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11 August 2006

Shortening Grand Tours: Bad Idea

Wednesday, the President of the UCI, Pat McQuaid, announced that he would not be opposed to the idea of shortening the Grand Tours to combat doping in cycling, saying, "It is necessary to reflect on the reduction of the duration and difficulty of the Grand Tours." McQuaid further explained his position to L'Equipe, adding, "The problems of doping mostly come from the three Grand Tours, and if a the group of experts say that it is not possible to race three weeks without doping then we will reflect on changing some things: shorten the events, insert more rest days, contemplate shorter stages."

The UCI is considering reducing the length and severity of the Grand Tours (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España) starting in 2008. A special commission is being selected by the UCI to study shortening the three-week races.

"Shortening the Grand Tours? Foolishness. Said by someone that does not understand anything about cycling," said Gilberto Simoni, two-time winner of the grand Giro d'Italia, to La Gazzetta dello Sport. "How is it the cause [of doping] comes from stage races; strangely, in the one-day Classics it is easier to elude the controls. The true problem is that among the professionals there is no longer identity; anyone nowadays can turn pro and, if they don't get results, at the end of the season they are let go and lose work. Here, this is why there is dope."

Francesco Moser, winner of the 1984 Giro d'Italia, said, "It is a disaster to think of a Tour or a Giro being shorter. ... [Maybe shortening the stages] because, at times, so long they don't make sense, neither for the public nor for the teams."

"I don't believe that the solution will be a deterrent for doping, also because there is doping to win a one-day Classic," said Gianluigi Stanga, Milram Team Manager. Smartly adding, "In any case, I don't see the situation so tragic like everyone says. They make the tests, then falls the winner of the Tour, you would want to say that it is functioning and that no one is spared."

Finally, Marco Pinotti, FCI Cyclist Representative and contributor to BiciRace.com's Inside Scoop, had his say. "Shortening the races like the Tour, the Giro and the Vuelta to battle doping, to me this does not seem like an ideal solution. ... Doping? They can make more surprise checks."

BiciRace.com applauds McQuaid's desire to clean up cycling but we expect he will have even more opposition if he wishes to push the issue of shortening the Grand Tours. These races, along with the one-day Classics, are the backbone of cycling and should not be altered. The riders who currently cheat would still seek artificial means to win even with "easier" racing.

Read:
McQuaid Shortens Grand Tours, Prudhomme Disagrees, 10 August

Manuel Beltrán Goes Green

Manuel Beltrán will come over to the boot of Italy; the Spaniard (35) signed a one year deal with Italian ProTour team Liquigas. Triki is expected to be the Liquigas captain in the 2007 Vuelta a España, where in 2003 he archived his best result, third, while riding for US Postal.

Triki moved to US Postal mid-season after the fall of Team Coast in 2003, where he successfully served on Lance Armstrong's winning Tour de France team for three years. Professional since 1995, Beltrán will be a great addition to Liquigas.

Past teams: Mapei-GB (1995-1996), Banesto (1997-1999), Mapei-Quickstep (2000-2001), Team Coast (2002), Team Coast and USPS (2003), USPS (2004) and Discovery Channel (2005-2006).

Bettini and Cunego for Clásica San Sebastián

The Italian Champion, Paolo Bettini, is ready to tackle the Basque hillside in the Clásica San Sebastián. This Saturday he will line up in the Spain's one-day Classic as a favorite, being backed by a strong Quick-Step squadra. The complete Belgian squadra for San Sebastián will consist of Paolo Bettini, Serge Baguet, Addy Engels, Juan Manuel Gárate, José Antonio Garrido, Jurgen Van de Walle, Cédric Vasseur and Geert Verheyen, with Serge Parsani directing from the team car.

Damiano Cunego will captain Lampre-Fondital in San Sebastián. Il Piccolo Principe will use his good post-Tour de France form, where he won the Maillot Blanc as best young rider, to try and win his second major one-day race. Cunego will be backed by Marzio Bruseghin (6th in Deutschland Tour), Salvatore Commesso (brilliant in Giro del Lazio and GP Mengoni), Giuliano Figueras (winner of Giro del Lazio and 5th in GP Mengoni), Evgeni Petrov (5th in Deutschland Tour), Paolo Tiralongo (Cunego's usual sidekick) and Patxi Vila (racing on his home roads of San Sebastián).

Beppe Martinelli will be the DS in the team car.

Clásica San Sebastián, 12 August, 225K, La Clásica Donostiarra
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2005 Results

Mayo Wins Vuelta a Burgos

Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) triumphed in the Vuelta a Burgos, a five-stage race that concluded yesterday in Spain. The Basque, who abandoned the Tour de France stage 11 en route to Pla-de-Beret, won the overall with 49" on José Antonio Pecharroman (Comunidad Valenciana) and 51" on Daniel Moreno (Relax-GAM).

Mayo, who back in June won the Dauphiné Libéré mountain battle to La Toussuire, looks set for an impressive Vuelta a España, starting 26 August from Málaga.

Contador Crashes in Vuelta a Burgos

Alberto Contador (Astaná), after finishing fifth Vuelta a Burgos stage 4, unfortunately crashed after while riding to the team bus. The Spaniard came down six kilometers from the finish line in Lagos de Neila. Immediately serviced by team doctor Sergio Quilez, Contador momentarily lost consciousness.

Alberto Contador suffered a similar accident in 2004, when he fell during the first stage of the Vuelta a Asturias. At the time, nobody attributed the accident to a vascular injury, but a few days later Contador suffered a crisis at home and, after being transferred to the hospital, a blood clot was discovered in his brain. After a surgically intervention, Contador was able to recover and return to competition in 2005, where he won the queen stage of the Tour Down Under, in Australia.

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

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