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9 August 2006

10 August News ...

Erik Dekker Hangs Up His Cleats

Dutch hardman Erik Dekker has decided to put an end to his 14 year professional career after the injuries he sustained in stage 4 of this year's Tour de France. Dekker went down hard with Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) and was forced to abandon the race.

Dekker's illustrious career began right after the 2002 Olympics in which he earned the silver medal for his second place in the road race. He immediately turned pro after that, but his career didn't reach its zenith until 2000. It was that year when he pulled a hat trick in the Tour de France with an incredible three stage wins (recall: "Triple Dekker"). He followed the Tour success with wins in the Clásica San Sebastián and Tour of Holland. 2001 saw him win his beloved Amstel Gold race ahead of Lance Armstrong.

In total, Dekker amassed 72 victories as a professional cyclist. Everything from cobbled road races to time trials were in the flying Dutchman's palmarès.

The announcement to retire came yesterday (8 August) in Zwolle, Holland, before by his final race in the Gouden Pijl criterium. Obviously, a rider of Dekker's caliber would have liked to bow out on a more positive note, however, his injuries from stage 4 of the Tour kept him from returning to his top level.

Dekker will continue in the orange colors of Rabobank, this time however, it will be as a director sportif.

Tonti Excels, Cunego Deflates

30 year-old Andrea Tonti (Acqua & Sapone) pulled off his second win of the season, this time on home soil. The rider from Osimo (Le Marche) won a stage earlier this year in the Euskal Bizikleta and, yesterday, he put in an attack in the last kilometer to win the GP Mengoni.

Tonti gained around 10 meters on a strong group of 36 riders after a hard and well-fought race. After winning, the Italian dedicated the victory to his son, who was born four months ago.

Tonti, an experienced professional, has raced for eight seasons, including time as a domestique to the likes of Simoni and Cunego. Yesterday, 67 days after his last win, Tonti confirmed his good form for 2006, which included many placings. His season has not gone unnoticed. Patrick Lefevere, Team Manager of Quick-Step, has contacted Tonti for a possible transfer to his ProTour squadra.

Also on Tonti's mind is Azzurra (or that famous Italian shade of Blue). The Italian national DS, Franco Ballerini attended yesterday's race and noted Tonti's performance.

"He is a racer that I like a lot," said Ballerini, who is responsible for selecting the Squadra Azzurra for the 2006 World Championships. "It is true that he has made a good impression and he is already on my list of candidates for the Worlds."

Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital), after racing two Grand Tours this season, was blasted in yesterday's final; he lost 11 minutes in the last 16K. "At a certain point I started to have negative sensations. I am deflated. We will have another look this Saturday in San Sebastián."

Petacchi Restarts Today in Castelfidardo

Today Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) will pin a number on his back for the first time in 93 days. The 32 year-old's last race was 8 May, stage three of the Giro d'Italia, where 47K from Namur he hit the deck while on a wide sweeping right-hand, slightly downhill turn.

"I have never immediately stopped for such a long time in my career," said Petacchi. Today Lo Spezzino will race in the GP Castelfidardo, wearing number 25. The race, the second day of the Due Giorni Marchigiana, is a 199.7K long, ending with 11 circuits of 15.4K in Castelfidardo.

"I don't want to rush, I don't want to unbalance myself before having listened to the race responses. I have just completed a week of intensive training, including climbing and up to five-hour rides. ... But tomorrow [today's Castelfidardo] I will start to understand many things."

Petacchi does not want to push his body too hard; his end of season goals are the Vuelta a España and Paris-Tours but he only gives himself a 70% chance of starting in the Spanish tour. Likely it will be a winter of intensive training, and then we can see Petacchi back to his "Jet" self in 2007.

"This winter I will really have to work hard. I need my left leg to return to the same level as my right. The muscle is still three centimeters shorter. ... [The tifosi] can remain calm; I have not forgotten how to win a sprint," confirmed Petacchi, with 116 total career wins.

Read:
Petacchi Returns in GP Castelfidardo, 7 August
Petacchi Races 12 August, 28 July
Petacchi Needs 10 More Days for Bike, 15 June
Petacchi Continues Rehab, 1 June
Giro Over for Alessandro Petacchi, 9 May

Voigt Tour of Germany

Jens Voigt (CSC) not only did enough to defend his Deutschland Tour yellow jersey but he also dominated yesterday's 38.2 time trial. The German went one minute faster than the previous best time, set by Laszlo Bodrogi of Crédit Agricole, to win the stage and effectively win the race overall. Barring any mishap in today's final stage, a 172K sprint stage, Voigt will take be crown king of his home tour.

"I felt, I could win another one today, so I went for it with the best I could," commented Voigt after the crono, now with a total of three stage wins in the Deutschland Tour. "I even surprised myself, when I won the mountain stage [stage 6], but today [Tuesday] I knew in advance that my chances were good, even though I was up against some really fast riders."

With three stage wins in the Deutschland Tour and a likely overall victory today, the Voigt's popularity will soar even higher in Germany.

"I am delighted because this could be my last chance to win this Tour," said the 34 year-old from Berlin. "The conditions were ideal; not too warm and not too cold. I started really quickly to motivate myself and give myself an extra kick, and intimidate the others too."

Today's final stage, from Bad Krozingen to Karlsruhe, should not give Voigt many difficulties.

The German finished: "It looks good as it is relatively flat to Karlsruhe. If I don't fall I have faith in myself."

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

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

8 August News ...