First Edition Cycling News, Sunday, July 25, 2010

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Date published:

July 25, 2010, 21:00

• Freire to undergo nose surgery next week

  

  Article published:

  July 24, 2010, 16:21

  By:

  Cycling News

  Rabobank sprinter to have polyps removed

  Oscar Freire will undergo surgery next week to have polyps removed from his nose and sinuses. Rabobank announced Saturday afternoon that the Spanish sprinter would have the operation on the coming Tuesday.

  Freire, currently riding the Tour de France, has had problems with his nose all season. The last few rainy days at the Tour have aggravated the situation, according to team doctor Dion van Bommel.

  “Now is the time to intervene. A useful intervention, especially in view of the Vuelta and the forthcoming World championships, where Oscar is always a contender,” said Van Bommel.

  Freire will only spend one night in the hospital. “The condition is not serious, but especially for a cyclist, it can be inconvenient.” according to the doctor.

• Sánchez had off-day says Euskaltel boss

  

  Article published:

  July 24, 2010, 20:36

  By:

  Peter Cossins

  Galdeano offer his congratulations to Menchov on taking third place

  Holding an advantage of just 21 seconds over Denis Menchov going into the Pauillac time trial, it was always going to be difficult for Olympic road race champion Samuel Sánchez to hang on to third place on GC. But Sánchez's Euskaltel-Euskadi team manager Igor González de Galdeano admitted that the team had not been expecting their leader to lose two minutes to the Russian.

  "It was sad, because we thought that he could finish third but it's been snatched away from us," said Galdeano. "But we have to be satisfied with the performance of the team, because this has been the best result that Euskaltel-Euskadi have taken in their history. There's no doubt that Menchov was very strong. You could see that because he gained two minutes and we have to congratulate him because the race is not only won in the mountains, it's won in the time trials as well."

  Galdeano added: "We were a bit surprised by how the time trial went. We knew we were up against a great Menchov but today we thought that we were going to see a great Sánchez. We've seen a great Samuel up to today but for some reason today he wasn't at that level. It's a shame but once again we can only congratulate Menchov."

• Contador elated but admits he struggled

  

  Article published:

  July 24, 2010, 21:11

  By:

  Peter Cossins

  "I suffered more today than at any other time this year"

  As he heads towards Paris and his third Tour de France victory, Alberto Contador confessed that there had been moments during the Bordeaux-Pauillac time trial when he had thought the yellow jersey was slipping from his grasp. "I was scared that I might not beat Andy [Schleck] in the time trial. At one point I got information that I was five seconds behind him and I did think, 'Oh my God, this could be over for me,' when he was just a couple of seconds behind me. I had to go through a lot of suffering. But I kept very focused and held it together."

  Asked how he had felt as he crossed the finish line and realised that he had gained some key seconds on Schleck, Contador said, "The truth is there's a lot of emotion. I think it's the first Tour to give me this much emotion. You can't imagine how much I've given. Yes, there were few days when I wasn't in my best form, and that might be why I'm so emotional."

  "The last year has been difficult for all kinds of reasons," the Spaniard said. "This year I've not been at my best all the time and that was the case today. But of course in the end I'm very happy with how the year has now turned out. All the victories this year have been the result of a lot of hard work. It's been said that I've not competed in a lot of races but I've spent a lot of time away from home preparing for this objective."

  Asked why he had struggled, Contador said: "You never really know why things don't work out as you hope after the preparations you've done. There are so many aspects to the sport that you have to take into consideration. Cycling is not like math. You can't plan things exactly.

  "But this year I've not been in my best shape. Today I didn't feel too well. I didn't sleep well and woke up with stomach ache, but ultimately the day turned out pretty well for me, although I suffered more today than at any other time this year."

  He would not be drawn on how far he was below his best or what his worst days had been. "I can't really say what percentage I was below my best, but there were some moments that I had the same good sensations as last year. I wasn't at the same level as last year, but I still managed to win. I won't say which my bad days were. I'll keep that to myself for obvious reasons.

  "This year it rained a lot in Europe and I think that might have had some impact on my preparation because of the affect it had on my allergies. Certainly I was on antibiotics just before the Spanish championships in late June and that may have had an influence on my form."

  It was no surprise given their friendship that Contador had kind words for his closest rival. "Andy is a great rider and he is getting closer to me. We spend a lot of time together and I know his mindset and the way he works. I think he is going to be a major rival for many years to come. He's very young and I'm quite young too."

  As well as happiness, Contador admitted to a good degree of relief having put himself right on the verge of securing a third yellow jersey. "When I started riding a bike as a kid it was my dream to win the Tour de France because it is the most beautiful race in the world. I can see what it means to so many people and I've felt under so much pressure, which comes not only coming from outside but also from myself. So it's such a huge relief to have won the title."

