First Edition Cycling News, Monday, August 16, 2010

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August 16, 2010, 12:00

• Pozzato builds up for the world championships

  

  Article published:

  August 15, 2010, 10:44

  By:

  Stephen Farrand

  Italian hoping for second success in Hamburg

  Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) is out to save Italian pride and begin what he hopes will be a successful build-up to the world championships in Australia, with success in today’s Vattenfall Cyclassic race in Hamburg, Germany.

  An Italian rider has not won a major one-day classic race since Damiano Cunego won the Tour of Lombardy in 2008. Pozzato won the Vattenfall Cyclassic in 2005 and is hoping he can do it again.

  Victory would help him secure a clear leadership role in the Italian team for the world championships and make up for a meagre list of results so far in 2010.
  
  “I haven’t won a lot but it shouldn’t be forgotten that I was ill before the Tour of Flanders but was still up there in Paris-Roubaix and got seventh, when nobody expected it,” Pozzato argued in an interview with Sunday’s Gazzetta dello Sport.

  “I won a nice stage at the Giro d’Italia and almost won another. After that I took a break and I’ve only just started racing again. To be honest I feel the best part of my season is still to come. It feels likes in January.”

  Pozzato is now backing in a standard Katusha jersey after a year as Italian champion and has opted to stay with the Russian squad for 2011. He was criticised for not trying to defend his ‘tricolore’ jersey but after finishing the Giro d’Italia, Pozzato has his eyes fixed firmly on pulling on the rainbow jersey.

  “I think I honoured the ‘tricolore’ every time I wore it in a race but you can’t do everything in cycling these days,” he said. “And I think that’s a good thing. The course of this year’s championships was too hard for me and so I opted to take a break earlier and so work on a second peak of form for the world championships.”

  Pozzato did not ride the Tour de France, returning to racing at the Clasica San Sebastian. He also rode the Tour de Wallonie and the Vuelta a Burgos. He went close to two stage victories but hopes to win in Hamburg, as long as the race does not end in a bunch sprint.
  “The ideal situation would be if a group goes way on the final climb, the Waseberg. That’s what happened when I won in 2005 and I beat Luca Paolini in the sprint.”

  World championship focus

  Pozzato travelled to see the course of the world championships in Melbourne with new Italian coach Paolo Bettini in July, paying his own way and putting up with the long trip and jet-lag, so he can fully understand what to expect on October 3.

  He is likely to have a protected leadership role and knows he has a great chance to win the world title. Yet also knows he has to earn his stripes with success in the next few weeks and with a good performance at the Vuelta.

  “I’ll leave all the talk about the team and strategy to Bettini. I know that if I want to be captain, then I have to get the results, starting in Hamburg and then at the Vuelta. Even if the worlds are a week later this year, the Vuelta is the best way to get ready for the big day, he said.”

  “After seeing the course, I’m sure of one thing: If you can’t handle the climb, you won’t be up there for the sprint. There are two short climbs and the wind could also be a factor.”

   

   

• Kelly Benefit Strategies returns to Europe

  

  Article published:

  August 15, 2010, 14:23

  By:

  Peter Hymas

  Team riding momentum from US Pro Criterium victory

  Fresh off of the team's biggest victory of the season at the US Pro Criterium Championships by David Veilleux, the American Continental Kelly Benefit Strategies squad returns to Europe for the second time this year to compete in a block of racing in Belgium, Norway and France. The team will first contest the GP Stad Zottegem on August 17, a 192.3km, UCI 1.1-ranked event in Zottegem, Belgium, followed by a three-day stage race in Norway, the UCI 2.2-ranked Festningsrittet, August 20-22.

  The team will then take part in two more one-day events starting with France's Grand Prix des Marbriers (UCI 1.2, 160km) on August 24, immediately followed by Belgium's Druivenkoers - Overijse (UCI 1.1, 198km) on August 25.

  "The end of this season was tough, we had the end of our season set up and then most of our season cancelled," Jonas Carney, Kelly Benefit Strategies performance director, told Cyclingnews. "We had the Tour of New York, the Tour of Ireland, the Tour of Missouri and we were going to do Univest. The first three were cancelled and Univest was shortened, so what was a really heavy schedule turned out to be super light. That's one of the main reasons why we're taking our guys to Europe, to get them ready for the ProTour races in Canada and the US Pro [Road] Championships in South Carolina."

