Just before the Giro, Michele Tomasi talked with not one but 3 Colpack riders – Denis Lunghi – who went on to have perhaps his best Giro ever, Hidenori Nodera – one of the rare Japanese riders in the bunch, and Vladimir Smirnov, the 2000 Lithuanian Champion. Read on as they tackle our famous 15 Questions – well, 12 actually…
1) How did you get started in bicycle racing and what motivated you to become a professional bike racer?
L – The passion for the bike.
S – In the school which I did there were 5 guys who run. But just I arrived at the professional races.
N – The races on TV made me interest in this sport.
2) What do you learn as a professional racer that is valuable in other areas of your life?
L – I learned to fight.
S – It taught me to make sacrifices.
N – I learned to keep hard and to never let go.
3) If you were not a professional racer, what do you think you would be doing?
L – I’d like to do something always in sport.
S – I’d like to become a mechanic.
N – I would work for Shimano.
4) What are your main objectives for the season and what type of preparation have you done?
L – My objective is win a stage at Giro d’Italia.
S – Do a good World Championship.
N – Start and finish Giro d’Italia.
5) Which of the 3 Grand Tours is your favourite and why?
L – My favourite is Giro d’Italia because I’m italian, least favourite Vuelta, because is in september.
S – Favourite Tour and least Vuelta.
N – My favourite is Giro and I don’t like Vuelta.
6) Is there a race which you like more into UCI’s calendar?
L - Milano-Sanremo
S – Tour de Flanders
N - Giro di Lombardia
7) Your team ha san average age really low. Don’t you think i twill be better have any old rider for teach you the little tricks of the trade?
L – Out team managers give us advices.
S – The team is good so, because it’s really get on very well.
N – Maybe yes
8) What do you think of your team of this year?
L – Young but very determinated
S – We are all young keen and ables
N – United and competitive
9) Before a race do you follow any specific routine or ritual for good luck?
L - No
S - No
N - No
10) Do you have any favourite champion of the present and/or the past?
L - Gianni Bugno
S - Fondriest
N - Giuseppe Saronni
11) What kind of rider are you?
L - Passista scalatore (climber)
S - Passista (all rounder)
N - Passista veloce (sprinter)
12) What advice would you give to a young rider looking to to be successful in the pro peloton?
N – To be ready to do a lot of sacrifices.
Race Report: Aggressive and opportunistic Caisse d’Epargne domestique David Lopez was the man who grabbed the stage win glory at the top of ... More....
Race Report: It’s a sad start to the first big mountain stage of this year’s Vuelta. Team Sky’s masseur Txema González passed away yesterday ... More....
Not much needed changing with Sidi's benchmark shoe. In fact if you asked me, they were dead right, as-is for 09'. But il professore dei piede ... More....
When you talk about Orbea bicycles and the Euskaltel team, it’s about more than light alloy and carbon; it’s about people, national identity, unity ... More....
Catlike's latest version Whisper Plus checks a lot of boxes on anyone's list of requirements for the current top of the top of the line helmets. More....
Two times Tour de France winner Laurent Fignon lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday, and at only 50 years of age, his time came much too soon. PEZ ... More....
The new book, “As Good as Gold,” by Kathryn Bertine, is the entertaining tale of a dedicated athlete, who had a singularly peculiar opportunity to ... More....
Just a few short weeks from now, one of the largest organized group cycling events on the West Coast will take place between Vancouver and Whistler. ... More....
The Tour of Utah provided some of the most entertaining and difficult American racing of the year. PEZ was on the scene for the week along the ... More....
Emma Pooley stormed to a second consecutive solo win yesterday in the women’s version of the GP Plouay and Simon Gerrans faced the challenge of ... More....
It’s the final weeks of the summer and a long season of riding and training has gone under our wheels. For some, it’s a holding pattern before the ... More....
Your teammates aren’t cooperating enough in races. A fellow rider is at risk – or is putting others at risk – but is unaware. The peloton needs ... More....
August has been sweltering for much of North America and Europe, and we know that hyperthermia can have a major negative impact on our performance ... More....
August is a dangerous month; a full season of racing has left many athletes tired and ready for the fall break. Often motivation to train hard wanes ... More....
Roadside Report: 'Did you think it was a good Tour?' asks Vik. I knew it was a leading question, but went along with it, 'yes, a good Tour.' ... More....
Roadside Report: On last Monday’s ‘repos’ in Morzine, Pez got a very special opportunity. As things were marginally more relaxed than normal, ... More....
Giro Roadside Wrap: The curtain fell on this Giro a few weeks ago, but as I’ve learned over the years, as the days tick by the memories of ... More....
Roadside PEZ: The team bus is the home away from home for the riders on Tour. Every night a new hotel room, every day a new start town and a ... More....
Fairy tales are rare in pro cycling, but 25 year old Matthew Busche’s story is about as a close as they come. At the beginning of the 2009 season, he ... More....
Dozens of SMS and emails flash up on my BlackBerry each day, most are chaff and get deleted after a quick glance – but when one comes in to tell me ... More....
The last time we spoke to Columbia-HTC's Matt Goss, he'd just won a race which one day may become a classic - Philly. On Sunday past he won a race ... More....
Here at PEZ, we’re dedicated students of cycling history. Plus, we love those old-school photos featuring riders in wool jerseys on skinny steel ... More....
On the premise that it's never too early to run a six day story... Black Dog's Ryan Sabga wanted to ride a European six day race. So, he did! Here's ... More....
Gran Canaria, situated off of the west coast of Africa, is not one of the world’s best known riding destinations. When compared to the Alps, ... More....
He has a degree in 19th century French literature was a big Richard Virenque fan, and as the organiser of PEZ's superb hotels for the 2010 Tour de ... More....
Today's 208 kilometer stage from the coastal Catalonian city of Vilanova i la Geltru to the majestic heights of the Andorran ski town of Pal at 1900 ... More....
‘Johnnie Walker,’ unless you were a Footon-Servetto fan, up until stage two of this year’s Vuelta, you probably thought it was the name of a whisky? ... More....
Race Report: A long day on some deceivingly tough roads met the peloton at the Vuelta after the first rest day at 175.7km stage from Tarragona ... More....
August 1st - that can only mean one thing. It's stagiaire time. Almost 100 young men got the chance to realise their dream of riding for a pro team ... More....
For many of us, a highlight of the cycling year is a multi-day cycling event. For some, it’s a stage race. For others, it’s a bike tour. As we know, ... More....
Roadside Pez St. 9: Sun, sand, mountains and a bike race, it can’t get much better than this! Well it could I guess, if it had been possible ... More....
![](javascript:showpic("http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/sidi/10sidilarge.jpg",1900,1267);)
