BiciRace.com :: News :: January 2006

News :: January 2006

3 January 2006

Italian Stallion Basso for 2006

The Italian Stallion, Ivan Basso, of Team CSC has his eyes on a huge year. The 28 year-old will face up to the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and the arrival of his second child (due at the end of May). The confidence for his season will be based on a 2005 that saw many fruits of hard labor, including second in La Grand Boucle.

The rider from Varese (Lombardia) brought in the new year with Michele Bartoli. Basso has been training with the retired classics legend, they rode new years day together to put in the first kilometers of 2006. The CSC man is continuing to focus on improving his TT skills, instead of climbing, where his already feels secure.

Between the end of the Circuit de la Sarthe (4 - 7 April) and La Flèche Wallonne (19 April) Ivan Basso will preview the two major TT tests of the Tour, stages 7 and 19. His winter TT training will come in good use if he is to beat a rider like Jan Ullrich in the Tour. There are 115 (with 7K prologue) of TT kilometers on tap: the 52K stage 7 test to Rennes and the penultimate 56K stage to Montceau-les-Mines.

Before the Tour Basso has one goal in mind, winning his home race, the Giro d'Italia. In this year's running he will be able to put his team and mountain legs to the test. There is 38K Team TT that has Team CSC written all over it. Then there is the deadly final week where the peloton's climbing legs will be put to the limit. The Italian Stallion plans to head to France in July with a win in the Corsa Rosa, and his new baby in tow.

Read:
CSC Narrows Giro Squadra for Basso, 23 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

Mancebo the Ag2R Prévoyance Man for Tour

Mancebo in Vuelta, photo: © Unipublic

Francisco Mancebo (29) has his mind on a top three in the Tour de France Overall for 2006. The Spanish climbing ace, in addition to finishing fourth in the Tour in 2005, also finished fourth in the Vuelta a España. Paco led a Spanish Illes Balears movement over the winter to the French squadra, Ag2R Prévoyance.

"I have changed teams after many years and now I feel a renewed enthusiasm," said Paco in an interview with a Spanish daily paper. "We have a great squadra and there will not be any rivalries with Christophe Moreau. ... I am sorry to leave so many of my good friends behind at Illes Balears, but I had to take up a great offer. ... For the Tour I want to be on the podium, it is useless for me to hide it. I know I am not one of the favorites, but without Armstrong everything has changed for the race. My key rivals to watch will be Ivan Basso, and then Vinokourov, Ullrich, Leipheimer and Rasmussen."

Read:
Moreau Digs Mancebo, 23 December
2006 Ag2R Prévoyance Squadra, 8 October
Mancebo Fortifies Ag2R Prévoyance, 7 August

Team CSC Returns for Qatar and GP d'Ouverture

Team CSC has their eyes on one of the first races of the season: Tour of Qatar (29 January - 3 February). You might remember that last year the team demolished the competition in stage 3 and swept the final podium. This established the core team work for a spring offensive by the Danish squadra.

The team will line up in Qatar with two of their new signings: Stuart O'Grady and Fabian Cancellara. Along with the Aussie and Swiss will be Kasper Klostergård, Marcus Ljungqvist, Martin Pedersen, Luke Roberts, Lars Michaelsen and Matti Breschel. It was the two Danes, Michaelsen and Breschel, who scored the first and second spots in the 2005 edition.

Another CSC team will start in France at the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise on 31 January. The team 1-2'ed the podium last year thanks to the win by the Dane, Nicki Sørensen. Joining last year's winner in France will be Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Lars Bak, Michael Blaudzun, Allan Johansen, Christian Müller, Karsten Kroon and Brian Vandborg.

Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears with Multiple Jerseys

Multi-Colored Machine, photo: BiciRace.com

One of Spain's biggest teams, Illes Balears, will undergo a name change for 2006: the main sponsor will change from Illes Balears to Caisse d'Epargne. In 2005 Caisse d'Epargne was the secondary sponsor, and they will take the primary place of Illes Balears, who will leave the sport at the end of 2006. The division of power is 60% to the French banking company, Caisse d'Epargne, and 40% to the Spanish tourist agency that promotes the Balearic Islands.

The agreement is peculiar in regards to the team's naming system for certain races. Illes Balears will continue to be the title sponsor in all Spanish events, in addition to the Deutschland Tour and Tour de Pologne. Both Germany and Poland are key tourist markets for the Spanish sponsor. On the other hand, Caisse d’Epargne will be the title sponsor in all other races, including the Tour de France.

Not only will the names change depending on the races, so will the jerseys. There will be a red and black color scheme for Caisse d'Epargne, and a multicolored design will continue for races when Illes Balears is the head sponsor. Jerseys are set to be unveiled at the team presentation, one in Mallorca and a second one in France. Don't worry, the team will continue with their Italian flair: cool Pinarello supplied Opera frames, classic Campagnolo components and quality Nalini kits.

Read: Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears Team Update, 31 October

Relax-GAM Doubles Up

The Spanish squadra, Relax-GAM, has added more ammunition after the departure of Josep Jufré (30) for the Belgian classics squadra, Davitamon-Lotto. The squadra, formally known as Relax Fuenlabrada, brought on board two new guns: Jesús Hernández (from Liberty Seguros-Würth) and José Rafael Martínez (from Imoholding-Loulé). The Spaniard, Hernández, is taking a step down from Manolo Saiz's team, while the Portuguese is moving up to a Professional circuit team.

Relax has closed its hiring with the arrival of the two riders and are ready to focus on the 2006 season. The big objective for the team is to gain a wild card entry into the Vuelta a España, which they contested in 2005. The squadra's chances will be further increased if the current ruckus between Grand Tour organizes and the UCI continues.

Read: UCI Releases List of Professional Circuit Teams, 22 December

2 January News ...