  As for his future plans, Contador said: "I'm going to go away, rest and relax, and think about what I'm going to do in the future. At the moment, I'm evaluating several different options for next year. I hope to have a quiet winter, after which I'll set my objectives. The Giro and the Vuelta might be a possibility for next year. As for this year's Vuelta, I will rest and relax for a bit and then see how it looks with the team. However, the most likely scenario is that I will not take part."

• Procycling's daily Tour de France dispatch - stage 19

  

  Article published:

  July 24, 2010, 21:45

  By:

  Procycling

  Riis, Guimard, Baroque, doping

  Quote of the day

  “Did Bjarne Riis make good tactical decisions for Andy Schleck at this Tour? I don’t know…I thought it was Cancellara who decided Schleck’s tactics.”

  A mischievous Cyrille Guimard, winner of seven Tours as a directeur sportif, clearly alluding to Cancellara’s controversial role in “Wait-gate, Vol.1” on stage 2 to Spa.

  Time definitely up for bonuses?

  With the battle for the yellow jersey so tight at this year’s Tour de France, we’re not the only ones to have wondered whether the reintroduction of time bonuses might have made for an even more exciting spectacle. Those who share that view, though, shouldn’t hold their breath. ASO Competitions Director Jean François Pescheux told Procycling tonight that his organization wants to see “the rider with the lowest time on general classification win the Tour.” Pescheux added that, although the subject hasn’t yet been broached, it’s unlikely that time bonuses will return to the Tour in 2011 after a three-year absence.

  Bed & Dope-fest?

  The lack of any doping scandals at this year’s Tour has led some to speculate that cycling is winning the war on drugs.The experience of one Dutch journalist earlier this week, though, suggests that conclusion may be a tad hasty. On checking out of his rest-day digs on Friday, the reporter in question got chatting to the owner about a group of American amateur cyclists who had used his bed & breakfast as their base when in Monein, near Pau, to ride the Etape du Tour the previous week. Suffice it to say these weekend warriors were more “amateurish” in some regards than others: among the debris they left behind was, allegedly, a handsome collection of used syringes.

  
  Baroque in Bordeaux

  Following the calamity that was Procycling’s horrific Friday in bumper-to-bumper traffic en route to Bordeaux, when the day’s work was done around 10 p.m., the teams from Procycling and Cyclingnews – minus Richard Moore, who, with his refound pair of Paul Smith shoes, was already on the TGV to Paris – dumped off our luggage at a nearby hotel and headed for a suitable establishment that was willing to serve five fatigued hacks something resembling food. A hundred metres to our right along the Garonne river waterfront, we found a restaurant offering a ‘Menu du Tour de France’ – and in we went.

  It was quite a surprise, to say the least: darkly lit, Baroque-themed, and playing a beguiling mix of ballads that before too long, had the mesmerising effect of transporting us weary writers into another world. The service – and those who served – was equally enchanting, the food highly original and tasteful, and the bottle of Bordeaux red very… well, bordelais. Then, just before midnight, as the music ventured towards the highly surreal, one of the fetching wait staff threw off a black drape which unveiled a mannequin, sparsely covered in glistening silver sequins and showing plenty of faux-flesh, spinning slowly on a turntable. Had we entered a strip-club by mistake? What was next? Depending on your penchant for this type of stuff, fortunately or unfortunately, that was the end of it. Regardless, Anthony Tan wasn’t the only on left enraptured and spellbound till dawn the following morning. When he returns to his home in Sydney, Australia, Tan Man’s thinking of opening up a similar establishment *à la bordelaise*, so fascinated was he by the experience.

  Pauillac popular as ever

  In a number of respects, Pauillac was well-known even before Tour de France organisers decided to use this vibrant village halfway situated between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave as the finish town for the penultimate stage of the 2010 Grande Boucle. In 1777, the French aristocrat, Major-General Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Montier – a.k.a. Marquis de Lafayette – sailed from Pauillac to America to help obtain its independence. Today, however, Pauillac is better known for its 37 châteaux that include 1,200 hectares of vineyards and being the wine capital of the Médoc region. This, and its enviable location close to the Atlantic coast, make this town one of the most visited wine destinations in France.

   

• Menchov finally on the podium in Paris

  

  Article published:

  July 24, 2010, 23:36

  By:

  Brecht Decaluwé

  Gesink keeps sixth

  After finishing two minutes ahead of Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) in the all-deciding time trial from Bordeaux to Pauillac, Denis Menchov (Rabobank) will be the one joining overall winner Alberto Contador (Astana) and Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) on the podium on the Champs Elysées in Paris on Sunday.

  After finishing the time trial Menchov took his time to freshen up, joining teammate Robert Gesink at the team car. Once that was done the Russian talked with the attending media.

