Tour de France News for June 16, 2003
Edited by Jeff Jones & Chris Henry
Mercado ready for July
Juan Mercado
Photo: © Jeff Tse
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"Today I discovered the Galibier," said Juan Miguel Mercado (iBanesto.com)
said simply after his victory in Saturday's stage
6 of the Dauphiné Libéré. "The break went well,
although my directeur sportif Eusebio Unzué suggested I wait for
Mayo on the climb when he was still a few seconds back. He did the descent
flat out, which wasn't easy, but we had nothing to lose."
After a strong climb of the Galibier and a fast descent with Iban Mayo
(Euskaltel-Euskadi), Mercado launched a late race attack after race leader
Lance Armstrong caught Mayo and the two GC leaders eased up. With 15km
to go, Mercado was in the lead group along with Armstrong, Mayo, and iBanesto.com
teammate Francisco Mancebo. The Spaniard Mercado won alone in Briançon
with 26" over Mayo.
Motivated after his victory, Mercado added that his objective is to
"shine in the mountains of the Tour de France." Francis Lafargue, second
directeur sportif for iBanesto, also commented on the team's outlook for
the Tour de France. "We have climbers, but no leaders like Miguel Indurain,"
he said. "The leader for the Tour will be Francisco Mancebo, who at 28
has the necessary experience."
Armstrong cautious, despite Dauphiné win
Dauphiné champ
Photo: © AFP
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After winning the Dauphiné
Libéré for the second time in a row, US Postal-Berry Floor leader
Lance Armstrong remained cautious as to his chances in the upcoming Tour
de France. "Call me a favourite, but don't say it's as if I've already
won the Tour," he was quoted in Het Nieuwsblad. "It's not that simple.
It will be three really hard weeks."
"This race was much harder than last year. The parcours, the heat, the
competitors, and of course the crash. Maybe it was my hardest Dauphiné
ever."
After eight days of racing, His final winning margin over Euskaltel's
Iban Mayo was 1'12, with David Millar (Cofidis) finishing third in 2'47.
In last year's Dauphiné, Armstrong's winning margin was 2'03 (over
teammate Floyd Landis), and he went onto win the Tour de France by 7'17.
That could be taken as a sign that Armstrong is slowing down, or his
rivals are catching up, but in stage races the main objective is to win,
with the time difference being secondary. What was interesting about the
Dauphiné was that Iban Mayo looked to be as good as, or better
than Armstrong on all the major climbs, however he lost 1'26 in the third
stage time trial and that was more than enough to lose the race. Armstrong
has two strengths: his time trialling and his climbing, and it's difficult
to find any riders at the moment who a) possess both qualities in abundance
and b) are in form.
Ouch
Photo: © AFP
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Armstrong's crash in Stage
5 was certainly the biggest scare he's had for some time. "The crash
was really frightening," he said. "But also a lesson for my teammates.
I immediately got back on my bike again and defended my jersey, instead
of staying on the side of the road and groaning of pain. It's good that
my teammates have seen that their leader is ready."
The crash certainly did not help him against Mayo on the Galibier on
Stage 6,
and he had to descend to the best of his abilities to catch the Basque
before the finish in Briançon. "When I rode from the hotel to the start
on Saturday, I felt like an old guy: Stiff and sore. For that reason I
didn't climb the best on the Galibier," he explained.
His team director Johan Bruyneel added, "Armstrong did not really have
to panic after the crash on Friday. He knew that he had to remain vigilant.
It was necessary for him to hold back a little on Saturday to recover
his rhythm again."
Fast against the clock
Photo: © Jeff Tse
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Apart from that, Armstrong's time
trial performances in the Dauphiné were comparatively better
than last year, and that is just as important for the Tour. His US Postal
team also showed itself to be ready, and come Tour time, Armstrong should
be able to count on riders like Roberto Heras and George Hincapie, who
are riding the Volta a Catalunya this week.
As for his rivals, "Mayo was very aggressive, he has surprised me a
lot. I expect him again in the Tour. Maybe he was the one who made it
much more difficult for me this year than in earlier years. But don't
worry, I'm as strong as last year." Bruyneel also pointed out that "The
main rivals of Armstrong weren't there. Beloki is in form and we'll see
Ullrich in the Tour de Suisse. Simoni? He is a customer, but he's never
proved anything in the Tour."
With no more racing to come before the Tour, recovery and training are
foremost on Armstrong's mind. "Now I'm going home as soon as possible,"
Armstrong said. "One week with the family and in particular recovering
from the crash. I've never felt so strange. since Saturday I've been taking
antibiotics. I have to be careful not to get an infection in the elbow."
Tour says no to Pantani, so Pantani says no to Tour
By Tim Maloney, European Editor
La Gazzetta dello Sport's Claudio Gregori eloquently encapsulated Marco
Pantani's career as the mercurial climber from Cesenatico made a popular
comeback at this year's Giro d'Italia. "First he was an angel, then a
demon, and now Pantani's just a normal man", wrote Gregori. Although Pantani
finished 14th in the Giro, he may have even cracked the top 10 had he
not crashed hard and lost 15'00 on the descent of the Colle di Sampeyre
during Stage 18. No matter, as this year the roads of the Giro were lined
once again with I Pantanisti, Marco's tifosi, re-energised to cheer
on Italy's most popular rider.
Although Marco's Mercatone Uno-Scanavino squad was not granted a Tour
De France wild card, Pantani declared his desire to be present at this
year's Centenary Tour. And it almost happened, as thanks to the hard work
of Mercatone Uno's business manger Cornacchia, both Jan Ullrich's Bianchi
squad and Vini Caldirola were willing to take Pantani and his Mercatone
Uno co-sponsor cash as "guests" for the Tour De France. The UCI had also
given its OK for a guest transfer, but the still emotionally fragile Pantani
had hardly touched his bike since the Giro concluded two weeks ago, and
had lost interest in racing the Tour in the meantime. The always proud
Pantani may have felt that as a former Tour winner, he deserved an invite
to the Tour in his own right, and not as a "guest" in another squad.
