05 March - Liquigas, Brescia

The first race of the season was the Liquigas cup in Brescia, and just like last year we had a huge snowfall the days before the race! Take a look at some of the new photos, and you will see all the fresh powder we were riding in! Great fun. Of course with all the riders training on the course, it was all melted for the race. So we were left with slippery cobble stones and muddy sections to race in. This event is held in the huge castle in Brescia, a fantastic city just east from Bergamo/Milano.
This was the first big race of the year, and many of the top riders turned up to test the legs. Everyone knows that its very early in the year, so its not important to have form yet.. none the less, its always nice to have good sensations.

From the start three riders made a gap, Marco Bui, Migual Martinez and Zoli (last years winner). I was happy to hang onto the chase group, although after 4 laps I was starting to feel all the small accelerations. With such slippery cobbles, the course had become extremely technical. Finally our pack shattered with a lap to go as Julian put down the pace. I finished 6th, with was much better then last year, when I completely hit the wall at this race!