BiciRace.com :: News :: March 2006

News :: March 2006

25 March 2006

Vino Demoralizes in 'Pre-Tour Test'

Alexander Vinokourov (Liberty Seguros-Würth) confirmed overall victory in the Vuelta Castilla y León by ripping apart his rivals in the final stage. Vino launched a demoralizing attack on the final cobbled parcours, overtaking Aketza Peña in the process, to cross the finish line solo in Segovia.

"I finished off the great work of my teammates," said Vino, making the day's aggression seem like child's play. "On the first crossing of the finish line [-20K] I saw that it was a good finish for me, I liked it and because of that I went for victory. Still I am not 100% on form, but I am doing well."

The final stage covered two cat. 1 climbs and proved useful for Vino as a pre-Tour de France test. "For me this race has been a good trial. I have shown myself on the high mountains, in passes of 2,000 meters, and believe that I am in good shape in the build-up to the Tour. Even in the last stage we had to work on category one passes... a very hard race."

There are rumblings in the BiciRace.com headquarters. The staff has looked at the schedule, and sure enough, the Tour is once again in July this year. We are concerned that Vino's form may be a little advanced for this time of the year if his intentions are for the Maillot Jaune in Paris. But Vino is Vino, and you can't keep a good Kazakh down. Rock on Vino!

Read:
Vino to Rock Liège-Bastogne-Liège, 24 March
Vino Down with Spanish Crew, 15 December

Milram on Ronde Van Vlaanderen

Ronde Van Vlaanderen Parcours

The Milram boys have been training on the Ronde Van Vlaanderen parcours in the last few days. The team, with captains Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel, specifically covered the climbs from the Kwaremont to Muur de Grammont.

"This is the third time that I have attended the Tour of Flanders. The first time was in 1997 and the second time was 2002," said Petacchi. "Unfortunately I had to abandon both times. ... I won't start aiming to win, but it will be good for my experience and to complete my professional skills."

"The Tour of Flanders is a beautiful race. I was fourth last year and I hope to do better this year wearing the Milram jersey," said an upbeat Zabel. "This race is different from all the other races: It needs a different mental approach. I think we can do well."

The Ronde Van Vlaanderen, or Tour of Flanders, is only eight days away, on 2 April. Milram has a good opportunity with both Zabel and Petacchi, but it will be hard to defeat the likes of Boonen, Bettini, Nuyens, Van Petegem and Hincapie. Stay tuned for coverage of De Ronde here on BiciRace.com

Read:
Petacchi in Belgium, 22 March
The Northern Classics for Petacchi, 27 October

Lampre-Fondital with Cunego and Napolitano

Danilo Napolitano (Lampre-Fondital) sprinted to stage victory yesterday in the Settimana Ciclistica di Coppi e Bartali. The 25 year-old out-gunned Aussie Brett Lancaster (Panaria-Navigare) in Finale Emilia to take his second stage in the race and his third victory of the season. His teammate, Damiano Cunego, leads the overall GC with one stage to go.

Il Siciliano is proving to be one heck of a sprinter, just below the mega-forces of Alessandro Petacchi and Tom Boonen. The dark and punchy rider has notched up his palmarès in the first three months of 2006: 2 wins in Coppi e Bartali, stage win Tour Méditerranéen, 3rd GP Costa degli Etruschi, behind Petacchi and Bennati, 3-times 2nd Vuelta Comunidad Valenciana, 3rd in stage of Paris-Nice, and 5th in his Milano-Sanremo debut.

There will be a party tonight for Lampre-Fondital after the conclusion of the Coppi e Bartali. Napolitano hammered out two stage wins and Cunego blasted his competition on Thursday for the stage win and the overall. Il Veronese looks certain to take the final overall after today's final 163.6K stage 5.

Read:
Coppi e Bartali: First Win of 2006 for Cunego, 24 March
Early Start for Napolitano, 9 February

Il Treno Rosa

Belgium is ready for the pink party. The Wallonne community will have a chance to ride on the Treno del Giro for the next few months. The train, with the first three cars completely in pink, honors the 89th Giro d'Italia's visit to the northern country.

The Wallonne community worked with RCS Sport (Giro organizers) and SNCB (Belgian railroad company) to establish the special Treno Rosa. The Giro train, which was unveiled yesterday at a party in Brussels, will be in operation from 27 March to 28 June.

Why not go check out the action in person? BiciRace.com recommends getting in touch with SportsTrails to experience the passion of Italian cycling in a country rich in cycling history and good beer. [Read: Belgian Giro d'Italia with SportsTrails.]

2006 Giro d'Italia Belgian Stages
6 May, Stage 1, Seraing TT, 6.2K, Map
7 May, Stage 2, Mons - Charleroi/Marcinelle, 203K, Map
8 May, Stage 3, Perwez - Namur, 202K, Map
9 May, Stage 4, Wanze - Hotton, 182K, Map

Read:
Giro d'Italia Preview
2006 Giro d'Italia Presentation News, 12 November
2006 Giro d'Italia Presentation Photos
Giro Jitters: Italians in Wallonne, 8 November
2006 Giro d'Italia to Start in Belgium, 20 July

Two-Day Critérium International Starts

Julich the 2005 Overall Winner, photo: Graham Watson, Saunier Duval

Most of the cycling's top riders will start in the Critérium International today. The French race is a two-day, three-stage, affair that will have the presence of returning champions Bobby Julich (Team CSC).

Julich will have a strong backing from his Danish squadra, including former 2X winner Jens Voigt (1999 and 2004), Fränk Schleck and the Italian stallion, Ivan Basso.

Vuelta a España champion Denis Menchov leads the tough Rabobank crew, while Manolo Saiz will bring Jörg Jaksche to captain his Liberty Seguros-Würth squadra. Other names to keep an eye on are No-Fuss Floyd Landis (Phonak), winner of the Tour of California and Paris-Nice, and Bradley McGee (Française Des Jeux), who was forced to miss the Commonwealth Games for his team's commitments.

Kirchen Leads at Critérium

Kim Kirchen will lead the pink posse, T-Mobile, at the 78th Critérium International. Kirchen returns to competition following a two and a half week break, when back pain forced him out of stage 3 of Paris-Nice. The Luxembourgian has been in intensive training over the last few days and hopes to rediscover the good form that saw him place second behind Paolo Bettini at the GP di Lugano in late February.

2006 Critérium International, 25 - 26 March
Main, Overall Map, Photos

24 March News ...