First Edition Cycling News for July 16, 2006Edited by Jeff Jones and Shane Stokes, with assistance from Susan Westemeyer Ullrich and Sevilla miss team's deadline
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as of stage 4 on Wednesday, June 10, at approximately 15:00 local Europe
time (CEST)/ 23:00 Australian time (CDT)/ 9:00 (USA East). Ullrich and Sevilla have "not met the request of the sponsor and the team management to provide their innocence," the team announced Saturday. The deadline, which was given to them upon their suspension June 30, "already expired on Thursday." "Now it's in the hands of the attorneys to consider what steps to take next. This is a very difficult situation," Frommert said, and noted that he is confident to have an announcement "by the end of the Tour." The team suspended Ullrich and Sevilla before the start of the Tour after both were named in the Spanish doping scandal involving Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. Directeur Sportif and Ullrich mentor Rudy Pevenage was fired over his involvement. Both riders "assured us before they left Strasbourg on June 30 that they wanted to prove their innocence," Frommert said. This has not yet happened. T-Mobile plans "round table discussion" over dopingT-Mobile Team and sponsor T-Mobile are staying aggressive in their fight against doping with cycling. They will hold a round table discussion on the issue at the HEW Cyclassics Pro Tour race on July 30, with the national association (Bund Deutsche Radfahrer) president Rudolf Scharping. Many of the biggest doping affairs have not been discovered through routine testing - for example, Jan Ullrich, David Millar and Richard Virenque were never tested positive in a race. T-Mobile therefore wants to work more closely with the National Anti-Doping Agency. Team Gerolsteiner has also indicated its willingness to participate in the project. In addition, Frommert said, doping critics such as the biologist Werner Franke and Austrian doctor and nutrition expert Kurt Moosburger will also take part. "We will be looking at every aspect," says T-Mobile Sports Communications director Christian Frommert. The suspension of nine riders before the start of the Tour de France was an alarm signal, he said, and now it is up to the sponsors to act. But the riders and the trainers must also be part of the new beginning, as only "clean cycling" will be attractive to sponsors, Frommert noted. T-Mobile's continued sponsorship of the team depends on the success of the fight against doping. "We will stay until at least the end of 2008, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we will stop then," Frommert said. Basso prepares his defenceBy Hedwig Kröner, with additional reporting from Shane Stokes Ever since Ivan Basso returned home to his native Italy on June 30, one day prior to the start of the Tour de France, the now suspended CSC rider has been in close contact with his lawyer, Massimo Martelli, who has taken over not only the preparation of his defence but also his relations to the media. Martelli, wrote L'Equipe's Philippe Brunel in Wednesday's edition of the paper, travelled to Madrid last week to meet the investigators of the Guardia Civil and the magistrate in charge of the Operacion Puerto affair. The attorney was given a copy of the dossier which led to Basso's exclusion of the Tour. "There are very few indications," he said, "only suppositions and indirect proof." Martelli added that Basso appeared in none of the video camera-recorded films the officials had used in their investigation, and that the recorded telephone calls which concerned Basso included silences and omissions which could be used for all sorts of interpretations. "One correspondent tells doctor Fuentes that a 'certain' Basso won. But in Italy for example, the word 'certain' is used for an unknown person," Martelli said. As for the codename 'Birillo', the attorney added that this was an invention of the media. "Birillo is supposed to be the name of Basso's dog. But yesterday, I heard his daughter Domitilla call the dog 'Tarello' - I don't think that at two years of age, a child could be wrong about the name of its dog." So while Basso is said to train every day, being "very impatient to get out of this dead end", his representative is in contact with the authorities in charge: the UCI, which is in possession of more complete documents on the case, as well as the Anti-Doping section of the Italian Olympic committee, which will let Basso be heard once it has all the information available. It can then either classify the case or else send Basso before the disciplinary commission of his cycling federation, which could ask Basso for a DNA test. While the winner of the Giro d'Italia is in favour of the idea, his attorney isn't. "It's a traumatic act, and not reliable to 100 percent," Martelli said. However many other lawyers and scientists would disagree with this last assertion. DNA testing is taken to being 99.5 percent reliable and has been used as the mainstay of countless criminal cases for many years. In fact, if an inaccurate reading does occur, this decreases rather than increases the chances of Basso having a blood match. Across the border in Switzerland, the president of the Swiss Olympic committee's doping section Gerhard Walter stated several days ago that he felt such testing was vital in the case of Jan Ullrich, another accused of working with Dr. Fuentes. "The reports out of Spain indicate a seemingly clear situation, therefore it's up to the athletes to exonerate themselves," he stated. "If Ullrich, for example, doesn't make a DNA test, then I assume that the charges are true."
