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17 August 2006

18 August News ...

Garzelli Bis in Campione - Worlds Next

Almost identical to his 2005 victory, Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas) won the 86th Tre Valli Varesine, finishing in his birth town of Campione d'Italia. The final 2500m was all uphill with a 7% average gradient. Spaniard Mauricio Soler (Acqua & Sapone) put in one of the last pushes that setup an attack by his teammate, Rinaldo Nocentini at -500m. Garzelli (33) hooked on to Nocentini's wheel before coming around to take control of the final 300m.

Tuesday's result was payback for the Clásica San Sebastián, where Garzelli finished second behind Xavier Florencio (Bouygues Telecom), and will probably be enough to earn our Italian friend a spot on the Squadra Azzurra in Salzburg.

The season has been a long one for Garzelli, who started posting top results in early March. After a break, missing out on the Giro d'Italia, Il Varesino resurfaced in the Tour de France and is now enjoying a wonderful late summer.

"I started my season with the Milano-Torino, and since then there has not been a month were I was not seen," said Garzelli, with 23 career successes. "I have three victories: Rund um den Henninger Turm, a stage at the Tour de Luxembourg and this Tre Valli Varesine, which was the first time my son saw me win a race."

"The second place in San Sebastián... It is a magnificent course that I feel and love. At 200 meters from the line there is a roundabout, and you have to enter here in second position, instead I was in third. One rival you can pass but not two. The more I think of this race the more I regret, because certain occasions like this, which there are many when you are young, run out when you are 33 years-old."

Garzelli will continue on through the late season races and hope to be selected as one of the nine Squadra Azzurra members for the World Championships. Franco Ballerini was at the Tre Valli Varesine and he will continue to watch the progression of Garzelli through the following races.

"From here I will are the GP Plouay and Melinda, also there is the Tour of Poland," the 2000 Giro king explained. "Worlds... It is a race that captivates my energies."

Will Garzelli stay with Liquigas for 2007? "Liquigas would like to confirm, but I would like to wait. In total I have received four offers from other teams, inside and out of the ProTour. In the next ten days I will decide."

Bertolini Hopes for Squadra Azzurra after Coppa Agostoni

Yesterday, Alessandro Bertolini (Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni) took top honors in the 60th Coppa Agostoni by conquering a small group sprint of 12. The Lissone classic was the second success of the season for the 35 year-old, following his April-win in Circuit de la Sarthe stage 3. Following hot on the heels of Tonti were Andrea Tonti (Acqua & Sapone) and Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas).

"I have to thank my teammates for today," said Bertolini after winning the Agostoni, the second of three Trittico Lombardo races. "They also went well today. It was a good finale and we did not make a mistake."

Professional since 1994, Bertolini is hoping to represent Italy in the 2006 World Championships in Salzburg. "From here I am going to race all of the Italian races, starting with tomorrow's Bernocchi. My dream will be the maglia azzurra. I know I can do my work. And, with modesty on my part, I think I can do well."

Bertolini's Teams: Carrera (1994-1995), Brescialat (1996), MG-Technogym (1997), Cofidis (1998), Mobilvetta (1999), Alessio (2000-2004), Domina Vacanze (2005), Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni (2006)

Read:
Early Morning Lissone - The 60th Coppa Ugo Agostoni, 16 August

Season Over for Cunego

Damiano Cunego's season is over. Il Veronese competed in Tuesday's Tre Valli Varesine but quickly realized that he no longer had the legs to continue in 2006. It has been almost six months since Cunego's debut in the Clasica de Almeria on 26 February, then finishing eighth. In between the Clasica de Almeria and Lazio there has been a 3rd in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, 4th in the Giro d'Italia and 12th in the Tour de France.

"The Tre Valli Varesine was an ideal proving ground to understand his condition, but there was nothing," said Lampre-Fondital DS, Beppe Martinelli. "His season was an important. At the Giro he obtained finished a strong forth, at the Tour he conquered the Maillot Blanc. The people forget that he is only 24 years-old. It is better that he now pulls out the plug on his season, and that he relaxes; forgetting about all the pressures of competition."

Cunego was scheduled to race the Giro del Veneto and the Trofeo Melinda, and also competing for a spot on Squadra Azzurra, but all those plans have been dashed for a well earned rest.

Franco Ballerini, Italian national DS, was at the Tre Valli Varesine and noted that Cunego's form was waning after his exploits in the Tour.

"I have not talked to Cunego or Martinelli, but in these cases we have to talk abut his force," said Ballerini regarding Cunego. "After the Tour exploits, with the exciting Alpe d'Huez finish and the final crono, I was afraid that Cunego would not able to continue with this condition."

14 days ago, before the GP Camaiore, Ballerini made an accurate forecast: "Cunego is a winner. I don't know if he will have the brilliance necessary at the end of September, but it would be nice to have him on the same level that he demonstrated in the third week of the Tour."

AIGCP Requests Exclusion of Astaná and Phonak

The AIGCP (International Association of Professional Cycling teams) met Wednesday in Brussels to discuss the tidal wave of news surrounding Operación Puerto and the Floyd Landis' positive result at the Tour de France. With 17 of the 20 ProTour teams represented, the AIGCP requested that the UCI licensing commission to exclude Phonak and Astaná from the ProTour immediately.

"In light of the confusion and the disastrous image caused by the latest affaires, the ProTour teams unanimously demand that the UCI License Commission study the immediate provisional suspension of [Astaná] and [Phonak]," AIGCP said in an official statement.

The rendezvous, not attended by Astaná, Phonak or Ag2R Prévoyance, resulted in two key demands:

•  By Monday a decision should be made by the UCI Licensing Commission regarding the ProTour status of Astaná and Phonak.
•  Release of the names of all the riders implemented in the Operación Puerto investigation by next Tuesday.

With the announcement just two weeks before the start of the season's last Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España, it seems very unlikely, regardless of the UCI's decision, that Astaná or Phonak will take to the start line 26 August in Málaga.

Phonak, already announcing the termination of their team at the end of 2006, has been rocked in recent years by their riders being involved in doping investigations. Their 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.

Astaná, backed by a conglomeration of Kazakh companies, was hurriedly thrown together in the wake of Operación Puerto and the demise of Liberty Seguros-Würth. In Astaná's efforts to get an independent license, they have unsuccessfully attempted to buy-out former team boss Manolo Saiz, who has been strongly linked to Operación Puerto.

The AIGCP statement finished by confirming that they will continue to apply their Code of Ethics, used to dismiss Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich from starting the 2006 Tour, but that the rules needs to be better defined.

Read:
The End of Phonak, 14 August
Landis' B is Illin', 5 August
Tour Positive is Landis, 27 July
Tour de France Positive, 27 July
Operación Puerto: National Federations Receive Names, 26 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

Petacchi Builds with Completed Race

Alessandro Petacchi (Milram), reconstructing himself after a forced three-month rest due to a knee fracture suffered in stage three of the Giro d'Italia, was able complete his first race after three DNFs. Lo Spezzino, after incompletes in GP Castelfidardo, Rund um die Hainleite and Sparkassen Giro Bochum, successfully passed the first stage of the Regio Tour.

"I felt very tired," said Petacchi after the stage. "But I believe that this is normal in my condition. On the climbs I was very fatigued but I am getting better."

There was a crash in the finale involving Italians Grillo and Ongarato (road rash for both riders) but Petacchi was never at risk of going down... "The crash in the last kilometer did not pull me out of the sprint because I was already off the back."

Victory went to Danilo Hondo of Team Lamonta.

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

16 August News ...