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31 March 2006

1 April News ...

Quick-Step with Cards to Play in De Ronde

Belgian power-house, Quick-Step, will arrive Sunday at 9.40AM in the market place of Brugge as the team to beat. In the blue ranks for the 90th Ronde Van Vlaanderen are Paolo Bettini, Filippo Pozzato and the World Champion, Tom Boonen.

The trio will be at the head of affairs as the race covers the final of the 17 bergs. Directed by Wilfried Peeters, you can expect the crew to be ripping the gruppo to shreds by the time the race reaches Muur - Kapelmuur (242K) and Bosberg (246K). Peeters will play the numbers, having one, or more, of these three key men in the mix for the 1350 meter cobbled Bosberg.

"I am doing really well, I feel better with respect to last year," said 2005 Flanders winner, Tom Boonen. "I decided not to take part in the last stages of the 3 Days of De Panne because the time trial would not have done much for my preparations, and I prefer to train alone. I took the time to 'race', thanks to the TV crews, the final fifty kilometers of the Tour of Flanders. ... Our team will be strong, and we know we have to be to control every moment of the race... This will not be easy."

Bettini arrived in Belgium last night, and this morning he was seen out riding the finale of the parcours with Pippo. Sunday you will want to keep your eyes locked on this Quick-Step trio.

Quick-Step for Ronde Van Vlaanderen:
Serge Baguet, Paolo Bettini, Tom Boonen, Wilfried Cretskens, Kevin Hulsmans, Nick Nuyens, Filippo Pozzato and Kevin Van Impe.

Read:
Belgian History for Bettini, 30 March
Tom Boonen's Northern Contenders, 28 March
Pippo Repays Boonen and Bettini, 21 March
Pippo Heads North, 20 March

Man of Mystery: Van Petegem

Peter Van Petegem (Davitamon-Lotto) is the man of mystery. If you were to look at his results leading up to Sunday's Ronde Van Vlaanderen you might count him out. But Van Petegem has always raced in his own style, a style which has gained him two victories in Flanders (1999 and 2003).

"I am ready for Ronde, and I know I will be able to do my race," said the 36 year-old Belgian. It is logical that Boonen and his Quick-Step team are named as the favorites, but we will try to step up to the bar."

Van Petegem is a man of Flanders, having won the race twice and born just steps away from the Kapelmuur (or Muur de Grammont). His results won't mean anything to the other favorites: the moves of the mysterious Van Petegem will be watched closely, and no one will want to let him ride free.

Davitamon-Lotto for De Ronde:
Wim De Vocht, Bart Dockx, Bert Roesems, Gert Steegmans, Leon Van Bon, Wim Vansevenant and Henk Vogels.

Flanders Change for Milram

Milram will replace two of their riders for Sunday's Ronde Van Vlaanderen. Fabio Sacchi and Alberto Ongarato will not be in Brugge market place Sunday morning. Sacchi injured his right knee in the GP Waregem, not to mention a cut to his eyebrow which required six stitches. Ongarato is still plagued by the intestinal problems, which caused him to abandon Tirreno-Adriatico and miss the Milano-Sanremo.

The squadra will be riding for Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel. The German will lead his less experienced Italian teammate over the bergs, and then possibly have an ally in the finale. Bet on Zabel to win but BiciRace.com is uncertain of Petacchi's chances.

Milram for Flanders:
Alessandro Petacchi, Erik Zabel, Maarten Den Bakker, Alessandro Cortinovis, Bert Grabsch, Enrico Poitschke, Christian Knees and Marco Velo.

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

Flemish Disco

Yesterday Discovery Channel romped to a 1-2-3 in the final stage of the 3 Days of De Panne. For the third year in a row the team has taken the overall in the Flemish stage race: George Hincapie in 2004, Stijn Devolder in 2005 and this year Leif Hoste.

Hoste jammed it down the streets of De Panne to take victory in the final stage, and steal the overall classification from Bernhard Eisel (Française Des Jeux). The Belgian and his Disco crew ruled the 11.5K time trial, behind Hoste's winning time of 14'17" were Hincapie (-14") and Devolder (-18").

The amazing Disco domination bodes well for Sunday, the crew will set a pounding rhythm over 17 climbs of the Tour of Flanders. The American squadra, like Quick-Step, has a lot of cards to play. Dirk Demol, Team Manager, will count on Hincapie, Devolder or Hoste in the finale. Having three men of their strength will be beneficial: if anyone of those riders go up the road, the other teams will be forced to chase.

Disco for Ronde:
Matthew White, Michael Barry, Stijn Devolder, Vladimir Gusev, Roger Hammond, George Hincapie, Leif Hoste and Viatcheslav Ekimov.

Odds from Paolo for Flanders

If you placed your money on Filippo Pozzato in Milano-Sanremo then you probably cleaned-house. The BiciRace.com odds expert, Paolo, did not even give Pippo in his list of names for Sanremo.

Today we caught-up with Paolo in Piazza XX Settembre. He was finishing his second "corrected" caffè under the afternoon sun when we quizzed him about the Tour of Flanders.

Paolo is not a fool, and listed the Belgian favorites, and past winners, Boonen and Van Petegem as heavy favorites. We liked to see that he tipped Alessandro Ballan as a possible winner, listing him with the same chances as Il Grillo, Paolo Bettini. We were advised to diversify our betting, "spread and win", as Paolo calls it.

There are four Quick-Step men in our list of odds, which would be a nice way to cover yourself on any Patrick Lefevere scenario. BiciRace.com encourages you to call your friends and place some friendly bets.

Paolo's Odds:
Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) 1-3
Peter Van Petegem (Davitamon-Lotto) 1-5
Paolo Bettini (Quick-Step) 1-10
Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital) 1-10
George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) 1-15
Leif Hoste (Discovery Channel) 1-15
Andreas Klier (T-Mobile) 1-15
Steffen Wesemann (T-Mobile) 1-20
Nick Nuyens (Quick-Step) 1-20
Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) 1-20
Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC) 1-25
Karsten Kroon (Team CSC) 1-25
Erik Zabel (Milram) 1-25
Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel) 1-30
Filippo Pozzato (Quick-Step) 1-30
Bernhard Eisel (Française Des Jeux) 1-30
Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) 1-35
Luca Paolini (Liquigas) 1-35
Frank Vandenbroucke (Unibet.com) 1-50

The Killer in Spain

Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) has put his dental problems behind him and will partake in tomorrow's GP Miguel Indurain and then next week's Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco. "Now the problem has been solved," confirmed the Killer (30). "I know I will be tired in the next races, but I'm confident that the training I have done, specifically in Mexico, will pay off."

Unlike last year, which included a romp through the Ardennes, Di Luca will be focusing all his efforts on the Giro d'Italia. "Liège-Bastogne-Liège will be my first true test before the Giro," confirmed l'Abruzzese of Liquigas. "I am coming on slowly and will not take part in the Amstel Gold Race."

After the Spanish races Di Luca will reconnoiter the important stages of the Giro. Still unknown to The Killer are the climbs of Plan De Corones and Passo del Mortirolo. The other key points, Passo Gavia, Passo delle Erbe, Passo di San Pellegrino and the team crono, will also be scheduled. "The rest of the stages I know more or less, especially the stages of Saltara and Maielletta, which are near my home."

The final stage of the País Vasco will be an opportunity for Di Luca to work on his crono skills. Fresh from Bianchi will be a new monocoque frame, which he expects to help him to be completely dialed-in by the Giro, only a month away.

30 March News ...