Next Tuesday, Pantani will meet with Davide Boifava of Mercatone Uno-Scanavino
to determine his program for the rest of the season, including the Vuelta
a España and a possible shot at the World's in Hamilton, Canada. Thus,
this year's Tour de France won't have the two top Transalpine cyclists.
Neither Pantani nor World Champion Mario Cipollini with be at the start
of the Centenary Tour this July 4th in Paris.
Ullrich focusing beyond Tour
Team Bianchi leader Jan Ullrich enters the Tour de Suisse Monday with
the goal of fine tuning his training and testing himself in the high mountains
just weeks before the Tour de France. Ullrich, who spent 2002 out of competition,
remains modest in his ambitions for the Tour, despite the popular consensus
that he remains one of Lance Armstrong's biggest challengers.
The ten day Swiss race will also provide Ullrich a low-pressure finish
to his preparations, as he will not face off with Armstrong or Giro d'Italia
winner Gilberto Simoni. Ullrich heads into the race with a solid performance
on Sunday's GP Kanton
Aargau/Gippingen, finishing 6th and in the same time as a lead group
of seven riders.
"I don't want to put myself under much pressure since I wasn't able
to prepare ideally for the Tour," Ullrich told Swiss newspaper NZZ am
Sonntag.
Ullrich has never finished the Tour de France below second place overall,
and won the event in 1997. Despite showing good form in this return to
competition this year, and weathering the storm surrounding the demise
of Team Coast, the German maintains that this year's Tour would be an
ambitious objective, and has decided to focus on the second half of the
season, including the Vuelta a España, which he won in 1999.
"Of course I'd like to perform well in the general classification this
year," he added, "but my priorities are still the Vuelta in September
and the World Championships after that."
Rebellin prepares for Tour, thinks of Italy
Italian Davide Rebellin has chosen this year to skip the Volta a Catalunya,
which begins Monday, in order to prepare solely for the Tour de France.
Leader of the German Gerolsteiner squad, Rebellin was deprived of a start
in the Giro d'Italia due to injury, and is now focused on the Tour, Gerolsteiner's
first.
"I want to be a protagonist in France and also continue in August for
the World Cup races and the Italian classics," Rebellin told Datasport.
Still feeling the pain of his shoulder injury, Rebellin expects to compete
for stage victories in the Tour and not concern himself with the general
classification.
Rebellin is also considering a change of team, having reportedly received
offers from French and Spanish teams, and "an important Italian team".
While Rebellin has not offered any specifics, a move to Alessio could
be possible, as the team has several aging riders who may retire at the
end of 2003, and could be looking to bolster its UCI ranking and revitalise
its classics ambitions. Rebellin could be a good fit in the Alessio formation,
whose headquarters are not far from Rebellin's home in Galliera Veneta,
whereas there is likely no place for him in the Fassa Bortolo team of
Giancarlo Ferretti.
"It's premature to speak about this," Rebellin said of a move back to
Italy, "but it's a possibility to satisfy my desire to return to racing
in Italy after two years in Germany."
Gonzalez de Galdeano philosophical
By João Cravo
Fate has decided that Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano will not be riding the
Centenary Tour this year. Ironically, the final blow didn't come from
the six month ban that he incurred from the CLPD, which he was deeply
convinced he would overcome. Instead it came after a crash with three
kilometres to go in the Tour of Germany time trial, which left him with
a broken collarbone. It was to be the last race that Gonzalez de Galdeano
would ride before the Tour.
After having surgery on the collarbone, which was fractured in three
places, Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano finally realized that once past the
door of the Clínica La Esperanza he would not be going to France this
July. "This time it's for good," he admitted, "Now I know that I will
not ride the 2003 Tour."
If pain killers helped to ease the pain of the wounded flesh, the words
of wisdom of doctor Mikel Sanchez played an decisive role in ONCE's and
Igor's decision not to tempt fate any further. "Igor had a triple fracture
of his collarbone and also a small haemorrhage in his head," said Dr.
Sanchez. "He should have a rest period of at least two weeks before restarting
training. He would not be in good condition to participate in the Tour."
Now Igor hardly can wait for the time to go home. "I'll be a dad in
few weeks," he said. "My little baby-girl will bring me the morale I lack
now."
Igor has just passed through a hard test, but he believes he will come
out of it stronger than ever. "What I lived in the last few months is
part of the choice I made to be a rider," Galdeano reflected. "You have
to assume it and adapt yourself to all the situations your job puts you
under - bad or good."
Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano will not be there to help Joseba Beloki when
the blue postmen ride the Pony Express uphill to deliver Armstrong in
yellow in Paris for a fifth time in a row. "Unfortunately I can't do anything
about that," he said. "I must resign myself to my fate and start thinking
about the Vuelta. This is very hard to live with, but there's no use crying
over it."
Wielinga may ride Tour
Rabobank has added Remmert Wielinga to its pre-Tour de France selection,
after he performed very well (8th in the final stage and 12th overall)
in the Dauphiné Libéré. Team manager Theo De Rooij told journalists
at the start of Stage 7 that Wielinga will now prepare for a possible
start in the Tour, which means he will skip the Route du Sud next week.
Wielinga is thus part of Rabobank's 13 man long team, which will be reduced
to nine come Tour time.
"I knew that I could climb but it is unbelievable when you're suddenly
riding on the wheel of Lance Armstrong in a mountain stage," the 25 year
old was quoted as saying by ANP.
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(All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2003)
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