Former Giro champ Mara Abbott talks with VeloNews about her rapid, intentional escape from cycling in 2011, her struggles with self confidence and health, and the comeback she is planning for 2013.
She kind-of talks about her eating disorder in the second half - I really, REALLY hope that she’s better, and is looked after, when she comes back next season.
Cycling is all my life, by Petitesreines
Mini interviews about why riders love cycling, with Adrie Visser, Alessandra d’Ettorre, Alona Andruk, Amber Pierce, Carla Ryan, Christel Ferrier-Bruneau, Elena Cecchini, Elisa Longo Borghini, Lizzie Armitstead, Mara Abbott, Noemi Cantele, Oxana Kozonchuk, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Sophie de Boer, and LOTS more!
Marina Romoli was on a training ride last year, when a car pulled out from a junction and caused a horrific accident. Romoli had huge injuries to her face, where she went straight through the car’s window - and it damaged her spine, leaving her in a wheelchair.
Last year’s Giro had a theme of “Forza Marina!”, wishing her well throughout the race, and this year she has been the race’s “godmother”, with a stage set in her hometown, with Romoli as special guest. It is so good to see that her team, Diadora Pasta-Zara, the race and the cycling community have her at their heart.
Here she’s flanked by Marianne Vos, Nicole Cooke, Giorgia Bronzini and Mara Abbott. Abbott and Cooke are former race winners, Cooke, Bronzini and Vos have won World titles on road, track and cyclocross, with both Vos and Cooke being Olympic Champions at the 2008 games. It’s a special line-up - and most of all, my thoughts are with Romoli, for her ongoing recovery. Forza Marina!
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So we’ve had a look at the course, the next obvious question is who will be standing on top of the podium when we get to Turin at the end of next week. That’s easy you might think, just look at the formbook. Well if you’re one of those scientific sorts who reckons that you can predict these sorts of things by taking certain numbers and plugging them in to super-clever and super-super-secret formulae, then this year you are going to have to dig deep for those numbers, because there’s not a lot to go on.
We lost the other big climby tour, the Tour de l’Aude, the Giro del Trentino was a lot less hilly than usual, despite signing for a European team, Diadora Pasta Zara, this year, Mara Abbott has spent more time in the US than she did last year when she was riding for Peanut Butter & Co, then she recently had a mystery crash while training which caused her to miss more racing, and Emma Pooley sat out a large part of the spring with a broken collar-bone. Of course that won’t make much difference to those of us who use the stick wet finger in the air then wing it method, but be reassured that this year that is a lot closer to the science. So here’s who I think will be the top five in thes year’s Giro Donne.
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Giro Donne – Who’s going to win? - Podium Cafe
Monty puts his cards on the table for his top 5 - Vos, Pooley, Guderzo, Arndt & Abbott - & when pushed, in the comments his alternate votes are Luperini, Patuzzo, Longo Borghini, Polona Batagelj and De Vries - let’s see if he’s right….!
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US National Champion Mara Abbott was forced to pull out of this Sunday’s Liberty Classic in Philadelphia due to a concussion sustained in a crash while she was training in her home town of Boulder, Colorado today.
The cause of the crash is unknown, however following the accident, Abbott found her way to the Boulder Community Hospital on bicycle with the help of a friend who found her while she was stopped at the side of the road.
“I don’t know how I crashed because I don’t remember it, but I ended up in the hospital with a concussion and a bunch of stitches in my finger,” Abbott told Cyclingnews. “An old friend from high school just happened to ride by and saw me standing over my bike at the side of the road and rode with me to the hospital.”
“I looked back at my power file because I couldn’t remember any of it and I actually crashed about 25 minutes before my friend found me. It looks like I got back on my bike and kept riding and then got off again, which is when my friend found me. My helmet was completely smashed in.”
"— Concussion Takes Abbott Out Of Liberty Classic | Cyclingnews.com
Cicloweb’s overview of what to expect from the Giro Donne 2011! I cannot WAIT!
"Last year’s winner, Mara Abbott, returns to defend her individual title, but she will not be supported by her new Diadora Safi-Pasta team. Instead, she will be guest riding for SC Velo-Empower Coaching. Other favorites for the individual title include two-time world time trial champion Kristin Armstrong, who managed Abbott last year as part of the Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 squad. Armstrong, the 2008 Olympic time trial gold medalist and four-time Nature Valley Grand Prix champion, has come out of retirement to ride for Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12. Other individual contenders are Catherine Cheatley (Colavita Forno D’Asolo), who finished third in the Series last year, and former world time trial champion Amber Neben (HTC-Highroad)."
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Women’s Prestige Cycling Series Begins at Redlands | podiuminsight.com
Redlands Bicycle Classic starts tomorrow in the USA.
Interview with Emma Pooley, in French, on the evening before Trofeo Alfredo Binda, by WebPetitesreines
PetitesReines did mini-inteviews with LOADS of riders just before the race! You can see the full list on their youtube page but here are the links to the pre-Binda intys of some of the riders I’m interested in:
HTC’s Adrie Visser (in English)
Multi-discipline champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (French)
Dolmans’ Martine Bras (she’s been great this season, and is apparently a real help to young riders wanting to make it in Europe)
Gauss’ Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (who tried really hard to escape at the end of the race) (French)
Diadora-Safi Pasta’s Mara Abbott (English - VERY short!)
Photos and a preview of the first round of the 2011 Road World Cup - Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Follow the link for info & more great pics.
Diadora-Pasta Zara - including Manel Lacambra
(via Meno due giorni al Trofeo Alfredo Binda, a Cittiglio sono già arrivate le prime squadre)
Presentazione Diadora-Pasta Zara, 12 marzo 2011, il video.mpg (by DiadoraPastaZara)
Diadora-Pasta Zara’s team presentation video for 2011
@TeamDiadoraZara team presentation Costa Etrusca http://yfrog.com/h7h5nnxj) - Manel Lacambra’s yfrog
Diadora Pasta Zara team presentation via www.diadorapastazara.com
More photos from the photoshoot here
