www.cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling

Latest Cycling News for January 19, 2006

Edited by Jeff Jones

Time to break the drought

Davis gets elusive win as Gerrans defends superbly

By Les Clarke in Hahndorf

Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros)
Photo ©: Mark Gunter

After a day of attrition in yesterday's opening stage to Angaston, Liberty Seguros-Wurth's Allan Davis broke through for his first stage win in this event, beating Paul Crake in a two up sprint into the main street of Hahndorf this afternoon. Davis, who is on his eighth visit to the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, made his way to the early break which formed after 30 kilometres and stayed away from the peloton for the entire day.

It wasn't until the final kilometres, however, that Davis was able to make the decisive move, breaking clear of the 11-rider breakaway with UniSA's stairmaster extraordinaire Paul Crake and riding home for a popular win. "We knew something was going to go today after yesterday, so I was pretty geed up last night to get in a winning move and I did it today," said a very satisfied Davis after the finish. "It's just a little treat for my two kids, especially my little newborn."

But it was so much more for Davis, who admits that although he's won races on the international stage the win in Australia's premier stage race is very special. "I can't describe how hungry I was for a win this year," said Davis. "I got very close last year when Luis pretty much dominated the Tour, but now I've got it."

AG2R's Simon Gerrans benefited from a dominant display of controlled riding by his teammates to maintain his lead in the general classification. "The guys did an awesome job today; they rode absolutely perfectly," said a hot but happy Gerrans at the finish in Hahndorf. "They let the right breaks get away - there was just no one there so I could focus on GC and we rode the right pace all day. They just controlled it," he said. Indeed it was a controlled race from the French squad, but with Davis' teammate Luis Leon Sanchez staying close to Gerrans all day, it was a great day for the Liberty Seguros-Wurth squad.

Also see: Full results, report & photos, Live report, Main, Stages & results, Map, Start list, History, Photos, Videos

JCTDU Video highlights

Cyclingnews, in conjunction with Eurocam is pleased to announce that video clips of the Jacob's Creek Down Under Classic and Stage 1 of the JCTDU are available for download from our Videos page. Each clip is approximately 5MB and available as WMV (Windows Media Player) format. Enjoy them!

Textbook move powers Bates the elder to victory

MacPherson close to another series win

By Anthony Tan in Echunga

Natalie Bates
Photo ©: Rachel Burke

Taking a leaf out of her book from last year's series, Natalie Bates soloed off the front of a world-class women's field in Echunga and made the rest of field look like they were standing still. As her competitors wilted in searing conditions that topped out at 37 degrees today, the 25 year-old blonde from Sydney's west simply grew stronger, each lap powering out of the saddle on a difficult uphill back straight, and by the time she crossed the line with arms aloft, Bates had nearly caught the back of the field.

On the bell lap and on the same back straight, series leader and defending champion Jenny MacPherson took advantage of a slight lull to get a jump on the main field. Exiting the final corner for the bunch gallop, her placement was enough to give the Victorian Institute of Sport rider an ideal position in the final 150 metres, which the sprint queen took full advantage of, outsprinting New South Wales rider Kate Nichols for second.

"We were riding out here I was thinking, 'Oh my gosh!'," said Bates, commenting on the fact that her legs were feeling "a bit shabby" on the training run out to Echunga this morning. "When we got out here, I'd forgotten how much that back straight drags out and up a little bit, and in that respect, I think it's the best place to be, out the front."

Also see: Full results, report & photos, Stages & results, Start list, History, Photos

Paolini experiences life without Bettini

By Jean-François Quénet in Adelaide

Luca Paolini
Photo ©: JF Quenet

The Liquigas team may be visiting South Australia for the first time, but their captain Luca Paolini is no stranger to the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, as he competed in 2001, 2002 and 2003 with Mapei and Quick Step. "I asked my new team to take me here again," the bronze medallist at the Verona World's in 2004 said. It's a perfect race for preparation. It's much harder to work efficiently in Europe at this time of the year, even in Spain where the temperature is between 10 and 15° nowadays. I remember how good I was back in 2003 after racing here."

That year, he was a major contender at Tirreno-Adriatico and captured his best placing so far in Milan-San Remo (3rd). "I definitely want a remake of 2003," Paolini declared. His race programme includes the one day races in Mallorca, the Trofeo Laigueglia, the Tour du Haut-Var and Classic Haribo, the GPs of Chiasso and Lugano, Milano-Torino, Tirreno-Adriatico and then all the classics, with the only notable exception being Paris-Roubaix. "Last year I crashed at Laigueglia, he recalled. I suffered a knee tendonitis until June. For three months, I wasn't even a bike rider but I saved myself in August." He won a stage in the Tour de la Région Wallonne, two stages at the Tour of Britain, he came 2nd in Hamburg behind his team-mate Filippo Pozzato and finished second four times in the Tour of Poland.

What's new for him this year is the life in a team without his best mate Paolo Bettini. "It will be much harder to have him against me than with me," said Paolini. "But it's been my choice to change team and I truly hope I'll be able to play a big win in a classic with Paolo. We're still good friends though. Our relationships haven't changed since I left Quick Step. Only at the races we'll become adversaries." Bettini obviously had a smoother split up with his pupil than with his mentor Michele Bartoli a few years ago.

