There are some days where you know the pros earn their money.  And Sunday at the Milan-Sanremo was one of those days.

More on that later.

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Macini Bikes

You may recall a month or so ago I posted an article on Macini bikes. The article provided a brief history ion the Macini name and its renaisssance over this last year.

This is a follow up article having a closer look at the new Macini bikes.

The Macini brand has been part of the South Australian cycling landscape for decades. With a strong focus on the racing cyclist, the Macini name grew to be a recognised brand name all over Australia, both on the road and at the velodrome. Even Stuart himself started out on one.

In the early days, Macini frames were crafted locally in Adelaide by a talented frame builder and long time cyclist. Both stock frames and custom made frames were made to order and were available in road and track models alike.

As the reputation developed and success followed, the best racing frames were sourced from around Australia and now all over world, to keep up with the demand to exacting standards. Tradition is important to us.

Macini Bikes have always been held in high regard with the racing cyclist. The brand has been extremely well known in South Australia and has supported both individuals and cycling clubs not only in Adelaide, but all around Australia.

Today, Macini Bikes are absolutely dedicated and committed to offering cyclists the very best bikes and components available. It is our mantra to not only to supply these items, but to be a supplier of choice where customer service is paramount. Tradition and reputation is the key of any first tier cycling brand and Macini will continue to follow this model staying true to its values, heritage and the strong legacy.

Macini Bikes share the passion for cycling, tradition, high end performance, customer intimacy and winning.

They are proudly South Australian and are successfully reinventing an iconic brand in racing history.

Macini Road Classic 

 With the classic ‘retro-cool’ style paint scheme and using the highest quality Macini Super Modulus construction (MSM consisting of Mitsubishi and Toray 24t, 30t, 40t carbon lay up), it has been have designed it to be an all-round weapon.

R.R.P – $6999.00 – Special Introductory Offer – 25% Off.

A true assault weapon, this excels when the demands of the finish is in sight at that critical moment where the pilot demands pure agility and response to ‘drive’ at the finish line. The Criterium classic provides a perfect module, converting the pure effort of the rider into brutal straight line acceleration. 

R.R.P – $6999.00 – Special Introductory Offer – 25% Off.

This Track bike is designed to light up the boards. The Track Classic is engineered to be nimble enough to switch direction and dive down the bank, yet strong enough to convert those watts into speed – instantly. Finesse and perfect handling response is required to fly through the narrowest of gaps as the line approaches. Track racing is about millimetres.

The Track Carbon Classic achieves the perfect combination of strength, light weight and aerodynamics to propel you to success at the track.

As a South Australian, its a pleasure to help other South Aussies where I can. These bikes look superb.  Give Brad Coulter a call on 0423 111 995, or email Macini Bikes on macinibikes@internode.on.net

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Coffee Shops – First Pour

Some of you probably know about this relatively newish coffee shop in Melbourne Street, North Adelaide. I had the pleasure of dropping in for a coffee and muffin last Saturday. We were aiming for an adjacent coffee shop, but I remember seeing the the Veneziano signage on a marquee on top of Willunga Hill in January, so decided to give it a go.

Do yourself a Molly Meldrum and get in there. The coffee is good. The fitout is fantastic and the service is top notch.

Veneziano Coffee Roasters opened the Melobourne Street First Pour espresso bar and specialty coffee showroom around a year ago.  Previously they had a number of long-standing cafe customers including Argo (Norwood), Blefari Cafe, Restaurant Tranquilo (Stirling), Sazon Espresso, Lime 2 Cafe (Port Adelaide), Jenny’s Gourmet Bakery, Lunchroom Espresso Bar and Chocolate @ No. 5 (Rundle Street) amongst them and saw it fit to bring its showroom concept to coffee-devoted Adelaide.

Adelaide First Pour is modelled on its sister sites in Melbourne and Brisbane and is intended to be a one-off by Veneziano in Adelaide, that aims to serve as: an espresso bar for customers to enjoy and sample specialty coffee blends and single origins; training premises for Veneziano clients including visits from Australian and world champion baristas and roasters; cupping events, for coffee industry folk and the general public, giving them the opportunity to sample boutique or brand new roasts and even help create new blends.

The food was also good. Great selection of Calorie Laden full fat, full taste gourmet delights, as well other choices for those lactose intolerant unfortunates.

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Milan – Sanremo

Ah, if only………..

What a tough days riding.  Near zero temperatures at the start.  A blizzard-consumed Ovada 117km from the start. 45kms in the middle of the stage cancelled due to dangerous conditions(neutralised stage), jumping into a warm bus transfer where the riders received a hot shower, change of clothes, bowl of pasta, etc, and then having to get out and do it all over again, but with the waves crashing against the shore, all the while raining.

There were reports of many riders breaking down in tears while at least two riders reportedly had icicles hanging off their earlobes.

“I don’t know whether the first or the second part was the worst,” said Edvald Boasson Hagen. “Both were very cold. The first part was more comical, the second part was only hell.”

“Riders were shaking so badly they had fallen off their bikes,” said GreenEDGE’s Neil Stephens. Indeed, the very same thing happened to the Australian team’s 2011 champion, Matt Goss, who took a tumble with a cluster of other riders ten minutes before the break. Viewers on Eurosport probably thought they were watching the ski jumping.

For Tom Boonen, it was all simply too much. Having last year fine-tuned a propensity for falling off his bike into a masterclass of one-day domination, Boonen was understandably adverse to jeopardising his forthcoming Belgian Classics campaign by persisting in trying to break his duck in a race that was fast becoming a chilling circus of intolerably brutality.

“Today became less about the course or the distance or the tactics and more about who could handle the elements – for our team, anyway. When the boys got on the bus after the race was stopped in Ovada to bypass the Turchino, it was clear that the race had gone for 10-15 kilometres too long. We were in really bad shape. The boys where shaking and shivering. I heard from a few other teams that they had riders that were shaking so badly they had fallen off their bikes” Neil Stephens GreenEdge.

Nibali jumped into the team car on the backside of the Cipressa not far from the finish when he realised it was going to be a race for the sprinters. “This was just a black day in every sense of the word,” the Astana star said. “There was a moment when I thought maybe I had chosen the wrong sport”.

The surprise at the end of the day was not who won, but who lost. Sagan was expected to take out the race right from the start, and with 5 other riders coming to the finish line, he should have won comfortably.  Unfortunately the Slovak sensation was paying too much attention to Cancellara and having led out the final sprint early, he seemed to take his foot off the accelerator inside the closing metres to allow Gerald Ciolek to nip through for an unexpected win.

Sagan looked across at Ciolek with a mixture of disbelief and disgust as he crossed the line. Later, he told reporters that he had “thrown away Milan-San Remo”, that he had “under-evaluated” his opponent and had “left it on a plate for Ciolek.”

67 DNF’s. What a day.

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Toys

Till next week

Tight Spoke

iPib