OSE LUIS ROCA/AFP/Getty Images
Team Milram is in a groove at the Vuelta. They have the big train rolling along and some of the pesky train breaking sprinters such as Oscar Friere are gone. So that just leaves new Italian Sprinting Alpha Male Daniele Bennati to contend with. His Lampre team is good, but not Milram good. That is why Alessandro Petacchi is on his second win in a row. The stage 12 gives Petacchi 19 stage victories in the Tour of Spain for his career. Impressive number, but way behind
Today’s stage finish was the perfect setup for Petacchi with a long straightaway that could allow him to reach top speeds. According to Velonews speeds reached up to 59kph and many non sprinter types joined in the action making for some interesting results. The final was still the top two sprinters left in the Vuelta in Petacchi and Bennati. Tomorrow looks like another sprint stage but Petacchi is shy about asking his team to chase down the breaks as it did today. Maybe after a few kilometers they might change their minds.
Igor Astarloa is one man who can attest to the legendary curse of the Rainbow Jersey. The Spanish Classics expert who would rather ride on Italian teams (sounds like Oscar Friere) has been in the doldrums since his 2003 World Championship victory in Hamilton Ontario. After winning with Saeco Astarloa switched over to French outfit Cofidis for 2004.
That spring all hell broke loose with drug allegations surrounding the team. Several riders were under suspicion and team management decided to suspend the team from competition until they could resolve the situation. Astarloa was not involved in any of the drug issues, but the suspension of team activities happened during his beloved Spring Classics.
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(pic from http://www.team-csc.com/)
Ivan Basso and Bjarne Riis are no longer working together. The fallout from the Operation Puerto scandal has tarnished the relationship between Riis and rising star Basso. The close working relationship took a severe blow when allegations arose over Ivan Basso’s involvement with Dr. Fuentes who is at the picenter of the Operation Puerto situation. Basso was cleared of any involvement in the Operation Puerto case due to lack of evidence. However, the case could still be revisited if new evidence became available.
“After all that has happened, especially this summer, Team CSC and Ivan Basso have agreed to part ways. It has been a very difficult decision, but both parties agree it is time to move on. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ivan for his time with the team and for the great results he and the team have achieved together. At the same time, we wish him all the best for the future,” says Bjarne Riis. — http://www.team-csc.com/ny_news.asp?n_id=1116
Basso also needed to prove to Bjarne Riis that he was not involved with Dr. Fuentes. Riis wanted extra hard evidence which involved Basso taking a DNA test which could be tested against the bags of blood found in Dr. Fuentes lab. Ivan Basso refused to take a DNA test under advice from his lawyer. The reasoning was that the blood bags found as evidence may have not been stored properly and could provide dubious results. This refusal was probably the detail that led to the split between Riis and Basso. For Riis this split is completely understandable since Basso is damaged goods. It would be hard to get new sponsors on board with Ivan Basso having questions and allegations surrounding him over the Operation Puerto scandal. What if new evidence were to arise next June? That seems to be the time of year that cycling related drug investigation get publicity. The team would find itself in the same situation as this year.
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Today Ivan Basso’s follow up court date was delayed until September 29th. Basso was originally scheduled to appear in court on Sept 12th to follow up on the proceedings from August 29th. No reason was given for the delay except the usual Italian justice slowdowns.
Tuttobiciweb.com writes that Basso feels exhausted at the latest delay in his case.
” I understand and respect the fact that justice needs to take its time. But at the same time I don’t see an end to this situation.
Basso is hoping to see his case resolved quickly so that he can get back to racing and be cleared of his involvement in Operation Puerto.
“I repeat what I have said many times throughout this case, I am not involved. This I will repeat to infinity. I am very respectful ofeverything and everyone, but I would like to be heard and I would like people to believe what I have said[...] I would like to say that I am upset because I have not stopped riding and training on my bike for one day. At this point I don’t see a time when I can return to racing with a number on my back. I feel like a prisoner waiting for justice, and each day I have to wait longer, this is truly exhausting.”
ivanbasso.net reports that if Basso is acquitted of all charges that he may be racing for Milram next year. Rumr has it that the Italo-German squad has been in contact with Basso, probably more than Bjarne Riis. So, if Basso is cleared and if Riis doesn’t want him back, Milram would be the next choice. Those are lots of ifs.
Alessandro Petacchi will now head up north to Belgium and the Northern Classics. First up is the Dwars door Vlaanderen-Waregem next Wednesday. The race will be used to get a feeling for racing in Begium with a view to the Tour of Flanders (Hidely ho neighboreenie!) and Gent Wevelgem. Joining Petacchi will be Maarten Den Bakker, Simone Cadamuro, Alessandro Cortinovis, Fabio Sacchi, Marco Velo, Ralf Grabsch and Martin Muller. Not sure when Erik Zabel will make his way north as he would be a good help in the Northern Classics as well.
http://www.tuttobiciweb.com/home.htm
Alessandro Petacchi took his first win of 2006 with the sprint victory in the GP delle Costa Etruschi. AleJet responded in the “Battle of Sprint Kings” with a convincing win on home turf.
(photo from Grande Ciclismo)
The win was not easy as the race was hard from the start with several attacks. Team Milram and Lampre then took control of the race for their respective sprinters. Petacchi took the wrapping off his new team, while Lampre were setting up for their new sprint man Daniele Bennati.
A break involving two riders-Pietropolli (Tenax) and Cuesta (Endeka)-had a lead of 3 minutes going into the final circuit, but the gap was brought back down in time to allow Petacchi and Bennati to place 1,2 respectively.
“My teammates did a great job to keep the race together. I took off too early in the sprint because I saw Napolitano breaking away at 250 meters. I thought that he was trying to contest the sprint, so I started sprinting. He was actually working for Bennati, but it was too late for me to do anything about it. I can now say that I am happy with my form after a 200km race. I am not as good on the climbs, but in the sprints I am going well. I will now train very intensively this week and then head out to the Ruta del Sol.” — Petacchi
“Today Petacchi showed a great deal of strength. There was nothing anyone could do, so I am satisfied with the result and how we raced. The team worked perfectly. My next goal is the Giro del Mediterraneo” — Bennati
Grande Ciclismo
AleJet Petacchi and Gibo Simoni are now free to model their new team kits for 2006.
The Team Milram look of Petacchi has a retro feel that almost brings to mind the? Motoroloa jerseys of the early to mid 90s. They keep the ratio of blue jerseys in the Pro Peloton very high. The Saunier-Duval kit used to be very classy and not blue. The yellow with black lines and white was understated and looked good while being very noticable. Unfortunately someone somewhere thought they needed to apply some “jazz hands” feeling to the kit.
Gibo doesn’t seem too excited about the artistic license that was taken with the SD team kit, while Emanuele Mori looks a little too happy for the new team kit. Teammate Leonardo Piepoli looks a little surprised at Mori’s over enthused reaction. Hopefully there will be plenty of tweeks to the SD team kit throughout the season.
bettiniphoto.net / the Eye of Cycling
