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30.11.2006/ CSC, Discovery
and Predictor-Lotto start at Tour of California, Skil-Shimano at Tour of Qatar, Robert Hunter: "I
think there is always room for improvement"
Saul Raisin: "My ultimate goal is to race by the end of next year"
Isaac Galvez dies after crash at Sixdays in Gent
Ullrich: training in Austria and Italy
New: Magnus Backstedt: "I am hoping to be able to qualify for the 2008 Olympics on the track."
CSC, Discovery and Predictor-Lotto start at Tour of California
Three Pro-Tour teams will compete in the 2007 Tour of California scheduled
for February 18-25, 2007, it was announced by Shawn Hunter, president of AEG Sports, promoter and operator of the 650-mile,
eight-stage cycling race modeled after the Tour de France.
Discovery Cahnnel, CSC and Predictor-Lotto (the former
Davitamon-Lotto team) are the first of the expected 16 professional cycling teams to be announced for the second annual
race, which was attended by more that 1.3 million spectators in 2006. "The level of competition returning for the second
annual Amgen Tour of California rivals any race in the world and proves that cyclists and fans alike are hungry
for this caliber of racing in America," said Shawn Hunter, president of AEG Sports. "We are excited to welcome many of the
best teams in cycling back to California to compete on another world-class course."
"Our Team has always enjoyed coming to California for our training camps,
so when the Amgen Tour of California was announced last year, I did not hesitate to put it on our schedule," said Johan Bruyneel,
directeur sportif of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. "I was very impressed with the organization and the crowds on
the roads in just the first year of the race. Being an American Team, we are excited to come back again in 2007." Team Discovery
will hold their pre-season training camp in areas near Solvang, Calif. Many of the Santa Barbara county roads these teams
will use during training will be part of the official 2007 race route, which will be announced in December.
With the recent addition of Juan José
Haedo (ARG) from Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team, who won stages one and four in the 2006 Tour of California, Team CSC
continues to strengthen its roster in preparation for the season ahead. "The Amgen Tour of California is an event that complements
our style of racing – we like to ride aggressively and the course allows for that," said Bjarne Riis, directeur sportif
of Team CSC. "Last year we proved our strength in this race as the first place team overall, and we are looking forward to
another challenging race in 2007."
The former Davitamon-Lotto team, which will be renamed in Predictor
Lotto in the 2007 season, has a few strong riders with Australian Cadel Evans, Freddy Rodriguez and Chris Horner: "We are
excited to be returning to the Amgen Tour of California in 2007," said Marc Sergeant, team manager of Predictor-Lotto.
"We look forward to another exhilarating week of cycling in California in February."
Skil-Shimano at Tour of Qatar
Skil-Shimano is set to take part in the Tour of Qatar at the end of January after Rudie Kemna's team received
an invitation for the six-day race in the Gulf state for the second season in succession. Eleven Pro Tour teams (including
Rabobank) have received an invitation to the event from organisers ASO, alongside a number of pro continental teams (including
Skil-Shimano).
The Tour of Qatar is scheduled for 28 January to 2 February 2007.
Robert Hunter: "I think there is always room for improvement"
Robert Hunter signed with Barloworld for the 2007 season. In an interview
on the Barloworld team website the South African rider was asked if its exciting to race for an South-African sponsor,
Hunter said: "Yes, I'm excited; it really makes a change from the past 8 years that I have been on European teams with out
any other South African riders around. It's gonna be something different for sure."
Asked about if cycling is given enough credit in the South-African media,
Hunter said:"No, I don't think it gets the coverage it needs. It's a sport that is totally over shadowed by the bigger sports
like soccer, rugby and cricket." Hunter could not really answer the question what his best race was:"It's really difficult
to say because every-days racing is special when you're riding great and when you win, there is nothing like it," Hunter said.
Asked to describe what kind of person he is, Hunter said: "I'm a very confident
but really approachable person. On the bike I think I'm a person who is very hard on myself and people around me to get results."
But Hunter also like other things:"I like spending time with my wife Claudia and when back in South Africa we love going to
the bush for safaris. During the season to relax I read a lot of books and just chill at home."
Asked if he can still become a better rider, Hunter said:"I think there is
always room for improvement." In the 2007 season Hunter wants to peak early in the season:"For next year I'm starting out
earlier than I normally do, so I'm hoping that by February I'll be in the best condition already."
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