Sports Poets Society

"Qhubeka" in lingua Zulu significa "resistere", "progredire", "andare avanti". Kristian Sbaragli, 25enne empolese di nascita e di Castel Fiorentino d'adozione, l'ha presa alla lettera: ha resistito, fatto progressi, è andato avanti. E alla fine è arrivata la sua prima vittoria in un grande Giro, il primo successo importante al secondo anno da pro. Un anno magico per la MTN, il team sudafricano con sede europea a Guamo, in provincia di Lucca, a 50 chilometri da casa sua. Al Tour un mese fa, con l'eritreo Daniel Teklehaymanot la prima maglia a pois di un corridore africano e con Cummings la prima vittoria di un team con licenza protour interamente africano e per di più nel Mandela Day.   Ora, alla decima tappa, il primo successo italiano in questa Vuelta, che con l'ennesima serie di cadute alla vigilia del primo riposo vede ancora in maglia rossa l'olandese Tom Dumoulin. Allo sprint di Castellòn, Sbaragli ha battuto un f...

http://www.tuttobiciweb.it/index.php?page=rivista&cmd=artdet&id=3811 TuttoBici, Numero 3 - Anno 2013 di Giulia De Maio Qhubeka in Zulu significa “resistere”, “progredire”, “andare avanti”. La squadra MTN-Qhubeka promoted by Samsung è il primo team africano della storia registrato con licenza Pro­fessional dall’UCI e nutre la grande ambizione di far crescere il ciclismo in questo magnifico continente, ma non solo. Il suo progetto infatti prevede anche di aiutare le comunità rurali a crescere fornendo al maggior numero di bambini delle biciclette permettendo loro così di studiare e, successivamente, lavorare per migliorare il loro am­biente e la loro società. Gli atleti diretti da Douglas Ryder e Brent Copeland, pedalando con le loro maglie giallo-nere, rappresenteranno da questa stagione in avanti un mezzo di promozione delle iniziative di Qhubeka e una fonte di ispirazione per potenziali nuovi atleti provenienti dalla terra che aiuteranno con le loro gesta. Kristia...

(ANSA) - ROMA, 30 AGO - Da De Bruyne a Sterling, da Di Maria a Benteke e Vidal, sono tanti i calciatori pagati a peso d'oro nel mercato estivo, a due giorni dallo stop. Le maggiori follie le ha fatte il Manchester City che solo per tre innesti, uno a reparto, ha speso 190 mln: 68 per Sterling, 45 per Otamendi e ora il record di 75,5 per Kevin De Bruyne. La Premier al solito la piu' spendacciona. Juve, Inter e Milan hanno fatto investimenti importanti di oltre 30 milioni per Dybala, Kondogbia e Bacca. Questi i colpi piu' costosi del mercato (comprensivi dei bonus), a due giorni dallo stop delle contrattazioni. 1) DE BRUYNE: Il colpo di fine mercato. Il City lo strappa al Wolfsburg per 75,5 mln. Centrocampista, trequartista, esterno ambidestro in possesso di forza, tecnica, dribbling. Belga 24/enne che il Chelsea due anni fa ha lasciato al Wolfsburg per 16 mln.    2) STERLING: dal Liverpool al City per 68 mln. Esterno destro di 22 anni, anglo-giamaicano, 23 gol in 4 stag...

Tappa e maglia. Era sua alla quinta tappa, la Roja , e alla nona se l'è ripresa, Tom Dumoulin. L'olandese dal cognome francese, di professione cronoman che s'è reinventato scalatore. Spettacolari quegli ultimi 3 km sulla seconda ascesa del Cumbre del Sol. I big ci hanno provato tutti ad attaccare, prima Valverde poi Dumoulin e, ai -2,3, la maglia rossa Chaves con il connazionale Quintana; ai -2,1 il nostro Aru quasi en danseuse, danzando sui pedali; ai -2 gli stessi Dumoulin e Chaves, che il simbolo del primato glielo aveva sfilato vincendo ad Alcalá de Guadaíra la quinta tappa, il secondo dei suoi due successi in questa Vuelta. Stavolta però il colombiano non ha lo stesso passo: a -1,9 riparte Aru, Chaves gli prende la ruota ma agli ottocento cede. A -1,7 seconda frustata di Dumoulin; ai meno 1,2 comincia a frullare Chris Froome. A un chilometro dal traguardo di Benitachell parte Majka e ai trecento metri scatta di nuovo Froome. Sembra l'attacco decisivo ma...

