First Edition Cycling News for September 1, 2005Edited by Jeff Jones & Hedwig Kroner Vuelta stage 5 wrap upHushovd gets it right
Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) capitalised on an over-eager Quick.Step lead out to win the fifth stage of the Vuelta a España in Cuenca. After surviving the final climb in the lead group with 13 km to go, Hushovd bided his time until the last 200m, when he sped past Paolo Bettini to win the stage by a bike length over Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Phonak) and Josep Jufre (Relax Fuenlabrada). Brad McGee retained the race leadership although he also hit out far too early to be a contender for the stage win. The stage was run in cooler conditions (28 degrees) and was dominated by an eight man break that escaped after 61 km: Staf Scheirlinckx (Cofidis), Eric Leblacher (CA), Michael Barry (Discovery), Patrick Calcagni (Liquigas), Thorwald Veneberg (Rabobank), Jorge Garcia (Relax), David de la Fuente (Saunier), and Jakob Piil (CSC). With Barry the best placed on GC, the peloton let them get a 4'20 lead with around 55 km to go, before Quick.Step, Fassa Bortolo and T-Mobile chased them down by the foot of the final climb. The cobbled Alto del Castillo saw a group of 36 riders make it over the summit with 13 km to go, and despite several attacks, no-one could prevent a group sprint. Also see:Stage 5 full results,
report & photos Mayo out of Vuelta and seasonBy Hernan Alvarez Macias
Iban Mayo didn't have a good season 2005. The Basque rider who shined in 2003 and 2004 could not achieve the same results this year. His best performance in 2005 was 12th in the Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana. That was very few compared to stage eight win in the 2003 Tour de France, when he was among the big protagonists in the mountains. Today he abandoned the Vuelta a España, 108th on overall classification. "Mayo has had health problems and is still having the them", said Euskaltel team director Julian Gorospe when speaking to Spain's TVE during today's stage at the Vuelta. "He has difficulties with his back down to one of his legs. These are the same problems he had in the Tour. He is mentally destroyed. It was a season without wins for him. In two months he will be recovered, but that will be in winter." Terrorist alert in VueltaStage four of this year's Vuelta a España from Ciudad Real to Argamasilla de Alba on Tuesday, August 30, saw a rare terrorist threat. According to Wednesday's L'Equipe, the finish town received a "vague" terrorist attack warning. "We were informed during the stage," Ignacio Ayuso, president of the Vuelta organiser Unipublic, told the French newspaper. "The Guardia Civil told us that there was a threat and that an explosion could take place in the finish. So we thought about it and decided to bring the stage to its end. It was no question for us to give way to supposedly extremist threats." The stage was therefore not interrupted and went on as planned, with Alessandro Petacchi scoring his second victory in the Vuelta 2005 in a bunch sprint. The team directors were not informed about the warning. Hammond makes up for yesterday, Nuyens holds onBy Shane Stokes in Blackpool Home favourite Roger Hammond made up for his disappointment in missing the break yesterday when he won today's second stage of the Tour of Britain in Blackpool. The Great Britain rider sprinted home ahead of breakaway companion Robin Sharman (Recycling.co.uk/Litespeed), with another GB rider, 20 year old Mark Cavendish, showing great speed in taking the bunch sprint for third. Overnight race leader Nick Nuyens (QuickStep) was held up behind a crash in the run-in to the finish, crossing the line several seconds down. The race judges awarded the yellow jersey to yesterday's runner-up Michael Blaudzun (Team CSC), only for the Belgian to successfully appeal on the grounds that the mishap had occurred inside the final three kilometres. Nuyens was therefore awarded the same finishing time as the bunch and will hold yellow going into tomorrow's mountain stage to Sheffield. Today's stage was marked by a long distance breakaway by three riders – Hammond, Sharman and Kevin Van Impe (Chocolade Jacques), the nephew of six time Tour de France KOM winner Lucien. These went clear inside the first 20 kilometres of racing and built up a maximum lead of 10 minutes and 40 seconds, before the inevitable charge by the peloton brought the gap right back down. With ten kilometres to go they had just over one minute on the bunch, and when Van Impe punctured five kilometres from the line it seemed certain that they would be caught. However, Hammond felt that the Belgian had been soft pedaling and once he was removed from the equation, both he and Sharman were able to fully apply themselves to the task at hand. It proved to be enough for them to fight it out for the stage win. Valverde back on track for World's?Although Cyclingnews has previously reported that Illes Baleares rider Alejandro Valverde' participation in the World Championships 2005 