Second Edition Cycling News, Tuesday, August 17, 2010

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Date published:

August 17, 2010, 16:00

• Fischer renews with Garmin-Transitions

  

  Article published:

  August 17, 2010, 03:00

  By:

  Cycling News

  Van der Velde searching for new team

  Garmin-Transitions hasn’t been as big a feature in the rider transfer market this year as it was in 2009, but the team is quietly going about its business to secure its roster for 2011. The latest rider to re-sign with Jonathan Vaughters’ squad is Brazilian Murilo Fischer, who has reportedly penned a deal for the next two season.

  Speaking to Brazilian website UOL, Fischer said he’s pleased with his first season at the American squad having ridden for Liquigas for three years. “I’m very happy with what I found here,” he said. “If I could choose, I’d renew for another 10 years.”

  Fischer rode the Giro d’Italia in May before going on to win the Brazilian road championship in June. The 31-year-old joined a professional team for the first time in 2004, having first come onto the international scene at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in Australia.

  Meanwhile the squad hasn’t renewed the contract of 23-year-old Ricardo van der Velde. The Dutch rider announced on Twitter at the weekend that he’s hunting for a new squad. “Officially looking for a new team!,” he wrote.

• 14 teams apply for 8 remaining ProTour places

  

  Article published:

  August 17, 2010, 10:18

  By:

  Barry Ryan

  Cervelo TestTeam opts to remain a Pro Continental team for 2011

  The International Cycling Union (UCI) has announced the names of teams that have applied for a ProTour licence for 2011.

  With ten teams already in possession of valid licences for next season, there are eight remaining free berths at the sport’s highest level. Fourteen teams have put themselves forward for consideration.

  Of the fourteen, eight already have ProTour licences that expire at the end of this season. These include the Footon-Servetto team that will be sponsored by Geox, and Telefonica Movistar, who replaces Caisse d’Epargne as title sponsor of the Spanish-based team. The former Milram team has also applied for ProTour status under the name of its organising structure Velocity, although it still has to reveal if it has secured sponsorship for next season. Astana, Euskaltel-Euskadi, FDJ, Liquigas-Doimo and HTC-Columbia have also all applied to renew their expiring licences.

  A further six teams that are not part of the 2010 ProTour in 2010 have submitted applications for 2011. Jean-René Bernaudeau confirmed last week that his BBox-Bouygues Telecom outfit had applied for ProTour status and fellow French squad Cofidis has followed suit. The BMC Racing team has applied for consideration, while Dutch squad Vacansoleil, who missed out on selection for all three major Tours in 2010, hopes to secure ProTour status for 2011.

  Two new outfits have also submitted applications: the as-yet unnamed Luxembourg team, expected to feature the Schleck brothers, and Pegasus Sports, the organisation behind the Australian Fly V team. Regardless of the success of its application, Fly V's stated aim is to ride the 2011 Tour de France.

  Cervelo TestTeam has elected not to apply and will continue as a Pro Continental team in 2011. The team aims to finish among the top seventeen ranked teams in the world this season and so guarantee its place in the three grand Tours next year. The team will again rely on the strength of its roster to garner invitations to the other ProTour races. Cervelo currently lies in 13th place in the world rankings.

  The UCI has announced that it will examine the files submitted by the applicant teams during the month of November, stating that “excellent performance in sporting terms” is “the most important criterion.” The teams’ ethical records, finances and administration will also be considered before a provisional announcement of the list of teams to be awarded licences is made on November 20. The definitive list will be published on December 10.

  The UCI also announced that it has received 28 applications from teams seeking registration as UCI Professional Continental Teams for 2011.

  The ten teams that already have valid ProTour licences for 2011 are Ag2r-La Mondiale, Garmin-Transitions, Lampre-Farnese Vini, Omega Pharma-Lotto, Quick Step, Rabobank, Sky, Katusha, RadioShack and Saxo Bank.

• Cavendish back in action in Italy

  

  Article published:

  August 17, 2010, 10:38

  By:

  Stephen Farrand

  HTC-Columbia sprinter rides the Tre Valli Varesine

  Mark Cavendish is riding his first race since the Tour de France today as he begins his build-up to the Vuelta a España and the world road race championships in Australia.

  Cavendish is riding the Tre Valli Varesine race in northern Italy along with most of the HTC-Columbia riders who will also ride the Vuelta. These include Matt Goss, Bernard Eisel, Hayden Roulston and Martin Velits. It is Cavendish's first race in Italy since Milan-San Remo in March.

