Cycling is in a good state at this point despite the doping scandals. It seems that there is now shortage of sponsors lining up to replace Saunier Duval after the Ricco/Piepoli debacle in the Tour. Saunier Duval is dropping sponsorship almost immediately. Scott bicycles decided to step in as title sponsor and a few secondary sponsors kicked in at the same time including American Beef. What better association would you have with drug filled bovines than drug taking athletes? Ouch.

Beef from the States has not had a great reputation in recent years and the association with cycling is interesting especially as the team is recovering from a doping scandal. American Beef has been banned from Europe and other countries because of the hormones used in the US.

Most U. S. beef cattle are implanted with synthetic hormones in feedlots prior to slaughter. On January 1, 1989 the European Economic Community (EEC) placed a ban on hormone-treated U. S. meat, preventing U. S. meat products from being sold in any European nations. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has challenged the ban and accused the EEC of unfair trade practices, but the action of European governments raises some important questions about American meat.

– Prevent Cancer

So a product with a problem with drugs is sponsoring a sport with a perceived issue with drugs? Maybe they are drawn to the aspect of cycling that is cleaning up doping and they want to be associated with a “clean” sport? The choice is a bit tenuous, but Amgen sponsors the Tour of California, so no problem there.

In general, I applaud the new sponsor ready to take over a team. It shows that cycling has a far reach and is a relative deal in terms of cost compared to other sports. Now prepare with lots of puns based on beef, cows, “What’s for dinner” etc. Perhaps the team will excite the peloton as the sizzle sells the steak.

Ricco used CERA/Micera which is not detected by any doping tests. It is thought that riders in the Giro were using CERA/Micera because it is not detectable by the tests.

Doping expert stunned by Riccò news

Professor Michel Audran is one of the world’s leading experts on blood doping. He is also one of nine independent experts chosen to act as consultants in the formulation of the UCI’s biological passport. Daniel Friebe, Procycling features editor spoke to Audran this morning within minutes of L’Equipe’s website announcing that Riccardo Riccò has tested positive for an EPO derivative after stage four of the Tour de France, the individual time trial around Cholet.

Riccò’s case stuns doping expert Michel Audran

Daniel Friebe: In the last twenty minutes we’ve heard that Riccardo Riccò has tested positive for an EPO-like product. The early reports suggest that Riccò used CERA or Micera. a so-called third generation EPO. What’s your reaction?

Michel Audran: Wow. I’m stunned. I’m amazed they’re saying it’s Micera, simply because there’s no validated test for that yet. The World Anti-Doping Agency is working on a test, but it certainly doesn’t exist yet.

DF: What exactly is CERA, or Micera to give it its commercial name?

MA:It’s a delayed-action EPO, which has a different molecular mass from EPO. It’s only been commercially available since the start of the year. We can tell when someone’s used it but we can’t declare them positive. In that respect it’s like Dynepo, another EPO-like product. We know that Micera was being used on the Giro, so I’m not surprised that it’s also turned up at the Tour. But I would be very surprised if they AFLD had declared Riccò positive for Micera, for the reasons I’ve just mentioned. Maybe they searched Riccò’s room and found the product itself…

DF: What’s the difference between Micera and traditional EPO?

MA: It’s more convenient for clinical patients. They might only have to take Micera once a fortnight or once a month. EPO has to be administered much more often. The effect for an athlete is the same: raised haematocrit, raised haemoglobin, more oxygen to the muscles. It’s funny, because Riccò has UCI certification for his high haematocrit already.

DF: You talked about the differences between EPO and Micera, and also the fact that the latter is visible in tests, even if it, until now, it couldn’t lead to a positive test. Could you talk a little more about that?

MA: Well, you see synthetic EPO in urine the form of bars on an electrophoregram. If a rider’s taken Micera, the bars are located in a different place to those you see in a simple containing synthetic EPO.

DF: This is the third positive since the start of the Tour. Does that suggest to us that the testing being carried out by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) is more rigorous that the UCI’s?

MA: What the AFLD have done very well is target particular riders. I don’t think their tests themselves are any more rigorous, though. They’ll be adopting the same criteria for positive tests as WADA. I would say, though, that if the UCI’s biological passports had been ready, which they should be soon, Riccò would never have started this Tour.

Cyclingnews: Doping expert stunned by Riccò news

Beyond words-or actual words would be only expletives-would describe my reaction to Riccardo Ricco’s positive test for EPO and a newish EPO like drug called CERA.

