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3 August 2006

4 August News ...

Ballerini's Squadra Azzurra List

Today, with the start of the GP Camaiore, Franco Ballerini will kick in motion his selection process for the 2006 Squadra Azzurra. Sure the Italian national DS has had names in his head since last year's World Championships in Madrid but now his list is truly taking shape.

GP Camaiore, 193.7K affair with the climb of Monte Pitoro appearing six times in the finale, should bring about an indicator of who is rising for the fall appointment in Salzburg, 24 September. "Staring from this race my expectations for the Worlds team will be made more concrete. In my notebook there are still 30 names," said the former professional, Ballerini.

The known names that are floating around for a chance to caption the Squadra Azzurra are Paolo Bettini, Danilo Di Luca, Damiano Cunego, Filippo Pozzato and Luca Paolini, but up to today only il Grillo Livornese, Bettini, is secured of being called to duty.

"Bettini is fixed point for the national squadra. At Camaiore, in the maglia tricolore, he will take part in his last Italian race before the Worlds. And here he has already won two years ago. ... Di Luca is an alert and intelligent racer, he has to recharge after a difficult and unfortunate first part of 2006. ... Cunego is a winner. I don't know if he will have the brilliance necessary at the end of September, but it would be nice to have him on the same level that he demonstrated in the third week of the Tour."

"Luca [Paolini] is very trustworthy and I expect with this form he is showing he will have some good results," continued Ballerini. "Pozzato is on the list but now he is ahead [of form] and has to continue to go strong like he did at Hamburg. For the national squadra we need men with the capacity to win but also to sacrifice themselves; he possesses these qualities."

Expect Bettini, Di Luca, Cunego, Paolini and Pozzato to keep their names high on Ballerini's list by showing well in today's GP Camaiore, which could be decided on the short and difficult ascent to Monte Pitoro. Don't rule out riders like Celestino, Figueras, Commesso, Mazzanti, Sella and Nocentini. These riders will want to score big in Camaiore to put their name near the top of Ballerini's list.

But Italians beware, last year in Camaiore a strong-legged Kazakh stole the show. Maxim Iglinsky, winner in the 2005 edition, will not take to the start line today but there are plenty of other non-Italian contenders.

The GP Camaiore takes place in Toscana and is always a selective race. The riders will tackle a closing circuit six times, each round including the Monte Pitoro climb, before finishing the 193.7K race. Paolo Bettini won the GP Camaiore in 2004 before going on to Olympic Gold, while Maxim Iglinsky stole the show in 2005.

Starting the 57th GP di Camaiore are 146 racers from 17 teams (four ProTour: Liquigas, Milram, Quick-Step and Lampre-Fondital). The big names on the line: Mirko Celestino (Milram), Paolo Bettini, Francesco Chicchi, José Rujano, Filippo Pozzato (Quick-Step), Damiano Cunego, Giuliano Figueras, Salvatore Commesso (Lampre-Fondital), Danilo Di Luca, Luca Paolini, Enrico Gasparotto (Liquigas), Luca Mazzanti and Emanuele Sella (Panaria-Navigare).

Ciao Milano, Giro Moves Finish Elsewhere

RCS Sport knows how to organize a spectacular Grand Tour, and next year they may finish their Giro d'Italia somewhere besides Milano. In past years RCS Sport, organizers of the Giro, have taken the peloton into Milano for the finishing promenade stage of their Grand Tour but next year there may be changes.

"We want a grand finish to the race," said Angelo Zomegnan, director of cycling at RCS Sport and head of the Giro d'Italia. "Maybe a final decisive time trial. Verona is a possibility; they have hosted two World Championships. A beautiful stage would be to run along Lago di Garda and then ending inside the Arena."

The prospect of the Giro buzzing into Piazza Bra to finish inside the high walls of the Arena is exciting. Remember back in 1984 when the city hosted the Giro's final stage? The Giro enjoyed a grand battle between Moser and Fignon, thanks in part to a low-flying helicopter. Nonetheless, the Z-Man is thinking of a finish with more of a punch.

"The reality is that there are cities that are excited to profit from such a moment. It is a question of spirit, culture and mentality. Milano no longer has these. ... It is better to go to a city where they wait for you with open arms. ... In all these years, Milano has never invested one euro to have the Giro. It is the only one of the 21 cities that is like this; in general the other cities pay around 130,000 euro. Milano has only taken the Giro thanks for the extra taxes generated and booked hotels."

Astaná's First

A wet and wily sprint in Deutschland Tour stage 1 produced a big win for Assan Bazayev and his Astaná squadra. Rain showers hammered the stage finale; after the day-long escape duo was pulled in at -18K tifosi witnessed a damp bunch gallop. German Erik Zabel (Milram) was exited to win after passing through his home town but could not contend with the 25 year-old Kazakh's power; finishing third behind Bazayev and Napolitano. Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Channel), who won yesterday's prologue, safely retained his yellow leader's jersey.

"It is the most important victory of my career," said Bazayev regarding his second career win. Last year, the Kazakh rode a great Tour l'Avenir; ending third of the final general classification.

"I am not a pure sprinter, but I am fast and I climb pretty well," continued Bazayev. "Today I had confidence, though it was difficult for me to endure the pace of the pack in the last climb. The key of the victory was to catch Erik Zabel's wheel. The German stopped in the last curve and I continued move forward to beat Napolitano."

Teammate Alexander Vinokourov helped motivate Bazayev on to greatness. "The president of Kazakhstan wishes that we win two stages here," said Vino after the stage win by his compatriot. Bazayev followed the orders of the president and he achieved the team's first victory with Astaná as the only sponsor on the jersey, which riders had used for the first time Tuesday in the time trial.

Napolitano Running Hot

Danilo Napolitano (Lampre-Fondital) had a great finish in last Sunday's Hamburg Cyclassics and a second place in Deutschland Tour stage 1, so you would think he is going great. However, the Italian's temperature is a bit hot.

The Lampre-Fondital sprinter has raced the first two days of the German tour with an elevated body temperature. Team doctors are continuing to evaluate Napolitano to determine if he should continue racing in the ProTour event.

2006 Deutschland Tour, 4 - 11 June
Main, Overall Map, Photos, Startlist

Angelo Furlan to Crédit Agricole

Angelo Furlan is returning to the ProTour. The sprinter, currently with Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni, has signed a one-year contract with French squadra, Crédit Agricole.

The 29 year-old Italian surprised all the tifosi at the 2002 Vuelta a España by winning two stages. Following 2002 he had a series of difficult seasons before coming up with a win in the 2004 Coppa Bernocchi, which earned him a spot on Domina Vacanze for 2005. After a solid year with the squadra of Gianni Savio, Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni, he will race in the classic green colors of Roger Legeay's squadra, Crédit Agricole.

93rd Tour de France - presented by , 1 - 23 July

2 August News ...