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THE LARKIN REPORT...not all fun and games...and chianti... |
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 Words: Paul Larkin...
The 2010 race season is in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere.
Paul Larkin from Rotorua is working with an Italian-based women’s road cycling team and will report regularly on their progress.
Thanks to Rotorua Daily Post
It’s a still, humid day of 20 degrees in mid-May in Vaiano.
The whine of 15 Vespas being revved with gusto rings over cobbled streets. Elderly men in smoking jackets, aviator glasses and loafers laze about outside the café on the corner, smoking cigarettes and drinking prosecco and espresso. There are vocal altercations with the proprietor, who gives as good as she gets.
I’ve never drunk sambuca with espresso, but watching the fun these old guys are having, I make a note to try it.
Team Valdarno Professional Cycling Team is in Vaiano, a small town near Florence, for Trofeo Vanucci, a round of the prestigious Italian National Series.
I admire the great lengths many of the male riders go to get the mullet/goatee combo working, before a lunch of pasta, prosciutto and Chianti in a large café, that’s part of the town’s fire station.
The pre race meal is an institution here. Every team eats together, flinging compliments and challenges around the room, setting the tone for competition.
After explaining to Vittorio, the team masseur, that too many chiantis can impair my ability to prep a fleet of 8 bicycles, it’s time to go to work.
Each bike - including reigning Italian Champion Monia Baccailles’ - is checked over and minor adjustments are made. It’s the first time I’ve met many of these riders, and the first time I’ve met their bikes. It’s not so long ago they were all pounding over the cobbles of Northern Europe during the spring classics.
The Italian fans – the tifosi - crowd around, loudly commenting on number placement, tyre pressure and tool choice.
With a call of “tutto pronto!” the team saddles up. Giancarlo Montedori, the Italian Women’s road coach has briefed the team, and it’s clear, today we work for Monia.
She will test her legs in the fast downhill sprint against Giorgia Bronzini, the sprinter to watch right now.
The Vespa escort takes flight, chased by 70 women determined to perform their role - to take a mid-race intermediate sprint (and the enormous leg of cured ham that comes with it) or to make sure their sprinter is in the right place at the right time.
Two hours later, it’s all over.
We’ve packed away the flowers and prizes that come with second place (half a wheel from first, at 60km/h). There are home made biscuits, espresso, and the hair-raising commute back to the team apartment in Arezzo. I’ll unload the team vehicles (2 large camper vans modified for bicycle storage, washing facilities and servicing) before wandering to the hotel.
It’s been a good day and on Wednesday, we head to the women’s Tour de France, the Tour de l’Aude, for 2 weeks of hard racing.
The women’s World Champion, Tatiana Guderzo, rejoins the squad for the race. With the Champ’s rainbow jersey, all the team rides harder and stands taller, for longer.
My name is Paul Larkin. I used to be a lawyer and a mountain biker in Rotorua. Now, I spend a lot of time in team vehicles, hotels and airports - but I live at bike races.
• Check out Paul’s website: www.coherentlogistics.com
• Follow Team Valdarno on www.cyclingnews.com
and in Italian on facebook
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