First Edition Cycling News, April 23, 2009

Edited by Peter Hymas

Rebellin: Old dog, same tricks

By Gregor Brown in Huy, Belgium

Davide Rebellin (Serramenti Diquigiovanni)
Photo ©: ISPA

Italian veteran Davide Rebellin proved that time hasn't slowed his 37-year-old legs with a win in Wednesday's Flèche Wallonne. Despite the 13 years between his first big victory – a stage of the 1996 Giro d'Italia – and his latest win, Rebellin was up to his old tricks with a third victory on the infamous Mur de Huy.

"The sport is still fun for me and I want to continue, maybe that is my secret," he said. "I still have a lot of endurance, but it is important to work on the explosiveness for sprinting."

Rebellin responded to an attack by Cadel Evans on the final ascent of the 1300-metre climb that ends Flèche Wallonne. He caught the Australian and kept Andy Schleck and Damiano Cunego, 14 and 10 years his junior respectively, at bay.

Rebellin took his first Classic wins in 1997 with the Clásica San Sebastián and the Championship of Zürich. Seven years later he claimed his first Ardennes Classic in style: a clean sweep of all three; Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"I've worked a lot to maintain that explosiveness. In the winter, I always do intervals and power sprints. Leading up to these races I use the small mountains that I find in Italy to replicate the Mur. Plus, I do a lot of work behind the motorbike, keeping my leg speed high."

Rebellin proved he still has it in 2009 with two stage wins in the Vuelta a Andalucía and a second place in the GP Lugano earlier this year. Leading into the Ardennes Classics, he placed third overall in the Settimana Lombarda earlier in the month, which was won by Cunego.

A case of influenza almost wrecked his preparations for the Ardennes Classics, however. A week ago he skipped one of his long training rides to recover and it came at a cost: he had to use Amstel Gold on Sunday as a training ride for Flèche and Liège.

"I had good feelings this morning and I recovered well from last week. I knew I had to continue to finish off the great work by my team; [José] Serpa and [Michele] Scarponi. I thought I would have good feelings and I did, I won. It might just be the best of my three wins."

The win puts Rebellin at the top of the charts for Liège-Bastogne-Liège favourites on Sunday.

"Liège is a different course, with 60 more kilometres. I hope to have a good day of sunshine and then I will make my race. If you are in condition you can have your race, you have to have the legs.

"I will pay close attention to Andy Schleck, he is a talent and truly strong, and also Cunego."

For more on Rebellin read Ready for Ardennes and beyond.

Schleck eyed Rebellin for Flèche win

By Gregor Brown in Huy, Belgium

Davide Rebellin comes past Andy Schleck
Photo ©: ISPA

Andy Schleck easily carried the weight of Saxo Bank team leader Wednesday in Belgium with a dramatic fight for the Flèche Wallonne win. The Luxemburger went head-to-head with Davide Rebellin (Diquigiovanni) in the closing stages of the race, losing out in the final push.

With older brother and one of the team's big guns for the Ardennes, Fränk, out of action due to a crash in Sunday's Amstel Gold race, it was Andy's turn to step up to the challenge. And it nearly paid off. Schleck finished second in the 195.5-kilometre race that is marked with three ascents of the steep Mur de Huy. A move by Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) in the final kilometre put Rebellin and Schleck on the defensive.

"I looked at Rebellin at 300-400 metres before the finish and I could see in his eyes he was ready to sprint. I thought to anticipate his move, but we started it at the same time. He just had more power in the end," Schleck told Cyclingnews.

Once they caught Evans, the pace slowed a bit and it put Schleck at a disadvantage for the two-man duel. He was unable to match Rebellin, but kept Damiano Cunego (Lampre-NGC) at bay.

"It was fantastic team work: 50 kilometres to the finish we sent Chris Anker Sørensen and Jakob Fuglsang off in attacks – they did a perfect job. I asked for the full team's support for the final climb and they led into it at a high speed. I did not want the pace to be slow onto the Mur de Huy. Nicki Sørensen went from the bottom, flat out, and in the end his legs 'broke'. I had the second best legs of the day."

Schleck's second place finish is his best result in the mid-week Ardennes Classic and confirms his good form at Amstel Gold where he finished in 10th position. Prior to this edition of Flèche Wallonne, Schleck had placed 56th in 2007 and 75th in 2008.

Schleck will be one of the favourites for Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a race that could be more suited to the all-arounder who claimed the maillot blanc of best young rider at last year's Tour de France.

