Cyclingheroes flash-news Sunday 01.04.2007

01.04.2007/ Criterium International: Pollack won opening stage, Criterium International: Haedo ok after crash, Boonen with fourth E3 Prijs Vlaanderen win in a row, Vuelta a Castilla y Leon: Ventoso with another stage win, Contador won overall , Coppi & Bartali: Riccardo Riccò won final stage, Scarponi takes overall, Dave Shields about Saul Raisin: "The story of his fight to return to pro cycling is mind boggling"

Mailbox - win a picture in poster format with Original Autograph of Michael Boogerd

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.

Please note: your letter should not be longer than 350 words. The editor choose every month "The letter of the month". The writer of the best letter in April 2007 will receive a picture in 20 X 30 CM format with original handwritten autograph of Michael Boogerd.

Saul Raisin: "Mom if I ever get back on a bike I want help people like me"

Austrian Volksbank team wants to start at the 2010 Tour de France

New: The Tour - written with a crystal ball?

New: Dave Shields about Saul Raisin: "The story of his fight to return to pro cycling is mind boggling"

New: Picture gallery: Press conference Jan Ullrich & Terra-S March 31

Criterium International: Pollack won opening stage

The first stage of the Critérium International traditionally offered a bunch sprint final. This long lived tradition held to form as the five escapees of the day, Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula) were caught by the peloton. The storm that dampened spirits then changed the look of the race. The peloton was separated into several groups when it made its way to Charleville-Mezieres. Damiano Cunego looked to take advantage of he confusion, but was rejoined by a group of 83 riders, including German sprinter Olaf Pollack (Wiesenhof-Felt) who accelerated over the final metres. It was the first win for Pollack after he signed with the German Pro-Continental Wiesenhof-Felt team. All favourites finished in the leading group.

Wiesenhof-Felt team manager Raphael Schweda said: "Finally the Gordian knot was cut and we have our first win of the season." Schweda continued by saying: "After the good results in the last couple of weeks, as we often were close to our first win, Olaf's win will give us even more self-confidence."

Olaf Pollack said: "10 kilometres from the finish line, I sensed everyone in the peloton was becoming nervous due to the rain that was falling harder and harder. Some slowed up, so there were fewer of us to race for the win. Towards the end of the stage the route was very twisting and this dangerous, I am very happy to have been able to pull this one out." Olaf is wearing yellow as well and said about tomorrows stages: "Tomorrow is another day, I’ll see if I am capable to ride with the leader’s jersey. In any case, if the weather is as difficult as it was today, we could be in for some surprises."

Results stage 1 Criterium International

1. Olaf Pollack (GER - WEI)
2 Angelo Furlan (ITA - C.A), same time
3. Mikei Gaztanaga (ESP - AGR), same time
4. Peter Wrolich (AUT - GST), same time
5. Sébstien Chavanel (FRA - FDJ), same time

Criterium International: Haedo ok after crash

Juan José Haedo suffered his first crash on the European roads during the final part of the 180-kilometer first stage of Critérium International from Sedan to Charleville-Mézières.

"Luckily he was OK, but a bit annoyed of course because he'd managed to line himself up nicely for the sprint, which was won by Olaf Pollack (Wiesenhof,)" said CSC sports director Alain Gallopin.

The Argentinean rider was in the front group ahead of the finishing sprint, when the accident occurred, but Team CSC still had both Fränk Schleck, Jens Voigt and Bobby Julich in the front group as well after a nice display of team work along the way.

"There was a break with five riders, which was allowed to go too far at the beginning, so they had a 10-minute lead. But via a joint effort from Caisse d'Epargne, Astana and ourselves we managed to reel them in ahead of a tough finish, where the peloton was totally split. Even though it was too bad, what happened to Haedo, we're happy that all our aces were up front like planned," concluded Gallopin after the stage.

Boonen with fourth E3 Prijs Vlaanderen win in a row

This Saturday riders like Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini demonstrated that they are in great shape, ahead of the big spring classics in the next few weeks. Swiss rider Cancellara took the second place in the 50th edition of the semi classic E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, which was won for the fourth time in a row by Quick Step's Tom Boonen. 23 Year old Marcus Burgahrdt (T-Mobile) was very strong, confirming his strong performance at Wednesdays Dwars Door Vlaanderen, and came in third.

"Third place is a great result for me," said a beaming Marcus Burghardt post-race. "The group of four stayed together until my attack two kilometre from the line. I found myself at the front then, but I couldn’t open a gap."

T-Mobile Team sporting director Tristan Hoffman praised Burghardt’s gutsy ride: "Marcus knew what he had to do and he attacked. Unfortunately he couldn’t get clear, but it was worth a shot and he will try again for sure," Hoffman said

Cancellara's impressive performance began with about 50 kilometers to go, when he went solo and caught up to a break with such strong profiles as Boonen, Marcus Burghardt (T-Mobile), Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel), Philippe Gilbert (Française Des Jeux) and Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas.)

