ENGLISH N° 13 - MAY 2015
Elisa Longo Borghini
talking about
her FlandErs victory
Colnago and disc brakes,
once again first
History
The C40 has twenty years
Elisa
Longo
Borghini
INTERVIEW
Elisa Longo Borghini is now in the history books of Italian
cycling. She’s won the Tour of Flanders, one of the most
important one-day races, held in Belgium - the home of
cycling. The daughter of accomplished athletes, her father,
Ferdinando, is a Nordic skiing coach and her mother,
Guidina Dal Sasso, was on the Italian national cross country
team – so competition is in her DNA.
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What image do you remember best about your victory in Flanders?
“When I pulled away from the pack. The precise moment when I decided to attack. I saw a very
favorable tactical situation unfold, because the top positions of the bunch were controlled by
two teams that we historically run against – Rabo-Liv and Dolmans. Starting in that situation
allowed me to quickly gain a good advantage, about 40 seconds, before the group was able to
organize itself for the pursuit.”
The attack was planned?
“I am a very competitive person, and if I feel good I always try to win.”
How did you work to achieve this success?
“All winter, I started preparing very early – from the first days of November. I was very lucky to
not get very sick. I had a little flu the days leading up to the race at Cittiglio (finished fourth),
but nothing serious. I recovered almost immediately and was then very well.”
Was there a moment where you thought you may have timed your attack incorrectly?
“Never. I must say that I always felt very well. It was hard, but I could manage it.”
Tell us about one of your typical week of training.
“I’m used to train about twenty hours a week – with one day of complete rest. It may seem
strange, but rest is perhaps the most difficult part of the program. I really like cycling and
training, so it is not easy to spend a whole day without a bike. But I need to respect this rule
because a good rest allows you to recover well and give your best in the following days. The
workouts are divided between classic sessions targeted to the resistance (long slow pace) or to
the rhythm, divided in different ways depending on the time of season. The program, however,
is changed slightly from time to time by my trainer Paolo Slongo (also the trainer of Vincenzo
Nibali and others).”
INTERVIEW
Elisa Longo
Borghini
Do you train alone or with friends?
“Often I train alone, but occasionally I use the help of other cyclists – including Filippo Ganna, a
U23 racer who lives near my house, or some amateur cyclists. Occasionally, if it fits into his new
work commitments, I ride with my brother (Paolo Longo Borghini) who, until last year, raced with
the Cannondale professional team.”
What is your favorite workout, and what you do not like?
“I do not like standing starts in a big gear, but I love the classic interval of 20 seconds fast
followed by 40 seconds at medium tempo ridden uphill.”
TECHNICAL DATA
DEDICATED
SEATPOST
MAXIMUM
COMPATIBILITY
Tell us about your next goals.
“I’ve done the classic races in Belgium, so I will aim for a strong Tour of Italy. I would like to
improve on the fifth place finish I had last year. I feel ready to make a further leap in quality, I’m
confident. I’ve got to improve uphill to get the gap that separates me from the best athletes.
The dream, however, is to participate in the next Olympics in Rio. I missed the London edition,
unfortunately, due to injury, so I think my luck has to change!”
The bike of Elisa Longo Borghini
Tell us about your bike.
“I love it. I think V1-r is the best bike I’ve used since I became a professional cyclist. I think it is
the right compromise between stiffness (important for sprinters) and handling. The girls do not
need bikes that are too stiff – and I honestly find the bike very comfortable, even after many
hours of riding.”
DEDICATED
BRAKE
SYSTEM
CARBON FRAME
DROPOUTS
Model: Colnago V1-r
Size: 48s
Stem: 110 mm
Gears: 39-53
Crank lenght: 170 mm
THREADFIT 82.5
BOTTOM BRACKET
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NEWS
Colnago
and Disc Brakes
Once again, Colnago
is a proud innovator
Ernesto Colnago leaves his mark on the history of cycling. Bicycles with disc brakes
can now be used in road racing – that’s the news. They’ve been given the green light
by the UCI. In two races, between August and September 2015, teams will have the
opportunity to use disc brakes. The experiment will continue in 2016, in all the events
on the UCI calendar. If at the end of that period of time the UCI gives the go-ahead,
disc brakes on road racing bikes will be introduced officially in the 2017 World Tour.
Ernesto Colnago is very happy, because he was the first to introduce to the market
a racing bike with a hydraulic disc braking system. It debuted in 2012, at the Taipei
show: “after three years, finally, what I have created has become a reality.” The first
fork with straight blades, the first carbon fiber frame, introduced twenty years ago,
and now disc brakes on road bikes – once again, Ernesto Colnago is the first to
promote a new technology in the world of cycling!