10 Distance: 152km Category: Medium Mountains Highest point: 495m This is another tricky stage with a rather lumpy aspect. With a rest day and a longish transfer to come, the GC riders should be content to let a break go and have the sprinters’ teams chase it down. There’s a complication for the latter in the shape of the second-category Alto del Desierto de las Palmas, which comes late in the stage. Averaging five per cent over 8km, it featured on the circuit used for the 2011 Spanish Road Race Championship won by JJ Rojas. Very much in the chasers’ favour, though, are the 20km of pan-flat road that follow it and run all the way into the finish. The breakaways will need two minutes at the very least if they are to hold on until Castellón. Fernando Escartín This is one of the few stages on the race for the sprinters. Even though there’s a climb not too far from the finish, I would expect most of them to cope with it fairly comfortably and then retrieve any losses on the 10k...

Come al Tour, anzi peggio. Anche nella ottava tappa della Vuelta tante, troppe cadute; Sagan che se la prende con una moto, Boenkamps, Martin, Bohuanny e Van Garderen che si ritirano. Va bene che la ASO, madre-padrona del giro di Francia, organizza anche quello di Spagna, così però si esagera. La frazione solo in teoria per velocisti l'ha vinta Jasper Stuyven , passistone che si allena in Italia, nel lucchese, e da junior ha vinto oro e bronzo ai mondiali e ha vinto la roubaix sia da junior sia negli under 23; per il 23enne belga della Trek Factory Racing è il primo successo in due anni da pro'. E' arrivata al suo secondo grande giro, alla Vuelta, che Stuyven ha corso anche l'anno scorso. E con uno sprint di forza e classe, al termine di una frazione molto nervosa, soprattutto per le cadute. La più grave quella di un altro belga, Kris Boeckmans, a lungo a terra, ma tali da comportare il ritiro anche quelle di Daniel Martin, che era nella top ten della generale...

09 Distance: 168.3km Category: Medium Mountain Highest point: 415m Like the previous day, the finale of this stage features a double crossing of a climb. However, the Cumbre del Sol is not only a tougher proposition than the Cresta del Gallo but the finish is also located at its summit. It’s the only difficulty of a day that passes through regular training camp territory on the Costa Blanca. The riders don’t go all the way to the top on the first passage over the Cumbre del Sol. As such, it’s rated as It may seem odd to describe a stage that descends most of the way to a shark-toothed finishing circuit as being hard for the sprinters, but Spain rarely offers anything that’s completely straightforward for the bunch finishers. Many riders will know the finale from the Vuelta a Murcia, where the Cresta del Gallo’s appearance is almost de rigueur. Extending to 5.5km at an average of 6.8 per cent, it could be a launchpad for second category. On the second ascent, they tackle its full...

08 Distance: 168.3km Category: Medium Mountain Highest point: 415m Distance: 188.6km Category: Hilly Highest point: 1,240m It may seem odd to describe a stage that descends most of the way to a shark-toothed finishing circuit as being hard for the sprinters, but Spain rarely offers anything that’s completely straightforward for the bunch finishers. Many riders will know the finale from the Vuelta a Murcia, where the Cresta del Gallo’s appearance is almost de rigueur. Extending to 5.5km at an average of 6.8 per cent, it could be a launchpad for second category. On the second ascent, they tackle its full 3.5km, averaging 11 per cent, with sections at close to 20. It looks to be an ideal opportunity for explosive climbers like Joaquim Rodríguez but the time gaps between the GC hitters won’t be large. attacking climbers. But the 12 flat kilometres to the finish provide hope to those in pursuit. Norway’s Thor Hushovd won in Murcia in 2010 but that stage only crossed the Cresta del Ga...

