April 30, 2008

Astana invited to Tour of Spain

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from BikeRadar…

The Astana team will be allowed to contest this year’s Vuelta a España, the organiser Unipublic announced Tuesday.

After being refused entry to the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, the team of the 2007 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was expecting to target the Vuelta in the latter part of the season. The team had received a word of support from the Spanish Tour director Victor Cordero in February, but had to wait for the official invitation to be certain.

Of the 18 ProTour teams, only Team High Road is not on the list, having withdrawn its application for the race. Three wild card teams were invited, making a total of 20 teams for this year’s edition. The Spanish Karpin Galicia team of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey winner David Garcia Dapena earned a nod, as did the Andalucía - Cajasur team of sprinter Francisco Ventoso, a former Vuelta stage winner. The Tinkoff Credit Systems team rounds out the roster.

The Unipublic statement said that 33 teams had requested to be included in the 2008 edition and that the teams which were chosen “meet the necessary requirements in terms of ethics, image and administrative matters” and are categorized by the UCI as “wild card” teams – a label which requires teams to adhere to the biological passport program and other considerations.

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April 9, 2008

ASO to change Tour de France route

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From BikeRadar.com…
by AFP

The threat of tumbling boulders has forced Tour de France organisers into changing the route of one of the stages on the 2008 edition of cycling’s blue riband event.

Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) announced Wednesday that the 15th stage would now start from Embrun rather than Digne-les-Bains and feature the 2744m Col d’ Agnel before arriving in Prato Nevoso in Italy. Initially the stage was to have included the ascent at Larche but that is now being avoided due to the “very high” risk of rock falls, ASO explained.

“The risk of rockfalls on around four kilometres of the circuit has been known for a few months and all the parties concerned have tried to come up with a solution,” ASO added.

The new route of around 185km is about 30km shorter than the original one for the stage on July 20 with Embrun also being used as the start of stage 17 on July 23.

March 29, 2008

Verbruggen concedes defeat to Tour organisers

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PARIS (Reuters) - Hein Verbruggen, vice-president of the International Cycling Union (UCI), has conceded defeat to Tour de France organisers in a long and bitter battle for control of the sport. The former UCI president, still widely seen as its strong man, told French daily Liberation on Saturday: "I lost, but it's less my defeat than the defeat of cycling." The Dutch member of the International Olympic Committee was replaced at the UCI helm in 2005 by Irishman Pat McQuaid but was also the leading force behind the ProTour series imposed by the body at the time. Tour de France owners Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) have always been critical of the 20-team formula and the dispute over television and marketing rights has deteriorated steadily. Read More »
March 28, 2008

Contador denies rumors of team switch

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From Velonews.... Defending Tour de France champion Alberto Contador denied rumors Friday he was preparing to jump ship to defend his title in July with another team. Moments after securing the overall title at the Vuelta a Castilla y León on Friday’s fifth and final stage, Contador told reporters he won’t change teams to race the Tour even though Astana has been denied entry into the race. “I won’t race the Tour with a team that’s not Astana. I hope that I can put an end to all these speculations and rumors that saw I will go to another team,” said Contador, who secured a 38-second victory to Mauricio Soler (Barloworld). “I want to be with my friends, with my team, and I only will race (the Tour) with them.” Read More »
March 21, 2008

Slipstream vow to bring fresh breeze to Tour

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by Julien Pretot

PARIS, March 21 (Reuters) - Newcomers Slipstream vowed to bring a fresh breeze to the Tour de France after being invited to cycling’s greatest stage race.

Slipstream, a ProContinental team, will hit the French roads with two other second-division teams that have already competed in the Tour and 17 ProTour teams.

However, team owner Doug Ellis was undaunted by the task awaiting his riders.

“There are a lot of experienced riders in the team, with two having worn the yellow jersey, David Millar and David Zabriskie,” Ellis told Reuters in a telephone interview.

