BiciRace.com :: News :: March 2006

News :: March 2006

12 March 2006

Ciclismo Cipollini Style

Cipollini on Ballando con le Stelle, photo: RAI

Mario Cipollini is coming back to enrich the world of cycling with charisma and leadership. Since retiring last April the Italian has been making appearances on TV shows (Ballando con le Stelle) and on the ski slopes, the latter resulting in a bad knee injury over Christmas. However, the heart inside of Cipollini has not strayed far from cycling.

"I remember last year when I joined the Giro at the stage in Lissone. I had retired but I still felt like I was still a part of the group. It was a strange feeling, to think that I was no longer able to do anything in this world, that I was no longer considered. In this moment I started to think of something for the future. I had to find an occupation," said Cipollini on an Italian TV.

The former World Champion did some soul-searching over the months since retiring that led him back to his true passion. "I searched and recalled the starting gun of the races and the countryside of Flanders came to mind, where we trained for the first of the grand classics. The life of a rider is filled with the small things: the perfume of the vegetation, the oder of the wet asphalt, the pollen. I understood what I missed... the adrenaline of competition. ... So at the Giro di Lucca I rode along in the team car with [Mario] Scirea... It was fun and at the same time emotional. Now I will join the Tirreno-Adriatico for the final three stages. My craving for cycling is something that is very profound."

Cipollini has in mind to create an identifiable squadra that helps young riders. "I want to start a team that has a particular identity, easily identifiable with a jersey that will stay the same over the years, independent of the sponsors. A team that invests in the young, also with a structure that remains permanent."

A structure is already forming and the team is expected to debut in 2007. The former Milano-Sanremo winner could not be left without asking who are his favorites for this Saturday's race. "Before the crash I was saying Bettini, but now I think Boonen and Petacchi are on the same plain, with a close attention given to Freire," said Cipollini. Would he have Alessandro Petacchi on his new team? "Immediately."

Read:
Director Sportivo Cipollini, 1 March
Tomorrow Cipollini Goes Home, 28 December
Argentin Out-Skies Cycling's Past Stars, 9 December
Super Mario Speeds, 24 August
Cipo Explains, 30 April
Mario Cipollini Retires, The End of an Era, 29 April

Hushovd Building Confidence

Hushovd Hammers Greats, photo: RCS Sport

Thor Hushovd thundered to the line in Civitanova Marche to win the fourth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico. It was a confirmation of form for the Norwegian who will aim for Saturday's Milano-Sanremo, where last year he was third to Alessandro Petacchi.

"Petacchi is the best sprinter in the world, to have battled him is significant for me, above all for the morale," said the 28 year-old Crédit Agricole rider. "If I have these results here then I am able to repeat them in Sanremo."

Milram and Petacchi Error

There are many reasons for why il Treno Milram did not function yesterday in stage 4 of the Tirreno-Adriatico. One could be the absence of Alberto Ongarato, who went home with intestinal problems and is due to be replaced in the Milano-Sanremo by German Enrico Poitschke. Another reason could be that Marco Velo and Erik Zabel, Petacchi's main lead-out men, found it hard to manage the wind in the last two kilometers.

"My team did great work," said Petacchi. "We were very slow due to the head-wind in the last kilometer. Maybe I made a mistake by telling Zabel to leave me long, he could have pulled a little further. I made an error by going from 230 meters, it was a little too much."

"But when I lose like today in a photo finish I am still happy," explained lo Spezzino. "I will hope for a great Sanremo, I know that I am able to win again." The last chance for a sprint victory before the Milano-Sanremo will be this Tuesday, the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in San Benedetto del Tronto.

2006 Tirreno-Adriatico, 8 - 14 March
Main, Startlist, Overall Map, Photos

Bettini Plans on Sanremo

The right knee of Paolo Bettini (Quick-Step) is still swollen and sore. This is the main concern of the Toscano who crashed in Friday's stage 3 of the Tirreno-Adriatico.

"I was really fortunate that I did not fracture any bones with the fall that I made... It was a little miracle," explained Bettini who is now recovering at home. He will undergo more examinations and start to prepare for Saturday's grand classic, the Milano-Sanremo. "Given all the troubles my morale is good, even if Sanremo is only six days away."

Read:
Bettini Protests and Crashes, 11 March

Last Sanremo Recon for Boonen

World Champion Tom Boonen will reconnoiter the final parcours of Milano-Sanremo tomorrow. He will depart from Alassio with his Quick-Step crew: Wilfried Cretskens, Nick Nuyens, Kevin Hulsmans, Guido Trenti and Matteo Tosatto. They will pre-ride the Riviera Ligure section, covering the three capi (Mele, Cervo, Berta) and the final climbs of the Cipressa and Poggio.

The Cipressa (-21.6K, 240m) and Poggio (-5.7K, 162m) are the traditional launching pad for the victory on Via Roma. The Belgian will want to make sure that he and his crew have every meter memorized. Boonen finishes the Paris-Nice today, his last race before La Classicissima this Saturday.

Kashechkin for Ardennes and Tour

Kazakh Kashechkin in Cannes, photo: ASO

Kazakh Andrey Kashechkin (Liberty Seguros-Würth) blasted the finale of yesterday's stage 6 of the Paris-Nice. "This is a good Paris-Nice," said the 25 year-old. "It was not a main goal in my season, but it allowed me to make two tests of my current form: the prologue, which I finished in second place, and today's stage."

The Kazakh was in the hunt the whole day, but put in the winning blow on the Col de Tanneron with 20 kilometers remaining. "I had no strategy for today but I knew things could be decided in the Tanneron. I felt good, so I attacked... In any case I had no choice because I'm not a sprinter. I had to try my luck on my own, and it worked out fine. Paris-Nice is an ideal preparation for my objectives, which are the Ardennes classics, but also the Tour de France, which I will start hoping to bring the yellow jersey back to Kazakhstan."

2006 Paris-Nice, 5 - 12 March
Main, Startlist, Overall Map, Photos

11 March News ...