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15 June 2006

16 June News ...

T-Mobile on Show in Suisse

German Squadra, T-Mobile, made their presence felt yesterday the Tour de Suisse. In stage 5 to Leukerbad, the pink posse took the race in hand by controlling the gap to the escapees and then setting a hard tempo on the final two climbs. It was a display of power that was intended to put 23 year-old Linus Gerdemann in the overall lead and further test Jan Ullrich's Tour de France form.

The results were mixed: Ullrich showed his strength is edging towards perfection, which needs to happen around 12 July when the Tour de France hits the first mountains, but Gerdemann was gapped off from the front runners by 26".

"I though beforehand that the final climb would shake things up more than it did. We pushed it on the climb in an effort to put Linus in yellow," said Team DS, Rudy Pevenage. "We saw that the team is firing-on-all-cylinders and working well together."

Andreas Klöden could be potential helper to Ullrich in the 2006 Tour but the 30 year-old struggled yesterday, finishing 17 minutes behind stage winner, Steve Morabito (Phonak). The German, 2nd in the 2004 Tour, suffered a setback in March with a training crash and subsequent surgery.

"Andreas does not have any problems," Pevenage continued after stage 5. "He lost 15 minutes in stage 4 after doing a lot of work for the team, which was similar to today." Klöden added, "While holding the bars I continue to have some pains." But it was the German who did a huge amount of work to bring in yesterday's six escapees, proving all may not be that bad.

Giuseppe Guerini was also seen doing a tremendous amount of work for the pink posse yesterday. "We thought that the climb would have been harder. When you are going at 30 an hour, it is impossible to try to make a difference," said Guerini. Il Bergamasco still fires at the age of 36 years-old and is almost certain to be selected for T-Mobile's Tour team.

Guerini, or Beppe Turbo, who has raced with Ullrich since 1999 (except for 2003), is impressed with what he sees in his teammate for 2006: "Jan is going very well and it at one of his best levels. Also, in respect to recent years, he is calmer, more convinced and concentrated."

"I think that he is over any sort of physical problems," continued Beppe Turbo. "And I believe that he did very well by going to race the Giro d'Italia. He started with Romandie, where he was arriving with the front group, and continued to the Giro, where he won the crono. Certainly he is not yet 100% but he does not to need to rush."

The Tour de France starts in 16 days and T-Mobile are presenting themselves as a serious threat. Ullrich is showing to be in his best form in years and will be backed by a ferocious pink posse. More will be shown in the coming days, stay tuned to the finale of the Tour de Suisse.

2006 Tour de Suisse, 10 - 18 June
Main, Overall Map, Photos, Startlist

Basso the Weather Reporter

Elisa Basso (24), sister of Ivan Basso, the 2006 Giro d'Italia champion, will be the new weather reporter for Italian television station Tg4. La Veresina, already with some television experience, will report the weather forecast for all of Italy on a daily basis. It is likely that she will describing the weather forecast for many racers who will be tuning in to know if there will be rain or sun on their race in the following days.

Basso will take the reporter position that was once held by two other lovely ladies: Eleonora Pedron and Francesca Lodo. Neither Pedron nor Lodo have brothers that have won the Giro d'Italia, therefore BiciRace.com believes that Tg4 has made a great decision in selecting Basso. We will certainly be tuning-in to get our weather reports from Elisa Basso.

Petacchi Needs 10 More Days for Bike

Alessandro Petacchi still needs ten more days before he can commence riding his Colnago bike, but from today he will be able to start some physical rehabilitation. The Milram sprinter crashed in stage three of the Giro d'Italia, which resulted in a fractured left kneecap, forcing lo Spezzino to abandon one of his major objectives and face time off the bike.

"Now am able to bend my knee 30 degrees and working with the physiotherapist we should have full movement in one week," commented Petacchi from Toscana. "It is impossible for me to get on my bike now and I know that there is still more suffering ahead of me before I make a full recovery. Working to bend my knee to 45 degrees will cause more suffering, and the lack of muscle in this area makes it very difficult."

Petacchi is working with Doctor Mario Spinelli in Pisa, and the two are calmly building Ale back up to his "Jet" self. "I will try not to rush my return so I am able to make a full recovery in less time," finished Ale.

BiciRace.com wishes Petacchi the best of luck. We will be excited to see him back in action and battling for stage wins in the Vuelta a España.

14 June News ...