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News :: June 2005

27 June 2005

Levi Leipheimer: Quickie Interview with the Tour Man

Levi Leipheimer in Dauphiné Libéré, photo: Team CSC

BiciRace.com caught up with Levi Leipheimer recently to have a chat. Levi is putting the finishing touches on his build up for the 2005 Tour de France but took time out of his busy preparation to answer our somewhat silly questions.
Interviewed by The Dust Devil of BiciRace.com

BiciRace.com:  Do you usually room with the same person? Are you an easy guy to room with, or do you like everything just so?
Levi Leipheimer:  No, I don't always room with the same person. I suppose I am easy to room with. I don't play loud music or anything like that.
BR:  Describe the contents of your suitcase when you travel. What is one thing you cannot go without?
LL:  The two things I can't go without are an eye mask and earplugs. My suitcase also contains clothing, cycling gear, my iPod Shuffle, Otypgen, and ProTech Sunscreen.
Read more of the BiciRace.com interview with Levi Leipheimer.

Discovery Channel Team Profile

Discovery Channel Profile

Think that Armstrong and his teammates just show up to the line and ride as hard as possible without any regard to tactics? Think again. It is a carefully orchestrated operation that takes months to perfect. Each rider is selected based on how their talents will ensure that Lance arrives in Paris in yellow. Some are climbers and some are flat-landers. Each rider follows a different programme that is designed for them to peak at different parts of the race according to their talents. For example, the climbers will aim to peak later since the mountains usually come later on in the race. Read on to find out what each rider brings to the table. Discovery Channel Profile
- Paco

Illes Balears for the Tour de France

After long deliberation, Eusebio Unzue and company have released the nine riders that will comprise their Tour de France team. Heading their French assault will be: Francisco Mancebo, Vladimir Karpets, Alejandro Valverde, David Arroyo, Chente Garcia, Xabier Zandio, Daniel Becke, Jose Luis Arrieta and Isaac Galvez.

After a hard fought second place at the Spanish national championships, Mancebo is on obviously fine form and will likely turn in a top 10 placing on GC. Backing him is the gigantic Russian, Vladimir Karpets. Winning the GC might be a stretch, but stage wins are certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
- Paco

Saiz Talks about Liberty Seguros for the Tour

Liberty Seguros-Würth boss man, Manolo Saiz, recently had a few words to say about his team's chances at the 92nd Tour de France. "Sincerely, I think we're in good shape. We've made a big change this past month, even though clearly, when you go to a race and you don't ride well, you get a little nervous. But the reality is that we are doing well, we've trained alone in Cantabria and we lack a reference to our rivals, but I think that we're in good shape for the Tour departure."

When asked how he rates the team for the 2005 Tour his reply was this, "It is a very balanced team, perhaps not the strongest for the team time trial, but strong enough to do a good Tour de France."

Included in the nine man roster are two newbies, Alberto Contador and Luis León Sánchez. Both are very young, but vastly talented. A high placing may be beyond their reach this year, but certainly in the future they'll both be candidates for the podium. "The idea is that they go learning and familiarizing themselves with the Tour, even though I'd be lying if I said that I don't have high hopes for them...If they appear very fatigued, I'll send them home, but I'm of the thinking that in order to really get to know things you must finish them," said Saiz.

Who does Saiz rate as the favorites for the race? "Armstrong is without doubt the biggest favorite. A great distance later is Ullrich in the second tier of riders. A great distance after the German is a third tier of riders including Mayo, Basso, Heras and countless other hopefuls."
- Paco

92nd Tour de France:
Startlist, Classifications, Tour Challengers, Discovery Channel Profile
Key Stages, Key Stage Descriptions, Stages and Maps, Overall Map

Phonak Names its Tour de France Team

John Lelangue, the team manager of Phonak, announced the line-up for the 2005 Tour de France. After much back and forth with his two Directeurs Sportifs, Juan Fernandez and Jacques Michaud, the three were able to come up with the final green team. Here are the riders that will race: Botero Santiago, Grabsch Bert, Gutierrez Enrique, Hunter Robert, Jalabert Nicoals, Landis Floyd, Moos Alexandre, Pereiro Oscar, Zampieri Steve.

Fast-man Robert Hunter will light up the flat stages and do battle with the sprinters. No-Fuss Floyd and Santi will go for top GC honors. Their leadership will be determined on the road, but for now the team is a two-headed beast. The leaders are backed by some strong support players, it will be a good year for the green hearing team.

Armstrong Takes A Tumble In Nice

The man on everyone's lips, Lance Armstrong, took a fall while training in Nice, France. The 6X Tour champion was on his TT bike when he lost control, barreling forward. Luckily the Texan only came away with some battle-wounds, a black-eye and some scrapes. This will surely add to his look of hard-man in the upcoming Tour. If you are still not convinced the Disco-captain can win the Tour, then read Why Lance Armstrong Will Win the Tour de France

Enrico Gasparotto Is The New Italian National Champion

Gasparotto, photo: SettimanaTricolore

Enrico Gasparotto won the Italian road race championships yesterday in southern Italy. The Liquigas-Bianchi rider won the 95th edition of the professional championship, and by doing so will wear the tricolore jersey for one year. The 23 year-old took his victory after 259.4K of racing, out sprinting Pozzato (Quick-Step) and Giunti (Fassa Bortolo).

Ciolek Upsets Favorites in the German Championships

Up in Germany the road race championships went hay-wire for the T-Mobile boys. The magenta team was unable to control affairs and let the young Gerald Ciolek slip through their grasp. The 18 year-old out sprinted Robert Förster (Gerolsteiner) and Erik Zabel (T-Mobile).

Ciolek is a rider for Akud Arnolds Sicherheit, a non-ProTour squad, and thus the win was huge for him and his team. BiciRace.com salutes young Ciolek, he is the stuff that cycling dreams are made of. Congratulations to Ciolek for a fine upset win.

Garate Hammers Former Spanish Champ in Murcia

Yesterday, under blistering hot conditions, Juan-Manuel Garate (Saunier Duval - Prodir) out sprinted Francisco Mancebo to become the Spanish road race champion. Mancebo (Illes Balears) was defending his 2004 title and almost pulled it off. The two were in a day-long break that formed just after 16K.

Champions by Nation

Yesterday there were many national champions decided. Below is a list of winners by country.
Belgium: Serge Baguet (Davitamon-Lotto)
France: Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom)
Germany: Gerald Ciolek (Akud Arnolds)
Kazakhstan: Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile)
Holland: Léon van Bon (Davitamon-Lotto)
Czech Republic: Jan Svorada (ZVVZ)
Russia: Sergueï Ivanov (T-Mobile)
Spain: Juan Manuel Garate (Saunier Duval - Prodir)
Switzerland: Martin Elmiger (Phonak)
Ukraine: Mikhailo Khalilov (LPR)

26 June News ...