  "It was a hard time trial. It's always hard but today's wind made it really difficult. I had to fight hard. Looking back it was one of the best time trials of my life," Menchov said.

  Before the time trial Sanchez had a twenty-one second lead on Menchov but at the first intermediate point after eighteen kilometres the Russian had already moved past the Spaniard, taking a twenty-seven seconds bonus. "When I saw the course this morning I knew it would be good for me. I felt good right from the beginning and knew I had to start strong in order to make up time [on Sanchez].

  "At the first checkpoint it was already good. The gap was already forty-seven seconds [48]. I knew that I was going well so I knew it was possible," Menchov said.

  At the second intermediate time-check the Russian had extended his lead over Sanchez to one minute and twenty-one seconds. Eventually he finished exactly two minutes ahead of Sanchez, resulting in a1:39 lead in the general classification.

  "It was a very good performance and I'm very happy with it," Menchov said.

  The 32-year-old Russian is one of the few riders who finished on the podium in every Grand Tour. While racing for the Rabobank team Menchov has captured the overall victories in both the Tour of Spain (2005 and 2007) and the Tour of Italy (2009).

  Back in 2008 he finished fourth in the Tour de France but due to the disqualification of Bernhard Kohl the 32-year-old moved up to third place. This year's third place surely will feel much better, knowing he'll be on the podium on the Champs Elysées in Paris on Sunday.

  "For me this is a confirmation. I was going well and had been improving every year. I finally achieved the third place. It's a great result. I'm very satisfied," Menchov said.

  Teammate Robert Gesink wasn't thinking about improving his sixth place, rather hoping that he would be able to hold off Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions) and Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha). It was Hesjedal who became the biggest threat, eventually falling short by forty-four seconds.

  "I've never in been in as much pain in my life. The last three kilometres Frans [Maassen, director sportif] informed me about the gap on Hesjedal and that motivated me to give that extra notch. With a hard rate of 190 you start calculating, which is not a good thing to do. By the last kilometre I had figured out that the gap was big enough but I kept going because you never know if he could've miscalculated," Gesink joked.

  "My front wheel almost flipped away. The wind blew hard and that hurt a lot," Gesink said. When asked how he felt after realizing he would hold on to his sixth place the 24-year-old said he was delighted.

  "Certainly, especially on this course. Fifty-two kilometres... I don't know who invents this stuff but that's way too long, especially with the headwind. You're constantly counting down the kilometres, even though it's not good to do so. I'm super satisfied and super proud with my sixth place. It's my third Grand Tour and – looking back – my first full Tour de France.

  "Sixth is fantastic and if you'll look back you won't find many riders who pulled that off on their maiden trip through France. Sixth place is very promising, but my results in the past were like that too; I'm content that I could continue improving," Gesink said.

• Manx missile fires again on Champs Élysées

  

  Article published:

  July 25, 2010, 19:06

  By:

  Brecht Decaluwé

  Cavendish takes fifth stage win and aims for Melbourne

  For the second year in a row, the sprint festival on the Champs Élysées has been won by Mark Cavendish, the Manxman outsprinting Alessandro Petacchi by five bike lengths on the most famous piece of pavement in the world.

  "Every sprint in the Tour you've got to try and save as much energy as possible. On the Champs Élysées you can't save energy. You just go balls out to the line and that's what I did today," Cavendish said. "Once I was on Petacchi's wheel I knew I could win the stage. We came at the last corner and I just jumped. This is the most beautiful finish in the world. It's been a road full of emotions but if you win here you forget about all the disappointments," Cavendish said.

  The 25-year-old from the Isle of Man is the indisputable - though still uncrowned - king of the sprints in the Tour de France. Despite his fifth stage win Cavendish missed out on the overall victory in the sprint competition. His 232 points were not enough to keep Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) from holding on to an eleven-point margin in the points classification.

  Still, in only three years Cavendish has cannonballed himself into the history books. Sunday's win in Paris puts him level with the fifteen victories of Freddy Maertens, the legendary Belgian sprinter who also achieved this impressive tally in only three years. The major contrast with the sprinters of the past is that Cavendish fails to convert his domination in the sprint into an overall win in the points classification. Cavendish's mentor Erik Zabel, for example, won 'only' twelve stages but the German carried the green jersey to Paris on six occasions.

  The combination of a bad first week and his decision not to battle for the points at the intermediate sprints brought him defeat in this year's battle for the points, Cavendish explained. "I'm disappointed not to win the green jersey. It was my target for this year but I've had some bad luck during the first days and that ruined my run for the green jersey. Then again, we won five stages and should be happy with this year's Tour."