was probably compromised, the latest is that the 25 year-old might be back on track for the event after all. According to Spanish website todociclismo, Valverde called the Spanish National Coach Paco Antequera and told him the Cycling official could count on him for the International races in Madrid 2005. Antequera was reported to feel "calm and hopeful" for the possibility of including Valverde on his roster. "Valverde called me this morning [August 31] and told me that he's training a lot and that he would go for the longer stages in the Tour of Poland to improve his endurance," Antequera said. "He sounded very interested and I have to say that he's reassured me, even though he only competed in the Clasica a los Puertos this last month." Antequera therefore modified his previous assessment of Valverde's form and continued, "Valverde was never excluded [from the team selection] - I was just afraid that the same thing would happen again as in the Olympic Games, where he started without the necessary endurance. But after talking to him I'm assured." As for the tactics that the Spanish squad - without Oscar Freire - will use in the flat parcours, Antequera added, "It will be a difficult race, very controlled, and we will try to avoid a sprint." Liquigas for next Italian racesThe Liquigas-Bianchi ProTeam has announced its rider line-ups for the next Italian one-day races this weekend: the Coppa Placci, on Saturday September 3, and the Giro della Romagna, on Sunday, September 4. For the Coppa Placci, team manager Roberto Damiani will direct the following riders: Stefano Garzelli, Franco Pellizotti, Michael Albasini, Kjell Carlström, Dario Cioni, Nicola Loda, Vladimir Miholjevic and Gianluca Sironi. As for the Giro della Romagna, the same line-up is planned, with Carlström being replaced by Marco Righetto and one more rider added: Brazilian sprinter Luciano Pagliarini. French World's pre-selection outThe French cycling federation has announced a pre-selection for the World Championships in Madrid. In the Men's Time Trial, two riders will participate: Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) and Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole). As for the Road Race, Jean-Patrick Nazon and Samuel Dumoulin (both Ag2r Prévoyance), Christophe Le Mevel, Sébastien Joly and Sébastien Hinault (all Crédit Agricole), Anthony Geslin, Laurent Brochard, Pierrick Fédrigo, Thomas Voeckler and Jérôme Pineau (all Bouygues Telecom), Sylvain Chavanel, Cédric Vasseur, David Moncoutié and Jimmy Casper (all Cofidis), Carlos Da Cruz (La Française des Jeux) as well as Nicolas Jalabert (Phonak) are on the list for the flat Parcours in the Spanish capital. A final line-up will be announced on September 14,2005.
Longo not selectedFrench living legend Jeannie Longo has not been selected into the team roster for the World Championships later this month. French sélectionneur Jacky Millet has not included the 46 year-old in the provisional list for the Women's Time Trial nor the Road race. Longo, who is not very popular amongst her female cycling colleagues, has had a rather mediocre season in 2005, but her palmarès remains impressive: She has been World Champion 13 times, French Champion 48 times and scored 896 victories to date. The French pre-selection for the women's events in Madrid is as follows: Edwige Pitel and Marina Jaunatre will participate in the Women's Time Trial. The Road Race roster will consist of: Edwige Pitel, Marina Jaunatre, Magalie Finot-Laivier, Magali Le Floc'h, Magali Mocquery, Sophie Creux, Béatrice Thomas and Elodie Touffet. Liberty for Tour de l'AvenirSpanish team Liberty Seguros will depart on the upcoming Tour de l'Avenir in France (September 1-10) with the following riders: Koen de Kort, Aaron Kemps, Sergio Paulinho, José Antonio Redondo, José Joaquín Rojas and Eladio Sánchez. The last two, Rojas and Sánchez, will also be included in the ProTour roster for next year. Fassa and Lampre for Trofeo MelindaFassa Bortolo and Lampre Caffita have announced their respective line-ups for the UCI-rated 1.1 race Trofeo Melinda, to be held today, September 1. Fassa Bortolo will line up the following riders at the start: Marzio Bruseghin, Massimo Codol, Mauro Facci, Massimo Giunti, Kim Kirchen, Gustav Larsson, Vincenzo Nibali and Kanstantsin Siutsou. Lampre-Caffita is sending its young prodigy Damiano Cunego to the race. Along with him, Alessandro Ballan, Salvatore Commesso, Oleksandr Kvachuk, Eddy Mazzoleni, Evgeni Petrov and Gorazd Stangelj will participate. Spanswick to contest Masters Track World'sJim Spanswick, from Cairns, Queensland, Australia, departs for Manchester, UK this Sunday to compete in the Masters World Track Cycling Championships. Since relocating to Cairns earlier this year to sharpen his training in the local environment, Spanswick has set the mark for track cycling, not just in North Queensland, but along the East coast. This year alone he has been a member of the team taking out the Australian Team Sprint Championship for open men, won two silver medals