"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - They're dropping like flies!

Is it just me, or has this pre-season been really accident prone? Landis, Salvodelli, now Casagrande (http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/3509.0.html). At the rate it's going, the TdF will be contested in wheel-chairs.

Poor casagrande. THE guy has such bad luck. No wonder he always looks so gloomy! Same with Bartoli although he doesn't look gloomy.

I think early season injuries are pretty common. By the time the grand tours roll around, everyone should be up and racing again. I hope they all get to be in the giro, especially Salvoldelli, who is last year's winner!

Add Erik Dekker to that list. According to cyclingnews he smacked his knee into a door and it caused training problems that may have led to a slight muscle imbalance issue. His Spring season is shot.

McEwen also has been slowed with knee pain.

Actually Wabbit, I don't think Salvoldelli won't even be racing in the Giro and thus defending his win from last year!!..I read somewhere on cyclingnews.com that Telecom is totaly concentrating on the Tour and thus he won't be doing the Giro and only be doing the tour and possibly the Vuelta, kind of sad isn't it that he won't even get a chance at defending his win eh??...but I guess that's how cycling is going these day's..


Benjamin

caadman,

I had a similar feeling when I read that his season wouldn't be structured to defend his Giro title. The injury will just reinforce that decision. Does a Grand Tour winner owe it to the event to defend the title?

But then, do I think he would have a chance in hell of winning it again? No. Everything went right for him and the real contenders got kicked out or crashed repeatedly. Kudos to Paolo for taking advantage, but I don't think it could happen again.

I do think he should get the chance to try though.

Yeah I agree with you easyrider, I don't think that he would have a chance at winning the event, if all the casagranda's and simoni's and others are there, they are the ones really fighting out the overall GC...I do however enjoy seeing Salvoldelli decending down those hugh mountains when he is chacing the leaders, that is really fun because he is such a fast decender, but I suppose we'll be able to see that in the grand boucle also..

Benjamin

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that Salvoldelli wouldn't have won the giro had garzelli, simoni and casagrande been there. I also heard that about Telekom, I guess Botero will focus on the tour and Vuelta, and maybe Evans will do the Giro. I remember Salvoldelli did the Tour of Switzerland last year and bailed halfway through, I guess he was fried from the giro which he probably hadn't expected to win. The giro is not a race to do to warm up for the Tour de Suisse or the Tour de France. As it was, Casagrande, who'd been booted from the Giro did great in the tour of Switzerland.

Looks like he'll be out longer than expected...

Not just a broken nose...

heres the story (http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=reu-savoldelli&prov=reuters&type=lgns)

...from Yahoo Sports Cycling...

Injured Savoldelli faces lengthy layoff

BERLIN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Giro d'Italia winner Paolo Savoldelli will be out of action for around eight weeks after fracturing cerebral vertebrae in a training accident earlier this month, his Team Telekom stable said on Thursday.

The Italian was first diagnosed to have broken his nose and left thumb when he was hit by a motorcycle on February 15 in Tenerife but further checks said he had also broken two vertebrae, his team said.

Savoldelli, 29, joined Team Telekom this season from the Index Alexia team.