News

28th March 2007

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Milram name for their weekend in Belgium

This coming weekend will see the Milram squad field a strong lineup at the E3-Prijs Vlaanderen and Brabantse Pijl races in Belgium. On both occasions Erik Zabel and Marcel Sieberg will lead the team as they look for success over the notorious short climbs and cobbled passages in both races that are 200 kilometers in length.

The team will be guided by Milram sporting director Antonio Bevilacqua and will be: Niki Terpstra, Ralf Grabsch (who will only contest the E3-Prijs Vlaanderen event), Brett Lancaster, Martin Müller (only riding the Brabantse Pijl race), Enrico Poitschke, Fabio Sabatini, Marcel Sieberg, Erik Zabel and Sebastian Siedler.

Alessandro Bertolini and Predictor-Lotto win on the opening day of the Settimana Internzionale Coppi e Bartali

Yesterday saw the first day of the Settimana Internzionale Coppi e Bartali, a split day with two stages, a morning road stage of 95 kilometers which started and finished in Riccioni and an 12 kilometer long Team Time Trial after lunch in the city of Misano.

Stage 1a saw a three man break escape the peloton, namely Selle Italia's Alessandro Bertolini, Pavel Brutt of Tinkoff Credit Systems and Luca Pierfelici riding for the Aurum Hotels team. Together the trio worked hard together building their advantage over the chasing peloton and surviving all the way to the finish where they fought it out in a sprint finish.

Bertonlini took the win and the first leaders jersey of the race finishing ahead of Brutt and Pierfelici, all in the same time. The main peloton was led in 0'41" later by Ivan De Nobili from Team Universal Caffe'-Ecopterol ahead of Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas), Adam Wadecki (Ceramica Flaminia)   and Ireland's Ciaran Power (Navigators).

The team time trial, stage 1b in the afternoon saw the Predictor-Lotto team from Belgium hammer around the course to take the stage with Milram in second and T-Mobile in third. The Selle Italia team could only manage 23rd place, 0'58" behind which meant that Bertolini saw his race lead disappear.

New leader after the stage was Tinkoff's Pavel Brutt who made up for his second place in the morning. Brutt's Tinkoff Credit Systems team finished 7th on the stage, 0'20" behind Predictor-Lotto.

For Predictor-Lotto the stage saw their riders in dominant form with Dario Cioni, Cadel Evans, Nick Gates, Josep Jufré, Matthew Lloyd, Christophe Brandt, Wim Van Huffel and Johan Van Summeren all riding to perfection together to claim the win.

Speaking after the stage on team-milram.com, their sporting director Oscar Pellicioli said, "Unfortunately we started first and didn’t know the times of the other teams - And we had less time to prepare."

Stage 1a results and general classification :
1 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni- Selle Italia 2.12.20 (40.81 km/h)

2 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System

3 Luca Pierfelici (Ita) Aurum Hotels

4 Ivan De Nobile (Ita) Team Universal Caffe'-Ecopterol 0.41

5 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas

6 Adam Wadecki (Pol) Ceramica Flaminia

7 Ciaran Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team

8 Samuele Marzoli (Ita) Team L.P.R.

9 Robert Forster (Ger) Gerolsteiner

10 Domenico Loria (Ita) Team Universal Caffe'-Ecopterol
Stage 1b results :
1 Predictor-Lotto 13.39 (51.868 km/h)

2 Milram 0.06 3 T-Mobile 0.09

4 Astana 0.12

5 Gerolsteiner 0.14

6 Acqua e Sapone-Caffè Mokambo

7 Tinkoff Credit Systems 0.20

8 Liquigas 0.21

9 Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.22

10 Aurum Hotel 0.25

General classification after stage 1b :
1 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 2.10.30

2 Luca Pierfelici (Ita) Aurum Hotels 0.07

3 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Selle Italia 0.36

4 Josep Jufré (Spa) Predictor-Lotto 0.43

5 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Predictor-Lotto

6 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Predictor-Lotto

7 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Predictor-Lotto

8 Dario Cioni (Ita) Predictor-Lotto

9 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor-Lotto

10 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto

Check out images from stages 1a and 1b on both sides of the page....

Barloworld's Robert Hunter ready for France's Critérium International

On-form Robert Hunter will lead the Barloworld team at this weekend's Critérium International race in France, a race organized by ASO who also run the Tour de France in July.

Hunter is the most successful rider on the Barloworld team this season with three victories, a stage at the Giro del Capo in South Africa as well as the first stage and the overall classification in Portugal at the Volta ao Santarem. Only last weekend the South African rider placed 10th at the Milan-Sanremo classic in Italy.

Hunter will be supported by fellow experienced Italian Fabrizio Guidi who has recovered from crashing at the Milan-Sanremo, Hugo Sabido, Diego Caccia, Felix Cardenas, Gianpaolo Cheula, Paolo Longo Borghini and James Perry.

The teams sporting director for the race will be Claudio Corti.

Quick Step-Innergetic's Davide Viganò collides with a van

Italy's Davide Viganò will be out of action for the next 10 days after he was struck by a van while training near his home at Carate Brianza, Milan. yesterday.

The Quick Step-Innergetic rider has broken the second metacarpus of his left hand and has a muscular tear to the quadriceps muscles.

Following the 10 days of rest 22 year-old Viganò will return to training on his home trainer before eventually progressing back onto the road resuming competition soon after.

Liquigas rider Leonardo Bertagnolli forced to rest

Leonard Bertagnolli has been diagnosed by his team doctors as having a viral infection after finishing 16th at the Tour Méditerranéen in France last month.

