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4 July 2006

5 July News ...

Caucchioli on Antibiotics

Our Veronese friend, Pietro Caucchioli of Crédit Agricole, is on his fifth day of taking antibiotics for a cold he is suffering. The Italian is at the Tour de France hoping for a great ride, aiming both at stage wins and the overall classification. Caucchioli has reason to be confident in his form; he skipped his home tour, the Giro d'Italia, this year to focus solely on the Tour de France.

"My form is good but I am taking antibiotics for the last of five days," said Caucchioli at the start of stage 2. "I started taking the medicine because I have a little bit of a cold, which has caused some respiratory problems."

The Tour de France is the widest open in years and il Veronese hopes to take advantage of this opportunity. Last year he came oh-so close to taking a stage win and experienced a solid ride in the overall classification, even though a couple of bad days put him out of the top running.

"This will be a very open Tour with all the guys that have already gone home," Caucchioli said, referring to the departure of Basso, Ullrich and Vinokourov. "I hope to do well by the time we reach Paris, in the final overall classification. My time trialing is good but I have to get over this cold. I hope to be clear of any symptoms by the time we get to the Pyrenees."

We wish Caucchioli the best of luck. "There are not so many mountains but I will try!"

Eisel Backed Up

Bernhard Eisel (Française Des Jeux) was backed up behind the bloody madness of the Tour de France stage 1 sprint into Strasbourg. The young Austrian started his sprint behind Boonen and Hushovd but was blocked when Hushovd was sliced open by a PMU advertising banner being held by a spectator. The slowing of Hushovd caused Eisel to lose his momentum and chance at Tour victory.

"I was right there behind Boonen and Hushovd, on the right side of the road," explained Eisel as we shared a caffè together at the start of stage 2 in Obernai. "We were slowed up when Hushovd hit the plastic hand, which as a result ruined my chances."

How is your right leg? It was giving you trouble the last time we talked. "It is doing better now, thanks. It was a strain that has disappeared. It will be fine for the coming sprints. Today, I hope that there will be an escape to go early to ease the stress on the peloton."

Have you been watching any of the World Cup football matches? "Yes a little," said Eisel. Who do you want to win? "I am pulling for France. I like watching. I am not a huge fan but it is good to watch after the stages."

Watch for the white FDJ jersey of Eisel anytime there is a sprint finish, with any luck the 25 year-old will nab a Tour stage sometime soon.

Caffè with Moreni and Ballan

Cristian Moreni (Cofidis) and Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital) were enjoying a caffè in the hot French sun before the start of Tour de France stage 2 when we had a chance to ask the former Italian Champion, Moreni, about his form.

"I am much better than when we last talked at the Giro," said Moreni, who dropped out of the Giro d'Italia after a crash. The Italian had a good finish in the Italian national championships, finishing eighth behind an unbeatable Paolo Bettini. "My form is good. I went well at the Italian Championships but Alessandro [Ballan, to his left] was too tough for me. [Laughs.]"

Alessandro Ballan had a great home championships by making the final move with Bettini over the San Floriano climb. "I made it over the climb with Bettini," explained Ballan while putting sugar into his caffè. "I was there to cover the move of Bettini and go for the win; Benna [teammate Daniele Bennati] was back behind us. Unfortunately, I had a cramp in my leg with about 400 meters to go." [Cristian jokes, saying that Alessandro was on flying form that day.]

Cristian, are you going to try for a stage over the coming days? "Yes. I will try in an escape but I need it to have more men," said the Italian. Like ten or so? "Yes. It needs to be a bigger move for me and then I think I will have my chances."

McEwen Scores in the 2006 Tour

Aussie Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), who avoided a crash leading into the final kilometer that stopped a large part of the peloton, sprinted cleanly to victory over Boonen and Hushovd. Bravo to McEwen for sprinting to his ninth Tour victory, his first for 2006 after three wins this year at the Giro d'Italia.

Did you expect such a tough Boonen? "I expected them all strong; also Hushovd and Zabel," McEwen said honestly. "They are not the only strong sprinters here, but today I proved to be the strongest."

Robbie "McJet" McEwen launched his sprint down the right side of the road. It was a long effort but he was able to hold off Hushovd and Boonen coming up behind. Hushovd came so close that his front tire touched McEwen's left foot just meters before the line. Both men, being professionals, were able to keep upright and shook hands after the finish, acknowledging that the incident was all part of the game.

"I talked to Thor after the finish. We watched the video replay. He came near with his front wheel rubbing on my left foot," continued McEwen. "I started on the wheel of O'Grady. As I came past, O'Grady started to come past Zabel... I rode a straight line. I felt something against my foot so I pulled to right a little. Afterwards I saw that it was Thor Hushovd. We both talked about it after the stage, so it was no problem."

