2006 Cycling Pro-Tour

[boz-e]

Does anyone else follow cycling - the UCI cycling tour and the clasics?

the Paris-Roubaix with its 52.7km of cobblestones is on this weekend so I thought I'd start a thread and see if anyone else is interested around here

Boonen has been in great form recently and even though the Paris-Roubaix is unpredictable I still reckon he might win it on sunday

[boyfromdabush]

..yeah mate im into cycling..if u have not done so already, i recommend going over + experiencing the carnival of one of the grand tours...boonen is dominating..also matt hayman from oz who won comm games road race is racing + must be pretty strong at moment.

ps that xray avatar is not "almost normal"

[speedyjams]

How it unfolded

194 riders left the confines of Compiegne at 10:50am, under sunny skies and moderate winds blowing from the northwest - conditions that would accompany them all the way to Roubaix. Thierry Marichal (Cofidis) didn't start, suffering from stomach problems. Earlier in the morning, 29 riders from Liquigas, Gerolsteiner, Team LPR and Saunier Duval were blood tested, with all being declared fit to start.

As usual, it was a fast getaway and Marc De Maar (Rabobank) and Tristan Valentin (Cofidis) had the honours of initiating the attacks after 17 km, followed by Stephan Schreck (T-Mobile). But everything came to naught with a healthy 47.1 km covered in the first hour. The problems for Discovery Channel began early with George Hincapie crashing after 31 km. He returned to the peloton, shaken more than anything else, but it was not to be his day.

The break that stuck eventually came after 62 km, when Joost Posthuma (Rabobank), Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Epargne), Stephan Schreck (T-Mobile) and Dmitri Konyshev (LPR) accelerated away, building a lead of 20 seconds. After 85 km, a chase group formed with Marco Righetto (Liquigas), Stephane Berges (Agritubel) and Iker Flores, who trailed the four leaders by 50 seconds through Busigny.

By the time the race reached the first of 27 sectors of pavé at Troisvilles (km 97), the four leaders had 1'20 on the three chasers and 2'05 on the bunch. Frank Hoj (Gerolsteiner) attacked the peloton and managed to bridge up as far as the chase group, but got no further. At the halfway point (km 130), the gap between the peloton and the lead break was up to 4'48, before T-Mobile, Discovery, Davitamon and Quick.Step began to work to close it down. But Davitamon lost one rider when Tom Steels crashed and broke his collarbone after clipping De Jongh's wheel after 127 km.

The inevitable race for position before the Arenberg Forest (km 163) started, and that spelled doom for the four chasers and also cut down the leaders' advantage rapidly. In front, Portal crashed on a sharp right hander and had to chase back on, while in the peloton, Sebastian Minard (Cofidis) crashed in exactly the same place. Gent-Wevelgem winner Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) was also having problems, puncturing twice and taking himself out of contention.

Quick.Step in particular made the most out of the race to the Arenberg, but maybe gambled too much on Tom Boonen. By the time the bunch reached the Forest, it was less than a minute behind the four leaders. Tom Boonen led the way onto the feared 2.4 km sector, with Hincapie, Steegmans and Cancellara all well placed. Then the CSC man took over and he was first to sweep by Posthuma, Schreck and Portal.

By the end of the sector, the damage had been done and 17 riders were left in front: Van Petegem, Steegmans (Davitamon), Hincapie, Gusev, Hoste (Discovery), Cancellara, Michaelsen (CSC), Boonen (Quick.Step), Wesemann, Schreck (T-Mobile), Guesdon, Eisel (FDJ), Posthuma, Flecha (Rabobank), Portal (Caisse d'Epargne), Ballan, Franzoi (Lampre). Boonen was surprisingly alone, and although his Quick.Step teammates mounted a serious chase behind to try to get Pozzato up front, it was to no avail, and the captain was left to fend for himself.

Early breakaways Schreck and Posthuma were the first to be dropped from the lead group, then Franzoi, and then Portal yo-yoed off the back on every cobbled section before eventually losing the group. In front, Flecha was particularly aggressive, putting in numerous accelerations on the cobbles to try to tire the others out.

Lars Michaelsen did a ton of work for his team leader Cancellara over many of the next sectors of cobbles, while Boonen looked to be riding a smart race and was never out of the top six. Discovery was the only team with three up front: Hincapie, Hoste and Gusev, and the cards were definitely in their favour for a while.

