Cinquanta!

Not sure how I missed that one, but THIS makes 51. Yay...

Upon further review... one of those was a draft... so this IS 50!

A quick one from Japan

Here's what my Element (oft-ridiculed by my Italian friends) looks
like in Japan.

伊蛮伐蘇

Ivan Basso's Japan Cup Bike

I'm now back from Japan and a little recovered from the past month and a half of travel. Here are the images (plus a few bonus shots) that I posted to Cannondale and that have now appeared all over the place. This must be one of the most photographed bikes we've done to date! At one point during the team presentation, I grabbed the bike and moved it slightly - some people waiting in the wings could then see a different view and the flash bulbs went wild... I ended up posing the bike for another ten minutes!

The race went as expected. The climb wasn't tough enough for Ivan to break away. What has been under-appreciated in the race reports were the rides of both Giovanni Visconti and Valerio Agnoli, who each were dropped on the climbs and chased back on... twice!

After the race, Ivan was great, signing autographs and posing for photos for a good while for the long line of Japanese fans who waited two hours after the podium and press conference! Like it or not, Ivan is back... and will be a force to contend with at the Giro.

日本杯ニ〇〇八

Japan Cup 2008!

When the chance to go to Japan for Ivan's first race back came up, how could I say no? The twelve hour flight followed by two hours of travel from Tokyo to Utsunomia (after an hour long bus transfer) was the small price to pay!

I've been happy to be accompanied by the fine staff of Cannondale Japan. Katsoumi, Hiro and Shoji can be added to the long list of Cannondale employees around the world that I've had the pleasure to work with. They do a great job here, as evidenced by the large number of Cannondales on the road during today's amateur rides and races.

We followed the guys to the race venue for a lap with the public. The course is nice - a closed-off national park with a couple of climbs. Ivan has enjoyed a great reception from the public. We've prepared a special bike (thanks to Lara) for him, which has garnered a lot of attention. After the press conference, he was mobbed by Japanese fans, who are very passionate about Italian cycling. I didn't expect to see guys dressed in full pro team kit, head to toe. We saw a Japanese Bennati, Lance, Danilo in pink... there was even a guy in a Rock Racing jersey!

This afternoon, I did my usual electronics shopping. Utsunomia's mall wasn't nearly as big as that I saw in Seoul (evidently the huge one in Tokyo isn't even as big as Seoul), but I managed to find enough iPod accessories to keep me satisfied for a while.

I've always thought that the written Japanese languages are an amazing art form. I love to see things common to me (Mountain Dew and Apple products) advertised in Japanese. The Mountain Dew cans are HUGE... just my size. Obligatory shot of my morning coffee with my Liquigas iPod Nano and today's playlist - O&A from Wednesday (the Pendulum is swingin' back the other way!).

Where've I been?

So - it's been a while. Anyway, I've been earning lots of frequent flyer miles lately and it doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon!

If you saw the tweets, you'll know I've been to the US for some Tour of Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa and of course, Vegas. Just before that, we moved into a new apartment in Basel and the early results are in... it rocks! My big project for the new place was to hook up the Mac Mini to a big LCD (nice deal courtesy of Cannondale/Vredestein partners Polaroid). I'm now running Front Row, EyeTV and Slingbox from my couch! So I'm now in the process of loading iTunes up with all my old favorites... Seinfeld, Miami Vice and even thirtysomething (purchased a box set which seems to have come from the same guy that sold me some DVD's in Korea!). With all of the traveling coming up, I'll at least not be forced into watching lame airline movies (the last few flights have had dreadful offerings).

Last week we packed up the dogs and headed to Tuscany for a long weekend. We stayed in an 'agriturismo' where Team Barloworld had a spring camp last year. The place was perfect... lots of big fields for the dogs, great apartments, and close to the shore as well as inland to the Tuscan hill towns. We ended up spending a day in Volterra, where I've surprisingly never been. From there, we headed to the Isle of Elba, famous for the exile of a certain short French emperor. From there, we stayed with a friend from the bike industry who has a large villa next door to a Mr. Cipollini. Mario was not in town (legal woes?), otherwise he would have joined for breakfast. Great food, nice sites, then a rush back home to finish up some work.

It's off to Connecticut this weekend for a big meeting next week. Following that, it's Lombardia and then Japan Cup! I can't wait for this season to finish so we can get to work on the next one!

Trial by Fire

So then Friday and Saturday I continued my DS training. Friday's stage into Jefferson City was another hot and muggy one. I went with Gianni to the feed zone, passed a musette to Roman and then hopped into Stefano's car while he took mine and went to the break, where Mugerli was in the mix. More bottles passed, and a rear wheel change. Guarnieri pulled over while I was in the passing lane and I ended up pulling over in front of him, to Gianfranco's dismay - POW! - his door hit Guarnieri's handlebar! Lesson learned - even when the rider stops quick, always pull in behind him even if you have to just stop in the road.

The run-in to Jeff City was a quick one. Nibali played out an attack but got quickly pulled back. Two Rabobank youngsters took 1st and 2nd. The winner is the son of Jean Paul Van Poppel. Stefano raced with him and said he went like a train.