Like synthetic erythropoietin (rEPO), CERA was developed to as a treatment for the anemia that results from chronic kidney disease. Unlike single injections of rEPO, CERA interacts with erythropoietin receptors and has a longer-lasting effect.
Velonews: Riccardo Ricco tests positive; Saunier Duval team withdraws from Tour de France

It is incomprehensible that a rider would take such a chance in this current environment and dope to win a race. Ricco raised suspicions with his Pantani like performance causing many to immediately warn the young Ricco not to emulate Pantani in his methods of preparation for racing in addition to his racing style. Apparently those warnings were too late since Ricco thought that taking EPO and/or CERA was a smart thing to do and would help his career. Now Ricco sits in a police station in France and will most likely face a two year ban. His Saunier Duval team will have to pay a heafty fine. Ricco must also pay back his salary too. The fines are probably not devastating to Ricco especially since most Italian men will live at home until married, so financially he won’t be out on the street.

Ricco’s astounding performances in the Tour had many cheering for the brash Italian who talked as much as he attacked during the Tour. Ricco had few friends in the peloton since his brashness would be directed to other racers including Vincenzo Nibali and Fillippo Pozzato to name a few.

Last year Ricco was mentored by Gilberto Simoni on the Saunier Duval team. Simoni has often been critical of dopers such as Pantani and Ivan Basso in the past. Simoni who himself had a positive drug result for cocaine (blame Grandma’s gift from a South American trip) seemed to be the cross bearer for Itralian non–dopers. Simoni’s insinuation that Ivan Basso was an Extra-Terrestrial in the 2006 Giro was seen as sour grapes at first, but was later vilified when Basso was implicated as part of the Operation Puerto affair. Naturally as Ricco was brought on and mentored by Simoni you would think that a strong anti-doping ideal would be part of Ricco’s racing ethic. When you choose to be brash and speak out against others you must make sure you own house is in order so that one day you are not a hypocrite. Unfortunaly Ricco at the brash indestructible age of 24 thought that he had it all figured out. Going to the Tour and dominating the climbs would boost his career. All he needed was a little “helper” and you have some great performances to go down in Tour history. Now Ricco is joining the pantheon of racers such as Alexandre Vinokourov and Floyd Landis who brought instant shame to them selves in the biggest race of the year.

Now when anyone has an unusually spectacular performance such as an upset time trial win, or gaining back 8 minutes in a solo mountain break or dropping everyone Pantani style in the mountains will bring instant speculation. I was a little perturbed that Ricco’s performance brought more suspicion than praise, but rumors were already swirling at the Tour that Ricco’s numbers were a little shady.

Now let’s hope Ricco goes into his two year ban and goes to a trade school or something else. Just don’t come back to cycling please Mr. Ricco, you have done your damage now go away.

Riccardo Ricco flash visions of Marco Pantani with the vicious atacks up the Col D’Aspin to claim his second stage win of the Tour. Ricco’s attack came up the final climb but before several kilometers of downhill. The main favorites in the select bunch that was left behind seemed to halt their attacks for the day once Ricco was off deciding to save their energy for the tough day to Hautcam tomorrow.

Team Columbia let the reigns of pace-making go to Euskatel Euskadi for most of the race and Caisse D’Epargne showed that they are the strongest team in the race by controlling the pace when things got dicey. Lampre also took up the chase at times, either to help control things for Cunego or limit the gains of another Italian Ricco. Vincenzo Nibali showed some strength with a follow up attack to Ricco that did not gain much time but put folks on notice to watch the young Sicilian.

JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images

Both of the two main favorites Alejandro Valverde and Cadel Evans had mediocre days. Valverde looked like he could be in trouble at times, but may have been taking things easy by resting for tomorrows tough stage. Valverde is still nursing inuries from a fall a few days ago. Cadel Evans hit the deck and paid a visit to the rolling doctor with some nasty looking bruises.

Riccardo Ricco put his stamp on the Tour with a nice win st Super Besse during stage 6. With the help of Leonardo Piepoli who joined an attack by Christian Vande Velde with 5km to go in the stage Ricco was able to take advantage of a counter attack.

Alejandro Valverde showed that he is the man to beat in the Tour with a strong second place and a very strong Caisse D’ Epargne team. Black jerseys were ever present and former Tour winnder Oscar Periero help push the pace of the group in the final kms. Valverde did not have enough speed in the end to get around the hard charging Ricco who is riding his first Tour de France.

Kim Kirchen gets the Yellow Jersey helped slightly by an unfortunate touch of wheels with Stefan Schumacher. Schumi hit the deck, but did not get any forgiveness for time since the stage finished on an uphill. Team Columbia gladly takes the Yellow Jersey from Schumi and Gerolsteiner. The Yellow today and a stage win yesterday by Mark Cavendish are giving the new sponsor some nice exposure making Columbia happy to sign on just in time for the Tour.

