First Edition Cycling News for February 13, 2004

Edited by Chris Henry

Memory Corp comes good for Alessio-Bianchi

Marcus Ljungqvist
Photo ©: E. Isnard

John Rasmussen, the managing director of Memory Corp N.V., had positive news for the "Scandinavian" arm of the Alessio-Bianchi team today, after reaching an agreement with the team management. Memory Corp N.V. will provide enough funds to pay the salaries of Allan Bo Andresen, Magnus Bäckstedt, René Jørgensen, Marcus Ljungqvist, Claus Michael Møller, Michael Skelde and Australian Scott Sunderland. Besides that, six new cars and a truck will be delivered to the team. In return for its sponsorship, Memory Corp will get its name on the side panels of the riders' shorts.

Mr. Rasmussen was very pleased with the outcome of the negotiations, stressing that "The most important aspect is that the riders can concentrate on cycling again and get on with their jobs instead of having to worry about not being paid."

In addition, Alessio-Bianchi team management had no objections to Allan Bo Andresen's request to be released from his UCI contract. The Dane is in negotiations with the BankGiroLoterij team at the moment.

Let Zabel be Zabel

Under a certain amount of pressure from the German press to repeat his stellar 2001 season (with 30 victories), T-Mobile's Erik Zabel remains calm this year as he approaches another season as one of the peloton's most consistent performers. Despite fewer victories in the past two seasons, Zabel still shows he can sprint with the best, evident in his 2003 Paris-Tours victory over the year's top finisher Alessandro Petacchi. This season Zabel, 33, has opted to reduce his racing schedule in the spring classics in order to avoid over-extending himself.

"The results at the Challenge Illes Balears show that I trained well this winter," Zabel said in an interview with Sport Bild. "I don't think I have to prove anything more. The 2001 season was exceptional; I went from one victory to another. The wins came to be expected, and after a week without a win I would get nervous. Last year I had stretches of a whole month without a win, which made me a bit more humble. I appreciate every victory now."

With a motivated Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze) back in the peloton and ready to challenge Petacchi, does Zabel anticipate another year of domination by Fassa Bortolo's top sprinter?

"I can't be nervous about Petacchi," Zabel said simply, insisting that he stayed true to his usual winter training routines this year. "I'm as stubborn as a dog, I trained like I always have. My strength is that I combine good overall condition with a strong sprint."

This year Zabel will skip Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, preferring to let others in the team take a shot at the fabled classics. He will build up to the Tour de France, and another challenge for the green jersey, alongside reintegrated team leader Jan Ullrich, who will lead T-Mobile's bid to unseat US Postal and keep Lance Armstrong from winning for a sixth year in succession.

Riis happy with new recruits

Jaksche coming up
Photo ©: Lars Rønbøg

Four of Bjarne Riis' new recruits for the 2004 Team CSC have already shown themselves to be in fighting form in the early season Tour Méditerranéen currently underway in southern France. With Michele Bartoli, Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt in the top ten on stage 1 and Jörg Jaksche making the first selection after a long escape and a crash, Riis was nothing if not content with his team. Jaksche, despite an injured hand that required four stitches after the first day of racing, was on the attack again in stage 2, showing his resilience and riding into contention for the overall lead.

"When Jörg attacked, both Bettini and Astarloa tried to follow, but they couldn't keep up," Riis said proudly. "At one point the lead was over a minute and it actually looked like we would take the leader's jersey. Unfortunately the Rabobank-led group with most of the top contenders managed to catch them in the end."

Looking forward to the concluding team time trial up the Mont Faron, Riis expects CSC to be back in the hunt for the Tour Med's overall honours.

"With the form Jörg is showing at the moment we still have a good chance of an overall win," he added. "I don't think anyone can beat him in the decisive team time trial to Mont Faron on Sunday. We had four riders in the leading group today and it shows we have a very strong team down here."

Sanchez early leader for Euskaltel

Assuming a leadership role thanks to his good form in the opening races of the 2004 European calendar, Euskaltel-Euskadi's Samuel Sanchez will have the support of his team for the upcoming Vuelta a Andalucia (Ruta del Sol) which begins February 15. Sanchez figured among the leaders in the French season openers GP Marseillaise and Etoile de Bessèges, and will take on a leadership role for the early Spanish stage race.

At the Ruta del Sol, Sanchez will race alongside Mikel Artetxe, David and Unai Etxebarria, Dioni Galparsoro, Iñigo Landaluze, and Aitor and Josu Silloniz. Another Euskaltel team will compete in the Portuguese Volta ao Algarve (February 18-22), including Iker Camaño, Koldo Fernandez de Larrea, Iñaki Isasi, Alberto Lopez de Munain, Egoi Martinez, Aketxa Peña, Gorla Verdugo and Joseba Zubeldia.

Verbrugghe aims for Olympic double

Stymied somewhat by a nagging knee injury, Belgium's Rik Verbrugghe remains motivated to found the form he enjoyed in 2001. Verbrugghe has suffered in recent seasons from a variety of injuries, including tendon difficulties last year which affected his right knee. This year, the Tour de France is among the Lotto-Domo rider's top goals, with an eye on preparation for the Olympic Games in Athens three weeks later.

"I'd like to pass on the Giro in order to concentrate on the shorter stage races, like the Tour of Belgium and Tour of Luxembourg," Verbrugghe told La Dernière Heure. "Then I'll give everything for the Tour to get in shape for the Games, where I hope to do the road race and the time trial. The Olympics are something I don't want to miss."

Saunier Duval heads to Italy

Following news of the cancellation of the inaugural International Turkish Riviera Tour, the Saunier Duval-Prodir team has opted to head to Italy for three early season classics as a substitute for the planned stage race in Turkey. Saunier Duval will tackle the Giro della Reggio-Calabria, Trofeo Pantalica and Trofeo dell'Etna from March 6-8.

Liberty Seguros to camp

The 2004 season is now well underway, but Manolo Saiz's Liberty Seguros team will still undergo a short training camp from February 13-20 in Comillas, Spain. The team opened the Spanish road season well with two wins in Mallorca by Australian sprinter Allan Davis, and is looking to solidify the group with new leader Roberto Heras at the helm.

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