First Edition Cycling News, Saturday, July 3, 2010

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July 3, 2010, 07:00

• Kreuziger steps up to share leadership role at Liquigas

  

  Article published:

  July 2, 2010, 17:25

  By:

  Hedwig Kröner

  Czech rider feels mature enough for big results at Tour de France

  While Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso, who is returning to the Tour de France, arguably will be the most popular Liquigas rider in the eyes of the general public, his teammate Roman Kreuziger could well steal his show if the young Czech holds his promises. In the absence of other riders such as Franco Pellizotti or Vincenzo Nibali, Kreuziger intends to take full advantage of this year's Tour de France to finally prove his worth as a stage race contender.

  On Friday, at the team's press conference, the 24-year-old looked serene. "This is my third Tour de France, but [it will be] the first time that I can play a major part in it," he said to Cyclingnews. "I have had the two last years to gain experience, and I hope this will pay off now. Moreover, this is the first time when I am one of the true leaders, with the team to support me. I feel relaxed."

  Kreuziger admitted that he felt physically more mature, and therefore hoped this would make a difference compared to the last two years. "I have gained stamina on the long climbs, and also improved [how I can respond to] rhythm changes. This certainly has to do with the general maturing of my body. I'm very motivated and hope to be able to stay with Ivan at the front on the climbs."

  Contrary to Rabobank's Robert Gesink, also under 25 years old, Kreuziger will not target the white jersey of best young rider. "The white jersey will be complicated - I would almost have to win the Tour to get it! I'm not saying that Andy [Schleck - ed.] will win the Tour, but he'll certainly be up there for the podium. And I don't think I'm ready yet for the podium. A top 10 placing is possible for me, I think. I really want to improve my placing from last year [where he finshed ninth - ed.]. That's my focus. A stage victory will be difficult."

  Certainly, Kreuziger will be a marked man in the mountains. But he also discarded any notion being able to contend for the victory in the Rotterdam prologue on Saturday, even though he finished second - by just one second - to Fabian Cancellara in the Tour de Suisse prologue. "It's going to be hard to come past Cancellara on that one. Plus, it's not so much a prologue than more of a time trial. It's nine kilometres long instead of five or so. Moreover, the course has some very long straights; it is not very technical, either. For sure, I also feel strong, and we will see what happens tomorrow. But I also think that someone like Boasson Hagen could surprise us."

  In any case, his teammate and co-leader Ivan Basso thought that the two-pronged set-up is going to be an advantage for Liquigas compared to other teams, who have sole leaderships. "I think we are two riders that are perfectly compatible, in the sense that we are both strong and can go for top GC placings. We can make other teams suffer in this way," the Italian said.

  Kreuziger agreed. "Two leaders are always better than one," he said.

• Kimmage calls for UCI transparency

  

  Article published:

  July 2, 2010, 18:23

  By:

  Daniel Benson

  Says Armstrong donation documents need to be made public

  Rough Ride author Paul Kimmage has welcomed news that the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have agreed to allow the attendance of independent observers at this year's Tour de France. However the former professional has called for more to be done in order to clean up the sport of cycling, and pinpointed the Landis allegations as a perfect opportunity.

  "It's impossible to say how clean the Tour will be but it's very positive that the UCI and WADA have done that deal, " Kimmage told Cyclingnews. "That at least gives us a chance for some mega scandals, but it's the years that you don't have scandals are generally the dirty Tours.

  "I certainly think that in 2008 it was one of the cleanest Tours I have seen but even then I was duped. I saw Kohl and I thought he looked clean and that wasn't the case. You can just hope and in fairness to guys like Wiggins and Vande Velde, they'll be a good barometer of that."

  Kimmage spoke to Cyclingnews on the eve of the Tour de France, and having witnessed the fall out from the recent Floyd Landis allegations, believes that the sport must clean its act up from the top down, and not brush issues under the carpet.

  Referring to the allegations that the UCI accepted a bribe from Armstrong after a positive test in 2001, Kimmage told Cyclingnews, that reform needs to take place: "It needs to happen. A small example of this is the ‘donation' that Armstrong made to the UCI and we've not had any verification or receipts and they said we'd have all the documentation. The sport can't move on until that's sorted, until we have a credible governing body that is going to govern the sport objectively. There's too much that's gone on there that stinks."

  Previously the UCI had said that they would publish receipts of the transaction between Armstrong and the UCI. However no receipts have been made public since the allegations were made by Landis in May.

  Landis allegations continue to rumble on. The Wall Street Journal are set to publish an article tomorrow in which the disgraced 2006 Tour de France winner goes into details about his relationship with Armstrong and the doping practices he encountered.

  Kimmage believes that the allegations, coupled with the federal involvement in the US could have heavy implications for Amrstrong.

