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14 August 2006

15 August News ...

Pereiro Thanks Indurain

Our likely 2006 Tour de France Champion, Oscar Pereiro, gives thanks to Indurain for inspiring him to race bicycles. "Cycling was not my first love. I played football until I was 14 years-old," explained the 29 year-old Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears rider to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Over 15 years ago, Big Mig ruled the cycling world. It was Indurain's gentle dictatorship that won the heart of Pereiro; convincing the Spaniard to leave the ball behind and ride on two wheels.

"I started riding at 12 years-old, pushed on by my friends," Pereiro continued. "I liked it but it was thanks to the impressions of Miguel at the Tour that I made my choice definitive [to concentrate on cycling]. He was extraordinary. Winning and let winning. He was dominating but still a human."

Everyday during the 2006 Tour de France, Pereiro was in contact with another Spanish legend, Pedro Delgado, but he hopes to have a chance to talk with Indurain.

"I did not hear from Indurain after the Tour but I hope to meet him soon. Maybe at the Vuelta. ... I was in contact with Delgado. Practically everyday during the Tour I heard from him; his advice served me well."

The rider from Mos (northwest Spain) would only be the fifth Spaniard to win the Tour de France. Amongst Pereiro's passion for the bicycle (he was one of the few riders not to ride on carbon, saying "I want a bicycle measured to the millimeter and that rides perfectly on descents."), Pereiro is a fan of the four-wheeled rides. "I already have two BMWs, and in a week I will be gifted a Porsche 911."

Read:
Landis Ramps Up Media Campaign, 8 August
Pereiro... Winner of the 2006 Tour?, 29 July

Unstoppable Voigt, Petacchi Adds Kilometers

Jens Voigt (Team CSC) is having a run of super-hot form that is unstoppable. By winning yesterday's Sparkassen Giro Bochum, the 34 year-old from Berlin closed out a successful weekend in the wake of his stage in the Tour de France, three stages and the overall of the Deutschland Tour.

"I have to give the whole team a lot of credit. We made sure we had a rider in all the break always, and for a long time it looked like a break with among others Jakob Piil, was able to make it all the way, but they were caught with about 15-20 kilometers to go," explained Voigt via CSC after the 175K German race.

"When the peloton was all together again a lot of counterattacks were launched, and I was able to go with one of them, and it was a good group of riders. In the end I was alone with a Norwegian rider, who is supposed to be strong in a sprint finish, so I attacked on the last climb, and I was successful. At one point I had 40 seconds, but at the finish I think I only had about 20 seconds."

Jens Voigt will take a small break from racing and then start in next month's Tour de Pologne (4 - 10 September).

While Voigt was capitalizing on his super-hot form, Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) was reconstructing himself after a forced three-month rest due to a knee fracture suffered in stage three of the Giro d'Italia.

In his third race back, Petacchi completed 140 kilometers of the 175 on tap. Lo Spezzino will continue building his form with the Regio Tour, starting Wednesday, where he will have to finish if he wishes to continue in the successive stages. After Germany, Petacchi will travel to Spain for the Vuelta a España (26 August - 17 September), followed by a season finale in the Paris-Tours (8 October).

Bertagnolli Leads Cofidis for Vuelta

28 year-old Leonardo Bertagnolli will lead French squadra Cofidis for the upcoming Vuelta a España, 26 August - 17 September. Last year the Italian won the first road stage, finishing in Córdoba after 189K.

For complete information on the 61st Vuelta a España see BiciRace.com's gold pages.

Valverde Suffers Minor Crash

Yesterday, Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) suffered a minor crash in the Subida a Urkiola. In only his second race back after crashing out of the Tour de France, resulting in a broken collarbone, The Green Bullet hit the deck while going up the Urkiola. Fortunately the crash was not serious and the 26 year-old Spaniard was able to remount, finishing the race in 15th position behind winner Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

With his eighth place in Saturday's Clásica San Sebastián, Valverde added points to his ProTour lead, currently with 50 points over CSC's Fränk Schleck. The strong finish bodes well for The White Bullet (he is all kitted out in the white ProTour gear), who has his sights on the Vuelta a España and then the World Championships.

Clásica San Sebastián, 12 August, 225K, La Clásica Donostiarra
Main Page, Profile, Startlist
Report and Results, Photos
2005 Results

The End of Phonak

The end of Phonak could be near. The Swiss-bases squadra, owned by Andy Rihs and his managing company, ARcycling AG, has been rocked in recent years by their riders being involved in doping investigations. Phonak's biggest investigation to date, Floyd Landis' positive test for an excessively high Testosterone/Epitestosterone ratio in the Tour de France, is likely to result in the rider being stripped of the Maillot Jaune.

Rihs' team was scheduled to be taken over by iShares, currently a cosponsor, at the start of the 2007 season, but it appears that the company is backing out of the deal in light of the current doping investigations.

Early this year, Rihs was confident in the team's future, saying, "With iShares we are getting a partner who is renowned as a global player and one who is committed to the sponsorship of professional cycling. These are the best prerequisites for an ideal, long-term partnership."

Rihs has scheduled a press conference for next week to formally comment on the future of the Phonak squadra.

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

13 August News ...