News

25th April 2007

Have your voice heard on ProCycleNews... Click here to E-mail us with your comments on the stories below!

Discovery Channel take Ivan Basso out of competition

American team Discovery Channel have taken their star rider Ivan Basso out of competition following a new investigation in Basso's home country of Italy.

The 2006 Giro d'Italia winner's case is to be reopened by CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee, into his alleged implication in the Spanish 'Operacion Puerto' doping investigation.

Basso had been due to ride in today's Flèche Wallonne ProTour race in Belgium but was pulled from the team.

The Italian is now due to appear before CONI's anti-doping body on May the 2nd, a meeting that could well decide the riders immediate future and his defense of the Giro d'Italia title.

Speaking in a team press release, sports director at the Discovery Channel team Johan Bruyneel said, "It is unfortunate that this is now occurring, however, I have spoke to Ivan and although frustrated he agrees and understands with the decision we have taken."

So, just like last year, Basso's career is once again put on hold. At the end of last season the Italian Cycling Federation and Italian Olympic Committee conducted a full review of Basso’s implication in the 'Operacion Puerto' affair before the last seasons Tour de France. The review found no evidence of any wrongdoing, lets hope this investigation will come to the same conclusions and the Italian star can get his career back on track as soon as possible, hopefully in time to defend his title in Italy next month.

Back on winning form before the Giro - Lampre-Fondital's Damiano Cunego wins the opening stage of the Giro del Trentino

Lampre-Fondital's 'Little Prince', Damiano Cunego has returned to winning form and in perfect time only a couple of weeks before the start of the Giro d'Italia, an event he is once again targeting this year.

Cunego sprinted to victory on his new personalized Wilier Cento bike at the end of the first stage of the 31st Giro del Trentino, a stage of 165 kilometers from Arco to Terlago, beating LIquigas rider Enrico Gasparotto.

The win is Cunego's first win of the season and comes thanks to solid work from his team who, together with the Ceramica Flaminia, neutralized a solo break from Amore e Vita-McDonalds rider Michael Stevenson. In the closing kilometers of the race the Lampre-Fondital squad kept the pace high ensuring no rider would be able to slip clear and helping to keep their leader out of trouble at the head of the race.

After the stage Cunego said, "I'm happy for this victory because it will increase the morale. I knew I was in a good form: this victory confirms that I'm on the right path."

Results - Top 10:

1. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 4.14.17

2. Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas

3. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua e Sapone

4. Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Ceramica Panaria

5. Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Selle Italia

6. Marlon Perez (Col) Team Universal

7. Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia

8. Hubert Krys (Pol) Ceramica Flaminia

9. John-Lee Augustyn (RSA) Barloworld

10. Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Tenax

Astana and Milram announce their lineup's for the Lotto Tour

The Astana and Milram ProTour teams have announced their lineup's for the Lotto Tour, the 39th running of the five day stage race which starts today in Northern Germany.

Sporting director Alexandre Shefer will guide the Astana team throughout the 890 kilometer race that will reach it's climax on Sunday the 29th. Shefer's team will be made up of young riders looking to gain experience to benefit them for the remainder of their careers. The team will be: Assan Bazayev (Kaz), Maxim Gourov (Kaz), Benoit Joachim (Lux), Aaron Kemps (Aus), Alexey Kolessov (Kaz), Julien Mazet (Fra), Dimitri Muravyev (Kaz) and Yevgeny Sladkov (Kaz).

The Milram team will be led by the experienced Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) and Erik Zabel (Ger) who will be joined by Ralf Grabsch (Ger), Christian Knees (Ger), Alberto Ongarato (Ita), Enrico Poitschke (Ger), Fabio Sabatini (Ita) and Marcel Sieberg (Ger).

The team will be guided by Antonio Bevilacqua as they look for major results. Speaking on team-milram.com Italian sprinter Petacchi said, "The Niedersachsen-Tour [now called the Lotto Tour - ed] is much more to us than just a test." Zabel added, "As our home race the tour is of a high significance to us of course."

Unibet pursue damages after they were refused a start at today's Flèche Wallonne

Green Cycle, owner of the cycling team sponsored by Unibet.com, have issued a press release stating that they will now pursue damages of five million euro against ASO, organizers of today's Flèche Wallonne, after they were refused a start in the race in Belgium.

Green Cycle presented itself at the team directors' meeting prior to the race together with a bailiff but the team were still reportedly refused participation.

Will Unibet.com be allowed to ride the Liège-Bastogne-Liège this coming Sunday?

Euskaltel-Euskadi for the Vuelta a Castilla y León
Euskaltel-Euskadi will lineup at the Vuelta a Castilla y León with a strong team and high hopes for a good result from Igor Antón.

Antón has already shown good form so far this season riding well at the Vuelta a Castilla y León and the Gran Premio Miguel Induráin.

Together with Koldo Fernández de Larrea, the winner of the final stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico, Antón will lead the Basque team in the Spanish race and will be joined by Amets Txurruka, Andoni Aranaga, Dionisio Galparsoro who will compete in only his second event since undergoing an operation on his knee in January and first year professional Andoni Lafuente.