  "I do feel that things have changed for him and that the tide has turned, even the general public. People have listened to Landis and what he's said and this is the turning point now."

  Cyclingnews attempted to speak to Armstrong at yesterday's Tour de France teams presentation but he refused to talk with us.

  Tags:

  Tour de France

  UCI

  Lance Armstrong

• Bookwalter looking to repeat Giro success at Tour de France

  

  Article published:

  July 2, 2010, 18:39

  By:

  Jean-François Quénet

  American rookie anxious at the start of his second Grand Tour

  Two months ago, Brent Bookwalter created a surprise by coming second to Bradley Wiggins in the prologue of the Giro d’Italia. Can the rookie from BMC do it again?

  "I have no idea to be honest," he told Cyclingnews at a BMC press meeting in the Netherlands. "After riding the Giro in May, here I am now at the Tour de France. It’s two large distinctions. Both prologues are 8 to 9km efforts on TT bikes. I guess at the Tour there are better time triallists than at the Giro, but I still have a lot of confidence and hope."

  Bookwalter will be the tenth rider to start at 4.24pm local time. As none of the first nine are specialists, he’ll very likely lead the Tour de France once he crosses the finishing line, but whether he keeps this position for three hours until top guns like Fabian Cancellara ride or for less than one minute, that remains to be seen. German time trial champion Tony Martin will start at 4.25pm.

  Both BMC and HTC-Columbia teams have chosen to have one of their prologue riders start early in case of a change of weather conditions. Rain is forecasted to move in during the race, peaking for the late starters.

  Bookwalter was adamant that he didn’t get the call for the Tour only because of his capacities of riding fast in the prologue. "It’s a complete body work that has been taken in consideration by [BMC directeur sportif] John [Lelangue]," said assistant DS Mike Sayers who personally looks after the progression of Bookwalter in the American Pro Continental outfit. "It wasn’t just his Giro result that brought him into the Tour team. He has come in one piece from an extremely hard Giro and he has passed his post-Giro hangover."

  "I haven’t done a lot since the end of the Giro," Bookwalter said. "I recovered physically and I’ve refreshed my mind in Georgia with my girlfriend. I rode my mountain bike a little bit. I didn’t anticipate riding the Tour de France. We talked about it two weeks ago and I knew about my final selection one week ago yesterday.

  "I still feel there are a lot of unknowns about this race. I feel a lot of excitement. I don’t like to say fear but I’m a little anxious. At the Giro I was amazed to realize how my body and my mind can overcome three weeks of racing, not only myself but other guys, too. You realize the game is more about the mind. I took that from the Giro to build more confidence."

  According to Sayers, Bookwalter naturally has the physical capacities and the cadence of a champion but confidence is still his weak point.

  "I don’t know how far I can go in cycling," Bookwalter said. "After I graduated from school, I thought maybe I could be a pro cyclist in the US. Then I thought maybe I could go to Europe. And now I’m at the Tour de France. Each year I tend to progress to a new level. I’m now at a point I’d like to make a career out of it and ride the Tour and the Giro as long as I can and as long as I enjoy it."

  "Brent is part of the future of the team," wished Sayers who is also discovering the Tour de France in his new role of directeur sportif after racing for many seasons including one in Europe with Mercury in 2001.

• Cervélo pulls Florencio from Tour de France

  

  Article published:

  July 2, 2010, 20:17

  By:

  Cycling News

  Spaniard violated team policy

  The Cervélo TestTeam has withdrawn Spaniard Xavier Florencio from its Tour de France squad after learning that he had used a product containing a banned substance to treat saddle sores. It is not yet clear whether the team will be allowed to substitute another rider in his place.

  The team made the decision Friday that because Florencio had violated its internal policies requiring riders to get permission from the team's medical staff before using any supplements or medications.

  "This evening, the team learned that Xavier Florencio has been using a substance containing ephedrine to treat a saddle discomfort," a team press release stated.  "This substance was not cleared in advance with the medical staff. This usage without clearance violates the internal policy."

  Florencio was also suspended from competition by his team.

• Wiggins takes Tour de France prologue gamble

  

  Article published:

  July 2, 2010, 21:08

  By:

  Richard Moore

  Team Sky captain hopes to avoid the rain with early start

  The start list for Saturday's prologue to the Tour de France was published on Friday afternoon, and it included a surprise.

  Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), last year's fourth-place finisher, was not listed among the final twenty riders - as is traditional for team leaders - but 41st, a full two-and-a-half hours before the defending champion and last man, Alberto Contador (Astana).

  Since teams nominate the starting order for their riders - Juan Antonio Flecha will start in Wiggins's unofficially 'allotted' place, fourth from the end - it was a decision taken by Team Sky with the weather conditions in mind.

