Riders at the 2013 Giro d'Italia

GIRO - Pro Tour

Riders in the 2013 Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia begins tomorrow. Twenty-three teams of 9 riders each will roll across the hills and plains, and over the mountains of Italy for the next three weeks. The Giro is pageantry and competition at its best.

See the full preliminary roster of 207 riders from 23 teams of the Giro at VeloNews.com: Giro roster 2013 or at Steephill.TV.

Any rider who will be competing in the 2013 Giro d'Italia will obviously not be racing at the Amgen Tour of California, where I will be, enjoying the other riders on this list: Riders at the 2013 Amgen Tour of California

Some of the key riders competing in the 2013 Giro d'Italia which begins tommorow include:

SKY: Bradley Wiggins, Christian Knees, Danny Pate, Uran
Cannondale: Damiano Caruso, Elia Viviani (Ivan Basso pulled out this week due to a cyst)
BMC: Cadel Evans, Taylor Phinney, Marco Pinotti
Garmin-Sharp: Ryder Hesjedal, Peter Stetina, Thomas Dekker, David Millar, Christian Vande Velde, Tom Danielson
Omega-Pharma Quickstep: Mark Cavendish, Pauwels
Orica-GreenEdge: Matt Goss, Luke Durbridge, Michael Matthews, Weening
RadioShack Leopard Trek: George Bennett, Yaroslav Popovych, Jesse Sergent
Saxo-Tinkoff: Majka, Boaro, Daniel Bennati, Matti Breschel, Karsten Kroon, and Rory Sutherland
Astana: Vincenzo Nibali
Blanco: Robert Gesink, Paul Martens, Wilco Kelderman, Maarten Tjallingii, Jack Bobridge
Argos Shimano: Thomas Damuseau, Koen de Kort, John Degenkolb, Patrick Gretsch

Looking back at the podium - 2012 General Classification winners of the Giro d'Italia
Final General Classification last year

1. HESJEDAL, Ryder (GARMIN-BARRACUDA) 91:39:02
2. RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Joaquin (KATUSHA) + 0:16
3. DE GENDT, Thomas (VACANSOLEIL-DCM) + 1:39

* Thomas De Gendt will not be returning in 2013, he will be at the Tour of California.

2013 Pedal Dancer top bets for overall win at Giro d'Italia

1. Bradley Wiggins 
2. Robert Gesink
3. Vincenzo Nibali  

More information: 21 Stages, Previous winners, Top-10 GC ranking of riders at GIRO:
See the statistics page by ProCycling Stats - 2013 96th Giro d'Italia (WT) 

I can't wait for three glorious weeks of watching early morning bike racing across the hills, along the coastline, and over the mountains of Italy. May is here!

Riders to watch for at the Giro d'Italia

Recognizing your favorite rider is a big part of the fun of being a fan the races..... learn these faces.  All photos ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®  click any image to enlarge

Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins at 2012 Tour de France  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Robert Gesink

Robert Gesink at 2012 Tour of California  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Vincenzo Nibali

Vincenzo Nibali at the 2012 USA Pro Challenge  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Cadel Evans

Cadel Evans at 2012 USA Pro Challenge  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Rory Sutherland

Rory Sutherland has hit the big time and will lead the Saxo-Bank Tinkoff squad to the Giro in 2013  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Yaroslav Popovych

Yaroslav Popovych at 2012 Tour de France   ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Taylor Phinney

Taylor Phinney at 2012 USA Pro Challenge  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Peter Stetina

Peter Stetina at 2012 USA Pro Challenge  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Christian Vande Velde

Christian VandeVelde at the USA Pro Challenge  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Tom Danielson

Tom Danielson at 2012 USA Pro Challenge  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Wilco Kelderman

Wilco Kelderman at 2012 Tour of California  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Koen de Kort

Koen de Kort at 2-12 Tour de France  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Jerome Pineau

Jerome Pineau at 2012 Tour de France   ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Maarten Tjallingii

Maarten Tjallingii telling a story to my sister-in-law Suz at the 2012 Tour of California  ©By Mike at Pedal Dancer®

This year the Columbia team will not be at the Tour of California, they will be at the Giro d'Italia! Good Luck to them.

