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21.02.2007/ Tour of California: Haedo's first victory for CSC, Tour of
Algarve: First race of the season for Klöden, Van Heeswijk won stage 3 Ruta Del Sol, ASO Press release : ASO
stands by its position, Ullrich anounced Press conference
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Looking back in anger
A Day in the Life of a Soigneur
Ullrich with Klöden and Kessler at Mallorca
Tour of California: Haedo's first victory for CSC
Following a long, hard day of racing as nearly 150 elite cyclists competing in the 2007 Tour of California
traveled from Santa Rosa to Sacramento, Team CSC sprinter J.J. Haedo (ARG) claimed today's stage victory in front of continuing
record crowds that have reached 620,000 over the first three days of racing, with five left to go. Discovery Channel's Levi
Leipheimer from Santa Rosa (where today's stage began) continues to wear the Leaders Jersey following the finish in front
of the state capitol building before thousands of fans, including many legislators who left their offices to witness the race's
conclusion, as well as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who participated in the official post-race ceremonies.
"The
Amgen Tour of California showcases the state in the best possible way. We have riders racing from San Francisco to Long Beach.
We have the most beautiful places in the world," declared Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the victory stage after the race,
where he helped present leader jerseys. "We're going to do this year, after year, after year because this is a great event."
The
top-3 overall times continue to be held by American cyclists, with the second- and third-place general classification cyclists
after today closely trailing Leipheimer, including Team Slipstream Powered by Chipotle's first-year pro Jason Donald and Priority
Health Cycling Team Presented by Bissell's Ben Jacques-Maynes respectively.
Team CSC's J.J. Haedo (ARG), used the Amgen
Tour of California to take another step up the international ladder today.
Two sprint successes that led to two stage
wins in the Tour of California last year put him in the international spotlight, and he was picked up by Team CSC. Competing
with Team CSC today against an even stronger field , Haedo claimed his first stage win by beating renowned Credit Agricole
sprinter Thor Husvd (NOR), who finished third in the stage just inches behind Liquigas' Luca Paolini (ITA). Approaching the
finish line, Haedo was more than four bike lengths clear of his rivals – a distant win in the world of road sprinting.
“We
had a hard day yesterday and put everything into today for the win," explained Haedo in the press conference. "I’m sure
tomorrow everyone is going to make an even bigger effort to bring me to the line. It’s a good thing to win a race here
because it gives the team confidence in me."
"I'm proud to have secured our team this beautiful victory and I would like to dedicate it to the two riders
who crashed in yesterday's stage; David Zabriskie and Karsten Kroon. It was a tough day for us, following the crashes, but
that just makes it even more satisfying to be able to come out on top the day after," said the Argentinean rider after his
victory.
It was Jens Voigt, Bobby Julich and Stuart O'Grady who made sure Haedo was extremely well positioned for
the sprint, which he won by a solid margin of 5-6 meters.
"I couldn't have been in a better position during the final
stretch, so I more or less just had to keep up," said a modest Haedo, who continued: "From day one it's been a positive experience
being on this team, so it was nice to be able to give something back to the team."
The victory came after a fairly
easy stage for Team CSC, as other teams made sure to neutralize the break aways.
"We followed our tactics perfectly.
In the end we moved forward, trying to keep a high pace and our riders up front, and it was nice to see “JJ”,
who was in a league of his own in the sprint, which he really deserved to win," said sports director Kim Andersen.
Karsten
Kroon was able to finish the stage despite still being sore after yesterday's crash.
Levi Leipheimer
(Discovery Channel) finished in the pack and retained his Leaders Jersey after a hilly 155.8-mile (186.4km) stage, raced
at an average speed of 24.8 mph. “I am taking it day by day. That’s all we can do because there are a lot of very
good riders out there who are just waiting in the wings, and our team has had to do a lot of work, ” said Leipheimer.
"But it’s worth it because we get to lead the Amgen Tour of California, and I get to wear the yellow jersey. But we’ll
see because tomorrow’s a decisive stage (because of the notorious Sierra Road climb approaching San Jose)." Local favorite
Michael Sayers, a Sacramento cyclist for newly formed BMC Racing, finished last today following a minor crash at the start
of the finishing circuits.
"I just want to thank Sacramento for having the race here… This is a great day for
me and for bike racing," said an emotional Sayers at the press conference. "Sacramento is a good cycling town, and I always
knew this town would be supportive of cycling. I knew that everyone would turn out in tremendous numbers, and they made us
proud today."
The race was marked by a long breakaway of more than 80 miles that included only three riders: Credit
Agricole's Christoph Laurent (FRA), the Irish national champion David McCann (Colavita-Sutter Homes), and Priority Health's
Omer Kem, 24, of Salem, Oregon.
Laurent was the main protagonist, taking two King of the Mountains climbs, and both
sprints the group encountered along the way. However, soon after initiating the breakaway, on the formidable Category 2 climb
of Trinity Grade, the Frenchman realized that the breakaway would likely not succeed.
Laurent announced himself as
a contender for the King of the Mountain jersey, saying that the battle for the coveted California Travel and Tourism ‘sunshine’
jersey has just begun.
“This was a really beautiful stage today, and there were so many cheering fans out watching
the race in every small town and village. When I was on the Trinity Grade climb, it felt like I was in the Tour de France!,”
said Laurent.
