Chapeau!

Strade-Bianchi e molto bello! What a great race. I very much enjoyed my tour through the Tuscan countryside. No, Gregario Forza was not among the tifosi in Italy; I was in a northern Minnesota cottage in the middle of the Superior Forest. I woke up super hung-over at about 6 bells, made some coffee, drank some mimosas (too early for Chianti?), and enjoyed a crystal clear live feed. Thank you RAI. Gregario Forza, also known as il Procrastinator, will also tip the hat to the early protagonists of Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. What a great week to be a cycling fan! Sorry if I missed anyone as I’m doing this from memory; I’m waiting to watch a tape delayed Stage 5 and don’t want to see any spoilers.

Chapeau! to Moreno Moser. Lui e magnifico! The man with the famous family lived up to the hype of his Uncle’s name. The Strade is most certainly Moser’s biggest win in his young career. Moreno had the support of one of the best riders in the peloton in the Slovakian Slayer e Peter Sagan. Moser showed great poise and a winner’s edge while he rode Flecha off his wheel and attacked the members of the breakaway. Nice pick Taco! Building blocks of a dynasty!

Chapeau! to Peter Sagan. If it wasn’t Sagan’s teammate for the win it would have most definitely been the Tourminator himself. Sagan looked to be the strongest of the favorites. Always cool, always comfortable, Sagan tenaciously marked all the moves from Cancellara, Nocentini, et al. Today at Tirreno Adriatico, Sagan was able to beat Cav and Greipel in a sprint; I smell a victory at la classica primavera, Milan-SanRemo.

Chapeau! to Rinaldo Nocentini. Rinaldo gained Project Forza Pro Coni squad some much needed points. Although Rinaldo hails from under the Tuscan sun, this was the Italians first go at the white roads. The 35 year old Nocentini seemed to be at home. He was very strong in the preferiti gruppo, and was only outsprinted by Sagn in the finale. Forza!

Chapeau! to Jaun Antonio Flecha. I just enjoyed seeing the Spanish Flanderen out on the attack. It made the run up to finish exciting. Roubaix training perhaps? Forza!

Chapeau! to Marcel Kittel. SKittels won the stage 2 sprint at Paris-Nice. While many or the big dogs of the sprint (Cav, Greips, Goss, Farrar (hahahahaha), etc.), are in Italy, and Hutarovich crashed out, sKittels still won. And that means points for Volpe.

Chapeau! to Andrew Talansky. The Pit Bull was relentless in his bite at the end of stage 3. Although he had a free ride via Tame Sky to the finish, Talansky flew through the small group of leaders and managed to win the stage and put on the leaders jersey of Paris-Nice. This was a huge win for the American. Now can he and his Garmin teammates protect yellow on Montagne de Lure? I can’t wait to find out.

Chapeau! to Michael Albasini. The Albatross spread his wings and took a massive sprint after a bumpy day in Paris-Nice. This was the first win for the Swiss rider in 2013 and Alba claimed he didn’t know if he was in good form. He may not be able to repeat the wins he had in 2012 but the Albatross has opened up his account. Look out! Forza!

Chapeau! to OPQS. On a very difficult course, in very difficult conditions, the Omega-Pharma Quickstep squad was the fastest in the stage 1 TTT at the race of the two seas. OPQS got Cavendish the maglio azzurra, which he should be able to hold until the road goes up. Considering the makeup of the teams at Adritico this year, this was ahuge win for OPQS.

Chapeau! to Mathew Harley Goss. This was supposed to be the stage where we saw the two fastest men in the sprint battle for early season prominence. However, Cav and Greipel did not win stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico. It was the Aussie, Gossy. In a rainy, technical finish, Goss got the edge over the rest of the sprinters and looked very strong. He too could be in form to win Milan-SanRemo. Tough win and Chapeau! to you Mr. Goss.

Schleckers of the week: No one at Strade-Bianchi. That race is so awesome no rider who participates should be chastised by this hack. Although, Andy didn’t finish, ha! Rui Costa’s wrist is certainly not on my good list, I just hope he can mend before the Ardennes. Gesink lost out in the echelons of France. The Grape Ape, Andre Greipel, has not been able to punch his ticket on the Lotto train as he was very absent in the stage 2 sprint in which Goss the Boss was victorious. The Manx Missile has also not been his super sprinty self at Tirrenno. He called out his teammates after stage 2 and was beat by a guy who is not supposed to contend with the “real” sprinters. Have no worries, Cav and Greips will impress before the week in Italy is over. Where is Wiggo? Wiggo? Are you playing possum? Nibbles thinks so.

Forza!