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28 September 2006

29 September News ...

Operación Puerto: Basso Returns to Roma

The best food and espresso can be found in Roma, but unfortunately Ivan Basso will be traveling south to deal with legal issues. Tomorrow, at noon, Franco Cosenza, anti-doping lawyer of CONI (Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano), will meet with Basso for the second time in regards to his involvement with Spanish doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.

This is the second time Cosenza has summonsed Basso, banned from starting the Tour de France after Spanish investigators found links involving the Italian with Fuentes. The CONI lawyer does not seem to have the evidence needed from the Spanish investigation, dubbed Operación Puerto, to defer Basso to the disciplinary commission of the FCI (Federazione Ciclistica Italiana) and it is likely the case will be archived.

For better or worse, Basso is a big name in cycling and will likely already have signed a contract. Will the sponsors and ProTour teams (managers and riders included) want a rider like Basso?

Read:
Bjarne Riis in Salzburg without Basso, 22 September
Basso Rides Four Hours with Squadra Azzurra, 21 September
Basso Likely to Escape - New Squadra, 19 September
Basso's Hearing Postponed to 29 September, 8 September
Basso Waits for 12 September, 30 August
Operación Puerto: Basso in Roma, 29 August
Basso's Dossier Opened, Ullrich Faces Life, 28 August
Riis Foresees Basso's End with CSC, 23 August
Di Rocco Continues to Support Basso, 21 August
A Damning Fuentes Fax, 18 August
Vuelta Unlikely as Basso's Case Moves Forward, 5 August
Basso Case Arrives in Italy, 4 August
Di Rocco on Basso, 27 July
Operación Puerto: National Federations Receive Names, 26 July
Basso Comments on Spanish Case, 3 July
Bam! Tour Shaken and Basso Gone, 30 June

Paolo Bettini Writes His Thoughts

"I am a lucky guy. First, I have won the Olympics and now the Worlds: two diverse and grand emotions." This is how Paolo Bettini, 2006 World Champion, started his letter that was printed on the front page of Italy's largest sports newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Bettini used his letter to describe how cycling marches on with racing and during the fight against doping; explaining cycling's continued popularity in a country dominated by football, and his position on dealing with the cheaters.

"Cycling remains the second largest sport in our country. And to keep it on a high level, in moments so difficult, has a lot of significance. ... Today all sports need help. It is not just enough to have more rules, it is right that there are legal actions from the judicial system."

"The cyclists pay more than others and no one is asking to hide the fact that there are doping problems. It is important to take advantage of this. Unfortunately it looks bad but sometimes it works."

Read:
Long Night for World Champion Bettini, 26 September
Bettini Completes Circle with World Championship, 25 September

Famiglia Bettini

World Champion Paolo Bettini grew up in a cycling family. His dad, Giuliano, was passionate for Gino Bartali and that love of cycling was passed on to his three children, Katia, Sauro and Paolo.

From their hometown in Cecina (Livorno, Toscana), Giuliano would drive his wife and three children to races in their green Fiat 500. Like today, it was Paolo, who burned the brightest. Sauro raced for a small amount of time, he was good, but could not make the needed sacrifices; Katia also tried racing, but without success.

The secret to success for Giuliano's son, who started cycling at the age of 7? "Like me he is unable to sit still," explained Giuliano Bettini. "It is also the same with his daughter, Veronica. Who knows the secret. ... It could be the good air, the right climate, the healthy eating or the strength found in the farmers and workers in this area."

Franco Ballerini in China

Italian National DS, Franco Ballerini, fresh off the success last Sunday in Austria, will be traveling to China next week. In a little less than two years the Olympics will take place in Beijing, and Ballerini, traveling from 8 to 14 October, wants to get a look at the road course.

Strangely, the 2008 Olympic road race will not be a circuit, but will be a point-to-point race. The riders will depart from the center of Beijing and arrive on a small climb in front of the China Wall.

2007 T-Mobile Squadra - Pinotti, Olson and Barry

The cycling world was rocked by the Operación Puerto investigations, forcing many riders and teams to rethink their future. T-Mobile, one of the hardest hit, with the banning of their star rider, Jan Ullrich, from the Tour de France, refused to give up on cycling and will return in 2007 completely restructured, with a commitment though 2010.

Adding new staff, 11 new riders, and dropping the dead-weight, the Pink Posse will have a much different look for 2007. Director Sportif, and close friend of Ullrich, Rudy Pevenage and Team Manager Olaf Ludwig were given the axe in July. Bob Stapleton, before with the Women's side of T-Mobile, was brought in as new Team Manager, and will work with former pro Rolf Aldag to oversee four Director Sportifs; Brian Holm, Allan Peiper, Tristan Hoffman and Valerio Piva.

"We need riders with a good heart, a good head and good legs who will work well together as a team," said Aldag, who on Wednesday announced the addition of eleven new riders to the team.

Two riders BiciRace.com will follow with great detail will be Pinotti and Olson. The duo is making the transfer from Saunier Duval-Prodir, Il Bergamasco after two years and Il Americano after one. The two know each other well; Olson trained daily with Pino in Bergamo in the build up to the Tour de Pologne. Supporting the North Americans in the German Squadra is Barry. The Canadian is leaving Discovery Channel for T-Mobile, where we hope he gets to ride the Tour de France in 2007.

The complete list of new signings: Michael Barry (30/Canada), Mark Cavendish (21/Great Britain), Gerald Ciolek (20/Germany), Bernhard Eisel (25/Austria), Bert Grabsch (30/Germany), Roger Hammond (31/Great Britain), Servais Knaven (35/Netherlands), Axel Merckx (34/Belgium), Aaron Olson (28/USA), Jakob Piil (33/Denmark) and Marco Pinotti (30/Italy).

Aussie Michael Rogers stays with the Pink Posse, and will lead the German squadra in the Tour de France. The 26 year-old 3X World TT Champion will receive full support from the squadra through the "building year" of 2007. The team wants to settle-in with their new structure, integrating with the returning T-Mobile men.

With Rogers, the following riders stay pink: Eric Baumann (26/Germany), Lorenzo Bernucci (27/Italy), Scott Davis (27/Australia), Linus Gerdemann (24/Germany), André Greipel (24/Germany), Giuseppe Guerini (36/Italy), Serhiy Honchar (36/Ukraine), Kim Kirchen (28/Luxembourg), Andreas Klier (30), André Korff (33/Germany), Frantisek Rabon, (23/Czech Republic) Stephan Schreck (28/Germany), Patrik Sinkewitz (25/Germany) and Thomas Ziegler (25/Germany).

T-Mobile is also leading the charge for a better cycling. They have introduced a complete "medical, training and anti-doping program" to ensure their riders are staying healthy and not going to cause another cycling debacle. They are the first team to introduce DNA profiling, something the UCI (International Cycling Union) has yet to embrace.

Bravo T-Mobile! Thanks for staying and helping evolve our sport.

Züri Metzgete, 1 October, 240.9K, World Champ Race Debut
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26 September News ...