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First Edition Cycling News, Sunday, December 27, 2009
- Date published:
- December 27, 2009, 21:00
Santambrogio eager to ride for BMC
- Article published:
- December 27, 2009, 10:14
Italian ready to help captains Evans and Ballan at “the team of the future”
After leaving Lampre at the end of 2009, Mauro Santambrogio is off to a US-based team to help the current and former World Champions at BMC Racing Team.
“I cannot wait to get back into the game,” he said. “The idea of riding for a U.S. team is really exciting and also somewhat intriguing.”
He picked to ride for BMC for the coming year for one simple reason: “I had confidence in these people. In my opinion it is the team of the future.”Santambrogio, 25, has ridden for the Italian team Lampre since 2007. He signed a two-year contract with the Professional-Ranked BMC Racing, where he will join current World Champion Cadel Evans and former champion Alessandro Ballan.
“We're a good group,” he told tuttobici.com, “and I must point out that in addition to Evans and Ballan, there are other riders who are good and are internationally renowned.”
Santambrogio had one victory this year, winning the Tre Valli Varesine. He will make his debut with BMC at the season's opening ProTour race, the Tour Down Under (January 19-24), in which he finished eighth overall last year.
He will use the TDU “primarily to lay the groundwork for the Ardennes races - La Fleche Wallonne and Liege Bastogne Liege, “two great Classics that are run in the spring and were I can repay the trust that has been shown in me.”
He also expects to be a helper for Evans and Ballan at the Giro d'Italia. “The decision has been made and both Ballan and I will take part. And it is already clear that with Evans as captain of BMC, my responsibilities are greater.”
Burghardt ready to move on at BMC
- Article published:
- December 27, 2009, 12:24
Former Columbia-HTC rider looking foward to the future
Marcus Burghardt is preparing to start a new stage in his career, as he gets ready to ride for BMC Racing Team in 2010. The German had spent all five of his pro years with T-Mobile and then Columbia-HTC.
“I can tell how the time flies by, or shall I say, sprints by,” the 26-year-old said on his website, marcus-burghardt.com. “They were good years, in which I learned a lot. There were highs and lows, as every athlete experiences.”
His first career highlight was “unquestionably” winning Gent-Wevelgem in 2007, the same year he made his Tour de France debut. That race featured again in 2008, when Burghardt won the 18th stage in a two-man escape, “an absolute top result. I wish every cyclist could have something like that as reward for his diligence and discipline in training.”
Not everything has gone as wished in his career. Knee problems threw him back in 2006 and 2008. and the past season also didn’t go as planned. Not being nominated for the Tour de France was a hard blow for him.
He rode just a handful of top races towards the end of the season, but denied that it was because his team did not want him to ride, he insisted. Rather, illness caused him to miss racing.
Burghardt is now looking forward to his time with US-based BMC. He will start the year off with a training camp on Mallorca with his trainer before heading for the team's training camp in California.
The German will not ride the Tour Down Under, “because I have major problems with adjusting to the difference,” so he will start with the Tours of Qatar and Oman. The early part of the season will then feature the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Tirreno-Adriatico.
Renshaw hopeful early season setback helps Worlds selection
- Article published:
- December 27, 2009, 12:40
Virus forces lead-out man to re-shuffle schedule
Mark Renshaw is remaining optimistic after being diagnosed with Epstein Barr virus earlier this month. The Bathurst rider hopes the changes brought about by his illness will hold him in good stead for the International Cycling Union (UCI) World Road Championships in October.
Renshaw hopes to be selected for the squad, with the event to take place in Geelong, Melbourne. He’s been forced to miss traditional season-opening races Jayco Bay Series and Tour Down Under, with doctors ordering Renshaw to rest until mid-February to assist with recovery from the virus.
"While I feel a little frustrated that I won't be racing at home this summer, it means that I can also concentrate on earning selection in the national team for the world road championships back in Victoria in October,” Renshaw told The Australian. "That's easier said than done. There are a lot of very good riders around, but if I was British, I reckon I'd be the second rider picked behind Mark Cavendish.
