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News :: June 2006

29 June 2006

José Azevedo Wears 1

José Azevedo of Discovery Channel will take race number 1 for the start of the 93rd Tour de France. The number is usually reserved for the returning winner of the Tour, but since Armstrong will not win, err take part, the number 1 is not automatically assigned.

Discovery Channel takes the numbers one through nine since they had the race winner in their ranks last year. Team DS Johan Bruyneel has assigned the numbers in the most diplomatic manner, giving the numbers in alphabetical order according to the rider's last name.

Disco and the rest of the participating teams will take part in today's presentation on Ill River. There will be four different boats floating in the historic "Petite France" zone of Strasbourg, just outside of le Palais des Rohan et le Musée d'Art Moderne.

Boat 1:
Liquigas
Bouygues Telecom
Saunier Duval-Prodir
Milram
Crédit Agricole

Boat 2:
Phonak
Française Des Jeux
Ag2R Prévoyance
Davitamon-Lotto
Agritubel

Boat 3:
Gerolsteiner
Euskaltel-Euskadi
Lampre-Fondital
Rabobank
Astaná-Würth

Boat 4:
Quick-Step
Cofidis
Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
Discovery Channel
T-Mobile
Team CSC

Presentation Boat 3 without Astaná-Würth

Alexander Vinokourov, photo: Bicirace.com

Astaná-Würth could miss the presentation today for the Tour de France. The ASO, organizers of the Tour de France, decided to exclude the team of Alexander Vinokourov from the festivities due to the ongoing Operación Puerto and a pending ruling from the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport).

The blue and yellow team has already arrived in Strasbourg and plan to make a start in the three-week race, even if missing the presentation. The CAS hearing will take place on this afternoon, with a decision expected on Friday morning. "Our position is very clear: we asked the team to not come to the Tour," confirmed a Tour de France spokesman on Wednesday.

Vinokourov feels that he has every right to race the Tour de France and has arrived in Strasbourg, ready to start the race. "Hopefully CAS will make the right decision and our team will take to the start on Saturday," said the Kazakh. "The most important thing is that we are here now. If we are able to take the start then our morale will get better from day to day."

Stay with BiciRace.com, we will have updates later this afternoon and tomorrow regarding Astaná-Würth's participation.

Green Light for Astaná-Würth

Guido de Croock, presiding judge of the Court for Arbitration of Sport, has decided today that Astaná-Würth team should not be exluded from the Tour de France.

UCI rules state that "A team or members of a team can be exluded from participating in an event whose presence can significantly harm the image of the sport of cycling or of the event." This is obviously a subjective area which the CAS feels is not sufficiently substantiated.

De Croock went on to say in his ruling that "The act of prematurely sanctioning a team that had a UCI ProTour license and indirectly sanctioning the members of that team cannot be justified by what the Spanish press says."
~Paco

93rd Tour de France - presented by , 1 - 23 July
Main, Startlist, Classifications, Tour Favorites, Team CSC versus T-Mobile
Stages and Maps, Key Stages, Overall Map
Photos, The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Simoni and Saunier Duval-Prodir Updates
2005 Results

28 June News ...