On sector 11 with 57 km to go, Flecha put in a strong acceleration that succeeded in gapping Wesemann and Steegmans, who were fraying at the edges. On the 3 km sector 10 at Mons-en-Pévèle (km 47), Cancellara attacked, causing more pain behind. Then came the disaster for Discovery: George Hincapie's aluminium steerer tube broke and he was left riding rudderless on the cobbles. He crashed on his right side, and although comparatively unhurt, had to watch the race go away without him. His Paris-Roubaix dream was over for another year.

There was no waiting around either. Flecha and Boonen upped the tempo, before Cancellara, Ballan and Van Petegem reacted. At the end of the sector, Flecha was off the back with Hoste, Gusev and Eisel, chasing the other four. They were able to return just after sector 9, and there were eight leaders: Van Petegem (Davitamon), Cancellara (CSC), Ballan (Lampre), Boonen (Quick.Step), Gusev, Hoste (Discovery), Flecha (Rabobank) and Eisel (FDJ).

On the pave at Cysoing (km 230), Gusev tumbled on a corner, bringing Ballan down as well. Both riders were able to rejoin the break, although Gusev took the longest time to do so. He managed it just before Camphin-en Pévèle (sector 5, km 239), and straight away took the lead. The others let him go, but Cancellara saw his chance and powered across to the Russian, the pair opening up a 10 second gap at the end of the cobbles.

Cancellara kept powering in front as he reached the Carrefour de l'Arbre, and with a strong ride on the sharp cobbles, he dropped Gusev for good. The break had split behind with Hoste and Van Petegem joining Gusev, and Boonen, Flecha and Ballan chasing another 10 seconds behind. Cancellara was now on his own and headed for victory, with his main opponent being possible misfortune.

The Swiss was lucky today though: he reached a train crossing at 10 km to go with a 30 second lead over the three chasers. But when they got there, the barriers had already come down to signal a train coming. They ducked through them and continued chasing, losing 10 seconds, but ultimately their positions in the race after the commissaires disqualified them. Boonen's group had to wait anyway, as the train was already upon them, but technically they went through when the barriers were lowered too - albeit after the train had passed.

It was clear at this stage that Cancellara wasn't going to be caught. He pushed his advantage even more - out to a minute - over the final 10 km, and entered the hallowed Roubaix velodrome to a huge cheer with enough time to celebrate as he did his one and a half laps of the track. He finished even before the next trio came in, and was already savouring the biggest win of his life in the centre of the velodrome when Hoste beat Van Petegem for second, with Gusev taking fourth. Boonen comfortably won his group sprint for fifth ahead of Ballan and Flecha, but had no idea that the positions would change later.

Less than 10 minutes after the race, the judges' decision became known: Hoste, Van Petegem and Gusev were all disqualified for running the barrier, meaning that Boonen was elevated to second and Ballan third. None of them were particularly happy with the outcome, but that didn't take anything away from Fabian Cancellara, who was by far the best man in the race today.

163,5 km Trouée d'Arenberg 2,4 km *****

[supa]

goddamn i have to make sure i'm o's to see this next year. that picture is :love:

[speedyjams]

And yeah supa now you get why I am saving coin for my spain/france/belguim trip this time next year. Imagine being one of the crowd in a small village in middle europe as the tour wizzes past. Or even better standing sideways on a steep part of the col'de something as the worlds best slowly drag themselves up some impossible climb. hmm

Oh and for those classic fans the next few races are:

April 16: Amstel Gold Race

After a win here in 2003, Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov will be looking to get his 2005 season on track after a disappointing 2004. This race is a change from the sprinter's terrain the other classics offer, and smaller riders such as last year's winner Davide Rebellin, who started his amazing 2004 run at this race, will take to the parcours as favourites

April 19: La Flèche Wallonne/Women's La Flèche Wallonne

Serving as a World Cup race for women and evelvated to the ProTour this year for men, La Flèche Wallonne is the only Ardennes 'double header'. As its name indicates, the race is run in Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium.

Both men's and women's races finish atop the Mur de Huy, a tough 1.4 kilometre climb averaging around 10%, with the steepest part at 20%. It's often the decisive point of the race, the men having to tackle it three times in the last 63 km, while the women do it just once at the finish. Prior to this there are a number of relatively short but steep climbs, and these usually serve to soften up the peloton before the final rush to Huy

April 23: Liège - Bastogne - Liège

The oldest classic of them all, the Liège-Bastogne-Liège starts in Liège's Place Saint-Lambert, a large historical square near the centre of town. For the first 95 kilometres, the riders take a fairly direct route to Bastogne, which is nestled in the south eastern corner of Belgium, quite close to Luxembourg. The route coming back is a lot longer however (163 km), and takes in most of the climbs in the race, before finishing in the northern Liège suburb of Ans.

