Second Edition Cycling News, Monday, July 27, 2009

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Date published:

July 27, 2009, 21:00

• Two Tour trophies for Franco Pellizotti

  

  Article published:

  July 27, 2009, 10:19

  By:

  Richard Tyler

  Italian seals Tour de France's mountains and combativity awards

  Franco Pellizotti capped off a successful Tour de France as he stepped onto the race podium to claim the overall mountains classification in Paris on Sunday.

  While he was unable to reach his pre-Tour goal of a stage win, the Liquigas rider was also awarded the Tour's overall combativity prize. Pellizotti told letour.fr that he was pleased with the role he was able to play in the three week race.

  "I felt many different emotions during this Tour. Above all, I had the ambition to win a stage. I tried several times but I could not achieve that goal, even if I did come close," said Pellizotti in Paris.

  "But the other objective was to win the polka-dot jersey and I’ve realized that. With the combativity award as well, I’m leaving this Tour with two awards which proves that I was present every day. Along with my teammates we helped to animate this race."

  Pellizotti rode aggresively throughout the Tour. His best chance of a stage win came on stage nine in Tarbes. On that occasion he was narrowly edged out in a sprint by Frenchman Pierrick Fédrigo (BBox Bougyues Telecom) after the two had broken away on the Col du Tourmalet.

  His win in the Tour's mountains classification meant Pellizotti became the first Italian do so since Claudio Chiappucci in 1992. He cemented his position in the race for the polka dot jersey in the Tour's alpine stages. Participation in a stage 16 breakaway gave him maximum points on both the hors categorie Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard and category 1 Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, effectively seeing off the challenge of Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

  "The battle for the polka-dot jersey went on for quite some time. I was very demanding to get it, and just as though to keep it. I am the first Italian to win this title after Claudio Chiappucci and that means a lot to me. When I saw him on the roads of the Tour all those years ago with this jersey… it was one of the images that remained with me. I wanted to win it one day."

  Pellizotti finished the climbers competition with 210 points, 75 points clear of Martinez (135 points) and 84 points clear of Tour winner, Astana's Alberto Contador (126 points).

• Hatchet buried as Hushovd claims second green jersey

  

  Article published:

  July 27, 2009, 11:44

  By:

  Richard Tyler

  Cervélo TestTeam captain and Cavendish share Tour spoils

  Thor Hushovd claimed his second Tour de France points classification title after finishing sixth on the final stage in Paris on Sunday. Hushovd was able to withstand the challenge from Columbia-HTC's Mark Cavendish, who won six stages in this year's Tour.

  Speaking after the stage the Cervélo TestTeam sprinter said that he and Cavendish had built a mutual respect throughout the Tour's three weeks.

  "When you get to the finish of a bunch sprint, you always have a lot of adrenaline. There are a lot of things that happen in that final rush to the line and it’s easy to say a lot of things to your rivals immediately after," Hushovd told letour.fr.

  "Mark [Cavendish] and I have already forgotten about all the incidents. We’ve shaken hands, talked about it and put it all behind us. We both had a good Tour this year, he won a lot of stages and I’ve got the green jersey."

  Hushovd won a stage in the race himself, taking a victory in Barcelona on stage 6. However, like many of his fellow sprinters, he finished some metres behind a dominant Mark Cavendish on the Champs Élysées on Sunday.

  Despite his victory on the final stage, Cavendish was unable to dislodge Hushovd from the top of the points green jersey competition. The Norwegian finished the Tour ten points clear of his younger rival.

  The battle for green between Hushovd and Cavendish had been one of the major talking points of the race. The rivalry between the two peaked on stage 14, when Cavendish was relegated by the race jury for irregular sprinting after a protest by Hushovd.

  Then, with a daring solo attack on the Alpine stage 17, Hushovd absorbed the intermediate sprint points on offer and effectively sealed his hold on the competition.

  "We talk a lot when we’re riding but we had a big battle during the Tour de France – especially after he was relegated, that was a hard time – but we’ve talked about it and have forgotten it. The last few days we had a good ride and good race for this important jersey."

  Hushovd finished the competition with 280 points in front of Cavendish (270 points) and Milram's Gerald Cioleck (148 poins). Hushovd won his first Tour de France points classification in 2005.

• Hoogerland and Cooke named in Vacansoleil's Vuelta shortlist

  

  Article published:

  July 27, 2009, 12:20

  By:

  Richard Tyler

  Spanish Grand Tour to start at home for Dutch squad

  Vacansoleil have named a thirteen rider shortlist for their 2009 Vuelta a España squad.

