When I started my job as Bicycling’s associate publisher in 2004, I had already spent years selling Italian fashion accounts for the men’s magazine Esquire. As a kid, I had qualified for the junior world championships, and I had raced in Europe into my twenties. Now, I was getting dropped on the lunch ride, I looked like somebody’s idea of a prank with my 205 pounds.

In 2006, I set myself the audacious goal of competing in the time-trial national championship of my native country, Portugal, without being embarrassed. I finished twelfth in the TT in 2007. I kept riding — though now I thought of it as training — and the next year I was offered a chance to join the domestic American race team Bissell Pro Cycling. Late last year, the founder of the Cervelo team, Gerard Vroomen, asked me if I wanted to ride for him.

So 14 years after I stopped racing, and 60 pounds lighter than my peak weight, I find myself on the same team as Carlos Sastre, Thor Hushovd and Heinrich Haussler. I can’t adequately explain how odd it is to up-end your life the way I have, or how it feels to take the risk of leaving the solid career I’d built for the uncertain life of being a neo-pro at an age when many around me are considering retirement.

Today is the day, the first race of the season on my calendar, Etoile de Besseges. Let’s see how this season goes. As you can see I have a pretty good schedule and I’m looking forward to do these races — but for now I’m just going to enjoy the crazy ride.

Follow João Correia online: www.joaoisme.com - www.twitter.com/joaoisme

From the first day we meet with Stefan, he already knew about the innovative advantages of Castelli clothing. “A lot of riders have been talking about how fast the Cervélo kit is.” Denifl said.

Stefan, who lives outside Innsbruck, often drives across the Italian boarder to find warmer climate for training. Over the last three months, Stefan has already proven to be part of the Cervélo TestTeam by testing and helping in product development on the Castelli Winter 2010 collection.

Here are three of Stefan’s favorites:

MEZZO WS JACKET (New for Winter 2010)
I almost couldn’t believe how light and comfortable it was, and how well it kept the wind out. With a weight of only 359 g, full windproofness and water protection, you hardly feel it on. The Windstopper® X-Lite fabric makes it warm enough for even cold rides and very stretchy in all directions. Good for a temperature range around 5°C to 12°C degrees.

DILUVIO GLOVES (available in stores)
The Diluvio’s, my favorite gloves, are light and amazingly warm even in very cold temperatures. You just need to wear them properly. When putting on the gloves right before heading out on a cold day, no moisture built up, my hands stayed dry but a bit cold. But, if I put them on while my hands were still warm, they stayed that way during the full ride. 0°C - 10°C degrees.

MANNAGGIA! JACKET (available in stores)
This jacket has a fabulous “anatomic fit”, and a whole range of off-season conditions. I was wearing nothing under it except for the lightweight (129 g) UNO:UNO PLASMA LS baselayer. And when going uphill, I’d regulate the temperature with the chest zip vents and undo the main zip a bit at times — it really is an exceptionally warm winter jacket, perfect for riding in cold conditions and great styling. Temperature range: -5°C to 10°C degrees.

For more information, click here:  Diluvio Glove -  Mannaggia! Jacket -  Uno:Uno Plasma Baselayer

Stefan Denifl, profile: www.cervelo.com

Next race up on the calendar for the Cervélo TestTeam is the famous Montepaschi Strade Bianche on Saturday in beautiful Tuscany.

Held annually in the Tuscany region, near Siena, the Montepaschi Strade Bianche is famous for the 70 kilometres of gravel roads that make up a substantial portion of the race route. “I am confident we have a very strong team for this race,” said Jens Zemke, sports director, who once again will lead the team at this year’s race. “The riders are very motivated. In Roger Hammond (GBR) we have a specialist who is ideal for this kind of race. Then there is our young Italian rider, Davide Appollonio (ITA), who is also very motivated to perform well as this will be his first pro race in his home country. This kind of a race is also an ideal opportunity to test how our components perform in these extreme conditions so we can determine the best equipment setup.”

Castelli will be following the riders in the team car, and go riding with them on Sunday to get their latest product feedback on the bike.

Riders:
Davide Appollonio (ITA)
Roger Hammond (GBR)
Jeremy Hunt (GBR)
Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU)
Brett Lancaster (AUS)
Gabriel Rasch (NOR)
Martin Reimer (GER)

Race information:
Length    190 km
Start    11:10h
Finish    ±16:00h
Website    www.gazzetta.it

Photo: © TDWsport.com

]]> http://blog.castelli-cycling.com/2010/03/04/next-race-up-montepaschi-strade-bianche/feed/ http://blog.castelli-cycling.com/2010/03/02/2006/ http://blog.castelli-cycling.com/2010/03/02/2006/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:46:28 +0000 Castelli http://blog.castelli-cycling.com/?p=2006

Aero Rain jacket - Fully aero, fully breathable, and fully protected. The Cervélo TestTeam riders will be able to race in the rain, fully protected, and nearly as aero as their normal dry weather race kit.