Paolini looks in good shape already. He came seventh in the Jacob's Creek Down Under classic on Tuesday night in Adelaide on his 29th birthday, but he doesn't want to burn himself in Australia. "Since I trained very little at home before coming here, I prefer to have a quiet start. I don't want to spend to much energy. Our two young riders Eros Capecchi and Daniele Colli did very well in stage 1, we're here for them, we'll be happy if they can come out with some result and show what they can do on a bike."

Lampre in Terracina

The Lampre-Fondital team is training in Terracina, Italy at the moment, during a week long camp that will finish on January 24. The 13 riders involved will work in two groups under the control of Giuseppe Martinelli and Fabrizio Bontempi.

The first group, led by Damiano Cunego with five teammates, will do base work in order to prepare for the spring races. The second group, including Daniele Bennati and the rest of the cyclists, will work in a more specific way for the first races of the season, including the classics.

Carlo Saronni, son of Giuseppe, former cycling champion and now general manager of the team, will also take part in the camp.

Lampre will meet again in Montecatini from January 1 until February 4.

Petacchi awarded

Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) will be presented with the Torre d'argento by the organisers of the GP Costa degli Etruschi, the opening race on the Italian calendar. Petacchi will receive the award on Thursday night in Marina di Bibbone. Besides Petacchi, Italian journalist Auro Bulbarelli; organiser and manager Piero Pieroni; Italian elite women's champion Silvia Parietti; and the winner for the past two years of the Coppa d'Oro classic, Diego Ulissi, will all receive awards.

"The Torre d'Argento is a prize to thank the people who give value to our region," said Giorgio Creatini, sports councillor of the Castagneto Carducci community. Alessandro Petacchi, beyond having won the past edition of the GP Costa degli Etruschi, has done training camps in our community. We wish that he can repeat his successes of 2005 this year.

The 2006 GP Costa degli Etruschi takes place on February 4.

McLane Pacific Cycling Classic on a roll

The McLane Pacific Cycling Classic in Merced, California, will form part of USA Cycling's National Racing Calendar for the sixth consecutive year. The NRC includes 45 races, and the McLane Pacific will take place on the weekend of March 4-5.

"McLane Pacific is very honoured to be once again included on the NRC," said race organiser Doug Fleutsch. "Merced is one of the most rural towns to be selected, and it is a fantastic promotion of the qualities of Merced worldwide."

The Classic includes the Downtown Grand Prix, a fast circuit race with amateur and elite racers vying for a top finish. Cycling enthusiasts can get into the Century Ride, which offers three different longer distance courses ranging from 10 to 100 miles. The Family Fun Day is a way for small cyclists to get into the sport. There will be a bike safety rodeo, plus the return of the popular Pee Wee Classic for kids ages (3-10).

PSK Whirlpool - Continental Cycling Team

Czech based continental team PSK Whirlpool has made some major changes to its line up for 2006. Keeping its title sponsor intact, the team has signed René Andrle from Liberty Seguros, Petr Bencík, Radek Becka, Vojtìch Dlouhý, Stanislav Kozùbek, Leopold König and Greek rider Georgios Tentsos. Continuing from last year are Radek Blahut, Tomáš Buchácek, Jan Faltýnek, Martin Riška and Pavel Zitta.

One of the team's most successful riders in 2005 was Frantisek Rabon, who won the U23 title for the time trial and road race at the Czech Championships. Rabon was also the first Czech rider to win the European U23 Championship. In 2006, he leaves the team to join German powerhouse T-Mobile after signing a two year deal. But the arrival of Tomáš Buchácek should counter-balance that, as he finished second in the Czech elite road championships in 2005.

The PSK Whirlpool team will be riding on carbon frames produced by Author and components by Shimano Dura - ace and Ritchey.

Proman/Paradigm women's squad

A new team, based in San Anselmo, California, USA is making its debut in 2006. Proman/Paradigm is an elite women's squad founded by Nicola Cranmer and supported by Julia Violich's local shop Paradigm Cycles (formerly Gravywheels) and her non-profit club, Tam Cycling. Their title sponsor, Proman, is a full service Project Management Organization based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The company has been serving the process industries on a worldwide basis for over two decades.

The team will focus on achieving competitive results, but also enjoyment of the process, as well as juggling full time careers while achieving racing goals. Along with Nicola Cranmer, Emily Zell, who raced with Cranmer last season on Village Peddler, has aided in forming a powerful team, with both strong veterans and promising newcomers.

Click here for the full announcement

Intermountain Orthopaedics team

Idaho's largest cycling club and race team has confirmed a three year sponsorship deal with Intermountain Orthopaedics. On top of its fourth year sponsoring the IO/LRC club and as title sponsors of the Idaho State Championship races and the White Knob Challenge, Intermountain Ortho Sports Medicine is going to be even more involved in bike racing in 2006.

The group has added a new primary sub-sponsor for 2006 in St. Alphonsus' Life Flight. Life Flight is celebrating its 20 years of service to Southwest Idaho this year. Other primary sub-sponsors for the Intermountain Orthopaedics squad include long-time supporters at Bodybuilding.com and the Boise Co-Op along with the Flipside Cafe.