Garmin-Chipotle got some exposure today as Christian Vande Velde’s attack put him up to fourth place only 44 seconds behind Kim Kirchen with some more medium difficulty stages to come. This year’s Tour is very unpredictable so the final result is anyone’s guess.

Alejandro Valverde wasted no time in taking the Yellow Jersey during the Tour de France’s first stage today. The Tour started with a road stage for the first time since 1967. The very open Giro like Tour featured a tough final kilometer that brought all of the main contenders to the front and left the sprinters behind. The first road stage without a Yellow Jersey was not as nervous or crash filled as usual. Mauricio Soler was the only major victim of the carnage as he lost about two minutes to Valverde after a crash. Most of the peloton finished with the same time.

Riccardo Ricco was in fifth place today showing he has some good form to at least contend the numerous middle difficulty stages that dot the Tour route this year. Cadel Evans was up near the front more than likely shadowing Valverde so as not to give up too much time.

The final kilometer was as action packed as a finish of Amstel Gold race with the tough finish. Kim Kirchen took advantage of a Team Columbia leadup that featured Adam Hansen pushing 800 watts at the front of the peloton to get his teammate into position. Kirchen’s move had a glimmer of hope until Valverde rocketed up to Kirchen’s back wheel. Valverde took a moment and then sligshot his way to the front leaving a sizable gap to second place Phillipe Gilbert.

Now that Valverde has the Yellow, the question is will the team defend it, and if so for how long. Valverde may be riding a peak form right now, but the final week features some brutal climbing, can Valverde keep it up to the end?

It’s down to four seconds between the reigning Tour de France champion and the young “Cobra” Ricco going into an epic weekend that features a brutal mountain stage and final time trial in Milan. This Giro could be one of the closest in memory after a week that featured a brutal uphill time trial.

Riccardo Ricco unleashed his frustrations at Emmanuele Sella and Domenico Pozzovivo when he saw that he missed the Maglia Rosa by only four seconds. Sella and Pozzovivo were defending their GC places and by that effort helped Contador pace back in. Ricco likes to talk and wear his heart on his sleeve which endears him to many Italian cycling fans. The fire is fun to watch especially when so many other cyclist tend to watch what they say and speak in metered tones.

Ricco and DiLuca attacked Contador and now look to be in contention. The next stage features some brutal climbs up the Gavia Pass and the Mortirolo. The problem is that these climbs may not be decisive enough since they are far from the finish.

Ricco and DiLuca need some more time between themselves and Contador for the final TT which favors Contador.

One of the exciting aspects of the Giro are these brutal climbing circuit finishes that bring out the small Italian sprinting/climbing types. The Davide Rebellin’s Danilo Diluca’s and Paolo Bettini type of racers that can power up brutally steep climbs and sprint to win in a small pack. The new kid on the block is brash and already has a viscious nickname of ‘Il Cobra’ Ricardi Ricco powered his way to a win in Agrigento in front of Davide Rebellin to take a well deserved win.

The day showed that Team LPR is serious in helping Danilo DiLuca defend his Maglia Rosa. LPR has some good racers including Paolo Savoldelli a former Giro winner himself. After Slipstream set the pace for most of the day with big man Magnus Backstedt in the front, LPR took over when the roads started getting steeper.

Slipstream meanwhile is suffering a double whammy mojo loss of the Maglia Rosa off of Christian Vande Velde’s back by a measly one second to Franco “porno Hair” Pellizotti. And David Zabriske could not use his mustache mojo to avoid a bad crash that hurt his vertebrae. The injury is not to serious, but will take some time to recover.

Scroll to the end for the full start list for Milan-San Remo from tuttobiciweb.com

Filippo Pozzato gets the number one for being defending champ. Danilo DiLuca will not be lining up at the start due to the flu. Liquigas have a strong lineup featureing Enrico Gasparotto and Franco Pellizotti.

Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini will be ready, but their recent form does not indicate that they will put in a spectacular performance. Bettini and Boonen are “gamer” type riders who get up for the big races. So it will not be a surprise to see these two in a good position on the Via Roma. I would not bet against the killer “B”s.

Alessandro Petacchi seems to be the biggest question mark. He did not perform at Tirreno-Adriatico. The final stage was nixed for Petacchi due to a close call with a crash. The Milram train does not seem to be running on all cylinders so far this year, but they could get going just in time for the San Remo run in.

The way most races have gone this year it seems that it is not a year for sprinters. Tirreno Adriatico was and Paris-Nice did not have many classic field sprints meaning that the sprint teams are not running well overall. For this reason I just do not see a field sprint of a large number of riders coming into the Via Roma this year. There are so many contenders who can probably get a gap on the Poggio or Cipressa. If this gap sticks down to the Via Roma will be the question.