A few kilometers later Stuart O'Grady attempted to do the same and Cancellara demonstrated a fantastic team spirit, when he let himself drop back slightly to help his team mate up front. However when the riders reached the finish line the group had been reduced to four - Boonen, Cancellara, Burghardt and Quinzato - and Boonen proved himself strongest. But a big moral boost for Team CSC to have three riders among the top-10 in a race, where the route is almost identical to Ronde van Vlaanderen, which is 50 kilometers longer though.

"The whole team was fantastic again today and they all pulled their weight along the way. There was on situation in particular, just as Boonen went on the attack, where Stuart had a flat and Kasper Klostergaard gave him his wheel very quickly, and Luke Roberts and Marcus Ljungqvist dropped back to help Stuart back to the peloton. The flat unfortunately meant that Stuart didn't make the decisive break, but it does make his effort to catch up to the break a few kilometers later all the more impressive," said CSC sports director Scott Sunderland after the race.

"It was a truly brilliant effort from the entire team and again everyone stuck to, what was agreed beforehand and demonstrated tremendous form ahead of Ronde van Vlaanderen next week, which should turn out to be a very exciting race," concluded the Australian CSC sports director.

Results E3 Prijs Vlaanderen 2007

1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                   4.55.36 (41,204 km/h)
2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC
3 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) T-Mobile
4 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas
5 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC                              0.42
6 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Predictor-Lotto                         0.46
7 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux
8 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com
9 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC
10 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
11 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Astana
12 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank
13 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel
14 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                            0.56
15 Murilo Fischer (Bra) Liquigas                             2.25
16 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis
17 Simone Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo
18 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Unibet.com
19 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Ag2r Prévoyance
20 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner
21 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic
22 Andy Cappelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner
23 Roberto Petito (Ita) Liquigas
24 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep-Innergetic
25 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner                             4.22

Burghardt (T-Mobile) on the Flemish cobblestones (picture: Cyclingheroes)

Vuelta a Castilla y Leon: Ventoso with another stage win, Contador won overall

Saunier Duval-Prodir's sprinter Fran Ventoso won the last stage of the 22nd Tour of Castile and León on Friday. He distinguished himself by winning his third victory out of five stages in this edition of the Spanish race, as he already had taken stages 2 and 3. On Friday, he showed his strength in the final metres of a tough stage, 162 kilometres long from El Burgo de Osma to Soria and dominated by cold weather.

Today, the race featured two categorised climbs, the last one, Alto Piqueras (Cat. 2, 50 km before the finish), saw Saunier Duval attacking Dicovery with their leader, Alberto Contador. The yellow squad worked hard to pave the way for Koldo Gil´s attack, but he came with empty hands. Once they realised he would miss the overall win, Saunier Duval changed their objectives and focused on the stage win. The yellow train neutralised the breakaway group of who had been on the front up to the final kilometre: Vallejo (Relax-GAM), Artetxe (Fuerteventura-Canarias), Brard (Caisse d´Épargne), Carlström (Liquigas), and Villegas (Orbea).

Cobo showed his superiority there and Ventoso rounded it off with his third victory this year, which was also the seventh win of his career.

Alberto Contador took his second overall win of the year after he won Paris-Nice a few weeks ago.

Team Discovery Channel was attacked by the Saunier Duval squad on the final stage. However, with a roster including powerhouses like Leipheimer, Basso, Martinez, Brajkovic and Danielson, the Team was clearly suited to control a mountain stage, and they did just that, leading Contador to the overall victory and third place on the day.

Sports Director Johan Bruyneel did not specify a team leader coming into this weeks’ race, instead looking to see which of his squad had both the fitness and motivation to take control. Bruyneel stated, "Our entire team continues to impress me this year. Although it was Contador winning here in Spain all the guys are looking great, not just those on the podium. The classics riders like Gusev and Devolder are preparing well for the coming weeks. Tom and Levi look good for Georgia and Ivan is showing good fitness as he prepares for the Giro, although he lacks a bit of top-end speed right now. Overall, all the guys are performing better than expected and I could not be happier."

Contador was pleased with his continued good form this week, saying, "I was a bit unsure of how I would feel yesterday on the climb. I worked very hard to win Paris-Nice and you never know how much you will have left in your legs. In the end, I had just enough to win. Now I think I will take a short break from racing to recover and start to prepare specifically for the Tour. I want to be my best in July."

