BiciRace.com

• News
• Races
• Photos
• Interviews
• Inside Scoop
• Gear & Gadgets

6 October 2005

7 October News ...

Sabatini Prepares Kid Cunego for Lombardia

Today Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Caffita) will take to the roads near Pisa for the 53rd Coppa Sabatini. Cunego will be racing with eyes on his big objective, the Giro di Lombardia (15 October). His program after Sabatini will be Giro dell'Emilia (8 October) and GP Beghelli (9 October).

"The number one favorite for Lombardia will be Bettini," said the Piccolo Principe. "I have never seen him in such resounding form. At Zurich he made a great impression, and also at Worlds he was flying. For these reasons I have to give him lots of attention."

Today's Sabatini race will be 198K affair for the riders. A circuit of 22K near Peccioli, that will be repeated 8 times, followed by a final finish of 12K. Other big names are: Lorenzo Bernucci (Fassa Bortolo, 2nd at Zurich), Murilo Fischer (Naturino-Sapore di Mare, Winner of Cimurri), Marco Pinotti and Manuele Mori (both Saunier Duval-Prodir).

SonyEricsson And Ferretti Secure For ProTour

The new sponsor for Giancarlo Ferretti's team is likely to be SonyEricsson. The sponsor is committing big money to Ferretti (64) for the upcoming seasons. A budget of €8 million for 2006, €11 for 2007 and €15 for 2008 is coming from SonyEricsson to enable Ferretti to start building a squadra.

The Iron Sergeant is starting to fill the 25 man squadra with big names. He is still waiting for confirmation from the UCI for his ProTour license. A special UCI commission will meet on 21 November to decide which team will receive the old ProTour spot of Fassa Bortolo. "I don't see why we will not obtain the reconfirmation after we have honored all of our commitments," said Ferretti, current manager of Fassa Bortolo. The other big squadra that could receive the final spot is Ag2R Prévoyance. "The French already have four squads ... It seems that the tradition and quality is in our [Italian] cycling, which is valued as the finest of them all."

Ferretti has been head of some fine squads in the past. He has taken many of the greats under his wings: Gimondi, DeMuynck, Contini, Knudsen, Baronchelli, Prim and Van Linden with Bianchi; Argentin, Sorensen and Richard with Ariostea; Bugno, Museeuw, Bettini, Simoni and Bartoli with MG-Technogym; Casagrande, Bartoli, Basso and Petacchi in the last six years with Fassa Bortolo. These riders, and others, helped Ferretti achieve an amazing 875 wins.

Read:
Transfer Mania, 4 October
Riders Sign With Giancarlo Ferretti, 28 September
Simoni Will Race With Ferretti, 21 September

Thor Hushovd Continues With Crédit Agricole

Super-fast man of the north, Thor Hushovd, will continue with Crédit Agricole. The Norwegian (27) signed for three more years with the green team, 2006-2008. Hushovd really pleased his French bosses this year with a stage win in the Dauphiné Libéré, the Green Jersey in the Tour de France, and a stage win in the Vuelta a España. Expect to see Hushovd with the front-runners in this Sunday's Paris-Tours.

Read: Hushovd Hangs on Alto de Castillo, 1 September

Paris-Tours:
Main Page
Overall Map, Profile
Startlist
Photos
Report and Results

Liberty Mutual Welcomed Spanish Squadra

Manolo Saiz and his boys are back from a trip to the USA. Part of the Liberty Seguros-Würth team traveled to Boston Massachusetts to visit the headquarters of the team's title sponsor: Liberty Mutual. For the visit the team brought Roberto Heras (4X Vuelta champion), Igor González de Galdeano, Joseba Beloki, Marcos Serrano, Alberto Contador and Luis León Sánchez. While in the USA the team took part in a charity ride, the 'Rodman Ride For Kids'.

Saiz made sure to thank Liberty's Ted Kelly and Tom Ramey, both of who are responsible for the insurance company's sponsorship. From the company's headquarters the boys paid a visit to the MIT wind tunnel for some secret aero testing. Finally, before departing back to Spain, the boys signed some autographs for fans at a local bike shop.

Read: Six Liberty Riders To Boston, 14 September

5 October News ...