Latest Cycling News for May 11, 2006
Edited by Jeff Jones
Team time trial to shake up classification
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Today's flat fifth stage 38 km team time trial between Piacenza and Cremona
should shake up the general classification in the Giro d'Italia. It's
the first such event in the Giro since 1989, and unlike the Tour's team
time trials in recent years, it will be scored on actual time. But, given
the non-technical nature of the parcours, a maximum altitude difference
of just 18 metres, and a likely tailwind, the times for the 38 km should
not be too far apart.
Still, it's a race that will suit the powerhouse squads of Team CSC
(Basso), T-Mobile (Gonchar, Rogers, Ullrich), and Discovery Channel (Savoldelli,
Danielson), who have solid reputations in this discipline. Danilo di Luca's
Liquigas squad should be able to stay close to the winning time, while
Stefan Schumacher's Gerolsteiner, Damiano Cunego's Lampre-Fondital, Gilberto
Simoni's Saunier Duval and Jose Rujano's Selle Italia may lose a little
more. It's a big chance for riders like Basso and Savoldelli to gain some
time on their opponents, who may have more of an edge in the mountains.
Join us for our live coverage of the teams race against the clock starting
from 14:45 CEST.
Saunier Duval charity event for human rights
Saunier Duval-Prodir is organising a charity event for stage 6 of the
Giro d'Italia, on Friday, May 12. In the context of its support for human
rights with the slogan, "Free and equal, in sports as well," Saunier Duval
will present a bicycle especially designed for the handicapped and give
it to the Italian Paralympic Committee.
Hoste has five offers
Leif Hoste
Photo ©: Brecht Decaluwé
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Leif Hoste is close to leaving Discovery Channel at the end of the season,
reports sportwereld.be. The Belgian, who finished second in the
Ronde van Vlaanderen and virtually second in Paris-Roubaix (but was disqualified
for going through a train crossing), has better financial offers from
five different teams: Davitamon-Lotto, Unibet.com, and three French ProTour
squads.
"I've still not made a decision and am leaving the work up to my manager,"
Hoste was quoted as saying. But Discovery said that it will not match
the offers of the other teams: "We didn't do it for Livingston, nor for
Leipheimer, Hamilton, Boonen or Roberto Heras," said Johan Bruyneel. "That's
not our style. But of course it's disappointing that he goes now at the
moment that the time is ripe with Leif."
Martin Pedersen aims for USA comeback
CSC's Martin Pedersen experienced a setback last week when he crashed
and broke his collarbone in the Grand Prix Herning in Denmark.
"We came to a graveled bit and I was simply way too fast in a turn,"
he said on team-csc.com. "I felt strong and thought I'd go full
gas, so it was really too bad what happened."
Timing wise, the injury wasn't catastrophic for Pedersen. "I was supposed
to do the Volta a Catalunya, but apart from that I don't have anything
till June, so it could've been a lot worse. I've just started training
indoors again now, and already in a couple of days I think I'll be able
to do a bit on the road, if I take it easy.
"I'll leave it up to the doctors though, because I haven't had this
kind of injury before, so I don't know yet if it's possible to put something
in, which will keep my shoulders in place. Otherwise I'll just have to
try, and if it doesn't hurt I have no worries."
Pedersen is hoping to be part of the CSC team that will compete in the
Wachovia Cycling Series in Lancaster, Trenton and Philadelphia.
"I'm looking forward to that a lot and hope to be ready in time. After
that we have a training camp in Luxembourg. Now I'll just have to look
ahead and hope for the best. I hope to be in great shape by the time we
get to Tour de l'Avenir and the World Championships."
Colavita/Cooking Light signs Holt
The Colavita/Cooking Light Women’s Cycling Team has signed New Zealand's
Melissa (Meshy) Holt for the remainder of the season. Holt, who has previously
raced in North America with the Rona team and last year rode for Team
S.A.T.S. from Denmark, started this year with a second place finish at
the Geelong Tour, which kicked off 2006 international racing season in
February. She followed that up with a fourth place finish at the Commonwealth
Games time trial. Holt is a strong time trialist and is also good for
the general classification in stage races.
"We are very excited to add a rider of Meshy’s quality to our team,
as both her ability and leadership on the bike are world class," said
team director Jim Williams. Holt will make her debut at the Triple Crown
race series starting with the Lancaster criterium.
Landbouwkrediet-Colnago at Tour de Picardie
The Landbouwkrediet-Colnago squad has been named for the three day Tour
de Picardie, which runs from May 12-14. Fréderic Amorison, Bert De Waele,
James Vanlandschoot, Kevin Neirynck, Steve Cummings, Mathieu Criquielion,
Johan Verstrepen, and Sjef De Wilde. D.S.: Claude Criquielion.
The team reports that Jurgen Van Loocke is sick and cannot race. Also
Paul Manning has to undergo a knee operation, and will be out for a month.
He hopes to return in time for the national championships.