The one wildcard is Riccardo Ricco. The young Italian won two stages at Tirreno-Adriatico and is young enough to think he has a good chance at Sam Remo. I would look to Ricco to animate the climbs probably launching a good number of attacks trying to make one stick.

Then we get back to Liquigas. Their performances so far this year have been so good that Paul Sherwan stopped calling them Leeky-gas. With Pozzato’s win at Het Volk, DiLuca’s win at Milano-Torino and Pellizotti’s stage win at Paris-Nice this team is on a roll. Each of the wins were very smart well timed attacks. If you count momentum Liquigas has it, so maybe it is Gasparotto’s turn to get a victory.

So Velochimp’s two favorites for overall victory on the Via Roma at Riccardo Ricco and Enrico Gasparotto. Milan San Remo is always

1 1 ITA19810910 POZZATO Filippo 1981 ITA LIQ LIQUIGAS
2 2 SUI19770705 CALCAGNI Patrick 1977 SUI LIQ LIQUIGAS
3 3 ITA19820322 GASPAROTTO Enrico 1982 ITA LIQ LIQUIGAS
4 4 ITA19770117 PAOLINI Luca 1977 ITA LIQ LIQUIGAS
5 5 ITA19780115 PELLIZOTTI Franco 1978 ITA LIQ LIQUIGAS
6 6 ITA19710201 PETITO Roberto 1971 ITA LIQ LIQUIGAS
7 7 ITA19791030 QUINZIATO Manuel 1979 ITA LIQ LIQUIGAS
8 8 ITA19750114 SPEZIALETTI Alessandro 1975 ITA LIQ LIQUIGAS

9 11 ITA19721025 ANDRIOTTO Dario 1972 ITA ASA ACQUA & SAPONE – CAFFE’ MOKAMBO
10 12 ITA19751103 BALDUCCI Gabriele 1975 ITA ASA ACQUA & SAPONE – CAFFE’ MOKAMBO
11 13 ITA19730227 CODOL Massimo 1973 ITA ASA ACQUA & SAPONE – CAFFE’ MOKAMBO
12 14 ITA19790508 DONATI Alessandro 1979 ITA ASA ACQUA & SAPONE – CAFFE’ MOKAMBO
13 15 ITA19730716 GARZELLI Stefano 1973 ITA ASA ACQUA & SAPONE – CAFFE’ MOKAMBO
14 16 BLR19840702 KUNITSKI Andrei 1984 BLR ASA ACQUA & SAPONE – CAFFE’ MOKAMBO
15 17 ITA19800102 MASCIARELLI Simone 1980 ITA ASA ACQUA & SAPONE – CAFFE’ MOKAMBO
16 18 ITA19750910 PALUMBO Giuseppe 1975 ITA ASA ACQUA & SAPONE – CAFFE’ MOKAMBO

17 21 ITA19770925 NOCENTINI Rinaldo 1977 ITA A2R AG2R PREVOYANCE
18 22 FRA19790701 CALZATI Sylvain 1979 FRA A2R AG2R PREVOYANCE
19 23 FRA19780106 DION Renaud 1978 FRA A2R AG2R PREVOYANCE
20 24 FRA19800820 DUMOULIN Samuel 1980 FRA A2R AG2R PREVOYANCE
21 25 SUI19780923 ELMIGER Martin 1978 SUI A2R AG2R PREVOYANCE
22 26 UKR19790207 KRIVTSOV Yuriy 1979 UKR A2R AG2R PREVOYANCE
23 27 FRA19820426 MONDORY Lloyd 1982 FRA A2R AG2R PREVOYANCE
24 28 FRA19770118 NAZON Jean-Patrick 1977 FRA A2R AG2R PREVOYANCE

25 31 NED19820908 DE KORT Koen 1982 NED AST ASTANA
26 32 AUT19770915 HASELBACHER René 1977 AUT AST ASTANA
27 33 RUS19750305 IVANOV Serguei 1975 RUS AST ASTANA
28 34 AUS19830910 KEMPS Aaron 1983 AUS AST ASTANA
29 35 GER19790516 KESSLER Matthias 1979 GER AST ASTANA
30 36 RUS19740208 MIKHAILOV Guennadi 1974 RUS AST ASTANA
31 37 KAZ19791102 MURAVYEV Dmitriy 1979 KAZ AST ASTANA
32 38 SUI19800117 RAST Grégory 1980 SUI AST ASTANA

