|
11.05.2007/ CSC without captain for general classification at Giro, T-Mobile without Gonchar, Barloworld
racing across Europe in three stages races, Lampre: all for Cunego, Saunier Duval: Simoni with a third overall win?, Milram
for Giro, Paolo Savoldelli leads Astana at Giro, Tour Down Under extended in 2008
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 May 2007 will receive a picture in 20 X 30 CM format with original handwritten autograph
of Michael Boogerd.
|
Mancebo, Sevilla & Perez: "We are cyclists with heart and soul"
Picture gallery Liège-Bastogne-Liège, April 29, 2007 (4 pages)
Danilo Di Luca wins "The most beautiful race in the world"
New: Floyd Landis offered a reduced sentence by USADA if he gave "incriminating evidence" about Armstrong
New: Gonchar suspended by T-Mobile
CSC without captain for general classification at Giro
Sardinia will be the backdrop, when Giro d'Italia 2007 begins on Saturday
with a 24-kilometer team time trial from Caprera to La Maddelena. A total of 3.442 kilometers is in store for the 22 teams
and 198 riders before a winner is found and celebrated on the podium in Milan on June 3rd.
This is the 90th edition
and only 22 times in the history of the race has a foreigner won. The last time was 11 years ago and going by these statistics,
Team CSC's chances are somewhat limited, because there are no Italian riders in the line-up this year.
But of course
it is not the nationality of the riders, which decides Team CSC's goals for the race. It is no secret though that the line-up
does not include any contenders for the overall victory.
"We've chosen a diverse and exciting team, I think. It's a
team, which is capable in lots of different terrain and in theory able to win almost all the different stages," says Scott
Sunderland, who is not going to Italy, but who was CSC sports director during last week's Tour de Romandie, which was last
minute preparation for some of the riders ahead of the Giro.
"We did well in Tour de Romandie. Our Giro-riders showed
good form so I'm definitely positive on behalf of the team," says Sunderland and continues:
"In my opinion Andy is
our best bet in the general classification. He probably wont be able to win the Giro this year, but it would be good for him
to get ready to compete for the general classification, because he'll definitely be among the main contenders in the Grand
Tours in the near future. I think it would be great if he was able to get a top-10 or top-20 spot, and in Tour de Romandie
he showed that he can climb with the best of them, so the chance is there for sure."
"Haedo has already demonstrated
that he can beat a rider like Petacchi in a sprint. Kolobnev also had a victory earlier in the season, and I think Gustov
is starting to look good as well. David Zabriskie is getting close to top form and I think he'll be peaking down there. He's
one of our more experienced riders and has to take on a lot of responsibility," explains Sunderland and points out that it
is a very young team with a lot of Giro debutants.
Five of Team CSC's riders are under 27 and Andy Schleck just made
22 this Thursday, so you should think there were a lot of nerves present, but that is not necessarily the case.
"I'm
actually quite calm, because I don't think there's any reason to be nervous. There's more cause for nerves during the one-day
races, but here it's all about getting to the front and staying there. I don't feel any pressure. I feel mentally strong and
balanced and I was able to sit up front with the very best in Tour de Romandie, so maybe I'll be able to do so again," was
the comment from birthday boy Andy Schleck.
"We're not going for the overall win so much, but we have Haedo and several
others, who are capable of winning stages and I think that myself and Dave and maybe Gustov will do our best to keep up in
the toughest stages, so we'll do well in the team's competition," concluded the young talent.
This is the fifth time
Team CSC takes part in the Giro and the Danish team has so far been noted for eight stage wins since it's debut in 2002.
CSC for Giro: Andy Schleck, Juan José Haedo, Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Matti Breschel, Michael Blaudzun,
Fabian Cancellara, Volodymir Gustov, Alexandr Kolobnev, David Zabriskie
|
| Fabian Cancellara will start at the Giro tomorrow (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
T-Mobile without Gonchar
The T-Mobile Team starts Sunday's Giro d'Italia intent on scooping a few stage wins over the course of the
three-week event (12.05-03.06). The Giro is the season's first Grand Tour and is a traditional battle-ground for Italy’s
top teams and riders.
"The Giro is the season highlight for most Italians - both fans and riders - a real national
event," says T-Mobile sporting director Valerio Piva, "and we can expect more of the same this year."
T-Mobile travel
to Italy without expected starter Serhiy Honchar. "Serhiy was our man for the GC," says Piva. Indeed last season, Honchar,
who lives in Italy, pulled on the Giro race leader's Maglia Rosa for the second time in his career and his absence will be
a big loss to the magenta team.
Without Honchar, the team’s race-plan will centre around the hunt for stage wins. "We don’t
just want to go along for the ride, if the chance is there to go for a stage win, we will take it," says Piva, who will be
looking to the Italian duo of Marco Pinotti and Lorenzo Bernucci, in particular, to make their mark on the Corsa Rosa.
