BiciRace.com :: News :: April 2005

News :: April 2005

15 April 2005

Davis, A Rising Tidal Wave

Allan Davis, the rising tidal wave, keeps knocking at the door of success. Davis, under the direction of Manolo Saiz at Liberty Seguros-Würth, is on form and nearly missed out on the leader's jersey in yesterday's Vuelta a Aragón. Highlight the name, you will see Allan Davis win big in the near future.

Veenendaal - Veenendaal

The Veenendaal - Veenendaal takes place today. The race takes place in the Netherlands and is a fast-man's race. In 2003 the event was won by Leon Van Bon, and in 2004 by Simone Cadamuro. This year look for a strong line-up from Domina Vacanze, Davitamon-Lotto and Rabobank. They will battle it out with many small Dutch teams that would love to have a win in Veenendaal. Stay tuned to BiciRace.com for results.

ProTour: Boonen Wears White. Who Will Wear White next?

Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) will be wearing the (unrecognizable) white leader's jersey of the ProTour, in this Sunday's Amstel Gold Race. Boonen snatched the Italian-made jersey from Alessandro Petacchi in last weekend's Paris-Roubaix. Boonen became the 9th rider in history to win the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the same season.

Recognize this jersey?

Looking ahead to this coming Sunday, George Hincapie or Oscar Freire might have a chance of obtaining the ProTour jersey. The ProTour jersey is worn by the rider with the overall best results of all accumulated ProTour races. Hincapie has been reforming steadily and looks to be a strong contender for this weekend in the Netherlands. While, Freire, who already wears a pretty cool white jersey of his own, the jersey of World Champion, could possibly become the ProTour leader for a second time this season. Freire certainly will be shooting for a good performance, however he is probably content to keep wearing his much more prestigious, as well as, colorful World Champion jersey.

ProTour Points:
1 Boonen Tom (Bel), Quick-Step, 112,
2 Petacchi Alessandro (Ita), Fassa Bortolo, 93
3 Freire Gomez Oscar (Esp), Rabobank, 78
4 Hincapie George (USA), Discovery Channel, 75
5 Julich Bobby (USA), Team CSC, 75
6 Hondo Danilo (Ger), Gerolsteiner, 70
7 Flecha Juan Antonio (Esp), Fassa Bortolo, 65
8 Hushovd Thor (Nor), Crédit Agricole, 55
9 Di Luca Danilo (Ita), Liquigas-Bianchi, 51
10 Valverde Belmonte Alejandro (Esp), Illes Balears, 43

The Killer for the Amstel Gold Race

Danilo Di Luca, aka "The Killer" and Franco Pellizotti will captain Liquigas-Bianchi (the cool green team) in the Amstel Gold Race. The leaders will be supported by Albasini, Calcagni, Carlström, Gerosa, Loda, and Ljungqvist.

Di Luca, winner of the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, has been preparing this week "I went only for a few quite short rides (3-4 hours), but for 230km training behind a motorbike last Wednesday. I had already been in top form in the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, and it would be harmful to strain after such a demanding week. I feel sure of myself as I know I have trained excellently. I think I will be in top form."
quotes from Liquigas-Bianchi

The Amstel Gold Race has always been a favorable for the "Killer", "I finished fourth last year and third in 2003, I like the finish on Cauberg. The team support will be decisive along the varied Dutch route." And who does Di Luca fear? "The most dangerous opponents? Rebellin more than any else and Boogerd too. He will race on home soil and knows all the tricks of the race. Moreover, he is in great form."

14 April News ...