33 41 ITA19781021 BONOMI Giosuè 1978 ITA BAR BARLOWORLD
34 42 ITA19810731 CACCIA Diego 1981 ITA BAR BARLOWORLD
35 43 ITA19760311 DEGANO Enrico 1976 ITA BAR BARLOWORLD
36 44 RUS19811202 EFIMKIN Alexander 1981 RUS BAR BARLOWORLD
37 45 ITA19720413 GUIDI Fabrizio 1972 ITA BAR BARLOWORLD
38 46 RSA19770422 HUNTER Robert 1977 RSA BAR BARLOWORLD
39 47 ITA19801210 LONGO BORGHINI Paolo 1980 ITA BAR BARLOWORLD
40 48 BLR19820809 SIUTSOU Kanstantsin 1982 BLR BAR BARLOWORLD

41 51 ESP19791226 FLORENCIO Xavier 1979 ESP BTL BOUYGUES TELECOM
42 52 FRA19800609 GESLIN Anthony 1980 FRA BTL BOUYGUES TELECOM
43 53 FRA19800804 MARTIAS Rony 1980 FRA BTL BOUYGUES TELECOM
44 54 FRA19830106 PICHOT Alexandre 1983 FRA BTL BOUYGUES TELECOM
45 55 FRA19800102 PINEAU Jérome 1980 FRA BTL BOUYGUES TELECOM
46 56 EST19760525 PÜTSEP Erki 1976 EST BTL BOUYGUES TELECOM
47 57 FRA19740411 RENIER Franck 1974 FRA BTL BOUYGUES TELECOM
48 58 FRA19790622 VOECKLER Thomas 1979 FRA BTL BOUYGUES TELECOM

49 61 ESP19810730 REYNES Vicente 1981 ESP GCE CAISSE D’EPARGNE
50 62 FRA19800123 BERTHOU Eric 1980 FRA GCE CAISSE D’EPARGNE
51 63 RUS19810212 EFIMKIN Vladimir 1981 RUS GCE CAISSE D’EPARGNE
52 64 ESP19831115 ERVITI Imanol 1983 ESP GCE CAISSE D’EPARGNE
53 65 ESP19781127 GUTIERREZ José Ivan 1978 ESP GCE CAISSE D’EPARGNE
54 66 ESP19760120 LASTRAS Pablo 1976 ESP GCE CAISSE D’EPARGNE
55 67 RUS19790526 MARKOV Alexei 1979 RUS GCE CAISSE D’EPARGNE
56 68 ESP19850608 ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin 1985 ESP GCE CAISSE D’EPARGNE

57 71 ITA19740706 BALIANI Fortunato 1974 ITA PAN CERAMICA PANARIA – NAVIGARE
58 72 ITA19830726 DALL’ANTONIA Tiziano 1983 ITA PAN CERAMICA PANARIA – NAVIGARE
59 73 ITA19820323 GRILLO Paride 1982 ITA PAN CERAMICA PANARIA – NAVIGARE
60 74 ITA19740204 MAZZANTILuca 1974 ITA PAN CERAMICA PANARIA – NAVIGARE
61 75 ITA19820320 PRIAMO Matteo 1982 ITA PAN CERAMICA PANARIA – NAVIGARE
62 76 ITA19850519 TOMEI Francesco 1985 ITA PAN CERAMICA PANARIA – NAVIGARE
63 77 ARG19830307 RICHEZE Axel Maximiliano 1983 ARG PAN CERAMICA PANARIA – NAVIGARE
64 78 ITA19810109 SELLA Emanuele 1981 ITA PAN CERAMICA PANARIA – NAVIGARE

65 81 BEL19820527 DE WEERT Kevin 1982 BEL COF COFIDIS, LE CREDIT P. TELEPHONE
66 82 NED19820831 ELIJZEN Michiel 1982 NED COF COFIDIS, LE CREDIT P. TELEPHONE
67 83 NED19820204 HEIJBOER Mathieu 1982 NED COF COFIDIS, LE CREDIT P. TELEPHONE
68 84 FRA19810630 LEQUATRE Geoffroy 1981 FRA COF COFIDIS, LE CREDIT P. TELEPHONE
69 85 FRA19820612 MINARD Sébastien 1982 FRA COF COFIDIS, LE CREDIT P. TELEPHONE
70 86 ITA19721121 MORENI Cristian 1972 ITA COF COFIDIS, LE CREDIT P. TELEPHONE
71 87 BEL19800505 NUYENS Nick 1980 BEL COF COFIDIS, LE CREDIT P. TELEPHONE
72 88 BEL19790312 SCHEIRLINKCX Staf 1979 BEL COF COFIDIS, LE CREDIT P. TELEPHONE