  The nine-man team will be picked from the following riders: Borut Bozic, Matteo Carrara, Baden Cooke, Johnny Hoogerland, Sergey Lagutin, Björn Leukemans, Gerben Löwik, Marco Marcato, Jens Mouris, Matthé Pronk, Bobbie Traksel, Frederik Veuchelen and Lieuwe Westra.

  The team says it will make its final selection in mid-August.

  The Dutch pro continental squad is one of 21 teams selected for the Spanish Grand Tour. They will be joined at the start by Spanish pro continental squads Andalucía-Cajasur, Contentpolis-Ampo and Xacobeo-Galicia. ProTour teams Katusha and Fuji-Servetto were both denied invitations to the race by the race organiser, Unipublic.

  For Vacansoleil the race will begin at home as the prologue and first three stages of the Vuelta are scheduled to take place in the Netherlands. The race begins on August 29 with a 4.5-kilometre prologue on the grand prix motorcycle circuit in Assen.

  The race will conclude in Madrid on September 20.

• Alberto Contador and Astana ride straight to the top of rankings

  

  Article published:

  July 27, 2009, 13:49

  By:

  Richard Tyler

  Tour de France causes re-shuffle in latest UCI lists

  After claiming his second Tour de France title on Sunday in Paris Astana's Alberto Contador has shot to the top of the International Cycling Union's (UCI) latest world rankings, released on Monday.

  The French Grand Tour caused a significant reshuffling of the lists after Contador and his Astana teammates dominated both the overall and teams classifications at the race.

  Spaniard Contador replaced compatriot Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) at the top of the individual ranking. With Valverde absent in July, Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) and Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) have pushed the former Spanish national champion into fourth place on the list.

  Cadel Evans and Giro d'Italia winner Denis Menchov each slipped several places following their lacklustre performances at the Tour de France.

  Astana have moved from fourth to first in the team rankings as Saxo Bank, Columbia-HTC and Liquigas fill the following three spots, respectively.

  Spain remained at the top of the nation rankings as the efforts of the Schleck brothers moved Luxembourg to sixth. Great Britain and the United States have both moved inside the top ten.

