Cycling News Extra for July 15, 2004Edited by Anthony Tan & Jeff Jones Post-stage 10 quotes
Ivan Basso (CSC, 13th) "I had a good day and finished in the first group. It was a particular stage because even if it was already the mountains, the climbs were relatively short. I prefer longer climbs but I felt good and it's a good sign for the Pyrenees."
Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile, 15th) "I was on a good day, I felt very strong. But with the breakaway, there wasn't much of a bagarre. I'm truly happy for Richard Virenque's victory - he really earned it."
Patrice Halgand (Credit Agricole, 40th) "It was a difficult stage: Long, the profile was relentless, and we were always at the limit. The day went relatively well, even though it was hard. On the other hand, we knew who was ahead: Richard!"
Stage 11 preview: Rolling, rolling, rolling
With ten stages down and ten to go, Stage 11 marks 'hump day' at the Tour de France. And while it may be the second-shortest road leg of Le Tour at 164 kilometres, with hardly any flat along the road to Figeac, it will be hump day both literally and figuratively for the 169 riders remaining in the race. The corrugated parcours begins from the previous day's finish town in Saint Flour, where loads of cycling tourists come each year to discover the beauty of the Cantal landscapes, and cuts against the grain at the base of the Massif Central across Cantal, Ayveyron and into Lot for a finish in Figeac, which hosts its first-ever Tour stage. Featuring five categorised climbs, the most difficult being the Cat. 2 Cote de Montsalvy - an eight kilometre ascent with an average grade of six percent midway through the stage - the route is another one for the opportunists, and favours the brave and aggressive. Expect riders like Stuart O'Grady, Jens Voight, Michael Boogerd and Erik Dekker to thrive on this type of terrain - 'roleurs' who can also handle their own on the moderately-sized climbs without going too deep in the red.
Those riders who suffered on yesterday's mountain stage will find it hard to recover, the constant undulations sure to see more than a few splits by the time the riders reach Figeac. However, so long as the main contenders are sheltered from the wind and nursed up the climbs, it's likely they'll be no significant movement in the overall classification. More buns in the oven for Brioches La Boulangère
While justifiably thrilled at his team's success so far, Brioches La Boulangère team manager Jean-René Bernaudeau, revealed another, longer-term objective for the Fabulous Baker Boys. Speaking to Cyclingnews' Chris Henry as the peloton were making their way to the finish of yesterday's stage to St Flour, Bernaudeau expressed his desire to see Jérôme Pineau or Sylvain Chavanel in the maillot blanc (best young rider jersey) at the race's conclusion in Paris two weeks from now. "It's an objective, yes," Bernaudeau confirmed. "Pineau is for the maillot blanc - he can ride for it for two more years. Plus [Sylvain] Chavanel is in his last year for it." Chavanel is 25 years old while Pineau is 24. Pineau and Chavanel currently lie 7th and 10th respectively on the young riders' classification, between 7 and 48 seconds behind their team-mate and overall race leader Thomas Voeckler, who at 25 years of age, is also eligible for the coveted prize of the maillot blanc. Despite their high-profile off-season acquisition in Joseba Beloki and the Spaniard's equally well-publicised withdrawal, Brioches La Boulangère are enjoying their best Tour ever with a similar roster to recent years, and have admirably defended Voeckler's lead since taking the maillot jaune after Stage 5. "Beloki was to win the Tour de France but Beloki isn't here now, so the team is riding in a different manner," said Bernaudeau. "But everything they've done so far has been fantastic. With Beloki we had a different strategy, a favourite for the Tour. He was here to accelerate our project, but only accelerate the project. Today we're doing well without him." Click here to read the full story. Tony Doyle crashes in L'Etape du TourBy Mark Sharon It is not only the professionals who have been suffering from the crashes during this year's Tour de France. Participants in L'Etape du Tour last Sunday had their fair share of hitting the tarmac. Possibly the worst crash involved former World Champion Tony Doyle. Riding his 9th Etape du Tour, he was brought down at around the 120km mark of the 240km challenge by another rider and was taken to hospital with several broken bones. In an interview from his hospital bed with Eurosport's Mike Smith during yesterday's professional version of the Etape, Doyle described what happened, "At about 117km or 120km [on the descent from the