Misunderstanding between Ryan Cox and Barloworld

As reported, former South African national champion Ryan Cox has problems with his left iliac artery. It seems there are some difficulties between Ryan Cox and the team management of Team barloworld about how to tackle Cox health problems.

Cox wrote on Monday on his website: "I leave for Spain on Thu morning for Bizikletta Vaska and then to Portugal for Correios. I have done the tests I needed to do and seen my Team Dr. My next step is to get answers for my next moves. I've been training a bit with Rob, but I really need the Team to tell me my next step. Do I carry on racing, like this. Or do I do the operation? It's just all up in the air at the moment and not knowing my next step is quite frustrating. I hope I know soon as carrying on like this is just no good. I need a plan of action...."

In a statement on the Barloworld team website there was a sharp reaction: "I think the things Cox has written on his web site are wrong and childish because he agreed his race programme with us," team manager Claudio Corti said. "Rather than create further problems, he should try and find out if an operation will effectively help him in the long-term. In recent races Cox has shown some good form despite complaining about pain in his left leg."

Last week Dr Mantovani, ­the official Team Barloworld doctor, studied the results of the examinations Cox underwent at the "Centre Hospitalier Universitaire" in Angers, France.

Team Barloworld manager Claudio Corti suggested that Cox find a specialist in Italy for a second opinion and also suggested he ask the opinion of Prof Chevalier, the well-known French vascular surgeon, as Dr Abraham had requested.

It was agreed by both by Cox and the team management that Cox would carry on racing in two short stage races: the Bizikleta Vaska in Spain and the CTT Correios in Portugal, and then take advantage of the long pause (Cox isn't one of the riders selected for the Tour de France) to undergo, if believed to be necessary by the specialists, an eventual operation.

Cox has a problem with his left iliac artery that is due to its unusual length and flexibility," Dr Mantovani said.
"It's a cronic problem that first appeared last year and that caused Cox various problems, especially in his back. His current situations does not appear to be different and while waiting for a response from Dr Chevalier, there is no reason why Cox cannot race."

On Friday Ryan Cox reacted on his website on the Barloworld statement saying: "There has been a big misunderstanding with myself and the Team. I have finally found out my problem, so obviously I would like to fix it as soon as possible. I am currently racing in Spain, like agreed and will do so. I have been in contact with my Team throughout all my tests and I think there must of been some misunderstanding with the language barrier. My Italian is good enough to understand but not always good enough to get my point across. So I would like to appologise if anything was misread, but I was just getting my frustration across. We are working as a unit, myself and the Team, to solve this problem together. I would just like to get it sorted out as soon as possible. I will carry on racing like agreed to until we, as a Team, decide when is the best time to do this operation..."

Tour of Luxembourg: Romain Feillu wins stage 3

The Frenchman Romain Feillu (Ag2r-Prévoyance) has won the third stage of the Tour of Luxembourg yesterday. Feillu was the fastest in of a select lead group and out-sprinted Gorik Gardeyn (Unibet.com) and Paul Martens (Skil-Shimano). Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom) keeps the lead in the overall.

With regard to the final victory, the Tour of Luxemburg will remain exciting until the final meters. In the third stage, a relatively large group – around 35 riders – again was the first to pass the finish line.

The track that had to be covered on Saturday started on tough ground. Seven riders, all of them individually, broke away from the pack. Because the best cyclist was only a little more than a minute behind in the classification on the top ten, the escape was doomed. "Two minutes was the maximum, they were never able to maintain hope," according to Rabobank Sports Director Erik Dekker. However, at the start of the three local laps of fifteen kilometers each, they were still ahead.

Just like yesterday, there was again a steep climb in this lap. During the first passage, Laurens ten Dam made the jump to the lead group. He did not even have to put out all stops to accomplish this, because the gap had already been largely reduced. Remarkably, the lead increased to one minute after the Dutchman had reached the group of seven riders. At the start of the final lap, however, everyone was back together in one group.

The strongest riders of the day separated themselves from the rest on the final climb: a group of nine with Reus, Flecha and also overall leader Laurent Brochard and José Azevedo. In spite their twenty second lead, the distance to the finish was still so long that approximately 25 riders, including Langeveld, were able to rejoin them before the end. Feillu was the quickest in the bunch sprint that followed. He climbed up in the classification, but the likely candidates for first place cannot be counted on two hands. At the end of Sunday’s tough stage as well as during the race itself, the riders will have ample opportunities to earn some additional seconds.

Results

Pellizotti wins Marco Pantani memorial