Triathlon Daily

Italian rider Moletta suspended for alleged doping

from the AP…

CESENA, Italy (AP)—The Gerolsteiner team suspended Andrea Moletta and pulled the Italian rider out of the Giro d’Italia because of alleged doping.

Moletta, who was in 77th place halfway through the three-week Giro, did not start Wednesday’s stage.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Thursday that Italian police searched a car driven by Moletta’s father in which they allegedly found a refrigerator with suspected doping products as well as syringes hidden inside tubes of toothpaste.

Police said the car was headed to the Giro and the search was part of a wider investigation into doping in gyms in the city of Padua in northeastern Italy.

Gerolsteiner general manager Hans-Michael Holczer made the decision to suspend the 29-year-old Moletta, Gazzetta said.

The Giro d’Italia continued Thursday with a 107-mile flat leg from Forli to Carpi.

Giro d’Italia Results - Stage3

from the AP…

MILAZZO, Sicily (AP) — Daniele Bennati won the third stage of the Giro d’Italia on Monday in a massive sprint finish, and Liquigas teammate Franco Pellizotti held onto the overall lead.

Bennati avoided several crashes in the 137-mile leg from Catania to Milazzo to finish in 5 hours, 37 minutes, 1 second. Erik Zabel was second, followed by Danilo Hondo.

“I’ve won at the Tour (de France) and the (Spanish) Vuelta, but never at the Giro, so this is special,” Bennati said.

Pellizotti arrived with the main group of riders in the same time. He leads with an overall time of 11 hours, 52 minutes, 17 seconds.

The crashes were caused by a light rain fell part of the day. One involved about 30 cyclists including Riccardo Ricco, winner of Sunday’s stage and a pre-race favorite. He was expected to go to the hospital for X-rays on his hand.

“It’s probably broken, we’ll see,” Ricco said. “This course was too dangerous.”

Bradley McGee pulled out of the race after breaking his collarbone in a separate crash. He had been eighth in the overall standings going into Monday’s leg.

American David Zabriskie pulled out after a crash Sunday.

The Giro returns to the mainland Tuesday with a 114-mile course from Pizzo Calabro to Catanzaro Lungomare.

Giro d’Italia Results - Stage 1

Slipstream has won Stage 1 of the Giro d’Italia. The American squad smoked the technical, 23.6-km team time trial in Palermo in 26:32. CSC finished second at 0:06, and High Road took third, a fraction of a second behind CSC. Christian Vande Velde (Slipstream) is the 2008 Giro’s first maglia rosa.

Milram was the first team to start, and the German outfit posted a 27:17. Tinkoff bettered Milram’s time by 0:12 to set the early standard. Several teams made unsuccessful attempts to take the lead before Slipstream, which shed David Millar in the last km, blasted across the finish line with the day’s fastest time.

Astana finished next with a 27:01, and Euskaltel followed suit with a 27:49, the second slowest time of the day. (Francaise des Jeux’s 27:59 was the slowest.) CSC posted the day’s fastest time (until then) at the 10-km checkpoint, but Slipstream finished well and the Danish squad might have faded slightly. Barloworld had the fastest 10-km time of the day but faded more than CSC to finish fifth in 26:46. High Road shed Kanstantsin Siutsiu and waited for him, which might have made the difference between winning and losing.

In the overall, Vande Velde leads teammates Dave Zabriskie and Ryder Hesjedal by fractions of a second. Stage 2 will be a challenge for the American squad in its bid to keep the maglia rosa. The 207-km ride from Cefalu to Agrigento is hilly and will end with a four-km climb. Will the Slipstreamers keep the overall lead, or will someone take it from them? If the latter, then who? Check in at www.roadcycling.com and find out!

Race Preview: 2008 Giro d’Italia

from RoadCycling….

The 2008 Giro d’Italia will be a climber’s race. The race has four time trials, but at 28.5 km, 36 km, 13.8 km, and 23.5 km, none is especially long. Only six of the 21 stages will be sprinter’s stages. Eight of the stages will be mountain or high mountain stages, so the climbers can be expected to shine.

The race will begin in Sicily. Stage 1 will be a 28.5-km team time trial in Palermo. Stage 2 will be a 207-km, rugged, hilly ride from Cefalu to Agrigento. The sprinters will get their first chance for glory in Stage 3, a flat, 208-km run from Catania to Milazzo.

The riders will transfer to the Italian mainland for Stage 4, a 187-km run from Pizzo Calabro to Catanzaro-Lungomare that will have a mountainous first half but that should end in a sprint. Three of the next four stages will be rolling affairs, with Stage 7, a 179-km ride from Vasto to Pestoconstanzo, being a mountain stage in the Apennines. Stage 8, a 200-km ride from Rivisondoli to Tivoli, should end in a great escape, while Stage 9, a flat, 194-km run from Civitavecchia to San Vincenzo, should see a sprinter win. Stage 10 will be a 36-km time trial from Pesaro to Urbino. The first of two rest days follows the time trial.

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Tour of Pennsylvania offers US$150,000 purse

from BikeRadar…

With 18 domestic and international teams already selected to compete in the inaugural running of the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Presented By Highmark Healthy High, race organizers today released the details of the demanding 450-mile, six-day race route.

A complete field of 20 to 22 teams will compete June 24 through June 29 in this first-of-its kind U-25 cycling stage race that will showcase the sport’s next generation of superstars, and guarantee a prize purse of US$125,000.

The cyclists will battle for the leader’s jersey along a historically rich route. Beginning on hallowed cycling ground in Philadelphia, the route passes through towns and countryside that roughly follow Forbes Road (U.S. 30), which was forged in 1758 by British General John Forbes and Colonel George Washington. The race culminates in Pittsburgh as part of the city’s 250th anniversary celebration.

Seven Pennsylvania towns and cities will host the official race starts and finishes, with communities along the way gaining a first-hand look at the world’s best young talent in the kind of competition that is normally found only in Europe. In addition to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the host cities include Downingtown, Carlisle, Camp Hill, Bedford, Latrobe and Ligonier.

“The Tour of Pennsylvania offers $150,000 in total prize money, the richest in the world for Espoir class riders, plus it is the only UCI sanctioned race in the U.S. specifically for riders under age 25,” said David Chauner, Pro Cycling Tour president and executive director of the race that is being organized as part of a statewide celebration of Pittsburgh’s 250th anniversary.

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