[boz-e]

there's going to be a one hour special on the Paris Roubaix on SBS at 11am on 23rd April

I'm actually going to be at the tour de france this year for the beauvais to caen leg on the 6th july - look out for a boxing kangaroo flag

[boyfromdabush]

..actually bit surprised that there is a bit of a following.....speedyjams: did u do port mcquarie this year? (just noticed ur ironman tag)

anyways, sounded like a tough day at the office - hincapie has been so close yet so far the last couple of years, must be frustrating...i laugh at the report that a confidis rider missed the start due to a 'stomach problem'! we all know that that means he wasnt going to pass pre-race drug/health testing now dont we...

thanks for the tv update...if u dont know, www.cyclingnews.com is a wealth of info. enjoy the tour this year - the commercial caravan that preceeds the race is a spectacle in itself....i went to watch the alp d'huez time trial in 2004 : 1,000,000 + ppl over 16km of road, an amazing experience.

[boz-e]

if you've got cable tv then eurosport has heaps of info, live coverage (in the news ticker on the bottom of the screen) of the races - the website (http://www.eurosport.com) has a lot of information and videos on it too

[supa]

..actually bit surprised that there is a bit of a following.....speedyjams: did u do port mcquarie this year? (just noticed ur ironman tag)

i'll answer for him in his absence:

speedyjams esquire = IRONMAN

'twas an epic first time out appearance no doubt soon to be followed by future races, but first he has to remaster the art of walking up and down stairs :lol:

i was going to start a thread to congratulate him but get a little tired of all the ironman n00bs who think that because he is an ironman he eats nutri-grain and runs around with his speedos up his bum.

[brettok]

couldn't believe it when i saw this thread! I'm a huge cycling fan, have been a rider/racer for 15 years, i work in a bike shop and i write for a bike magazine. I race road and MTb, i do 8, 12 and 24hour mtb races. can't get enough. just got back from an mtb trip to NZ, check it out on my blog, http://brettok.blogspot.com/

Paris Roubaix is on of my fave races, the drama, the cobbles, the hard men. I was hoping PVP would get up this year, he was unlucky to get dq'ed. Boonen is an animal, how good is he.

[speedyjams]

..actually bit surprised that there is a bit of a following.....speedyjams: did u do port mcquarie this year? (just noticed ur ironman tag)

There are cycle fans everywhere dude. I did get most of my info from cyclingnews.com but there are some others. Some of the belgium and italian teams websites come in english. And yes I competed in and completed this years Australian Ironman Championships at Port Mac. I had a great day, you should try it some time.



speedyjams esquire = IRONMAN

'twas an epic first time out appearance no doubt soon to be followed by future races, but first he has to remaster the art of walking up and down stairs :lol:

i was going to start a thread to congratulate him but get a little tired of all the ironman n00bs who think that because he is an ironman he eats nutri-grain and runs around with his speedos up his bum.

I would just like to say for the record that I have never run around with my speedos up my crack...ever! Its so funny the amount of people who give me 'THAT' look when I say I am an ironman, I always follow it with ironman TRIATHLETE, and even then the penny doesn't drop. I always get "what do you do first the run or the bike...heheh" yeah and drown in the swim when you have nothing..nice one, well thought our there buddy. But anyway thank you oh mod supa/supa mod the stairs have been mastered and I have already started training for club champs in 2 weeks. I will then continue my training till yappoon then and only then do I get a rest for this year...hoot.

[boyfromdabush]

^^^
well done speedyjams! this year was the 1st time in 15years i not gone to watch the race (my dad has done several ironman races, including hawaii in 1987!).. i heard the hill on the bike loop was a bit of a killa. am in awe of any1 who has done that event, such a strong test of the mind! ....no way can i do that - i used to be a pro sprint/olympic distance triathlete, before running internationally until my knees stuffed up - now im not allowed to run anymore; but can cycle so just resumed serious training again (couldnt come watch ironman as had team training camp in vic alpine region).....+ mate u nuts, starting training 2 weeks after ironman, surely u still gota be sore?

...+ on the pro tour topic: who will replace lance as the boss of le tour peleton?.....i reckon basso (CSC is such a well run team with riis at helm), vinokourov maybe (he is a bit volatile i think but he will shine now he's away from telecom)....+ ullrich always must be considered (might crack in the mountains - have a look at stages 15 - 17; but surely he is the best time-trailist in the world)...oh, + is beloki back to some sort of form?