  The Tre Valli Varesine is the first race of the so-called 'Trittico Lombardo', a group of three one-day races held in northern Italy. The series continues with the Coppa Agostoni on Wednesday and the Coppa Bernocchi on Thursday. Cavendish will miss the Coppa Agostoni but will ride the flatter Coppa Bernocchi that often ends in a sprint.

  The Tre Valli Varesine is a testing hilly race and Cavendish is not expected to challenge for victory but will be looking to test his legs, three weeks after winning the last stage on the Champs Elysees in Paris on July 25.

  Cavendish's sprint rival and recent winner of the Vattenfall Cyclassics race Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) is also riding the Tre Valli Varesine after a late change to his race programme.

  Also on the start list are Ivan Basso, Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo), 2009 winner Mauro Santambrogio (BMC), recent Tour of Poland winner Dan Martin (Garmin-Transitions), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini) and Italian national champion Giovanni Visconti (ISD-Neri).

  The race starts in the Campione d'Italia enclave on Lake Lugano and finishes in Varese.

  There will be a full report and a photo gallery here on Cyclingnews later today.

• McQuaid suggests US Postal investigation sparked by personal vendetta

  

  Article published:

  August 17, 2010, 11:14

  By:

  Barry Ryan

  UCI President bemoans public nature of inquiry

  International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid has bemoaned the fact that the federal investigation into allegations of systematic doping in the US Postal Service team is taking place “in the public arena” and suggested that it has its genesis in a personal vendetta. He also said that the UCI has not been contacted by federal investigators in relation to the inquiry.

  “To some extent, when you look at the way the investigation has come about, you have to ask whether there is a genuine investigation or whether there are vendettas going on here,” McQuaid said in an interview with the Associated Press from the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. “From that point of view, it’s unfortunate that people who could have approached this in a completely different way didn’t do so. They just went public.”

  The investigation was sparked by Floyd Landis’ allegations of doping practices in his former team, which were made in a series of e-mails leaked on the eve of the Tour of California. Landis has since reiterated his allegations in television and print interviews, as well as frankly admitting to his own history of doping. “It’s an investigation that has taken place in the public arena, which was unnecessary,” said McQuaid.

  In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in July, Landis also claimed that the UCI had covered up a positive test by Lance Armstrong at the Tour de Suisse in exchange for donations towards its anti-doping programme from the American.

  McQuaid was quick to deny such a positive test or any such collusion between the organising body and its most valuable commodity. “The fact is we were accused of possibly hiding a positive control because we received money. The fact is we didn’t hide a positive control. The fact is there was no positive control, and the fact is that Lance Armstrong has never been controlled positive,” McQuaid stated.

  McQuaid already confirmed to Cyclingnews in July that the UCI received $25,000 from Armstrong in 2002, which was used to cover the costs of doping control at junior races, while a $100,000 donation from Armstrong’s CSE company in 2005 was put towards the purchase of a Sysmex machine.

  McQuaid told AP yesterday that there was nothing the UCI could have done to favour Armstrong and that he was “treated within the rules the same as any other athlete.” He did admit, however, that in future the UCI “may deal differently” with donations like Armstrong’s.

  The UCI president went on to repeat his belief in his organisation’s testing procedures. “I know the actual facts and the work UCI did during that period in the fight against doping and I know we are completely in the clean from what we did,” he said. “We were testing even at that time more than anyone else. If it’s proven these guys were beating the system, they were beating the system put in place by the scientific authorities, by WADA and everyone else.”

  McQuaid also admitted that there would be “some effect on the sport and its image and credibility” if the federal investigation found any evidence of systematic doping in the US Postal Service team. He also acknowledged that it would “have an effect on the brand Lance Armstrong and Lance himself to some extent.”

  However, the Irishman remains upbeat about the sport’s future. “The cycling of today is completely different than the cycling of 2000, 2002 and 2003 which this investigation is talking about,” said McQuaid.
   

• Riccò signs with Vacansoleil

  

  Article published:

  August 17, 2010, 11:37

  By:

  Stephen Farrand

  Controversial Italian hopes to debut with Dutch team at Sunday’s GP Plouay

  The Vacansoleil team has announced the signing of Riccardo Riccò. The controversial Italian, who tested positive for CERA at the 2008 Tour de France, will ride for the Dutch-based team for two years and will make his debut in the blue and yellow Vacansoleil colours at the GP Plouay next Sunday if his licence is processed in time by the UCI.