COLNAGO C60 DISC
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HISTORY
The Colnago C40 and Mapei
WinNing Together
Twenty years have passed since the first triumph on the
cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix by Franco Ballerini, then
repeated in 1998, followed by the success of Johan
Museeuw (1996 and 2000) and Andrea Tafi (1999). The
sole and undisputed protagonist: the Colnago C40 –
the historical first ever lugged carbon fiber frame.
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COLNAGO HISTORY
It was the watershed between the bikes of the past and those of the modern era. Those
years at Paris-Roubaix many bikes were running dual suspension, or special forks – more
suitable for motocross than for road racing bicycles. This innovation of Colnago, therefore,
gave cause for doubt to even the patron of Mapei, Giorgio Squinzi: “Here, where everyone
will ride with suspension frames, the guys will have no problem with that frame made of
carbon fiber? And a straight fork?!?” The answer from Ernesto Colnago was immediate:
“Giorgio, I’m Colnago, I want nothing more than to make the best bikes, do not worry, with
my C40 the guys can go wherever they want.” Colnago had it right. Five wins at Roubaix
in six years followed that day. “The carbon is the best,” so said Franco Ballerini, “and the
Precisa fork is a true revolution.” Born from a long series of studies with the technicians of
the Ferrari racing team, the C40 became a “must-have” for the next generation of bicycles.
The rest is history – up to C60, the ultimate Colnago.
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VINTAGE
1988 Colnago Master C-Record
Pictured here is a 100% restored, 59cm Colnago Master Gilco from 1988 with NOS (New Old Stock)
Campagnolo C-Record components. The project took 14 months to complete by owner Eric Olsen of
Parker, Colorado, USA. Eric commissioned Colorado master frame builder, Rich Gangl, to do alignment,
paint and decals. While Gangl was working his paint magic, Eric scoured the Internet worldwide for
NOS Campagnolo C-Record components. Patience paid off, resulting in every Campy part new or
nearly flawless older stock. Creekside Bikes in Parker, a Colnago dealer and Campagnolo Pro-Shop,
laced up tubular wheels and did the final build. Being a bike that gets ridden, Eric chose a Brooks
Cambium saddle as the only ‘modern’ component that is not period specific. The completed bike with
Arundel stainless steel cages weighs 20lbs. (Special thanks to Colnago America partner Kevin Clark,
who assisted with logistics to get this photo story out among the Colnago community.)
RACING
Pierre Roland
wins the Vuelta
a Castilla y Leon
Creekside Bikes shop
Is an Italian pro-road bike shop located near Denver, Colorado USA. Established in 2009, Creekside
is one of three local ‘boutiques’ that were born from The Denver Spoke, a nationally known Colorado
destination shop. Creekside specializes in custom carbon and steel road bikes for distance riding in
Colorado’s mountains. The current owners are Kirk and Sally Webster. Todd Hunter, Service Manager
at the Denver Spoke for 22 years, is lead Campagnolo technician. Bob Carbone is the resident Italian
road salesman. Kelli Polychronis is our regional Colnago representative. Creekside supports two local
clubs and is active in the race, vintage and century ride communities.
The stage and overall classification victory is the most desired victory – the dream of any
professional cyclist. This is the story of the 2015 Vuelta a Castilla y León for Pierre Roland. The
Frenchman, who races for Europcar, attacked the field with one kilometer to go – managing to
win the stage and the overall standings. Completing the podium of the day were Beñat Intxausti
and Igor Antón, both of Movistar.
It was a stage troubled from the start, but the right action was taken after 35 kilometers of
racing. In the front were Pablo Torres (Burgos - BH), Perrig Quemeneur (Europcar), Edwin Avila
(Colombia), and Dmitry Sokolov (Lokosphinx), followed after a few kilometers by Marcos Jurado
(Spain). The five riders reached a maximum lead of 5 minutes before the men of the Caja Rural
- Seguros RGA team were able to reduce the gap to just two minutes at around forty kilometers
from the finish line. The race, then, was decided on the final climb of Alto de Lubián – with Rodolfo
Torres (Colombia) taking the first position six kilometers from the finish, just at the moment when
the leader, Carlos Babero (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA), lost contact with the group . At that point
the peloton began attacking – going back on Torres with only Pierre Rolland (Europcar), Beñat
Intxausti (Movistar), and Igor Anton (Movistar), who managed to return with two kilometers to
the finish. Under the red flag of the last kilometer, the decisive attack by Rolland was made –
leaving behind the other three and conquering the stage-win ahead of Intxausti and Anton. And
this was the same order of the final podium for the General Classification.
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SOCIAL:
IMAGE OF THE MONTH
Colnago Zoom’s best reader photo posted
on our social networks.
Dylan Larenaudie
COLNAGO V1-r
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C O L L A B O R A Z I O N E
C O N