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15 July 2005

16 July News ...

Armstrong Continues On, Minus Beltrán

Yesterday in stage 12 of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong lost one of his key men. Manuel Beltrán (Discovery Channel) took a tumble and was knocked out. Even though Beltrán appeared fine, the race doctors refused to let the rider continue for his own good. Armstrong knows the loss of Triki will be critical when facing the Pyrenees, "The days that we have coming up, a few tough days in the Pyrenees, you do not want to lose any climbers ... and Triki is one of our pure climbers. Having said that ... we'll have to look to Jose, Chechu, George, Popo and Paolo Savoldelli to pick up the slack. I think with those seven guys, we can manage."

Team DS, Johann Bruyneel was a little confused with how his star rider fell. Bruyneel said post-stage, "I was with him right after the crash. He was sitting on the ground and appeared like he didn't know what happened." Beltrán had hit his head when crashing. Bruyneel continued, "We put him back on the bike and tried to get him going again. He went on for 10, 15K but we could see that he didn't know where he was. There was no power at all. After a while, he didn't even realize he had crashed, so we thought something was wrong." BiciRace.com wishes Triki the best of luck in recovering. For more information read The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap.

92nd Tour de France:
Startlist, Classifications, Tour Challengers, Discovery Channel Profile
Key Stages, Key Stage Descriptions, Stages and Maps, Overall Map
Photos, Dust Devil's Daily Wrap

Bastille Day Was Rocking Hard

The French music was out of control yesterday after stage 12 of the 92nd Tour de France. The French tifosi had reason to celebrate: their rider had won on their day. It was not David Moncoutié's 115th Dream, but his 2nd Tour Win. Moncoutié (Cofidis) hammered it home solo. He held off a disorganized chase group with big names. The Cofidis rider navigated some stunning and technical roads. Bringing it all back home on Bastille day.

Yesterday it was the 27th time a Frenchman has won on 14 July, Bastille Day. The first was in 1904 (Cornet). Last year it was Richard Virenque, and before there were the wins of Jacques Anquetil (1961 and 1964), Charles Pelissier (1930 and 1931), Bernard Thévenet (1970 and 1975) and Laurent Jalabert (1995 and 2001).

Moncoutié added post-stage, "Us French riders seem to be a little bit off the pace in the high mountains here at the Tour. I've come to realize that I am able to compete with the best in the Dauphiné Libéré every June but not in the Tour. Yesterday, on the Galibier [stage 11] I could see that the pace was too high [shakes his head] and I thought that it was pointless to bust myself to stay with the leaders. At best, I could have perhaps finished 30th." It all came together for the Cofidis rider in stage 12. Bravo Moncoutié!

Team CSC: On the Road Again, with Lombardi

Team CSC's Giovanni Lombardi busted his tail in the decisive break of stage 12. He spent 113K off the front of the peloton on a hot day in the hills, from Briançon to Digne-les-Bains. Later the Italian, Lombardi was dropped from the lead group when David Moncoutié (Cofidis) attacked. This leaves many to wonder just what is Bjarne Riis doing. This sort of racing, along with Voigt's moves, seems counter to helping Ivan Basso win the 2005 Tour de France.

Checking in with Team CSC, DS Riis had this to say, "We had Lombardi in the break, but the last climb was a bit too hard for him. Still I'm glad we were represented in the break away, and thereby retained the overall lead in the teams competition. Our riders are still very motivated, although we're obviously saddened by the fact we have to do without Jens Voigt for the rest of the Tour." Riis has his goals on the team competition, which brings many benefits at year's end for sponsorship and ProTour politics.

Ivan Basso has his eyes on the weekend ahead, "I have very good sensations, I don't feel tired and I am optimistic for the rest of the week." The Italian looks forward to leaving the Alps, "The Pyrenees are not like the Alps. And with two mountain finishes in a row it will make a difference. Have you seen the Pla d'Adet? [stage 15] If you suffer on the four mountains that precede the last ... I don't know if I can go with Armstrong, because he is very strong, but I will try."

Bringing it all back home to Lombardi, the seasoned Italian added, "The Tour was not in my program, I was thinking of Worlds. But during the Giro d'Italia Ivan asked me to be at his side, and I accepted. He is a racer that will knock you out with his determination, and also a man with lots of sensibility. I don't doubt that Basso will win a grand tour in the next three years."

Di Luca Crashes In Training

Leader of the ProTour, Danilo Di Luca, took a fall in training. Yesterday morning the Liquigas-Bianchi rider fell down on his right side. He was helped up by his training partners, Masciarelli brothers and the Ukrainian Pospeyev, and accompanied home. He was training in the area of Bocca di Valle, which is in the Chieti province.

"I had numerous scrapes and bruises, particularly on the femur and right shoulder," reported Di Luca. "Nothing too dramatic, but ... Likely I should ease up on training, however, I expect to return to racing in the Hamburg [HEW - Cyclassics in Germany] on 31 July."

The Killer, who finished 4th in the 2005 Giro d'Italia, was this year's winner of the La Flèche Wallonne, Amstel Gold Race and Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco. His goal is to finish first in the ProTour classification at the end of the year. Currently he has 184 points, and Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) is in second with 112 points. For more information on The Killer, read the BiciRace.com interview.

14 July News ...