  The team had a strong performance at 2009's US Professional Road Championships, placing riders on the podium for both the time trial and the road race, and the Americans on the squad are preparing for another run at the podium at this year's event September 18-19 in Greenville, South Carolina. Meanwhile, two of the squad's Canadian riders are being considered for spots on the Canadian National Team roster for a pair of new ProTour events in Canada, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec on September 10 and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on September 12.

  "I think it's pretty likely that David [Veilleux] and Ryan Anderson will do those races, certainly both deserve to be on that roster. They're both on the long list, but they haven't picked the final roster yet."

  While several Continental squads are considering a jump up to Pro Continental ranks for next season, Kelly Benefit Strategies will continue as a Continental team, at least for 2011.

  "As much as we would really like to go Pro Continental next year, with the rules not changing regarding being able to do NRC (National Racing Calendar) events or any 2.2 events in Europe or other continents, we feel that it's the best thing for the team to remain Continental because it really whittles down what we're allowed to do," said Carney.

  "It used to be that becoming a Pro Continental team was an easy choice before the UCI was enforcing these rules. The Navigators team was Pro Continental and it was ideal because you didn't eliminate any races at all from your schedule, but now you're eliminating 90 percent of your US schedule and a huge chunk of international races which you can no longer start.

  "Unless you have a large budget and can hire some fairly high profile riders, it's pretty difficult to get into the big stuff in Europe. If you had a very large increase in budget where you were able to put together basically two teams then it becomes an option, where you have a Pro Continental team as well as a development team, like what Vaughters is doing or what RadioShack does with Trek-Livestrong. That's a reasonable solution to it, but if you don't have the budget to run two full programs it's not a good idea."

  Kelly Benefit Strategies roster for European stint: Ryan Anderson (Can), Jesse Anthony (USA), Alex Candelario (USA), Neil Shirley (USA), David Veilleux (Can) and Scott Zwizanski (USA)

• Wiggins to miss Eneco Tour

  

  Article published:

  August 15, 2010, 19:30

  By:

  Stephen Farrand

  Froome to replace Briton in Team Sky line-up

  Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins has been forced to pull out of the Eneco Tour stage for family reasons.

  The eight-day race was scheduled to be Wiggins's first race appearance since the Tour de France but a family bereavement means he will now miss the event which takes place in Holland and Belgium this week.

  Chris Froome will replace Wiggins in the Team Sky line-up which features 2009 overall winner Edvald Boasson Hagen. Froome took part in the London Sky ride on Sunday, a family ride in the British capital, and will now join up with the team travelling to Holland for the team presentation on Monday and the opening 5.2km time trial in Steenwijk.

  Team Sky’s line-up for the Eneco Tour is: Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Michael Barry, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Chris Froome, Mat Hayman, Greg Henderson, Chris Sutton and Geraint Thomas.

  Team Sky will also be compete in France this week, at the four-day Tour du Limousin. Kjell Carlstrom, Dario Cioni, Russell Downing, Simon Gerrans, Thomas Löfkvist, Serge Pauwels and Morris Possoni have been selected for the race.

  Downing has been ill in recent days but has promised to travel to France to start the race.

  Wiggins's only major objective for the end of season is now the Tour of Britain between September 11-18. Before then he is expected to ride the British national time trial championships in Wales on September 5. He has already announced he will not compete in the World Championships in Australia or the Commonwealth Games in India.

  This week Team Sky announced the line-up for the Vuelta a España, promising to target stage victories rather than a good overall classification. The line-up is: John-Lee Augustyn, Kjell Carlstrom, Juan Antonio Flecha, Simon Gerrans, Peter Kennaugh, Thomas Löfkvist, Lars-Petter Nordhaug, Ian Stannard and Ben Swift.
   

• Fly V working to become a ProTour team in 2011

  

  Article published:

  August 15, 2010, 20:25

  By:

  Cycling News

  Chris White set to reveal sponsor and riders

  Australian cycling could be about to have its first major team in the European peloton after Chris White of the Fly V Australia team confirmed he is working on plans to secure a UCI ProTour licence for 2011.

