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18.10.2006/ Gorik Gardeyn wins Putte-Kapelle, Jan Schaffrath to T-Mobile,
Association of Professional Cyclists against code of conduct, Ivan
Basso will leave CSC, Lampre-Fondital for Japan Cup, Ullrich parts ways with Krohme, Puerto: Spanish cycling federation will
drop charges, Mayo about his move to Saunier-Duval, Rik Reinerink retires, T-Mobile
team 2007
New: Picture gallery Tour of Lombardy 2006
New: Ullrich: "character assassination campaign"
Gorik Gardeyn wins Putte-Kapellen
Gorik Gardeyn (Unibet.com) has won the Nationale
Sluitingsprijs in the Belgium/Dutch Putte-Kapellen yesterday. Gardeyn was the strongest of the lead group and beat Benny De
Schrooder (Chocolade Jacques) and Andy Capelle (Landbouwkrediet). Geert Omloop (Unibet.com) finished tenth.
It's the
eightteenth victory for the Unibet.com cycling team this year, the first one for Gardeyn this season. Kurt Van de Wouwer (Unibet.com)
rode his last race as a cyclist. The 35 year-old Belgian decided to quit professional cycling.
Jan Schaffrath to T-Mobile
Only a day after Jan Schaffrath and team Milram released a statement that DS Jan Schaffrath would leave the
team due to personal reasons, Schaffrath and T-Mobile anounced that Jan Schaffrath will join T-Mobile as an DS. Schaffrath
already took part at the team weekend in Lugano earlier this week.
Association of Professional Cyclists against code of conduct
On October 14 there was a meeting of the Association of Professional Cyclists (CPA) in Como (Italy). The CPA
protested against the code of conduct and released a stement saying the code of conduct: "showed how arbitrary, incoherent
and inapplicable it is: some riders were prosecuted as if they were delinquents ... whereas some others, being the subject
of procedures, continue to race."
Ivan Basso will leave CSC
Team CSC and Ivan Basso have decided to terminate their contract by mutual agreement.
“After
all that has happened, especially this summer, Team CSC and Ivan Basso have agreed to part ways. It has been a very difficult
decision, but both parties agree it is time to move on. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ivan for his time
with the team and for the great results he and the team have achieved together. At the same time, we wish him all the best
for the future,” said Bjarne Riis.
Meanwhile Dirk De Mol, DS at Discovery Channel fueled speculation about a tranfer of this years Gro d' Italia
winner to the US based Discovery Channel squad. De Mol told Belgian website "sporza.be": "The Italian Olympic committee want
to drop charges but we wait untill he is defently cleared". The comment of De Mol sounded very different from the complete
denial of Johan Bruyneel a few eeks ago. De Mol admitted that there have been talks but said Discovery Channel "didn't
make a concrete offer to Basso yet."
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| Ivan Basso during this years Giro d' Italia (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
Lampre-Fondital for Japan Cup
Team Lampre-Fondital will leave on Wednesday evening from Malpensa
airport to Tokyo, in order to take part in Japan Cup (October 22).
For the Italian team, guided by sport director Fabrizio
Bontempi, Marco Marzano, Ruggero Marzoli, Morris Possoni, Sylwester Szmyd and Wu Kin San (this one will reach the team in
Tokyo from Hong Kong) will start.
“In the past seasons we obtained a many victories in Japan,"
said Bontempi. "This year we could also aim to the victory with Marzano, Marzoli and Szmyd, but Possoni and Wu Kin San too
want to end the season in the best way. However, this Japanese experience will be great for sure: the fans are outstanding
and they will support Lampre-Fondital, maybe the most beloved team in Japan."
Ullrich parts ways with Krohme
According to German daily newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" Jan Ullrich part ways with Birgit
Krohme. Krohme was considered part of Ullrich's inner circle, along with his brother Stefan, a mechanic with Team T-Mobile,
and Rudy Pevenage. According to German based website "Radsport-Aktiv", there were "atmospheric troubles" between Ullrich and
Krohme in the last couple of months. The website continue their story with stating that Krohme is known as a "pretty difficult"
person. The German rider told Krohme two weeks ago that he would not extend the contract with Krohme which expires at the
end of October. Krohme was Ullrich's personal physiotherapist since 2003. Krohme worked for the T-Mobile team under Olaf Ludwig's
management and was not offered a new contract for the 2007 season by new team manager Bob Stapleton.
