Cervelo bebeh!!!!
Akmal
Second day, Senawang - Melaka saw the same style - some breakaways and subsequently obtaining points for themselves and left the bunch to scramble for the 3rd and 4th places. Looked like this was gonna be the style for the tour. Breakaway and stay to the end. However, Diquigiovanni team, ever so efficiently placed their domestiques in front of their yellow jersey rider and pulled him to the end, then left him to sprint for glory. Manager acknowledged that it's teamwork that got Gavazzi the yellow jersey. What a nice thing to do for your fellow teammate - shade him from the wind, help him save some energy for the final sprint and the sprinter delivered his package. Podium for 3 straight days. Bravo!
The ex-Letua boys still did OK, though Nua had some bad luck with punctures for 2 stages in a row. Nua, I think you should use my Duraace rims and let me have your Bora Ultra hahaha!
Third stage, Fallanie got a big break. Followed some breakaway guys and managed to coin some points. Cayalah! But unfortunately, the peloton, who was left behind at a max of 7 or 8 minutes, managed to catch them. And surprise surprise, it's the Diquigiovanni team and some Australian team, I think, that controlled the pack. Obviously scrambling for points was not their cup of tea and they'd rather keep the pack in tact and foil any attempts for breakaways from Nua or Letua or Iran or whoever for that matter. Tactics, tactics. Who'd have thought that this would be the way the game is played this year?
Fallanie
Dirty, but it got the job done. Gavazzi was again wearing yellow at Stage 3. Good job to the Diquigiovanni boys. You protected you guy well, and you didn't let anyone cross his line. Bravo. I'm amazed. What can I say.
Fourth stage, the longest ever, 220km approx. Nua didn't have gas to pedal through. Haidar fell on the way down from Perez. AKU SEDIH! Where were their friends to pull them through? Previously Nua would be protected by Duan and Haidar. But now Duan is in MNCF, while the other 2 are in Malaysia National Team. So basically, 2 different teams, so cannot help the other. Haih. Why has it come to this?
Nua in Genting
I'm just devastated at what is happening now. Everyone had high hopes on Nua. I understand that. Now Nua is not performing, or at least not getting the green jersey like last year, or not winning stages as he'd said he would, I'm hearing funny, sarcastic voices that said, "Normally when they get to national team, they will start to get lazy and under-perform." PIRAH MABUK KORANG!
Haidar
Talk is cheap. Have you tried asking them their training regimes? They have the capabilities, no doubt, but cycling is not like making instant noodles. It doesn't happen overnight. It needs a lot of training and a good regime to prepare them for the race. Yang selalu instant noodle training tu aku jer sebab aku tak pro. Abis last pun bos tak marah. Bos cuma cakap, lainkali kayuh laju lagi ye... Ada faham, adik manis??? (OK, part 'adik manis' tu aku sendiri saja tambah hehe)
Genetics, without the right environment or nurture, is a waste of talent.
I'm upset and frustrated at those who don't seem to understand and just blame them for their under-performance. Haidar did make the top 20 three times. Until the fourth stage, that is. I know they are frustrated too coz they know that people are looking at them to deliver their promises. So what if they fail this year? MSN's gonna throw them out? Well, I hope so, so that they can get out of the current training regiem and get some serious help elsewhere. I'm not saying they are crap. Go read my 'genetics' statement up there.
As a friend and a fan, frankly I can know they are disappointed with their results. It showed on their faces. I don't want to say that I am disappointed too. I don't blame them. I have faith in them and with the right nurturing I know they can perform. Maybe their future teams can prepare them better for their next races.
2 more stages to go. Let's see if they can cook up something for these remaining stages. Keeping everything crossed and hoping for the best for them.
With Serpa and some monkeys at Genting
Link to my photo gallery on Multiply for more action pics:
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