  Riccò told Gazzetta dello Sport that he had signed for Quick Step last Friday but the deal fell through and Vacansoleil moved quickly to sign Riccò.
  
  "The last week it all developed really quickly while we were looking for a real climber in add to our team for 2011. After we consulted the main sponsor Vacansoleil we decided to meet Riccò. The meeting made us decide to go for it," team manager Daan Luijkx said in a statement.

  "We share the ambition and way of racing with him. If you look at the way he won the Tour of Austria, with blood all over his face after a crash but still made it to the finish, you know he is a special rider.”

  “In 2010 we must look at Riccò as a rider who paid his debt and look to the future. In the last few years several riders were able to contribute to clean cycling after being suspended, Riccardo has to be in that group. There are not many riders who can finish in the top 3 of a major Tour and Riccò is one of them.”

  “Our main sponsor and team believe that after being punished, Riccò, like everyone else, deserves a second chance. Riccò agreed, like all riders, on immediate termination of its contract and the payment of an astronomical amount in case of misbehaviour. Examples of misbehaviour can be found in actions which bring the team in discredit and/or the failure to comply with internal regulations. Let's await his UCI registration and see if he is able to make his debut at GP Plouay were we will immediately see his high level."

  Riccò underwent a medical with the team on Monday and promised to ride aggressively and honestly.

  "I’m happy to be back and I believe everyone deserves a second chance. I know I ain't there yet. I aim to give the fans great events by racing aggressive and honest. By choosing the Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team I chose a team where they have a zero-tolerance policy and where a clean sport is one of the major objectives. A team which sets an example will be good for me in my second life as a cyclist.”

  “During the meetings with Vacansoleil, they were strict in their conditions but fair and I am confident in our co-operation. I will not falsify their trust and image and will pay them back with great results."

• Farrar looks forward to Vuelta and Worlds

  

  Article published:

  August 17, 2010, 11:59

  By:

  Daniel Benson

  Vattenfall winner continues preparation at Tre Valli Varesine

  After his winning ride in the Vattenfall Cyclassics on Sunday, Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) will head to today’s Tre Valli Varesine in fine form as he prepares to tune his preparation for the Vuelta and world championships.

  The American sprinter won his second Vattenfall title in as many years, and it marked a winning return to racing after a difficult July.

  Farrar went into this year’s Tour de France as the man most likely to challenge Mark Cavendish’s superiority in the sprints but a crash on stage 2 wrecked his chances, and despite bravely continuing to race for two weeks with a fractured wrist, he was forced to pull out of the race with a week to go.

  “My Tour was a bit of a disaster,” he told Cyclingnews. “So getting things back on track and getting a big win has helped me to feel solid and confident again going into the end of the season.”

  After missing the final week of the Tour, Farrar took time to recover before making a comeback at the Tour of Denmark earlier in the month. However with his eyes firmly fixed on the Vuelta and then the worlds in Australia, the American is relishing his next set of goals.

  “The two big remaining goals are the Vuelta and the Worlds and these one days races are final tuning before Spain starts, where I’ll be chasing some stages. Hopefully I can come out of there with good form,” he said.

  The World Championships course is still unknown to most of the European peloton. When the course was announced it was perceived that the route favoured the bunch sprinters but since then perceptions have changed, with the consensus being that the course is too hard for a sprint. For now though, Farrar is reserving judgement until he sees the course but should it suit him that the US team will be working for him.

  “I’ll finally get a look at the Worlds course instead of relying on second hand information and hopefully that will go well. Until I get there and see the course for myself l don’t know what to expect. At the start of the year everyone said it would be a guaranteed field sprint and now they’re saying the climbs are a bit harder and it could break up. The Worlds are always a little unpredictable so the main thing is to come out of the Vuelta with good form and hope for the best. I’ll take it seriously and go into it well prepared.”

  Should the course prove too demanding for Farrar - who made a vast improvement in races like the Tour of Flanders and Gent-Wevelgem this year – he’ll have no problems working for another rider.

  “If we get down there and I don’t think the course suits me then we’ll adapt the tactics but with the potential for a field sprint I’m going to be one of the protected riders. There’s not many riders who can say they’ve been world champion so of course it’s something every professional dreams about.”

  So far this year Farrar has won a total of seven races and he puts a lot of that down to the structural improvements made at Garmin-Transitions, who have built a leadout train around him. Maurilo Fischer and Robbie Hunter were both signed at the start of this year and both have played important roles, alongside stalwart Julian Dean.

