BiciRace.com

• News
• Races
• Photos
• Interviews
• Inside Scoop
• Gear & Gadgets

25 August 2006

26 August News ...

VDB is Back as Boonen

This is strange but true. Tuesday, Frank Vandenbroucke, winner of the 1998 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, was racing in an amateur race in Italy. The Belgian, released by Unibet.com in June, is free to race in the amateur categories but check this out, he was using a license with the name of "Francesco Del Ponte" with a mug-shot photo of Tom Boonen (yes, the current World Champion).

"I did not put in the photo. If I had done that then I would not have used one of Tom," said the 31 year-old to la Gazzetta dello Sport. "The name I would have used would have been 'Del Pantalone', which is the exact Flemish translation of Vandenbroucke [into Italian, meaning 'of the pants']."

"I did the event only because I need to race [at speed]," said Vandenbroucke, who competed with blue kit of the team run by Eugeni Berzin. "I know my level I want to demonstrate it, and I don't want to lose my talent. I know that I am still able to win the Classics... I am waiting for someone to call me [for their team]."

Vandenbroucke grew up in Kemmel, where there is the famous climb used in Belgian's Gent-Wevelgem. His uncle, Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke is a hugely popular former pro, and when Frank hit the scene in the late nineties his stardom rose to the point where life became unbearable in Belgium. Since the fall of 2005 he has made Italy his home, with his Italian wife and their daughter, Margot, dog, Toni, and cat.

"Since November 2005 I have lived in Gudo Visconti [near Milano] with my wife, Sarah, who is Italian. We met at the 1999 Vuelta and were married in 2000."

"In the past I have had some hard times, and there were some very tough moments," continued Del Ponte, err Vandenbroucke, who bounced around from team to team since his Mapei and Cofidis heydays. "Above all it was a trying time mentally. But I have exited from this depression and I feel my body has a new force."

Matteo Algeri, DS of Saunier Duval-Prodir, heard of the news and wanted add, "We raced together briefly in 2000 on team Lampre. I have known Frank personally since those days and he is a really nice guy. ... I want to give him my moral support."

BiciRace.com wishes our Belgian neighbor the best of luck. We sympathize with Vandenbroucke in his trying times, hoping that he finds happiness through his family and cycling.

Read:
Frank Vandenbroucke Confirms with Unibet.com, 2 December 2005
UniBet.com and VDB, 26 October 2005
Mr. Mojo Risin', 8 June 2005
VDB Returns to Battle in Dunkirk, 4 May 2005
VDB: 19th New Beginning, 29 April 2005
Frank Vandenbroucke to Start Paris-Roubaix, 8 April 2005

Vuelta a España Kicks with Team Crono

The 61st Vuelta a España starts tomorrow in Málaga with a 7300 meter team crono. The last of the three Grand Tours will travel for three weeks around the Iberian Peninsula before finishing on 17 September in Madrid.

The race has already begun in a sense; yesterday 188 of 189 riders completed their medical checks, lacking was last minute Saunier Duval-Prodir addition José Alberto Benítez who will replace Koldo Gil. Gil will delay his return to racing after various injuries hampered his summer training. Tonight the pre-race continuous with the team presentations in Plaza de la Costitucion at 7.30.

Tomorrow, almost 24 hours later, the teams will depart for the first of the 21 stages. The first team to start the 7.3K crono will be at 19.00, the last at 20.32, or a team every four minutes. In total, the kilometers for this year's Vuelta will be 3,205, in which 68 are time trialing. There are 37 climbs, for a total of 19,881 meters of altitude gain; seven stages of medium to high mountains, with five summit finishes.

The Italians are easily outnumbered by the Spaniards. Among the top Italians in Spain are Danilo Di Luca, Luca Paolini (both Liquigas), Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) and Paolo Bettini (Quick-Step). Petacchi will hope to find his top sprint form and terrorize the flat stages with his turn of speed, while the other three men will be honing their form for the World Championships.

The Killer, Danilo Di Luca, gave his thoughts: "Give me four to five stages to begin to be OK then a stage to give a signal to Ballerini and to help find my morale. I don't know, but the 7th and 9th stages are hard and could go well for me."

Vino Ready for Vuelta

Alexander Vinokourov (Astaná) will be one of those unknown factors in the 2006 Vuelta a España. The Kazakh rider was prohibited from starting the Tour de France, and since those crazy days leading up to the July event he has been training for Spain's Grand Tour and the following World Championships.

"I am in a good shape and I want to go well in the race," confirmed Vino on the eve of the 2006 Vuelta. "My first intention is to reach the ideal condition for the Worlds and, if I pass well the mountains, I will dispute the general classification."

"They are hard, but the stages are not very long and I believe they will adapt to my characteristics," Vino commented regarding the mountain stages. "I expect to manage my good form and then, I will see."

Astaná, a team backed by a group of Kazakh businesses, has gone through their ups and downs. Not being allowed to start in the Tour and then just last week given the official "OK" to begin the Vuelta. The stress of team problems would be enough break some riders but not Vino...

"These problems are a double motivation for us. We want to demonstrate to our sponsor that we are here and that we are going to fight. ... In the Vuelta what I want is to demonstrate to myself that I'm motivated and that I can do a good three-week race."

Read:
AIGCP Requests Exclusion of Astaná and Phonak, 17 August
Operación Puerto: The Dismissed Tour Riders, 30 June

61st Vuelta a España, 26 August - 17 September
Main, Startlist
Stages and Maps, Key Stages, Overall Map
Photos, The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
2005 Results

Industria e Commercio: Barloworld Builds and Félix Cárdenas Wins

Yesterday, Félix Cárdenas, winner of a stage in the Tour de France and three in the Vuelta a España, took out the 35th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio in Carnago (Lombardia).

"My mom died just over a month ago, and this win is for her," said the 33 year-old Colombian of Barloworld after crossing the line. "It was a hard course, always attacks, but the team was always on the front."

It was the 14th success of the year for team Barloworld, and now they are knock, knock, knocking on ProTour's door. The Professional Circuit Team is one of three who have applied for a license in the last month. Along with Unibet.com, BiciRace.com thinks that Claudio Corti's Barloworld would be a fresh addition for the ProTour.

As for Cárdenas, he is continuing his racing and building for the Worlds, where he should leader for his national squadra. The Colombian comes from the same small town, Duitama, which hosted the 1995 World Championships, won by Spaniard Abraham Olano.

GP Ouest France, 27 August (217K), Tough French Worlds Tester
Main Page, Overall Map and Profile, Startlist, Photos
Report and Results, 2005 Results

24 August News ...