BiciRace.com

• News
• Races
• Photos
• Interviews
• Inside Scoop
• Gear & Gadgets

19 June 2006

20 June News ...

Ulle is King

"I have returned. I am still the king," quipped Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) while continuing his path of destruction on the way to the 93rd Tour de France. Backing up his winning crono performance in the Giro d'Italia, the 32 year-old German won the final stage crono of the Tour de Suisse, gaining enough time on Jaksche and Gil to move from third to first on the general classification.

It was the second time for Ullrich (32) to win the Tour de Suisse, the first being in 2004 when he nudged out Fabian Jeker for the win. In 2004 he went on to have his worst ever Tour de France, finishing fourth overall, but this year he appears to be in the best of form for a repeat Tour victory.

Do you think there is any correlation between 2004 and 2006? "I am not superstitious and I don't think this way. What is certain is that I feel much stronger than two years ago," said Ullrich after the stage.

All the doubts about the German's training and early season race preparations have been put to rest. Earlier this year he was hampered by knee problems and did not start his season until very "late" in the Tour de Romandie. Though Ulle rode well in Romandie there were still doubts about his longevity but the answers were supplied when he raced nearly all three weeks of the Giro d'Italia and handed out a crono thrashing on the Toscana roads in stage 11.

"This was a very important test and to win was always difficult," Ullrich added after turning his 50" deficit to a 24" advantage on Koldo Gil (Saunier Duval-Prodir). "I believe that I have made the best possible preparations for the Tour... Before the Giro and then here with 22 thousand meters of climbing. It was a good path to take in view of the Tour, and this victory is a confirmation."

Ullrich, unlike his key Tour rival, Ivan Basso, plans on taking part in his nation's championships. This Sunday will be Ullrich's last race before the Tour de France. The German is scheduled to line up for the road race, where he has won twice before (1997 and 2001).

"I will take two or three days of rest with my family," continued the Suisse winner. "I think that some time relaxing will do me well, also for my head. Then I will start doing motor pacing. No more mountains, I have had enough. What I have already done is sufficient. Then Sunday I will probably race the German Championships."

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

CSC Wins Eindhoven without Basso

The CSC team time trial juggernaut did exactly what the world expected them to do: win the second annual Eindhoven Team Trial. What was more impressive is that they raced without Ivan Basso, who was pulled out of the race at the last minute.

Lars Bak, Michael Blaudzun, Bobby Julich, Christian Müller, Stuart O'Grady, Brian Vandborg, Jens Voigt and David Zabriskie were the eight-men to contest and win the second running of the Eindhoven team crono. The team posted well at all checks and put 42" on Discovery Channel by the finish. It was a good showing and one that helped Team Manager Bjarne Riis make his final decision regarding which riders to take with Basso to the Tour.

Ivan Basso was slated to use Eindhoven as his final stop before the Grand Départ in Strasbourg on 1 July, but plans were changed after the reconnaissance trip in the French Alps. Upon returning to Toscana, Riis determined that the 2006 Giro d'Italia champion was on target and that further racing would push Basso's form too far ahead of schedule.

Il Varesino is expected to make an appearance in London this week for a brief CSC company convention before resurfacing on 1 July in France.

Team CSC's Tour de France Squadra

Team CSC has selected the following riders for this year's Tour de France: Ivan Basso, Carlos Sastre, Fränk Schleck, Jens Voigt, Giovanni Lombardi, Stuart O'Grady, Bobby Julich, David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde.

Team Manager, Bjarne Riis, via CSC, said of his selection: "As so often before it has been a difficult task to select the remaining riders for this team, because we have so many, who are in great shape and who have the motivation to do well in the Tour de France. But it is a luxury for us to have this problem, and I'm proud our team has reached a point, where we have so many strong riders at such a high level."

"We are bringing a fantastic team to Tour de France this year. When you look at the names, you cannot help but notice, that this is a team to be reckoned with – a team which has the foundation to be one of the dominating ones in the 2006 edition of the Tour.

We go to France this year with one ambition: To win with Ivan Basso. After his victory in the Giro, and with the training he has done in the period since then, I have no doubt he is ready for this next big challenge. He has the class, the willpower and also the team behind him to be one of the favorites," finished Riis.

BiciRace.com is happy with the strong American presence in the 2006 Tour de France Squadra. Julich, Zabriskie and Vande Velde all are solid domestiques who will pull out all the stops to help Ivan Basso win.

Phonak Announces Tour Crew

Swiss-based Phonak will head to the Tour de France with a very international squadra. Their nine selected riders hail from nine different countries: Spain, Belgium, Germany, Holland, France, South Africa, Switzerland, Colombia and the United States.

"It was important to find a good balance between good climbers and pacesetters," said Team Manager John Lelangue explaining his criteria for selecting the Tour crew.

Representing the USA is No-Fuss Floyd Landis. Landis is a hot favorite to win the Tour, with early season wins in the Tour of California and Paris-Nice, and will be backed by a strong multi-national crew. The crew: Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero, Axel Merckx, Bert Grabsch, Koos Moerenhout, Nicolas Jalabert, Robert Hunter, Alexandre Moos and Victor Hugo Peña.

"We want to win the Tour. That has to be the goal. We will do everything we can to reach that goal," Landis stated.

17 June News ...