|
24.04.2007/ L'Equipe: Floyd Landis B-samples positive, Milram
for Fleche Wallonne, Rujano crashes badly, Tom Criel joins Pro-Tour team Unibet.com, Team Barloworld ready for Fleche and Liege Volpi:
"Two races where we want results", Interview
with Jörg Jaksche: Jörg Jaksche is back!, Astana
for Fleche Wallonne
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 7
New: Mancebo, Sevilla & Perez: "We are cyclists with heart and soul"
New: Jörg Jaksche is back!
L'Equipe: Floyd Landis B-samples positive
Yesterday a story was published by French daily sports l'Equipe in which the newspaper wrote that 7 b-samples
of Floyd Landis are positive. According to l'Equipe all samples hat traces of artificial testosterone. Floyd Landis published
a statement on his website in which the former Phonak captain claims that the USADA did not want to have an observer of Landis
to attend at the tests of the B-samples and that their acces was denied at the Laboratoire National de Dépistage du Dopage
(LNDD) at Chatenay-Malabry, France. Normally a representative of the accused atlethe is allowed to attend at the test
of a b-probe. It's unkown why the USADA denied acces to Landis representative.
|
| Floyd Landis: No observers allowed at B-sample testing (Picture: Cyclingheroes) |
Milram for Fleche Wallonne
The Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday (25 April) is the second part of the "Week of the Ardennes" after
the Amstel Gold Race. The traditional race through the Walloon part of Belgium has its firm place in the racing
calendar for many years. Every year on the Wednesday before the spring classic Liege - Bastogne - Liege the pros undergo
this hard test.
After a warm up of about 60 kilometers the race starts to get difficult. From then on one
climb follows the other. One of the important climbs of the race is the Muir of Huy, where the race also finishes
after 202 kilometers. But first, the riders have to overcome the climb over 1.3 kilometers three times.
Team
Milram is led by Igor Astarloa and Mirko Celestino. Igor Astarloa already won the race in 2003. This year, he at least
wants to play a part in the decision of the race.
Milram for Fleche
Wallonne:
Igor Astarloa, Mirko Celestino, Mirco Lorenzetto,
Andrey Grivko,
Matej Jurco, Niki Terpstra, Carlo Scognamiglio, Bjoern Schroeder
Rujano crashes badly
The Venezuelan José Rujano (Unibet.com) crashed badly at Sunday's Amstel Gold Race. Rujano broke his right collarbone
and four ribs.
"Things look really bad for Rujano", said Jacques Hanegraaf, Director Sports of Unibet.com. "The fractures
are complicated, so he will be out of competition for several weeks. It's a pity, 'cause Rujano was in a pretty good shape."
Also
Gustav Larsson and Luis Pasamontes crashed during Amstel Gold Race. Pasamontes just got a few grazes and Larsson had some
cuts and grazes.
Tom Criel joins Pro-Tour team Unibet.com
The
Belgian Tom Criel of the Unibet.com Continental Team is joining the ProTour Team on May 1st. The young Belgian signed a contract
for two years last Saturday.
"Tom Criel performed very well with our Continental Team the last months and won two races.
He's also a talented climber and I hope he can show us his capacities in the smaller tours", said Director Sports Jacques
Hanegraaf of Unibet.com.
"I'm excited", said Criel. "I wanted to become a professional cyclist at the end of this year,
so joining the ProTour Team is a dream come true."
Team Barloworld ready for Fleche and Liege Volpi: "Two races where we want results"
Team Barloworld are hoping to continue their run of good results this week as they ride the prestigious Ardennes
classics in Belgium (Flèche Wallone on Wednesday and Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday). Team Manager Claudio Corti wants the
riders to be in the action in both races just like they were in Italy in March in the Milan-Sanremo classic.
"We have
to give 105% in these races. We've got to honour our special invitation to both races from organizers ASO so that we can increase
our chances of getting an invitation to the 2007 Tour de France," directeur sportif Alberto Volpi , who will lead the team
in Belgium, said.
"Despite injury problems for Siutsou and Caccia, we've got a good team and can be in the thick of
the action during the decisive moments of the races with Efimkin, Cardenas and Cheula, while the other riders will hopefully
put themselves in the spotlight by getting in early attacks. Our team spirit will be the same as in the other races so far
this year: we'll ride united and be focused on getting a result, despite facing the best riders in the world in these kind
of races."
The team will be lead by Alex Efimkin who has already won four races this year, including overall success
in the Giro del Capo in South Africa and the Settimana Lombarda in Italy. He is suited to the hilly courses of the Ardennes
races, while the experience of Felix Cardenas will also be important. With Siutsou out due to injury, the team will also include
Pedro Arreitunandia, Gianpaolo Cheula, Ryan Cox, Paolo Longo Borghini, Hugo Sabido and Mauricio Soler.
Interview with Jörg Jaksche: Jörg Jaksche is back!
Jörg
Jaksche attacked during yesterdays final stage of the Giro d'Ambruzzo. The German Tinkoff rider made his comeback at the Giro
d'Ambruzzo after he was forced to stop riding as a result of the Fuentes affaire which started about 10 months
ago. As reported Jaksche always insisted that he had nothing to do with the affair and he was cleared by the Austrian Cycling
federation. In yesterdays final stage of the Giro d'Ambruzzo Jaksche was active in a long break away with Stefano
Usai (Uc Palazzago), Luca Gasparini (Sc Pagnoncelli), Marco Cattaneo (Sc Pagnoncelli), Norena Carlos Quintero (Gs Futura Team),
Marco Stefani (Maltini Lampadari), Alessandro Donati and Aurelien Passeron ( both Acqua&Sapone-Caffè Mokambo). The
group had a maximum lead of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The group with Jaksche was caught and the bunch sprint was won
by Ivan Fanelli (Cinelli - Endeka - OPD). Luca Ascani (Aurum Hotels) won the final general classification.
Read our interview with Jörg Jaksche at:
Jörg Jaksche is back!
|
| Jörg Jaksche in the breakaway group (picture: www.girodambruzzo.it) |
Astana for Fleche Wallonne
During the “Flèche Wallonne” the field will have to complete
a course of 202 km to reach Huy from Charleroi. This classic, contested in the Belgian
Ardennes, is characterised by its arrival at the steep “Mur de Huy” (9.3%), which the cyclists
will have to overcome twice before they finally cross the finishing line after the third passage.
The German Matthias Kessler (3 rd in 2004 and 10th last
year) will want to prove himself again, just as he did last Sunday during the Amstel Gold
Race. For this endeavour he will be able to count on the support of his prestigious team-mates Andreas
Klöden (GER) and Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ), not to forget Sergueï Ivanov (RUS), who finished ninth in 2006.
Astana for Flèche Wallonne:
Igor Abakoumov (BEL), Antonio Colom (ESP), Maxim Iglinskiy
(KAZ), Sergueï Ivanov (RUS), Matthias Kessler (GER), Andreas Klöden (GER), Steve Morabito
(SUI) and Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ).
Sport Managers: Walter Godefroot and Adriano Baffi.
|
