BiciRace.com :: News :: April 2006

News :: April 2006

26 April 2006

Savoldelli Arrives in Romandie

Il Falco Swoops 3400m Opener, photo: Tour de Romandie

Paolo Savoldelli (32) has signaled that he is on-form for the Giro d'Italia, starting 6 May, by winning yesterday's prologue of the 60th Tour de Romandie. Il Falco Bergamasco topped Valverde and McGee to win the Swiss prologue for the third time in his career (others being in 2000 and 2001).

"It is only a confirmation of that my condition is there," explained the Discovery Channel rider. "So far this year I have raced the Tour of California and the Tirreno-Adriatico, then I skipped País Vasco because I had the flu. I felt fine but I wanted to take a pause from racing."

Paolo has taken a different road to prepare for the Giro d'Italia, skipping the Ardennes Classics, unlike the other Giro contenders: Basso, Cunego and Simoni. "I preferred to follow a different program at home. The training has gone very well and I have tested all the key stages. I will arrive with 12,000 kilometers in my legs and at 69 kilograms for the Giro... 'va bene così'."

After previewing the Giro's parcours, il Falco named many difficult points: "Il Bondone, Plan de Corones, San Pellegrino, Aprica... Then there is the crono, where I have to go better than all my rivals. ... I have three advantages: I can go well overall, I am a grounded cyclist, and I am coming off of a complete season, without any big interruptions."

Il Falco will celebrate his birthday in 11 days, one day after the Giro departs from Seraing. The Disco captain will face a hard battle on the tough climbs of the final week, but with a strong squadra and high morale he could take his third Maglia Rosa. Stay tuned to BiciRace.com as we go on the road to follow the 89th Giro d'Italia!

Read:
Romandie with Ulle and il Falco, 25 April
2006 Begins for Savoldelli, 20 February

2006 Tour de Romandie, 25 - 30 April
Main, Startlist, Overall Map, Photos

Danish/Italian Rasmussen for Bondone

Rasmussen at 2005 Tour, photo: Rabobank

The Italian Stallion, err, OK... The Dane based in Lazise Italy, will line-up for this year's Giro d'Italia to prepare for le Tour de France. 31 year-old Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) is as Italian as a Dane can come: He lives near Lago di Garda and runs his own cycle shop, called "Los Locos".

Rasmussen's goal will be to help Rabo's leader, Mauricio Ardila Cano, over the passes and vie for the GC. "I will only be at 80%, and I will have to give a hand to Ardila, our man for the classification," explained the Dane.

"The Giro will prepare me for the Tour. I can't fight for the Maglia Verde, it requires someone to be at their maximum. I would like to win a stage, maybe at Bondone [stage 16] were there will be many of my friends. ... It will be a tremendous Giro. There will only be a handful of riders left by Milano."

Rasmussen is no stranger to the mountains, he won the 2005 Maillot Blanc à Pois Rouges at the Tour (climber's classification) and stage 9 to Mulhouse. Dai Michael!

Read:
Rasmussen for Giro d'Italia, 7 April

Cunego on Corones

Damiano Cunego is covering some of the key stages of the Giro d'Italia. Thursday il Veronese will preview stage 17 to Plan de Corones with Lampre-Fondital Team Manager, Giuseppe Martinelli. The duo, along with Paolo Tiralongo (Lampre-Fondital), Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre-Fondital) and Morris Possoni (Lampre-Fondital), will tackle the entire 133K from Termeno to Plan de Corones.

The stage packs three huge climbs: Passo dei Pinei (1442m), Passo delle Erbe (1987m) and the final scorcher, Plan de Corones (2273m). The final 16.9K the riders will climb 1261 meters, 7K of which is "sterrato" (gravel road). In addition to the horrible road conditions there is an unbelievable gradient of 24%! (See stage profile)

Read:
Captain Cunego and Crew for la Corsa Rosa, 25 April
13 Plan de Corones Switchbacks Named, 19 April

Cofidis for la Corsa Rosa

French Squadra, Cofidis, will head to the 2006 Giro d'Italia with two Italian captains: Cristian Moreni and Leonardo Bertagnolli. With the two Italiani will be Frenchmen Hervé Duclos-Lassalle and Amaël Moinard, Belgians Thierry Marichal, Maxime Monfort, Staf Scheirlinckx and Rik Verbrugghe and the Colombian Ivan Parra.

Parra will be eagerly awaited in the mountains by the tifosi. Last year the Colombian won two mammoth mountain stages: Ortisei (stage 13) and Livigno (stage 14, with lo Stelvio).

Monza Race Circuit Open for Cyclist

The famed Monza Race Circuit will be open to bicyclists from April to August. If you are in Lombardia, near Monza, you should ride by the Monza race circuit to have a spin on the same track used for F1 races. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, from 18.30 to 20.00, night the 5.793K circuit will be open to only bicyclists.

Monza, steeped in cycling history, is the home to cycling legend Gianni Bugno, and also the Casati and De Rosa factories.

25 April News ...