To pull off his ninth stage win in La Grand Boucle, McEwen relaxed in the peloton all day while Hushovd and Boonen wore themselves out by battling for the intermediate sprint points. Did it help by having the two going for the sprints? "I know it helped me staying fresh. I don't know for those guys. Some guys like to do a few sprints to get their motor warmed up for the final sprint. You'll have to ask them to get their opinion. Some guys like to get the two points along the road, and other guys put all their eggs in one basket, like me; getting 35 points on the line for the win. But Hushovd has the yellow jersey, me the green, so we are both happy.

Was this stage win special for you? "It is the ninth one, but every Tour win is different and special in their own way. You can't forget the fact that I just turned 34 years-old. They say that sprinters slow down as they get older and I have shown my speed is still there. Every year you start again fresh with a big zero on the scoreboard and you have to come here to score. I just got a score so I am happy.

The stage, finishing in Esch-sur-Alzette, just over the Luxembourg border, was blazing hot. "It made everyone thirsty. [Laughs.] No, it was the same for everyone," continued McJet in regards to whether or not the heat played a factor in his win. "You got to make sure you drink a lot and just deal with it. It is a lot harder on those guys that have to go back and get the water bottles from the car."

One of the Aussie's helpers is Fred Rodriguez. L'Americano safely looked after McEwen today, and in the finale put his teammate into position. "Fred brought me up to about seventh or eighth position in the last kilometer. That is what I asked him to do; so he did a perfect job."

Stage 3 to Valkenburg will be a dicey affair for the sprinters who will have to hold the peloton together if their sprint captains are to have a chance. The run into Valkenburg is littered with Cat. 4 and 3 climbs, including the final Cat. 3 Cauberg at two kilometers to go. McEwen thinks that he and the other sprinters will be able to keep the race together for a sprint finish.

"I think tomorrow, stage 3 can finish in a sprint. It will be slightly different than today. It will be tough for someone to escape on those last climbs. There are lots of strong sprinters for the small climbs, like Hushovd, Zabel and O'Grady. Those guys won't be too worried about those hills and hopefully I will be there to go for a sprint."

Hushovd Back in Maillot Jaune

Winner of the Tour de France Prologue, Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), was back again at the end of stage 2 into Esch-sur-Alzette. The Norwegian wrongfully lost the race's leader's jersey in stage 1 when he was cut deeply by a PMU advertising hand in the final meters; collapsing immediately after the line in a blood bath.

Hushovd proved his strength by continuing on to ride stage 2. He fought for intermediate sprints and gained enough bonus seconds to re-take the Maillot Jaune from overnight leader, George Hincapie (Discovery Channel). "I was back and forth to the medical car all day," explained Hushovd. "Off and on I feel bad. On average I feel a bit tired. I have to take a few medicines from the stitches."

As a result, are you surprised you did this well today? "Yes. Yesterday at the hospital I thought I would not start today. Then I started and I just thought just about finishing. As the race went on I felt better. I knew I was close to taking the yellow jersey back so that is why I went hard in the sprints, but I was still feeling tired."

One of those big green plastic PMU hand almost ended Hushovd's Tour. PMU is the company that sponsors the Maillot Vert, the same jersey that Thor won last year. As a result of the stage 1 sprint the organizers have decided to ban certain advertising in the final kilometer.

"Yes. It is always a problem in all races, epically in the Tour de France. It is dangerous," Hushovd added. "Maybe they can use two barriers: one for us and one a meter back for the spectators, that way they can still have the advertising in the final kilometer."

Hushovd was back up in the sprint action in stage 2, but unfortunately the win did not go his way; he was beaten by a stronger Robbie McEwen and Tom Boonen. Hushovd had a close call when he rubbed his front wheel against McEwen's shoe just meters before the finish.

Why were you so angry after the finish? "Cause when you are in a sprint you can't see everyone with their helmets. I was scared and I thought I was going to crash. I was scared, then angry but then afterwards I calmed down. I saw the replay on the TV and I saw it was not McEwen's fault. ... Sometimes in the sprints Robbie is dangerous. But, like I said, I saw the replay on the television and it looked fine... I can't blame him today but just myself."

Tomorrow the race finish is in Valkenburg, after a monstrous parcours through Belgium and Holland. It will be a challenge for the sprinters' teams to control the escapes but Hushovd believes it is possible.

"I know that finish quite well because that is where I won the U-23 TT World Championships. I know it can be hard but I want to try. I know on a good day I can ride that hill with no problem. I think we will have the team in there and at least try to keep the yellow jersey."

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

3 July News ...