Second Edition Cycling News, Thursday, September 10, 2009

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Date published:

September 10, 2009, 19:00

• Luxembourg, Belgium start naming final Worlds squads

  

  Article published:

  September 10, 2009, 09:36

  By:

  Cycling News

  Small team for Luxembourg, no men's road race squad yet for Belgium

  Luxembourg and Belgium have announced partial teams for the upcoming World Championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland, later this month. Luxembourg is sending a smaller squad than it could, and the Belgians have yet to name the men's road race team.

  Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) and Kim Kirchen (Columbia-HTC) are the big names on the team announced by the Grand Duchy's federation. Fränk Schleck was supposed to be on the roster as well, but instead is undergoing knee surgery later this week, ending his season early. Both Andy Schleck and Kirchen have dropped out of the Vuelta a España with intestinal problems, but are expected to be healthy again for the Worlds.

  Laurent Didier (Design Kokken) and Jempy Drucker (Continental Team Differdange) round out the team. The country was sixth in World Classifications announced last month, allowing it to send nine riders to the World Championships, but the national federation chooses to compete with only four riders.

  Luxembourg has also nominated Pit Schlecter and Joël Zangerlé for the U23 road race. Ben Gastauer is named for the both the U23 road race and time trial.

  According to the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Belgian national coaches Carlo Bomans, Jean-Pierre Dubois and Ludwig Willems have selected the men's time trial, women's road and both U23 teams. Dominique Cornu and Sébastien Rosseler, both of Quick Step, will ride the men's race against the clock. The men's road race team is due to be announced September 14.

  Jessie Daams, Lieselot Decroix, Liesbet De Vocht, Ludivine Henrion, and Grace Verbeke will ride the women's road race for Belgium. Julien Vermote and Jonathan Dufrasne will ride the U23 time trial, while Kris Boeckmans, Romain Zingle and Sep Vanmarcke have been named for the U23 road race.

• Farrar leaves Vuelta

  

  Article published:

  September 10, 2009, 10:20

  By:

  Shane Stokes

  Stage winner withdraws on rest day to prepare Worlds

  Yesterday saw Tyler Fararr take the first Grand Tour stage victory of his career, but the Garmin Slipstream rider has decided not to persist in the Vuelta a España. Although the 25-year-old is clearly one of the fastest sprinters in the race, he has decided to withdraw on the rest day and will concentrate on his next target, the World Championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland.

  "Tyler will pull out of the Vuelta today," directeur sportif Johnny Weltz told Cyclingnews this morning. "Yesterday was a little extra, that went very well, but with the tough mountain stages ahead he'll stop now. He doesn't have any problems - we always planned that he'd pull out during the race as he's started three Grand Tours this year. He's a young guy and has already done a lot.

  "The plan now is that he will head home now and prepare for the Worlds," he added.

  Farrar has had an excellent season, netting a string of second and third places in the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, winning three stages in the Eneco Tour, taking the Vattenfalls Cyclassics plus other successes. He's emerged as probably the biggest rival to Mark Cavendish, even if the Manx rider currently has the edge in sprints.

  Farrar has been racing since February, when he finished fourth and fifth on stages of the Tour of California.
   

• Astarloza maintains total innocence

  

  Article published:

  September 10, 2009, 11:40

  By:

  Hedwig Kröner

  Euskaltel-Euskadi stands by its rider

  Basque Mikel Astarloza reiterated he's innocent following counter-analysis confirmation of a positive test for blood booster Erythropoietin (EPO). Astarloza, who won Tour de France stage 16, dismisses any drug use and his Euskaltel-Euskadi team supports him.

  "I'm completely innocent," Astarloza told Cyclingnews today, one day after the counter-analysis confirmation. "Unfortunately, I can't prove it, and I can't explain what happened. I just know that I haven't taken anything prohibited. I'm very unhappy, as I don't know what could have possibly put me in this situation.

