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5 June 2006

6 June News ...

Zabriskie Back in Yellow

David Zabriskie (CSC) cleaned house in yesterday's opener of the 58th Dauphiné Libéré, a 4.1K time trial in Annecy, France. The American posted a time of 4'35", which was good enough to hold off an overthrow attempt by his compatriot, George Hincapie (Discovery Channel).

"I've been training hard back home in Utah, but I have to admit I'm still a bit surprised I could take the victory today," Zabriskie (27) confirmed after the run. "But the route was perfect for me and I had a good feeling from the beginning, so I knew I could make a great result."

The American, who recorded his seventh career victory, will wear the leader's jersey in stage one. "It's a tough race, but of course I'll try to hang on to the leader's jersey as long as I can. I've improved my climbing skills, so now we'll just have to wait and see how far I can go," finished Zabriskie via CSC.

Very similar to the 2005 Tour de France, when the American won stage 1 and took the Maillot Jaune, Zabriskie stamped his authority on the competition and will now take the leader's jersey into today's stage. Just how long CSC will want to defend Zabriskie's lead will have to be seen. Today, with a relatively simple stage one, should see the American keep the jersey. More importantly, the future, in particular July, looks really good for Zabriskie.

2006 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, 4 - 11 June
Main, Overall Map, Photos, Startlist

Vande Velde Doubles in Luxembourg

Team CSC and the Americans scored a double victory yesterday: Zabriskie winning the prologue in the Dauphiné and Christian Vande Velde taking overall honors in the Tour de Luxembourg. Steady riding and strong CSC backing over the five-day race led the 30 year-old to GC victory.

Vande Velde explained via CSC: "I was a bit nervous before the stage, but as soon as we started, I was OK. Right from the beginning of this race I've been supported by some fantastic teammates and today they made sure everything was under control. I'm very happy to have won and it really boosts my motivation for the upcoming races."

What race the American does not refer to is the Tour de France. The CSC squadra is stacked with talent and finding a place on the Tour team is very difficult. The selected crew will fight for an Ivan Basso win on the roads leading to Paris. Vande Velde, after an early season crash that put him off the Giro d'Italia team, has now proven his worth and we hope CSC sees it the same way.

Team DS, Tristan Hoffman, pleased with Vande Velde's win, added: "We were on top of things today and it was great to seal Christian's victory. Very often he's the one, who's pulling hard for the other guys, so he really deserved to be on top of the podium."

Garzelli Wins Again

Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas) is really impressing the crew at BiciRace.com. Told to skip the Giro d'Italia for the first time in his career, to make way for Di Luca, il Varesino reworked his spring schedule for a planned participation in the Tour de France. Building for the Tour he has achieved two victories, the second coming in yesterday's final stage of the Tour de Luxembourg. At the end of the 149K stage, Garzelli blasted past the group of 15, winning the sprint in front of home-hero Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile).

In his tenth season as a pro, Il Varesino displayed steaming hot form all spring but kept narrowly missing out on victories. Shortcomings in the GP Miguel Indurain, Milano-Sanremo and the Milano-Torino were finally corrected on the first of May with a win in the Rund um den Henninger Turm. The typical mountain-man bettered a selection of top-notch German sprinters to record a victory just prior to going on a scheduled break.

With the break over, Garzelli is back and building for La Grand Boucle, showing he's on track with yesterday's win. "The years pass and victories require more suffering, so there is even more joy with every win," explained the 32 year-old. "My condition is rising, at the Tour de Suisse I would like to come to my maximum form in light of the Italian Championships and the Tour de France."

"At the start of the season I was thinking of the classification at the Tour," continued Garzelli. "115K of time trialing is a lot for me, and with three or four mountain stages that could suit me, maybe I could finish eighth in the classification, so instead it is better to concentrate on a stage win."

Garzelli's teammate, Danilo Di Luca, after a lack-luster performance at the Giro d'Italia, has announced his intentions to race the Tour de France. Will Di Luca be stepping on Garzelli's toes? "In his position, I would have made the same decision," Garzelli confirmed. "Otherwise he remains in doubt, and that is worse. It is better to try. Danilo is only 30 years-old. ... To race the Tour with him means that we can divide the responsibilities. It is better."

Read:
Italian Garzelli Shows Grit by Blasting Germans, 2 May

Rujano Wins in Quick-Step Jersey

José Rujano, freshly transferred to Quick-Step from Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni, has taken victory in the 1st Trofeo Ergon. The Venezuelan won the unofficial criterium, held in Pieve Vergonte (Piemonte), in front of Ivan Basso (Team CSC) and Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital).

Rujano will now travel back to Venezuela for training and then return to Europe just prior to the start of the 2006 Tour de France.

Read:
Rujano with Quick-Step, 3 June

Ullrich: Two More Years

While making an appearance on a German television show, "Aktuellen Sportstudio", Jan Ullrich announced that he would like to race for one or two more years.

"I will continue to race for one or two more seasons," said the 32 year-old German. "A lot will depend on how it goes at the Tour de France."

Ullrich is under contract with the German T-Mobile squadra through the end of the 2006 season. In addition to racing for the overall victory of the Tour, the 1997 Champion will have his mind on securing a favorable contract.

3 June News ...