[brettok]

Le Tour is going to be interesting for the first time in seven years this year! I'm so glad Lance is gone. I'd really like to see Jan take it, he's the most deserving rider, having played second fiddle to Lance for so long. Basso will be up there, and is the other big favourite. Vino is an animal, and could play a part in GC, but whether he can prevent a bad day is yet to be seen. Beloki, well no he hasn't really gotten back to where he was before his crash in 03. I think Cadel can give em some trouble, maybe top 5, but then again he's a rider who could have a bad day or 2 and lose too much time. But le Tour is still a way off, we have Amstel, Leige to go yet....love the Classics! And then the Giro. Love it!

[speedyjams]

http://www.cyclingnews.com

243km/10km to go
"The lead group has many riders: Steffen Wesemann, Ivanov, Sinkewitz (T-Mobile), Bettini (QS), Schleck (CSC), Boogerd (Rabobank), (Phonak), Kroon (CSC), Sanchez (Euskaltel), Rebellin (Gerolsteiner).

Schleck (CSC), attacks with Sinkewitz(T-Mobile), trying to chase, but exploding soon after."

And Schleck from CSC romped it home over the last climb to win by more than 15 sec with T-Mobiles Steffen Wesemann coming in 2nd Rabobank's smiling assasin Michael Boogerd in 3rd. T Mobile pushed all day with Wesemann being probably the strongest in the race but maybe not the smartest as he missed the final attack and with ten to go after pulling out all the stops 50k out.


Next up on April 19 is the La Flèche Wallonne. Good Hilly course that sets the men from the peasants. more photo's at http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/apr06/amstel06/index.php?id=gallery-amstel06

[dotDNA]

For those with Fraudband, try

Cycling-TV (http://player.narrowstep.tv/skins/0012/nsp.aspx?player=cycling)

[boz-e]

...+ on the pro tour topic: who will replace lance as the boss of le tour peleton?.....i reckon basso (CSC is such a well run team with riis at helm), vinokourov maybe (he is a bit volatile i think but he will shine now he's away from telecom)....+ ullrich always must be considered (might crack in the mountains - have a look at stages 15 - 17; but surely he is the best time-trailist in the world)...oh, + is beloki back to some sort of form?I reckon basso will be the man to beat this year

CSC is just too good a support - I mean check out the roster (http://www.csc.com/mms/cycling/en/mcs/mcs163/) - its incredible

[speedyjams]

ProTour standings
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step - Innergetic 129 pts
2 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 105
3 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 89
4 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse D'epargne-Illes Balears 86
5 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 85
6 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 84
7 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram 72
8 Antonio Colom Mas (Spa) Caisse D'epargne-Illes Balears 71
9 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick Step - Innergetic 70
10 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile Team 60
11 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 60
12 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 60
13 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 53
14 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 52
15 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 51
16 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 50
17 Steffen Wesemann (Swi) T-Mobile Team 50
18 Francisco Javier Vila Errandonea (Spa) Lampre-Fondital 48
19 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 44
20 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 42

From cyclingnews.com

"Alejandro Valverde is a rarity in cycling: he can climb like a mountain goat and sprint like a track cyclist. The Spaniard gave a glimpse of his talents when he arrived on the scene as a fresh-faced 21 year-old for Kelme in 2002. Four years later and at the top of one of the steepest sections of road in the world, the now 25 year-old showcased that amazing versatility to claim his first major classic in the 70th edition of La Flèche Wallonne."

[supa]

i'm looking at that first pic jules and thinking yeah, i could ride there, lots of nice soft grass for me to have a stack on if i lost the plot :lol:

supa_stacking_expert

[speedyjams]

I think I picked that photo because of the hilly aspects but yeah now that you mention it....soft fluffy green grass is great to land on. And I believe your not the only chick I know who is inept in balance when it comes to riding. hehe

[boyfromdabush]

there's going to be a one hour special on the Paris Roubaix on SBS at 11am on 23rd April



dont forget this is on this weekend ppl - always great to watch em tackle the cobble stones + cant wait to watch hincapie's bike discintergrate underneath him..

[boz-e]

I'm actually suprised at how much coverage the cycling is getting on eurosport on the telly

nearly as much as football - more in some rotations

pre- and post- event interviews and live updates during the race - its awesome

in other cycling related news (http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-france/2006/sport_sto870750.shtml) - lance is going to do the new york marathon :lol: fuck man - 2 years out from cancer for me and I have trouble riding 42km

[boyfromdabush]

^^^ mate is that ur xray then? (its my job).....

take it easy then, remember it took lance a few years before he was riding a bike proper + back to normal too..

