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Road Season Preview 2004
January 17, 2004
Team CSC
Team CSC presented in Italy
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A newly reinforced Team CSC was presented in Lucca, Italy Saturday, where the team has been holding its first training camp of the year. The presentation, held at the Auditorium San Romano, was a chance to show off the 11 new riders in the team, headed by 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis.
Tyler Hamilton may have moved to Phonak for 2004, but even he acknowledged that CSC is an arguably stronger team this year, and praised Riis for his crafty work in the off season to secure the signatures of classics specialist Michele Bartoli and Italy's hope for the grand tours, Ivan Basso. The talented and dependable Jörg Jaksche joins CSC from ONCE, where he has been a mainstay for the Spanish team's assault on the Tour de France. Returning rider Carlos Sastre will also remain a team leader for the Tour.
Other riders joining CSC include American Bobby Julich, Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Frank Høj, Fabrizio Guidi, Max Sciandri, Vladimir Gusev, Brian Vandborg, and Jens Voigt. The depth of the team is evident, building on an immensely successful 2003 season which included victories in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour de Romandie, three Tour de France stages and the Tour's team competition.
Two new team directors have also arrived: Kim Andersen (ex-Fakta) and Alain Gallopin (ex-Bianchi). The team will make its 2004 racing debut January 31 at the Doha International Grand Prix in Qatar, followed by the Tour of Qatar.
"We will use the races in Qatar as a warm up for the bigger events in the spring season, so our first priority is not the results," Gallopin explained on the team's website. "The riders need to get to know each other and be motivated to work together as a group."
Images by Lars Rønbøg/picturesport.com
- Classics man Michele Bartoli gets a warm welcome from CSC and Bjarne Riis (right)
- Not a bad venue for a team presentation
- New recruits Michele Bartoli and Ivan Basso smile while on the road at CSC's Lucca, Italy training camp
- Team boss Bjarne Riis takes video of his riders at the Lucca training camp
