Ok those are my first two translations... I've done my best but english is not my first language so there may be a few weird parts... it's also the first thing I write here so any editing comments are appreciated :-)
First, an interview by Jean-François Bégin published in today's La Presse newspaper (La Presse is the leading Montreal newspaper). Original is here
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Cyclist Dominique Rollin could become the third Quebecer in history to take part in a Grand Tour. His name figures in the preliminary starting list for the Vuelta, published yesterday. The Boucherville athlete should know today if he's indeed selected by his team, Cervélo Test Team
"Really? You're faster thant me" said Rollin yesterday afternoon when La Presse told him he was part of the nine starters selected by his team for the 64th Vuelta, the third stage race in importance after the Tour and the Giro.
Careful, Rollin refused to get too excited about the number 68 bib assigned to him. The list is unofficial and has four possible backups for each of the 22 registered teams. Still, Cervélo Test Team told him about a possible Vuelta start. Since then, he's sleeping lightly and is "kinda stressed". The 26 year old cyclist evaluates his chances to start at "80%".
"For now, I think I'll be there" said Rollin from his home near Lucerne, Switzerland. "I'm in excellent shape and I'm counting on that right now. But you never know, nothing is confirmed. I don't pull the strings. I prefer to be disappointed rather than thinking I'll be at the start and being said no".
Rollin expects to receive a definitive answer today from his directeur sportif, Swiss Marcello Albasini. If he obtains confirmation, it will of course be "a dream come true".
"But, how can I say it, it scares me a little a three week race" he admitted candidly. "I never made a race longer thant 10 days, now it doubles with 21 race days and climbs I never tackled in racing. Right now, I prefer not to think about it".
In his first season with Cervélo (Carlors Sastre's team, winner of the 2008 Tour) Rollin scored points in the Spring Classics including a third place in the Grand Prix de l'Escaut in Belgium. Late April, he took part in the prestigious Tour de Romandie where he abandonned in the fourth stage. "Each day, I was in the cars (caravan). I had trouble moving" he told. Something was wrong. He understood only a few weeks later what affected him: mononucleosis. Forced to rest for two months, he came back to North America to regain strength. He spent a weel in Philadelphia to meet his personnal coach, Canadian Brian Walton who put him back on track.
Rollin resumed competition last month in the Tour de Delta in British Columbia. He followed by two races in Europe, Brixia Tour in Italy and the Tour of Denmark where he regained is confidence. I raced 10 days in 12. It's a good way to test myself" said the 2006 canadian champion.
"I had no personnal objective. I was there to regain form and help the team".
Rollin thinks the forced rest allowed him to keep his morale up for the end of the season while many riders are resting after a loaded summer calendar. "I'll arrive a little more rested, it's like the beginning of the season for me."
If his selection his confirmed, Rollin will be the second Quebecer to take part in the Vuelta. In 1994, Montrealer Gianni Vignaduzzi completed the race in 121th place for an italian team. Only one other Quebecer took the start of a Grand Tour. Pierre Gachon, a Paris native who came to Montreal after WW 1 took part in the 1937 Tour. He abandonned in the first stage. Mr. Gachon was admitted in the Quebec Cycling Hall of Fame in 1988.
The Vuelta will take place from August 29 to September 20. The start will be in Assen, Netherlands. Two other canadians are on the start list, Ryder Hesjedal and Svein Tuft, two members of the american Garmin Slipstream team.
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And then, his diary published later this morning on Radio-Canada's website (Radio-Canada is the french part of the CBC). Here he talks about the Vuelta, his mononucleosis and how he came back, Cavendish, Cervélo next year...
The original text is here
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Hi all
Happy times again, I resumed competition and in two weeks, I could face the biggest race of my career: the Vuelta. I've known for a few days that my team Cervélo put me on the preliminary list. 13 riders have been selected and the team must select 4. The decision will be taken Friday August 14.
It's always difficult to cut guys. I've got a vote of confidence from my directeur sportif Marcello Albasini and a few others. My performances in the Tour of Denmark helped me to get a place on this coveted list.
I resumed competition in the Brixia Tour, then the Tour of Denmark. I have to admit I was a little shocked in the first race; I had to find back my marks avec three months of rest, which is obviously more stressful. Furthermore, each day we had 10-15km climbs.
In Denmark, I was more and more confortable on the bike. I even wore the climbers jersey after the first stage, me, a sprinter! That shows the form was there. Of course I kept the jersey for only a day.
I used the Tour of Denmark, to prepare the Vuelta. At the time I wasn't on the preliminary list, but since I hadn't raced since early May, I had to have a lot of race days.
If I make it to the Vuelta, I'll probably be the only Cervélo sprinter. I'll have a lot of liberty, but let's put things straight: I'm not aiming for a stage win. I've never been a massive sprint in a Grand Tour, for me it'll be an occasion to learn.
The route is not for sprinters; there are a lot of climbs and few stages that will end in a sprint.
For Cervélo, expectations are modest. They are going in with a B team. After the Giro and the Tour, Carlos Sastre has finished his season. Thor Hushovd and Heinrich Haussler are also on vacation.
They guys did well on the Tour. Carlos didn't keep his title and finished only 17th, but he did what he could after the Giro. Carlos is a pure climber and there were only three summit finishes, that was not an advantage.
Thor was able to get the Green Jersey from Cavendish, and that's a great feat. With his stage win and the one from Heinrich, the team is happy.
Cervélo wants to keep the most part of the team for next year. They also want to give more support to Thor to be better against Cavendish and prevent him from winning 25-30 times.
You have to give credit to Columbia. They work a lot for their sprint. They know who to put at 1km, they know what rider breaks at 200m, not 300. Those are little details that make Cavendish win a lot.
One thing is sure: you can't run after all the jerseys. Astana was dedicated to Yellow; they had no sprinter in their team. At Columbia it was the opposite: they had no climber.
As for me, before the Vuelta I'll race again Tuesday in the Tour du Limousin. It'll be my first race in France this year; it'll be good to speak French.
See you soon.