[boz-e]

yeah that's my CT scan - 2 years ago to the day in fact - a diffuse B-cell NHL it was - that large mediastinal mass was 16x20cm

all fine now though

and yes, its very hard to come to terms with a slow recovery - which makes it all the more amazing to me how lance managed to do what he did

still, I figure he managed 7 tours after beating cancer, I can at least do 3... 4 tops...

[boz-e]

just finished watching the pairs-roubaix and wished I'd recorded it

what an incredible race - I hate riding over the cobblestone entry to centennial park, I cant imagine how much that would suck

[supa]

just finished watching the pairs-roubaix and wished I'd recorded it

what an incredible race - I hate riding over the cobblestone entry to centennial park, I cant imagine how much that would suck

i know! all the little vertebrae in my back would be sore.

[speedyjams]

Well how was this years Paris-Roubaix? George Hincapie was looking like finally realising his dream of victory at Paris-Roubaix. But at that point, his steerer tube appeared to shear straight off, and Hincapie was left holding the bars but not the bike. The team's contention that the failure was a result of Hincapie's earlier crash. WOW like no shit that looked just like the guy who lost his handle bars in the tour down under this year. Poor bastard.

News of the weekend..Floyd Landis (Phonak) wins this years 2006 Tour de Georgia and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) win the 92nd Liège-Bastogne-Liège and with two wins within the space of a week has elevated himself to the top of the ProTour leaderboard, now seven points clear of Boonen (Quick.Step) and 31 ahead of Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital).

[boyfromdabush]

....felt a bit sorry 4 the french guy who was holding on 4 dear life at the back of the front group and who would struggle over each section of pavE .. : "and once again Nichola Portal is in the familar position of dangling off the back of the bunch" poor guy was getting no sympathy from Phil Ligget haha ...+ im sure Hincapie was crying on the side of the road.

also, with floyd landis in that sort of form I would put a bit of money on him winning at least 1 of the tt's in this years tour de France (ullrich will win 1, maybe 2 depending how he comes out of the alps)

[boz-e]

I just noticed this on SBS's website

SBS TV airing highlights of many world cycling events including:

:: UCI Track World Championships (April 30 @ 11am)
:: Fleche-Wallone (May 7 @ 11.30am)
:: Liege-Bastogne-Liege (May 14 @ 11am)
:: Tour of Qatar (May 21 @ 11am)

And of course there's the Tour de France starting with the prologue on July 1.

SBS TV will again be covering every stage LIVE and this year, we safely guarantee there'll be no interruptions.

[brettok]

also, with floyd landis in that sort of form I would put a bit of money on him winning at least 1 of the tt's in this years tour de France (ullrich will win 1, maybe 2 depending how he comes out of the alps)


i'll have a piece of that....

[boyfromdabush]

..... the full live coverage of each stage of the tour is bloody awesome! im usually pretty useless at work for the month of July, however, as a result... a couple of mates + I usually choose 1 mountain stage where we set up the windtrainers + tv in the garage + 'ride' the stage with the peleton.

[speedyjams]

floyd has got a good chance at 2 of the 3 TT's but I would like to say right now on the 26th of april...the winner is going to be spanish and he will have two last names.



thats is all

[brettok]

all of the spanish have two last names, just most don't get used often. so do u mean Valverde?

[boz-e]

Mc Ewan had a win last night in the tour of romandie (http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-romandie/2006/sport_sto874621.shtml)

the report doesnt say if he was his usual gracious self in victory

[speedyjams]

Come on boz-e this is "the man" of cycling, think back to Robbie’ "Look at mio"(to those who don't know he pointed to chest with both index fingers in an early tour de France stage win last year) and I would guess that he would have dinned out on the win, putting in a few sly remarks about his oppositions weight problems and how some of the guys just aren’t what they use to be. All the time knowing this was his first win of the season. Good for him but I am no sprinter so I hold no affinity with him....now if we were talking about Michael Rogers (now over with the dark side and doing well, looking for a stage win this year) or Cadel Evens (nothing to report here yet but again will do really well in the high country), or Brad Magee (good tt times in early races, will look for a repeat of 2004 in gaining the prologue) for that matter, well now that’s my cup of tea.

Brettok...yes that is true most of them do but I just think this year is the year of the Spaniard. The V-man is going great guns in everything he races in but I feel its someone elses turn...O.P are his initials.

[brettok]

Oscar Pereiro eh? Good rider, but not a GC contender I don't think, not this year anyway. But I'll throw his name in the mix.... I got asked yesterday to write the route guide and contenders articles for Bicycling Australia magazine's TdF edition. Got 2 weeks to do it... better get cracking.

