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30 March 2006

31 March News ...

De Panne Continues with Eisel Lead

The 3 Days of De Panne continues with Bernhard Eisel (Française Des Jeux) as the new race leader. Yesterday in stage 2, he won the bunch gallop and claimed the leader's yellow jersey in the process. It was redemption, after the Austrian narrowly lost stage 1 to Leif Hoste (Discovery Channel).

"I had a problem with a puncture on the first climb today, but my teammate gave me his wheel," recalled Eisel after the stage win. "It was a long and hard chase for us to get back on. ... The rain made the course dangerous at some points. ... Then in the second half of the race there was attacking in the cross-winds, but I made the front group. The finale was controlled by Lampre. Baden Cooke, my old teammate, jumped in the last 300 meters and I got on his wheel to come around and win."

Was Marc Madiot (Team Manager) upset for losing stage 1 to Hoste? "Well, he said he was not happy, and I said I was not happy. He said 'OK then'."

"I got the jersey too?," said Eisel when learning that he took the leader's jersey from Leif Hoste (Disco). "OK! I think that Hoste will take the jersey back, especially by the end of tomorrow's time trial. It will be tough in the morning. I don't care for stages in the morning. It will probably rain again, so I will take fewer chances because Flanders is on Sunday."

Today continues with two stages based around De Panne: First a morning road stage of 119K and then the afternoon TT of 11.5K, which usually decides the final overall. Stay with BiciRace.com for coverage.

Read:
Hoste and Eisel Duel, 29 March
Eisel is Honest after Boonen Beating, 3 February

Il Siciliano in De Panne

Danilo Napolitano (Lampre-Fondital) is in the mix in most of the sprints, second yesterday to Eisel in stage 2 of De Panne, and he hopes to have victory soon. Today's morning stage of 119K could suit il Siciliano's style, and provide that last chance before he turns to domestique duties for teammate Ballan in Sunday's Ronde Van Vlaanderen.

"It went OK in the sprint," said Napolitano after finishing the yesterday behind Eisel. "But I sort of messed up. I wanted to start my sprint earlier, I would have liked to have another 20 to 40 meters, but then I was afraid of staying in the wind for too long. It is too bad because the team was strong and worked well today. For Sunday it will be me working for Ballan, but I might have my chances tomorrow morning."

Belgian History for Bettini

Paolo Bettini is ready for the northern classics, and specifically the Tour of Flanders. This weekend will be special for il Livornese, Saturday he will celebrate his 32nd birthday and Sunday he will line-up to win Flanders, one of the few that is lacking from his magnificent palmarès.

"From the moment I won my first Liège-Bastogne-Liège [2000] I was never the same," reflected Bettini on his one-day successes. "I understood that I had changed to another level of racer. ... Now I dream of Flanders. I miss Flanders in my palmarès. I know that it would be so much easier to go and try for a third Liège, but I need to find other motivations."

Of course in Bettini's Quick-Step squadra there are World Champion Tom Boonen and recent Milano-Sanremo winner Filippo Pozzato. "The combination of Tom Boonen and Pippo Pozzato does not lessen my chances, but it will make us even stronger," confirmed the Olympic Champion. "When the going gets rough and the games are played out, it is better to have two or three riders up front on the same team."

Bettini, unlike many of the riders vying for Tour of Flanders fame, is not racing in the 3 Days of De Panne. "Missing the 3 Days of De Panne is not important. My build up for Flanders is fine, even in Toscana it is full of 'walls'. On my training rides I have to hit five climbs of five to six percent. And you can also find climbs with cobbles."

The Italian fully appreciates Belgium's history and their love for two-wheels. "Here, with the Northern Classics, every race is a chapter in a grand novel... And in Flanders the fans are crazy for cycling, in their heads are cycling and also the memories of the greats, like Bartali and Coppi, or De Vlaeminck and Moser."

Juan Manuel Gárate on San Pellegrino

Juan Manuel Gárate (Quick-Step) has been inspecting the stages of the 2006 Giro d'Italia. Yesterday the Spanish Champion covered stage 19, which will take the peloton over the Passo Fedaia (2057m), Passo Pordoi (2239m) and the final climb of Passo San Pellegrino (1918m). [Stage Profile]

"It was a beautiful day," explained Gárate. "The landscape is impressive and for the first time in my life I have seen a solar eclipse at 2000 meters! The Passo Fedaia [140K] will make a selection in the peloton, and I think only the best will remain in the front. The Pordoi [165K] is a more regular climb, but the last six kilometers of the San Pellegrino will do the damage. It's a very steep climb and I think the riders will arrive one by one."

Ulle Delayed

Jan Ullrich, 1997 Tour de France Champion, was scheduled to make his 2006 debut in next week's Circuit de la Sarthe, but will face a delay. The German (32) has an "an irritation in the right knee" and wants to give himself more time before his newly scheduled debut in the Tour de Romandie (25 - 30 April).

Since early March the T-Mobile man had been dealing with "a small twinge in the knee" that had caused him some problems in his training. "I will be paying more attention to ensure the irritation heals fully, then I can start to progressively increase the training load," said Ullrich. "I was really looking forward to my first race start. There's no point complaining. I want to put this knee trouble behind me and get on with a structured build-up to the Tour."

"It would be downright negligent for Jan to race in the coming weeks and risk aggravating the injury through some miscalculated enthusiasm," said Olaf Ludwig, Team Manager. Ludwig's star is continuing his training in Toscana before going north to his base in Switzerland to prepare for Romandie.

Read:
Ulle to Sarthe and Giro, 22 March
To Toscana for Ullrich, 22 February

Barredo Out of Northern Action

Carlos Barredo (Liberty Seguros-Würth) suffered a terrible disappointment yesterday, forcing him to abandon stage 2 of the 3 Days of De Panne due to a fractured radius in his left arm. The injury will prevent him from taking part in his dream races: the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix.

"It was a fall on a cobbled section of a descent," explained the Spaniard, who went down with teammate Javier Ramírez. "It was between the 25 first riders in the pack, and around 30 or 40 riders fell. ... I am deeply depressed. So much of my time thinking about these races, and so much work for nothing... I feel impotent."

Barredo is now out of the hospital with his arm in plaster, and soon will be going back to Spain for four to six weeks of recovery. His teammate, Ramírez, in spite of the blows and bruises, had no fractures and will be able to take part in the Classics.

Read:
Barredo Aims for Classics from Down Under, 21 January

29 March News ...