Cycling News Extra for September 26, 2005Edited by Hedwig Kröner & Jeff Jones, with assistance from Sabine Sunderland UCI rankings post-World'sFollowing the World Championships in Madrid, the UCI has updated its rankings for ProTour men and Elite Women. As expected, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) keeps his number one spot in the men's rankings, even though Tom Boonen (Quick.Step) has jumped up from 10th to 2nd after his win today. However, this was Boonen's last hurrah this season, and he won't challenge Di Luca in the remaining three races, two of which are suited to Di Luca anyway. In the women's rankings, Oenone Wood (Nürnberger) has finished on top of the rankings after another superbly consistent season. She won the World Cup overall and finished third in the World Championships, giving her nearly a 200 point lead over Susanne Ljungskog (Buitenpoort) and over 300 points over Judith Arndt (Nürnberger). World Champ Regina Schleicher (also Nürnberger) is sixth on the rankings now. In the teams and nations rankings, CSC and Italy hold sway in the men's, while Germany and Nürnberger top the women's points.
Rankings as of September 25, 2005ProTour individuals 1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 209 pts 2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 171 3 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 140 4 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 139 5 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 136 6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 131 7 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 130 8 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 129 9 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 128 10 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 126 ProTour Teams 1 Team CSC 338 pts 2 Rabobank 314 3 Davitamon-Lotto 303 4 Phonak Hearing Systems 301 5 Saunier Duval - Prodir 287 ProTour Nations 1 Italy 641 pts 2 United States Of America 559 3 Spain 459 4 Germany 365 5 Belgium 304 Women individuals 1 Oenone Wood (Aus) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung 1026.5 pts 2 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Buitenpoort-Flexpoint Team 838 3 Judith Arndt (Ger) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung 705.5 4 Mirjam Melchers-Van Poppel (Ned) Buitenpoort-Flexpoint Team 648 5 Svetlana Bubnenkova (Rus) P.M.B. Fenixs 592 6 Regina Schleicher (Ger) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung 516.5 7 Nicole Brändli (Swi) Team Bigla 481 8 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan 476 9 Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) 454 10 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu) Nobili Rubinetterie-Menikini Cogeas 452 Women's teams 1 Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung 2698 pts 2 Buitenpoort-Flexpoint Team 1969 3 Van Bemmelen-AA Drink 966 4 Nobili Rubinetterie-Menikini Cogeas 960 5 Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan 887 Nations 1 Germany 2239.25 pts 2 Australia 1603.25 3 Netherlands 1430.25 4 Switzerland 1156 5 Sweden 1082 Full rankings: ProTour Men, Elite Women, Teams, Nations. Australia tops World's medals
Australia has ended the 2005 Road Cycling World Championships in Madrid on top of the medal table after scoring a podium place in all three divisions. The six gold medals awarded this week went to six different nations with Australia and Spain (three silver medals) the only nations to collect three medals. Canberra's Michael Rogers, 25, claimed the gold medal to become to the first rider in history to achieve three time trial World Titles in a row while in the women's ranks, world ranked number one and reigning World Cup Champion, Oenone Wood, 25, sprinted home for bronze in the road race. Victorian teenager Will Walker, 19, scored a silver medal in the U23 road race, the first time Australia has medalled in that division on the road. Australia had hoped to wrap up the Championships with another medal in the men's road race but it was not to be despite the best laid plans of the nine member strong Australian line up. At the end of the 13 lap, 273 km-race Belgian Tom Boonen sprinted home to claim the World Champion's rainbow jersey ahead of Alejandro Valverde of Spain and Anthony Geslin of France. Robbie McEwen finished 30th in the main field after missing a vital break of 25 riders that formed on the last lap. "It was to be expected they would throw everything into the attacks in the last lap and on the climb was when it happened," said McEwen, who although expecting the split was unable to go with it. "We were hanging about 100 m behind and no one was left who could or would close the gap. I was with (rival sprinters) (Erik) Zabel and (Alessandro) Petacchi and there was no one to close it down.
"Four kilometres to go we realised it was all over and that's the way the race went," he added. "The guys in our team did a great job but I just wasn't able to follow the 25 best guys uphill the last time. So that's racing." Cycling Australia's Professional Coordinator Neil Stephens, who was the director of the team for the race, admits the new international qualification rules that saw the leading nation rider numbers drop from twelve to nine had an impact in today's race. "Our plan was to get as many guys as we could to the finish but we had to expend our guys to bring back the (earlier threatening) break which they did a fantastic job doing," said Stephens. "The bad side of that was that Robbie was somewhat alone at the finish when the gap went off the front and we had no one there to bring it back." "At one point we probably used a couple too many guys that we could have used in the last seven kilometres but you have to react to what's happening at the time," agreed McEwen. "I sort of gambled a bit up the last climb to not close it (the gap to the decisive attack) myself because I thought someone else would but it didn't happen."