07 Distance: 188.3km Category: High Mountain Highest point: 1,490m There’s barely a metre of flat road on this stage, which concludes with the first high-altitude summit. Once again, the finale is new to the race, although many of the riders will be familiar with the roads that run close to the Sierra Nevada resort, which hosts so many training camps. The finale on the Alto de Capileira lies on the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada. Reached via the water-producing centre of Lanjarón and the town of Órgiva in the Alpujarra mountains, the road to it rises for almost 20km at an average gradient of five per cent. The second half of the climb is steeper than the first and will see the field whittled down until just the contenders for the red jersey are left. David López It looks a pretty hard stage even though there aren’t many categorised climbs. It could be a good day for a breakaway but the favourites may have an eye on this one, too. There are a lot of finishes on small climbs...

06 Distance: 204km Category: Medium Mountain Highest point: 870m A stage the Spanish describe as rompepiernas, or leg-breaking. The road bumps constantly up and down for the first two thirds, with two much larger bumps to follow in the final third. The category 3 Alto de Baeza won’t disturb the serene progress of the favourites but the first-time finish on the Alto de Cazorla might trouble some of them. The climb has two very different aspects. It rises steadily for almost 20km before a sharp descent that leads straight onto a very steep 2km up to the finish. After more than 200km in sapping heat, the closing 2,000m could well produce the biggest splits so far between the big hitters for the overall. Fernando Escartín You’d be right to describe this as rompepiernas . Once again there are constant undulations but I don’t suspect that the gaps between the main contenders will be all that big. The uphill finish will suit riders such as Joaquim Rodríguez and Alejandro Valverde...

05 Distance: 182km Category: Flat Highest point: 70m On paper, this is the most straightforward stage of the race with barely a pimple hindering the riders’ progress as they head inland into the province of Sevilla. However, the elements could make for an uncomfortable day. In this parched landscape, the heat is likely to be intense. The riders will also be watchful for echelons forming if the wind begins to gust. This threat is greatest in the first half of Although essentially a flat stage, the sprinters’ teams won’t be keen on chasing down any breaks due to the two climbs on the finishing circuit in Vejer de la Frontera. Running steeply up to the old town, the two ascents will, however, prove tempting for any puncheurs using the Vuelta as a build-up for the World Championships in Richmond. The 1,500m run up to the finish rises through the narrow streets of this classic Andalucian the stage, which runs near the sea, but remains in the open countryside of the latter half. The f...

04 Distance: 203km Category: Flat Highest point: 190m Although essentially a flat stage, the sprinters’ teams won’t be keen on chasing down any breaks due to the two climbs on the finishing circuit in Vejer de la Frontera. Running steeply up to the old town, the two ascents will, however, prove tempting for any puncheurs using the Vuelta as a build-up for the World Championships in Richmond. The 1,500m run up to the finish rises through the narrow streets of this classic Andalucian the stage, which runs near the sea, but remains in the open countryside of the latter half. The finale is in the impressively imposing walled town of Alcalá de Guadáira, which is hosting its first finish. The sprinters should provide an equally impressive flourish. pueblo blanco that looks across the Straits of Gibraltar. With bonus seconds available to the first three finishers, the overall favourites will also be tempted to the fore with the aim of striking an early psychological blow on their GC ...

03 Distance: 164.6km Category: Medium Mountains Highest point: 660m With no fewer than nine summit finishes on the menu and a number of other significant days in the mountains besides, there isn’t a lot for the sprinters to pick over during these three weeks. Consequently, the peloton’s speedsters won’t want to pass up on this opportunity for some elbows-out action. The bulk of today’s climbing comes early on but there’s a tricky ascent into the old city of Málaga half a dozen kilometres from home that will add a touch of uncertainty. This will offer a chance for a last-minute escape attempt but comes far enough out for the sprinters’ teams to organise themselves and chase it down before the mad dash for the line. David López This should be a sprint as the last 50km will be easy for the sprinters’ teams to control. The heat might be a problem, but the coastal roads should provide some relief. Philippe Gilbert won on the climb to Málaga in 2010 but that stage finished in the ...