73 91 ITA19790806 BELLOTTI Francesco 1979 ITA C.A CREDIT AGRICOLE
74 92 HUN19761211 BODROGI Laszlo 1976 HUN C.A CREDIT AGRICOLE
75 93 FRA19820625 BONNET William 1982 FRA C.A CREDIT AGRICOLE
76 94 NZL19750128 DEAN Julian 1975 NZL C.A CREDIT AGRICOLE
77 95 NOR19770222 KAGGESTAD Mads 1977 NOR C.A CREDIT AGRICOLE
78 96 FRA19740211 HINAULT Sébastien 1974 FRA C.A CREDIT AGRICOLE
79 97 NOR19780118 HUSHOVD Thor 1978 NOR C.A CREDIT AGRICOLE
80 98 FRA19770726 LAURENT Christophe 1977 FRA C.A CREDIT AGRICOLE

81 101 UKR19790206 BILEKA Volodymyr 1979 UKR DSC DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO C.T.
82 102 GBR19810319 CUMMINGS Steven 1981 GBR DSC DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO C.T.
83 103 AUS19800727 DAVIS Allan 1980 AUS DSC DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO C.T.
84 104 RUS19820704 GUSEV Vladimir 1982 RUS DSC DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO C.T.
85 105 CZE19701217 PADRNOS Pavel 1970 CZE DSC DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO C.T.
86 106 UKR19800104 POPOVYCH Yaroslav 1980 UKR DSC DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO C.T.
87 107 LTU19820204 VAITKUS Tomas 1982 LTU DSC DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO C.T.
88 108 AUS19740222 WHITE Matthew 1974 AUS DSC DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO C.T.

89 111 ESP19810517 ALBIZURI ABenat 1981 ESP EUS EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
90 112 ESP19791117 ASTARLOZA Mikel 1979 ESP EUS EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
91 113 ESP19771018 BRU PASCAL Yon 1977 ESP EUS EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
92 114 VEN19721121 ETXEBARRIA Unai 1972 VEN EUS EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
93 115 ESP19810913 FERNANDEZ Koldo 1981 ESP EUS EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
94 116 ESP19820517 HERNANDEZ Aitor 1982 ESP EUS EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
95 117 ESP19810304 PENA IZA Aketza 1981 ESP EUS EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI
96 118 ESP19780205 SANCHEZ Samuel 1978 ESP EUS EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI

97 121 FRA19710217 AUGER Ludovic 1971 FRA FDJ FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
98 122 BEL19740503 DETILLOU Christophe 1974 BEL FDJ FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
99 123 FRA19840610 GERARD Arnaud 1984 FRA FDJ FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
100 124 BEL19820705 GILBERT Philippe 1982 BEL FDJ FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
101 125 FRA19711014 GUESDON Frédéric 1971 FRA FDJ FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
102 126 BEL19730613 MARICHAL Thierry 1973 BEL FDJ FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
103 127 FRA19680903 MENGIN Christophe 1968 FRA FDJ FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
104 128 FRA19830824 MONNERAY Cyrille 1983 FRA FDJ FRANÇAISE DES JEUX

105 131 GER19840225 HAUSSLER Heinrich 1984 GER GST GEROLSTEINER
106 132 GER19790105 KOPP David 1979 GER GST GEROLSTEINER
107 133 ITA19790223 MOLETTA Andrea 1979 ITA GST GEROLSTEINER
108 134 ITA19710809 REBELLIN Davide 1971 ITA GST GEROLSTEINER
109 135 GER19810721 SCHUMACHER Stefan 1981 GER GST GEROLSTEINER
110 136 GER19800620 WEGMANN Fabian 1980 GER GST GEROLSTEINER
111 137 AUT19740530 WROLICH Peter 1974 AUT GST GEROLSTEINER
112 138 SUI19740627 ZBERG Marcus 1974 SUI GST GEROLSTEINER

113 141 ITA19791106 BALLAN Alessandro 1979 ITA LAM LAMPRE – FONDITAL
114 142 ITA19800924 BENNATI Daniele 1980 ITA LAM LAMPRE – FONDITAL
115 143 ITA19810131 NAPOLITANO Danilo 1981 ITA LAM LAMPRE – FONDITAL
116 144 ITA19680613 BALDATO Fabio 1968 ITA LAM LAMPRE – FONDITAL
117 145 ITA19821226 CORIONI Claudio 1982 ITA LAM LAMPRE – FONDITAL
118 146 ITA19760328 RIGHI Daniele 1976 ITA LAM LAMPRE – FONDITAL
119 147 SLO19730127 STANGELJ Gorazd 1973 SLO LAM LAMPRE – FONDITAL
120 148 ESP19751011 VILA ERRANDONEA Francisco J. 1975 ESP LAM LAMPRE – FONDITAL

