BiciRace.com :: News :: December 2005

News :: December 2005

23 December 2005

Ullrich at Proper Winter Weight

South Africa Training, photo: T-Mobile

Jan Ullrich (32) has always suffered from winter weight worries. The 1997 Tour winner is no machine and he likes to have fun in the winter, which usually results in gained kilograms. This year Ulle has already finished his off-season and is fresh off of a serious training camp in South Africa.

"He will return Friday [today] from the South African training camp at his ideal weight, 76Kg," said 2006 T-Mobile DS, Rudy Pevenage. According to the team officials, During the camp Ulle would cover up to 850K per week with his partners Andreas Klöden and Matthias Kessler.

"He is super motivated," continued Pevenage on Ulle, who in 2005 finished third in the Tour de France behind Lance Armstrong. "Of course it is still a long way to the Tour. The goal is to copy the preparations of his 2003 season, when he held Armstrong to the fire, as closely as possible." 2003, when Ullrich was riding for Bianchi, was a vintage Tour. The German had Armstrong scrabbling to recover after TT where the American looked utterly blown.

Read:
Klöden and Ullrich add Kilometers in Africa, 16 December
Ulle to Race Giro with Eye on Tour, 25 November
The Coming and Goings of T-Mobile, 5 October

Gerdemann and Ludewig Back from Mallorca

Two of T-Mobile's new recruits have just comeback from back from a training period in Mallorca. Linus Gerdemann (23, from Team CSC) and Jörg Ludewig (30, from Domina Vacanze) escaped the bad weather in their home country, Germany, and enjoyed a 12 day stint on the Spanish island.

"It was the first training camp in my life, in which after twelve days I wasn't bored a bit," said Ludewig via T-Mobile. The duo would spend four to six a day on the Spanish roads near Alcudia in preparation for the 2006 campaign. "It was more than just back and forth on the coastal road. We had three good climbs there that can be approached via three different routes ... you can even sweat it out a bit."

Read:
The Coming and Goings of T-Mobile, 5 October
Ludewig To T-Mobile, 5 August

CSC Narrows Giro Squadra for Basso

Experienced Peron, photo: Capture-The -Peloton.com

Team Manager of CSC, Bjarne Riis, is already thinking about the squadra that will support Ivan Basso in his 2006 attempt at the Giro d'Italia. The names that are circulating to support of the Italian Stallion are the Americans, Bobby Julich and Christian Vande Velde, the experienced Italians, Giovanni Lombardi and Andrea Peron, followed by Nicki Sørensen, Michael Blaudzun, Volodimir Gustov and Iñigo Cuesta.

Vande Velde, photo: Capture-The -Peloton.com

This is only an early prediction and a lot could change between now and the start of the Giro on 6 May. It is wise of Riis to look at riders who can climb and TT, which explains i Americani. Not too long ago, before Basso's Giro announcement, it was Vande Velde who was being tipped as the Giro captain.

Read:
Riis Impressed with Sixth CSC Camp, 21 December
History of Giro-Tour Double Winners, 6 December
Corsa Rosa for Italian Stallion (Basso), 5 December
2006 Giro d'Italia Route Unfolded, 12 November
Christian Vande Velde Interview: Hold the Clams, 31 October
Ivan Basso Interview: King of Denmark on Tour and 2006, 21 October

Mauricio Ardila Cano for Rabobank Giro

Mauricio Ardila Cano, who was recently snatched by Rabobank, is back at home in Colombia. Wednesday evening he was at the Bogotá Sports Institute for an awards ceremony, where he was runner up for the Colombian Rider of the Year award.

"Rabobank needs a rider like me for the Giro. They have Menchov for the Vuelta and the Tour, but they needed someone to focus on the Giro d'Italia," said the 26 year-old Colombian during the award ceremony. This year with Davitamon-Lotto he won one race, but placed very well in Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España stages.

Read:
Mauricio Ardila Cano to Rabobank, 6 December
Rabobank Keep A Strong Tradition, 16 November

Sean Kelly Racing Team

Sean Kelly will make a return to professional cycling as the manager of "Sean Kelly Racing Team". The Irish cycling legend has helped form the new Continental team for 2006 that will consist of mostly Irish and Belgian riders. One of the 15 riders on the squadra is the Irish lad, Andrew McQuaid, son of UCI President, Pat McQuaid.

Kelly ruled the road in the 1980's, winning Milan-Sanremo twice, Paris-Roubaix twice, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Paris-Tours, Giro di Lombardia three times, and was the king of Paris-Nice with seven victories. His cycling wisdom will help transform the team to a winning machine on the Continental circuit ... Be Warned!

Read: DVD Review: The Sean Kelly Story, 19 November

Moreau Digs Mancebo

Paco Is The MAN, photo: © Unipublic

Christophe Moreau (34) believes that Francisco Mancebo (29) will be in the top five of the 2006 Tour de France. The Frenchman, who over the winter made the switch from Crédit Agricole to Ag2R Prévoyance, has confidence that his new teammate has what it takes to once again be amongst the front runners in July.

"Mancebo has more options to finish in the top five in the next Tour ... I will once again go for a high placing as well," said Moreau, who finished 11th in the 2005 edition. It is likely that Vincent Lavenu, Team DS, will pull rank and ask the Frenchman to give his all for Paco.

Mancebo, in addition to finishing fourth in the Tour, also finished fourth in the Vuelta a España in 2005. Paco led a Spanish Illes Balears movement over the winter to join the French squadra. Joining Paco on the newly granted ProTour squadra are his former teammates, José Luis Arrieta and David Navas.

Read:
Ag2R Prévoyance is Granted ProTour License, 29 November
2006 Ag2R Prévoyance Squadra, 8 October
Mancebo Fortifies Ag2R Prévoyance, 7 August
Moreau to Ag2R Prévoyance, 30 July

22 December News ...