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16.03.2007/ Paris-Nice: Contador takes fourth stage, Rebellin grabs yellow jersey, Tirreno-Adriatico: Arekeev
won second stage, Volta ao Santarem: Benitez won first stage, Marichal abandoned Paris-Nice after 10 year old doping charges
Mailbox - win a nice surprise with Original Autograph of Jan Ullrich
Letterbox: You can send your letters with ideas, comments and other things you would like to let us and
our readers to know to: letters@cyclingheroes.de . Some of the letters will be published on our website. We can only publish letters with your full name, hometown
and country.
The editor choose every month "The letter of the month". The writer of the best letter in March 2007
will receive a nice surprise with original handwritten autograph of Jan Ullrich.
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Jörg Jaksche: no team and without investigation
Special coverage Jan Ullrich retires
Will Puerto be archived?
Cyclingheroes Mailbox March 12
Paris-Nice: Contador takes fourth stage, Rebellin grabs yellow jersey
Alberto Contador showed he had come of age at 24 when he won the toughest stage in this year’s Paris-Nice
at the top of the Montee Laurent Jalabert in Mende. Italy’s Davide Rebellin, who was second behind the Spaniard at the
end of the 169.5-kms 4th stage, took the race leader’s yellow jersey, but Contador, Discovery Channel’s new recruit,
was the most impressive rider on the day, surging in the final kilometre for one of his best victories so far. Contador has
for long been considered as a great hope. He has now matured and the final weekend of this Paris-Nice looks especially exciting
with only six seconds between the two leaders.
The Discovery team worked hard for Contador and the young rider was really happy with his new team: "I’m
really glad with the win. I felt super today in the last climb but I must pay homage to the whole of the Discovery Channel
team, who worked hard all day. They did an amazing job. Now we’ll see what happens. It’s far from finished, especially
as we have two leaders in the team, myself and Levi Leipheimer," Contaodor said.
"It was a nice day, a nice race today," said Sports Director Viatcheslav Ekimov after the race.
"The team was great. I cannot signal out one rider today, they all did a great job. There are three more stages," "Eki"
continued. "We are not done yet."
Fränk Schleck came in sixth and told reporters: "Everything went
according to plan until about 300 meters before the end, where I couldn't quite keep up with the other five guys in the front.
The team had worked hard for me and lined me up perfectly, so I had hoped to be able to get a bit closer to the victory, but
I just didn't have anything left to give at the end," said Schleck. But Schleck is not the kind of guy who gives up easily:
"We have a strong and diverse team and we're able to challenge in so many ways, so we still have some moves left for the next
few days. This race is far from over yet," determined Fränk Schleck.
Results stage 4 Paris-Nice
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Channel
4.07.26 (41.101 km/h)
2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
0.02
3 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
0.12
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
0.13
5 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
0.17
6 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
0.28
7 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française Des Jeux
0.33
8 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel
9 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux
10 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
0.40
11 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
12 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
0.43
13 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis
14 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval-Prodir
0.45
15 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
0.51
16 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana
0.53
17 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole
0.54
18 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
0.56
19 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux
20 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
21 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
22 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
23 Iban Mayo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
24 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
25 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre-Fondital
General Classification after stage 4
1 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
17.40.34
2 Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Channel
0.06
3 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
0.23
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
0.31
5 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française Des Jeux
0.32
6 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
0.35
7 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval-Prodir
0.42
8 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
9 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
0.43
10 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
0.46
11 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
0.48
12 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis
0.49
13 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel
0.50
14 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux
0.51
15 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
0.54
16 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
0.55
17 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
0.58
18 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
1.03
19 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
1.05
20 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre-Fondital
1.06
21 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana
1.13
22 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux
1.15
23 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole
1.16
24 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
1.17
25 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
1.20
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| Davide Rebellin grabbed the yellow jersey (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
Tirreno-Adriatico: Arekeev won second stage
The tactical play among the sprinter teams left a four-man break with the necessary space to last all the way home in the
202-kilometer second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico from Civitacecchia to Marsciano.
The four riders escaped and worked
up a substantial lead. Later Aleksandr Arekeev (Acqua&Sapone) escaped from the group and won both the stage and the leader's
jersey.
”No one challenged the four riders and in the end it was too late for the pursuing teams to do anything.
Apparently it wasn't possible to agree on a united effort - at one point we put four of our guys up front, but it was no use.
We worked hard to protect our own interests in the general classification, but the sprinter teams weren't prepared to make
any effort whatsoever to reel in the break. At least we minimized our time loss so the race is still open and nothing's decided
yet,” said CSC sports director Scott Sunderland, who on a positive note also informed that Fabian Cancellara is feeling
better and seems to be on the way to recovery from his illness.
”I'm still not one hundred percent, but I didn't
have a fever this morning so of course I wanted to race today. When the stage was over I felt like I'd just done a stage in
Tour de France, so I'm definitely still a bit weak. But this race is important for me as preparation for the classics, so
I'd really like to do it and hopefully come out feeling fairly ok,” said Fabian Cancellara.
