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14 April 2006

15 April News ...

Raisin Out of Coma and Breathing

Saul Raisin (23) is making huge improvements: The American is off of the ventilator, breathing on his own, and has come out of his coma. The doctors had Raisin on a ventilator to relieve strain on his body, and to help with his recovery from the hemorrhage he suffered.

"The doctors have now taken him off the ventilator," said Team Manager Roger Legeay. "They are planning to take Saul from the intensive center in the next couple of days. It's a big relief for us, even though we are at the very early stages. They still don't know what the consequences of this serious crash will be."

The American crashed in stage one of the Circuit de la Sarthe (4 April), and was immediately taken to hospital in Angers (France) to be treated for head injuries. Raisin faced emergency surgery two days later to remove pressure to his brain caused by an erupted hematoma. Other than the serious head injuries, he has three fractures: shoulder, collarbone and rib. ... We wish Saul the best!

Read:
Improvements for Saul Raisin, 12 April
Saul Raisin Update: Coma but Living, 8 April
Saul Raisin is in Stable Condition, 6 April
Crash-Fest in Sarthe: Raisin, Lancaster, Dominguez and Farrar, 5 April

Beer Race Odds by Paolo

BiciRace.com once again met with odds-maker Paolo for a caffè. We found him in Piazza Garibaldi to get his odds on 1) this weekend's weather in Italy, and 2) the Dutch one-day classic, Amstel Gold Race.

Paolo likes his Italian riders, as does BiciRace.com, and he pointed towards Il Grillo, Paolo Bettini, as a likely winner. Il Livornese has amazingly never won the Beer Race and thus it would nicely round out his palmarès. The Olympic Champion's form is coming back to where it was before he crashed in the Tirreno-Adriatico, which is one level above blazing-hot.

Behind Bettini is a list of Spaniards and Rabo-Men. Odds-maker Paolo likes 21 year-old Thomas Dekker of Rabobank, who bases himself in Italy, but will be racing this Sunday in his home country. Dekker will have the backing of a strong team, namely Michael Boogerd, Erik Dekker and Oscar Freire, who are all capable of winning the race on their own.

Paolo warned us of a possible Spanish coup: Valverde is spectacular on these types of sprinting-climbing parcours, Astarloa is reliable, and Gomez Marchante and Sánchez are flying after Vuelta al País Vasco.

If you are in Italy, you will probably be indoors, Paolo says it will rain, so why not gather around the TV and place some bets. BiciRace.com has rolls of Deda handlebar tape that we will be betting with our friends.

Odds by Paolo:
Paolo Bettini (Quick-Step) 1-6
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) 1-8
Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) 1-10
Oscar Freire (Rabobank) 1-10
Igor Astarloa (Barloworld) 1-15
Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital) 1-15
Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 1-15
Fränk Schleck (Team CSC) 1-20
Karsten Kroon (Team CSC) 1-20
Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) 1-20
Filippo Pozzato (Quick-Step) 1-25
Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile) 1-25
Leonardo Bertagnolli (Cofidis) 1-25
Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) 1-25
Jens Voigt (Team CSC) 1-25
Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros-Würth) 1-30
Erik Dekker (Rabobank) 1-30
José Angel Gomez Marchante (Saunier Duval-Prodir) 1-40
David Etxebarria (Liberty Seguros-Würth) 1-40
Luca Paolini (Liquigas) 1-40
Axel Merckx (Phonak) 1-70
Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel) 1-70

Liquigas ready with Paolini, Garzelli and Di Luca

BiciRace.com takes a look at one of our favorite Italian teams: Liquigas. The Green gassy boys will be lining up in the Ardennes with a strong squadra: For the Amstel Gold Race they will be without last year's winner, Danilo Di Luca, but will pack heat in the form of Luca Paolini and Stefano Garzelli. Di Luca, preparing for the Giro d'Italia, will make his appearance in la Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"I am aiming specifically at Amstel," said Paolini, who has had his share of bad luck in the Tour of Flanders. "Amstel will be important for me because the squadra for Flèche and Liège will have other leaders, Garzelli and Di Luca. ... My form is there. I felt good at Ronde [Van Vlaanderen] and in the following days I worked to maintain the condition and, if possible, improve."

Garzelli, who won't be racing the Giro d'Italia this year, will want to explode the Ardennes, especially Flèche and Liège which suit his climbing abilities. The 32 year-old rider from Varese will try to take his same fiery form that he had in the Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco to the Wallonne region of Belgium.

Finally, The Killer, who is pointing towards the Maglia Rosa in May, will try for victory in Liège if there is an opportunity. The Belgian parcours suits his skills perfectly, but he has to keep cool if he wants to achieve his goal of Giro greatness: "I am not racing Amstel, which I won last year, because I need more time before the Giro starts," said Di Luca. "At Flèche and Liège I will race... My condition is rising and I might try to take something on the roads in the Ardennes. I need to test myself after my intense training that I did following the Vuelta al País Vasco."

Yesterday Di Luca was out testing the Colle San Carlo, which concludes a few kilometers before La Thuile in stage 13 of this year's Giro. After Liège, in the two weeks before the Giro, The Killer will cover other important climbs like Monte Bondone (stage 16), Plan de Corones (17) and Passo del Mortirolo (20).

Read:
Form Continues for Garzelli, 7 April
Liquigas with Paolini and Garzelli, 19 March

Liberty Seguros-Würth for Amstel and Ardennes Classics

This Sunday at the Amstel Gold Race in Holland the Spanish Liberty Seguros-Würth squadra will bring a team stacked deep with talent. Lining up for the Amstel Gold Race will be Allan Davis, Andrey Kashechkin, Jörg Jaksche, David Etxebarria, Alberto Contador, Koen De Kort, Ángel Vicioso and Marcos Serrano.

For Flèche Wallonne, which will take place on 19 April, the same team will be present except for Koen De Kort, who will be replaced by José Antonio Redondo.
- Paco

Finally, for Liège-Bastogne-Liège on 23 April, Allan Davis will relinquish his spot to the crazy Kazakh, Alexander Vinokourov. The rest of the team will be the same. It remains to be seen if Vino will attempt to repeat his stunning win from last year in Liège, as he now has his sights firmly set on peaking for the Tour de France in July.

Quick-Step for Holland Beer Race

The dust has settled on the pavé of Flanders and Roubaix and Quick-Step is reloading their gun for the Ardennes. The Ardennes Week starts Sunday with the Amstel Gold Race in Holland, and the names of the protagonists have changed.

World Champion Tom Boonen is on a vacation after winning the Tour of Flanders and placing second in Paris-Roubaix, taking the roll of team leader will be the Olympic Champion, Paolo Bettini. At the side of Il Grillo will be Filippo Pozzato, Serge Baguet, Kevin De Weert, Ad Engels, José Antonio Garrido, Bram Tankink and Cédric Vasseur.

Hondo Back on the Road

Danilo Hondo, who was suspended by the UCI for two years, has inked a deal with the German Continental Team, Lamonta. Hondo was recently absolved by a Swiss court for his doping infraction allowing him to again race his bike.

Hondo would ideally like to be on a ProTour team, but Team Lamonta will get him back on the road and racing in a timely manner. "My objective is to make a return to racing with a ProTour team," said Hondo.
- Paco

13 April News ...