Team Columbia is going to the Giro, meanwhile Frankie Andreu will be back at the Tour of California, but as a Team Director for 5-hour Energy Powered by Kenda Racing Team.  ©By Karen at Pedal Dancer®

You are looking good

The things American fans say 

Last Sunday I was fortunate to see the finish of Stage 8 of the Amgen Tour of California as a guest in the Rabobank VIP tent at the finish line in Los Angeles. It was a wonderful experience where I had a nice chat between circuit laps with the Rabobank team Doctor Dion van Bommel. I had one question for him, “Okay,” I started, “I thought of your team as I was driving in my car from Bakersfield to Palmdale through the desert, I wanted to know - did you think of Cowboys and Indians when you looked out on that big desert?” Delighted with the observation, Dion smiled, looked me in the eyes and said, “Oh yes, we all said, “We could put a horse out on this road right here and it would be just like in the western movies.'” 

Hwy 138 east of Palmdale "Cycling through the desert of California"  
Photo tweeted by @dionvanbommel

Dion van Bommel, Rabobank team physician

Cowboy Country

Miles and miles of wide-open desert stretched between Stages 5 and 6 of the Amgen Tour of California last week, it may appear barren to us Americans, but to the Europeans visiting this vast open State it was quintessential American West. Riders visiting from Europe, South America, and Australia notice everything around them as new and different, just as we do when we travel abroad. I am guessing a few team radios landed upon, and stayed on, a country and western station while driving across central California last week.

Those double yellow lines in the center of our roads are not a familiar sight to French or Italians drivers, their roads are divided by white lines. Neither are the branded products in our grocery stores familiar items, or our menus with enormous food portions, watered-down coffee, big pick-up trucks, billboard roadside signs, hotels with shampoo and conditioner samples and cookies upon check-in, so much must seem odd to them. Even our “have a nice day,” parting words must feel like they are in a Hollywood movie.

The European riders enjoy coming here to race and ride. Maarten Tjallingii mentioned to my sister-in-law and me that he would like to return on vacation with his family. A number of the other riders mentioned how they liked the hotels and food. And then … there are the American fans. We are certainly unique. We cheer for the last guy as we do for the first guy, shouting out “good job!” when clearly the rider is falling off the back. But as my brother Mike says, “We are the country of little league soccer where every kid gets a medal.”

Careful what you say, a rider could be listening

The riders can hear what we say to them as they pass by, and we do not need to be screaming for them to hear. Yesterday a miffed Mark Cavendish tweeted from the Giro about the fan he heard say "ooh, Cav is in trouble!" 

Rabobank Team Physician Dion van Bommel told me a funny story relayed to him from Robert Gesink (NED) after Gesink's brutal climb for the win up Mt Baldy in Stage 7. Robert told the Team Doctor, “This fan yelled out “Looking good” - I was suffering! I could not have been looking good,” Robert said. Together Robert and the doctor chuckled in amazement at the silliness of the American fan. That fan could have been me, maybe that fan was you?

Alright which one of you said Robert was looking good? Because he denies it.
Photo © by PedalDancer.com

“Looking Good !”

I might be going out on a limb here, but my guess is looking good and feeling bad are about as likely of a combination on a bike as looking bad and feeling good. These states tend to go together good=good, bad=bad. When you are racing over 10-22% grade roads on a bike you will quickly go into zone bad=bad. We might need Robert Gesink to confirm his state of being on Mt Baldy for us, or we could just go out and ride Mt Baldy ourselves and confirm my simple theory.

I know it was the definite state of being me on Mt Baldy. When I told Dion the team Doctor that I had ridden Mt Baldy myself the day before, his one word response was, "Suffering?" "Yes suffering," I concurred.

But hey, keep those positive comments coming, it is much better for a rider to hear our typical American cheers of  “Looking Good,” “Good job,” “You are almost there,” than it is for any rider to hear “Man he looks like he’s not going to make it.” They can hear you remember!

The sunglasses can't quite hide the pain  Photo © by PedalDancer.com/Willie Reichenstein

It is understandable to look like this  Photo © by PedalDancer.com

In the hurt locker of pain on Mt Baldy   Photo © by PedalDancer.com

Collective suffering on Mt Baldy  Photo © by PedalDancer.com/Willie Reichenstein

"Hey that fan said I wasn't looking good"   Photo © by PedalDancer.com/Willie Reichenstein

Jens Voigt never disappoints in showing the fans his job is a tough one   
Photo © by PedalDancer.com/Willie Reichenstein

“Looking Goooooooooooood!”

