BiciRace.com :: News :: October 2005

News :: October 2005

25 October 2005

No Tour (of Italy) for Basso

Where is Basso?, photo: Capture-The -Peloton.com

The BiciRace.com inbox has been flooded with e-mails over the past few days, all of them giving hints to Ivan Basso (Team CSC) avoiding the 89th Giro d'Italia. The big tip was last week when Basso himself was courting Gilberto Simoni to join CSC. The aim was to have Gibo go for the maglia rosa and leave Basso free for the maillot jaune. The presentation of the 2006 Giro is only a couple of weeks away (12 November) and team manager, Bjarne Riis, is also indicating no Giro.

"We don't have to go to the Giro with a captain that will race for the overall victory," said Riis. "Many teams participate with objectives other than the overall, and we may do the same." Good news for the tifosi Americani, Riis sees Christian Vande Velde as a possible team leader for the Giro. The Dane thinks that Il Americano could place in the top 10, and BiciRace.com thinks he could win.

Ivan Basso will likely spend May 2006 reconnoitering some of the key Tour de France stages, something he was unable to do last year. Riis and Basso have a lot of pressure to perform well in the Tour for their sponsors. After the retirement of Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel), many are tipping the rider from Varese as the next king of the Tour.

Read: Ivan Basso Interview: King of Denmark on Tour and 2006, 21 October

Ballerini Continues as Italian DS

Franco Ballerini will continue to lead the Squadra Azzurra for the World Championships. Yesterday it was confirmed that the former double Paris-Roubaix winner will continue in his Director Sportivo role for at least one more year. There was lots of criticism aimed at Ballerini after the recent World Championships in Madrid, but he has guided the Squadra Azzurra to one bronze, one silver and two gold medals.

"I am content to continue in my role as the DS for the professional road team," said Ballerini. "It is normal, I love this work, I do it because I have a passion for cycling and it pleases me." The Toscano receives an estimated 150,000€ per year for his hard work. It may sound like fun, but imagine trying to select nine riders from a country overflowing with talent. Then when you have those nine riders you have to make sure that everyone rides by the same plans. Che lavoro!

Read:
Some Explanation from Ballerini, 27 September
2005 Squadra Azzurra Profile, 20 September
Ballerini Names Squadra Azzurra, 17 September

Milram Builds with Neo-Pros

Gianluigi Stanga, Team Manager for Domina Vacanze and next year's Milram squadra, has made a contract with two neo-professionals for 2006. Italian, Carlo Scognamiglio, and Ukrainian, Volodymyr Dyudya, will both be riding for Milram in their first year as professionals. Both riders, who are based in Brescia, did a trial period at the end of this year with Domina Vacanze. Stanga liked what he saw from the two riders and decided to incorporate them into the 2006 team.

Milram, the new squadra of Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel, formed from Domina Vacanze and Team Wiesenhof. The Italian-German team should be the meanest sprint team on the block. Milram, which forms part of the German Nordmilch group, will take the old ProTour spot of Domina Vacanze.

The Squadra:
Alberto Ongarato (from Fassa Bortolo)
Alessandro Cortinovis (from Domina Vacanze)
Alessandro Petacchi (from Fassa Bortolo)
Alessandro Vanotti (from Domina Vacanze)
Andriy Grivko (from Domina Vacanze)
Björn Schröder (from Team Wiesenhof)
Carlo Scognamiglio (neo-pro)
Christian Knees (from Team Wiesenhof)
Daniel Becke (from Illes Balears)
Daniel Musiol (from Team Wiesenhof)
Elia Rigotto (from Domina Vacanze)
Enrico Poitschke (from Team Wiesenhof)
Erik Zabel (from T-Mobile)
Fabio Sabatini (neo-pro)
Fabio Sacchi (from Fassa Bortolo)
Giovanni Visconti (from Domina Vacanze)
Jan Schaffrath (from T-Mobile)
Maarten Den Bakker (from Rabobank)
Marco Velo (from Fassa Bortolo)
Martin Müller (from Team Wiesenhof)
Matej Jurco (from Domina Vacanze)
Maxim Iglinskiy (from Domina Vacanze)
Michele Gobbi (from Domina Vacanze)
Mirko Celestino (from Domina Vacanze)
Ralf Grabsch (from Team Wiesenhof)
Sebastian Siedler (from Team Wiesenhof)
Sergio Ghisalberti (from Domina Vacanze)
Simone Cadamuro (from Domina Vacanze)
Volodymyr Dyudya (neo-pro)

Read:
Milram Gets Zabel At The Line, 13 October
Transfer Mania, 4 October
Petacchi Rides For Milram in 2006, 24 September

24 October News ...