“I think (Tour organisers) ASO saw there was experience in our team. They are also interested in getting access to the U.S. cycling audience, and we have so many U.S. riders in the team,” he added.

Led by Zabriskie, the only U.S. rider to have won at least one stage in all three big Tours (France, Italy and Spain), the team has 14 Americans on its 25-strong roster.

This gives ASO an opportunity to lure back the American audience three years after seven-times winner Lance Armstrong retired.

Ellis promised that his team, under the guidance of former professional rider and founder Jonathan Vaughters, would stand out during the Tour.

ANTI-DOPING STANCE

“We’re not only going for publicity. We are going for the yellow jersey, to take it and try to hold on to it,” Ellis said.

Read More »

March 20, 2008

Slipstream a go, Astana a no for Tour - ASO announces 20 teams for 2008 Tour de France

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Cycling News Flash… March 21, 2008 By Gregor Brown

(Click for larger image)

The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) has announced the 20 teams that will partake in the 2008 edition of the Tour de France, July 5 to 27. The organiser of the world’s largest cycling event confirmed its controversial decision to exclude the team of defending champion Alberto Contador, Astana, but has included USA’s promising new team, Slipstream Chipotle - H30.

Slipstream manager Jonathan Vaughters was happy to be back on the road to the Tour de France, after having last ridden the event in 2002. The team had planned its season around a possible bid for the Tour, but the invitation was not a given. “I’ve come to never expect anything in cycling: it’s funny, we were given an invite to the Tour but not for Gent-Wevelgem!”

Comprising the list of 20 teams are the 17 ProTour teams (minus Astana) and three Professional Continental teams, Agritubel (Fra), Slipstream Chipotle - H30 (USA) and Barloworld (GBr). The ProTour teams are Gerolsteiner and Team Milram (Ger), Quick Step and Silence-Lotto (Bel), Team CSC (Den), Caisse d’Epargne, Euskaltel-Euskadi and Saunier-Duval-Scott (Spa), High Road (USA), Bouygues Telecom, Crédit Agricole, Cofidis, Française des Jeux and AG2R La Mondiale (Fra), Lampre and Liquigas (Ita), Rabobank (Ned).

During a meeting between the International Cycling Union (UCI) and five national federations (including France) in January, the UCI stated that all 18 ProTour teams must be invited to the Tour de France. However, February 12, ASO said it had no intention on inviting Team Astana following its problems in last year’s event.

Slipstream’s invitation comes as a welcome sign and a follow-up to its participation in ASO’s Paris-Nice last week. The team, which was also invited to race in the Giro d’Italia, is headed by Jonathan Vaughters and boasts star riders such as Magnus Backstedt, David Millar and David Zabriskie. In addition, it has a strong anti-doping programme in place.

Stay with Cyclingnews for follow-ups on this story in our next news edition.

October 25, 2007

2008 Tour de France course announced

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The 2008 course looks to be one intended to focus more on individual riders and skills rather than teams and tactics. For the first time since 1967, the race will start with a full road stage — 195 kilometres from Brest to Plumelec in Brittany — instead of an opening individual time-trial race. It appears the goal is to give more riders the chance to compete for the race lead and its coveted yellow jersey from the very start. The Tour will cover 3,554 kilometres over 21 stages with two rest days.

The race will start in Brittany - where it also started in 1952, 1964, 1974, 1985 and 1995. As in 1974, the Grand Départ will occur in Brest. For the first time in 40 years, the race will not start with a prologue; Stage one will be 170 kilometres long and will take the riders to Plumelec and its famous uphill finish of Cadoudal.

Time trials are reduced - there will be a short 29 kilometre individual test at Cholet prior to heading into the mountains.

At the first week comes two Pyrenean stages: The first, to Bagneres-de-Bigorre, does not finish on a summit, but it’s long. Next day is much shorter, just 154 kilometres, but covers the Col du Tourmalet and Hautacam. This is where the first big shake-up may happen and the number of contenders is radically slashed.

