Under the Tuscan Sun

We arrived in a very chilly Belgium about a week ago for the start of our European racing campaign with Team Lotto Belisol powered by Team MTN Qhubeka.  We are based in Aalst, Belgium not far from Ninove where we stayed as a team last year so it is not all unfamiliar territory.

A quick bike setup was done upon arrival and we took to the streets later in the afternoon to spin out our legs from the flight.  The next morning we got a bit of a rude awakening from the steep cobble climbs and narrow roads that are typical in Belgium as we did a team ride on the Ronde van Vlaanderen race route.

We are now in Italy for training camp close to the beach town San Vincenzo in the Livorno province in the Tuscany area.  It is apparently no secret that the training in this area is great as the Rabobank professional team is staying at the hotel next to us and several other professional teams are also in the area.  Around every corner it looks like a different scene straight out of a movie.  It really is beautiful here and I can understand now what all the talk is about when it comes to Tuscany.

View from the hill behind our hotel.

The highlight for me so far has been our trip to Pisa to go see the leaning tower and have pizza.  We were being typical tourists and thoroughly enjoyed taking pictures and walking around in the city.  A close second was the 9km climb that we got to do today up to the town of Volterra.

Team Lotto Belisol at the leaning tower in Pisa.

We have a couple of days left under the Tuscan sun before we leave for the Trofeo Alfredo Binda world cup close to Cittiglio, Italy.

Carlo has got his race drink mix right for being in Italy.  He obviously has not heard about PVM supplements yet.