  Speaking to the Australian newspaper, White revealed he has been working with the UCI on a ProTour application. He refused to name the major sponsor of the team or the name of any major European-based riders he is in talks with. However, veteran sprinter Robbie McEwen could be one target after confirming he wants to race for one last season in 2011. Fellow Australian Mick Rogers is also believed to be considering his future and could be a possible stage race leader for the team.

  White is a Brisbane accountant, testicular cancer survivor and former racer.

  "The UCI has given me an August 31 deadline to formally submit my ProTour bid," he told the Australian.

  "In cycling, Australia has punched well above its weight for a number of years and now I believe we are ready to go to the next level, which is ProTour. We've got a lot of guys who could ride in the ProTour, but up to now there hasn't been an Australian team for them to aspire to. Cadel Evans, Michael Rogers, Mark Renshaw, Simon Gerrans, Stuey O'Grady, Richie Porte and Wes Sulzberger currently ride for either American, French, British or Danish teams.

  "The world of cycling has been talking about establishing an Australian ProTour team for a number of years and now it's just about to happen. Fly V will be well funded and resourced and we will want to compete at the highest level and that includes the Tour de France next July. What I also want to do with Fly V is provide the structure for some of the younger Australian riders to work together and become successful together."

  The Fly V team has competed successfully in the USA for the last two years and White is expected to keep a core of that team, including directors Henk Vogels and Patrick Jonker, who both raced in Europe as professionals. Riders already contracted for next season and beyond include Ben Day, Jonathan Cantwell, Bernie Sulzberger, Jay Thomson and the American Phil Zajicek. White claims more signings are planned before the end of the month.

  White is planning to base the team in Belgium and has ambition to ride the Tour de France as soon as 2011.

  "While the ProTour licence isn't a fait accompli, I'm confident that given road cycling's global reach, the time is now right to establish a ProTour team to race in Europe and at the Tour de France next year," White said.
   

• Vattenfall Cyclassics proves critical for worlds roster allotments

  

  Article published:

  August 15, 2010, 22:05

  By:

  Cycling News

  Germany, Netherlands secure nine starters at worlds

  While the elite men's road race world championship is still approximately one and a half months away on October 3, August 15 is a critical date for nations seeking to attain the coveted maximum allotment of nine starters for their respective world championship rosters.

  The top 10 nations on the International Cycling Union (UCI) World Rankings on August 15 will be allowed to start nine riders in the Geelong, Australia-hosted world championships and today's Vattenfall Cyclassics, offering points for the top 10 finishers, proved critical for several nations on the top 10 bubble. Nations are ranked by totalling the World Rankings points of their top five riders.

  The top seven nations on the World Rankings remained unchanged (Spain, Italy, Belgium, Australia, United States, Russia and Switzerland), but the Vattenfall Cyclassics results provided a shuffling of the nations ranked eighth through 12th.

  André Greipel's third place finish vaulted Germany from 12th to eighth on the World Rankings and enabled his country to secure the maximum allowable roster for its world championship roster.

  The Netherlands, 10th on the World Rankings prior to the Vattenfall Cyclassics, kept its spot in the top 10 due to the seventh place finish of Thomas Leezer (Rabobank). The Netherlands now occupies ninth place overall on the nation rankings.

  Kazakhstan, ninth overall prior to the Hamburg ProTour event, did not score any points and dropped from eight to 10th place. Kazakhstan, however, will only be able to start six riders in the elite men's world championships because of a provision which states that a nation in the top 10 overall, but with fewer than six riders ranked, will start six riders instead of nine. Astana teammates Alexandre Vinokourov and Maxim Iglinsky are Kazakhstan's only ranked riders.

  Luxembourg, ninth overall entering the August 15th deadline, also did not score any points and dropped out of the top 10 to 11th place on the World Rankings.

  Slovenia, 11th on the World Rankings entering today, was hoping for a high finish by either Kristijan Koren (Liquigas-Doimo) or Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil) to enable a move into the top 10, but neither were able to score points for their nation which dropped them one position to 12th.