  “I’ve had fantastic support this year and can't complain,” he said. “I’ve had several guys riding for me in races where I can get a result. The team has really stepped up and stood behind me and I’ve had a few nice wins this year. I think we have a really strong leadout train but we still need to iron out some kinks. This is my first year riding with a leadout so I’m still learning too.”

• Frattini returns to his climbing roots with UnitedHealthcare

  

  Article published:

  August 17, 2010, 12:44

  By:

  Cycling News

  Italian to participate in international stage races

  Davide Frattini is a recent addition to the UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis squad as it prepares to jump from its current Continental status to the Professional Continental ranks in 2011. The Italian hopes to capitalize off his former European stage racing experience to bring the squad success in its international endeavors.

  “It is a big motivation for me,” Frattini said. “I competed for a high-level team in Italy with Alessio before I started racing in the States. Having a second chance to race in Europe again more often is an extra motivation for me to do well.”

  Frattini joins the team after a five-year term with the former US-based Colavita-Sutter Home squad from 2005-09. This year he is racing under the Team Type 1 banner where he captured the King of the Mountains jersey at the NRC Redlands Bicycle Classic, a podium at the UCI Vuelta Mexico Telmex and consistent top ten performances at the UCI Qinghai Lake International Cycling Race.

  “I have to say thank you to Team Type 1 for having me be a part of their team this year,” Frattini said. “I think UnitedHealthcare is a great team and its management company [Momentum Sports Group] has done a great job with the other teams it has run in the past. They have always had a great program and strong riders so it was a nice opportunity for me to join that team for next year.”

  Frattini is remembered for his win at the Under 26 ‘Baby’ Giro d’Italia in 2001 and his two-year stint with the now disbanded Italian Division 1 team Alessio.

  “When I raced in Europe I was more of a stage race guy because we don’t have anything like criteriums in Italy,” Frattini said. “When I came to the US the teams here were more interested in criterium racing so I lost a lot of my climbing skills. In the last two years I have been working on my climbing skills again for stage races and have been less focused on the criteriums. It’s been my goal to start to feel what it means to be a stage racer and a climber again.”

  UnitedHealthcare rehired many of its original riders including Rory Sutherland, Karl Menzies, Brad White, Adrian Hegyvary, Jonny Clarke, Hilton Clarke, Max Jenkins, Jake Keough and Morgan Schmitt. New additions include Frattini’s current Team Type 1 teammate Chris Jones and Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies).

  “I was a domestique for riders like the Haedos [Juan Jose and Lucas Sebastian] in the lead-outs plus the work I was able to do on the climbs for the climbers and then in the criterium for the sprinters showed that I am an all round rider,” Frattini said. “I also have many years of experience racing in Europe and this team will be doing a lot of that style of racing I used to do before coming to the USA.”

  The team will hiring a total of 22 riders for the 2011 season. Sixteen of those riders will be dedicated to competing in some 70 events in Europe, 30 in Asia and the UCI stage races in the US. The remaining six to eight riders will continue racing solely inside the US at important National Racing Calendar (NRC) races and criteriums.

  “For a team that wants to compete over in Europe at a high level needs riders that can compete on all kinds of terrain,” Frattini said. “I will be doing most of the stage races next year. But where ever the team sends me I will be there to cover the team work. If I have to lead-out I can do that, if I have to climb then I will climb and if I am given an opportunity to go for it, I will do that.”

  
   

• Da Ros gets suspension reduced to four years

  

  Article published:

  August 17, 2010, 15:32

  By:

  Laura Weislo

  20-year ban for trafficking cut by CAS

  Italian Gianni Da Ros will not have to serve a 20-year suspension for trafficking in banned substances, the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided.

  The court partially upheld the appeal by Da Ros, who asked to have the ban reduced to two years.

  Da Ros was arrested in March, 2009 as part of a large operation by the Italian police to stop the distribution of doping products in fitness clubs.

  In November, 2009, the Anti-Doping Tribunal of the National Olympic Committee of Italy (CONI) found him guilty of several WADA code violations, including the use, possession, trafficking and administration of banned substances and imposed a 20-year ban.

  The CAS said it "confirmed the existence of the infractions committed by the Athlete", which reportedly included the use and distribution of Human Growth Hormone.

  However, the court "considered that a twenty-year ban was not justified and has reduced it to a period of four years which corresponds to the standard suspension provided by Article 10.3.2 of the World Anti-Doping Code."

  Da Ros will be eligible to race again March 11, 2013, four years after he was first excluded from competition by his Liquigas team. He will be 26 years old when he returns.