BiciRace.com :: News :: February 2006

News :: February 2006

22 February 2006

Hincapie Holds on Sierra

Hincapie's Henchmen Deliver Gold, photo: Beth Seliga

George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) held tight on yesterday's last climb in stage 2 of the Tour of California and then polished off his companions in the San Jose sprint. The American's stage win also gave him the bonus seconds needed to overtake Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) on the GC lead.

"We wanted to try to make the race hard with two climbs to go. But that climb was really hard," said Hincapie, referring to the final climb of Sierra. "Floyd [Landis] and Levi are obviously very strong right now and I think they've done a lot of recon on the courses, they live here, so they probably knew what to expect. I think they were climbing a lot better than I was today. But I stayed close, I stayed with my teammates and I knew that once we got together it would be tough for anybody to beat me. It came down to a sprint and I was pretty confident that I could win it."

Hincapie, who now is considered a true all-arounder, will have his work cut out for him in today's 27.4K time trial. Closely behind are a range of top-class time trialist waiting topple the Disco captain. The American will really have to ride a stunning TT to hold off the likes of Bobby Julich, David Zabriskie and Leipheimer.

ProTour Potential from Zajicek

One rider who has really impressed the BiciRace.com staff is Phil Zajicek. The Navigators captain suffered a crash in the Tour Down Under that required surgery and the addition of a titanium screw to his right hand. Zajicek quickly brushed off the injury and continued with his training program to be on form for the season's major goal, the Tour of California.

In yesterday's stage 2, similar to George Hincapie, Zajicek was slightly distanced on the Sierra climb but then kept his cool for he run home to San Jose. Over the final 30K to the finish he was able join with the front group of riders and now sits 24" back on GC. "I started to crack a little bit, started to lose contact with the group, but I just settled into a really nice rhythm and caught back after a little bit," said Zajicek referring to Sierra. "With about a kilometer to go I lost contact again and just rode tempo over the top and was able to catch over the rollers".

Zajicek was one of only two non-ProTour riders to make the final selection on the stage, which says a lot about his riding abilities and current form. "I'm 24 seconds down, so I've got to put in a big time trial tomorrow. It should be a good one," said Zajicek after the stage finish. Today's time trial is an undulating affair of 24.7K around San Jose. BiciRace.com wishes Phil the best of luck!

2006 Tour of California, 19 - 26 February
Main, Overall Map, Photos

Mexico Man: Di Luca

Danilo Di Luca and his Liquigas training partners are putting the finishing touches on their Mexico training before returning to start the European season. Over the last three weeks The Killer has logged 3000 kilometers and 25,000 meters of climbing, and all at a base altitude of 2600 meters.

Di Luca will make his race debut in the Milano-Torino (4 March) and then travel south for the start of the Tirreno-Adriatico (8 - 14 March). "I feel good, I feel that the condition is there like it was last year," said Di Luca. "After so much work I now really am excited to start racing. For Tirreno-Adriatico I will support Garzelli [also in Mexico], who is already strong and wants redemption. It is too bad that my goal is for the Giro in May because this year the organizers have designed a Tirreno that is suited for me. The climb to San Giacomo-Monti della Laga [stage 6] I know very well."

The Killer indicated that the tifosi might be in for a surprise at Tirreno-Adriatico. The presence of Ivan Basso (Team CSC) and other big names might just be enough to fuel a top-level classification fight.

Read:
Liquigas Presents The Killer, 7 February
Di Luca for Mexico and Giro, 18 January
Fine Tuning of the TT Machine for Di Luca, 2 December
Mexico and Training for Danilo Di Luca, 3 November
Danilo Di Luca Interview, 5 July

To Toscana for Ullrich

Jan Ullrich (32) has returned to Europe after training for nearly a month in South Africa. The German logged some serious kilometers under the warm Cape Town sun with his T-Mobile companions, Andreas Klöden, Matthias Kessler and Giuseppe Guerini. It was the second time to South Africa this winter for the determined Ulle, after a pervious trip in December.

Starting in March the 1997 Tour de France champion will base himself in Toscana, and test his form on the local roads, like Monte Serra. There is no word on when he will start his season but an announcement is expected soon.

Rain for Cunego

Damiano Cunego has returned from the Lampre-Fondital camp to find rain. At his home in Cerro Veronese (Veneto) he continues to put in the training rides: Sunday and Monday it was three hours and yesterday two and a half. The last true training was Friday, 190K with his Lampre-Fondital teammates.

The time in Toscana allowed Cunego to build his form and test the parcours of the Giro d'Italia. "It was a good time," said Giuseppe Martinelli, Team Manager. "Damiano is not far off of form, and is definitely calmer and more relaxed compared to last year. ... We also tried the Pontedera time trial of the Giro with full time trial gear. It is 50 kilometers and very, very flat. He is certainly not too happy."

Il Piccolo Principe will travel to Spain to make his season debut this Sunday in the Clasica de Almeria (26 February). After Almeria he will race in the Vuelta a Murcia (1 - 5 March) before returning to Italy.

Read:
Cunego Starts and Bettini Swiss, 21 February
Last Winter Test for Cunego, 17 February

21 February News ...