"My goals now are to be race-fit for the Tours of California and Switzerland in the lead-up to working again for `Cav' at the Tour de France,” he added.
Renshaw’s compatriot Michael Rogers suffered from Epstein Barr in 2008, which destroyed the first half of his season. While the virus is remarkably common throughout the general population, athletes in particular need to recuperate thoroughly before returning to competition to ensure the virus doesn’t linger.
"The condition I've got is a viral infection, which means it doesn't respond to antibiotics,” he said. "The best way to fight the problem is with lots of rest and drinking plenty of fluids. The doctors have told me to have a complete break off the bike until mid-February."
Renshaw won a stage en route to overall victory at the 2008 Jayco Bay Series. He added to that success later in the month by winning the Tour Down Under’s opening stage to Angaston.
Saadoune named Morocco's Sportsman of the Year
- Article published:
- December 27, 2009, 13:15
Honour to Africa Tour leader and Tour du Faso winner
A cyclist has been named sportsman of the year in Morocco. Abdelaati Saadoune received the honour in the North African country, ahead of football player Marouane Chamakh and track athlete Amin Laalou.
Saadoune, 34, is the current leader of the UCI's Africa Tour. This year he won the overall title in the Tour du Faso, and was fifth in both the road race and time trial at the African Championships, as well as second in the Moroccan national time trial. He won two stages in the Tour of Rwanda, in which he finished second overall.
The awards were voted by 40 representatives of the national and international press. Sportswoman of the year was tennis player Fatima-Zahra El-Allami.
Boasson Hagen to make Tour debut
- Article published:
- December 27, 2009, 13:19
Norwegian aiming at Grand Tour stage win
Edvald Boasson Hagen says he’s expecting to make his Tour de France debut next year with new squad Team Sky. The Norwegian rider admits he’ll mainly be contesting the French event to accumulate experience riding the world’s largest stage race, but that hasn’t blunted his ambitions for July’s race.
“I’ll ride the Tour mainly to gain experience,” Boasson Hagen told Sporza.be. “My goal is to drive the race; I also hope to win a stage.”
Boasson Hagen enjoyed a successful year in 2009, claiming victory at Gent-Wevelgem, stages of both Tour of Poland and Tour of Britain and the overall classification in Britain. Now just 22-years-old, Boasson Hagen also claimed the Norwegian Time Trial Champion jersey and made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia this season, while riding for Columbia-HTC.
Following his success at Gent-Wevelgem this year, Boasson Hagen will be targeting the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix during the Northern Spring in 2010. He’ll likely be joining riders like Chris Sutton and Matthew Hayman throughout the team’s first Spring Classics campaign.
“I’m glad I can ride those races,” he said. “My goal is to perform there where possible.”
Team Sky will make its debut at January's Tour Down Under, the ProTour's opening round held in South Australia, Australia.
Tondo looking forward to helping Sastre in the Giro
- Article published:
- December 27, 2009, 14:46
Spaniard happy with “dream” racing calendar with Classics and Giro
Xavier Tondo is planning to ride his first Giro d'Italia in 2010, to help support Cervelo TestTeam captain Carlos Sastre. The 31-year-old Spaniard is joining the Swiss-based team after having ridden for various Professional and Continental-ranked Spanish teams, most recently for Andalucia-Cajasur.
The 31-year-old told Marca.com, "I am more than satisfied with the planning the team has prepared for me. And I'm really looking forward to the Giro. I know I will go to Italy with one goal: to work for Carlos Sastre. But for me that's not a problem. For me, it is an honour and a motivation."
The Giro will not be Tondo's first Grand Tour. He rode the Vuelta a Espana this year, as his team's captain. He dropped out during the 14th stage, still suffering from injuries suffered in the mass crash at the end of the fourth stage into Liege.
