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12 December 2005

Grand Tour Organizers Press Release, 10 December ...
13 December News ...

Zomegnan: Grand Tours with UCI, not ProTour

Angelo Zomegnan, director of cycling at RCS Sport and head of the Giro d'Italia, has heard the fiery words of the UCI President, Pat McQuaid. The Irishman has stated that the Grand Tour organizers are completely against the UCI. But Zomegnan has fired back, saying "Our project is not a divorce from the UCI, which we continually respect their authority, but from the ProTour."

"Ours is a proposition because the UCI has the last word," continued the Z-Man. RCS (Giro d'Italia) along with their French and Spanish counterparts, ASO (Tour de France) and Unipublic (Vuelta a España), have proposed a new Grand Tour Trophy competition that will unit all three races. "Already many ProTour teams and a lot of the other teams have shown appreciation in our project. The ProTour had taken a strong stance and we have given it 15 months, and they are not able to take more time."

"McQuaid says that our design is obsolete? That is absurd. Races like the Tour or Giro have a century of stories on their back, but have only demonstrated this over the long passage of time," finished the Z-Man. Now is up to the teams to decide the best way to move forward. Their interests will be known today after a meeting of the teams and ProTour representatives in Brussels. Also at the meeting will be recently retired UCI President, Hein Verbruggen, the father of the ProTour who directly selected McQuaid to be his successor.

Read:
Lefevere Blasts Grand Tour Organizers, 11 December
Grand Tour Organizers Say "Ciao" to ProTour, 10 December
Grand Tour Organizers Press Release, 10 December
Giro Organizers Make Hand Gestures towards UPTC, 28 November
ProTour Council Says No to Semi-Stages (and Ghisallo), 16 November
UPTC says End of Year for Grand Tour Organizers, 15 November

Rasmussen Ups with Rabobank

The Dane, Michael Rasmussen (31), has added an additional year to his contract with Rabobank. Originally the winner of the polka-dot jersey of the 2005 Tour de France was slated for a three-year deal with the Dutch squadra, but the two parties have agreed upon a contract that will finish at the end of 2007.

Rasmussen was the life of the 2005 Tour de France party. After winning stage 9 of the Tour he was an immediate threat to the Texan, Lance Armstrong. Many discounted the Dane because of the combination of the final Saint-Etienne TT (55K) and his poor TT abilities. There were no disappointments for the critics, Rasmussen was on and off his TT machine numerous times during the disastrous test. To his credit, he still finished with the Polka-Dot jersey, a stage win and seventh in the final GC.

Both Rabobank and Rasmussen want to continue for success in the Tour. The Dane will focus on defending his mountains jersey in the Tour. "I have an opportunity to concentrate 100% on the Tour de France, and they [Rabobank] expect nothing from me until then," said Rasmussen from his website. "That is, of course, an opportunity of which I will take advantage. It is the most important bike race of the year, and when you have the luxury to be able to focus 100% on it, you better take that opportunity."

Read:
Rabobank Keep A Strong Tradition, 16 November
Polka-dot Man (Rasmussen) Continues with Rabobank, 18 October
EICMA Show Goodies, Rasmussen's Colnago, 17 September

Armstrong Strong at Team Camp

Discovery Channel held their first "unofficial" camp in Austin last week. Signor 7X Tour Winner, Lance Armstrong, showed up to ride with his the Disco squadra. The Texan took time out of his busy schedule to ride with the partial team gathering in Austin. Some of the Disco riders in Austin were Tom Danielson, Trent Lowe, Egoi Martínez, José Azevedo and Benoît Joachim.

Armstrong now has a managerial role with the Disco squadra and his presence was almost certain. What was not certain was that he would ride so strong over the four hours. He was seen cheerfully talking with his mates while pedaling in that famous high cadence ... 2006 Tour de France contender?

Read: Discovery Channel Builds After Armstrong, 4 November

11 December News ...