  "I understand that it's difficult to believe that a positive cyclist is innocent. People will think: 'Why should we believe him and not the others?' – I understand. But if I'd done something wrong, I would have the courage to admit it. But I don't want to admit something that I haven't done. Even if this would get me a reduced ban of just one year."

  Astarloza, 29, tested positive for EPO on June 26, but the International Cycling Union (UCI) only announced the result after the Tour de France, on July 31. He won the mountain stage to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, on July 1, ahead of France's Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux).

  Euskaltel-Euskadi said yesterday that it believes Astarloza and asked several lawyers and experts to prove his innocence. It announced that it temporarily suspended him from the team.

  "We will not sanction him as we are certain that he has not taken any prohibited substance. Anti-doping analysis is unreliable," said directeur sportif Gorka Gerrikagoitia yesterday.

  "They have my medical records and blood values since I joined the team three years ago," said Astarloza. "If they continue to believe in me, then that also means they have all the reason to."

  He knows that his quest to clean his name will not be an easy one. "Of course there have been so many doping offenses in cycling that people will not believe me. For the world, I'm just another doping case. But for me, it's about my honour, and I can't admit something I have not done."

• Gerrans wins third big race, Worlds next?

  

  Article published:

  September 10, 2009, 11:45

  By:

  Gregor Brown

  Australian Gerrans wins Vuelta stage, targets Worlds, 2010 Ardennes with team Sky

  Australian Simon Gerrans has only won three times this year, but they have all been big victories: a stage at both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España, as well as French one-day race GP Plouay. The Cervélo rider won the Vuelta a España's 10th stage to Murcia Tuesday and looks ahead to his next objective in two weeks, the World Championships.

  "I have been able to come up right each time," Gerrans told Cyclingnews. "This year I have had a big race programme, I have not done too many smaller races. The smaller ones I have done have been preparations for my objectives."

  Gerrans, 29, prepared well for the Ardennes Classics in April. Although he failed to get a victory, he placed in the top ten in all three races. His good form carried him through to the Giro. In Italy, he supported overall leader Carlos Sastre and fought for stage wins, finally  succeeding on the famous climb to the San Luca sanctuary in Bologna.

  After a break, Gerrans came back to win France's one-day Classic GP Plouay in August. The event was held on the same course as the 2000 World Championships and might predict the future for the Australian.

  "I have come here [Vuelta - ed.] to also prepare for the World Championships," continued Gerrans. "If you look at the past 10 years, most of the winners have come from the Vuelta.

  "I think I definitely merit some support in the Australian team, but we should have multiple captains and not put it all on one guy's shoulders. I don't know, if it all pans out right I can be up there with the best."

  This year's circuit in Mendrisio, Switzerland, is 13.8 kilometres long and features two climbs, Acqua Fresca and Novazzano. It will be repeated 19 times for 262.2 kilometres and 4655 metres of climbing.

  Whether or not Gerrans will wear the World Champion's rainbow jersey in 2010, he will race with the Sky logo. Gerrans announced today that he would join the British team and leave Cervélo TestTeam. He had joined Cervélo this season after four years with AG2R and one with Crédit Agricole.

  "There were some races I wanted to do, that I didn't, whether it was in a support role or with some freedom," Gerrans said of Cervélo. "Then there were some races that were objectives, where I don't think I got the support I should have."

  Next year, Gerrans wants to focus on a win in the one-day Ardennes Classics: Amstel, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

  "I had three top 10 finishes this year, I think it is something I can build on in the future. I think the names that are associated with Sky, the riders and staff, I will have every opportunity to do that there."

  He will also aim for a week-long stage race, like Paris-Nice.

• Sky announces ten more riders

  

  Article published:

  September 10, 2009, 11:50

  By:

  Daniel Benson and Susan Westemeyer

  Boasson Hagen, Lövkvist, Gerrans, Flecha lead the list

  Team Sky has made the biggest indication that it will be a major force in international cycling by announcing 10 more riders for the 2010 season. It comes a day after team principal Dave Brailsford revealed the first six British riders.