Tondo will start his season in February with the Tour of Qatar before going on to such major races as Paris-Nice, Volta a Catalunya, Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as a build-up to the Giro.
"My signing with Cervelo was with precisely this goal: to ride the big races on the calendar. And if I am offered such races as Paris-Nice, the Classics, the Giro, then I cannot have any grounds for complaint. The schedule I have is the one I have always dreamed of."
His race calendar so far only goes up through the Giro, with the rest to be planned later, after an analysis of his performance to date. "In principle we talk about doing the Giro and Vuelta,. But then we preferred to focus only on the Giro, and when it is done, we'll think about what could be the next challenges."
Tondo had two victories in 2009, winning stages in the Tour de San Luis and the Vuelta a Andalucia, finishing second overall in the latter race. He had a number of top 10 finishes in both stages and stage races, and also finished second overall in the Vuelta a Burgos.
The peloton's highlights of 2009 Part Three
- Article published:
- December 27, 2009, 15:25
Insiders look back at the past season
In the third installment of 2009 highlights, Cyclingnews asks more industry insiders how they saw things this past year.
Daniel Benson (Managing Editor, Cyclingnews)
Best performance: They say the sign of a champion is how they bounce back from adversity or defeat, and Cadel Evans’ ride in the Wolds proved exactly how big a champion he is.
The Australian had a disastrous Tour de France - from competitors sniggering at his attacks to being dropped as soon as the road went uphill. The final embarrassment must have been when his team began to talk up other riders' futures after he’s sacrificed so much and given the team two podium finishes.
However, fast forward to Mendrisio and Cadel put on a show that transformed not just his season but his entire career. It also threw up one of the most memorable images of the entire season as his wife let out her emotions when she saw Evans take the biggest win of his career. The image encapsulated all the passion within cycling in one unique instant. And of course, every time Evans is now questioned over his lack of aggression in races he need only point to his jersey and smile. Class.
Best Team: In terms of wins, it has to be Columbia-HTC's performances to the same level, Stapleton’s blitz on sprints and shorter time trials was clinical and impressive. A famous British football commentator once said you can’t win anything with kids. Tell that to Stapleton.
Biggest disappointment: A few cheats stick out of course but the biggest let down was the breakdown between the AFLD and UCI. The problem appears to be a blend of ego and power wrapped up in banner of legitimacy but what both parties is cooperation. They’re supposed to be cleaning up the sport. Aren’t they?
Rider to watch in 2010: 2009 was a breakthrough year for Ryder Hesjedal. The Canadian finished in the top ten in Tirreno - Adriatico and tenth Liege before working his socks off at the Tour de France – where he also managed to finish second on the stage to Montpellier. His Vuelta stage win came as a surprise to many but if he continues to progress he could have an ever better 2010. A strong climber and solid against the clock, Vaughters has already singled him out as the team’s joker card for the season ahead. Anyone who laughed when Vaughters claimed Wiggins could compete in Grand Tours should pay attention this time.
Most memorable race: Milan Sanremo for the precision and dedication exercised by Columbia-HTC but for pure surprise it has to be Paris-Nice. On the sixth stage to La Montagne de Lure Contador crushed the opposition with a devastating attack that had us all purring over his ability – the race seemingly wrapped up. However Luis Leon Sanchez had different ideas and his explosive efforts not only blew the race apart but ended being the only time in 2009 where Contador was seriously put on the back foot.
Biggest surprise: Heinrich Haussler was tipped for the top when he turned pro, but his career was beginning to stagnate at Gerlosteiner. The story goes that had it not been for one very determined voice at Cervelo, he may not have signed for them 2009. Yet Haussler was the revelation of the Spring, and his Tour stage win was one of the most iconic images of the entire year.