  Though failing to sport the green jersey on the podium in Paris the 25-year-old wasn't planning to change tactics. "My job is to win, and also mentally I want to win. If that's how I win the green jersey then that's how I win it. I'm not going to change my tactics. You might as well ask me how I'm going to change my tactics to win the mountains jersey. I've just got to try to win it. If it comes, then it comes. I'm a different type of rider to Thor Hushovd. That's my style to win the green jersey, by winning stages," an annoyed Cavendish replied when asked whether he thought about changing his tactics to win the green jersey.

  His annoyance might have been caused by the question posed just before that, when Cavendish was reminded of a comment made by a French commentator who said that he cheated by holding on to team cars in the mountain stages. "It's absolutely not true," Cavendish said when asked whether he had actually pulled off a trick like that in the mountains.

  There are still some major objectives to come for Cavendish this year and he isn't planning to stroll around until the end of the season. The sprinter aims to shine at the Tour of Spain and even more so at the World Championships in Melbourne.

  "After this I'm not riding the criteriums," Cavendish said. The post-Tour criteriums are a financially interesting, but form-wise unhealthy series of races organized throughout Europe right after the Tour. The races around the local church often attract thousands of people who want to see the Tour de France heroes in real-life. "I'm taking a week's break. I'm going to do the Vuelta and then I'm going to Melbourne. It's a simple as that."

• Petacchi emotional about green jersey success

  

  Article published:

  July 25, 2010, 20:09

  By:

  Stephen Farrand

  Italian wins points competition ahead of Cavendish and Hushovd

  Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) finished second behind Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) but had plenty to celebrate as he looked up to the Arc du Triomphe after crossing the finish line on the Champs-Élysées. With Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) only finishing seventh, Petacchi was confirmed as the winner of the points competition.

  Petacchi was clearly emotional as he climbed on the podium to pull on the special green jersey. He won two stages in the first week of the Tour but has fought off illness, rivalry from Thor Hushovd and Cavendish, and the accusation of doping in Italy to win the special jersey.

  The 36-year-old Italian scored a total of 243 points, beating Cavendish by 11 points and Hushovd by 21 points.

  "This jersey is very special for me because I came to the Tour just hoping to win a stage and never even thought I had a chance to win the points competition," he said.

  "I won two stages and the jersey came along stage after stage. I've got to thank my teammates if I managed to win it, because they played a huge part by helping me so much in the sprints.

  "Since breaking my kneecap in 2006, I've faced a string of major problems. It was a similar story in this Tour but thanks to the help of my family and all the people who have always been close to me, I got through it. It's a pity my son Alessandro isn't here because I wanted to take him onto the podium with me but I took a special good luck charm with me: his first pair of shoes."

  Petacchi is the first Italian to win the green jersey at the Tour de France since Franco Bitossi in 1968.

  "I've known Franco for a long time and I'm honoured to inherit his title of last Italian to win the green jersey," he said.

  "He was great champion. I'm just a rider who has always given his all during his career and I think this green jersey is another important victory of my career."

• Seventh overall repays Hesjedal for three weeks of suffering

  

  Article published:

  July 25, 2010, 20:58

  By:

  Stephen Farrand

  Canadian steps up to fill leader's role at Garmin-Transitions

  Ryder Hesjedal got a special hug from his girlfriend and lots of congratulations from his teammates outside the Garmin-Transitions team bus parked in the Place de la Concorde, just a few hundred metres from the finish line of the Tour de France.

  The friendly but extremely tough Canadian from Victoria in British Columbia secured seventh place overall, 10:15 behind Alberto Contador (Astana) but most of all landed a huge personal victory.

  Garmin-Transitions lost team leader Christian Vande Velde on stage two when he fractured his ribs in a crash but Hesjedal dug deep on every stage and stepped up to take over the leadership role.

  "It's real sweet to finish the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées, knowing you're seventh overall," he told Cyclingnews.

  "It's been an unbelievable Tour. Now I'm going to enjoy it as much as possible. I was pretty tired after the time trial, physically and mentally, so I didn't really celebrate. We're going to celebrate tonight though.

  "This is only my third Tour. The first one is obviously overwhelming and you can never duplicate that. The second was just a relief of getting back and both times we had great rides as a team and had riders in the top five. This time for me to come back and ride as I did and finish in this position, it's really a dream come true."

  Hesjedal seems to have the desire to succeed in such a tough and testing event like the Tour de France. He has the attitude and the aptitude to do his very best in the hardest moments of the hardest races.

  "I'm so proud of the way I rode. I wasn't scared and had nothing to lose. I just really pushed the limits and see how far I could lose. It worked out really well.

  "I think stage three set the tone for my race but today is right up there too. A lot of people said stage 12 was the hardest stage of the Tour based on what was going on up front. I was proud to be up there that day. Then I think my ride on the Tourmalet put it over the top. I think I took it to the race as much as I could and I wasn't scared to lose big and I think I ended up gaining big."