  The new signings are Edvald Boasson Hagen, Thomas Lövkvist, Kurt Asle Arvesen, Simon Gerrans, Juan Antonio Flecha, Kjell Calström, John Lee Augustyn, Greg Henderson, Las Petter Nordhaug and Morris Possoni.

  "Today we’ve brought ten more riders into our team," Brailsford said. "It’s another big step in building Team Sky, and it’s very exciting to see the team take shape. These international riders join a British contingent - a fundamental part of the team - that we announced yesterday. They bring huge experience from the Classics and Tours, real talent that we can develop, and key elements for a high performance team."

  Boasson Hagen has had his most successful year to date in 2009, winning Gent- Wevelgem as well as a stage in the Giro d’Italia and overall at Eneco Tour. Signed from Columbia-HTC along with Lövkvist, Henderson and Possoni, he’s set to have his chance at leading a team. However with riders of the calibre of Gerrans, Flecha and Lövkvist, Team Sky looks more than capable of competing on an array of fronts.

  The new signings follow Geraint Thomas, Steve Cummings, Pete Kennaugh, Chris Froome, Ian Stannard and Russell Downing onto the roster. Over the following months these riders will be joined by up to ten more.

  The new riders

  Thomas Lövkvist

  Signed from Columbia, the Swede has had a breakthrough year, wearing the Maglia Rosa in the Giro. Sky believes him to an all rounder with potential in the Grand Tours and Classics.

  Lövkvist says: "After two good years with Stapleton's team I felt that I reached the highest level of my possible growth there. The team's primary focus on the sprints in the Grand Tours was quite limiting for me. After talking to Scott Sunderland I got an idea of what Team Sky would be about it and it felt like the right road to future progression. When I heard about the structure and way of working I felt that this is something I want to be a part of. My personal goals will be the Ardennes Classics and the Tour."

  
  Scott Sunderland (Sports Manager) says: "Thomas is 100 per cent professional and I identified him as such after watching his progress at FdJ and Columbia. After long conversations with his trainer, I really believe in Thomas's talent. In my opinion, he is poied to take the podium as one of the Grand Tour contenders one day; he's a magnificent bike rider. Thomas has not reached his full potential as yet and we'll do our very best to help him find those few extra percent in different areas.”

  Juan Antonio Flecha

  The Spaniard is leaving Team Rabobank to join the new British squad. The Classics specialist has stage wins in Paris-Nice and Dauphine, as well as two podium finishes in Paris-Roubaix. He is expected to play an important role in sharing his wealth of knowledge with the young riders.

  Flecha says: "I decided to move from Rabobank because after four years in the team I needed a new challenge. For the coming years I expect to have a lot of fun in the team before, during and after the races and as a personal goal I´d like to improve my time trial skills for the one-week races, to perform well in the cobbled classics, and I´d love to be on the top step of the podium at the velodrome of Roubaix.”

  Sunderland says: "Juan Antonio will be one of the cornerstones of the Team Sky foundation. He is brilliant in leading and motivating the team; he is a very complete rider. Juan is always there from the start of the season till the end."

  Edvald Boasson Hagen

  The 22-year-old exploded on the scene this year. Currently third in the UCI's overall rankings, the Columbia-HTC rider has won a stage in the Giro d'Italia and also won the Eneco Tour and Gent-Wevelgem.

  Boasson Hagen says: "After a very rewarding start to my career with Columbia-HTC I felt it was time for me to try something new and see if I can reach further in my ambitions as a rider. I have had a great time in Bob Stapleton's team and want to credit all the people there for their help and guidance but fact is that I'm ready for new challenges. My main goals for the coming season are going to be the classics. I want to have a go at riding the Tour de France too."

  Sunderland says: "I first heard about Edvald in 2005 when I was talking to Norwegian Joker-Bianchi team director Gino Van Oudenhove. Edvald really caught my attention as being a potential up-and-coming star. I've attempted to recruit Edvald for the teams I have been part of ever since. Now, thanks to the efforts Dave Brailsford has made in securing the sponsorship for the first British Pro Cycling Team, Edvald will be coming to Team Sky."

