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10 August 2006

11 August News ...

Bossoni Takes Castelfidardo

Paolo Bossoni (Tenax-Salmilano) took the sprint from a nine-man group yesterday to win the Gran Premio Città di Castelfidardo, the second day of the Due Giorni Marchigiana.

The 30 year-old from Busseto scored his sixth career victory; it was almost three years since his last victory in the Coppa Sabatini (25 September 2003). Bossoni gave Tenax-Salmilano, a non-ProTour squadra and home of many of the former Fassa Bortolo riders, their seventh win of the season. Team Manager Fabio Bordonali was pouring the bubbly for everyone last night in Castelfidardo thanks to the win of L'Emiliano. Bravo Bossoni!

Andrea Tonti (Acqua & Sapone), winner of Tuesday's Trofeo Fred Mengoni, finished the GP Castelfidardo in 35th place to win the Due Giorni Marchigiana overall.

 

 

100K Return for Petacchi

In yesterday's GP Castelfidardo, Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) made his return to cycling after 93 days away. Lo Spezzino completed 100 kilometers of the 199K race; a great re-entry after a nasty crash in Giro d'Italia stage 3, which resulted in a fractured kneecap.

Petacchi, staring the race with 152 others from Piazzale del Santuario di Loreto, rode with the gruppo for the first 80K and responded well to the race rhythms and fluctuations. Then the sprint master found the race to be a little too demanding and slid to the rear of the pack; shortly after being gapped off. 20K more made for a nice 100K when Petacchi dismounted his Colnago machine in the same Piazza where the race had started.

Stopping early was a wise move for Lo Spezzino. Afternoon rains rolled in and there was no need to risk himself after coming off such a long period of recovery; recall that three times in the last years Petacchi has hit the deck on damp days. Overall it was a good re-entry for Petacchi, who has 13 wins for 2006.

"I started with the idea of finishing the race, I think that the course turned out to be more difficult than I had thought," Petacchi clarified. "I was forced to adapt to the changes in rhythm of the group. ... In general I tested myself and found good sensations, and based on this my return was positive, also because I did not have any pain in my injured knee. This fact was very important. ... I stopped early as to not force myself too much."

Petacchi will fly north to Germany for a series of races, cumulating with his first big test back, the Regio Tour (16 - 20 August). "... I will consider this my first real test. If at the end I am feeling positive then I will race the Vuelta, with my mind on Paris-Tours. After that I will end this season to forget."

McQuaid Shortens Grand Tours, Prudhomme Disagrees

Less stages and easier racing? The UCI is kicking around the idea of reducing the length and severity of the Grand Tours (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España). A special commission is being drawn up by the UCI to study shortening the three-week races.

"It is necessary to reflect on the reduction of the duration and difficulty of the Grand Tours," said the President of the UCI, Pat McQuaid, yesterday, in Karlsruhe, where the Deucthland Tour was concluded.

"Our priority is one only, to restore credibility to this sport." The Irishman hinted that these changes could come as early as 2008.

BiciRace.com admires McQuaid's desire to help cycling but we disagree with shortening the historical three-week races. It would make a mockery out of our beloved monuments while the riders who currently cheat would still seek artificial means to win. Christian Prudhomme, Tour race director, also disagrees with McQuaid's plan.

Prudhomme commented, "Those who dope don't do so because the Tour is too long, they do so to have an advantage with respect to the others."

The shortening of the three big tours will not help the ongoing battle between the Grand Tour organizers and the UPTC (UCI ProTour Council). Since November 2004 there had been a storm brewing between the UPTC and the organizers of the Grand Tours: RCS (Giro d'Italia), ASO (Tour de France) and Unipublic (Vuelta a España). The main concern of the Grand Tour organizers is losing control of their historic races to the UPTC. The ASO, with Prudhomme, leads the battle against the UPTC, and for good reason, they organize cycling's golden event: le Tour de France.

8 August: Raisin On the Road

8 August 2006, 126 days after his horrific crash in Circuit de la Sarthe stage 1, Saul Raisin is back on the road. The American took his bike on the open roads for the first time since suffering from a life-threatening brain hemorrhage. Tuesday, Saul and his dad rode side by side on the Georgia roads near their hometown of Dalton.

"Today was the best day I have ever had on a bike," wrote Raisin in his online diary. "I feel like I won a huge race. Today I road on the road for and hour and half with my Dad. It has been a little over four months since I crashed and was in a coma. Today was nothing short of a miracle."

BiciRace.com is moved to hear of Saul's "miracle." With the speed of Raisin's recovery, expect to see il Americano back racing in 2007. Vai Saul!

Voigt Seals D-Tour Victory

Jens Voigt (Team CSC) arrived safely in the cool yellow colors to cap off a dynamite Deucthland Tour. The German took the overall race honors along with three stages; stages 2, 6 and 7. Bravissimo Voigt.

"It has of course been a fantastic race for me, where everything has worked out brilliantly," concluded Voigt (34). "I finished Tour de France in great shape, and in the period in between then and here in Deutschland Tour I did some Criteriums to keep me going. I stayed serious and focused instead of partying. I've really just made sure I kept focus on this particular race, because I badly wanted to do well in front of my home crowd. It's always fun to win a race in Germany and especially a big one like this."

Voigt, you da man! The German from Berlin stamped his authority all over the nine-day affair. Adding to his Tour de France stage win, the D-Tour made for a superb 2006 season but there will probably be even more to come from this monster who goes by the name "Jens."

"... It's definitely been a nice little surprise that I was able to go this fast. It's more fun than when you expect a lot without being able to deliver. I would also like to give credit to the team, because I think they have done some fantastic work. We've had a good mix of riders, some who are good on flat stretches and some who are good in the mountains," finished the rider from Berlin.

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

9 August News ...