David Millar (Garmin-Transitions)
Best performance: Alberto Contador, he is a phenomenal athlete. The way he handled the exterior factors at the Tour de France this year showed that he isn't just a nice, talented, gentle boy who is in the right place at the right time. If anything, Lance [Armstrong]'s comeback and [Johan] Bruyneel’s disrespect made him better. That insolently precocious attack on the Andorra stage of the Tour was pure passion and a slap in the face to the people at Astana who forgot that he was the Number One. His kamikaze Paris-Nice final day attack was my personal favourite, a reminder of old times when riders would risk it all on the throw of a dice.
Best team: Team Garmin-Transitions. Our performance at the Tour was phenomenal, and I'm hugely proud of it. We are stronger as a team than any individual and that showed massively at the Tour. Proved by finishing second in the team classification. Add to that Brad [Wiggins] and Christian [Vande Velde] riding how they were, Tyler [Farrar] battling Mark [Cavendish] in the sprints and our special performance in the TTT and we can say with pride that we are almost unprecedented in our performance as a second-year pro cycling team. Obviously, I spent my year looking out from the inside of my team, so I'm going to be a little biased!
Biggest disappointment: Christian Vande Velde crashing hard in the Giro. Coming 'round the corner and seeing him laying on the floor clearing not getting back up was hugely disappointing. We were so looking forward to the next three months racing and training together. To have him fracturing numerous bones on only stage 3 of the Giro was gutting.
Rider to watch in 2010: Martyn Maaskant. He is a weapon on a bike, and has come of age this last year. He is one reason I am going to Flanders and Roubaix in 2010, I want to race with him when he's at his best on his roads.
Most memorable race: Doug Ellis (the owner of our team) and I took a trip up to Paris-Roubaix this year to watch it as fans and spectators. We got the full VIP treatment, starting in the team bus, then hopping between sections of pave before finishing in the velodrome. It was breathtaking, I couldn't believe the spectacle of it all, from the CRAZY Flemish fans to the battered riders coming in to the velodrome as if stumbling back from the battlefield. It is the other reason I am doing Paris-Roubaix in 2010.
Biggest Surprise: Bradley Wiggins fourth at the Tour, we thought he was climbing quite well...
Nicola Cranmer (General Manager PROMAN Professional Cycling Team)
Best performance: Kristin Armstrong winning World Time Trial Championship in dominating style. What a way to retire from racing! I am very honoured to be working with her next year. A phenomenal performer, a perfectionist and a dedicated coach and mentor.
Best Team: Cervelo TestTeam. A fantastic approach to product development and dedication to both a men's and women's program. The same can be said for Columbia-HTC, too, for its equal opportunity approach to both men's and women's programming.
Biggest disappointment: The general lack of support and press for women's racing. Its slowly changing. In particular, the women's racing and development of riders in the US is progressing at high speed. If you look at the accomplishments of female riders for Olympics, road, track, cross and mountain bike World Championships over the last three years, you can count on the US women being on the podium. It’s an exciting time for women. Races like the Amgen Tour of California should continue to support women, its an important part of our process to ensure growth of women's teams. The exposure we gain from participating in such races is invaluable.
Rider to watch in 2010: I am happy to say there are many US development riders that will be shining next year. There are several that come to mind but Shelley Olds has continued to improve year after year. Watch for her road performances next year. She has had a very successful World Cup track campaign, medalling in her last three events. We have assembled a phenomenal team for 2010 which will include several outstanding junior riders who will definitely be a force to contend with. Its my dream team! I have to mention Evelyn Stevens, too. She will be riding for Columbia-HTC.Most memorable race: Nature Valley GP. We raced a small team with a lot of heart. Its an event that has supported women for many years.
Biggest surprise: I was pretty surprised when one of my riders, Coryn Rivera, at age 16 won a stage of The Cascade Cycling Classic, an NRC event. She out-sprinted the best women in the US and on junior gearing! But Brad Wiggins' Tour De France performance really surprised me.
Luc Claessen (Race photographer)
Best performance: Alberto Contador’s Tour win. Not only from a sportive perspective, but the way he handled the pressure that Lance and his team put on his shoulders showed just how much of champion he is.