  "You're never sure with the weather," said Dave Brailsford, the team principal. "And we know for a fact that Rotterdam has a unique micro climate, which is quite hard to predict - we know that from our sailing friends - but we think there's a high chance it's going to rain tomorrow."

  Students of Britain's Tour de France history are familiar with what can happen when rain begins to fall mid-way through a prologue time trial. In 1995, in St Brieuc, Chris Boardman was one of the later starters, and the favourite to claim his second consecutive prologue win, when torrential rain began to fall, making conditions treacherous. Chasing the time of Jacky Durand, an early starter, Boardman crashed and broke his ankle and wrist, while Durand upset all the favourites to hold on for a surprise win.

  On the untechnical Rotterdam course - Wiggins reckons there is only one corner on which he will have to brake - such a disaster is unlikely, but there is another factor in Team Sky's decision, as Brailsford explained.

  "The other thing is that hot air is faster than cold air - everyone knows that. So if you've got a chance of going off at four rather than seven, when it could be five or six degrees colder, then why wouldn't you?"

  Brailsford dismissed the suggestion that the atmosphere - not in a meterological sense, but in terms of the intensity of the crowd, and the presence in the warm-up area of the other big names - could affect the early-starting Wiggins.

  "The good thing about Brad is that he's ridden big races in all conditions," said Brailsford. "He's ridden important Olympic and world championship qualifying rounds at eleven in the morning in empty velodromes all over the world.

  "People say, 'but the big guys go at the end, will he not be more motivated then?'  Well, if you're not motivated at the start of the Tour de France, what are you doing here? You also hear people say, 'if he knows he's two seconds down, he'll try harder.' But that would mean he wasn't going at 100% in the first place.

  "Brad's mentality is such that it doesn't make a difference," added Brailsford. "When he goes off he'll do what he has to do."

  Tags:

  Tour de France

• Spanish champions looking for Tour de France stage wins

  

  Article published:

  July 2, 2010, 22:15

  By:

  Cycling News

  Gutiérrez, Sánchez to fly national colours in Tour de France

  The Caisse d'Epargne team will head into the Tour de France with a pair of Spanish national champions at the helm, leading the charge for stage wins and a high placing in the overall classification for leader Luis León Sánchez.

  Sánchez will debut the colours of his country in Saturday's prologue in Rotterdam, having earned the time trial championship for the second time in his career. The last time he held the title was in 2008, when he took his first and only Tour de France stage win in Aurillac.

  This year, he's looking for a little more from the Tour now that he is the team's undisputed leader since Alejandro Valverde was suspended.

  "To be the leader in such a big event put some more pressure on you, but my team has a lot of experience in the Tour and I know that they will do everything they can to help me," Sánchez said.

  "I am a lucky guy because I already know what it means to win a stage in the Tour and of course I would like that to happen again. But I am not looking for any stage in particular. The first goal will be to avoid crashes and I believe it will be the same for everybody in the bunch. After that it will be important to study the road book and see which stages offer the best opportunities."

  The 26-year-old winner of this year's Circuit de la Sarthe and runner-up at Paris-Nice and the Volta ao Algarve knows he is up against a tough course, and is aiming for a top 10 finish in Paris.

  "My weakest point has always been high mountain stages and this year I really worked a lot to improve that point. I spent a lot of time in Sierra Nevada to train in altitude and I am each time better in the mountains. In the Tour de Suisse even if my level was no so good yet, I tested myself and I am satisfied because I know I am on the right path," he said.

  Sánchez will have at his side a six-time Tour de Frace veteran in fellow national champion José Iván Gutiérrez, who will wear the Spanish road champion's jersey come Sunday.

  It is also his second time sporting his national colours in the Tour, having won the title previously in 2001 when he rode with ONCE.

  "Thanks to that title I will be more motivated than ever to start the Tour de France and also very proud to wear the Spanish colors even if that jersey won't change my manner of racing," said Gutiérrez. "Of course people will recognize me more easily but I will do exactly the same job as always. I will do my best to do everything my team expects me to do."

  An experienced Grand Tour veteran, Gutiérrez will support Sánchez in his goal to get a high placing in Paris as well as get in the hunt for stages along with his other Caisse d'Epargne teammates.

  "Everybody in the team will have the possibility to try and win a stage. We will go with the breakaways to take advantage of the opportunities. It is in fact the first time that I really plan to win a stage in the Tour. The first stages in the Netherlands and in Belgium will be very nervous ones. I believe it will be necessary to be patient because later on it will for sure be easier to try and win a nice stage. "

• Bikes to be scanned after Tour de France stages

  

  Article published:

  July 3, 2010, 03:27

  By:

  Barry Ryan

  Measures follow recent allegations of motorized bikes

  The Tour de France will see the debut of new measures to combat the threat of riders cheating with motorized bikes. From Saturday’s prologue onwards, UCI commissaires will choose a certain number of riders at the finish of every stage to have their bikes scanned for the presence of any kind of motorized assistance.