The team will be guided by their sporting director Xabier Carbayeda.

Irishman Roche selected for the Giro d'Italia

It has been announced that Irish rider Nicolas Roche has been selected by his Crédit Agricole team to ride the upcoming Giro d'Italia next month, one of only three Grand Tours.

The 22 year-old rider will therefore lineup for the Italian tour 20 years exactly after his father, Irish legend Stephen rode and won the race in the same year he went on to win the Tour de France and the world cycling championships, winning the triple in the one year, a feat that has not be completed since.

Nicolas has been on great form this season placing highly in a number of top races. Over the past two weeks the Irishman placed 9th at the Paris-Camembert, a result he followed up two days later when he placed 6th at the GP Denain, two races in France.

Two other Irish riders have since competed at the Giro, Ciaran Power and ex-junior world champion Mark Scanlon. In 2000 Power scored a number of top 10 finishes in sprint finishes even though he was riding in his first Grand Tour in his first season as a professional.

Roche himself has progressed steadily since turning professional for the French Cofidis team at the start of the 2005 season. Last year he won stage 4 of the Tour de l'Avenir an event in which he wore the leaders yellow jersey for a couple of stages also.

ProCycleNews.com would like to wish Nicolas all the best at the Giro and we look forward to watching him gain valuable experience and progress further for the future.

Predictor-Lotto, Crédit Agricole and CSC announce their selection's for the Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Prior to Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège Belgian team Predictor-Lotto, French squad Crédit Agricole and the Danish CSC team have named their starting rosters.

Predictor-Lotto will be guided by their sporting director Herman Frison and will field: Mario Aerts (Bel), Christophe Brandt (Bel), Dario Cioni (Ita), Chris Horner (USA), Josep Jufré Pou (Spa), Wim Vanhuffel (Bel), Johan Vansummeren (Bel) and their Tour de France contender Cadel Evans from Australia.

The Crédit Agricole squad will be guided by sporting director Denis Roux and will field: Benoit Poilvet, Rémi Pauriol, Christophe Le Mevel, Mads Kaggestad, Dimitri Fofonov, Christophe Edaleine, Alexandre Botcharov and Francesco Bellotti.

Top Danish team CSC will be represented by a strong experienced team of: Bobby Julich (USA), Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus), Karsten Kroon (Ned), Fränk Schleck (Lux), Andy Schleck (Lux), Nicki Sørensen (Den), Christian Vande Velde (USA) and Jens Voigt (Ger).

Saunier Duval-Prodir for today's Flèche-Wallonne, and Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège

ProTour team Saunier Duval-Prodir have announced their selection for today's Flèche Wallonne and Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Sporting director Joxean Fernández will guide the team that will include Italy's Gilberto Simoni as he finishes his preparation for his major goal of the season, the Giro d'Italia, a race he last won in 2003.

Simoni will be joined by young Italian Ricardo Riccò, a rider who has been on winning form already this season. The remainder of the team will be: Juan José Cobo (Spa), Manuele Mori (Ita), Iker Camaño (Spa), Arkaitz Durán (Spa), José Alberto Benítez (Spa) and David de la Fuente (Spa).

Rabobank's Michael Boogerd announces his retirement at the end of the season

Dutch rider Michael Boogerd will retire at the end of the season. The Rabobank rider made the announcement during the press conference for the Amstel Gold race last weekend, an event he rode for the final time on Sunday, eventually finishing in 5th place.

Speaking at the press conference Boogerd said, "It is not over yet. I am still very motivated to have a couple of beautiful moments in Amstel Gold Race, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour de France…"

The Rabobank rider is currently in his 14th season as a professional, a career in which he has recorded a total of 52 victories that include two stage wins at the Tour de France.

This year Boogerd is riding as the Dutch National Champion, an event he won for the third time at his country's championships last season., and has been awarded as Dutch cyclist of the year five times, in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2006.

Lets look forward to watching the Rabobank star in action throughout the season and in the thick of the action at the Tour de France this July.

USA Cycling have announced the resignation of Colby Pearce from the position of endurance track coach after he took the decision to return to competitive cycling at a world class level. Pearce will return to compete in the madison and the points race, two endurance events on the track.

The 34 year-old commented, "Racing is where my heart is at the moment. It’s still in my blood. Each time I was at a World Cup race or the World Championships as a coach, I found my mind drifting back to the same place. I still feel that I can effectively compete at that level and be successful."

USA Cycling director of athletics Pat McDonough said, "From USA Cycling’s perspective, our loss is also our gain. On one hand we are losing a tremendous coach, but on the other we’re gaining an athlete capable of winning medals at international-level events. Additionally, his presence on the track will undoubtedly raise the level of competition and bring out the best in all of our other men’s endurance athletes."

Pearce, who will also continue to coach for the Colorado Velodrome Association in conjunction with USA Cycling’s previously announced restructuring of its track program added, "If I don’t make it to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the result is that I pushed other riders to raise the level of their game and perhaps win a medal, then that’s as much as I could have done as a coach in the first place - Either way, I think it’s a win-win situation."