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27 March 2006

28 March News ...

Maillot Jaune for Basso

Ivan Basso took top honors in the 75th Critérium International. The Team CSC rider won yesterday's morning stage, taking the GC lead from Erik Dekker (Rabobank), and then he defended his slim lead in the afternoon's crono by finishing second. One could not help think of the Tour de France in three months when Basso stood on the podium in Mezieres to take the final yellow jersey of the French race.

Basso is also going for the Giro d'Italia. Just one day after Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital), one of his main rivals for the Maglia Rosa, took the overall in Coppi e Bartali, Basso answered back by winning the Critérium International. "This was an important moment of verification, everything went fantastically, also in the crono, where I still did not have my new bike," said il Varesino.

"The morning stage was great, we tried to win with the escape of Voigt and Schleck, then I gave it a go," continued Basso. "It was similar to the Tour of Denmark last year, which helped me build my belief in winning. ... At this start of this year the team has not won so much, but we will have a strong squadra ready for the Giro and Tour... I am sure of this."

This is one of the few seasons in which Basso has come out firing so early, the other being in 2001 when he won Mont Faron in the Tour Méditerranéen. "With respect to last year, I have started with a higher overall base. Then the test on Monte Serra confirmed," said Basso. "Now I am racing relaxed and the things come to me naturally. ... I also feel that the work, I'm doing together with Bjarne and the team, is the absolute right way for me to achieve my goals this year. This victory is an important step on the way."

The Danish CSC squadra had a further two riders in the top-10 of the time trial, where Jens Voigt and Fränk Schleck finished sixth and seventh respectively. The results bode well for the Giro d'Italia team time trial and the overall.

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

Freire Doubles in Brabantse Pijl

Oscar Freire (Rabobank) has won the Brabantse Pijl for the second year in a row. The Spaniard (30) battled Karsten Kroon (Team CSC) and Nick Nuyens (Quick-Step) to win the sprint in Alsemberg.

Freire's teammate, Juan Antonio Flecha, helped form the move of four with 7K to go. Flecha hammered the pace to keep the group together for a 'sprint finish', where his fellow Spaniard was sure to win. At one point Nuyens and Kroon moved free, but Flecha kept calm and steadily reeled them back.

"I know that this race was going to be selective and that it would be played out on the last five [16K] finishing circuits," said the 3X World Champion after his win. "Thanks to the team, and above all to Flecha, to whom I hope to repay the favor next Sunday in the Tour of Flanders. He made sure that I would be able to play my cards in a sprint finish without having to spend much of my own energy."

Nuyens Looks Good for De Ronde

Nick Nuyens (Quick-Step) was in the final move of four of yesterday's Brabantse Pijl. The Belgian desperately wanted to avoid arriving at the finish with Oscar Freire (Rabobank), where the Spaniard would have the upper hand, but he was unable to get loose.

When Nuyens (25) moved free it was Karsten Kroon (Team CSC), and then Freire and Flecha who pulled him back. "It does not make sense to me why Kroon was chasing," said a frustrated Nuyens after finishing third. "Kroon is Freire's former teammate and he should know that it is up to Freire to lead the chase. Everyone knows he is the fastest for a sprint. Freire may have not been the strongest today, but he was faster in the sprint."

There are only six days until the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, where Nuyens, winner of this year's Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, is showing he has a good chance for victory. "This was my last race before the Tour of Flanders, I will not race [3 Days of] De Panne," finished the Belgium.

Read:
Belgian Nuyens Adds Another, 27 February

No Pink Floyd (Landis) at Giro

After the conclusion of the Critérium International, Floyd Landis and Team Manager John Lelangue decided that the Giro d'Italia would not be a part of the early season build-up to the Tour de France. Landis said that the decision had nothing to do with Saturday's crash, where he came down hard on his hip.

The Californian has been hot so far this year, taking overall honors in the Tour of California and in the Paris-Nice. Those two GC wins would be plenty for any rider to fulfill a successful season, but No-Fuss Floyd has his sites on the Maillot Jaune of the Tour de France, which means axing the Giro and any chance of us using "Pink Floyd" over and over.

Instead of using the tough Giro d'Italia as a build-up to the Tour, Landis will compete in the Tour of Georgia (18 - 23 April) and the Dauphiné Libéré (4 - 11 June). In between those two tours he will reconnoiter several key stages of the Tour.

The green hearing team will now put their Giro d'Italia efforts behind Colombian Victor Hugo Peña and Belgian Axel Merckx. Spanish rider José Enrique Gutierrez and Swiss rider Martin Elmiger will also probably be on the squadra. The official roster and leader will be announced in the next two weeks.

Read:
Landis in Yellow after the Gold Rush, 9 March
Phonak to Giro with Merckx, Peña and Landis, 21 January
Floyd Landis to Race Giro d'Italia, 29 October

3 Days of De Panne Starts

The 30th KBC-Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde (3 Days of De Panne) is a three-day four-stage race that will be a strong indicator for who's hot and who's not in the following Sunday's Ronde Van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders). The established parcours takes the riders around West and East Flanders, and usually the overall GC is decided on the final stage, a crono of 11.5K around De Panne.

Filippo Pozzato (Quick-Step), 10 days after an amazing victory in the Milano-Sanremo, will take to the line as a heavy favorite. Other Italians that will be heading north to De Panne will be Alessandro Ballan, Danilo Napolitano (Lampre-Fondital), Luca Paolini (Liquigas) and Lorenzo Bernucci (T-Mobile).

Backstedt Out of Classics

Swede Magnus Backstedt was dealt a crushing blow to his 2006 season when doctors ordered him to rest for a minimum of four weeks. The Liquigas rider went down in the Vuelta a Mallorca earlier this year but he continued to train and ride, while hoping the pain would completely disappear.

After the Tirreno-Adriatico and nearly 200 kilometers in the Milan-Sanremo, Backstedt could no longer deny his discomfort. Within a few pedal strokes in the Milano-Sanremo his knee locked up and he was in total agony. Back in England he underwent further examinations to find out some bad news, Backstedt explains: "Doctors have told me that the tendon behind my left knee has a split in it. My main hamstring muscle has been compensating for it, and I was close to tearing this from the bone. Luckily we caught it in time and I now have a month of recuperation ahead of me."

"I am hugely disappointed for my teammates, my team sponsors and my fans. Nothing even comes close to trying to describe the emotional roller coaster that I have been on over the last month or so," said the 2004 Paris-Roubaix king. The Liquigas squadra was prepared to give the Swede full support for the Northern Classics and his absence now leaves a void in the team.

"I will rest and gradually build back up to be competitive for the Tour de France and the second half of the season," concluded Backstedt.

BiciRace.com wishes Magnus the best of luck in his recovery. Good luck Magnus and we hope to see you blazing to victory in the Tour de France.

Read:
Sanremo Problems for Backstedt, 21 March
Backstedt Continues to Build, 20 March
BiciRace.com Interviews the Swedish Force, 27 February

26 March News ...