  Results

  1	Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana	527	pts
  2	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	334
  3	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - Highroad	304
  4	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne	295
  5	Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas	250
  6	Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana	232
  7	Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto	219
  8	Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank	218
  9	Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo Test Team	217
  10	Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team	216
  11	Frank Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	212
  12	Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step	205
  13	Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.	202
  14	Davide Rebellin (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli	194
  15	Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne	189
  16	Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini	188
  17	Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Silence-Lotto	187
  18	Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	178
  19	Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo	170
  20	Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha	157
  21	Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas	156
  22	Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha	154
  23	Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana	150
  24	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank	148
  25	Antonio Colom (Spa) Team Katusha	145
  26	Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank	145
  27	Michele Scarponi (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli	139
  28	Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas	138
  29	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas	135
  30	Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team	134
  31	Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	133
  32	Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha	132
  33	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream	130
  34	Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - Highroad	125
  35	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Columbia - Highroad	116
  36	Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad	115
  37	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step	107
  38	Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step	104
  39	Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step	104
  40	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini	102
  41	Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	98
  42	Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Astana	94
  43	Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia - Highroad	90
  44	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne	89
  45	Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank	87
  46	Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Slipstream	87
  47	Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne	87
  48	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank	82
  49	Simon Gerrans (Aus) Cervelo Test Team	80
  50	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana	79
  51	Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream	78
  52	Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale	77
  53	Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale	74
  54	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream	73
  55	Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin - Slipstream	64
  56	Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas	61
  57	Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank	60
  58	Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence-Lotto	60
  59	Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française Des Jeux	58
  60	Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo Bank	57
  61	Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux	54
  62	Matthew Goss (Aus) Team Saxo Bank	53
  63	Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team Saxo Bank	51
  64	Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne	50
  65	Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence-Lotto	50
  66	Angel Gomez (Spa) Fuji-Servetto	50
  67	Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Française Des Jeux	50
  68	Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Quick Step	49
  69	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas	47
  70	Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Team Columbia - Highroad	45
  71	Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank	44
  72	Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank	44
  73	Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank	42
  74	Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank	40
  75	Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia - Highroad	40
  76	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.	39
  77	Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Saxo Bank	33
  78	David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne	33
  79	Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom	32
  80	Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom	32
  81	Andreas Klier (Ger) Cervelo Test Team	30
  82	Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram	30
  83	Aitor Galdos (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	30
  84	Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana	30
  85	Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	26
  86	Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale	26
  87	Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel	26
  88	Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Skil-Shimano	25
  89	Enrico Rossi (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce	22
  90	Jose Serpa (Col) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli	22
  91	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto	22
  92	Xavier Tondo (Spa) Andalucia Cajasur	21
  93	Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank	21
  94	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Slipstream	20
  95	Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.	20
  96	Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française Des Jeux	20
  97	Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team	20
  98	Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank	20
  99	Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram	20
  100	Michael Albasini (Swi) Team Columbia - Highroad	19
  101	Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBox Bouygues Telecom	18
  102	Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia - Highroad	17
  103	Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha	17
  104	Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas	16
  105	Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana	16
  106	Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Amica Chips - Knauf	16
  107	Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Cervelo Test Team	16
  108	Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank	16
  109	David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream	15
  110	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale	15
  111	Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad	15
  112	Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale	14
  113	Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.	14
  114	Greg Henderson (NZl) Team Columbia - Highroad	12
  115	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Fuji-Servetto	11
  116	Luca Paolini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo	11
  117	Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram	11
  118	Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team Columbia - Highroad	11
  119	Ben Swift (GBr) Team Katusha	11
  120	Nick Nuyens (Bel) Rabobank	10
  121	Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank	10
  122	Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française Des Jeux	10
  123	Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom	10
  124	Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	10
  125	Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia - Highroad	10
  126	Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld	10
  127	Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	10
  128	David De La Fuente (Spa) Fuji-Servetto	9
  129	George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia - Highroad	9
  130	Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française Des Jeux	9
  131	Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo	8
  132	Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha	8
  133	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana	8
  134	Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step	8
  135	Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas	8
  136	Serge Pauwels (Bel) Cervelo Test Team	8
  137	Félix Cardenas (Col) Barloworld	8
  138	Rubens Bertogliati (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli	8
  139	Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française Des Jeux	7
  140	David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	7
  141	Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram	7
  142	Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Team Katusha	6
  143	Hayden Roulston (NZl) Cervelo Test Team	6
  144	Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank	6
  145	Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Team Katusha	6
  146	Bert Grabsch (Ger) Team Columbia - Highroad	6
  147	Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Skil-Shimano	6
  148	Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team Columbia - Highroad	6
  149	Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram	6
  150	Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas	6
  151	Julien El Fares (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	6
  152	Angelo Furlan (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.	6
  153	Julian Sanchez (Spa) Contentpolis-Ampo	6
  154	Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Fuji-Servetto	6
  155	Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha	6
  156	Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas	6
  157	Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel	6
  158	André Greipel (Ger) Team Columbia - Highroad	6
  159	Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	5
  160	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - Highroad	4
  161	Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago	4
  162	Mikael Cherel (Fra) Française Des Jeux	4
  163	Egoi Martinez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	4
  164	Gustav Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank	4
  165	Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence-Lotto	4
  166	Markus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram	4
  167	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale	4
  168	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	4
  169	Danny Pate (USA) Garmin - Slipstream	4
  170	Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana	4
  171	Pavel Brutt (Rus) Team Katusha	4
  172	Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale	4
  173	Timothy Duggan (USA) Garmin - Slipstream	4
  174	Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step	4
  175	Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale	4
  176	Markus Zberg (Swi) BMC Racing Team	4
  177	Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce	4
  178	Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.	4
  179	Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Liquigas	3
  180	Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Cervelo Test Team	2
  181	Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram	2
  182	Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel	2
  183	Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	2
  184	Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBox Bouygues Telecom	2
  185	Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana	2
  186	Thomas Dekker (Ned) Silence-Lotto	2
  187	Xavier Florencio (Spa) Cervelo Test Team	2
  188	Davide Vigano (Ita) Fuji-Servetto	2
  189	Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Katusha	2
  190	Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française Des Jeux	2
  191	Murilo Fischer (Bra) Liquigas	2
  192	Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step	2
  193	Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale	2
  194	Pablo Urtasun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	2
  195	Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank	2
  196	Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana	2
  197	Baden Cooke (Aus) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team	2
  198	Mauricio Soler (Col) Barloworld	2
  199	Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	1
  200	Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step	1
  201	Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	1
  202	Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.	1
  203	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Fuji-Servetto	1
  204	Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence-Lotto	1
  205	Adam Hansen (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad	1
  206	Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.	1
  207	Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	1
  208	Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française Des Jeux	1
  209	Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli	1
  210	Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervelo Test Team	1
  211	Dmytro Grabovskyy (Ukr) ISD	1
  212	Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli	1
  213	Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	1
  214	Dominique Rollin (Can) Cervelo Test Team	1
  215	Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Team Columbia - Highroad	1
  216	Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano	1
  217	Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Liquigas	1