Results stage 5 Vuelta a Castilla y Leon

1 Francisco Jose Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir    3.59.59
2 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas
3 Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Chanel
4 Jan Hruska (Cze) Relax-Gam
5 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel
6 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
7 Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
8 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Karpin-Galicia
9 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Relax-Gam
10 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC
11 Angel Vallejo (Spa) Relax-Gam
12 David Lopez (Spa) Caisse D'epargne
13 Koldo Gil (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
14 Julian Sanchez (Spa) Relax-Gam
15 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Liquigas
16 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse D'epargne
17 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Chanel
18 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank
19 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas
20 Florent Brard (Fra) Caisse D'epargne                   0.06
21 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                           0.10
22 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas
23 Manuel Lloret (Spa) Fuerteventura-Canari
24 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas
25 Manuel Vazquez (Spa) Andalucia-Cajasur                 0.13

Final General Classification

1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Chanel             15.04.15
2 Koldo Gil (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                    0.36
3 Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir               0.46
4 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                      0.48
5 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Relax-Gam                           0.55
6 David Lopez (Spa) Caisse D'epargne                      0.58
7 Jan Hruska (Cze) Relax-Gam                              1.05
8 Julian Sanchez (Spa) Relax-Gam                          1.06
9 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Liquigas                           1.13
10 Francisco Jose Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir      1.18
11 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Karpin-Galicia                 1.22
12 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Chanel                 1.28
13 Ivan Basso (Ita) Discovery Chanel                      1.41
14 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas                     1.46
15 Manuel Lloret (Spa) Fuerteventura-Canari               1.56
16 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Chanel                2.00
17 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                           2.13
18 José Azevedo (Por) Benfica                             2.14
19 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse D'epargne                2.30
20 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank
21 Angel Vallejo (Spa) Relax-Gam                          2.33
22 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                    3.13
23 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC                        3.14
24 Jose Alberto Benitez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir        3.23
25 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel                        3.24

Ventoso won three stages (picture: Sanier Duval)

Coppi & Bartali: Riccardo Riccò won final stage, Scarponi takes overall

After Robert Förster's stage win on Friday, the final stage of this years Settimana was for young Italian rider Ricardo Riccò. Riccò continued Saunier Duval´s winning streak after the 3 stage wins of his teammate Fran Ventoso in Spain. He won yesterdays 5th and final stage of the 7th Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, which took the riders over 168 kilometres from Casalgrande to Sassuolo. It was the eighth victory achieved very early in the 2007 season by the yellow team.

Riccò had won the final stage of the previous edition of the Italian race, beating Paolo Bettini, and today he won once again after a solo breakaway he put in with 8 kilometres to go, on Alto de Fazzano. On the descent, he was joined by Scarponi, but the man of Acqua & Sapone was beaten by Riccò in the final sprint. After arriving second in stages 2 and 3 of the Italian event, this has been a nice reward for Riccò´s efforts. Scarponi snatched the overall leader´s jersey from Pierfelici (Aurum Hotels), and the Saunier Duval-Prodir rider climbed up to the second place in the GC.

This is 23-year-old Riccò´s fourth victory this season, since he notched up stage wins in the Tour de San Luis and Tirreno - Adriatico, thus confirming he´s the early season big revelation in the world peloton. Today´s was the sixth win of the young Italian rider with just two years as a pro, as he was winner of the Japan Cup and the final stage of the Coppi e Bartali last year. Following the classics in northern Europe, Riccò will focus on the Giro d´Italia, in which he´ll play a key role working for teammate Gilberto Simoni. This week Gibo has proved he´s in very good shape.

Riccó said: "I´m so happy I won at last, and in my homeland! It´s a pity I couldn´t get the overall leadership. By and large, though, the Settimana Coppi e Bartali was very positive, both for me and for the squad. Now, I feel I need a break after an intense month -March has been quite demanding and left me a little tired both physically and mentally. I´ll compete in the three classics of northern Europe -Amstel, Flèche and Liège- to get ready to participate in the Giro d´Italia, where I´ll do my best to assist Simoni, who, by the way, is in great shape. I believe the Saunier Duval team are bound to excel in the Italian classic tour."

Results stage 5 Settimana Ciclista Internazionale

1. Ricardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Prodir)

2. Michaele Scarponi (Acqua & Sapone) s.t.

3. Mirco Lorenzetto (Milram) at 0:21

4. Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) s.t.

5. Alexander Efimkin (Team Barloworld) s.t.

Final General classification

1. Michele Scarponi (Acqua & Sapone)

2. Ricardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Prodir) at 0:08

3. Luca Pierfelici (Aurum Hotels) at 0:25

4. Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) at 0:34

5. Morris Possoni (Lampre-Fondital) at 0:56.

Riccardo Riccò with another win for Saunier Duval (picture: Saunier Duval-Prodir)

Dave Shields about Saul Raisin: "The story of his fight to return to pro cycling is mind boggling"

Cyclingheroes spoke with David Shields about his novel "The Tour" and the new book "Tour Of Life", a book about Saul Raisin, who is also co-author of the book.