[speedyjams]

If you want a hacks point of view please don't hesitate to ask. I am knowledgeable to an extent and I do like to talk up the tour. By the way have you seen how fat ulrich is already...lol

[boz-e]

discovery have named aussie lad Matt White in their line up for the giro

Benoît Joachim, Matt White, Manuel Beltrán, Tom Danielson, Paolo Savoldelli, Jason McCartney, Viatcheslav Ekimov, Pavel Padrnos and Chechu Rubiera.

[boz-e]

Evans wins Tour de Romandie (http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-romandie/2006/sport_sto876910.shtml)

http://i.eurosport.com/2006/04/30/274132-1031387-458-238.jpg

sounds like an incredible effort in the latter parts of the time trail - the 20s or so of highlights on eurosport this morning wasnt enough

[speedyjams]

How good is Cadel? bloody good I hope they rest him for the giro..let him ride some of the mountains in recon for the tour and then let him loose to smash them a new ahole in the tour. Yeah aussie yeah

[boz-e]

Ulrich has confirmed for the giro (http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/giro-d-italia/2006/sport_sto878224.shtml) which starts on saturday

I still reckon basso will do it - with julich and the rest of CSC supporting him he'll be hard to beat

[brettok]

I just added RAI to my Foxtel package...live Giro stages every night! commentary in Italian, but hey, I know whats goin on anyway...

[boz-e]

McEwan wins stage of Giro (http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/giro-d-italia/2006/sport_sto880689.shtml) - credits victory down to riding BMX as a kid

The Australian contributed his win partly to his childhood bike riding skills.

"I won because of my boyhood BMX riding and my 11 years of experience as a professional.

sure he mightnt be the most loved australian cyclist - but with quotes like that, there's no doubting just how fkn aussie he is

[speedyjams]

After head butting another aussie in a sprint last year and his showpony act on mountain top stages I spose he is a little hated but yeah I still like him (I also like baden but thats another story) Like all sprinters I spose he has to have some form of angry in him to get to the line so I don't hate him for that. How was mcgee's prologue but, only 11 sec's down but looking good for another prologue at the tour I hope.

[boyfromdabush]

...beating petacchi, in the giro (although stage in belgium) - very impressive!

...look for ullrich to try + ride himself into form + shed some kilos.

...look out for mick rodgers for G.C i reckon...strong team (if they work as a team) to work for him + he will no doubt repay them by protecting ullrich in le tour.

australia - 2nd stage 1, 1st stage 2 (vogels up there too)...2nd + 8th on g.c - what a strong showing at this early stage!

[speedyjams]

from cyclingnews.com

"One rider who definitely hasn't had Lady Luck by his side is Alessandro Petacchi, whose woes were compounded today after a rider crashed into him. "When a Euskaltel rider crashed about four or five riders ahead of me, I braked hard but stayed up until Cioni slid into me and hooked my handlebars," Petacchi explained. "I fell over on my left side and hit my knee hard. It hurt a lot at first, but felt better at the end of the stage. I'll go back to the hotel and have it checked out... I hope it's okay."

Unfortunately for Petacchi, it wasn't okay. Further examinations at a hospital post-stage revealed that he had broken his kneecap. Petacchi will return to Italy tomorrow, where he will get surgery. It is not known yet whether he will recover in time for the Tour de France."

So no petacchi for the tour aye. hmm

[boyfromdabush]

...knee cap probably means at least 6 weeks out...hmm he could make the tour but he would be under-done....the answer? bring back cippo, i say

[boz-e]

robbie wins again (http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/giro-d-italia/2006/sport_sto881902.shtml) - 2 wins in 3 days is pretty bloody good - be interesting to see how the italian riders pick up now that its actully moving to italy

and armstrong has said a few things (http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-france/2006/sport_sto881715.shtml), namely this:
"I originally picked Ullrich to win the Tour de France, but he seems to be behind again," said Armstrong of the German. "If he's only five kilogrammes overweight that's pretty good for him but I don't understand him, he's got so much to gain.

[speedyjams]

Hows lance on jan, "he could be the biggest sports star in germany...I just don't know if he likes his bike"...is that cryptic or what....I like my bike but not as much as lance haha.

Go robbie go you big headed man..."I never really went on the wheel of somebody - I just did my own thing in the sprint and passed everybody without too many problems" yeah I did that in my last race as well....to the showers. lol I would put my money on gilberto, cunegro and that little three named pint sizes pocket rocket to do something now.