Team
Time Trial opener
The tour kicks off on Saturday on the island of Sardegna with a 25.6 team time trial. In former
Italian time trial champion Marco Pinotti and young Czech Frantisek Rabon the T-Mobile Team have two chrono specialists in
their ranks - and the flat 43 km ITT from Bardolino to Verona on the penultimate day should suit Pinotti as well.
Also
in the roster are Adam Hansen of Australia, Aaron Olson of the US, Thomas Ziegler of Germany and the vastly experienced Belgium
Axel Merckx. Honchar will be replaced by either Jacob Piil of Denmark or Michael Barry of Canada.
"As well as many
the many climbs, the Giro offers plenty of chances for the sprinters to leave their mark," says Piva, who will be counting
on the fast legs of Greg Henderson in the bunch showdowns. It is the 30-year old New Zealander’s first start in a Grand
Tour.
A course for climbers
While the sprinters and time trialists will have their moments, the 90th Giro
is mostly one for the climbers. The 198 riders from 22 teams will have to negotiate 31 categorized climbs over the course
of the 3.442 kms from Sardegna to Milano.
Stage 4 from Salerno finishes atop the the Montevergine di Mercogliano, a
17.1 kilometre climb that touches gradients of 10%, the first of five punishing summit finishes. "The riders won’t have
much time to ease their way into it. It gets straight down to business," says Valerio Piva.
Queen stage is likely to
be stage 15 to Tre Cime di Lavaredo - after two brutal passes, the Passo di San Pellegrino (11.6 km long) and the Passo Giau
(9.8 km), the riders must tackle the 7.15 km run up the Tre Cime di Lavaredo climb - which touches an 18% gradient near the
top. A real slug-fest between the leading candidates is expected.
T-Mobile for Giro:
Michael Barry (31/Canada),
Lorenzo Bernucci (27/Italy), Adam Hansen (25/Australia), Greg Henderson (30/New Zealand), Axel Merckx (34/Belgium), Aaron
Olson (29/USA), Marco Pinotti (31/Italy), Frantisek Rabon (23/Czech), Thomas Ziegler (26/Germany).
Sport Directors:
Allan Peiper (47/Australia) and Valerio Piva (48/Italy)
|
| Frantisek Rabon (T-Mobile) setting the pace... (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
Barloworld racing across Europe in three stages races
The Team Barloworld riders are in action across Europe in the next few days as they compete in three different
stage races: the Clàsica Alcobendas in Spain (12-13 May), the GP Paredes Rota dos Móveis in Portugal (17-20 May) and the Tour
de Picardie in France (18-20 May).
The Clàsica Alcobendas is a two-day race with a first stage of 170km on Saturday
with a uphill finish, and two semi-stages on Sunday, consisting of 79km in the morning and then a 9.7km individual in the
afternoon. The race suits every kind of rider but Team Barloworld directeur sportif Valerio Tebaldi will have a team of mainly
climbers consisting of Pedro Arreitunandia , neo pro John Lee Augustyn (who finished an excellent third in the recent Tour
of the Asturias), Felix Cardenas, Gianpaolo Cheula, Hugo Sabido and the three South Africans Ryan Cox, Robert Hunter and James
Perry.
The same team with Tebaldi, with the exception of Hunter and Perry, will also ride the GPI Paredes Rota dos
Móveis , a race created last year that is in a very important market (the Portuguese one) for the English sponsor of the Team
- the Barloworld company.
Hunter and Perry will leave after the race in Spain to travel to France for the Tour de Picardie
. They will ride with Giosuè Bonomi, Enrico Degano, Alex Efimkin, Fabrizio Guidi, Paolo Longo Borghini and Geraint Thomas
.
Directeur sportif Alberto Volpi will accompanied by team manager Claudio Corti and he wants the team to do well and
show their ability in a race that is organized by ASO, the company who also run the Tour de France. Team Barloworld hope that
a good result in France (and the leaderships of UCI 'Europe Tour' rankings) will increase their chances of getting a wild
card invitation to this year's Tour.
Lampre: all for Cunego
An united team in order to give to Damiano Cunego the best conditions to try win the 90th Giro d’Italia.
Giuseppe Saronni, Lampre-Fondital’s general manager, and the sport directors chose the riders that will take part
in the pink race: with Cunego there will be Matteo Bono, Marzio Bruseghin, Marco Marzano, Danilo Napolitano, Paolo Tiralongo,
Sylwester Szmyd, Gorazd Stangelj and Patxi Vila.
“We have a team that will be able to help Cunego in every moment
of the race - sport director Martinelli commented - On the climbs there will be Marzano, Tiralongo, Szmyd and Vila; Bono,
Bruseghin and Stangelj will give the right pace, Napolitano could use his speed in order to try to obtain important results
in the sprints”.
