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News :: May 2005

5 May 2005

6 May News ...

Liberty Seguros boys hit the roads in Reggio Calabria

Today the nine riders that comprise the Giro squad for Liberty Seguros-Würth arrived on Italian soil and hit the roads for some light training.

Heading the Spanish contingent is Michele Scarponi, supported by Joseba Beloki, Koldo Gil, Giampaolo Caruso, Javier Ramirez Abeja, René Andrle, Jan Hruska, Nuno Ribeiro and Darius Baranowski. With the Italian sun high in the sky, everyone except Baranowski (he was still traveling from Warsaw) hit the coastal roads for a little 3 hour spin.

The holiday ends today though as tomorrow the riders, on top of a day of training, will face the dope controls and a reception at 9.00 in the evening introducing the 22 teams that will dispute this year's Giro d'Italia.

At the request of his boss, Manolo Saiz, GC hopeful Michele Scarponi showed up with a smart new hair cut. Word on the street is that Saiz likes his riders to sport that "classic" clean-cut look. No pony tails and body piercings for the boys in blue.

With 4 grand tour podium places to his credit, Joseba Beloki, will still be riding support for Michele Scarponi. Beloki says, "My job here is to work for Michele and to get some days of competition under my belt for the Tour de France. I feel fine, but I'm still lacking a lot to be truly competitive." (BiciRace.com interview with Joseba Beloki)
- Paco

Euskaltel-Euskadi Management Desire Improved Results

Euskaltel Boys At Bilbao Airport, photo: Euskaltel-Euskadi

Euskaltel-Euskadi manager, Miguel Madariaga and the management staff have met to discuss their team's lackluster performance in this year's UCI Pro Tour.

Madariaga has very diplomatically explained that the purpose of this meeting is not to lay blame on the riders, but rather to open a discussion to hopefully explain the lack of results for 2005.

Euskaltel-Euskadi has in the past been primarily a team of climbers. Perhaps the diversity of the races on the UCI Pro Tour calendar has proven too much for the boys in orange. Lets hope this meeting will get to the bottom of the problem so that we can again see them at the head of the peloton.

Perhaps the 9-man team in Italy will have a solution. This will be their first appearance in the Giro d'Italia. Making history for the boys in orange will be: Haimar Zubeldia, Aitor Gonzalez, Samuel Sánchez, Joseba Zubeldia, Alberto Lopez de Munain, Unai Etxebarria, Roberto Laiseka, David Lopez, Gorka Verdugo ... Complete Giro d'Italia startlist.
- Paco

Giro d'Italia Intergiro Jersey

The Giro d'Italia Intergiro Jersey is sort of complicated to understand ... There is a designated "Intergiro" point for each non-mountainous stage, marked by an "i" on the stage maps. At the Intergiro point the time is marked for the first six riders. The Intergiro (blue) jersey is awarded after each stage to the rider who has the lowest Intergiro cumulative time. So, in a sense, it is a half-way Giro, a race to the half-way point. Read about all the Giro d'Italia Classifications.

Liquigas-Bianchi, Power in Depth

Liquigas-Bianchi heads into the 88th Giro d'Italia with Garzelli, Di Luca, Cioni, Noé, Andriotto, Calcagni, Miholjevic, Milesi, and Wegelius. A power-packed team that will drop the bombs in the high mountains. Team manager Roberto Amadio confirms, "We will be a key player, especially on the mountains".

The Celeste squadra will be a strong force in the northern regions of Italy. "Riders like Garzelli, Cioni, Noé, Wegelius, and Miholjevic will play an important role on the big climbs," continued Amadio. Garzelli will cranking out the power, backed by Cioni, Noé and Wegelius. If Garzelli fails to deliver then there is Cioni. Dario Cioni showed us last year, finishing fourth, that he can deliver. For more insight read the BiciRace.com interview with Charly Wegelius.

Disco Announces Tour

Discovery Channel have announced their 2005 Tour de France pre-selection. Lance Armstrong is on the list, it will be his last race as a professional cyclist. Those backing Armstrong are still in doubt, as it is early. For example, Viatcheslav Ekimov took a spill a few days ago and will not partake.

So who are the Disco boys in the running for July? Here are the possible henchmen for Armstrong: José Azevedo, Manuel Beltrán, George Hincapie, Leif Hoste, Benoît Joachim, Benjamin Noval, Pavel Padrnos, Yaroslav Popovych, José Luis Rubiera and Paolo Savoldelli.

Stay with BiciRace.com, we will keep you updated on Tour de France news.

New daughter for Sacchi

Fabio Sacchi, all around rider for Fassa Bortolo, has something to be excited about. He and his wife, Rita, have a new baby, Michelle. Michelle was born on 3 May at 8:57. BiciRace.com extends our congratulations to the Sacchi family.

4 May News ...

"Every sprint is always different. There are always things going through my mind. The main thing I do is stay concentrated on the job and trying to get in the best position possible!" - Allan Davis

Joseba Beloki Interview, "I'm not a real attacking kind of rider, but to attack one needs to have both confidence and physical strength to spare."

Michael Barry "As I kid I devoured everything I could about cycling."

He was often criticized by the nay-sayers for not getting over the big mountains. True, he never made it to Paris. But, he knows his talents. He got paid to win races and get publicity for his sponsors., "The End of an Era"

Chat with the Director Sportivo, "By the way, we passed really hard times in the 4th stage of the Tour of Georgia"

What is the Ciclamino?

Bonomi freezing in Belgium's cold north, 3 Days De Panne

Race action from Paris-Roubaix, Track-side