Konica Minolta in Japan
The Konica Minolta Continental Cycling Team has announced its lineup
for the Tour of Japan, which begins on Sunday, May 14: Peter and Martin
Velits, together with four young South African riders, John Lee Augustyn,
Marnus Potgieter, Hanco Kachelhoffer, and Johann Rabie. Peter Velits has
shown excellent form recently in Europe in the Tour of Bretagne, where
he finished 4th overall on general classification
The six stage race starts on Sunday with a testing 140km stage consisting
of 11 laps of the Senbuku Circuit. Stage 4 however will be the deciding
factor in the Tour: an 11.4km time trial which rises almost 2000 meters
in altitude.
"We are well prepared and we have a good team with depth, besides we
are under pressure to perform next week," said team manager John Robertson.
"This has been a big team objective for the team this year. Most of the
other teams are going to be watching us closely as John Lee was already
fifth overall in the Tour last year. Therefore, we are going to have to
ride a smart race, but we are all confident and I have a lot of faith
in the riders on this team who have shown a maturity beyond their years
this season."
Milram gains Le Coq Sportif as sponsor
German/Italian team Milram is gaining a new sponsor: well known French
clothing brand Le Coq Sportif. Le Coq Sportif has already been sponsoring
the Quick.Step team since 2005, but has a much longer history in cycling
than that. Between the years of 1950 and 1988, it sponsored the Tour de
France.
Le Coq Sportif will supply Milram's casual clothing for the next four
years, with the contract starting from May 1, 2006.
Irish Double Header
By Tommy Campbell, Irish Independent, Evening Herald, Sunday Independent
Orwell Wheelers and Dungarvan CUCC are concerned that their promotions
on Sunday will hold the key to those finalising their programs for the
upcoming FBD Insurance Ras, which will kick off on Sunday week. Taking
place in Ballybough, Co. Dublin this Sunday, the Orwell club, who are
sponsored by the Dundrum Town Centre, will stage a memorial double bill
in honour of Noel and Aidan Hammond.
Philip Cassidy of MyHome.ie/Cycleways.com is the defending champion,
but for the first time in years, he will not be on the start line for
the Ras. He may be out of the big one, but you can be assured he'll give
it a go on Sunday as the defending champion. Unfortunately, Philip will
be without the services of Eugene Moriarty, who has been forced out of
this event, but also the Ras. He was involved in a pile up in a race recently,
but only last Friday did it come to the attention of a specialist that
he had further complications which ended his dream of cycling into his
home town of Listowel, which is hosting a stage in the Ras. He may be
back in the saddle for the Irish championships, which are scheduled for
Westport, Co. Mayo.
The course that the Orwell is using consists of the roads that were
used for the Liam Toolan many years ago, but because of the volume of
traffic they moved inland. Now they are back on familiar territory because
those roads have been bypassed by the new motorway.
The infamous 'Nags Head' climb is still part of the course. Six times
up that little blip sorts the men from the boys. Runner-up here last year
was Bill Moore of the MDonnelly-Stamullen Road Club, and he should be
one of the favourites again.
"Of course it would be an ideal world for us if one of the club members
was to succeed," said Aidan the organiser of the Ballyboughal events.
"Especially since our sponsor Dundrum Town Centre are involved with the
promotion. In a usual turn of events, the winner of the junior race, Simon
Williams from the Orchard CC, is coming in defence of his title. Naturally
Simon will be hoping to do well, so he can plan later for the upcoming
MDonnelly Junior Tour in July."
Or could Colm Bracken, a winner of the Waller Cup and Coombes Conor
over the last two weekends, be the surprise packet of the Noel Hammond
Memorial?
Also on Sunday, Dungarvan, the local club is anticipating a big turnout,
and here Michael Hennessy from Fermoy is the title holder. The course
around Milstreet (Co. Waterford) includes a stiff climb which will be
met on three occasions on the 23-mile lap. If, as anticipated, the local
hero, Ciarán Power of the Navigators Insurance makes an appearance, Michael
will have his work cut out to remain in situ as the holder.
Back in action after a lengthy lay off, Power has been saying that he
has little miles in the legs, but on the showing of the Tour of Ulster
and last Sunday in Carrick-on-Suir, he must have carried them over from
last year. He'll be the one to watch also in the coming weeks. Anyway,
Ciarán is delighted to be back in action and thankfully he has seen the
back of his injury which has plagued him, particularly in the 2005 season.
Hours left to join Fantasy Giro game!
The grand prize
Photo ©: Bianchi
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Registration
for this year's Fantasy Giro game closes in just a few hours time. You
can still join
in the fun here at Cyclingnews and win some great
prizes .
Create your team today and manage riders like McEwen and Schumacher
on your own dream Giro team - win points and prizes everyday whilst following
the Giro here at Cyclingnews. The deadline for submitting your teams is
Fri 12th May 10:00 CEST (04:00 EDT, 01:00 PDT, 09:00 BST, 18:00 AEST,
08:00 UTC). It's simple to play - pick your dream team of 15 from the
riders racing in this year's Giro start list. Then each day pick 9 riders
to race for your fantasy team from these 15. There is no disadvantage
in
joining now that the Giro has already begun.