The team will be led by sport directors Giuseppe Martinelli and Guido Bontempi.
Lampre arrived at Sardegna
On Wednesday night the athletes landed on Olbia airport, then yesterday morning they trained for more
than three hours on the parcours of the team time trial that will start the Giro. "I think it's a nice parcour, various and
not so easy - Cunego's commented about the team time trial - There are a many bends, cimbs and downhills, there are almost
no straights or planes". "Lampre-Fondital could realize a good performance - Tiralongo said - The skill in riding the bike
will be very important".
Saunier Duval: Simoni with a third overall win?
The Saunier-Duval riders who will take part in the 90th edition of the Giro d´Italia,
set to kick off on Saturday, arrived at Sardegna, the Italian island that will welcome the beginning of the race this year.
Coached by Pietro and Matteo Algeri, the yellow team´s line-up for the first Grand Tour of the season includes nine
men.
Pietro Algeri is happy with his riders´ good shape and
highlights the goal they´ve set for the race: "Of course, our prime goal is to see Simoni as the Giro winner. I´m sure he
can do it because he´s become vastly experienced. Moreover, he told me that his physical condition is better now than in 2006.
The whole team will work for him, including Riccò, who can learn a lot from Gibo. This doesn´t mean we won´t fight for stage
wins: Riccò has a good chance to take mountaintop finish stages, and Piepoli or Mayo can win stages with difficult climbs.
Then, men like Cañada or Mori on the mountains and "Litu" Gómez or Bertogliati on flat terrain will certainly be at the
front."
Saunier Duval for Giro: Gilberto Simoni, Riccardo Riccò,
Iban Mayo, Manuele Mori, Leonardo Piepoli, David Canada, Ángel "Litu" Gómez, Raivis Belohvosciks, Ruben Bertogliati.
|
| Gilberto Simoni could win his third Giro d'Italia (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
Milram for Giro
Alessandro Petacchi leads Team Milram's selection of nine riders for the Giro d'Italia. The tour through Italy begins
on 12 May in Caprera, a small isle off the north coast of Sardinia, with a time trial and ends traditionally on 3 June in
Milan.
Team Milram especially aims at stage wins at the Giro d'Italia. For this, Alessandro Petacchi is supported by a strong
and experienced team. With Christian Knees and Martin Mueller two German riders are in the selection, which is complemented
by six Italians and the Australian Brett Lancaster.
Milram for Giro: Alessandro Petacchi, Alessandro Cortinovis, Sergio Ghisalberti, Christian Knees, Brett Lancaster, Mirco
Lorenzetto, Martin Mueller, Alberto Ongarato, Fabio Sabatini
Sport Directors:
Gianluigi Stanga, Antonio Bevilacqua
|
| Ale-Jet would like to win a couple of stages... (picture:Cyclingheroes) |
Paolo Savoldelli leads Astana at Giro
The Astana Cycling Team will attend the Giro with some real victory ambitions. After having accomplished a successful Tour de Romandie, Paolo Savoldelli (ITA) intends
to demonstrate his capacities during the three weeks on Italy’s roads. The winner of the 2002 and
2005 editions of the Giro will be assisted by a team of young cyclists who are ready
to support their leader with full energy. After all, Savoldelli’s compatriot, Eddy Mazzoleni, who
finished tenth in 2003 and who demonstrated his skills impressively throughout last week’s Tour
de Romandie, should also be taken into consideration.
In addition, five Kazakh representatives will be lined up; amongst them Sergueï
Yakovlev, who finished third at stage ten last year. Benoît Joachim from Luxemburg, as well as the Swiss
Steve Morabito will complete the team, which will be guided by the three Sport Managers
Mario Kummer, Giovanni Fidanza and Adriano Baffi.
Astana for the Giro: Assan Bazayev
(KAZ), Maxim Gourov (KAZ), Benoît Joachim (LUX), Eddy Mazzoleni (ITA), Andrey Mizurov (KAZ), Steve Morabito
(SUI), Dimitri Muravyev (KAZ), Paolo Savoldelli (ITA) and Sergueï Yakovlev (KAZ).
Sport Directors: Mario Kummer, Giovanni Fidanza & Adriano Baffi.
Tour Down Under extended in 2008
The plans for the 2008 Tour Down Under are well
under way. The dates have been announced, with an extended program to celebrate our 10th year! This includes an extra day
of racing, taking us back to a 6 stage race! The 2008 dates are as follows:
Saturday 19 January - Team Presentation
Sunday 20 January - Down Under Classic
Monday 21 January - Rest Day
Tuesday 22 January - Stage 1
Wednesday 23 January - Stage 2
Thursday 24 January - Stage 3
Friday 25 January - Stage 4
Saturday 26 January - Stage 5
Sunday 27 January - Stage 6
The Race routes will be announced in early
July. This years edition of the Tour Down Under was won by Martin Elmiger (AG2R).
|
