Tour de France Cycling News for July 3, 2004
Edited by Chris Henry & Jeff Jones
Baden's about to Cooke up a storm
By Anthony Tan
"Cookie" will have more than just Cipollini to contend with
at Le Tour
Photo ©: Olympia Photo
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With less than 24 hours to go before the prologue of the 91st Tour de
France, defending green jersey champion Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com) is ready
to cook up a storm. And as the Benalla Bullet concedes, with arguably
the greatest number of in-form rivals all vying for a piece of the maillot
vert for more than a decade, Baden will have to start cooking with
gas right from the word "Go!".
"There's probably more guys who have hit their best form [just before
the Tour]. I mean, they've all been there in the past, but I think this
year they're all on better form," said an understandably nervous Cooke
from his hotel in Liège, Belgium, Friday afternoon.
No fewer than seven of the world's best sprinters will descend on Belgian
shores at the start of the world's biggest annual sporting event on July
3 in Liège. Cooke's Aussie arch-rivals Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) and
Stuart O'Grady (Cofidis) have come good with perfect timing, both Australians
winning two stages apiece in the Tour
de Suisse and Dauphiné
Libéré respectively. O'Grady's former team-mate, powerful Norwegian
Thor Hushovd, is enjoying his best year ever with nine wins so far, most
recently capturing dual national championship titles last Sunday after
victory in the time
trial and road
race. And while some may consider Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze)
and Erik Zabel (T-Mobile Team) to be past their prime, the flamboyant
Lion King and six-time winner of the points competition should never be
discounted.
But the man Cookie - and most likely, all others - fear most is Italian
Alessandro "Ale-Jet" Petacchi, who equalled and then shattered the post-WWII
record of seven stage victories in a single Giro
d'Italia by winning nine out of twenty stages, and in doing so, took
the points competition with seemingly casual aplomb.
"If he's got the same form he had at the Giro, all he has to do is finish,
really," says Cooke, almost sounding as if he and the other green jersey
contenders would be fighting for second should Petacchi make it to Paris
three weeks from now.
Look for the full interview to be posted on Cyclingnews later
today.
Bourquenoud kicks off in Liège
By Jeff Jones in Liège
Swiss rider Pierre Bourquenoud (RAGT Semences) will be the first rider
off from the start ramp on Liège's Avenue Rogier tomorrow at 16:01
CEST. From then on, riders will leave at 1 minute intervals right up until
the last rider, Lance Armstrong (US Postal-Berry Floor) sets off at 19:08.
The 6.1 km parcours passes along Boulevard d'Avroy, Boulevard de la Sauveniere,
Rue de l'Université, Quai Roosevelt, Quai sur Meuse, Quai de la
Ribuee, Quai de la Goffe, La Batte, and back to Boulevard d'Avroy via
Place St Lambert (the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liège). It's
almost dead flat, sheltered from the wind and fairly non-technical (only
four corners), so we can expect the top average speeds to be well in excess
of 50 km/h.
For the opening stage, Bradley McGee (FDJeux.com) is probably the top
favourite, departing at 18:52 CEST. The winner of the prologue in Paris
last year, McGee is in top form again this year, having won the Giro prologue
as well as the overall classification in the Route du Sud last month.
He is a specialist over this distance, and the GC riders will probably
be a few seconds off the pace.
Another specialist to watch for is Fassa Bortolo's Fabian Cancellara
(18:22 CEST), the young Swiss rider who is often excellent in short races
against the clock. Cancellara told Cyclingnews, "I'm just trying
to treat this like any other race but after all, it is the Tour de France.
It's not like the Tour of Luxembourg. This is my first time here and I'm
really excited to do well".
Watch for sprinters like Tom Boonen, Stuart O'Grady, Alessandro Petacchi,
Thor Hushovd, Magnus Bäckstedt and Mario Cipollini, who all want to be
up there at the end of the day to have a shot at yellow or green in the
first week. And don't forget the time trial specialists such as Erik Dekker
(Rabobank) and Uwe Peschel (Gerolsteiner).
As for the GC riders, it will be a close tussle between Lance Armstrong,
Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, Haimar Zubeldia and Iban Mayo, none of whom
want to give up any time to their rivals in the opening week.
Join us for our live coverage of the prologue from 16:00 CEST
(Europe)/10:00 EDT (USA East)/7:00 PDT (USA West)/0:00 AEST (Australia
East Coast).
Selected start times
16:01 Pierre Bourquenoud (RAGT)
16:06 Erik Dekker (Rabobank)
16:41 Viatcheslav Ekimov (USPS-Berry Floor)
17:29 Marc Wauters (Rabobank)
17:36 Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner)
17:44 George Hincapie (USPS-Berry Floor)
17:59 Bobby Julich (CSC)
18:16 Michael Rogers (Quick.Step-Davitamon)
18:20 Jens Voigt (CSC)
18:25 Andreas Klöden (T-Mobile)
18:31 Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com)
18:39 Uwe Peschel (Gerolsteiner)
18:42 Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole)
18:44 Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel)
18:49 Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze)
18:51 Gilberto Simoni (Saeco)
18:52 Bradley McGee (FDJeux.com)
18:53 Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank)
18:55 Magnus Bäckstedt (Alessio-Bianchi)
18:58 Tom Boonen (Quick.Step-Davitamon)
18:59 Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole)
19:03 Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole)
19:04 Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo)
19:05 Iban Mayo (Euskaltel)
19:06 Tyler Hamilton (Phonak)
19:07 Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile)
19:08 Lance Armstrong (US Postal-Berry Floor)
27 countries represented
The 91st edition of the Tour de France will feature a 188-strong peloton
composed of riders from 27 different countries. The host nation France
is the highest represented country with 40 riders, just over 20% of the
entire field. Spain and Italy come next with 31 and 30 riders each, then
Germany (15) and Australia (10). The Netherlands (8), Belgium (7), USA
(7), Russia (6) and Switzerland (6) round out the top 10.
Rider stats
After the medical examinations were carried out over the past two days,
the Tour organisers issued the physiological statistics of all 188 riders.
The maxima, minima and means are as follows:
Lowest resting heart rate: Santiago Perez (Phonak) - 31 bpm
Largest respiratory capacity: Mikel Astarloza (Ag2r) - 7.98 litres
Lightest rider: Alexandre Botcharov (Credit Agricole) - 54.5 kg
Heaviest rider: Magnus Backstedt (Alessio-Bianchi) - 98 kg
Shortest rider: Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2r) - 1.58 m
Tallest rider: Guillaume Auger (RAGT) - 1.96 m
Youngest rider: Filippo Pozzato (Fassa Bortolo) - 22 years
Oldest rider: Viatcheslav Ekimov (US Postal Service) - 38 years
Average height: 1.79 m
Average weight: 69.9 kg
Average respiratory capacity: 5.74 litres
Average blood pressure: 122/69 mm Hg
Average resting heart rate: 51 bpm
Prologue weather report
The weather forecast for Saturday's prologue time trial, which begins
at 4pm in Liège, Belgium, calls for a maximum temperature of 19
degrees. Showers are likely in the first half of the day but could clear
in time for the first riders. Winds are expected to reach 50 km/h from
the southeast.
No strike at national lab
A planned strike at the national anti-doping laboratory in Châtenay-Malabry,
France has been called off. Unions representing workers at the laboratory,
responsible for dope test analysis for the Tour de France, threatened
to strike over concern about renewal of short-term work contracts. A meeting
is now set between labour and management on July 28.
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