Some of my favorite fan comments I heard emanating from the roadside while riding my own bike to the top of Mt Baldy last Saturday were, “What can I say I got a downhill body,” or "I only ring my bell for people who sweat," or “Come on guys it’s time to throw the cat in with the pigeons”. Now you'd think that laughter would be a good way to regulate my breathing but by that point at nearly 5km to go to the top of the climb my elevated heart rate was overriding all systems. I was in need of encouragement, and encouragement I got.

My next favorite comment was “Do you want a push?” This comment I used a solid 3 times after stopping to take photos on the accent (which was totally an excuse to stop). Shortly after my switchback pushes, a cyclist on a single-speed came by me giving a good 25 pedal strokes before nearly falling over onto the road after receiving his own push. The fans along the road cheered him loudly, then one fan said to another across the road, “yeah I only had one gear coming up here too – my last one,” yuc-yuc.

Yes please may I have a another (push)!   Photo © by PedalDancer.com

Fans pre-race on Mt Baldy - you will not be alone in your suffering   
Photo © by PedalDancer.com

Much of the fun of riding up a stage as a fan are the sights along the road and the fun comments from fellow fans. Try it sometime – hopefully all the comments you hear will be entertaining and enthusiastic. If you are in America, your chances are good that they will be, if not, find a horse.

ssssshhhhh they are coming ... they can hear you  Photo © by PedalDancer.com

Wait a minute ... is Chris Horner smiling ???, There is no smiling in cycling!
Photo © by PedalDancer.com/Willie Reichenstein

Chris Horner was smiling on Mt Baldy!   Photo © by PedalDancer.com/Willie Reichenstein

Alright everyone - back on your bike, and this time do it with a smile, and remember to look good.   
Photo © by PedalDancer.com/Willie Reichenstein

The fans want Podium Girls?

People are just interested in beauty

You can imagine how I felt this morning after spending a week to and from Colorado to California including 4 days traveling around southern California chasing the last hot thirsty sunny stages of the Amgen Tour of California only to discover this morning that fans just want to see beauty. I settled into my website statistics page wondering hm let's see what people were looking for this week - the top 5 search keywords of the week told the story...

• giro d'italia 2012 route map
• mario cipollini
• specialized venge
• tour of california podium girls
• tour of california 2012 podium girls

I guess it was worth adding the "2012" to that last string of keywords to make sure you didn't get a beauty from 2011, but as you can see this top-5 list reads; beauty, beauty, beauty, beauty and I need to make sure I find current beauty. I admit I was not totally surprised to see the search for Podium Girls so I prepared for your curiosity. Images of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California Podium Girls, or for those of you who are politically correct googlers, their official title was Michelob Light Ambassadors.


Meet Joanna and Allison 

Joanna is from Los Angeles and Allison lives in San Diego. They have worked together before, they are both Umbrella Girls (a premier modeling agency catering to executive, sporting and special events). I asked them if they applied for their podium positions, but they said they did not, the modeling agency they work for placed them in the highly visible job. I said, "this is great coverage for you because the race is televised internationally." "We know," they responded, "it will be seen all over the world." They were excited to be selected for the tour. They told me they happily signed for the entire week. They were the only two podium girls for the entire ATOC in 2012. 

Joanna and Allison the 2012 Amgen Tour of California Michelob Light Ambassadors (Podium Girls)
©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

 They truly are this beautiful. Joanna Zanella and Allison Steinkamp  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Podium girls in Bakersfield at the ATOC  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

We the fans had gotten used to seeing Jenn, the Podium Girl from the last couple of years, but this year there were suddenly two new faces up on stage. Day after day Joanna and Allison traveled to, and then waited at, the finish area ready to change into their simple black cocktail dresses, hop on stage and begin smiling. Their lipstick application seemed to get heavier as the race proceeded south. Mostly they seemed to manage the flow of presenters and riders on the podium. 