Puerto: Spanish cycling federation will drop charges
Italian daily sports Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the Spanish
cycling federation will anounce next week that they will drop charges against the Spanish riders that are allegedly linked
with the Puerto affair. President of the Spanish cycling federation, Eugenio Bermudez stated that his federation is verifying
the situation and will anounce a decision in the coming days. Because the Madrid court who is handling the criminal case against
Spanish doctor Fuentes ruled that the UCI and their national federations are not allowed to use court documents for disciplenary
action against allegedly implicated riders it's expected that the Spanish federation will close the case. This would mean
that riders like Koldo Gil, Joseba Beloki, Angel Vicioso, Isidro Nozal, Unai Osa, Francisco Mancebo, Ruben Plaza and Oscar
Sevilla could start again in the 2007 season.
Since the Swiss cycling federation announced earlier this week
that Swiss cycling is still waiting for more documents of the Madrid court it's expected that the Swiis won't be able
to start a disciplenary case against Jan Ullrich.
Mayo about
his move to Saunier-Duval
Iban
Mayo officially announced his new move for the 2007 season, at a press conference held on 16 October, 2006,
First, he thanked all the people who supported him for so many years both in good and bad times. After seven
years defending the Euskaltel Euskadi colours, he decided to leave the team and start a new stage in his professional career.
Iban Mayo said he hadn´t refused to sign the "ethical" code of his former team, as was said, but he decided not to renew the
contract. Iban thanked the Euskaltel Euskadi team, their staff and sponsors for the opportunity they gave him to access the
world´s top cycling scenario. He added that he´d always be deeply grateful to them.
He
added that he believed it was time to make a change, to find new motivations, and he chose Saunier Duval-Prodir to reach his
goals. His new team showed their interest and confidence in him, and Saunier Duval, the main sponsor, which has its production
plant in Vitoria and its head offices in Bilbao, made considerable effort to hire him. According to Iban Saunier Duval-Prodir
is a strong, aggressive and highly motivated team, with a winning spirit, and an incredible, congenial atmosphere.
Moreover, Iban developed a friendly relationship with the Sports Directors, Joxean Fernández Matxin and Sabino
Angoitia, who know Iban very well. He added that he believed his decision would be a good one for him, his family, and cycling
fans as well.
Rik
Reinerink retires
Rik
Reinerink (Skil-Shimano) told Dutch daily newspaper "Twentse Courant Tubantia" that he will retire. The 33 year old Dutch
rider wasn't offered a new contract at Skil-Shimano and told the Dutch newspaper that he than decided to retire. Reinerinkstated
that it was a sever blow for him but admitted that he didn't adchieve his goals in the past season. Reinerink won a stage
in the Tour of the Netherlands and the Ster Electro-Tour.
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| Rik Reinerink (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
T-Mobile team 2007
The 2007 season has already started for the T-Mobile Team. Just a few hours after the last race of 2006,
a radically new T-Mobile Team met for the first time in Lugano, Switzerland, General manager Bob Stapleton and head of sports
management Rolf Aldag emphasized mutual trust, respect, and a personal commitment to success as key to the success of the
team in 2007.
The 2007 season has already started for the T-Mobile Team. Just a few hours after the last
race of 2006, a radically new T-Mobile Team met for the first time in Lugano, Switzerland, General manager Bob Stapleton and
head of sports management Rolf Aldag emphasized mutual trust, respect, and a personal commitment to success as key to the
success of the team in 2007. Also present was Jan Schaffrath; the former T-Mobile rider, who returns to the Bonn-based team
to further support the management team.