With the futuristic and miraculous Aero Rain Jacket, we have been able to make race-wear that’s fully protective, very stretchy, and yet so breathable that you can keep the entire thing closed up without overheating. By adding this short-sleeve aero Rain jacket over the Aero Race jersey, the Cervélo TestTeam riders will be able to race in the rain, fully protected, and nearly as aero as their normal dry weather race kit. It’s made possible thanks to a revolutionary new fabric being developed by Castelli and GORE.

By adding a pair of the water repellent Nanoflex arm-warmers to the short-sleeve Aero Rain jacket, the CTT riders will stay as dry as possible, thanks to the 5 phase miraculous nanotechnology treatment. The water drops just bounces off the fabric. It’s not 100% waterproof, but the best solution we’ve ever tried for staying comfortable in any wet race condition.

The Aero Race jacket is great for aerodynamic protection for racing when it’s raining
and not terribly cold. The Nanoflex arm-, knee- and leg-warmes will be available for sale during
September 2010. The Aero Rain jacket will hit the store shelves during Winter 2011.

Comments from Haussler, Hunt, Hammond and Lancaster:

- “That’s the best bit of kit I’ve ever worn.”

- “Best idea of Castelli so far”

- “Best thing ever”

- “Perfect for rain and cold”

- “Never tried anything comparable”

- “Let’s just hope it rains.”

See video from the Cervélo Test day - Click here >>

Cold, Rain, Mud, Cobbles - not the sort of conditions most cyclists look forward to.
On a cold and windy Wednesday morning, nine riders of the Cervélo TestTeam spent a couple of hours training on the parcours of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, including a couple of sessions on the Belgian pavé.

They were trying out a new kit for cold and wet racing, based on some ideas that came out from a focus group with the Cervélo TestTeam “Wet & Cold” Spring classic riders last summer. “Luckily”, the weather cooperated by swinging from beautiful to nasty and back with regularity.

Download PDF with more information and images: http://bit.ly/bXhN7G

My first taste of European bicycle racing came to me in the form of beautiful, color photos taken by Graham Watson and printed in the pages of Winning Magazine in America.

I still recall one of the story headlines: The Master is an American, which recounted the story of the World Championship road race.

For the life of me, I cannot remember the words, just the fact that Greg LeMond had won the World Championships. Further in the pages of that magazine, I caught my first glimpse of Lo Scorpione.

It was an amazingly simple, yet spellbinding logo that I had never seen before. I knew instantly that it was Greg’s team’s clothing brand, and, as I went on to discover, was the same brand being worn by many other greats in the sport of professional cycling of the day.

“Only the great teams had clothing

emblazoned with the Scorpion”

Less than three years later, I signed my very first contract to become a professional cyclist. Unfortunately, my team’s clothing brand, although Italian, did not bear the Scorpion logo. At first it did not matter; I was getting paid to do exactly what I came to Europe to do, and racing in events that I had only read about in the pages of my magazines. But as time moved forward and I became more schooled in the ways of the professional peloton and more particular, I noticed that only the great teams that had clothing emblazoned with the Scorpion.

As a second year pro, when I began to ride with more confidence and intelligence, I often found myself following closely behind one or another rider from the Belgian Hitachi team that housed two-time world champion Claude Criquielion. Riding for sometimes hours at a time behind the Hitachi riders, I got to know the neon yellow version of the Scorpion logo almost intimately. And when the Hitachi team performed well, I lusted after their Castelli clothing even more so.

After a career as a cyclist, I finally found myself wearing Castelli clothing when I went to work for Castelli USA in 1998. It didn’t take long before I learned that I hadn’t been alone in my desire to wear the best cycling clothing in the world. More than one famous cyclist, including grand tour champions walked through our doors and walked out with their very own Scorpion adorned cycling wear.

Simply stated, Castelli is the best cycling wear in the world – it was the best when Maurizio Castelli fashioned the first bibshort, when Greg LeMond won the World Championship in 1983, and it continues to be the best today, worn proudly on the backs of the Cervélo TestTeam. I guarantee you, that somewhere in Europe, a neo-pro is staring at Cervélo’s team kit and wondering when he’ll get to wear his own Scorpion.

