BiciRace.com :: News :: October 2005

News :: October 2005

3 October 2005

Il Re del ProTour: Danilo Di Luca

ProTour Champion, photo: Capture-The -Peloton.com

Danilo Di Luca of Liquigas-Bianchi has been crowned the first king of the UCI ProTour. The Killer finished fourth in Züri Metzgete yesterday, thus securing enough points to be unreachable in the overall standings. "The course was so hard," said the new ProTour winner. "Yes at Pais Vasco there was snow, but the stage was short. Here it was cold and wet for six hours, with the rain on our backs ... it was a course of survival."

The competition will only be officially finished after the Paris-Tours and Giro di Lombardia, but no one can reach Di Luca's 229 points. He has worn the white jersey almost the entire season. The Liquigas-Bianchi rider took the all white-kit after an amazing Amstel Gold race and Flèche Wallonne double in April. Only four others held the ProTour lead before The Killer: Bobby Julich after Paris-Nice, Oscar Freire after Tirreno-Adriatico, Alessandro Petacchi after Milano-Sanremo and Tom Boonen after Paris-Roubaix.

"It is a grand honor to be the first winner of the ProTour," continued The Killer. "This jersey is the topping on a sensational season: I won the Pais Vasco, Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne, I was fourth at the Giro d'Italia, and I wore the maglia rosa. And now, in October, I am still here and competitive. To win the ProTour means to be in front all year, for the single day races, short stage races and the grand tours. For this reason I consider the ProTour more important than the previous World Cup competition."

The Standings after Züri Metzgete:
1 Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) - 229
2 Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) - 171
3 Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) - 140
4 Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel) - 139
5 Alexander Vinokourov (T-Mobile) - 136
6 Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) - 131
7 Bobby Julich (Team CSC) - 130
8 George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) - 129
9 Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) - 128
10 Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) - 126

Through The Storm Emerged Bettini

Bettini Wins 2nd, photo: Quick-Step

Yesterday morning in Zurich was cold and rainy, not a great day to be tackling a hard 242K. But the conditions brought about an epic Paolo Bettini win. He and his Quick-Step squadra controlled the final 100K of the Züri Metzgete. When Bettini made his move for freedom at 35K to go, he left a 12-man group that contained four of his mates. From there he pounded the wet pavement, edging closer and closer towards an epic Zurich victory. Bettini's finale was no doubt a legendary ride.

"I was cold, I had to initiate something because that is my best defense, to attack," said a soaked Bettini in Zurich. "I know that there were many kilometers still to go ... My teammates did not have any more and I tried. I think that above all to remain concentrated I kept saying that it was not cold and that there was no rain, but I did not believe it. ... But it was a my most beautiful win because it was a non-Bettini day. Half-way through the race I almost stopped, but I saw my teammates pulling so strong and the rivals not able to respond."

It was a superb win for the 31 year-old Italian. The win was even more stunning than his first Zurich victory in 2001, then he out-sprinted his three companions: Jan Ullrich, Francesco Casagrande and Fernando Escartin. But the big excitement of the day was the comeback of sorts after the disappointment from last week in Madrid. "This win does not take the place of Madrid, because there is no race that could give the same result as the one that I missed last Sunday," said Bettini, referring to the World Championships. "This condition I had last Sunday. Today for my squadra I was the pillar, and I did not miss out."

"At the worlds the nation was all for Petacchi, but he, the pillar, missed and came crashing down," said il Grillo, who is still smarting from Madrid. "And the same for Ballerini, who always talked of Petacchi, but never mentioned that at night Petacchi was having difficulty breathing. And at the meeting Friday before the race [Worlds] I expressed my doubts about a sprint for Petacchi, but I was told not to worry."

Züri Metzgete:
Main Page
Overall Map, Profile
Startlist
Photos
Report and Results

End of Season for Ivan Basso

Yesterday Ivan Basso (Team CSC) put the breaks on a long season when he retired from the Züri Metzgete. It was a nasty day in Zurich and Basso did not continue after such a hard and successful season. The Italian will not be competing in the Giro di Lombardia, where last year he gave the winner, Damiano Cunego, a serious threat. He will take some time off, planning out the 2006 season, then start training again. Basso will be back again in 2006 with Team CSC, he and team manager, Bjarne Riis have formed a solid working team.

Read:
Basso Back in Italy, 9 September
Basso is King of Denmark, 8 August
Basso Showed his Class, 24 July
CSC and Basso Extend For Three Years, 19 July

2 October News ...