|
22.04.2007/ Tour de Georgia: Fast Freddy outsprinted J. J. Haedo!
Giro d'ambruzzo:Gianluca Coletta takes stage three, Jörg Jaksche "Gerolsteiner has two sport directors who were caught", Will
so called Puerto riders start at the Tour?
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.
|
Henk Vogels: "Nice to get back in the winners circle"
O'Grady becomes first Aussie to win Paris-Roubaix
Picture gallery Paris-Roubaix, April 15, 2007, 5 pages
New Henk Vogels Tour de Georgia riders diary: stage 5 & 6
New: Mancebo, Sevilla & Perez: "We are cyclists with heart and soul"
Tour de Georgia: Fast Freddy outsprinted J. J. Haedo!
Top sprinters "Fast" Freddy Rodriguez
(USA) of Predictor-Lotto and Juan Jose Haedo (ARG) of Team CSC led the 108-man field sprint for a thrilling photo finish at
Stone Mountain Park today. Rodriguez nosed past Haedo for his fourth Tour de Georgia stage win, becoming the all-time
leader in stage wins in the five year history of the Tour de Georgia (Stages 3 and 4 in 2003, Stage 4 in 2006). Reigning
USA Cycling Professional Road Race champion George Hincapie of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team finished third.
"I saw 200m to go and I went and
I just wound up the speed. And I had really good legs and I was able to hold off Haedo by a wheel," said Rodriguez of the
closely-contested finish.
The standings in the General Classification
will remain unchanged, with 23-year-old Janez Brajkovic (SLO) of Discovery Channel holding a 12-second lead over American
Christian VandeVelde of Team CSC. Prodir-Saunier Duval's David Canada Gracia remains in third place, three minutes and four
seconds back.
Stage Six began at 12:00
noon from Lake
Lanier Islands, a 1,100 acre resort north
of Atlanta. Maxxis Sprint lines were contested for points
and prize money in Buford and Social Circle, before
roaring crowds greeted the peloton at the finish in Stone Mountain
Park.
Riders from Team CSC and
Toyota-United Pro Cycling team led the field for the majority of the race. A group of three riders built as much as a six-minute
gap, but were caught on the final lap in Stone Mountain Park. Team CSC worked to position Haedo for a sprint win, but came just short. Rodriguez,
in contrast, didn't appear to be a factor in the race, but was able to sneak up on the field by picking a spot that gave him
a clear path on the final straightaway.
"I saw the circuit and
I saw the hills and being a lighter sprinter it suited me. I came over the top of the hill with third wheel behind George
(Hincapie)," Rodriguez added. "I think the guys on the back quit making an effort to get back on in the last corner and I
basically just coasted to about 200 meters and then just spun it out."
Haedo will take over on
Sunday as the Maxxis Sprint Leader. For his efforts in the three-man breakaway, Maarten Wynants (BEL) of Quick Step-Innergetic
captured the Dent Wizard Most Aggressive Rider jersey. Canadian Ryder Hesjedal of Health Net presented by Maxxis will hold
on to the United Community Bank King of the Mountain Leader jersey, and Belgian Kevin Seeldrayers of Quick Step-Innergetic
will remain as the GE Energy Best Young Rider.
The 2007 Tour
de Georgia will hold its seventh and final stage Sunday in Atlanta
beginning at 1:00 p.m. This is second time the Tour de Georgia has visited Atlanta,
returning from 2003 to Centennial Olympic Park as both the start and finish line. and the first time the race has contained
a seventh stage. The nine-lap circuit course will cover 66.8 miles/ 107.5 km and send riders through downtown Atlanta, surrounding historic neighborhoods, and the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology.
Festivities for thousands of race fans will stretch from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Centennial Olympic Park with Autograph
Alley, Live Healthy Expo and the post-race Awards Ceremony. Pro cyclists are expected to complete the course between
3:20 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Results stage 6 Tour de Georgia 2007
1 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Predictor-Lotto
4.04.00
2 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC
3 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel
4 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval - Prodir
5 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota-United
6 Alessandro Proni (Ita) Quick Step - Innergetic
7 Karl Menzies (Aus) Health Net
8 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Quick Step - Innergetic
9 Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita/Sutter Home
10 Valery Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance
11 Richard England
(Aus) Priority Health
12 Janez Brajkovic (Slo)
Discovery Channel
13 Cesar Augusto Grajales (Col) Jittery Joe's
14 Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems
15 Evan Elken (USA) Jittery Joe's
16 Jason Donald (USA) Team Slipstream
17 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems
18 Daniele Contrini (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems
19 Charles Dionne (Can) Colavita/Sutter
20 Sheldon Deeny (USA) USA National Development
21 Tommy Nankervis (Aus) Jittery Joe's
22 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel
23 Geert Steurs (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
24 Neil Shirley (USA) Jittery Joe's
25 Cody Stevenson (Aus) Jittery Joe's
General Classification after stage 6
1 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel 23.01.03
2 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC
0.12
3 David Canada Gracia (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
3.04
4 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval - Prodir
3.06
5 Kevin Seeldrayers (Bel) Quick Step - Innergetic
4.22
6 Scott Nydam (USA) BMC Racing Team
5.35
7 Jeffry Louder (USA) Health Net
6.00
8 Timothy Johnson (USA) Health Net 6.59
9 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream
10.08
10 Ivan Santaromita (Swi) Quick Step - Innergetic
12.15
11 Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home
12.26
12 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel 24.48
13 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel
26.57
14 Nathan O'neill (Aus) Health Net 27.15
15 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC
28.21
16 Anthony Colby (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home
28.55
17 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Health Net 29.09
18 Danny Pate (USA) Team Slipstream
29.55
19 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir
30.00
20 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 30.13
21 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC
30.37
22 Brian Vandborg (Den) Discovery Channel 30.49
23 Alexandre Moos (Swi) BMC Racing Team
30.50
24 Hubert Schwab (Swi) Quick Step - Innergetic
31.30
25 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance 31.35
During the Tour de Georgia Cyclingheroes
will publish a riders diary of Henk Vogels. Today you can read the fifth part, about stage 5 and 6: Henk Vogels Tour de Georgia riders diary: stage 5 & 6
|
| No luck in Georgia for JJ Haedo - like last month in Cologn... (Picture: Kathleen Poulos) |
Gianluca Coletta
takes stage three
Gianluca Coletta (Cinelli - Endeka - OPD) won stage three
of the Giro d'Ambruzzo yesterday. Coletta had a lead of 14 seconds on the peloton. Before the start of stage 3 the UCI took
blood samples of two riders of each team, except Tinkoff which had to give blood samples of all remaining three riders
after Ivan Rovny abonded thre race during stage 1. Luca Ascani is still leading the overall.