121 151 BEL19741231 AERTS Mario 1974 BEL PRL PREDICTOR – LOTTO
122 152 BEL19770717 HOSTE Leif 1977 BEL PRL PREDICTOR – LOTTO
123 153 AUS19720624 MCEWEN Robbie 1972 AUS PRL PREDICTOR – LOTTO
124 154 USA19730903 RODRIGUEZ Fred 1973 USA PRL PREDICTOR – LOTTO
125 155 BEL19711223 VANSEVENANT Wim 1971 BEL PRL PREDICTOR – LOTTO
126 156 BEL19810204 VAN SUMMEREN Johan 1981 BEL PRL PREDICTOR – LOTTO
127 157 ITA19690123 ZANINI Stefano 1969 ITA PRL PREDICTOR – LOTTO
128 158 ITA19741202 CIONI Dario David 1974 ITA PRL PREDICTOR – LOTTO

129 161 ITA19740401 BETTINI Paolo 1974 ITA QSI QUICKSTEP – INNERGETIC
130 162 ESP19810605 BARREDO Carlos 1981 ESP QSI QUICKSTEP – INNERGETIC
131 163 BEL19801015 BOONEN Tom 1980 BEL QSI QUICKSTEP – INNERGETIC
132 164 BEL19780411 HULSMAN Kevin 1978 BEL QSI QUICKSTEP – INNERGETIC
133 165 BEL19810715 ROSSELER Sébastien 1981 BEL QSI QUICKSTEP – INNERGETIC
134 166 ITA19740514 TOSATTO Matteo 1974 ITA QSI QUICKSTEP – INNERGETIC
135 167 BEL19810419 VAN IMPE Kevin 1981 BEL QSI QUICKSTEP – INNERGETIC
136 168 ITA19830113 VISCONTI Giovanni 1983 ITA QSI QUICKSTEP – INNERGETIC

137 171 NED19720228 BOVEN Jan 1972 NED RAB RABOBANK
138 172 ESP19770917 FLECHA GJuan Antonio 1977 ESP RAB RABOBANK
139 173 ESP19760215 FREIRE GOOscar 1976 ESP RAB RABOBANK
140 174 NED19741218 DE GROOT Bram 1974 NED RAB RABOBANK
141 175 ESP19740927 HORRILLO Pedro 1974 ESP RAB RABOBANK
142 176 AUS19780420 HAYMAN Mathew 1978 AUS RAB RABOBANK
143 177 NED19720128 VAN BON Leon 1972 NED RAB RABOBANK
144 178 NED19730302 VAN HEESWIJK Max 1973 NED RAB RABOBANK

145 181 GBR19770104 MILLAR David 1977 GBR SDV SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR
146 182 LAT19760121 BELOHVOSCIKS Raivis 1976 LAT SDV SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR
147 183 ESP19820316 DEL NERO Jesus 1982 ESP SDV SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR
148 184 ESP19810513 GOMEZ Angel 1981 ESP SDV SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR
149 185 ESP19811114 BENITEZ RJose Alberto 1981 ESP SDV SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR
150 186 ITA19800809 MORI Manuele 1980 ITA SDV SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR
151 187 ITA19830901 RICCO’ Riccardo 1983 ITA SDV SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR
152 188 ESP19820506 VENTOSO Francisco J. 1982 ESP SDV SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR

153 191 LUX19800415 SCHLECK Frank 1980 LUX CSC TEAM CSC
154 192 NED19760129 KROON Karsten 1976 NED CSC TEAM CSC
155 193 SUI19810318 CANCELLARA Fabian 1981 SUI CSC TEAM CSC
156 194 SWE19741026 LJUNGQVIST Marcus 1974 SWE CSC TEAM CSC
157 195 ARG19810126 HAEDO Juan José 1981 ARG CSC TEAM CSC
158 196 AUS19730806 O’GRADY Stuart 1973 AUS CSC TEAM CSC
159 197 AUS19770125 ROBERTS Luke 1977 AUS CSC TEAM CSC
160 198 DEN19840831 BRESCHEL Matti 1984 DEN CSC TEAM CSC

161 201 SLO19800808 BOZICHZ Borut 1980 SLO LPR TEAM L.P.R.
162 202 ITA19840211 MARCATO Marco 1984 ITA LPR TEAM L.P.R.
163 203 ESP19740618 GUTIERREZ José E. 1974 ESP LPR TEAM L.P.R.
164 204 ESP19771201 GUTIERREZ Ignacio 1977 ESP LPR TEAM L.P.R.
165 205 ITA19791002 SOLARI Luca 1979 ITA LPR TEAM L.P.R.
166 206 ITA19820402 BELLIN Maurizio 1982 ITA LPR TEAM L.P.R.
167 207 ITA19840923 TRAFICANTE Roberto 1984 ITA LPR TEAM L.P.R.
168 208 SUI19821015 DIETZIKER Andreas 1982 SUI LPR TEAM L.P.R.