Apparently this is what Podium Girls do after a stage race is over - with Ted King (of I am Ted King) (left) and Peter Sagan (right) enjoying a drink in the L.A. Live Center in Los Angeles after their jobs were complete. Later it appears they scored tickets to the big game.

Photo tweeted by @JoannaZanella

First row tickets at the Clippers basketball game, sucks to be beautiful    Photo tweeted by @JoannaZanella

Allison Steinkamp on Twitter: @asteinkamp (All around people person #umbrellagirl #model #athlete)

Joanna Zanella on Twitter: @JoannaZanella (Actress/Model, Miss Mexico Fox Sports, TV Host, love my friends and family!)

Joanna Zanella, Tejay van Garderen, Allison Steinkamp  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

The Winner - Robert Gesink looks to be a happy man   ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Joanna, Peter Sagan, Allison  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Final 2012 Amgen Tour of California Classifications Podium  ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

The glory of being a Podium Girl

For the Tour de France over 500 girls apply every year for the opportunity to be a Podium Girl. Most of them have previous modeling experience but after a tough elimination round with qualifications and interviews, only 4 podium girls are selected to present the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) every year.  It is a tremendous honor and fantastic for the model's resume. Other girls are selected to present the polka-dot, green, and white jerseys.

The Podium Girls in France do far more than direct stage traffic and deliver moist lipstick kisses. They work behind the scenes and along the roads in various roles. The Aquarel sponsored white jersey women can be seen handing bottles of water from the caravan to hot fans waiting along the route. The PMU sponsored green jersey women dance on the moving float during the caravan procession. Can you imagine trying to do your hair and makeup after hanging onto a pole racing along a winding road in the Pyrenees?

The Champion sponsored polka-dot women provide simple meet and greet duties. But it is the crème de la crème - the Credit Lyonnais sponsored yellow jersey women who hang with celebrities, assist with racer sign-in and podium award kisses while managing those high heels across cobbled roads, dirt lots, up steel stairs and on top of wobbly podiums. They also somehow manage to make a large stuffed animal appear to be a totally normal thing to hand to a grown man, let alone smile while being sprayed by champagne. I wait every year to see what those girls will be made to wear by French fashion designers - it can be hard to pull off a red and white polka-dot dress; something I am not ready to try.

*Fan Trivia: George Hincapie met his French wife Melanie Simonneau in 2003 when she was a yellow-jersey Podium Girl for the Tour de France.

California Girls
A couple of beauties outside a restaurant on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills before the start of Stage 8. No need to screen 500 girls, just walk down Rodeo Drive, many wannabe actresses and models are working inside every shop and cafe.

In Beverly HIlls, CA for ATOC 2012  ©Photo by Willie Reichenstein at Pedal Dancer® 

And more beautiful smiles from these young fans in Bakersfield. They were there to learn about cycling!

©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

I wish I had photos of Mario Cipollini to offer you, but it has been some time since I have laid my eyes upon that beauty at a bike race. For those truly interested in the beauty of Italy: 2012 Giro d'Italia Route Presentation, we still have 1 more week of the Giro left to enjoy. Do you want to see the Specialized Venge? I have photographed and written much about that beauty of a bike. 

Now can I get back to my kind of beauty?

Sorry Bakersfield you did not win the beauty contest ....

This was the riders' first glimpse of the Individual Time Trial course that lay ahead of them on a hot day.  
©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Sorry Miss California neither did you ....

Photo © by PedalDancer.com by Willie Reichenstein

Now we're talking beauty. The legs of American National Champion Matthew Busche (L), next to the legs of Peter Sagan (R) the winner of 63% of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California.

Legs of Busche and Sagan   Photo © by PedalDancer.com

And one for the young female fans, imported from Germany - 24-year old Marcel Kittel (Argos Shimano).

©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

Here I can't decide which one is more beautiful - the man or the cookie. Crowd favorite Jens Voigt with what appears to be his new secret weapon from the shelves of an American super market ...

Jens Voigt powered by Pepperidge Farms Soft Baked Nantucket™ dark chocolate chip cookies   
©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer®

If you are wondering what my opinion was over Peter Sagan's offense to the podium girl at the 2013 Tour of Flanders, believe me I had an opinion, read: Beauty is a long tradition. My brother Mike's comments was - "what now we are going to tell a 22-year old bike rider how to behave?"