For Saturday, we expected horrible rain from Ike, but it never showed up. I drove car 2 from the start and the break went halfway again. Mugerli was up front in a 12 man break, so again, we swapped cars. This time, Guarnieri was involved in a big crash on the left side of the road. The street was real wide and everyone pulled over to the left, so I followed suit. Guarnieri eventually went to the right side of the road and I was a bit blocked in. I was able to exit and get to Gianfranco after a wheel change, but another lesson learned... ALWAYS service on the right side of the road. After that, we serviced the bike and helped him back to the group... let's see if I get a fine. Read between the lines on that one!

On the run-in to the finish into St. Charles, the skied darkened and threatened the rain which still didn't come. I got a bit nervous watching from about ten cars back, hoping for a Chicchi sprint or a Nibali breakaway. My heart was pounding and I think I found a new best way to watch a race... in the caravan driving a support car! Finally, Cavendish took his third stage, and we have to wait until Sunday's circuit for our first.

DS for a day... or two

So the Tour of Missouri keeps rolling along. Wednesday's TT in Branson went well... Nibali in sixth, fifth overall. Roman not too far behind.

I got to drive the follow car for Chicchi. The course was great, with big carved out canyons, open roads in the wind, and big rolling hills. Of course, I did my usual 'avoid the deviation and drive through the finish' that I've become famous for. Hey - they didn't fine us and I didn't tear down the banners, so it couldn't be that drastic!

On Thursday, Stefano wanted me to drive the second team car (since we're short on people). When the break happened, we swapped cars. He went with the break and I took over in the peloton! Let's say it's nervous and very tight squeezing between the moto and the cars on your right. We fed and passed bottles a few times. Nibali, having missed the break, got his ear twisted quite a bit, but did come back and load up on water for the rest of the guys. Roman took over the white jersey in the end! Today we'll try for another stage, possibly with Roman - the finish is a killer!

Meantime, James our mechanic crashed in the parking lot and destroyed his knee!

Tour of Missouri

So I'm here with the boys in the midwest, fulfilling whatever duties I can. So far, I've translated interviews, translated any and all questions they may have, passing my first musette, helping the mechanics, written race reports, etc.

Sunday, my parents came down from Iowa. I think they enjoyed seeing their first big bike race. We had a reception at Cycle City, a local retailer. The crowd was great and had a good time. I finally met Jackal and Blue... great guys. Funny thing about the internet. You can 'get to know' someone by their writing, and then stumble into them and feel like old friends.

Monday we had the worst storm ever... 4 o'clock in the morning while doing emails, the sky opened up with a loud crash. It was like someone shooting a shotgun in the next room over! This continued until the power shut down for most of the city! It was quite a scene having all the teams eating breakfast by candlelight in the Hyatt!

Nephew Joey skipped work Monday afternoon to come down to the finish at KC's Plaza. The crowd was huge and the rain held out. Chicchi was third with Cavendish winning.

Tuesday was pretty much more of the same - Chicchi again third in Springfield. 

I met Cub and the Great Chiweenie... cute little dog rescued by loving owners who take him along on the bike. I know Mrs. Masini would like to do the same, but I can already tell, our guys would be more than a handful than this little guy.

Today is the TT. Nibali should do pretty well. Roman says his legs aren't great, but he has the power and will do well nonetheless.

I've Been Tagged... here you go.

So Carl tagged me a few days ago... here goes.

What was I doing ten years ago? 

Just getting ready to move from Des Moines to Fort Dodge, IA. Just a little relocation so Mrs. Masini could start a great teaching job. I was driving about 60,000 miles a year as a sales rep for the big Cdale (did that for 8 years). I was also riding a YZ125 a little bit. Listening to: Limbaugh, Common Man, Mischke and Jim Rome on the radio (gotta stay awake somehow when driving all night through North Dakota). Also listening to: Guster, Josh Rouse, the Cure, Joy Division, New Order (none of that has really changed). I was not racing on the road or CX, but more mtb. Eventually did well on a single speed hardtail at the local race on a course I knew by heart.

What are five non-work things on my to-do list today?
1. Walk the dogs
2. Backup my old radio shows (Mischke, Common Man, Ron & Fez, Opie & Anthony)
3. Pick up Mrs. Masini from Zurich Airport
4. Watch Liquigas defend their Vuelta lead on Eurosport
5. Watch a replay of the Buccaneers' final preseason game

Snacks I enjoy?
Doritos

Things I would do if I were a billionaire. 

Help groups giving relief in Africa and Asia. 

Small houses in Iowa, Connecticut and Italy. 

Maserati for myself, Jag convertible for the Mrs. 

A little to everyone in the family. 

Bank the rest for the upcoming economic crisis. 

Places I have lived:
Charlotte NC, Ruland SD, Spencer IA, Laurens IA, Ames IA, Florence Italy, Des Moines IA, Ft Dodge IA, New Milford CT, Basel Switz. - In that order!

Jobs I have had:
Gas station grunt, construction, track and tennis court grunt, sales rep, webmaster, sports marketer.

Hollywood and DanGerous - tag, you're it.

The Oldenzaal Museum

Nick told me that he would like to redo the museum at the Holland office so I dug out the Di Luca Giro-winning bike to add to the collection. While the door to the museum was locked, I did get a chance to snap a few of my favorites that are scattered throughout the office. So now I present: the Cipo Black Lightning, Savoldelli's Angel, the white DDL, and various jerseys... enjoy.