  Greg Henderson

  The New Zealand also joins from Columbia-HTC. The former World Champion and Commonwealth Games medal winner, 31, has nine victories this season, including a recent stage win in the Vuelta a Espana.

  Henderson says: "The main reason why I have decided to move to Sky is because I like the guys involved in producing what will be a world-beating team. Shane Sutton is a great man to have your back and I know Scott Sunderland personally too. There isn't anything Scott hasn't done in the cycling scene - he has competed at the top for many years himself and has successfully moved into cycling management. And of course, it's kinda cool to be racing for a team that has the Union Jack on their flag just like the Kiwi flag.”

  Sunderland says: "He brings a lot to the team as he has been competing at the top of track and road cycling for quite some years now. There will be no hiding the fact that Greg is on board to win bike races for Team Sky in the sprints and he had a terrific sprint victory himself in the Vuelta just recently and is now totally ready to finish off the sprints for himself."

  Simmon Gerrans

  The Aussie has won a stage in the Vuelta a Espana, to join the ranks of those who has won a stage in all three Grand Tours. The 29-year-old, known as a team player, turned pro in 2005. He won the Tour Down Under in 2006.

  Gerrans says: "My goal for next season is to try and improve on my performances in the Ardennes Classics. I love riding these races and I know they are within my reach, especially after having another year of experience under the belt. I believe I can be a real contender in those races. Besides that, I would like to have solid results in the shorter stage races."

  Sunderland says: "Simon is an outstanding athlete; he rides his races very intelligently and reads them very well; his planning is meticulous and during competition he doses his efforts precisely. He will undoubtedly be one of the protected riders for these races. I'm really looking forward to working with him over the coming seasons."

  Kjell Carlström
  Carlström of Finland turned pro in 2002 and has ridden for Liquigas the last four seasons. He is a climbing specialist who is reliable in three-week tours, having ridden all three Grand Tours for Liquigas. The 32-year-old has a stage win in Paris-Nice.

  John Lee Augustyn
  At 23-years-old he is still developing, and showing the potential to be a great climber. He rode the Tour de France last year for Barloworld, and was involved in a dramatic crash 30 metres down a rocky slope which miraculously left him uninjured.

  Lars Petter Nordhaug
  The 25-year-old started out as a mountain biker, but later turned to the road and was Norwegian national road champion in 2006. Currently riding for Joker Bianchi, he recently won a stage of the Tour of Ireland and finished second overall, behind future Sky teammate Russell Downing.

  Kurt Asle Arvesen
  The Norwegian has been with Saxo Bank since 2004.  The 34-year-old is a sprinter and Classics rider, who has won stages in both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia.  One of the older riders on the new Sky squad, the 12-year-pro will have lots of experience to share with the younger riders.

  Morris Possoni
  The Italian has ridden professionally for four years, two each with Lampre and Columbia-HTC. He is a strong team worker who is often invovled in breakaways. His career highlight to date is wearing the best young rider jersey in the 2008 Giro d'Italia.
   

• Farrar's consistency produces wins, says director White

  

  Article published:

  September 10, 2009, 15:38

  By:

  Gregor Brown

  Garmin's White impressed with Farrar's progress over last year

  Tyler Farrar's progress over the last year has impressed his Garmin-Slipstream team's sport director, Matt White. Farrar won his first win in a Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España on Thursday after four second places in the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this year.

  "He is a different bike rider than he was 12 months ago," White said to Cyclingnews. "Last August he really struggled with the heat and the climbs at the Tour of Portugal, but we saw him making it through a medium mountain stage to win in the Vuelta."

  The American Farrar, 25, won Thursday's Vuelta stage 11 sprint finish in Caravaca de la Cruz, Spain. White has watched him progress since last year.  He directed Farrar to his first big win in 2009 in stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico. There, Farrar won ahead of established sprinters Alessandro Petacchi, Thor Hushovd and Mark Cavendish.

