Giorgia Bronzini moves to Diadora Pasta Zara for 2012!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 17, 2011 4:49 AM EDT
in Women's Cycling
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This is BIG news! There were rumblings at the end of the summer that Diadora Pasta Zara were going to be collapsing at the end of the 2012 season, but then a month or so back, some frankly gleeful tweets started to come from the team that indicated they were doing no such thing.... and I can see why - Giorgia Bronzini is coming back (again) to join them for 2012!
The Italian 2010 and 2011 Road World Champion (and 2001 Junior Points and 2009 Points World Champion) is a major catch. For the last few years she's frequently been on the podium on the road, behind sprinters like Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, Marianne Vos and Kirsten Wild - and while she's had relatively few actual wins, they've very definitely been in the races that count! My theory is that she knows exactly how to ride herself into top form - and she's a VERY clever sprinter who can get over hills and stay nicely hidden away in a race until the very last moments, when she appears from nowhere and attacks beautifully!
In the team's announcement, Bronzini says she is focusing on the Olympics - after aiming for another Track World Champ title - and with the Italian team having shown the world they have the best, opportunistic, beautiful road tactics, resulting in Italian wins at the Road World Championships for the last three years, she's a strong contender.
What this means for Diadora's 2012 sprint queen, Shelley Olds, we've still to discover - but Diadora had a strong enough squad to have teams in two races at the same time this year, so it doesn't necessarily mean Olds will be moving. We haven't heard much at all from Diadora in this transfer season - doubtless as they were waiting for this huge big news - let's see what happens next!
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Oh, and re coming back to the Safi team, check out Bronzini's team history...
2003: Ausra Gruodis Safi (Lithuania)
2004: Safi – Pasta Zara – Manhattan (Lithuania)
2005: USC Chirio Forno d’Asolo (Italy)
2006: A.S. Team FRW (Italy)
2007: Safi – Pasta Zara – Manhattan (Italy)
2008: Titanedi – Frezza Acca Due O (Italy)
2009: Safi -Pasta Zara – Titanedi (Lithuania)
2010: Gauss Rdz Ormu (Italy)
2011: Forno d’Asolo – Colavita (Italy)
Aka Pigeons!
well, it can't be money.
Pretty incredible transfer history.
It's a lot of transfers but not very many actual teams at all!
What I hope, is that every time she transfers, she gets a better deal. She brings a couple of riders with her, too – but she’s been pretty damn consistent, even if it’s just a few wins that are really, really big
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 17, 2011 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
probably fairly common in women's cycling?
"I’m hoping for the Mortirolo-Gavia combination, then we can ride down to Bormio for ice cream." Emma Pooley on the Giro Donne
going back and from 4-5 times?
Just sounds incredible to me.
I bet changing teams every year's pretty common.
& as Monty points out below 2007-9 she was more or less on the same team (another apparently irregular situation more likely to arise in women’s cycling?).
"I’m hoping for the Mortirolo-Gavia combination, then we can ride down to Bormio for ice cream." Emma Pooley on the Giro Donne
I'm pretty sure that Titanedi – Frezza Acca Due O was Safi in all but name
they got lots of sponsors that year and ran two teams but there were problems of some sort in having both teams turn out to the same races. Suspicions that they were colluding a bit too much.
yep, really is
"I’m hoping for the Mortirolo-Gavia combination, then we can ride down to Bormio for ice cream." Emma Pooley on the Giro Donne
Makes me VERY happy!
I wonder if Manel Lacambra will still be there next year? And I’ll be interested to see what Mara Abbott does in 2012 – she had a fairly bad 2011, what with injuries, and hardly riding in Europe…
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 17, 2011 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions
The press statement makes clear the American stuff's still pretty important
so I guess Mara, assuming she’s fit, would have a part to play. We’ve really missed an on-form Mara this year, I think.
"I’m hoping for the Mortirolo-Gavia combination, then we can ride down to Bormio for ice cream." Emma Pooley on the Giro Donne
Giorgia B seemed to love riding in the USA for Chirio this year
Especially those fantastic prize cheques….
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 17, 2011 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Nope, no Mara
and no sign of the US contingent, nor of Manel Lacambra. The latest team press release (Italian only) claims that only Giulia Donato, Francesca Stefani, Alona Andruk, Inga Cilvinaite and Amber Pierce are staying on from this year’s team, and that there will be an emphasis on promising youngsters. I remember that the sponsor was a bit upset that they ended up registered as a US team this year (something else the UCI ought to change) and clearly the poor results have helped him get his point of view over a bit more forcefully. There’s an odd phrase at the end: “Ma, soprattutto, una squadra capace di emozionarmi” Above all I want a squad that can make me care. I’m not even going to attempt to decipher what that really means.
for "are staying on"
read “the only ones who are staying on” Has my typing got so bad that I miss out whole clauses now?
I'd switch to voice recognition
but then I’d have to go through afterwards with the mouse and delete all the sweary bits from where it started to go wrong. Weren’t Lernout and Hauspie Belgians too?
That's VERY interesting
A lot of talent to find new homes for 2012, then.
I suppose the radical change of direction was always risky – it needed good results, and for some reason, Diadora never managed much of that this year.
So who does that leave potentially going somewhere else? Olga Zabelinakaya, Mara Abbott, Shelley Olds, Rachel Neylan, Claudia Häusler (I swear I’ve seen her going somewhere else) Rachel Neylan, Eleonora Patuzzo, Jessica Uebelhart, Oxana Kozonchok and Sinead Miller – I’m wondering what’s going on, surely we would have heard something about those riders finding “homes” by now…… and what about Manel? Their two-DS-structure means they’ll keep Diana Ziliute, but Manel could set up a small team of his own right there!
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 19, 2011 3:09 AM EDT up reply actions
It's a surprise that Patuzzo's moving
maybe it wouldn’t be such a surprise if Italian teams didn’t have such sucky websites.
I would have thought they'd try to keep Patuzzo there
Italian + awesome….. perfect Safi material, no?
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 19, 2011 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Some news from Vaiano Solaristech
who will be racing in 2012 with a squad that looks much the same as in 2011. The star racer will once again be Lithuanian sprinter Rasa Leleivyte and the big new signing so far is another Lithuanian, Aleksandra Sosenko, double national champ and second only to Will’s granny in the headband wearing stakes.
Those who rely too much on predictive typing, read it and weep. Confirmed as staying are Valentina Bastianelli, Alessia Martini, Eleonora Spaliviero, Urte Juodvalkyte, Katazina Sosna, Francesca Anichini and Silvia Moroni, while Irene Falorni, Simona Martini and Chiara Vanni are moving elsewhere. And they’ve still got a couple of announcements about new signings and sponsorship up their sleeves. Not a star-studded roster, but they are a Bweeg-like team who work hard to stay in the game just for love of the sport.
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