Posts Tagged ‘2010’
|Whole Athletes in Castelcucco?
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
You’ve probably seen the links on our website and wondered who some of them are. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll clue you in as we tell you about some of the updates we’re making based on your feedback.
As for today, We are very excited to tell you that we have strengthened our connection with Whole Athlete. Both Pat and I have known founder Dario Fredrick (among other Whole Athlete coaches) for years. We admire their athletes’ success, agree with their approach, and most importantly, think their philosophy meshes well with the Velo Veneto approach to riding and life – riding well and living well are interconnected! Additionally, Dario has local connections; his mother is from Bassano, and he is a frequent visitor to, and rider on, the roads we tackle every year.
What does this stronger connection mean for you? At least for now, it means two things. First, approximately monthly, Whole Athlete will contribute an article to our blog on a training topic. These topics are meant to be helpful to you and your riding, so we would like your feedback and ideas for these articles. Second, Whole Athlete has, in addition to their ongoing coaching relationships, 3-month coaching packages available. If you are interested in maximizing your fitness for your time at camp, but aren’t interested in or comfortable with an ongoing training program, these packages might be just what the doctor ordered!
I could go on about Dario and Whole Athlete, but I doubt I’d do them justice. I encourage you to visit the Whole Athlete website to learn more about them, their philosophy, and their coaching options. If you have any other ideas or thoughts on how this connection can help make your riding and Velo Veneto experience better, please let us know.
Grazie! – Jason
Benvenuto, Fred!
Monday, January 4th, 2010
We have some very exciting news to announce today. Federico “Fred” Morini will be joining us in Castelcucco this year! Fred moved quickly through the junior ranks in Italy, eventually leading to everyone’s dream, a pro contract! Signing with Gerolsteiner in 2000, Fred was an immediate success, winning a stage of the Tour of Austria as a neo-pro. Unfortunately, a horrible training accident in 2001 nearly paralyzed Fred and eventually ended his pro career in 2003.
Rather than feel bad about his situation, Fred worked hard to first walk, and then to ride his bike again. He loves to share his boundless energy with everyone he rides with, and our initial good feelings about Fred were supported by fellow Velo Venetians (that is grammatically correct, right?) who have ridden with Fred before. Though he is committed to be elsewhere during il Giro and le Tour, throughout the rest of the season, he will join us every other week for riding, coaching, meals, and I’m sure storytelling! Still friends with many current Italian pros, he has insights and connections that will prove interesting and useful, whether it be on our next ride, an UDACE race, a Gran Fondo, or the Master’s World Championships. If you’re not able to make it to Castelcucco in 2010, Fred will likely make a US appearance at the Gran Fondo Colnago San Diego, the Solvang Cycling Clinic, and the Solvang Century.
If you want to know more about Fred, you can visit his website, follow his Twitter account, or stay tuned here or on our Facebook fan page, where he will occasionally pop in to say Ciao!, and tell us about goings-on in the world of pro cycling.
Staying in Castelcucco
Monday, December 21st, 2009
We’ve just got off the phone with the Hotel Monte Grappa, and it sounds like a congratulations is in order for Luca Bolzon and family. It appears that business at Hotel Monte Grappa will be booming in 2010, and they will often be full up! Velo Veneto will no longer have full run of the place, but as always, he has found ways to accommodate us. So, what does this mean for us?
- We will have access to what we’re calling Villa II – the Bolzon family home just behind the Hotel Monte Grappa. For everyone, this means a secure place to leave your bike and bike case, a laundry facility, and where we will have the rack, workstand, and a small toolset. It also means that at particularly busy times, we will have access to bedrooms in Villa II!
- Luca has asked that we give him rooming lists as early as possible this year, so he can make sure that everybody has a bed, and every bed has a body. For the Giro trip, this means we’d like to have our list to him by the end of January. You can put your name and dates in on our Registration page, and we’re finally taking PayPal deposits.
We’re happy and excited for Luca, and the more we plan for and talk about next year, the more excited we get about heading back! If you have any thoughts, or suggestions, leave a comment below or give us a shout.
2010 Giro d’Italia Itinerary
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
We’re very excited to announce our itinerary for the Giro d’Italia trip this coming May. That sounds like a long way away, but it’ll be here before we know it! In addition to the great viewing opportunities of the Giro, we’ll also be enjoying the fantastic riding around the Veneto throughout the week and a grand farewell dinner after the Verona TT. We have 8 spots only available for this trip, so make your reservation now!
Friday, May 21 – Rider Arrival (early morning arrivals will spend the day in Venice while Velo Veneto looks after your bags)
Saturday, May 22 – Stage 14 of the Giro offers a taste of the Dolomites with our own Monte Grappa, and we’ll be there to sample it. After watching the pros suffer up the mountain, we’ll backtrack to Asolo in time to watch the finish.
Sunday, May 23 – The real Dolomites start today, and we’ll be there to witness it. Our morning begins with a drive north into the mountains, and then we spin out on our own ride finishing on the Giro’s final climb of the day, the Zoncolan!
Monday, May 24 – Rest day for the Giro, but we’ll be enjoying the beautiful Prosecco Vineyards ride from our own front door.
Tuesday, May 25 – With a couple of days to gather the data, we’ll know the pro’s times up the Monte Grappa, and today we’ll test ourselves against those times with a TT up the Monte Grappa. After you’ve wrung yourself out, we’ll gather around the common room TV to watch the Giro’s uphill Plan de Corones TT.
Wednesday, May 26 – Having done a fair bit of climbing the past few days, we’ll head south onto the Padovana plain to Castelfranco, stopping at Alessandro Ballan’s local bike shop and pausing in the main piazza for a cappuccino or espresso.
Thursday, May 27 – Hosting the world championships twice since 1985, the Montello is one of the local famed training loops. We’ll head out through the vineyards to tackle the same roads that saw Joop Zoetemelk win a road world championships and Jan Ullrich win a TT crown.
Friday, May 28 – Back into the hills for us today with our own Alpe d’Huez, the 21-hairpin climb of Foza up to the Asiago plateau. A quick traverse leads us to a sweeping descent into the Brenta River valley and back to Castelcucco in time for more Giro coverage!
Saturday, May 29 – Rider’s Choice! One group will head back into the hills, while the other will take a flatter ride. Either way, we’ll be back in time to rejoin in the common room to watch the Giro’s queen stage, including the famous Passo Gavia!
Sunday, May 30 – This morning we’ll head down the road to Verona, site of yet another Oscar Friere World Championships win and the Giro’s culminating TT. We’ll be there early enough to pre-ride the course itself, and wander through the start area as the riders warm-up. Those who want can stay in town to watch the start/finish and/or go sightseeing, while a second group will head out onto the course’s climb, the Torricelle. We will wrap up this great trip with a farewell dinner in a local restaurant.
Monday, May 31 – Sadly, it’s time to return to real life… But the Giro will return to the Veneto again soon!
For more information about Velo Veneto trips, including this Giro d’Italia itinerary, please visit our Reservations page.
2010 Giro d’Italia
Saturday, October 24th, 2009
Wow, the 2010 Giro d’Italia passes right through our backyard and finishes just down the road with a TT in Verona! Stage 14 will cover many of the roads we regularly ride, finishing a few minutes away in Asolo, and passing near Castelcucco on its way up and over the Monte Grappa. Whether you’re there in May, or come later in the summer, it’s going to be great fun riding on the same roads day-in and day-out. The overall map of il Giro is below (click to download as PDF), or you can visit the English-language website.
The route map of the 2010 Giro d'Italia
