BiciRace.com :: News :: January 2006

News :: January 2006

19 January 2006

Armstrong on Cancer and Ullrich

Armstrong Off Bike, photo: DD

"If I had not had cancer it is likely I would not have won the Tour de France," said Lance Armstrong, 7X winner of La Grand Boucle. "The cancer helped me to focus, to reconsider life and to ask more of myself." Il Texano is currently traveling through South Africa for a little vacation and a lot of cancer fund raising talks.

The Tour master cannot avoid questions regarding the upcoming Tour, the first edition without him in years. When he was quizzed on who he thinks will win this year's Tour, he said Ullrich. "This year will be the year of Jan Ullrich. He will win the Tour de France, maybe with 4 or 5 minutes advantage," said il Texano of his former rival. These words could be the mental games of the former champion to add further pressure to Ulle. Armstrong might be trying to give an edge to his Disco boys or to his friend, Ivan Basso of Team CSC.

Gerrans Leads with Strong Ag2R Prévoyance

Gerrans and Podium Girls, photo: Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under

Simon Gerrans (Ag2R Prévoyance) claimed stage 1 and overall lead of the 2006 Tour Down Under after an aggressive day of racing through South Australia's Barossa Valley wine growing region. The Aussie fought for the stage from a final four man move that contained Luis León Sánchez (Liberty Seguros-Würth) and Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto).

Gerrans was ecstatic with the victory which came in the wake of his disappointment in last Saturday's Australian Road Championships where a crash finished his chances for the green and gold jersey. "I was disappointed with how I went at the nationals, so to come up and win today, I was just over the moon," said the Aussie after yesterday's finish.

"It's going to be tough to defend the overall lead for the rest of the week, but I've got a really strong team here. They're a great bunch of guys and I'm sure they'll support me all the way," concluded Gerrans

The 25 year-old made his Tour de France debut in 2005 and not only finished the three weeks but claimed a third place on stage 17. In the fall he returned home to Australia to take out overall honors in the Herald Sun Tour. His Ag2R Prévoyance team, which was recently awarded a ProTour license by the UCI, has a good track record in the Tour Down Under. The French based squadra has won the race overall twice in the past with Frenchman Gilles Maignan (2000) and Spaniard Mikel Astarloza (2003).

Tour Down Under, 17 - 22 January
Main, Startlist, Overall Map, Photos

English and Pavé for Bernucci

Lorenzo Bernucci (26) made a name for himself last July when he won the stage to Nancy at the Tour de France. It was his first ever pro victory since he started in 2002, but he has always been near the front. "Because from then [the stage win] I had more consideration and freedom to maneuver in the team, and above all with that victory I was able to obtain a post in this new team," said Bernucci.

Last fall the Italian from Pistoia signed with the German based T-mobile squadra. He went from riding in the blue and white colors of Alessandro Petacchi to the pink colors of Jan Ullrich. The transition has been almost all completely smooth, he finds Ullrich very down to earth and simple, but the team's language lessons are proving to be most difficult.

Everyday Bernucci spends hours and hours in the saddle, climbing and sprinting, but it is the English language lessons that he finds most demanding. "English here is indispensable, it preoccupies me the most and I have started taking private lessons," explained the Italian. "Here at the camp we have two sessions a day, one hour before training and one hour right before dinner." Today a group of riders will meet for a four hour English lesson before going to dinner with their instructor.

The language and other new aspects of the team will come to Bernucci, back on the bike he is focusing on the pavé. "The team made it very clear when they signed me that they want results from me in Flanders and Roubaix, or in other words a victory," said the Italian. His program will include delicious serving of races that will lead to the main course, the Northern Classics.

He debuts in Vuelta a Mallorca (5 - 9 February), then the Ruta del Sol (12 - 16 February), Omloop Het Volk (25 February), Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (26 February), Tirreno-Adriatico (8 - 14 March) and Milano-Sanremo (18 March) before he heads north for the season's major appointments: Tour of Flanders (2 April) and Paris-Roubaix (9 April). "At Tirreno I will seek to be competitive, Sanremo is always a strange race, but Flanders and Roubaix will be my major goals," finished Bernucci.

Read:
Italian Talent: Lorenzo Bernucci, 23 October
Bernucci Signs with T-Mobile, 30 August
Bernucci Alone And In The Rain, 8 July

TTT Training for Lampre-Fondital

The Lampre-Fondital boys are training in Terracina (Lazio) from 16 to 24 January. 2004 Giro d'Italia winner, Damiano Cunego, and his mates are putting in some long kilometers. Tuesday the blue-pink squadra road for 175K in temperatures near 15°C and Wednesday they covered 160K. There are extra kilometers for riders like Daniele Bennati, who will be aiming for the early classics.

Cunego is also spending time on his Wilier crono machine to build his TT strength. Saturday Giuseppe Martinelli, Team DS, will verify the work with a team TT of 20K. He plans on dividing the riders into two groups and awarding prizes to the winning team. This team TT work is in light of the upcoming Giro team TT, the first in years, on stage 5 (Piacenza to Cremona, 38K).

Read:
Lampre-Fondital in Terracina, 17 January
Last Day in Sicilia for Cunego, 12 January
Time Trial Work for Cunego, 3 December
Terme Time for Lampre-Fondital, 1 December
Damiano Cunego and Lampre Schedules, 2 November

Santuario della Madonna del Ghisallo Closed

Santuario della Madonna del Ghisallo, photo: BiciRace.com

The Santuario della Madonna del Ghisallo will remain closed for repairs for three months. The hallowed grounds are visited daily by cycling enthusiasts to give respects to the past champions and to the patron saint of cyclists.

The chapel was in need of urgent restoration and thus closed. The winter has brought freezing rain and snow, worsening the chapel's roof and stability. Keepers have discovered many cracks in the walls that have to be mended before the chapel can be reopened.

The Santuario della Madonna del Ghisallo should be reopened for visitors by Easter (16 April). But this is Italy so don't hold your breath, in the meantime you can still scale the famed climb (starting from Bellagio), taking in the views and stopping for a caffè in the adjacent bar.

Read:
Marco Pinotti Donates Italian TT Jersey to Ghisallo, 9 December
ProTour Council Says No to Semi-Stages (and Ghisallo), 16 November

18 January News ...