at the Australian Masters Championships as well as three Gold Medals at the Queensland and two Bronze at the New South Wales Championships. Despite having missed a weekend training camp in Sydney with Australian greats Sean Eadie and Ben Kersten due to a minor injury, Spanswick remains a great chance for high finishes in all events. Cairns Cycling Club President Richie Bates, himself a former top sprinter in younger days, rated Spanswick highly. "It's great to finally see a good sprinter in the North," Bates said. "Jim is a real chance in all his events and that's great for the sport in North Queensland, especially with the wealth of juniors we're now seeing." Spanswick's domination of local track cycling in recent months has seen him regularly starting handicap races from 40 metres behind the coveted Scratch mark and still winning. Jim Spanswick will compete as an individual in the Sprint and 1,000 metre Time Trial at the World Championships as well as being a member of the composite Australian team to contest the Team Sprint. Cougar Mountain Classic Cycling WeekendThe Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic at Infineon Raceway will be held in California, USA, on September 9-11, 2005. Whether it's a 'slowride' around the twisting road course, a bicycle rodeo for young children, a classic swap meet, a half-road, half-cross country trail run, or a vintage bicycle concourse, there will be something for everyone during the weekend, which enters its second year in the Sonoma Valley (it debuted in 2004 as the California Outdoor Sports Championships). For those who have never traversed the serpentine road course, there's the Supercuts Road Slowride, which takes place on Saturday, Sept. 10, at noon. Members of professional race teams and legendary frame builders will also take part in this casual ride around the raceway. Entry fee is $10 and children 12-and-under ride for free when accompanied by an adult. Legendary custom frame builder Bernie Mikkelsen will also be on-hand at the concourse and will craft a classic steel, external-lugged frame during the event. He will begin his work on Friday and should be done by Sunday afternoon. This retro-new Euro Classic signature bicycle will be raffled off on Sunday of race weekend, with proceeds going to charity. For more information, visit www.cmclassic.com/ Donations for hurricane victimsThe Alkek Velodrome in Houston, Texas, is hosting a disaster relief drive for the victims of Hurricane Katrina during its Friday Night Races, September 2. We are asking the cycling community to stop by the Alkek Velodrome (19008 Saums Road, Houston, TX 77084) and donate non-perishable items, can goods, and donations for us to give to the Red Cross. Please come into the infield to drop off your items. The races start at 7 pm and run through 10:30 pm. For more information please contact Kathy Volski, Alkek Velodrome Manager, Kathy.volski@cityofhouston.net Fantasy Vuelta Game - entry closes very soon!
Entry to this year's game closes in a few hours time at 06:00:00 US/Eastern (1000 GMT) on Thursday 1st Sept. Make sure you have selected all your riders for stages 1-6 as well as your GC, MTN and PT riders. There are some fantastic prizes on offer this year. Join up now and you could be riding away with one of these fantastic prizes: Grand PrizeGiant TCR Advanced T-Mobile '05 Tour De France Team Issue bicycle worth $8000. Ride the same bike as Jan Ullrich and Alexandre Vinokourov! This bike is exclusively available to the Fantasy Vuelta game, you cannot buy one in your local bike store. Runner-up Prizes Campagnolo - Record Group set PSI are providing: 1x Aerus Aerobar Daily PrizesDaily prizes are awarded to the manager with the highest cumulative Stage points. This does not include any points scored in the GC, MTN or PTS sections of the game (e.g. it is not their overall score as displayed on the homepage). To find out more go to the prizes section of the fantasy site. There's still time to join in this year's Fantasy Vuelta Game at Cyclingnews. There is no tactical disadvantage in joining after stage 1 has begun. You can join until stage 6 begins on Thursday, September 1 at 10:00 GMT (06:00 Eastern time). Be a professional team manager, with many opportunities to win prizes in this year's game. You will take up the challenge of using your knowledge and tactical skill as a race team manager to compete with managers from around the world. For more info go to fantasy.cyclingnews.com/ How to playYou can begin creating your team now. You can play the first five stages for free! The Tour games are easy to play, all you need to do to manage your own team is select 15 riders from the live start list then select 9 of these riders to race each day throughout the Vuelta. You score points according to how well each of the riders place each day in the Vuelta. So try your team today and see if it's for you. It's a great way to follow the Vuelta. Create your teams now! Good luck! The Fantasy Cyclingnews Team
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