First Edition Cycling News for June 12, 2006Edited by Hedwig Kröner Dauphiné final stage wrap-upHushovd wins Grenoble sprint, Leipheimer overall
The last stage of this year's Dauphiné Libéré did not change the overall standings. After one week of racing, Gerolsteiner's Levi Leipheimer successfully took his yellow jersey 'home' to Grenoble, as the stage ended in a bunch sprint won by Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), with AG2R's Samuel Dumoulin getting second in front of Belgium's Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux). "It was my goal to win a stage in the Dauphiné," said Hushovd post-race. "The race ended up better than it started. I got no chance to sprint for the win in the first two stages because we were the only team working for a sprint finish. Then I passed the mountains really well. I did a nice breakaway onto the Col d'Izoard. It's been good training for the Tour de France." Hushovd's team Crédit Agricole "ripped those hills apart" according to Leipheimer, as there was one man to catch before the finish line: Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC), whose breakaway ended with only two kilometres to go. "It was strange for me to have the guys chasing Stuart O'Grady down, because he's a good friend of mine and he's been on my team for such a long time, but we had to race as we said in the morning: let a breakaway of three riders or so go and then ride behind them." Click here for full results, report & photos. "Big thing" for Leipheimer
Levi Leipheimer of German team Gerolsteiner has finally triumphed in the 58th Dauphiné Libéré by taking the overall victory of the French ProTour race just weeks ahead of the Tour de France. Although the American did not win a stage in the Alpine race, his consistency over the week was enough to keep other contenders distanced. "I'm very happy, my form is just right," said Leipheimer in Grenoble. "I think I'm stronger than at the same time last year, especially in the mountains." The 32 year-old scored the 18th win for Gerolsteiner so far this season, as well as their third stage race victory. "Levi was really strong," commented team directeur sportif Christian Henn. "This victory gives him self confidence and morale. Everybody wanted to show something here, and Levi wins. It's a really big thing." Henn also thought that Leipheimer had progressed as a rider. "His performance was impressive. For me, this victory has more value on a sporting level than the one in the Deutschland tour in 2005. This last test for the Tour de France was really successful for us." Dauphiné stage 7 post-stage quotes
Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole, 1st) "It was my goal to win a stage in the Dauphiné. It's been a good training for the Tour de France. Now I will only ride the ProTour team time trial. I'm not going to the Norwegian championship this year because it's held in the North part of the country and there are too many plane connections to use before getting there. I prefer to stay at home and complete my preparation for the Tour de France in peace."
Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner, overall winner) "The race has been so difficult and I stayed in the front all the time, so I didn't get a chance to speak with Floyd Landis. I don't know if I could have done the Dauphiné the same way him and Alexandre Vinokourov did it. In that case I would have chosen one day like Floyd did when he had a superb time trial. They have to stay strong in their head but it's not their first, second or third Tour de France. I presume they rely on their previous experiences. As for myself, I'll keep training before the start on July 1st, but first of all I'll rest a lot."
Bernhard Kohl (T-Mobile, 3rd overall)
"Finishing third in the Dauphiné is unbelievable for me. Yes, I realize I am the revelation of the race. I was in good shape but I didn't imagine I could finish on the podium of a really big race like this one in my second year as a pro. Last year, I did the Dauphiné as well but it was another story. I trained a lot before coming here. Because of my good shape I did a good time trial and then my head was good. In the Mont Ventoux I was surprised I could stay in the front with the best climbers. Then the whole T-Mobile team worked well for me. "I thought I'd be able to do something like this in three years time, not now. I hope I'll do it again in the future. My next goals are the Austrian championship and the Tour of Austria where I finished seventh last year. It's my home race and I want to win it now." Stuart O'Grady refused to answer the questions of the press after receiving the prize of the most aggressive rider of the day. Bad luck for Menchov
Denis Menchov (Rabobank) was stripped off his chances for an overall victory in a crash in Saturday's stage to La Toussuire - but nevertheless has shown in the Dauphiné that he is back to good physical health and form. Menchov was very impressive on his way up the famous Mont Ventoux, the "bald giant" of Provence, where he took the day's victory on Thursday. Second overall at 28 seconds, he was out trying to attack the race leader when he crashed on a corner. "It wasn't a technical mistake, he was simply unlucky," team director Erik Breukink told De Telegraaf. "Denis was riding in second position in that group at the time. Of course it's a shame that he lost is chance on the overall win this way. In the last kilometres before the finish, you could see that he found his rhythm again. I'm just happy that he didn't suffer any serious injuries in that fall. Looking at his form in this Dauphiné, he's right on track for the Tour." Comeback for Mayo?