As a result the Italian Liquigas rider has been instructed to spend 30 days resting after which time the 28 year-old will be re-assessed by the doctors to evaluate whether he is ready to return to competition.

Doctor Roberto Corsetti, Liquigas team's social doctor, and Professor Paolo Zeppilli, a well-known sport cardiologist, had recently subjected the athlete to special clinical and instrumental checks which had evidenced a cardiac arrhythmia.

Crédit Agricole lineup for Belgian races

Later today the French Crédit Agricole team will be lining up in Belgium where they will contest the 68th 'A Travers la Flandres'.

The riders selected are: Jean-Marc Marino, Cyril Lemoine, Jonathan Hivert, Angelo Furlan, Jimmy Engoulvent, Julian Dean, William Bonnet and Lazlo Bodrogi - Sporting director for the event will be Serge Beucherie.

Then at the weekend the French team will contest the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen in Harelbeke, Belgium. Again Serge Beucherie will be the teams sporting director at the event where Lemoine, Engoulvent, Dean, Bonnet and Bodrogi will once again line up. They will be joined by Mark Renshaw, Thor Hushovd and Sébastien Hinault at that event.

Back on home soil the French team will also take on the Critérium International this weekend where sporting director Denis Roux will guide: Alexandre Botcharov, Pietro Caucchioli, Christophe Edaleine, Dimitri Fofonov, Angelo Furlan, Benoit Poilvet, Rémi Pauriol and Christophe Kern as they search for a big result en-route.

T-Mobile's Andreas Klier has a training accident

German rider Andreas Klier had been looking forward to a successful spring classics campaign this season, but following a collision with a stationary trailer at the side of the road on Tuesday in Belgium those dreams may well have disappeared until next year. The T-Mobile classics leader has been left with a broken cheekbone and concussion.

Winner of the 2004 Ghent-Wevelgem, Klier is now in the University Clinic in Freiburg where he is being examined by a facial surgeon to determine the full extent of his injuries after which a decision will be made whether he can resume training.

Even following the accident and even with his injuries the Pavé specialist has not yet given up hope of lining up at next weeks Tour of Flanders on Easter Sunday, a race he has previously finished second in behind Quick Step's Tom Boonen in 2005.

Can he make a return to competition in time for the Ronde van Vlaanderen? Don't bet against it... Watch this space!

Unibet.com announce their roster for the Dwars door Vlaanderen in Belgium
Later today the Unibet.com team will be in competition at the Dwars door Vlaanderen in Belgium where the teams sporting director, Hilaire Van Der Schueren will field: Jimmy Casper, Arnaud Coyot, Gorik Gardeyn, Markus Eichler, Jeremy Hunt, Matthe Pronk, Niels Scheuneman and Jonas Ljungblad.

Liquigas teams announced for the weekend in Belgium
Liquigas will kick start their Northern Campaign which starts now in Belgium riding the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (Harelbeke), De Brabantse Pijl, KBC - Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde, Ronde Van Vlaanderen and the Gent-Wevelgem.

Enrico Gasparotto makes a welcome return to the squad after he was forced out of the GP Waregem with the flu which had caused some gastrointestinal troubles.

Filippo Pozzato, who has only recovered from nausea and dysentery on Monday said, "I didn't have a temperature so I hope not to have lost my last week's very good condition. Now I will start again working hard in view of the De Panne and, above all, the "Flandres". That 's my next goal."

Indeed Pippo Pozzato will ride the De Panne, Ronde van Vlaanderen [Tour of Flanders - ed], Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix at which race he will be joined by teammate and 2004 'Hell of the North' winner Magnus Backstedt.

The Liquigas squad will be guided by experienced sporting director Stefano Zanatta for the next races in Belgium and will field:

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (Harelbeke) and De Brabantse Pijl: Luca Paolini, Enrico Gasparotto, Mauro Da Dalto, Murilo Fischer, Aliaksandr Kuchynski, Roberto Petito, Manuel Quinziato and Frederik Willems.
KBC - Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde, Ronde Van Vlaanderen and Gent-Wevelgem: Filippo Pozzato, Luca Paolini, Mauro Da Dalto, Murilo Fischer, Aliaksandr Kuchynski, Roberto Petito, Manuel Quinziato and Frederik Willems.

Jartazi-Promo Fashion announce strong lineup for Belgian races

Pro-Continental team Jartazi-Promo Fashion have announced a strong lineup for upcoming races this weekend on their home soil in Belgium.

Guided by their sporting director Jef Braeckevelt the teams will be:

E3-Prijs Harelbeke: Criquielion, Francois, Kaupas, Ickx, Omloop, Tombak, Van Braeckel and Van Mingeroet.

Brabantse Pijl: Cauquil, Flahaut, Drouilly, Ickx, Soetens, Nevens, Striska en Lembo.

Barloworld rider Geraint Thomas looks for Gold at the world track championships

Geraint Thomas, who is in his first year with the Barloworld Pro-Continental team, is on the Spanish Balearic island of Majorca where he is set to take part in the world track championships in Palma de Majorca.

The young British rider has already set his sights high and is aiming for gold and maybe even a new world record. So, what are his chances? Well, Thomas is already a previous junior world champion after winning gold in the scratch race at the 2004 championships in Los Angeles and without doubt he is a highly talented rider.

Friday morning will see the qualification round where he will aim to make it through to have the chance to fight for the main prize, the gold medal and the world championship title.