02 Distance: 165km Category: Medium Mountain Highest point: 560m Málaga is proud that it’s the first province to host four Vuelta stages in the same year, and particularly so of this one, which takes the race to one of the region’s most renowned sights. Cut high into the cliff face in the early 20th century to allow workers access to hydroelectric installations, the Caminito del Rey (the king’s pathway) became a hotspot for climbers until it fell into disrepair. Now restored, it will provide a spectacular backdrop to the first of nine summit finishes. The concluding ascent of the Alto de la Mesa is short but sharp. It extends to 2.5km at an average of almost nine per cent, with sections at 15 per cent. It will test the GC contenders’ mettle from the very start. Fernando Escartín I’d classify this stage as rompepiernas [leg-breaking]. It isn’t hugely difficult but the road goes up and down constantly and that will definitely take a toll. I’d guess that there will be about 20-...

di SIMONE BASSO, Il Giornale del Popolo Oggi, sabato 22, parte la Vuelta Grandi Firme. Per l'entusiasmo di molti, e lo scetticismo di alcuni, il terzo Grande Giro dell'anno - in tutti i sensi - sta diventando un cespite di valore nelle mani dell'inarrestabile Amaury (la potentissima società del Tour de France). Quest'anno poi, grazie a una serie di circostanze fortunate, le scelte dei ras - soprattutto i tappisti - ne hanno fatto una sorta di rivincita immediata della recente Grande Boucle . L'ultimo ad accettare la sfida è stata la maglia gialla: Chris Froome potrebbe essere il primo campione a fare la doppietta con il nuovo calendario, lui che si rivelò proprio in Spagna nel 2011, quando le scelte tattiche di Team Sky - che costrinsero il keniano bianco a far da sgobbone a Sir Bradley Wiggins - regalarono la roja al carneade Juan José Cobo. Reduci anche loro dal podio della Festa di Luglio, i Movistar Quintana-Valverde promettono battaglia: con tr...

01 Distance: 7.4km Category: TTT Highest point: 9m It had been suggested that the race would open with a prologue time trial . But, after some input from Cofidis’s local star Luis Ángel Maté, the organisers decided to stick with their preference for a team test. The route will follow the beach-side promenad that links the glitzy resorts. Starting on the breakwater at Puerto Banús, to which the teams will be ferried on launches, the riders will sweep onto the seafront, cross the Rio Verde on a temporary bridge and hurtle towards the finish on the Playa de la Venus. The TTT’s difficulty stems from the narrowness of the promenade and the different surfaces, including wood, marble and cobbles. Thankfully, there’s little chance of rain. Javier Guillén The race starts on the port’s breakwater, which is a very lovely setting. Although it’s very short, I think the beach-side course will look very impressive, and it will have the first ever finish on a beach. It shows that...

http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/how-colombian-cycling-tradition-changed-world A million cyclists taking over the busiest, biggest, and most important streets of a notoriously traffic-snarled metropolis? No big deal-it happens every week in Bogotá, Colombia. by Mark Jenkins, August 17, 2015 Carrera Séptima, in Bogotá, Colombia, bisects the financial district, the commercial district, and the government sector. Closing such a street every Sunday is akin to New York City closing Madison Avenue, or Washington D.C. closing Pennsylvania Avenue. Pedaling side by side, my wife, Sue Ibarra, and I are part of wave after wave of cyclists that take up the entire 12-mile stretch of the main street, Carrera Séptima, in downtown Bogotá, Colombia. An old man in a serape on a bright-red 1970s Sting-Ray spins alongside us, grinning beneath a yellow helmet. We split to pass around a four-year-old, fingers barely reaching the brakes, seated on a teeny orange bike with training wheels...