Cote de Soursac] coming from Soursac, [there were] wide roads, nice dry conditions. Ahead someone decided to kiss the road, bringing someone else down. I was forced to take evasive action and ended up in a concrete gully". Several ambulances were quickly on the scene, and with gendarmes slowing following riders down to avoid further crashes, and give medics room to attend the victims of the "chute", Doyle and the other riders were taken to hospital. Relieved not to have internal injuries Doyle nevertheless has broken his left scapula and collarbone, as well as four ribs. Currently in a French Hospital, depending on his doctor's assessment he hopes to return to the UK by the end of Thursday (15/7). He will probably have to remain in hospital for a few more days before returning to his duties as race director of the upcoming Tour of Britain due to take place in September. Rossner retaliatesFurther to Judith Arndt's threat to withdraw herself from the German Olympic road team after hearing her team-mate Petra Rossner was not selected for Athens Games, Rossner and Nurnberger team-director Jens Zemke have hit out at the German Cycling Federation (BDR), with Zemke going so far as to say the decision is a "scandal". Zemke claims that he was assured by the national team manager that Rossner would be on the team should she win the national road championship title: "The decision is a scandal. I can't believe the federation nominated Brotka, as everybody knows she is not welcome on the team from the others. The national coach told me before nationals that Petra will go to Athens if she would win. She did, but...!" "The German Cycling Federation does not realize how well Trixi, Judith and I have been riding together and be successful all year," said Rossner. "The Federation has no clue about cycling and that it is a team sport." German Cycling Federation sport director Bremer gave his own explanation: "Jan Ullrich is not just having T-Mobile athletes on his [Olympic] team. After viewing results from this year, they decided that Brotka would be the best athlete to go." "I doubt the competence of the sports director and other responsible people of the BDR. I am still hoping for the NOC [National Olympic Committee] to make a smarter final decision, otherwise I have to think about my own consequences, since this is not my idea of cycling as a team sport," reaffirmed Arndt. "In my eyes Petra is the stronger and more experienced bunch sprinter and the most important thing is that Trixi [Worrack], Petra and myself are the perfect team which we showed in many victories this season. I think it is extremely important in an event like Olympics that the riders understand each other and fight for the same goal," she said. Marty returns to Manhattan to defend NYCCC titleBefore heading to Athens as part of the US Olympic track squad, Marty Nothstein will return to the streets of New York in an attempt to win back-to-back titles at the BMC Software New York City Cycling Championship, to be held in Lower Manhattan on August 1. 32 year-old Nothstein, who rides for the Navigators Insurance road team, will join USPRO Championship winner Francisco Ventoso (Saunier Duval-Prodir) as part of an elite field of over 100 professionals in what will be the fourth of the five-round Pro Cycling Tour series. The current standings see US national road champion Fred Rodriguez tied with Ventoso on 126 points apiece. The third staging of the BMC Software NYCCC will follow a similar format to previous years, with riders having to complete 50 laps of a two kilometre (1.2 mile) circuit around the urban canyons of Lower Manhattan. The start/finish area will be located at the corner of Wall and Water Streets, and the surrounding area will be transformed into a day-long festival of attractions. The days' activities begin at 7:15 a.m. with the Jr. PCT Grand Prix, a 20-mile race for males ages 18 and under, and is the second event in the 2004 Jr. PCT Grand Prix series. That event is followed at 8:30 a.m. by the women's pro race, a 20-lap, 25-mile competition on the tight dog bone-shaped course, before the men's pro race scheduled to start at 12.30 p.m. This year's event will also be televised live on WABC-TV beginning at noon. Current PCT standings after three rounds: 1 Fred Rodriguez (Aqua e Sapone) 126 pts 2 Francisco Ventoso (Saunier Duval-Prodir) 126 3 Gord Fraser (Health Net p/b Maxxis) 85 4 Lars Michaelsen (CSC) 76 5 Max Van Heeswijk (US Postal Service p/b Berry Floor) 60 6 Antonio Bucciero (Saeco) 60 7 Alberto Loddo (Saunier Duval-Prodir) 54 8 Plamen Stoyanov (Hoop CCC-Polsat) 42 9 Ben Brooks (Jelly Belly/Aramark) 39 10 Michael Barry (US Postal Service p/b Berry Floor) 36
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