Visiting the in-laws, enjoying the baby's first Christmas, catching up with the grandparents -- pro riders spend their holidays much the same way as the rest of us. T-Mobile shared a bit of how its international troupe spent the holidays.
In Italy, Giuseppe Guerini, 35. enjoyed his first Christmas with 4-month-old son Simone, saying, "I spend Christmas there, where my heart is: with my family!" The Italian traditions include Midnight Mass, decorated trees, and nativity scenes, as well as fish for Christmas dinner.
In Spain, newlywed Oscar Sevilla, 29, is glad to be home again after medical treatments in Germany. He's happy that wife Josephine comes from the same village he does, so that the pair will have minimal travel time while visiting her parents on Christmas Eve and his parents on Christmas Day. "I'm on the road the whole year, so it's good to be home for Christmas," he says. The Spaniards traditionally have a turkey dinner, but presents aren't exchanged until Twelfth Night on January 6.
23-year-old Bernhard Kohl puts his professional experience to good use for the holidays: "I always celebrate Christmas in 'stages'", he says. Christmas Eve midday by his father, the evening by his mother and then Christmas Day with the whole family at Grandfather's. "We sit together, talk a lot, look back at the year. A very important time for me." Austrians attend Midnight Mass -- in the countryside often arriving in horse-drawn sleds -- before seeing what presents the Christ Child has brought.
The three T-Mobile riders wished their fans Buon Natale! Feliz Navidad! and Frohe Weihnachten!