Jörg Jaksche "Gerolsteiner has two sport directors who were caught"
German rider Jörg Jaksche signed with Tinkoff last week and the Giro d'Ambruzzo is his first race after
the 2006 edition of the Tour de Suisse. Jaksche is currently 1'32" behind race leader Luca Ascani at the Giro d'Ambruzzo
overall which isn't to bad after a pause of 10 months. Speaking with Austrian website sport1.at Jaksche said about
signing with Tinkoff: "The inquiri came for two weeks because they needed a rider. The negotiations were finished
very fast and now I am back in the saddle again. Not very succesfull at the moment but I am riding."
Jaksche is not affraid for the the bad reputation of Tinkoff: "That's just hypocrisy," Jaksche said.
"Why always Tinkoff? Gerolsteiner has two sport directors who were caught, and numerous riders who have something dirty to
hide. Certain people make it easy for themselves, in that they simply forget the past."
Jaksche does not think he has anything to fear from further steps in the Puerto affair: "I have done everything
that the UCI has asked, " the former winner of Paris-Nice said. "I was even the only rider who declared himself ready to give
a voluntary DNA sample. But everything is very unclear. Who knows, what will happen. I have the impression that something
has to happen, because certain people have leaned too far out the window."
Jaksche belives Ivan Basso will be allowed to start at this years Tour de France: "He will definitely
ride. His sponsors will make sure of that. Nike is Basso's main personal sponsor and an official partner of the Tour. OLN
(which is called Versus now) belongs to Discovery Channel, and as far as I know, has bought the US TV rights to the Tour for
the next four years. So theoretically speaking, Basso won't have any problem in France."
The 30 year old rider who lives in Kitzbühl, Austria and therefore is racing with an Austrian license
again also spoke about Jan Ullrich: "I'm sorry that Ullrich has been so massacred. It's really awful. I don't believe that
he cheated. I have information from every possible side, there are many rumours going around, all concerning Jan's innocence.
They sound plausible. It was never pooved that he cheated."
Jaksche is convinced that there are no blood bags found with his blood in it during the Fuentes
raid at May 23, 2006: "Why else would I agree to a DNA test? If I didn't have a clear conscience, then I would never have
offered the comparison, rather I would have tried to stop it. I am ready for it at any time. As soon as the UCI has the documents
out of Spain, it will happen."
Jaksche wants to start at this years Giro d'Italia and hopes to show something already at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
|
| Jörg Jaksche & Ambruzzo race leader Luca Ascani (picture: www.giroambruzzo.it) |
Will so called Puerto riders start at the Tour?
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme want the teams not to select any rider, who was mentioned in
the Fuentes case for this years edition of the Tour de France. Prudhomme made his remarks in an interview with French daily
sports L'Equipe. L'Equipe is also part of the ASO company which also the organizer of the Tour de France.
Prudhomme already talked with the French, Astana and the German Pro-Tour teams on the eveining before
Paris-Roubaix. These are the teams that earlier tried to throw Discovery Channel out of the IPCT after the US team signed
Ivan Basso. Prudhomme wants to speak with all Pro-Tour managers on Tuesday in Charleroi saying : "We can argue about
many things but not about the fight against doping. The whole cycling family has to handle this together."
Prudhomme hopes the teams will suspend their riders themselves, like they did in 2006. Some sources say
Prudhomme is affraid for possible law suits. Danilo Di Luca was not allowed to start at the 2003 Tour de France
and is still in a legal battle against ASO because of that suspension [The case against Di Luca was filed later so could have
started].
IPCT president Patrick Lefvere is not willing to do that. Lefevere told Belgian daily sports sportwereld.be:
"Not we alone. We were in Paris in November, together with UCI official Middag. Six months later we stil don't have an answer."
Lefevere continues by saying: "We wanted to get involved as a third in theOpercaion Puerto, but we were
refused. The world Anti-Doping Agency [Wada] is accepted as a third [by judge Antonio Serrano]. ASO did not take the oppurtunity to file fraud charges when the case wasn'r filed yet. Where is WADA now?"
"This is no IPCT case but of all teams and of the whole world of cycling. I know nothing about a meeting on Tuesday. We have a general meeting of the IPCT at Liège on Saturday. I don't expect any decision there,"
Lefevere said. Lefevere also said that he was speaking for himself and not for the entire IPCT.
Prudhomme told L'Equipe that he has spoken with Discovery Channel team manager Johan Bruyneel: "Yes, I have
made clear to Johann Bruyneel how I see the matter, how I want to insure the future of the sport."
Meanwhile Ivan Basso might start at the Fleche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Prudhomme told L'Equipe that he did not ask Bruyneel not to select Ivan Basso for the Ardenne classics: "There was too little
time. And again, we must cooperate."
|