  According to L’Équipe, “one, five or fifteen” riders will be selected for scanning each day, according to the type of stage in question.

  The scanning equipment will function much like an airport scanner and will offer an x-ray of the interior of the frame. Should any sort of anomaly be detected, the bike will be confiscated and the rider in question expelled from the race.

  “It’s great that the UCI has taken this decision,” said Tour director Christian Prudhomme. “The videos are compelling but anything can be done with video. Since the system exists, everything must be done to make sure it is not used.”

  Prudhomme was referring to Davide Cassani's report on the technology on Italian station RAI and to recent YouTube footage suggesting that Fabian Cancellara may have used such technology to assist his victories in April’s Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Both Cancellara and his Saxo Bank team have strenuously denied such claims.

  At Thursday’s Saxo Bank press conference, Cancellara was keen to make light of the implementation of bike scanning, saying “If the scanner manufacturers arranging it and if that helps them to make some money, then…”

  It is not clear at this point if riders will be specifically targeted for scanning or if the tests will be performed at random.

• Explosive Landis revelations on eve of Tour

  

  Article published:

  July 3, 2010, 12:02

  By:

  Cyclingnews staff

  US Postal team allegedly sold bikes for doping program

  While the federal investigation into Floyd Landis's allegations against Lance Armstrong and the former US Postal team continues, media attention surrounding the details of his time in the squad gathers momentum. The Wall Street Journal published new revelations of alleged doping practices early Saturday, just prior to the start of the Tour de France.

  Several months ago Landis provided the publication with details of secret blood transfusions during the 2004 Tour de France, training camps in St Moritz with banned doctor Michele Ferrari, lavish parties featuring strippers in addition to the sale of team bikes to fund doping practices.

  Landis also told the paper that after his ill-fated 2006 Tour de France campaign, Armstrong had advised him to deny taking performance-enhancing substances, while Garmin-Transitions boss and former US Postal rider Jonathan Vaughters had invited him to stay in New York to avoid the pressure cooker situation that had arisen, and told him he should 'come clean' about everything he had done.

  Landis also revealed several situations where US Postal riders had transfused blood, namely at the 2004 edition of the Tour, which was convincingly won by Armstrong. The first instance allegedly took place in a hotel in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat on July 12, the first rest day of that year's race.

  According to Landis' account, staff members 'guarded' the hotel hallway, riders were told not to talk inside the room and elaborate measures had been taken to obscure the view of any possible hidden cameras.

  While not hiding the fact he had taken a blood transfusion himself, Landis also alleged that he had seen members of the US Postal team partaking in the procedure in the room.

  Armstrong and Team RadioShack manager (former US Postal team manager) Johan Bruyneel have constantly denied all of Landis' allegations, including those outlining doping during the 2004 Tour de France. While the Wall Street Journal said that some riders from the team have explained what they saw, others have vehemently denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs.

  Landis also recalled a training camp that had taken place during 2002 in St Moritz, known by riders as a haunt of now-banned physician Dr Michele Ferrari. Over a period of weeks, the Italian would follow training rides with Armstrong and Landis and monitor the riders' performance before they went to the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré where they finished first and second respectively.

  According to the Journal, Landis returned to St. Moritz at the behest of team manager Bruyneel, where he was given testosterone patches for recovery and had blood extracted - by Dr Ferrari - to be used at the Tour de France several weeks later. During that race Landis said he had one blood transfusion and received a $40,000 bonus for helping Armstrong win his fourth Tour. He was also offered a two-season, $200,000 per year contract.

  The second instance, also detailed in e-mails sent out by Landis in May, recalled of US Postal doping at the Tour in 2004, when the team's bus stopped on a mountainside road, and while the driver appeared to be fixing a 'broken' engine riders lay on the bus' long benches - or in Armstrong's case, on its floor - and transfused blood, with the bags taped to the sides of the bus cabin.

  Perhaps the most surprising new allegation revealed in the story details Landis discovering, following a request for a new bike after a problem with his own at Paris-Nice, that not all the team's Trek bikes were making their way to the squad members. Bruyneel allegedly revealed that the some 60 bikes not used by the squad were being sold to fund its doping program.

  According to the Wall Street Journal, federal investigators called the company, which revealed that indeed bikes went missing and would be seen for sale on the internet. Trek's general counsel, Robert Burns, didn't provide details whether the company sought the purpose of the sale of its bikes.

  Finally, Landis explained that he had undertaken a 'self-organised' doping program after leaving US Postal, culminating in his provisional victory at the 2006 Tour de France and subsequent rescinding of the win. He told the paper that he had approached then-Phonak team boss Andy Rihs about the program, although the Swiss businessman has denied that he knew of Landis' actions.