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 Dauphiné Libéré Photo ©: Sirotti |
First Edition Cycling News for July 3, 2006Edited by Hedwig Kröner, with assistance from Susan Westemeyer An interview with Cadel EvansStepping up to the plateCadel Evans finished eighth in the Tour last year, and after a solid build up and the elimination (for various reasons) of five of the riders who finished in front of him in 2005, he is now a real contender. Cyclingnews' John Trevorrow spoke to the Australian on the eve of the Tour start in Strasbourg.
Cyclingnews will cover the 60th edition of
the Dauphiné Libéré live
as of stage 4 on Wednesday, June 10, at approximately 15:00 local Europe
time (CEST)/ 23:00 Australian time (CDT)/ 9:00 (USA East). Cadel Evans: Now there won't be just three teams who will try and control the race. We will have to find out. It is going to be a different Tour. We are going to have to wait, get out on the road and see. The obvious thing is that there won't be some of the strongest teams who would control it for their leaders. T-Mobile will have to do what they can with Klöden and CSC with Sastre. CN: When you heard that Basso was gone, Ullrich was gone, what was your first reaction? CE: Just that the cheats have been caught. If they have cheated then they deserve to be out. CN: You had already been touted as a podium contender, but these withdrawals change the opportunities for you now. Do you feel more pressure on you now? CE: I don't know yet. We'll find out in the race. But if you do your maths, yes. Take out the five who are not in the race anymore, that will put me into third or fourth. Importantly (it will) in terms of being a contender. So...mmm Click here for the full interview.
View from the sidelinesAn interview with Theo De RooyFor Theo De Rooy, general manager of the Rabobank cycling team, each of his 22 or 23 Tours de France (he's lost count) he has either ridden in or directed are now memories, he says. He's very much a man with a focus on the now and the future, and that's how he's managed to sooth Thomas Dekker's disappointment after being replaced at the last minute, and at the same time, keep his two Dutch veteran thirty-somethings Erik Dekker and Michael Boogerd feel as if they were racing their first Tour de France. Cyclingnews' Anthony Tan caught up with De Rooy at the team's presentation in Valkenburg.
CN: Are you very confident of the team that you're sending to this year's Tour de France? TDR: Ya. If we start with Denis Menchov, last year his preparation for the Tour was not 100 percent. He was not 100 percent in the Dauphiné; when we were training in the mountains before the Tour, he was not 100 percent; and when we reached the Tour, he was not 100 percent. But luckily we had Weening and Rasmussen, so it was not very visible, because we had others who were performing well. This year, Denis did a very good Dauphiné; he did some mountain stages afterwards and he's still feeling very good. Last year, he won the Vuelta and he certainly wants to prove that his Vuelta victory last year was not because of luck or because of the disqualification of Heras, but that he's just a very good rider. The second rider, Oscar Freire, he abandoned last year's Tour of Switzerland on June 16, and he didn't race again until Majorca this year. The last couple of months has been going fairly good with Oscar; in the Spring Classics, he lacked a little top form, but if you haven't raced for three quarters of the year... We had to establish after the Spring Classics that he was missing a few percent to achieve 100 percent form. But in Switzerland this year, the way he won the stage, I think we can expect the old Oscar Freire again in the Tour de France. Click here to read the full interview.
FIFA contacts Spanish investigatorsThe International Football Federation FIFA wants to ask the Spanish investigators uncovering the doping network around Madrid-based Dr Fuentes to submit them information next week. The officials want to know if there are football professionals involved in the scandal, to which 58 cyclists currently seem to be linked. from the beginning of the affair in May, Spanish sources had indicated that not only the sport of cycling was concerned. Varied line-up for the Tour of AustriaThe Hervis Tour (Tour of Austria), scheduled for July 3-9, can look forward to an varied international field this year, including three Japanese riders. The tour will include 180 cyclists from 24 different nations, the organisers announced last week. Favourites for the overall win include T-Mobile's Bernhard Kohl, third in the Dauphiné Libéré and newly-crowned Austrian Champion; Quickstep's Guido Trenti and Phonak's Johann Tschopp, who finished second in the race last year. Austrian riders Gerhard Trampusch (Wiesenhof-Akud) and Gerrit Glomser (Team Vorarlberg) are also expected to battle for the win. For the first time, the Austrian race will have three Japanese riders: Yukihiro Doi, Tomoya Kano and Hidenori Nodera, all from Dutch team Skil-Shimano. The teams for Hervis Tour are: Quick Step, T-Mobile, Phonak, Lampre, Discovery Channel, Rabobank, Credit Agricole, AG2R, Liquigas, Unibet.com, Chocolade Jacques, Naturino, Tenax, Wiesenhof-Akud, Skil-Shimano, Vorarlberg, Elk Haus, Aposport Krone Linz, Team Swiag Teka and Team Plast-REcycling. Glomser questionable for Hervis TourTwo-time Tour of Austria champion Gerrit Glomser may not have a chance to win his homeland tour for the third time this year. A summer flu has struck him and he has a high fever. "This morning I had a fever of just under 38 degrees. I feel terrible. There couldn't be a worse situation just one day before the tour - it's not the best conditions. Right now my start doesn't seem likely," he said. According to Team Volksbank team manager Thomas Kofler, "this crazy situation is typical for this season. We have nothing but bad luck. If Gerrit can't start, then all of our planning is for nothing. But I won't give up hope." The Hervis Tour, as it is now called, starts Monday with a 146 km stage starting and ending in Gars am Kamp, with two Cat. 3 climbs.
Australian cyclist killed in road accidentTasmanian cyclist Kate Tamayo died last Sunday, June 26, while riding her bike on Hobart's Eastern Shore. Tamayo, 42, from Dynnyrne, was struck by a four-wheel-drive car at Old Beach, heading north on the East Derwent Hwy between the two Jetty Rd intersections. She was given medical attention at the scene but died on the way to hospital. Police said it was not clear how the collision occurred and are looking for witnesses of the crash. Tamayo was a dedicated cycling amateur, greatly involved in local associations, who also participated in triathlons. The 'Kate Tamayo Tour de Femme Memorial Ride' will be held on Sunday, July 9 at 1pm. For more information, go to www.biketas.org.au/.
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