  Farrar raced his first Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia, in May. He finished second to Cavendish and Petacchi twice each. It was a similar result at the Tour de France, where he placed second twice to Cavendish.

  Before the Vuelta, Farrar's fortune changed. He won one of the biggest one-day races for a sprinter, the Vattenfall Cyclassics, in Hamburg, Germany. His good form continued in the Eneco Tour, where he won three stages.

  "I think Hamburg was a big turning point for him, that was a huge win," White said. "Then, after he came close so many times in the Giro, Tour and Vuelta, to finally get a win in a Grand Tour is a very big moment for him. His consistency from the Tour of California through today is a great sign for the future."

  Farrar abandoned the Vuelta after his win yesterday to prepare for the World Championships and his next objective, Paris-Tours. He won the bunch sprint for fifth last year and can win this year, said White.

  "Mark [Cavendish] will be the one to beat. Tyler will have good condition from the Vuelta, and he wants to try to win another Classic for the season."

  Farrar believes he can win the World Championships in the coming years and wants to prepare by racing this year's climbers' course with Team USA. The next two seasons present World Championship courses suited to sprinters: Melbourne in 2010 and Copenhagen in 2011. He could become the first World Champion from the US since Lance Armstrong won his title in at the 1993 edition in Oslo, Norway.

• Flecha looks ahead to Sky years

  

  Article published:

  September 10, 2009, 17:18

  By:

  Gregor Brown

  Spanish Classics rider excited about future with British team

  Spanish Classics specialist Juan Antonio Flecha is looking forward to the coming years with British team Sky. The team announced today that it signed Flecha and other stars for the coming season.

  "They have built it with sense, but also passion. It shows a lot about the team's organisation that they developed slowly it over the last two years," Flecha told Cyclingnews.

  The brain child of British performance director David Brailsford, Team Sky has been in the works since 2008. After a heavy recruiting campaign, the team announced this week that it has signed top riders like Thomas Lövkvist, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Simon Gerrans.

  Flecha is one of the best Spanish Spring Classics riders, having placed third in the 2008 Ronde van Vlaanderen and second in the 2007 Paris-Roubaix. The only other Spaniard to make Roubaix's podium before Flecha was Miguel Poblet, in 1958 and 1960.

  Flecha leaves his Dutch Rabobank team after four years and he said he wanted to make the right team selection. Earlier in the year, he began talking with one of Team Sky's directors, Scott Sunderland.

  "I liked the sound of the Sky project and the way it was going to be built," Flecha said.

  Team Sky has taken several riders from Columbia-HTC, which has dominated the past two seasons. Also recruiting top riders from the American team is the BMC Racing squad. Teams like Sky, BMC and Cervélo are a good sign for cycling, said Flecha. They add to the internationalization of cycling and replace teams that have disappeared, like Crédit Agricole and Gerolsteiner.

  "For me it is fantastic, more teams, more competition and the power of the bunch will be split over several teams. Even with all the scandals of the past, we have new teams and new sponsors."

  Flecha will co-captain the team in races like Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Gent-Wevelgem with Boasson Hagen and Kurt-Asle Arvesen. He said he may have the best results in the Spring Classics, but he expects the younger riders to come through with their own results.

  His placings in Roubaix and Flanders left him with his best sporting memories in his four years with Rabobank. But Flecha wanted to change teams, and he leaves Rabobank on good terms.

  "I will remember the staff and teammates, like Pedro Horrillo. Pedro and I shared a lot of moments inside and outside the races, sharing rooms, I will miss him a lot."

  Flecha races Paris-Bruxelles Saturday, defends his Franco-Belge win October 1 and Paris-Tours October 11, his last race with Rabobank. He hopes the Spanish director selects him for the World Championships, September 27. The selection will be made in the coming days.

  Besides his Spring Classics' placings, he won a stage in the 2003 Tour de France when he was with team iBanesto.com. When he raced with Fassa Bortolo, from 2004 to 2005, he won the 2004 Championship of Zürich and Giro del Lazio.