Bittersweet day for Wood
It was a bitter sweet birthday for Canberra's Oenone Wood who sprinted home to claim the bronze medal in the women's race on Saturday, September 24, dedicating her ride to Amy Gillett, her former Australian team mate who died in a tragic road accident while training in Germany in July. In Madrid, the Australian team and staff wore red wrist bands adorned with the words 'In loving memory - Amy Gillett' and Wood said she believed Gillett was riding with her during the 126 km-race. "It hasn't been a fantastic season for the Australians," said Wood, who was moved to tears by the memory of her friend. "In terms of the results, it's been great, but we've had a really hard year and it's fantastic that we've all been able to come together. It's really sad to remember 'Ames' (Gillett), but I think she'll be really happy with the way we rode today." The Australian women delivered a textbook team strategy as each performed to her individual strengths during the three hour race. Newcastle's Olivia Gollan launched several unsuccessful attacks and was later instrumental in chasing down threatening breakaway riders while Sydney's Natalie Bates set a steady pace on the final climb to discourage anyone from launching an attack. Carrigan tried her hand on lap four but with the experience of Athens no one was prepared to let her gain even a slight advantage. Victorian Helen Kelly did her job early and Kate Bates added the final link in the chain. The Australians timed their plan to ensure five of the six starters were still in the lead group as the race headed into the final lap and when the 28 or so riders remaining in the front bunch rounded the final corner into the home straight it was Wood's turn to shine. She was well placed behind the perfect wheel being that of Schleicher who in turn was being led out by a well honed German train. "I was in an awesome position coming into the sprint and I just didn't have the legs to beat Regina, but with a bit more work, maybe I'll get her next year," said Wood who is the first Australian since Anna Wilson in 1999 to claim a medal at a Road Cycling World Championships. "I'm pretty happy with the result. I put myself in the race and all the girls did a really good job today."
Development work paying off
The U23 men's race saw another medal added to the Australian tally when Victorian teenager, Will Walker, sprinted home in second place behind Dmytro Grabovskky of the Ukraine who crossed 26 seconds clear of the Australian after launching a successful solo attack on the final climb of the race. Walker, 19, and his team mate Chris Sutton from Sydney were well placed in the final lap which saw the race split into several attacking groups. At one stage Sutton and another rider jumped off the front of the chasing group to try and reel in Grabovskky but when that failed Walker immediately launched a counter attack and along with Russian bronze medallist Evgeny Popov set up a big enough margin to contest the minor placings. "We had a good base strategy and I had good legs in the end and took my chances which worked out well," said Walker, who races with the Dutch based Rabobank development squad. "Rabobank has a policy that they want to make you a very good professional so it means staying with the Continental or younger teams a little bit longer before making the step up to the pros and that's working well for me." Missed opportunity for RodriguezU.S. national team leader Fred Rodriguez (Emeryville, Calf.) missed out on the sprint for the rainbow jersey, finishing in a group of 39 riders that rode in 25 seconds off the pace of winner Tom Boonen of Belgium in the Elite men's road race of the 2005 World Championships in Madrid. "Basically, I was supposed to be doing the sprint," Rodriguez said of the team's pre-race plan. "The last hill was pretty tough and I basically hung out with McEwen and Petacchi and made it over the top in the front group and then somewhere on the flat roads it split apart." Despite missing the split of 17 riders that regained contact with the lead group of six just before the line, Rodriguez initially thought he was in good shape given the company in his group. "I was still in a good place with Petacchi and all his guys, and McEwen and all the Australians, but I never made it back on. All of the sudden, there was a little hesitation and it was game over."
USA Cycling U23 National Team alumni Saul Raisin (Dalton, Ga.) was a major contributor to the team's agenda today after spending four-and-a-half hours in a breakaway. Raisin attacked with his usual teammate on the French-based Credit Agricole team, Dmitriy Muravyev (Kazakhstan), and increased their advantage on the main group to almost 12 minutes with the help of Juan Carlos Lopez (Colombia) before the trio was caught with three laps remaining. Only three Americans were in the mix in the final laps as Rodriguez had assistance from teammates John Lieswyn (Ames, Iowa) and Italian-American Guido Trenti (Natick, Mass.). Christian Vande Velde (Boulder, Colo.) was scratched from the race before the start due to illness, leaving the U.S. squad at a numerical disadvantage with just seven starters to most of the other strong nations' nine. Other riders who competed, but did not finish were Jason McCartney (Coralville, Iowa), Patrick McCarty (Allen, Texas) and Phil Zajicek (Tucson, Ariz.). Trenti, who holds a U.S. passport and is a teammate of Boonen in the Belgian-based Quick.Step team, recorded the top finish for the U.S. National Team, placing 23rd as the last rider in the front group. Sunday's elite men's road race concludes the 2005 UCI Road World Championships in which the U.S. National Team captured one medal: Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho) earned a bronze in the elite women's time trial on Wednesday, leading a charge that included two other top-ten performances as Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.) placed fifth and Christine Thorburn placed eighth. One of the favourites on Saturday, Tyler Farrar (Bellingham, Wash.) crashed out of the U23 road race after placing tenth in the time trial on Wednesday, the U.S. National Team's only other top-ten finish of the week. Also, Bobby Julich (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) closed out what he referred to as his "best season ever" with an 11th-place effort in the elite men's time trial. Antequera retires with another successBy Hernan Alvarez Macias Spain’s team selector Francisco 'Paco' Antequera managed his last race in that capacity today at the World’s in Madrid. Alejandro Valverde’s silver medal gave Antequera an amazing number of eleven medals as a coach in nine World Championships since his first in San Sebastian 1997. Spain won five gold medals (Olano in 1998, Freire in 1999, Freire in 2001, Astarloa in 2003 and Freire in 2004), four silver medals and two bronze medals under his management, which is something very few coaches can say of themselves. On the Spanish Cycling Federation web site, Antequera said today, "This medal tasted like glory. I’m very happy to win at home because the silver medal is as much a success as would be a golden one. I don’t have words to give my thanks to the whole team, from riders to technicians. This is my last World’s and my goodbye is definite. There’s no way back." 99 doping controls in MadridUCI doping control officials have tested a total of 99 blood samples during the World Championships in Madrid, 40 of which were taken on Saturday, at the evening before the Elite men road race. The countries concerned by the testing were Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany, but all results were negative. Nevertheless, four riders were declared unfit to start at the other races of the World Champs. Two Bulgarians and two young Slovenians were taken out of the competitions this week.
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