[boz-e]

http://i.eurosport.com/2006/05/14/277961-1080810-458-238.jpg

basso's in the pink

looks like he's on track to do the giro/tour double

[boz-monaut]

ulrich puts down a good time trial (http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/giro-d-italia/2006/sport_sto887644.shtml) to show he's not just a washed up fatty after all

http://i.eurosport.com/2006/05/18/278967-1092753-317-238.jpg

but basso extended his lead

with ulrich showing some form again and basso on song its shaping up well for the tour

[supa]

from cyclingnews.com

"One rider who definitely hasn't had Lady Luck by his side is Alessandro Petacchi, whose woes were compounded today after a rider crashed into him. "When a Euskaltel rider crashed about four or five riders ahead of me, I braked hard but stayed up until Cioni slid into me and hooked my handlebars," Petacchi explained. "I fell over on my left side and hit my knee hard. It hurt a lot at first, but felt better at the end of the stage. I'll go back to the hotel and have it checked out... I hope it's okay."

Unfortunately for Petacchi, it wasn't okay. Further examinations at a hospital post-stage revealed that he had broken his kneecap. Petacchi will return to Italy tomorrow, where he will get surgery. It is not known yet whether he will recover in time for the Tour de France."

So no petacchi for the tour aye. hmm

:-0 geez you would've thought he'd have some inkling that it wasn't ok by the pain of breaking his kneecap!!!

[boyfromdabush]

was the TT down-hill?? hahah......ullrich still got a bit of weight to lose. only 6 weeks till le tour......but BASSO!!!!! only 28secs behind.. geez, if he can pull off the giro/le tour double, that would HUGE effort. hope he has not peaked too early... some tough mountains ahead..

[brettok]

It's all part of Jan's masterplan. He doesn't care about the Giro.... Basso will be a little concerned about July I think.

[speedyjams]

concerned about what? He is doing so well in the giro?...oh now I get it. I still have my bets on a spanish rider to take the tour out.

[boyfromdabush]

Basso has arrived... giro - check. bring on July!

[KingPeZ]

This might shut some critics up?

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/dutch-report-clears-armstrong/2006/06/01/1148956427078.html


Dutch report clears Armstrong
Email Print Normal font Large font June 1, 2006

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Independent Dutch investigators have cleared Lance Armstrong of doping in the 1999 Tour de France, and blamed anti-doping authorities for misconduct in dealing with the American cyclist.

A 132-page report recommended convening a tribunal to discuss possible legal and ethical violations by the World Anti-Doping Agency and to consider "appropriate sanctions to remedy the violations."

The French sports daily L'Equipe reported in August that six of Armstrong's urine samples from 1999, when he won the first of his record seven-straight Tour titles, came back positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO when they were retested in 2004.

Armstrong has repeatedly denied using banned substances.

The International Cycling Union appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman last October to investigate the handling of urine tests from the 1999 Tour by the French national anti-doping laboratory, known by its French acronym LNDD.

Vrijman said his report "exonerates Lance Armstrong completely with respect to alleged use of doping in the 1999 Tour de France."

The report also said the UCI had not damaged Armstrong by releasing doping control forms to the French newspaper.

The report said WADA and the LNDD may have "behaved in ways that are completely inconsistent with the rules and regulations of international anti-doping control testing," and may also have been against the law.

Vrijman, who headed the Dutch anti-doping agency for 10 years and later defended athletes accused of doping, worked on the report with Adriaan van der Veen, a scientist with the Dutch Metrology Laboratory.

EPO, or erythropoietin, is a synthetic hormone that boosts the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

Testing for EPO only began in 2001.

[speedyjams]

My argument still stands.......he is god on wheels!

[boyfromdabush]

http://www.cyclingnews.com.au/road/2006/jun06/suisse06/?id=results/suisse069

Big Jan's back?...still a few kilos to shred tho apparently....

also take note of who finished 2nd on stage.

bring on july 1st

[speedyjams]

From cyclingnews"
The Strasbourg prologue will finish early on Saturday, at about 16h30 so as not to interfere with a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match being played later that evening in Germany."

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.







Oh and I found this as well"Stage 11 kicks off with the Col du Tourmalet, then tackles the Col d'Aspin, Col de Peyresourde and Col du Portillon. On Tuesday, July 18 the Tour's 187km Stage 15 departs Gap and heads to l'Alpe-d'Huez via the Col d'Izoard and its famous rock formations of Le Casse Desert, then the Col du Lautaret before the 13.9km, 7.9% average gradient ascent to l'Alpe d'Huez. July 19's Stage 16 from Le Bourg-d'Oisans, at the foot of l'Alpe has a second consecutive mountaintop finish in the first-time Tour stage at La Toussuire, via the easier west side of the Col du Galibier up to 2,645m., the highest point of the '06 Tour." Hurting they will be I sense.