First priority for the T-Mobile Team was to meet the many new
faces in the dramatically different team. The team welcomed 13 new riders and six new managers as well as new staff members
for the coming season. Also on the program were technical and medical tests, review of training and race programs with team
management, and a series of workshops in nutrition, core new training methods, and new equipment. Furthermore, the official
team language is English, in order to improve and optimize communication in a team comprised of riders from 14 different countries.
The riders were also introduced to a selection of independent experts who will support T-Mobile Team
activities going forward: Prof. Dr. Walter Schmidt from the University of Bayreuth (blood volume tests), nutritionist Beate
Pfeiffer, sports scientist Sebastian Weber (training) as well as Dirk Friel and Gear Fisher (TrainingPeaks software).
„This
get-together moved us closer to our goal of building a team of character“, says Rolf Aldag. In intensive discussions
the team management emphasized the importance of building the power of „Die Mannschaft“ going forward. „’Die
Mannschaft’, these are two powerful words that we need to build power in,“ said Bob Stapleton in his welcoming
address to the team on Saturday evening, “only through a commitment to personal improvement, mutual respect and trust,
and confidence in every member of the team, staff and management, can we become something special” . From the team came
an uncompromised commitment to transparency and the new team guidelines. Stapleton: “We believe in clean and fair sport,
and want to be a team that fans, like, believe in, and ultimately trust”.
Rolf Aldag also emphasised
not losing sight of the fun factor, before joining the personnel on a climbing course on Sunday. „Positive thinking,
group motivation and effective internal communication to solve problems together: these are all crucial to setting a cycling
team on the road to success.” said Aldag.
„The spirit was excellent. We have an outstanding
mix of young and experienced riders, who were all open, interacted well and had a lot of fun together,“ said Linus Gerdemann,
sharing his first impressions from the get-together.
The Team also welcomed trusted veteran Jan Schaffrath
to the management team. „Jan can help us enormously with national and international talent scouting. He fits perfectly
into our team, is very well connected in the sport and can draw on a many years of cycling experience. I have huge confidence
in him,“ says Aldag, who is delighted to link-up again with the 35-year-old Berlin native, who raced in magenta from
1997 to 2005. Schaffrath’s most recent post was as a sporting director for Team Milram.
A first
training camp is scheduled for November this year, to further work with new riders and help the team grow together, in a relaxed
atmosphere. Fifteen riders have signed up for the camp on the island of Lanzarote, where they will ride together for the first
time and follow general fitness programs. Supporting the athletes at the eight-day camp will be sports scientist Sebastian
Weber, who will coordinate individual athletic programs for team members, physiotherapist Armin Brucker, as well as the sport
directors.
From January 8th the complete team will regroup for the traditional training camp at the Club
Robinson „Cala Serena“ on Mallorca. „Our goal is get the season off to a competitive and winning start,“
says Rolf Aldag, who has plans for additional camps ahead of important races. The 2007 T-Mobile Team will be officially presented
on January 13 on Mallorca.
The 2007 T-Mobile Team:
Michael
Barry (30/Canada), Eric Baumann (26/Germany), Lorenzo Bernucci (27/Italy), Marcus Burghardt (23/Germany), Mark Cavendish (21/Great
Britain), Gerald Ciolek (20/Germany), Scott Davis (27/Australia), Bernhard Eisel (25/Austria), Linus Gerdemann (24/Germany),
Bert Grabsch (30/Germany), André Greipel (24/Germany), Giuseppe Guerini (36/Italy), Roger Hammond (31/Great Britain), Adam
Hansen (25/Australia), Greg Henderson (30/New Zealand), Serhiy Honchar (36/Ukraine), Kim Kirchen (28/Luxembourg), Andreas
Klier (30/Germany), Servais Knaven (35/Netherlands), André Korff (33/Germany), Axel Merckx (34/Belgium), Aaron Olsen (28/USA),
Jacob Piil (33/Denmark), Marco Pinotti (30/Italy), Frantisek Rabon (23/Czech), Michael Rogers (26/Australia), Stephan Schreck
(28/Germany), Patrik Sinkewitz (25/Germany) and Thomas Ziegler (25/Germany).
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| Linus Gerdemann stays with T-Mobile (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
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