In the King of the Mountain Classification there was no leadership change, with Team Slipstream's Thomas
Peterson of North Bend, Wash., maintaining a three-point lead over Laurent and Quick Step-Innergetic's Jurgen Van de Walle
(BEL).
In the Sprint Classification there was no leadership change, with Discovery Channel Pro's Allan Davis (AUS),
still on top.
In the Best Young Rider Classification there was no leadership change, with Team Slipstream's Taylor
Tolleson (USA), of Pacific Grove, Calif., holding the lead.
Results stage 2 Tour of California
1 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC
4.40.39
2 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas
3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole
4 Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery Channel
5 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-mobile
6 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
7 Greg Henderson (NZl) T-mobile
8 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota United Pro
9 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
10 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step
General classification after stage 2
1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel 9.02.47
2 Jason Donald (USA)
Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 0.01
3
Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 0.05
4
Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net Presented By Maxxis
5 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
6 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC
0.06
7 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel
8 Adam Hansen (Aus) T-mobile
9 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank
0.07
10 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
0.08
11 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Health Net Presented By Maxxis
0.09
12 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-mobile
13 Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery Channel
14 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
0.10
15 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
16 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC
17 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel
18 Timothy Johnson (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis
0.12
19 Taylor Tolleson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle
0.13
20 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
21 Veleriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
22 Karl Menzies (Aus) Health Net Presented By Maxxis
23 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC
0.14
24 Ivan Basso (Ita) Discovery Channel
25 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Toyota United Pro
Tour of Algarve: First race of the season for Klöden
The Tour of Algarve in Portugal (from february 21st untill
the 25th) will be the first race of the season for Andreas Klöden and Matthias Kessler, the Germans on the Astana
Cycling Team. On this occasion, they will be supported by riders who have already made a name for themselves in the first
competitions of the season, including the Mallorca Challenge, such as the Spaniard Antonio Colom, the Russian Gennady Mikhailov,
and the Swiss Gregory Rast. The Austrian René Haselbacher, who obtained a fourth place on the sixth leg of the Qatar Tour,
will also be part of the lineup.
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| Andreas Klöden will start at the Tour of Algarve today (picture copyright : Tim de Waele) |
Van Heeswijk won stage 3 Ruta Del Sol
Dutch rider Max Van Heeswijk won Stage three of Ruta del Sol. The stage started at La Guardia de Jaén and
the finish was at Jaén, after a distance of 170.6 km.
The hard parts of the stage were concentrated in the first
55 km, and the finish was slightly uphill.
Robbie McEwen had obviously a chance, but the last kilometres were a bit
too hard. Rabobank had a great day with a double victory of Holland's Max Van Heeswijk (Rabobank) ahead of Oscar Freire.
Dario
Cioni's jersey, is still overall leader, followed by Freire one second behind.
Results stage 3 Ruta Del Sol
1. Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Rabobank
2. Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank
3. Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Caisse
d'Epargne
4. Alexander Khatuntshev (Rus) Unibet.com
5. Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval
General classification after stage 3
1. Dario Cioni (Ita) Predictor-Lotto
2. Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank at 1"
3. Francisco Ventoso
(Spa) Saunier Duval
4. Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
5. Anton Luengo (Spa) Euskatel-Euskadi
ASO Press release : ASO stands by its position
As reported talks about the Pro-Tour between ASO and UCI collapsed. After we published the UCI press release yesterday, we publish the ASO press release today:
With three weeks to go before ''Paris-Nice'', Patrice Clerc, President of A.S.O. and Pat McQuaid, President
of the UCI have seen each other.
During this meeting that took place yesterday, the President of the UCI confirmed that
the race would take place outside of the sporting frame of the UCI if A.S.O. refused to join the ''UCI Pro-Tour'' circuit,
insisting on his will to impose this closed circuit with an economical vocation that A.S.O., as well as the organisers of
the Giro and the Vuelta legitimately refuse to take part in since its creation.
Taking the position of the UCI into consideration and seeing the threat that is weighing on the organisation
of the race, A.S.O. finds itself in the obligation of taking all the necessary measures allowing to safeguard an event that
has a leading role in international cycling's heritage, and confirms that ''Paris-Nice'' will take place as planned from the
11th to the 18th of March 2007.
In these exceptional circumstances, and wanting to guarantee the integrity and credibility of the event, A.S.O.
will organise the race according to the French law and has therefore solicited the French Cyling Federation (FFC) in order
to establish an agreement insuring in particular the respect of the technical regulation.
During these discussions, the President of A.S.O. once again asked for a meeting to be organised with all
the main actors of professional cycling. It is indeed, according to him, the only way to consider a solution to this serious
crisis born from a bad reform that the UCI has wanted to assess despite a necessary consensus.
A.S.O. deeply regrets that
its demand has been turned down by the President of the UCI who intends to make of A.S.O. the only responsible of this crisis,
while already in June 2006, the UCI had reduced to nothing the efforts of a work group that had yet found a common agreement
in which it had contributed.
Ullrich anounced Press conference
Jan Ullrich anounced that he will hold a press conference on Monday February 26 at the German
city of Hamburg. Cyclingheroes received an invitation for the press conference on Tuesday afternoon,
in which it was said that Ullrich "will discuss the past and will give pleasant news about his professional future."
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| Jan Ullrich (picture: Citypress) |
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