Cyclingnews' recent coverage of 'Operación Puerto' May 18, 2009 - Valverde to start Catalunya Cyclingnews' complete coverage of Operación Puerto Fast Kiwi to ride as a stagiaire with Française des JeuxBy Jean-François Quénet in Carcassonne
The typically French Française des Jeux team no has a long history of English speaking riders from various countries like the US (Chris Horner), Great-Britain (Max Sciandri and Bradley Wiggins), Australia (Brad McGee, Baden Cooke, Matt Wilson, Mark Renshaw) and South Africa (Ian McLeod). New Zealand was missing on the list. But a Kiwi will line up soon with the four-leaf clover white jersey: Tim Gudsell, 22, from the national track team, will be a stagiaire from August 1st on and his first pro race will be Paris-Corrèze (Aug. 2-3). Gudsell caught the attention of Yvon Madiot – Marc's brother – when he won the U23 Tour du Haut-Anjou in early April under the colours of his French club VS Albi, where he pairs with the up and coming sprinter Stéphane Poulhiès. Poulhiès will start his own pro career with AG2R, also on August 1st. "I'm delighted to be given a chance," Gudsell said, while riding the Tour des Deux-Sèvres in west of France. "I'll do my best to get a pro contract after that. My 2006 season almost started in October last year because of the track commitments, but fortunately I've had a nice break with a couple of other New Zealanders in June. I'm fresh and motivated for what's coming up now." Italians to check out World's coursePaolo Bettini and Danilo Di Luca will lead an informal Italian team to check out the course of the upcoming World road championship in Salzburg, Austria, next week. On Tuesday, July 18, the two will go out with fellow Italians Vincenzo Nibali, Marco Pinotti and Tiziano Dall'Antonia to get a feel for the course. Their ride will be followed by a press conference at the Hotel Gmachl in Bergheim, Austria, at about 3 p.m. FRF couriers-Caravello for Qinghai LakeBy Mark Gunter
FRF Couriers-Caravello are looking to show well in what is their biggest race yet, the 2.HC ranked Tour of Qinghai Lake. This team is in its first year as a UCI Continental team are looking to make a name for themselves in professional cycling. This exotic and challenging race is a great opportunity to get noticed. "A stage win or a day or two in the leaders jersey would be great" explained team manager Andrew Portess. Overall GC is not the main priority for this race especially when up against teams like Liquigas and Bouygues Telecom, but to be competitive against such strong opposition would be a boost for the riders and sponsors alike. The team has been racing in the UK and Canada recently so their legs and mind set should be ready to tackle this event in a positive way. A stage win is not out of the question. With Cyclingnews diary submitter Cody Stevenson riding well and in form sprinter Joshua Marden recently having a win in the Milk Race in Ireland. a chance on the flatter stages is possible. Meanwhile 19 year old Brendan Brooks has been getting some high altitude training in Colorado. And high altitude is the word for this race with the riders reaching 3880m during stage 4. Netherlands-based team Skil-Shimano have already been in the area for two weeks getting used to the thin air and one would expect them to perform well in the early stages of the tour. Andrew Portess isn't too worried about this as the tour is 9 days long and the big climbs don't come until half way through. By then, he feels, the guys should have acclimatised.
No team leader has been arranged yet. They will see how things pan out before making any decisions, as anything can happen in the mountains of China. "This will be a great learning experience for the guys, and with the high altitude racing they should arrive back in Australia with some good form" says Andrew. "They should place well in the Tatts Cup coming up soon". FRF couriers-Caravello are aiming to be the number one team in Australia, and along the way help riders adapt to a professional lifestyle and in the future gain contracts with a UCI professional team. Team roster: Joseph McDonnell, Cody Stevenson, Peter McDonald, Peter Herzig, Brendan Brooks, Tony Mann, Joshua Marden For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by Mark Gunter/www.pbase.com/gunterphotograph
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