Besides the third-placed in the final general classification, Bernhard Kohl of T-Mobile, and the fact that several favourites of the race (Alexandre Vinokourov, Floyd Landis, Yaroslav Popovych) did not reveal their levels of fitness just weeks before the Tour de France, the Dauphiné Libéré saw another surprise as Basque Iban Mayo emerged again in front of the peloton to take Saturday's stage to La Toussuire, a summit finish also in this year's Tour. Similar to his best days in the Centenary Tour in 2003, the Basque climber took off on the final ascent and this time left everybody behind again. "This is the most important victory in my career," he stated. "After the Dauphiné [2004, where he clocked a record time in the Dauphiné time trial up the Mont Ventoux - ed.], I crashed in the Tour de France on the stage to Wasquehal. After that, I was out of the picture for two years due to knee problems and a back injury. My form was good these last few weeks, but my head wasn't quite right yet. Now, I feel like a bike rider again. But I don't want to look ahead to the Tour. I live day by day and I'm happy with every performance." U-23 alum finishes fifth at Sugar MountainUSA Cycling Under-23 program graduate Nick Waite (Davis, W.V./Kelly Benefit Strategies) rode to his first NORBA National professional podium Saturday when he placed fifth at the NMBS#2 Showdown at Sugar at the Sugar Mountain Resort, N.C. "(The U-23 program) always had us riding with the pros, but now that I'm not a U-23, there's a little more pressure on myself, personally," Waite said. He signed with the Kelly Benefit Strategies professional team this April. The top finisher for the current U-23 team was Sam Jurekovic who placed 13th among the field of 96 pro riders - a personal best for Jurekovic. He completed the four laps of the 6.6-mile course in 2 hours, 20 minutes and 10.2 seconds. "It was hard, I just had my suffer face on all day," Jurekovic said. "I was riding really well, just got back from Europe so I had some good fitness from that, but I got some cramps and I just worked them out. Other than that - no problems. I've been waiting for a good race with no crashes or technical problems or anything like that and it finally happened." Melbourne Specialized store announces teamsThe Specialized Concept Store in Melbourne, Australia, has announced its road and mountain bike race teams for the rest of the 2006 season. The focus of both teams is on developing talent and providing support to riders with strong potential for improvement. The mountain bike team consists of two enduro pairings - James Dickie paired with Rohin Adams and Joel Read paired with Steven Van Dyke. They are joined by hardman solo rider Sam Bach. In this combination, the mountain bike team has already won enduro races including round one of the state winter series, the Dirtriders 6 hour, and the Ballan enduro. With high hopes of continuing this successful start, road rider Cameron McKenzie will join the team for some fun in the mud when they race as a six at the Kona and Mont 24 hour races later in the year. The road team consists of A grade riders Mitchell Vervaart, Andy Curtain, Will Tehan, Cameron McKenzie, Ben Juzwin and Glen Peterson. They are joined at key events by the mountain bikers who endure riding skinny tires in the name of building team spirit, improving fitness and getting results. There is also a supporting 'B' team for riders attempting to make the jump from the lower grades into elite competition. For the remainder of 2006, the road team will be focusing on the Tattersall's Cup, Melbourne-Warnambool, and the Tours of Bright and the Yarra Valley. The Specialized Concept Store race teams ride Specialized S-Works road and mountain bikes and use Specialized accessories. Their kit, already famous in Melbourne, is a fetching hot pink. For more information, check out www.specializedconceptstore.com.au (All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2006) |
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