di CHRISTIAN GIORDANO, 17 agosto 2015 LIVIGNO (So) - Una banale caduta alla quinta tappa del Tour de France, una botta proprio là, contro la sella. Succede, ai corridori. Solo che stavolta il dolore non passa. Persiste. Dopo nove tappe, il primo riposo. A Pau c'è un centro urologico di massimo livello, Ivan Basso fa un controllo. Poi altri: tumore maligno al testicolo sinistro. È il 13 luglio, il 15 lo opera al San Raffaele di Milano l'équipe del professor Francesco Montorsi. Il 17 agosto, nella sua Livigno, il 37enne corridore della Tinkoff-Saxo torna in bici. E pedala. - Trentasei giorni, li ho contati. Sensazioni? “Molto buone perché in questi ultimi giorni la convalescenza è migliorata molto. Mi hanno dato l’OK per pedalare e questo è già un segnale importante; non per allenarmi, però tornare in bici vuol dire che la salute è buona. E questo è un passo avanti importante”. - L’altro passo avanti importante sarà il primo settembre. “Sì, il primo settemb...

by CHRISTIAN GIORDANO  exclusive interview, August 17, 2015 LIVIGNO (Sondrio) - A dull crash in the fifth stage of the Tour de France, a common hit right there, against the saddle. It happens to the riders. Still, the pain does not go away. After nine stages, the Tour takes his first rest-day. In Pau there is a world-class urology department, Ivan Basso is asked to undergo a check-up. Then, another one. A malignant tumor in the left testicle – that’s the diagnosis. It is July 13, the surgery was performed on July 15 at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, by Professor Francesco Montorsi’s team. On August 17, in his Livigno, the 37 year-old Saxo-Tinkoff rider back on his bike. And he rides too. - Thirty-six days, I counted them all. What about your feelings? "Very good because in the past few days my convalescence has improved a lot. They (the doctors, e.d.) gave me the OK to ride and this is already an important signal; not to train, but get back on a bike means that healt...

Trentasei giorni, e di nuovo in bici. Ivan Basso torna a pedalare, e questa è la prima, gran bella notizia. Dal 13 luglio a Pau, primo giorno di riposo al tour e giorno della scoperta di avere un tumore al testicolo sinistro, al 17 agosto nella sua Livigno: trentasei giorni in cui il suo mondo si è capovolto. Ma sempre con il sorriso. Perché lui, Ivan, «sorride sempre». Il primo settembre il controllo definitivo del professor Montorsi, il chirurgo che lo ha operato lo scorso 15 luglio al San Raffaele di Milano. Da quel responso di negatività, in senso medico e quindi positivo, dipenderà il futuro di Basso. Ma solo quello agonistico. Perché il 37enne varesino della Tinkoff-Saxo, la squadra che dalla Primavera 2015 ha qui all’Aquagranda di Livigno il suo quartier generale, sarà comunque legato alla bicicletta, al ciclismo. La sua vita, la sua famiglia allargata oltre a quella, splendida, costruita con la moglie Micaela e i quattro figli Domitilla, Santiago, Levante e Thai. ...

There was no let-up for Ivan Basso on the Tour’s first rest-day – just the shocking announcement that he’d been diagnosed with testicular cancer Writer: Daniel Friebe Nine years after striding across a Strasbourg hotel car park, climbing into a car and driving out of the Tour de France in disgrace, Ivan Basso enacted an unsettlingly similar yet altogether different scene in Pau.   This time around Basso shook a few last hands, forced another smile, thanked the handful of well-wishers – fans, journalists and the Lampre mechanics working nearby – and took his place in the passenger seat of his friend and agent Giovanni Lombardi’s white SUV. “Ciao, tutti,” were his last words before leaving.   Everything in the previous three hours had happened with disorienting speed. First the confirmation from the hospital in Pau that the lump identified the previous evening by the Tour’s own medical staff in an X-ray was indeed a tumour. Then the phonecall to his wife,Micaela, ...