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19.06.2007/ Tour de Suisse: Alessandro Proni with first Pro-Tour win of the current season for
Quickstep, German and French teams out of AIGCP?, Johan Musseuw: Trial again postponed, Thomas Dekker: No more pain
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 June 2007 will receive a picture in 20 X 30 CM format with original handwritten
autograph of Michael Boogerd.
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Vandenbroucke : back to Belgium?
Picture gallery: Delta Profronde, Netherlands June 16, 2007
Johan Buyneel: "If you live in a glasshouse you shouldn't throw to much stones"
New: Picture gallery: Austin Criteriums, USA June 16 & 17, 2007
New: Discovery Channel out of AIGCP
New: T-Mobile team release Sergej Gonchar
Tour
de Suisse: Alessandro Proni with first Pro-Tour win of the current season for Quickstep
Alessandro Proni (Quick Step) won Monday's third stage of the Tour de Suisse after successfully bringing home a 200km
escape. T-Mobile's Kim Kirchen led the chase in the finale to take third on the 228,7 km stage from Brunnen to Nauders and
moved up to third overall.
The Luxembourg national road champion Kirchen blew the field apart with an attack 500 metres
from the top of the final climb, the Cote de Norbertshohe (1,406m), causing a select group to form – with team mates
Michael Rogers, Linus Gerdemann und Patrik Sinkewitz all making the cut.
The chasing group tried to close the gap to
Proni on the final climb, but the 24-year-old Italian, who was part of three-man break that escaped after 30km, held on to
record his first ever pro win and Quickstep's first Pro Tour win this season.
Spain's Xavier Florencio (Bouygues Telecom)
led home the chasers for second place, with Kirchen third.
"The team were very impressive today and then now look in great shape for the stages
to come," said T-Mobile Sports Director Valerio Piva with satisfaction. Despite a crash on the descent of the Col de la Fluela
(2,383m) earlier in the stage, Kirchen gave it all in the final kilometres to chase Proni and take time out of rivals.
"It
was a hairy moment for us, but thankfully Kim wasn't badly injured in the fall, and after a wheel change he was able to plough
on," said Piva.
Proni was part of a three man breakaway group with Luis Pasamontes (Unibet) and
Daniel Navarrao (Astana) – the trio built up a maximum lead of eleven minutes on the CSC controlled peloton.
Proni
then attacked on the day's final climb - the Cote de Norbertshohe (1,406m) – to try his luck alone.
While Lampre
set the pace in the main field on the final climb, Kirchen’s devastating attack 500 metres from the summit splintered
the pack. Kirchen was second over the summit 18 seconds off the pace, but despite Kirchen’s best efforts Proni stayed
clear on the descent and run-in to win by seven seconds.
Somewhat surprisingly Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
managed to hang on to the yellow leader's jersey. Cancellara came home in the first group, with riders like Kirchen, Cunego
(Lampre-Fondital), Klöden (Astana) and Kessler (Astana).
"The
team did a tremendous job in trying to reel in that break today, and it was brilliant that Fabian was able to keep the lead.
We hadn't seen that coming, but he'd said that he was going to try. Afterwards he said that he was at his absolute maximum
on that last climb," said CSC Sports Director Kim Andersen.
Lampre
- Fondital Sports Director Maurizio Piovani said: "No team, except for us and CSC, had the intention of chasing the breakaway:
my riders worked in Fleula and then Tiralongo and Marzano led the group on the final climb, the Norbertshöhe, but without
cooperation the chase is always difficult. Moreover, we had to save energies for support Cunego in the next stages."
Results
Stage 3
1 Alessandro
Proni (Ita) Quick Step - Innergetic 6.02.17 (37,876
km/h)
2 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Bouygues Telecom
0.07
3 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team
4 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone
5 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
6 Matthias Kessler (Ger) Astana
7 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.com
8 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana
9 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
10 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile Team
General
Classification after stage 3
1 Fabian
Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC
10.11.34 (38,227 km/h)
2 Alessandro Proni (Ita) Quick Step - Innergetic
0.02
3 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team
0.14
4 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Bouygues Telecom
0.15
5 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Ag2r Prevoyance
0.17
6 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step - Innergetic
0.18
7 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com
0.19
8 Hubert Schwab (Swi) Quick Step - Innergetic
0.20
9 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne
0.21
10 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux
0.23
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| Kim Kirchen showed great form yesterday (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
German and French teams out of AIGCP?
Sportwereld.be and telesport.nl report that the German and French Pro-Tour teams might leave the Pro-Tour
team association AIGCP today. According to Dutch daily newspaper De telegraaf Credit Agricole team manager Roger Legeay will
present the articles for a new association at a meeting in Geneva, later today.
The French and German Pro-Tour teams are demanding zero tolerance for doping and some of the team managers
of these teams are questioning the anti-doping policies of Saunier Duval, Liquigas, Caisse d'Epargne and Astana, the
team managers want that action will be taken against these four teams. At last wednesdays AIGCP meeting in Anneyron some team
managers demanded that Alejandro Valverde would be banned from the Tour. Valverde is accused of being on the list of
Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes but the overall 2006 Pro-Tour winner denies any wrong doing.
The UCI invited all teams for the meeting in Geneva. According to Belgian daily sports Sportwereld.be the
UCI will anounce new anti-doping penalties. According to the Belgian sports newspaper the new penalty for doping offenders
will be a ban for two seasons and a fine of the salary of one year of a convicted rider. Mark Cavendish (T-Mobile) and
Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) will sign the new protocol.
The Pro-Tour riders will also be asked to sign a letter in which they declare that they are not involved
in any doping cases. If later comes out that they were involved in a doping case they will get an extra fine on top.
UCI president Pat McQuaid will propose that all teams will have to pay 30.000 Euros to finance the new anti-doping
policies. A few months ago most teams refused to do so.
Johan Musseuw: Trial again postponed
The trial of the doping case against former Belgian pro riders Johan Museeuw, Mario De Clerc, Jo Planckaert
and Chris Peers is postponed again. The trial was postponed more than once but yesterday morning the court announced that
the trial would defently begin at June 25. Later that day the court announced that the trial is again postponed. The new date
is September 27. The riders are linked with the so-called 'Landuyt affaire'. Landuyt is a veterinarian
who is accused of dealing with performance enhanching drugs. Museeuw was one of the most successful classic riders in
history and is being accused of possesion of epo and other banned substances. In 2004 the former king of the classics was
already punisehd with a four years ban. Reason for the delay is that Landuyt's lawyer has to defend one of
his other clients in a different court case.
Thomas Dekker: No more pain
Rabobank's Thomas Dekker had to skip the Tour of Luxembourg earlier this month because of a hip injury.
The team doctors found out that the pain in his hip were caused because one of his legs is longer as the other one. Dekker
started at the Tour de Suisse and has no more pain. Dekker was 51th at yesterdays third stage of the Tour de Suisse, the young
winner of this years Tour de Romandie lost 49 seconds. Dekker said: "It was a beautiful day! Absolutly no problems with my
hip.. I tried to help Oscar [Freire] on the final climb but 500 mmeters before the top he was dropped! Too bad.."
Rabobank Sports Director said: "Thomas does not have pain anymore and his form is going in the right direction.
What he showed today was more than promising."
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| Thomas Dekker: No more pain... (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
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