  Teams

  1	Astana	1082	pts
  2	Team Saxo Bank	863
  3	Team Columbia - High Road	750
  4	Liquigas	740
  5	Caisse d'Epargne	710
  6	Cervelo Test Team	697
  7	Team Katusha	605
  8	Quick Step	569
  9	Silence - Lotto	538
  10	Rabobank	491
  11	Garmin - Slipstream	432
  12	Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli	379
  13	Euskaltel - Euskadi	377
  14	LPR Brakes Farnese Vini	290
  15	Lampre - N.G.C	281
  16	AG2R La Mondiale	206
  17	Française Des Jeux	192
  18	Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo	189
  19	Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne	126
  20	BBox Bouygues Telecom	94
  21	Team Milram	74
  22	Agritubel	34
  23	Skil-Shimano	32
  24	Fuji-Servetto	29
  25	Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce	26
  26	Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team	22
  27	Andalucia Cajasur	21
  28	Barloworld	20
  29	Contentpolis-Ampo	6
  30	Landbouwkrediet - Colnago	4
  31	BMC Racing Team	4
  32	ISD	1

  Nations

  1	Spain	1334	pts
  2	Italy	910
  3	Australia	706
  4	Germany	661
  5	Russian Federation	580
  6	Luxembourg	563
  7	Belgium	505
  8	Great Britain	462
  9	United States of America	389
  10	Norway	332
  11	Netherlands	285
  12	France	283
  13	Czech Republic	261
  14	Switzerland	253
  15	Denmark	210
  16	Belarus	110
  17	Sweden	105
  18	Ireland	103
  19	Estonia	98
  20	Colombia	87
  21	Slovenia	85
  22	Kazakhstan	36
  23	Canada	21
  24	Ukraine	21
  25	New Zealand	18
  26	Lithuania	16
  27	Austria	12
  28	Slovakia	11
  29	Finland	10
  30	South Africa	10
  31	Poland	6
  32	Japan	2
  33	Brazil	2

• Rock Racing pleased with 1-2 in Cascade

  

  Article published:

  July 27, 2009, 17:28

  By:

  Kirsten Frattini

  Sevilla helped Mancebo to runner-up spot

  Rock Racing's Oscar Sevilla captured the BMC Cascade Cycling Classic title, but not before helping his teammate Francisco Mancebo move into second place ahead of BMC's strong-man Jeff Louder who placed third. The six-stage race culminated in Bend, Oregon on Sunday.

  "I am very happy to win here in Cascade," said Sevilla. "I could not have done this without the help from all my teammates. This is an important win for our team Rock Racing, especially because it is a great race in America. It's also important for me - I'm very pleased to win this jersey."

  Sevilla and his teammate Mancebo, who started the stage in third place, followed a last minute move on a descent to the sixth and final stage finish. Sevilla had a healthy lead in the overall classification, but reverted to a domestique role to help his teammate Mancebo gain the additional seconds needed to bypass Louder and take second place in the overall.

  "I was very happy to help him do that because he is my teammate but also my close friend for many years," said Sevilla. "He worked so hard for me this week and I wanted to work for him in the end."

  Sevilla moved into the race lead after his stage two victory atop Three Creeks Snow Park. The subsequent race for the overall title did not come without a hard-fought battle between top GC contenders Jeff Louder and Ian McKissick (BMC), Chris Baldwin and Rory Sutherland (OUCH p/b Maxxis) and Jeremy Vennell and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell).

  "All the teams were very strong, especially BMC who were attacking a lot," Sevilla said. "My team worked very hard, they have a lot of experience and this victory is for the whole team. We also have a directeur Lorenzo [LaPage] who is very intelligent and very calm guiding us this week."

  Sevilla noted that he will be taking a well-deserved rest after completing two back-to-back stage races in two continents in just ten days. The Spaniard placed fourth in Spain's Vuelta a Madrid, then had thirty hours of travel to Oregon's Cascade Cycling Classic. He hopes recovery in time to put forth another winning performance at the Tour of Utah held in August.

  "The Tour of Utah is very similar to this race," Sevilla said. "There is a lot of climbing and I want to have a good race there. I will go to Los Angeles for a few days to recover and then take a week training camp in Utah to prepare for the stage race."

• Schumacher, Rebellin have hearing on Olympic doping charges

  

  Article published:

  July 27, 2009, 19:14

  By:

  Cyclingnews

  No date set for decision

  Stefan Schumacher and Davide Rebellin had hearings before the International Olympic Committee's Disciplinary Commissions on Monday, concerning their positive doping controls from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Both cyclists tested positive for CERA, a derivative of EPO.