Rabobank lost Grischa Niermann, who had suffered the worst injuries during the crash on Wednesday. He returned back
to Germany and will have his sore and painful ankle examined. The other five Rabo riders that were involved in the
crash complained about stiff muscles, but could, according to sports director Erik Breukink, still "ride well."
Alexander Arekejew starts as overall leader into the third stage on Friday, which leads from Marsciano to Macerata ober
231 kilometers. With a gap of 32 second Daniele Contrini followes second before Sven Krauss (+ 35).
Results stage 2 Tirreno-Adriatico
1 Alexandr Arekeev (Rus) Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo 4.51.41
2 Daniele Contrini (Ita) Tinkoff
Credit Systems 0.29
3 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner
4 Fortunato Baliani (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 0.31
5 Bernhard
Eisel (Aut) T-Mobile
0.54
6 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole
7 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
8 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner
9 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC
10 Loyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2r Prévoyance
11 Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery Channel
12 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
13 Alexei Markov (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne
14 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare
15 Renaud
Dion (Fra) Ag2r Prévoyance
16 Koldo Fernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
17 René Haselbacher (Aut) Astana
18 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems
19 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi
20 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC
21 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
22 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
23 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems
24 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank
25 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram
General Classification after stage 2
1 Alexandr Arekeev (Rus) Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo 9.25.52
2 Daniele Contrini (Ita) Tinkoff
Credit Systems 0.32
3 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner
0.35
4 Fortunato Baliani (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 0.42
5 Robbie
McEwen (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
0.57
6 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank
1.01
7 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole
1.03
8 Beñat Albizuri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
1.04
9 Matteo Priamo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare
1.05
10 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) T-Mobile
1.07
11 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC
12 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner
13 Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery Channel
14 Loyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2r Prévoyance
15 Alexei Markov (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne
16 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
17 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram
18 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare
19 Renaud
Dion (Fra) Ag2r Prévoyance
20 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
21 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
22 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems
23 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi
24 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Ag2r Prévoyance
25 Koldo Fernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
Volta ao Santarem: Benitez won first stage
The Portuguese Javier Benitez (Benfica) won Thursday's opening stage of the 2nd Volta ao Santarem. Barloworld's
Robert Hunter sprinted to second place in the bunch sprint after the 206,5 km stage from Fatima to Torres Novas. It was the
ninth time in the running season Team Barloworld is getting the second place. "Up to now we also won five races," team
manager Claudio Corti said. And we are quite satisfied. Also in this first Portuguese stage the whole team worked well.
Hunter probably missed a good chance, but I'm sure we will have further ones in the next days."
Marichal abandoned Paris-Nice after 10 year old doping charges
FD Jeux rider Thierry Marichal abandoned Paris-Nice after he heard that he was on the frontpage of Belgian
newspapers because of his role in the 10 year old Lotto doping case.
According to German website radsportnews.com, Marichal is charged for dealing with the so-called "Pot Belge",
a mixture of amphetamines and heroin. The 33 year old Belgian rider road from 1998 until 2004 for the Belgian Lotto squad.
Marichal told a Wallonnian journalist: "I really don't know what happens to me, " Marichal said.
His current team mannager, Marc Madiot told sportwereld.be: "He wasn't able to race."
Madiot continued by saying: "He had spoken with his mother and his wife. They were both in a state of shock. I hope he will
return fast. What happened 10 years ago, is not of my concern. I absolutly don't want to judge him. I signed him from Cofidis
for the classics after Philippe Gilbert asked me. I know Thierry as an honest, descent man. I did not have doubts about him
for a single second. After 1998 the world of cycling realized that we have to do it different. Riders, organisers, team manager.
We try to get out of this but now the court of Doornik comes with something from the past. We should not give up because of
this event. That's exactly the paradox: They dig up something from 10 years ago while the Spanish court files the Operacion
Puerto which is much worse and is only from last year, just like that."
Madiot did not say why Puerto was much worse in his opinion. The FD Jeux manager also signed the much critisized
code of conduct or (un)ethical code, which says that a rider who is under suspicion in a doping case has to be suspended
by his team.
Philippe Gilbert told sportwereld.be: "I find it a pity for Thierry Marichal. It was as if he got a concrete
block on his head. He didn't expect this, he knew nothing. We did not talk a lot. I hope he will recover fast from this mental
blow."
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme also reacted on Marichals case and said: "I guess that if you
look for mistakes among all people you will have succes on two out of three."
In the Belgian daily newspaper La Dernière Heure a chemist, who is also charged, admits that he delivered
the clenbuterol wherewith Abdoejaparov was tested positive in the 1997 Tour de France. The chemist told La Dernère Heure
that he delivered steroids, testosteron and growth hormones to Jean-Luc Vandenbrouckes Lotto squad during two seasons.
The chemist said: "I was convinced that everything was being applied under the control of the team doctor."
Jean-Luc vandenbroucke, Lotto team manager during the years of the doping case, said: "At that
time a soigneur of our team must have bought a forbidden substance, cortisone. The invoice came to me and because I was out
of the country my wife paid it. In good faith because we have no bad payment practices. I will wait how this case develops."
We reported yesterday that 19 people are charged, we have to rectify that as we found out that only
12 people are being charged. Seven people cannot be charged anymore as the offenses they were accused of are time-barred.
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