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31 July 2005

1 August News ...

The Killer Continues in Hamburg

Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) will continue his racing again today at the HEW-Cyclassics in Germany. The Killer will take to the line as the leader of the ProTour. He is coming back from a period of rest, following unexpected success in the Giro d'Italia. "The difference is that in the winter I stopped for a month, while this time I had 15 days of absolute rest after the Giro d'Italia, thus when I restarted my training I came back on form quickly," explained The Killer.

The Killer is not high on the list of favorites for the race in Hamburg. It is important for him to gain points in as many ProTour events as possible so that he can win the ProTour competition. "Certainly I will see the other racers from the Tour, I will hear all their battle stories from the race." In a sense Di Luca has an advantage over the riders of the Tour de France, "The riders that just left the Tour will not have great stimulates in the long run."

HEW-Cyclassics, Germany, 31 July, 251K
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Startlist
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Report and Results

Former Winners:
2004 Stuart O'Grady (Aus)
2003 Paolo Bettini (Ita)
2002 Johan Museeuw (Bel)
2001 Erik Zabel (Ger)
2000 Gabriele Missaglia (Ita)
1999 Mirko Celestino (Ita)
1998 Leon Van Bon (Ned)
1997 Jan Ullrich (Ger)
1996 Rossano Brasi (Ita)

Bettini ... Il Professore

Paolo Bettini (Quick-Step) is a former winner of the HEW-Cyclassics. The Tuscan Terror won in 2003 when he was on superior form. This year has been an off-beat year for the Olympic champion. His goal will be to help and teach his younger teammates in Hamburg. "I have returned to training seriously for three weeks," explained Bettini. "After my return to the Tour de Suisse I performed to stop and heal myself. Here I will race to give a hand to my teammates: Luca Paolini and Pippo Pozzato, who are going well, I will teach them what I know on how to win."

Basso Kicks-It Criterium Style

Ivan Basso (Team CSC) won his second post-Tour criterium. Basso, who was 2nd behind Armstrong at the Tour de France, won the Rhede Criterium in Germany. This is coming hot off the heels of a criterium win in Holland. Last Tuesday Basso won the Profronde Van Stiphout. Sure these races are fixed, but they are hard and exciting. Bravo Basso! Next week the racer from Varese heads to Eneco Tour, which will not be fixed.

Voigt-Julich Repeat Victory

The dynamic-duo of Jens Voigt and Bobby Julich (Team CSC) TT'ed to victory yesterday in Germany. The two repeated their success of 2004 in the Luk Challenge 2-Man TT in Bühl. The result was great for Jens Voigt, who abandoned the Tour de France after wearing the yellow jersey. Voigt-Julich completed the 74K course in a time of 1hr 24'12".

The CSC duo were flanked on the podium by Gerolsteiner in 2nd and 3rd. Finishing in 4th was the Discovery Channel duo, Paolo Savoldelli and Yaroslav Popovych. Falco-Popo TT'ed to a time that was 2'50" slower than the winning time.

Photos: Winning Ride, Winners On Podium, photos: Luk Challenge

Results:
1. Team CSC – Jens Voigt & Bobby Julich 1:24:12
2. Gerolsteiner - Marcus Föthen & Sébastien Lang 01:35
3. Gerolsteiner - Michael Rich & Uwe Peschel 02:00
4. Discovery Channel – Paolo Savoldelli & Yaroslav Popovych 02:50
5. Davitamon-Lotto – Bert Roesems & Axel Merckx 03:29
6. Rabobank – Marc Wauters & Joost Posthuma 03:34
7. Crédit Agricole – Christophe Moreau & Bradley Wiggins 04:02
8. Quick.Step – Michael Rogers & Patrick Sinkewitz 04:09
9. T-Mobile – Alexandre Vinokourov & Daniele Nardello 05:02
10. Team CSC – Frank Schleck & Luke Roberts 06:42

Bad Luck for Zabriskie

In a freak accident after Friday night's criterium in Herning, Denmark, David Zabriskie (Team CSC) sustained a deep wound on his right wrist. Zabriskie was stopping a moving glass door when the glass shattered. He was taken to the local hospital for examinations that revealed a damaged nerve in his hand. Surgery was performed on Saturday morning, and now Zabriskie will have his hand in a cast for one month.

Manolo on Kashechkin

Manolo Saiz confirmed that Andrei Kashechkin, currently with Crédit Agricole, has signed a contract with Liberty Seguros-Würth team for 2006 and 2007. The rider from Kazakhstan adds to the recent additions of his compatriots Alexander Vinokourov and Sergei Yakolev. "Kashechkin is a cyclist who has demonstrated a firm progression this season, crowned with his second place in the young rider's classification of the Tour de France", said Manolo Saiz. "Still he is young, but at 25 years-old and five years as professional, he is already a mature rider."

30 July News ...