Best team: Team Columbia without any doubt... the best overall team I’ve seen over the last few years.
Biggest disappointment: Tom Boonen caught using coke again... we all hope he has learned his lesson.
Rider to watch in 2010: Heinrich Haussler. I think he’s going to make some massive strides over the winter and is ready to break through.
Most memorable race: Tour of Flanders. My favourite in years... the tension building up the days before the race. Stijn Devolder’s second win in a row made it the most memorable one.
Biggest Surprise: Mark Cavendish winning Milan-Sanremo. I, and as with me, most of the Belgian journalists never thought Mark was ready to win the Primavera so soon. I’m sure he’s able to win it five times more.
Bonnie Ford (ESPN)
Best performance: Mark Cavendish's win at Milan-Sanremo
Best team: Columbia-HTC
Biggest disappointment: The continuing farce that is Operacion Puerto.
Rider to watch in 2010: Tyler Farrar.
Most memorable race: The Tour de France team time trial.
Biggest Surprise: Brad Wiggins' fourth place in the Tour.
Magnus Backstedt (Sprocketpromotions)
Best performance: Fabian Cancellara at the World Championship Time Trial
Best team: Columbia-HTC
Biggest disappointment: Cadel Evans' Tour de France. He made it up with the worlds though.
Rider to watch in 2010: Johnny Hoogeland.
Most memorable race: Paris-Nice
Biggest Surprise: Bradley Wiggins' Tour de France and subsequent move to Team Sky.
Prudhomme confirms Qatar, Tokyo expressed interested in hosting Tour start
- Article published:
- December 27, 2009, 20:35
Race director welcomes globalisation of cycling
The push to expand cycling internationally gathered momentum recently with the news that Washington is a possible contender to host the start of the 2012 Giro d’Italia. Now, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme has confirmed that Qatar and Tokyo are amongst those chasing what could be the first-ever Tour start outside Europe.
The Frenchman didn’t comment on the chances of those bids being successful, but he did point out that he felt that, in general, this was a very positive development for cycling.
"We, the Tour de France, have had applications from Qatar, approaches from Tokyo," he said to Cyclingnews recently. "I am not sure if something will work out [as regards that], and not sure about the Giro…I have not yet spoken with Angelo [Zomegnan, the Giro race director].
"But what is good is that in a lot of places in the world, there is the desire to have big cycling races. For me, that is the most important point."
Tour de France organisers ASO have helped run the Tour of Qatar for several years, and it has been known for quite some time that the Gulf state was interested in hosting cycling’s biggest event.
The Tokyo approaches are less documented and, with an eight-hour time difference, plus roughly double the distance to travel back to France as there would be from Doha, it would pose considerably greater logistical and physiological obstacles to the race and the riders.
However the sheer fact that the Tour and the Giro have had such audacious approaches reflects the growing appeal of the sport.
Cycling has traditionally been focused around the European heartland but, as the ProTour-ranked Tour Down Under and the ever-expanding Tour of California indicate, the globalisation sought by the UCI is continuing to take place.
Prudhomme testifies to this. "We don't know under what form cycling will develop," he said. "Will it be through races organised by native people, such as it is done now in Canada, for example, with the GP Montreal and in Quebec, or will it be because the Grand Tours will start their races from there? We don't know. But what is clear is that there is a desire for cycling in those countries."
Roughly every second Tour de France starts outside France. Ireland (1998) and Great Britain (2007) have hosted the Grand Depart outside mainland Europe, requiring plane and ferry transfers.
The 2010 Tour will begin in Rotterdam, and it is heavily rumoured that the 2013 edition might commence in Corsica. If so, it would be the first time in the race’s long history that the race would travel the roads of the island.
As expected, the Tour director was tight-lipped about the chances of that happening. "We've met. I went over there," he said with a smile, then declined to elaborate further. The impression conveyed, though, was that there could be something to it.