Cunego lacked response on Rebellin's Mur

By Gregor Brown in Huy, Belgium

Damiano Cunego (Lampre-NGC)
Photo ©: ISPA

Damiano Cunego was unable to match the experienced legs of Davide Rebellin (Diquigiovanni) in Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, but sees himself on target for this Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the third of three Ardennes Classics.

"When Rebellin went, that is when I simply could not respond. The Mur here is custom-made for Rebellin. When I see this climb I think of him and nobody else," said Lampre-NGC's Cunego.

Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) led the favourites into the last metres of the Mur de Huy – the climb that features three times and ends the mid-week race. Rebellin, Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) and Cunego waited in the wings as the Australian faded. Rebellin and Schleck started their duel and Cunego fought to hold on to his third over Olympic Champion Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Evans.

Cunego's third place finish ended a day of strong teamwork designed to put him on top. Teammate Enrico Gasparotto broke the race apart and eliminated some rivals over the Côte de Bonneville and the penultimate climb of Côte de Ahin.

"The team did well, there is a good feeling. I will be there for Liège, today was a good test," said Cunego.

Cunego finished third in Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2006. Though he suffered in the heat last year, this year's Amstel and Flèche results indicate he is on path to get a win.

For more on Cunego read Cunego returns for Ardennes rush.

Vos fires three arrows

By Bjorn Haake in Huy, Belgium

Marianne Vos (DSB Bank)
Photo ©: AFP

Marianne Vos (DSB Bank) won her third straight Flèche Wallonne title on Wednesday, making her the third rider to win three times on the Mur de Huy. Vos is the only rider to have done it in consecutive years, but the records don't mean much to her.

"I only thought about this race. Of course it is great to be in the list with [Fabiana] Luperini and [Nicole] Cooke," Vos said. "But every time it is a new race and if it's possible I want to win – I don't think about the records."

The third win signified something else for her. "It means the parcours really suits me," she said. The men's winner, Davide Rebellin, also won for the third time and Vos drew her conclusions. "You see that some riders are good on this course. Three girls winning three times, that means it doesn't suit every rider."

Vos was one of the big favourites coming into Wednesday's race. "You know everybody wants to beat you so to win another time is great," the Dutchwoman said.

Vos couldn't tell a difference in her three wins. "They are all tough victories," she said. Strong opposition came from Claudia Häusler, who opened the attacks. "She must have thought 'I want to make Vos tired'. But in the climb I knew I had a chance for victory."

Vos managed to get a bigger gap than in her close sprint the previous year. "The last 100 metres were... how do I say this? They weren't easy but they were better [than last year]," Vos said with a smile.

A hard race

Despite a big group arriving at the bottom of the Mur, it was no cake walk to get there. "The race was pretty hard, we raced very fast. On every climb there were attacks." But the attacks always contained all the favourites and there was no agreement in the groups to keep it going, so the peloton swelled up again after the descents.

"Everybody waited for the finishing climb, which was difficult to control. You have to be focused and go with every attack."

Vos reduced her 43-point deficit in the World Cup standings to Emma Johansson, but the Swede took second in Wednesday's race. Johansson now leads Vos by 18 points. "The World Cup wasn't really a target," Vos said. "I am not doing one of the races, in Montreal, so that is going to make it difficult." The Dutchwoman takes a pragmatic view, though. "In the World Cup races I want to be in good shape and then we'll see at the end of the season how it works out."

Despite her many successes at a young age on the road, on the track and in cyclo-cross, she hasn't lost her hunger for winning yet. "I thought it would be difficult but the Flèche is such a nice race," the Dutchwoman explained.

"It is just great to race and winning is even better!"

Philly hangs on the edge

By Kirsten Robbins

The pro peloton's return to Philadelphia this year is in doubt.
Photo ©: Dennis Smith

The Pro Cycling Tour (PCT), organizer of the 25th annual TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, is hoping that a potential sponsor will commit to covering a shortfall of $500,000 needed to complete a $2.0 million budget required to run the race on June 7.

"We are doing what we can and it would be a real shame to lose this race," said Chauner, who recently signed Mini Cooper as the event's official automobile sponsor. "It is really going to hurt cycling. We have about 20 companies in the pipeline that have an interest in giving between $10,000 and $75,000 each, but until we get a firm commitment from them it will be hard for us to go forward. If we don't have the needed $500,000 we can't do the event."

The TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship fell into jeopardy in August of last year when the city of Philadelphia requested PCT to cover the nearly $250,000 cost of police road closures and other city fees. The event also lost sponsorship funding upwards of $225,000 from long-term sponsor CSC and last year's sponsor Rock Racing. The Pro Cycling Tour has raised $1.5 million of the $2.0 million needed to make the event happen.

According to Dave Chauner, president of PCT, many cycling events are suffering under the economic downturn and part of the problem is that there is no stable formula to financially sustain them.

"Overall sponsorship of sporting events is very difficult because of budget cutbacks from sponsors who would normally spend more," said Chauner. "Unfortunately, cycling is supported by angel investors. It's not a professional circuit like other sporting events where there is enough cohesiveness to create a tournament-style circuit. That would make sense for cycling and can be marketed as a national platform. Until we can do that it is difficult to make cycling sustainable."

Gaps on the American-race calendar are an indication that cycling is struggling to stay afloat. Events that have either been downsized or canceled include the Tour de Georgia, two key events in the former Triple Crown series in Reading and Allentown, the Oregon Pro Cycling Classic and the International Tour de Toona among others.

One event that managed continued growth this year was the Tour of California held in February. President of AEG Sports, Andrew Messick, noted that 2009 is going to be a survival year.

"It will be super tough," Messick said. "I don't think there is any doubt that there will be a substantial shaking out of teams and races on a global basis. There are a lot of teams and races struggling up until now and they will find themselves in very serious situations. It's much harder to find partners who want to support this sport.

"As someone who cares a lot of cycling, I hope Dave Chauner can make the Philadelphia race work. We hope like crazy because our sport needs a vibrant domestic cycling scene and it would be sad and troubling to see all of the top races vanish."

Moreau the KOM of Flèche Wallonne

By Bjorn Haake in Huy, Belgium

Frenchman Christophe Moreau (Agritubel)
Photo ©: Gregor Brown

Christophe Moreau (Agritubel) went on a long escape in Wednesday's Flèche Wallonne and won the Prix des Monts, the King of the Mountains competition, for his efforts. In Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège he wants to save his energy and contest the finale.

Moreau took off with Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil-Shimano) less than 10 kilometres into the race. "Today I wanted to go ride on the front," Moreau told Cyclingnews. "My break companion gave all he had, but he was at his limits." As a result, Moreau found himself riding alone more than 80 kilometres from the finish.

Moreau knew that he wouldn't be able to stay away once he was by himself. "If I had a companion with the same strength as me then we could have done something great today. But I am not disappointed, I had a good day."

Moreau finished with the peloton but still made it onto the podium. "I won the Prix des Monts, the team was doing well and David [Le Lay] was able to contest the finale," Moreau said. Le Lay finished 12th.

Unlike the riders at the front of the peloton, Moreau could enjoy the final hill of the race. "Up the Mur I had no pressure and I was enjoying myself on the climb. I am getting to the end of my career and Flèche and Liège are races I really like," he said.

Moreau has not raced Flèche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège a lot and never had a good result. "It doesn't matter, though, I still like the Ardennes races."

In Liège on Sunday he will stay with the peloton. "I won't get into a break. Instead, I want to give it my all at the finish," Moreau said. "I can't win, but I can still have fun."

Häusler hurts on Mur

By Bjorn Haake in Huy, Belgium

Claudia Häusler (Cervélo TestTeam) stormed to a third place in the women's Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday. Häusler made the first move on the final climb of the day, the Mur de Huy.

"I went full gas at that steepest part; there is a left turn and from there I went all out." The reason was quite clear, with many of the women still in contention. "I thought I'd start to go hard early so it would hurt the sprinters. That's better for me as a climber."

Her aggressive move didn't work out but Häusler was all smiles. "In the end it wasn't enough to win but I am really happy about my third place," she told Cyclingnews after the race.

Besides the hard training there was another motivating factor on the final 1.3-kilometre climb. "The spectators are unbelievable, you don't feel any pain – of course it hurts, but you just give all you have."

Häusler has a teammate with a similar name, Heinrich Haussler. "Many think we are siblings, but now within the team everyone has caught onto the fact that the umlaut [and the number of s] is quite important..." she said with a smile.

Her next important race is the World Cup in Bern, Switzerland. "That's almost a home race for us," the German said. "After that the Tour de l'Aude is also very important."

Häusler is quite pleased with her season so far. "Things are looking good and I hope my form will be getting even better."

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