BiciRace.com :: News :: February 2006

News :: February 2006

17 February 2006

Boonen Cracks Petacchi Power

Boonen with Podium Girls, photo: Quick-Step

In their third meeting of the year Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) finally got his first win over Alessandro Petacchi (Milram). The two were going head-to-head in the Vuelta a Andalucía, with the Italian winning the first two confrontations. Yesterday in the final stage the Belgian got his first win over the Italian in a photo-finish.

"In the first two sprints I made stupid errors, but I was certain that with a good sprint I could beat Petacchi," said the World Champion. "I told my teammates at breakfast that today would be the day, that 'today Petacchi would not win'. It took him lots of time to beat Cipollini and I did not waste too much time to win the first Petacchi battle."

In the Petacchi camp there was delusion and doubt that will linger until their next match, Milano-Sanremo (18 March). "It was a day where I felt better and I was certain I would win, but instead I lost," said Ale-Jet. "Sometimes it goes this way. In the finale Boonen took a strange line to towards the barrier did not leave much space, it was dangerous. I am saying that Boonen was wrong but it is something that I would never do. ... Compliments to Tom he won a good sprint."

Read:
Petacchi 2 - Boonen 0, 16 February
Petacchi 1 - Boonen 0, 15 February
Dude, Where Is My Sprint?, 14 February
Sprint on Hold in Andalucía, 13 February
Petacchi and Boonen for Andalucía, 11 February

Sanremo Historical Facts

A double win by Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) in the Milano-Sanremo would be one for the records. The last Italian to take two wins consecutively on the Via Roma was Loretto Petrucci in 1952 and 1953.

In recent years the race has been the rule of Petacchi's teammate, Erik Zabel, the German won in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001. If Tom Boonen (Quick-Step), the Italian's main rival, was to win he would also add his name to a short list. In the history of La Classissima there have only been four riders to win while wearing the World Champion jersey: Alfredo Binda (1931), Felice Gimondi (1974), Eddy Merckx (1972 and 1975) and Giuseppe Saronni (1983).

Last Winter Test for Cunego

Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) is close to the start of his 2006 season, he will debut in Spain at the Clasica de Almeria (26 February). The Veronese is wrapping up his final winter training from his temporary base in Lido di Camaiore (Toscana). Today he will do a long training run before a timed test-run up the Monte Serra.

The Monte Serra has been the proving ground for many regional cyclists and now is also the benchmark for Italian professionals. Remember that only 14 days ago Cunego recorded a time of 16'25" on the 6.125K climb, 15" better than the winter record of Ivan Basso (16'40" on 15 January).

Tomorrow the Veronese will ride the parcours of the Pontedera time trial. The 50K TT will be apart of the 2006 Giro d'Italia on 18 May (stage 11). Cunego will hone his form that will hopefully take him to repeat his 2004 Giro Victory.

Read:
Cunego Records Lampre Best on Serra, 3 February
Lampre-Fondital on Monte Serra, 1 February
Lampre-Fondital in Montecatini, 30 January
Basso Cracks Winter Record, 16 January

UCI Blocks Grand Tour Trophy

The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced yesterday that it will not authorize the "Trophée des Trois Grands Tours" (Grand Tour Trophy). The Trophy is the plan of the Grand Tour organizers, RCS Sport (Giro d'Italia), ASO (Tour de France) and Unipublic (Vuelta a España), to attract top level teams to their events after their announced withdrawal from the ProTour on 9 December.

"The UPTC [UCI ProTour Council] has noted that this project does not respect the principles of the road cycling reform as introduced by the UCI. In particular, this project lies on a financial approach which is counter-productive, and which would harm the visibility of the cycling calendar, demonstrating moreover, a lack of responsibility towards cycling as a whole," said the UPTC in a press release.

The new Grand Tour Trophy is geared for team participation in all three races, the Giro, Tour and Vuelta. The best team of the tours would be rewarded a share of the overall prize, valued at €2 million. "The UPTC has noted that this project does not respect the principles of the road cycling reform as introduced by the UCI," continued the UPTC statement. "In particular, this project lies on a financial approach which is counter-productive, and which would harm the visibility of the cycling calendar, demonstrating moreover, a lack of responsibility towards cycling as a whole."

One thing is for certain, this ProTour has now become a giant mess. The organizations need to work together for the good of cycling, but at the same time considering what races are historically important for the sport and which ones are just fluff. The UPTC's statement won't go over well with the ASO who organizes the one of the world's largest sporting events: le Tour de France.

Read:
Grand Tour Organizers Request UCI Authorization, 14 January
AIGCP and Lefevere Reject Grand Tour Split, 7 January
Grand Tour Organizers: Team Prize and New Circuit, 21 December
Grand Tour Organizers vs ProTour Update, 13 December
Zomegnan: Grand Tours with UCI, not ProTour, 12 December
Lefevere Blasts Grand Tour Organizers, 11 December
Grand Tour Organizers Say "Ciao" to ProTour, 10 December
Grand Tour Organizers Press Release, 10 December

16 February News ...