the first major race win for a team from that continent, and what a way to break into the big time!

• March 18-24: Volta a Catalunya. Irishman Daniel Martin (Garmin) won, beating, among others, Bradley Wiggins, Joaquin Rodriguez, Nairo Quintana, and Michele Scarponi…in other words, an all-star cast. He rode away from everyone on a long attack on Stage 4, the biggest mountain stage. Martin is another guy to watch, although I'm not sure how he time trials. There were no ITT's in this short stage race.

• March 22: E3-Harelbeke. Cancellara won with Sagan second again. Cancellara looked like his old, dominant self in this semi-classic, letting his rivals know he'd be ready for the Tour of Flanders.

• March 24: Gent-Wevelgem. Sagan won this classic…finally a win and not a second.

• March 31: Tour of Flanders. Cancellara won, with Sagan second. Sagan was good, again, but the old war horse Cancellara took him to school on this day. On the second-to-last climb, the Oude Kwaremont, Cancellara put the hammer down and dropped everyone but the young kid, who barely hung on over the summit. Then, on the Paterberg, he kicked again. Sagan hung with him as long as he could but finally caved in. His shoulders slumped, and he had to let Cancellara go. The mighty Swiss champion finished 1:26 clear.

• April 1-6: Vuelta al Paîs Vasco. Nairo Quintana won ahead of Richie Porte. He won the queen mountain stage and then finished second behind Tony Martin in the final time trial. I've mentioned Quintana twice now because he's a guy who can climb with the best and can turn in a pretty respectable time trial too…a lethal combination. (He beat Contador by :50 in that time trial.)

• April 7: Paris-Roubaix. Cancellara did it again, completing the Flanders-Roubaix double for the second time, again with Harelbeke thrown in like a sprig of parsley on the side of his plate. Total dominance. Roubaix is so simple: can you ride your bike faster than I can? No hills at all…just those hellish cobblestones to rattle your fillings loose and sap your reserves and resolve.

Curiously, Sagan's team elected to skip this race. I thought he would be well suited to it, but his people said his young body was worn down by the spring campaign and they didn't want to push him on that rough terrain. Still, not a bad spring program for the Slovakian flash: one classics win, four seconds, and that wild win in the super-steep stage at Tirreno-Adriatico.

• April 14: Amstel Gold. Roman Kreuzinger won as the last man standing out of a late break. Alejandro Valverde was second.

• April 17: Fleche Wallonne. Daniel Moreno was first up the Mur de Huy, with Sergio Henao second. Daniel Martin fourth.

• April 16-19: Giro del Trentino. Vinnie Nibali took the laurels again in this classic Giro tune-up, winning the final mountain stage ahead of the likes of Bradley Wiggins and Cadel Evans.

• April 21: Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Daniel Martin won the last monument of the spring, dancing away from Joaquin Rodriguez on the final uphill to the line, with Valverde third. That's a rather unusual podium for a spring classic: an Irishman and two Spaniards. But that's how this classics season went. For the Belgians, for whom the spring classics are their national sport and perhaps their state religion, it was a total disaster. No one did anything of note.

• April 23-28: Tour de Romandie. Sky's Chris Froome won the 5-stage race with a gutsy attack on the mountainous Stage 4, in miserably rainy, cold conditions, then sealed the deal with a third place in the final time trial, opening up more distance between himself and any rivals. World Champion Tony Martin won his fifth ITT of the spring. Don't expect that dominance to change in the months ahead.

So…a fun spring campaign. What does it all mean, and what does it portend for the big races ahead? Good showings in the spring may not translate to later success. Or then again, they might. Aside from the classics riders who distinguished themselves—Cancellara and Sagan principally--the stage racers who show promise for the big days ahead are Vincenzo Nibali, Daniel Martin, Chris Froome, and Nairo Quintana, with Rodriguez looking to be ramping up nicely as well. Wiggins, Evans, Contador, Schleck, and all the other marquee team leaders are still getting tuned up.

Mind you, I'm not predicting anything. I try not to do predictions. Wiggins, Nibali, and Evans are all entered in the Giro. Evans is also doing the Tour, and I suspect he's using the Giro as a training program, riding himself into shape. But for Wiggo and Vinnie, it's game on. They want it. It's job #1 of the 2013 season. Wiggins may be doing the Tour too, but the Giro is his goal, and the official team position right now is that he will ride in support of Chris Froome at the Tour. And don't look past Ryder Hesjedal, the defending maglia rosa. His laid-back, unassuming manner makes it easy to overlook him, but he claims his prep this spring for the Giro has been perfect, and that he's as ready as he'll ever be to defend the jersey. In about three weeks, we should know who had the right stuff.

Meanwhile, half a world away, the Tour of California will be heading from south to north, ending in Santa Rosa on May 19, with the probably decisive mountain finish on Mount Diablo the day before. The time trial the day before that is no cake walk either, with some beefy climbs in the hills south of San Jose. I have not yet seen official team rosters for this event, but I know defending champion Robert Gesink will not be there. His Blanco team (formerly Rabobank) is not participating. The prior year's winner Chris Horner probably will be. (He's another rider who has shown some moments of panache this spring.) Look for Sagan to again dominate the sprint stages. BMC, headquartered in Santa Rosa, will certainly be there, with Tejay Van Garderen and Philippe Gilbert on board. Tom Boonen is supposed to come, if he's recovered from a recent crash. I bet Talanksy will be there too, as part of a strong Garmin squad…although they will have to slice and dice their team carefully to provide a respectable level of support for Hesjedal at the Giro.

It adds up to one of the best months of biking of the year. And the best part is, you can watch the racers on TV--or even from the side of the road--and then get in some good rides of your own…a cycling feast.

Bill can be reached at srccride@sonic.net



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