• Shaw aiming for Scody Cup title

  

  Article published:

  August 16, 2010, 00:09

  By:

  Cycling News

  Virgin Blue-RBS Morgans rider extends series lead

  Winning the Scody Cup wasn’t on Patrick Shaw’s to do list for this season, but at the series’ mid-point the Virgin Blue-RBS Morgans rider now has his eye on the title. After taking the series lead with his Tour of Gippsland victory, Shaw now leads by 72 points after finishing runner up to Rohan Dennis at the weekend’s Tour of Geelong.

  With 149 points Shaw leads the series by 72 points over Drapac’s Joseph Lewis. The series has just two rounds remaining – the Tour of Murray River and Tour of Tasmania.

  “When you look at some of the previous riders who have won the Scody Cup, it’s a big deal,” Shaw said. “To have my name on the honour roll alongside the likes of William Walker, Leigh Howard and Wes Sulzberger would be pretty exciting.”

  Shaw will again feature in his squad’s roster at the Tour of Murray River, however the 24-year-old isn’t getting too carried away with the idea of becoming the next Scody Cup champion. Having nearly retired from the sport at the end of last season, Shaw is just pleased to be enjoying competitive cycling once more.

  “I will be going up to the Murray to enjoy myself, to try my best, and hopefully look forward to some characteristic warmer weather,” he said.

  Dennis won the series’ second round in Geelong, 1:33 minutes ahead of Shaw. Cameron Jennings (Team Budget Forklifts) took third place a further 42 seconds behind.

• UnitedHealthcare planning for Pro Continental upgrade in 2011

  

  Article published:

  August 16, 2010, 04:54

  By:

  Kirsten Frattini

  Team rumoured to be courting McCartney

  The United States of America will see at least one new Professional Continental team next year as UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis takes the steps needed to secure its upgrade with the International Cycling Union (UCI). Momentum Sports Group LLC director and team owner Thierry Attias told Cyclingnews that the upgrade from its current Continental status to Professional Continental will provide a suitable transition toward its long-term goal of becoming ProTour.

  “They [UCI] won’t officially contact us until November 15 but we have applied for everything, we’ve given them all the paperwork and we think that everything will be perfectly well in order to meet the UCI requirements,” said Attias. “It is completely our intention and we are in the process of registering for the Professional Continental license.

  “The registration process of becoming Pro Continental is almost identical to the ProTour,” he added. “In our case, we are hoping to eventually ease our way into that step. We want to take it slowly and intelligently and we are not going to make that jump all at once.”

  Upgrading to a Professional Continental license will allow the team to hire stronger and well-seasoned professionals to its roster. The squad is widely rumored to be in discussions with ProTour RadioShack rider Jason McCartney.

  “These riders have a certain skill set and we hope that they help our ability to reach our goals,” Attias said. “They bring experience that some of our other riders don’t have on an international level. They bring proven results, ability to race internationally with success, and they round out our roster. We think these are the right athletes. We also think they will fit in really well as people and have the right characteristics to be an asset to the organisation.”

  Other new recruits confirmed to have signed with UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis include Kelly Benefit Strategies’ Scott Zwizanski and Team Type 1’s Davide Frattini and Chris Jones. Riders confirmed to return next year include Rory Sutherland, Karl Menzies, Brad White, Adrian Hegyvary, Jonny Clarke, Hilton Clarke, Max Jenkins, Jake Keough and Morgan Schmitt. Additional riders will be announced in the near future.

  The team will consist of 22 riders, the minimum number required by the UCI for a Professional Continental team. Sixteen of those riders will be dedicated to competing in high-level stage races in Europe, Asia and the US. The remaining six to eight riders will continue racing solely inside the US at important National Racing Calendar (NRC) races and criteriums.

  “We really want to have a global program so we will have an impact in Europe, Asia and in the US,” Attias said. “The world is becoming a smaller place and good bike racing takes place everywhere. The Tour of California and the tour in Colorado [Quiznos Pro Challenge] are great and they are great for us but we want to cast ourselves as an organisation as the best in the world, not just as the best in this country.

  “It is important for us and our sponsors and athletes,” he added. “Being the best guy in America is one thing but being the best guy in the world in a whole other thing. We are going to ease our way into that level. We are not saying that we are going to achieve X, Y or Z in year one but we are going to continue our philosophy of racing to win.”

  Sutherland proved his readiness to compete against cycling’s best at this year’s Amgen Tour of California, where he placed second on the event’s queen stage six atop Big Bear Lake. He finished the eight-day race in seventh place overall, less than two minutes behind race winner Michael Rogers (HTC-Columbia).