• Landis rides a hard road back

  

  Article published:

  September 10, 2009, 18:57

  By:

  Kirsten Robbins and Peter Hymas

  Tour of Missouri concludes a difficult return

  It seems only a short time ago that Floyd Landis was making his return to professional cycling at the 2009 Tour of California with the American-based UCI Continental team OUCH p/b Maxxis after completing a two-year suspension for a doping violation. Now, Landis is mid-way through one of his last races of the season at the Tour of Missouri, and he gave Cyclingnews a brief insight on where this year has taken him.

  When asked if he was happy with his return to the peloton this year, Landis plainly said, "No. There is really not much else to say."

  Landis was pegged as one of the race favorites at the Tour of California in February alongside other Grand Tour contenders like Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong (Astana), Michael Rogers (Columbia-HTC) and Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream). However, the combination of an untimely illness coupled with a lack of race legs meant that the competition proved to be a step above his capabilities.

  Sifting through the results of race after race this year hardly reveals overwhelming success for the returning rider. However, according to Landis, this season has brought more than just mediocrity. "I have a new appreciation for racing in the US," said Landis, who primarily raced in Europe while competing for US Postal and Phonak. "It is great to race so close to home."

  The Tour of Missouri's roads have taken the peloton through towns like Pocahontas, population 127, and the state's largest metro area, St. Louis, with a population of nearly three million, another reason Landis wants to continue racing. "Cycling allows you to see the world and meet lots of people," he said. "This year I have been to parts of the US that I had never been to before, and I have met a lot of great people everywhere I have gone."

  This is his first time competing in the Tour of Missouri, now in its third edition. While he has lost many fans due to his doping violation, there are still those who come out to watch him race. Similar to the Tour of California crowds, his fans continue to wait outside his team bus for an autograph and flock to the starts and finishes to see him back in action.

  "It's great to have that support and the race has been really good," he said. "It's always nice to have fans. I have never done this race before but I had heard a lot of good things and I'm finally glad to be here."

  So race he does, no matter what people think of his 2006 downfall within cycling. Landis went into the 2006 season in top condition riding for the Phonak team. He won the inaugural Tour of California and went on to win Paris-Nice, Tour of Georgia and the Tour de France. Stripped of his Tour victory after a urine test came back positive for abnormal testosterone values, Phonak let him go and Landis served a two-year suspension.

  After a turbulent two years, Landis still maintains his innocence and is focused on enjoying his days back in the bunch and competing in a sport that has given him a career for nearly a decade. Despite not reaching his initial racing goals set at the beginning of this season, Landis is pleased with the results of a femoral head resurfacing through OUCH Sport Medicine in 2006.

  The unconventional hip replacement was needed after a case of bone death that resulted from excessive scar tissue blocking blood flow to the hip joint. "I was really focused on my hip and getting back to racing," Landis said, who was responsible for bringing on OUCH as the title sponsor of the former Health Net team. "My BHR hip feels as good as new. I've got close to 25,000 miles on the new hip. I have no reason to believe that it will limit me in any way."

  The big question that is on everyone's mind remains, "Is Landis going to win bike races again?" Only  time will tell. For now, he is plugging away as a domestique at the Tour of Missouri to give his  teammates a crack at success.

  "We have a couple of guys who can sprint well in John Murphy and Andrew Pinfold so we have been working for them," he said. "It's been a difficult race. There are no big mountains but so far it has never been flat. I'm looking forward to seeing how Rory Sutherland does in the time trial.

  "I think probably one day there will be a breakaway in the Tour of Missouri but who knows when that will happen? I've been working for the guys, but I think I'll take my chances on a breakaway this race. You never know."

  Landis had not yet confirmed what his plans are for next year. However, news of Lance Armstrong's newly formed RadioShack team has spearheaded the rumors of the old US Postal team revival. One such rumor has Landis as a possible transfer. Although Landis did not comment on this rumor, he did note his appreciation for his domestic team OUCH p/b Maxxis.

  "I see this team taking a big step forward next year," said Landis about where he sees himself in 2010. "I am very happy to be a part of this program."

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