Follow Joe Parkin online: www.6yearsinaraincape.com - www.twitter.com/joeparkin

HAVE PATIENCE
Every January and February for years, my cycling mates won the sprints on training rides, or could stay up front leading the pack for a longer time even in higher wind resistance while I just hung on. When May came, I left most of them in the dust and took all the hill-sprints.

REMEMBER TO RECOVER
It’s great to want to improve and push your limits. But many riders work too hard without allowing the body time to recover. Building aerobic power takes years of consistent training. To become a better cyclist, you must manage your energy levels. For example, if you have been riding hard for three weeks, dedicate the fourth week to recover. If not, it will leave you with ‘dead’ legs, and could also decrease your performance for a longer period after.

THE RIGHT CLOTHING MATTERS There’s no excuse for not going riding on rainy days, or getting caught in a nasty weather without proper clothing. Castelli has always been at the forefront of making revolutionary clothing that would help cyclists improving their performance and protect them in all weather conditions. My first Castelli Scorpion was a pair of lightweight Windstopper® shoe-covers. Stretchy, breathable, windproof and water reststant, my tootsies stayed nice and toasty for four seasons in typical bad Danish weather conditions with only one pair of shoe-covers!

BE A TEAM MEMBER AND HELP OTHERS
The team element of cycling isn’t only for the pro’s! Some of my most satisfying moments on the bike took place when making sure to get everyone home safely on a long ride. Or, wait for everyone at the top of the hill. As you learn to depend on others, and they’ll depend on you. If someone in our group gets a flat, be the first one to offer assistance. The same thing might happen to you.

Castelli’s futuristic BodyPaint Bibshort and Cervélo TestTeam’s all-time favorite seatpad (ProgettoX2) were introduced to the global media and partners last week in Mallorca, Spain. Product introductions took place along with several group rides with the new SRAM-equipped Apex groupset.

The Media Performance Camp 2010 was held near the beautiful coastline of Alcudia, a popular place for many cyclist to go riding during the spring months. Although, Mother Nature decided to have her way by sending us dark clouds and windy conditions,  the ride camp was a full four days of 2010 product overview, riding, tech seminars and most importantly, good times!

Some 16+ media guests and five pro riders including Team Saxo Bank pros, and Madison World Champions, Michael Morkov and Alex Rassmussen, along with EU Long Distance Triathlon champion Virginia Berasategui, as well as Milram pro and Athens gold medalist (team pursuit) Luke Roberts.

Enjoy the images!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more information: www.theroaddiaries.com

Two neo-pro’s of the Cervélo TestTeam were making their race debut at Étoile de Bessèges last month. In the Castelli Newsletter, we’ll catch up with João Correia, a 34 year old rider and businessman who decided to become a pro. And, the young talented rider Stefan Denifl, who’s been doing some extreme testing of the Castelli winter gear in Austria over the last months.

Scorpion obsession??? Joe Parkin hadn’t been alone in his desire to wear the best cycling clothing in the world. All the grand cycling champions since the days of Coppi and Bartali had their very own Scorpion adorned cycling wear.

Cycling is a lifelong learning experience. My 19 years of cycling , including 9 years of racing taught me many lessons. Here are some of the little things which helped me to achieve my personal goals.

Click here to download the latest issue of the Castelli Newsletter.

Photo: © TDWsport.com

Haussler was again second in the sprint, while new teammate and former track sprint world champion Theo Bos was fourth behind JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank).

“We went close but it was crazy out there,” Haussler said after the stage. “It’s always like that when the stage is so easy, there’s no selection and everyone thinks they’re a sprint and wants to get in there amongst it all. It was pretty dangerous.”

Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas-Doimo) was impressive in the tailwind sprint as he came off Bos’ wheel with 300 metres to go. Yet Haussler was convinced he could have won if he’d been on his teammate’s back wheel and able to benefit from Bos’ spectacular acceleration. “Theo Bos was going to lead me out but I had to came back from 15th position and so couldn’t get on his wheel before he accelerated,” he said. “Roger (Hammond) shouted at him to go and he went, but he didn’t know I wasn’t there. Fortunately we still got second and fourth, or whatever but the plan didn’t work out as we’d hoped.”

Haussler, and the Cervélo TestTeam will have chance of a stage victory on Thursday at the end of stage five from Lusail to Madinat al Shamal over a distance of 142km.

Stage 4 : The Pearl - Al Khor Corniche (146.5 km)
1. Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
2. Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervélo TestTeam
3. Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank
4. Theo Bos (Ned) Cervélo TestTeam
5. Roger Kluge (Ger) Milram

Photo: © TDWsport.com