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22 September 2005

23 September News ...

2005 Squadra Azzurra Profile

Petacchi Gives Some Details

"My race will be a race of waiting," said Alessandro Petacchi when explaining Sunday's World Championships. "... Then in the last two circuits, if we are all there together, and if I am there, the goal will be a sprint. The critical point is the last curve with 600 meters. I have reflected on the gears to use, the selection has not been determined, but I hope that it will be right. It will be my decision that I don't want others to know."

As always the discussion comes down to that final tricky U-turn with 600 meters remaining. "Out of the last curve I want to have two companions in front that can take me to the last 200 meters, and all the other riders behind. The final 200 meters will be long, because it is a slight climb. It will be difficult, because after the U-turn we will exit at 25 K/hr, with 272K in our legs." Petacchi concluded, "and if someone is better than me, then complements to them."

Madrid World Championships, 22 & 25 September
Main Worlds Page
Time Trial, TT Profile, TT Overall Map, TT Startlist
Road Race, RR Profile, RR Overall Map, RR Startlist

Ace up the sleeve: Bettini

Franco Ballerini knows how to play his cards. The Italian national DS is approaching the Mondiale di Madrid (oh, Madrid Worlds) with the hopes of a sprint victory for Alessandro Petacchi. But Ballerini is not putting all of his men on a sprint finish, he has another option, an ace up his sleeve. That ace is the Olympic Champion, Paolo Bettini. There is a possibility of an escape staying clear on the Madrid course, and thus ending any chance of a Petacchi sprint. For this reason Ballerini has Bettini, and he will use il Grillo to cover mid-race escapes.

"This Worlds is a grand occasion for Petacchi, I will tackle it in a different nature. The Worlds in Hamilton and Verona were two fixed objectives for me," explained the Olympic Champion. Bettini will head into the Madrid Worlds with slightly less pressure, and perhaps benefit. "Ballerini always considered me for the squadra, but in the last month my role has become more important."

"If there are three that go in an escape then we will have to have one Italian in the move, if there are eight then we will want two," explained Bettini. The Italian knows how to read a race, and it will be up to him to pick the right escape to join. By the last two circuits if it is gruppo compatto then the team will be dedicated for the sprint of Alessandro Petacchi. "It is better that it is only Petacchi for the sprint, so we won't be mistaken like the other times."

Squadra Azzurra Train

Yesterday the eleven road members of the Squadra Azzurra went out for a five hour spin in Madrid. The boys in blue were guided by DS Ballerini and Giovanni Lombardi, the latter normally trains on these roads since he's a resident of Madrid. They hit some various climbs to keep the legs in climbing shape. Bettini, Petacchi and the others were out on the road for around 150K. "I had two days of recovery after the Vuelta, now I am feeling good sensations," explained sprint-man Alessandro Petacchi. "I feel calm, it is the same tension that is felt before the Sanremo or the Giro. The secret is that Bettini is helping with the responsibilities."

For the first 45K of the ride there were 13 members, including the two Italian TT men: Marco Pinotti and Marzio Bruseghin. After their ride with the road squadra they peeled off and headed out for some specific training for around two hours. The entire squadra was back at the hotel by three in the afternoon. Today the road squadra will do some light riding, followed tomorrow by some specific training on the actual Worlds circuit.

Pinotti and Bruseghin for TT

Marco Pinotti and Marzio Bruseghin will face some stiff competition today in the TT. The favorites are Bobby Julich and Michael Rogers, but the Italians will try for gold. Both of the riders are solid and consistent against the clock, Pinotti won the Italian TT championships earlier this year, with Bruseghin finishing second. Good luck to our Italian TT men.
read: Inside Scoop: Previewing The Madrid Course, 20 September

Select Starting Times:
14:10 32 Leif Hoste (Belgium)
14:12 31 Thomas Lövkvist (Sweden)
14:14 30 Joost Posthuma (Netherlands)
14:16 29 Ondrej Sosenka (Czech Republic)
14:18 28 Marco Pinotti (Italy)
14:20 27 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine)
14:22 26 Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain)
15:00 25 Eric Wohlberg (Canada)
15:02 24 Csaba Szekeres (Hungary)
15:04 23 Andrey Kashechkin (Kazakhstan)
15:06 22 Raivis Belohvosciks (Latvia)
15:08 21 Michael Blaudzun (Denmark)
15:10 20 José Enrique Gutierrez (Spain)
15:12 19 Peter Mazur (Poland)
15:14 18 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Russian Federation)
15:16 17 David O'Loughlin (Ireland)
15:18 16 Victor Hugo Peña (Colombia)
15:20 15 Ivaïlo Gabrovski (Bulgaria)
15:22 14 Christophe Moreau (France)
16:00 13 Andriy Grivko (Ukraine)
16:02 12 Bert Roesems (Belgium)
16:04 11 Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia)
16:06 10 Thomas Dekker (Netherlands)
16:08 9 Marzio Bruseghin (Italy)
16:10 8 Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)
16:12 7 Gustav Larsson (Sweden)
16:14 6 Bobby Julich (United States Of America)
16:16 5 Denis Menchov (Russian Federation)
16:18 4 Rubén Plaza (Spain)
16:20 3 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kazakhstan)
16:22 2 Michael Rich (Germany)
16:24 1 Michael Rogers (Australia)

2008 World Championships to Varese

The World championships of 2008 were awarded to Varese Italy. Today the decision was made official by the UCI, who were meeting in Madrid. Varese was the preferred to the other Italian candidacy of Lucca, and Dutch option of Valkenburg.
Read: Varese, a Comune Overflowing with Favorites, 3 May

21 September News ...