169 211 ITA19740103 PETACCHI Alessandro 1974 ITA MRM TEAM MILRAM
170 212 GER19700707 ZABEL Erik 1970 GER MRM TEAM MILRAM
171 213 ESP19760329 ASTARLOA Igor 1976 ESP MRM TEAM MILRAM
172 214 ITA19740319 CELESTINO Mirko 1974 ITA MRM TEAM MILRAM
173 215 GER19810305 KNEES Christian 1981 GER MRM TEAM MILRAM
174 216 ITA19750724 ONGARATO Alberto 1975 ITA MRM TEAM MILRAM
175 217 ITA19740522 SACCHI Fabio 1974 ITA MRM TEAM MILRAM
176 218 ITA19740309 VELO Marco 1974 ITA MRM TEAM MILRAM

177 221 ITA19720315 AGGIANO Elio 1972 ITA TCS TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
178 222 RUS19820129 BRUTT Pavel 1982 RUS TCS TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
179 223 ITA19750328 COMMESSO Salvatore 1975 ITA TCS TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
180 224 BLR19810628 KIRYIENKA Vasil 1981 BLR TCS TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
181 225 ITA19740815 CONTRINI Daniele 1974 ITA TCS TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
182 226 RUS19850709 MINDLIN Anton 1985 RUS TCS TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
183 227 RUS19850507 IGNATIEV Mikhail 1985 RUS TCS TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
184 228 ESP19780804 SERRANO Ricardo 1978 ESP TCS TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS

185 231 ITA19790915 BERNUCCI Lorenzo 1979 ITA TMO T-MOBILE TEAM
186 232 GER19860919 CIOLEK Gerald 1986 GER TMO T-MOBILE TEAM
187 233 AUT19810217 EISEL Bernhard 1981 AUT TMO T-MOBILE TEAM
188 234 GER19750619 GRABSCH Bert 1975 GER TMO T-MOBILE TEAM
189 235 GBR19740130 HAMMOND Roger 1974 GBR TMO T-MOBILE TEAM
190 236 LUX19780703 KIRCHEN Kim 1978 LUX TMO T-MOBILE TEAM
191 237 GER19760115 KLIER Andreas 1976 GER TMO T-MOBILE TEAM
192 238 DEN19730309 PIIL Jakob 1973 DEN TMO T-MOBILE TEAM

193 241 AUS19781012 COOKE Baden 1978 AUS UNI UNIBET.COM
194 242 FRA19801006 COYOT Arnaud 1980 FRA UNI UNIBET.COM
195 243 FRA19780528 CASPER Jimmy 1978 FRA UNI UNIBET.COM
196 244 NED19801113 TEN DAM Laurens 1980 NED UNI UNIBET.COM
197 245 BEL19800317 GARDEYN Gorik 1980 BEL UNI UNIBET.COM
198 246 ITA19790325 CARRARA Matteo 1979 ITA UNI UNIBET.COM
199 247 ITA19740121 ZANOTTI Marco 1974 ITA UNI UNIBET.COM
200 248 GBR19740312 HUNT Jeremy 1974 GBR UNI UNIBET.COM

Andreas Kloden won Tirreno-Adriatico on the penultimate stage, but the big story is the performance by several young riders. Ricardo Ricco, Vincenzo Nibali, Enrico Gasparotto, Giovanni Visconti and Matteo Bono are just a few riders who differentiated themselves in the “Race of the two seas”.

Bono won a tough stage to San Giacomo which features some brutal 10% climbs. Ricco won two stages.

Riccardò Riccò won two stages in a row and at just 23 years old looks to be coming into winning form. Ricco grabbed few wins last year. One impressive victory was ahead of Paolo Bettini in the Settimana Coppi & Bartali last year.

Ricco is on a high with lots of confidence after his Tirreno Adriatico performance, so naturally his next target is Milan San Remo. This race may be a tough target for the young Italian since the Poggio and Cipressa do not provide enough of a challenge to allow Ricco to get away from the sprint trains of Quick-Step and Milram.

Another 23 year old who made a splash was Matteo Bono. The 60Kg climber showed impressive climbing ability on the stage win at San Giacomo. The young Italian is another “out of nowhere” surprise. Matteo Bono looks likely to help Cunego in the high mountains of the Giro if his form holds till then. Plus you have to love his attitude. He was quoted after his win:

“But I am a complete rider, in the sense that I go slow everywhere!” — cyclingnews.com

Other young riders on display are Thomas Dekker and Jani Brajkovic. Dekker was the defending champion, while Brajkovic placed well overall.