Week two begins with a rest day in Pau, then heads off from Lannemezan to Foix. Stage 15 heads into the Alps, with a stage finish in Pratonevoso prior to a rest day in Cuneo. The final time trial on July 26 (stage 20) will be held between Cerilly and Saint-Amand-Montrond with a finish to the Tour on July 27.

Overview of stages

Stage 1, Saturday July 5, Brest-Plumelec, 195km
Stage 2, Sunday July 6, Auray-Saint-Brieuc, 165km
Stage 3, Monday July 7, Saint Malo-Nantes, 195km
Stage 4, Tuesday July 8, Cholet-Cholet ITT, 29km
Stage 5, Wednesday July 9, Cholet-Chateauroux, 230km
Stage 6, Thursday July 10, Aigurande-Super-Besse Sancy, 195km
Stage 7, Friday July 11, Brioude Aurillac, 158km
Stage 8, Saturday July 12, Figeac-Toulouse, 174km
Stage 9, Sunday July 13, Toulouse -Bagneres-de-Bigorre, 222km
Stage 10, Monday July 14, Pau-Hautacam, 154km
— REST DAY — Tuesday July 15
Stage 11, Wednesday July 16, Lannemezan-Foix, 166km
Stage 12, Thursday July 17, Lavelanet-Narbonne, 168km
Stage 13, Friday July 18, Narbonne-Nimes, 182km
Stage 14, Saturday July 19, Nimes-Digne-les-Bains, 182km
Stage 15, Sunday July 20, Digne-les-Bains-Prato Nevoso, 216km
— REST DAY — Monday July 21
Stage 16, Tuesday July 22, Cuneo-Jausiers, 157km
Stage 17, Wednesday July 23, Embrun-L’Alpe d’Huez, 210km
Stage 18, Thursday July 24, Bourg d’Oisans-Saint-Étienne, 197km
Stage 19, Friday July 25, Roanne-Montlucon, 163km
Stage 20, Saturday July 26, Cerilly Saint-Amand-Montrond ITT, 53km
Stage 21, Sunday July 27, Etampes-Paris Champs Elysees, 143km

Great link for much more detail.

October 24, 2007

Day Two - Biological Passports for International Cycling Union

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As was widely anticipated, the International Cycling Union create biological ‘passports’ in an effort to thwart doping.

The passports will be aggregated through a series of blood and urine tests which will act as a baseline for certain biological markers. Changes in those levels may indicate the body’s reaction to doping. The general thought is that each rider will be checked against his baselines as a precondition to entering a race.

The World Anti-Doping Agency financed a research program after the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, where a dozen athletes were suspended from competition because of high levels of hemoglobin.

“I think the expectation from the cycling organizations is that every rider at the Tour next year will be covered by the passport process,” said David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency. “I would say that is a significant advancement.”

October 22, 2007

ICU to double cycling doping tests

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The big news coming out of day one of the two day doping and cycling meeting in Paris is a commitment by the International Cycling Union (UCI) to double the number of tests next year. Anner Gripper, UCI’s anti-doping manager, stated 8,000 in-competition tests will be conducted next season as well as 7,000 out-of-competition tests. In comparison, 9,790 tests were run in 2007 and 8,253 in 2006.

Day two will likely focus on the idea of a biological passport.

In related news, the Spanish cycling federation cleared Iban Mayo, who tested positive for the blood-booster EPO during this year’s Tour de France, after a second test proved negative.

October 10, 2007

An end to the Landis saga

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763734301_3240b98bf1_m1.jpgHopefully this brings it to an end. The fallout has been huge and cycling needs to heal and rebuild it’s reputation…..

Spanish cyclist Oscar Pereiro will formally be awarded the winner’s yellow jersey for the 2006 Tour de France in a ceremony next Monday in Madrid by Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme.

As you probably know, Pereiro, second in the 2006’s Tour, takes over as champion after an almost year long investigation which ultimately resulted in Floyd Landis being found guilty of using synthetic testosterone during the 2006 Tour and his being stripped of the title.