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4 August 2006

5 August News ...

Paolini Satisfies Ballerini

Luca Paolini (Liquigas) put his name back in the headlines by winning the 57th GP Camaiore. Il Milanese attacked on the descent of the Monte Pitoro with 30 kilometers to go to the finish. Ukrainian Ruslan Pidgornyy (Tenax-Salmilano) joined Paolini to form a tandem to the finish, where Paolini easily took the sprint.

The importance for Paolini was two-fold: It was the first win in 11 months, since the Tour of Britain, and it secured his place on the Squadra Azzurra. Italian national DS, Franco Ballerini, was at the finish, observing the Italians ride, and it was Paolini, one of the 15 big guns in Camaiore, who gave a clear signal of strength.

"I asked Paolini for a good result and he satisfied me immediately," said Ballerini at the Toscana race. "He is a racer that knows how to give a lot to the team."

"I went in the escape and I made sure to keep my energy levels up, knowing once we got to the sprint I would be the faster than Pidgornyy," explained Paolini (29) after his 12th win as a pro. "This year I had only a third placing in Milano-Sanremo... I left the Tour [de France] feeling good; now I want Lazio and Matteotti."

With the win in Camaiore Paolini will surely be selected for the Squadra Azzurra. But what about the other big names like Cunego, Bettini, Celestino and Pozzato?

Cunego, in his first race back after winning the Maillot Blanc at the Tour, was dropped almost immediately and, after about 70K, retired, complaining of stomach pains. It is not sure whether our Piccolo Principe will race in tomorrow's GP del Lazio.

Bettini went out and tried to dominate GP Camaiore. After several attempts in the first half to disrupted the race's rhythm and form an escape, he did not have the energy to respond when Paolini went on the attack. Bettini sat up and finished with the majority of the peloton, 11'34" back.

"Bettini is working to return to top condition and I am secure that he will find the right moment," said Ballerini.

Mirko Celestino (Milram), first with the Paolini-Pidgornyy attack, kept fighting at the front end of affairs until arriving third; Celestino won the sprint from a small group of ten. Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) and Filippo Pozzato (Quick-Step) never really showed themselves during the 193.7 kilometer race; perhaps The Killer and Pippo are waiting for Lazio to put on a show.

72nd Giro del Lazio

Tomorrow, down near Roma, will be the 72nd Giro del Lazio. The race, 196K in length, starts in Zagarolo at 11.50 and finishes on a small climb to Rocca Priora.

Many big names have won this race in the past, including Moser, Fondriest, Bugno, De Vlaeminck and Gimondi. In 2004 it was the Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha and last year Filippo Pozzato, with help from teammate Bettini, polished off a stunning late summer with the win. Both Bettini and Pippo (Quick-Step) will be on the start line tomorrow, joined by favorites Luca Paolini, Danilo Di Luca, Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas), Damiano Cunego, Alessandro Ballan, Giuliano Figueras (Lampre-Fondital), Luca Mazzanti, Emanuele Sella (Panaria-Navigare) and Mirko Celestino (Milram).

Basso Case Arrives in Italy

Ivan Basso has been given his summons; 29 August, near the Olympic stadium in Roma, the Giro d'Italia winner will be heard by Franco Cosenza, the anti-doping lawyer representing CONI (Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano).

Basso (28) was in a state of disillusion when his name was linked to the Operación Puerto Spanish investigation just prior to the start of the Tour de France. His squadra, CSC, after a rushed meeting with all the ProTour team representatives, excluded Basso (30 June) from participating according to the ethical codes.

The date, 29 August, was chosen to give the CONI lawyers time to review the Operación Puerto papers and because many of the CONI staff are on vacation. But maybe the date might be moved forward. Basso and his lawyer, Massimo Martelli, have requested the timeline to be shortened so that Basso can return to racing.

The Vuelta a España starts 26 August, followed by other races of importance for Basso; the World Championships and the Giro di Lombardia. Cosenza has indicated that he is agreeable to a shorter time frame, and so we may know Basso's destiny earlier than 29 August. But it is likely that with any outcome there will be an appeal, and thus this case could drag on.

In the meantime Ivan Basso continues his training. Yesterday, Il Varesino was training on home roads for five hours; riding off the stress of his unknown future in cycling.

Read:
Di Rocco on Basso, 27 July
Operación Puerto: National Federations Receive Names, 26 July
Basso Comments on Spanish Case, 3 July
Operación Puerto: The Dismissed Tour Riders, 30 June
Bam! Tour Shaken and Basso Gone, 30 June
Basso, Ullrich and Others Asked to Leave Tour, 30 June

The Destroyer: Jens Voigt

Jens Voigt (Team CSC) destroyed his two late-stage escape companions to win Deutschland Tour stage 2. The German went clear with Kazakh Andrey Kashechkin and Italian Davide Rebellion after the final climbed of the day, leaving -17K. Early race leader, Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Channel), finished with the peloton, five seconds behind, keeping hold of the yellow jersey.

"I knew that whoever reached the final turn first would win the stage, because the last two hundred meters were downhill towards the finish line," explained Voigt after the win. "I was probably the slyest today, but of course I was also very motivated to make a good result in my home country after having done badly in the prologue because of the rain. ... It's always wonderful for me to win here in Germany, and I still feel in great shape on top of the Tour, which of course I need to make use of."

Kash Adds to Astaná Momentum

In Deucthland Tour stage 2, Alexander Vinokourov setup the late-stage escape for Astaná teammate Andrey Kashechkin. The Kazakh Champion hooked up with Jens Voigt and Davide Rebellin to ride the final 17K to the finish in Goslar. Kash, one of the four Kazakh riders riding for Astaná in Germany, was polished off by Voigt, but his effort continued the Astaná momentum that started with Bazayev's win the day before.

Vino, impressed by his mates, is keeping his German objectives low-key: "[I am here] to take the pace of competition. I am not completely back to normal, but it is expected after so much time without competing. I need more time, but I going better than I thought I would."

After the Deucthland Tour, Vino expects to ride the Clásica San Sebastián, Vuelta a España and the World Championships. "I will go to the Vuelta without so much pressure, but if I see that I am OK, I'll dispute the final general classification. If not, I will prepare myself for the Worlds."

The momentum of Astaná has made Vino proud. The team, with a very Kazakh flavor, was hurriedly thrown together in the wake of Operación Puerto and the demise of Liberty Seguros-Würth. "The team is going to continue forward," Vino said in regards to Astaná. "It has been said that we could disappear, but I am counting on obtaining a ProTour license for the next four years. ... Bazayev's victory is a good sign for the future. It is good for Assan [Bazayev] and also for the team; it gives us so much moral."

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

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

3 August News ...