Yesterday we announced more information about the Grand Prize in this
year's Giro d'Italia Fantasy Game: it is a special-edition bicycle from
Bianchi, the legendary Italian firm of Treviglio, released just in time
for this year's edition of the Grand Tour.
BBB Parts
Photo ©: BBB
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HED Stinger wheels
Photo ©: HED
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Giro Atmos
Photo ©: Giro
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Speedplay Zero pedals
Photo ©: Speedplay
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Santini clothing
Photo ©: Santini
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fi'zi:k saddles
Photo ©: Cyclingnews
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Maxxis Courchevel tyres
Photo ©: Maxxis
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Today we are pleased to announce that we are providing a daily stage
prize from BBB
Parts! A pair of BBB's BSG-23
Winner Team Quick-Step glasses will go to the manager with the highest
scoring stage team each day during the Giro. Four managers have already
won!
Overall there will be 31 opportunities to win prizes this year and you
do not need to take part in the whole Giro to win. Have a look at the
grande
prize and runner-up details below for more information:
Called the 'Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon Mirage', it is painted in the same
colour-scheme of ProTour and Giro team, Liquigas, which will be looking
to support its lead rider Danilo Di Luca as the race hits the mountains
this week.
In fact, the Via Nirone is so new it is not even in the Bianchi 2006
catalogue - it is purely "a special version available in some Bianchi
shops to celebrate Giro", said a Bianchi spokesperson. The special model
has an excellent design and development pedigree, as it comes from the
'Reparto Corse' division of Bianchi (its racing bicycles area) and bristles
with many new features.
Of particular interest is the first application of Campagnolo's new
'Ultra Torque' 10-speed Mirage compact crankset (34/50T) with integrated
bottom-bracket. The Via Nirone 7 is the only bicycle on the market to
feature this new release from Campagnolo.
The frame is made of aeronautic-grade 7000 series aluminium, with double-
and triple-butted tubes smoothly TIG-welded and with a carbon monostay
rear-end to smooth out the road vibes.
Bianchi describes the frameset as having relaxed geometry to allow for
long days in the saddle, while retaining relatively quick steering. It
also features a saddle d'Italia. The Via Narone 7 also features Campagnolo's
new 'Khamsin' wheelset, as well as a Selle Italia saddle and an ITM stem
and handlebar. For full details, including the frame geometry chart, you
can download
the PDF.
The Bianchi is only one of many great prizes in this year's Giro d'Italia
Fantasy Game. Other great prizes include:
From BBB
Parts, our daily stage winner will win the official sports glasses
of the Quick.Step-Innergetic professional cycling team.
Called "BSG-23 Winner Team Quick-Step" the glasses have a durable, flexible
and lightweight Grilamid frame; adjustable metal nose piece for a perfect
fit; and interchangeable polycarbonate lenses with 100% protection against
harmful UV rays, up to UV 400nm.
The glasses are matte silver with the Quick.Step logo on the band and
come with smoke blue revo lenses. They also come with three extra lenses;
orange, yellow and clear with a flash mirror coating, and a carrying case
so that you have a lens for all types of weather.
A pair of HED's Stinger wheels - the HED
Stinger 50 is an all carbon wheel ideal for road racing. With a 50mm
rim depth, it is more aerodynamic than a traditional alloy rimmed road
wheel. While this rim depth is more aerodynamic, it is not too deep that
handling will be compromised in crosswinds or a crowded peloton;
Three Giro Atmos helmets - from Giro.
We have three Atmos helmets, the same model worn by some of the best riders
and teams in this year's Giro d'Italia;
Three sets of Speedplay's Zero pedals - from Speedplay.
We have three sets of its Zero pedals, as used in the Giro d'Italia by
teams like CSC and Phonak;
Team replica cycling clothing by Santini
- several of the teams in this year's Giro are wearing clothing supplied
by Italian company Santini, and Cyclingnews has three complete sets of
team clothing on offer as prizes in the Fantasy Game;
Three fi'zi:k saddles - some of the best saddles in Italy come from
fi'zi:k,
and we have three of them as prizes in the Fantasy Game;
10 sets of Maxxis Courchevel road tyres - the Courchevel road tyre from
Maxxis
is one of cycling's best road racing tyres. It is a completely new design
from Maxxis, from the rubber to the casing. The Courchevel features 'Triple
Compound Technology' to provide long wear life, great traction and a better
transition from compound to compound.
Play for FREE in the Giro 2006 game
Remember you can play for free for the first 5 stages! Try the game
out and see how best to play. It's easy to play the Tour games - aall
you need to do is pick your dream team of 15 from the riders racing in
this year's Giro start list before registration closes on Fri 12th May
at 10:00 CEST (04:00 EDT, 01:00 PDT, 09:00 BST, 18:00 AEST, 08:00 UTC).
Then each day pick 9 riders to race for your fantasy team from these 15.
You'll need a good combination of climbers, sprinters and general classification
riders. For more details go to the
rules section of the site for more info. It's a great way to follow
the Giro 2006.
To register your teams for the game go to
fantasy.cyclingnews.com
Good luck!
The Fantasy Cyclingnews Team
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