  Four other athletes from other disciplines, who also tested positive for CERA during the Olympics, also had their hearings on Monday.

  "The IOC Disciplinary Commission gave the athletes and their representatives the opportunity to be heard," the IOC said. "The decision by the IOC will be taken in due course after deliberation."

  Thomas Bach of Germany, the chairman of the Commission, told the dpa press agency that "There is not a fixed time plan for decisions." However, the IOCs Executive Committee has its next meeting scheduled for August 13 and 14 in Berlin, and could decide on sanctions at that time.

  Schumacher, a German who rode for Team Gerolsteiner, also tested positive twice during the 2008 Tour de France for CERA. He was given a two-year-suspension by the International Cycling Union, which he is appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sports.

  Rebellin was also with Team Gerolsteiner last year and rode for Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni this season before being suspended in April. He had finished second in the men's road race at the Olympics.

• AFLD president suspects new drugs in peloton

  

  Article published:

  July 27, 2009, 19:16

  By:

  Cyclingnews

  "Endurance in a pill", new blood booster two candidates

  For the first time in years, the Tour de France ended without a single rider testing positive during the race. While all the results may not be in, there is cautious hope that the peloton is finally cleaning itself up after years of doping scandals. But the French Anti-doping Agency president Pierre Bordry is not convinced.

  Bordry suspects that the riders are still engaging in autologous blood transfusions, he told Le Monde. The AFLD head also said he is  "convinced that two new products have been used during the Tour, two drugs that are not yet on the market."

  The first, Hematide, works on the same biochemical pathway that erythropoeitin (EPO) does, but is a different molecule. It would, therefore, likely defeat the traditional test for EPO. The drug, made by Affymax, is still in phase three clinical trials.

  The second drug that Bordry suspects is AICAR (aminoimidazole carboxamide ribonucleotide), or the so-called "exercise in a pill" which made news in 2008. Scientists discovered that in mice, the drug can boost endurance in the absence of actual training. The drug was found to convert fast-twitch muscle fibers to the more efficient slow-twitch fibers that benefit endurance athletes.

  Last year, the Los Angeles Times reported that scientists had developed detection protocols for the substance and turned them over to the World Anti-doping Agency, but WADA has a policy of not commenting on when doping tests have been implemented.

  Bordry also noted to Le Monde that his agency discovered drug products in the trash from several teams. "We found several strong medications, including a substance which produces insulin and usually is used for diabetes."

• Contador no fan of Armstrong

  

  Article published:

  July 27, 2009, 20:38

  By:

  Cycling News

  Spanish Tour champion says relationship with Armstrong is 'zero'

  Tour de France winner Alberto Contador spoke out against teammate Lance Armstrong, the Tour's third place finisher, in a Madrid press conference on Monday. "My relationship with Lance Armstrong is zero," the 26-year-old Spaniard said, according to AFP. "He is a great rider and has completed a great race but it is another thing on a personal level, where I have never had great admiration for him and I never will."

  The 2009 Tour winner described the tension behind the scenes within the Astana team. "On this Tour, the days in the hotel were harder than those on the road. The situation was tense and delicate because the relationship between myself and Lance extended to the rest of the staff. The two riders who had the most weight on the team did not have an easy relationship and that puts the rest of the technical staff and the riders in an uncomfortable position."

  While Armstrong acknowledged Contador's undeniable sporting abilities, stating "Alberto was far superior to anyone else in the race this year," his actions on Saturday evening belied a lack of respect for his teammate's impending Tour de France victory. While the Astana team had a party to celebrate the victory Contador would confirm in Paris less than 24 hours away, Armstrong chose to have dinner with people from RadioShack, the title sponsor of Armstrong's new American team for 2010.

  In addition to the internal strife endured by Contador throughout the three-week Tour de France, Contador was the victim of a public gaffe during the podium ceremony in Paris on Sunday in which the Danish national anthem was played instead of Spain's. Contador called the incident a "huge blunder" but added that the race organisers had "rectified matters, albeit belatedly."

  While Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel have declared their intentions to leave Astana in 2010 for the new American team sponsored by RadioShack, Contador has not publicly revealed his choice of teams for 2010. Contador has one more year in his contract with Astana, but he may seek exit from it in order to join another team. "We'll have to see what happens," said Contador. "I don't know where I will go, but it will clearly be with a team that is 100 percent behind me."