[boyfromdabush]

^^^^ exactly, the alps is where the tour will be won + lost.... i read that basso is pretty annoyed tho however, as there is only 3 mountain top finishes in this tour. He thinks this will restrict his opportunities to make time on ullrich.......the col de galibier is an absolute slut of a climb!!!

[speedyjams]

But there are three individual time trial this year...no team time trial so the I guess the winner has to be both a mountain goat and a crono specialist. Did anyone say anything on cadel "I go great up hills just don't make me go down at speed" evans or are we all going to focus on Ivan Basso/ Jan Ulrich. I still want a spanish bloke to win.....like The V bomber "valverdi" or maybe osca p will come out to play. I just can't wait for this saturday night. I pick fabia for the prologue or maybe southo if he is in it. Hope everyone has their windtrainers out its going to be a long month.

[boyfromdabush]

this edition of the tour is made for Jan. long individual tt's, less climbing. he should win but he wont. i reckon he's over it. although he been implicated as part of the spanish drug scandal so at least he should have more than enough red blood cells pumpin thru those legs. he has been allowed to start unlike vinokorov.

yeah i give cadel a top 5 on gc, but still cant tt with the other contenders + agree he is nervous on descents + he is prone to crack + losing big time spontaneously - think giro about 2 yrs ago

valverdi hmm excellent pick speedyjams, im guna go with u - show down between him + basso. what about throwing post armstrong discovery riders like hincapie + popovych, might be interesting to see how they go if they dont have to work on the front....

im picking yellow: basso
polka-dot: rasmussen (he's looking skinny)
green: boonen

[boz-monaut]

didnt really know which thread to post this in but has anyone seen Floyd Landis's power point rpesentation and can give a decent account of it?

also good news to see basso has been cleared - he's not goin gto race in the tour of lombardy though

[boyfromdabush]

yeah i saw a rundown of the powerpoint somewhere last week, i will try and chase it up.


agree, good to see basso back on the pro tour.......have i got some great exclusive news to announce!! CSC are riding tour down under. nothing new you say. o'grady, roberts racing as expected....team will be lead by.... BASSO himself! you heard it here first ppl.

[boyfromdabush]

here it is

http://www.floydlandis.com/blog/

[boz-monaut]

I heard that about CSC in the tour down under last week - good news that basso is coming out for it

[boz-monaut]

agree, good to see basso back on the pro tour.......have i got some great exclusive news to announce!! CSC are riding tour down under. nothing new you say. o'grady, roberts racing as expected....team will be lead by.... BASSO himself! you heard it here first ppl.fraid not

Basso has left CSC (http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/pro-tour/2005-2006/sport_sto988108.shtml)

Giro d'Italia victor Ivan Basso and team CSC agreed to end the Italian's contract on Wednesday, just one week after Basso was given clearance to return to racing. Basso had linked himself to both Discovery Channel and Milram on Monday, but said at the time that he was still hoping to stay with CSC.
"After all that has happened, especially this summer, Team CSC and Ivan Basso have agreed to part ways," said CSC manager Bjarne Riis of his long-time protege.
"It has been a very difficult decision, but both parties agree it is time to move on."
Basso, who had been suspended since the Tour de France for doping allegations before being cleared to race last week, was contracted through 2008.
"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," Riis said. "At the same time, we wish him all the best for the future."
The runner-up to Lance Armstrong in the 2005 Tour de France, Basso was a favourite to win the 2006 edition before doping charges stemming from the Operation Puerto investigation saw him withdrawn from the Grande Boucle on the eve of the race.
On Thursday the Italian Olympic Committee requested that the disciplinary charges against Basso be dropped after the investigating judge in Spain said they could not use evidence from the Spanish trial until it was complete.
Basso has recently been linked to Armstrong's old Discovery Channel team, where he said he has been offered a new contract.
"They made me a concrete offer, but I am open to other possibilities," Basso told French newspaper L'Equipe on Monday.
"It's not out of the question that I'll go back to Italy [where Basso is in contact with Milram], but I have also received offers from other teams on the continent."

[boyfromdabush]

Shit!!!?!

i was told that info by a CSC cyclist last w,end...clearly something has comeup....who do u reckon he will ride for? there were discovery channel talks as early as july..

[boz-monaut]

I reckon discovery

they need a new front man badly - and basso, while not a yank, has the looks to market the brand - that and he's very probably going to win the tour

[boyfromdabush]

basso has signed with deiscovery - wants to do giro , le tour double

[boyfromdabush]

ogrady wins 2007 paris roubaix - HUUUUGE EFFORT!!!!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/apr07/roubaix07/?id=results