  “We are building the team to take over to Europe in order to be competitive and in the best form possible for events like the Tour of California and the Quiznos Pro Challenge next year,” said team directeur Mike Tamayo.

  The squad is investigating the impact of UCI code 2.1.009 will have, which prohibits ProTour and Professional Continental teams from competing in national level events, where only UCI Continental teams of the country, regional and club teams, national teams and mixed teams may participate. Discussions between USA Cycling and the UCI resulted in a resolution whereby such teams could start three riders wearing nondescript clothing. The code and its temporary solution are still enforced in the US.

  “We are aware of the code that could affect us as a Pro Continental team racing domestically,” Tamayo said. “We are currently working with USA Cycling and waiting to hear back from the UCI in order to work around the rule. We have a couple of scenarios and are currently unsure how it is going to play out but we are confident that we will have a strong presence domestically as well as internationally with our big focus targeting Tour of California and the Quiznos Pro Challenge.”

  Momentum Sports Group has experience operating a Professional Continental level team, with its previously owned and now disbanded HealthNet-Maxxis squad a Division 2 outfit in 2006 and 2007. “Our goals there were a little bit different from they are here,” Attias said. “Our goals there were to develop a program that would allow us to hire the best athletes we had in the country irrelevant of age restrictions. Now, we want to test our athletes and that is important. You have to give your athletes an opportunity to race against other top-notch talents in the world.”

  UnitedHealthcare signed on as a title sponsor for 2010 season replacing the team’s 2009 sponsor Ouch Sports Medical Centre. UnitedHealth Group will continue to sponsor the squad while additional sponsors will be announced in the near future.

  “They have extended and increased their commitment,” Attias said. “Our partners are stepping up to a level that reflects a Pro Continental team to have an international presence. However, we are actively looking for a new bike partner.”

  Other North American Continental teams that have expressed an interest in upgrading to a Professional Continental license next year include Team Type 1 and SpiderTech-Planet Energy.

• Sinkewitz pleased with Tour of Portugal form

  

  Article published:

  August 16, 2010, 11:06

  By:

  Cycling News

  German targets strong end to season

  Patrick Sinkewitz (ISD-Neri) has declared himself satisfied with his performance at the Volta a Portugal. The German rider rode consistently throughout the eleven days of racing to register a fine fourth-place finish in Lisbon on Sunday.

  “It was an important result for me,” Sinkewitz told Cyclingnews. “I couldn’t have done any more. A race with ten stages was never going to be easy for me when I only started my season two months ago, so fourth place was as well as I could have done. After two months of racing it’s a good result.”

  Sinkewitz, who rode for PSK Whirlpool-Author in 2009, was left without a team at the start of the season and had to wait until the end of May to find a contract. He previously tested positive for testosterone in 2007 when riding for T-Mobile. He was handed a one-year suspension after co-operating fully with the authorities and giving detailed confessions.

  “I trained by myself. I know my body well, so I was able to do that. At the same time, it was difficult to have no objective, just training,” Sinkewitz explained.

  Sinkewitz was finally brought in from the cold just ahead of the Tour of Luxembourg, when he signed a deal with ISD-Neri. “My condition was okay, but it was difficult to start in the middle of the year,” he said. “I was signed just five days before going to Luxembourg, so it wasn’t easy to go straight into a race like that.”

  Since then, Sinkewitz’s form has been rising steadily, as testified by his display in Portugal, and he will be looking to capitalise on that in the coming weeks.

  “I’m hoping that my condition continues to grow while the other riders get tired as we get closer to the end of the season,” Sinkewitz said. “There are a lot of good races for me and the team coming up and we want to do well. I will be at the Trofeo Melinda on Saturday, and a lot of the Italian one-day races in the next two months. I also might go to the Tour of Britain, although it’s the team’s decision. In any case, I hope to race all the way through to Lombardy.”

  After his difficulties in finding a team for this season, Sinkewitz is understandably keen to decide on his 2011 team as soon as possible. “I’m not sure for next year yet. For the moment I’m happy to stay with ISD-Neri and the team will be better again next year. But I’ll talk to the team this Friday and see,” he said.