- HOT TOPICS:
- The new VeloNews.com (BETA)
Wednesday's EuroFile: Petacchi at Ruta; Armstrong's on for '05; Tafi leaves the light on
- Article Extras
- Photos
Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) blazed to victory in Wednesday’sfourth stage of the Ruta del Sol. It’s the second win of the year for theItalian sprinter, who kept Max Van Heeswjk (Discovery Channel) from snaggingthe win. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) came through third while Oscar Freire(Rabobank) and Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) rounded out the top 5.
The pace was furious in the 161km stage from La Guardia de Jaénto Córdoba, with the peloton finishing some 30 minutes faster thanexpected. Petacchi’s winning time came with an average time of 44.3 kphthanks to a gusting tailwind.
Several riders tried to escape the clutch of the peloton, but the sprinterteams collaborated to give their star riders a chance to dispute the sprint.Belgian riders Johan Vansummeren and Stijn Devolver built up a lead ofabout four minutes, but were reeled in at 120km.
Others tried to slip away in the undulating run into the finish, butthe major teams worked hard to set up the sprint.
There were no major changes in the overall standings, with FranciscoCabello (Comunidad Valenciana) maintaining his lead going into Thursday’sfinal stage into Sevilla.
Ruta del Sol (Spa 2.1), Stage 4, La Guardia de Jaen to Cordoba, 162km
1. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita), Fassa Bortolo 3 hours, 38 minutes,31 seconds
2. Max Van Heeswijk (Ned), Discovery Channel
3. Tom Boonen (Bel), Quick Step
4. Óscar Freire (Spa), Rabobank
5. Erik Zabel (Ger), T-Mobile -- all same timeOverall standings after four stages
1. Francisco Cabello (Spa), C. Valenciana 16h39:00
2. Daniel Moreno (Spa), Relax Fuenlabrada +1:30
3. José Luis Martínez (Spa), C. Valenciana +2:36
4. Vicente Reynes (Spa), Illes Balears +2:46
5. Juan Manuel Garate (Spa), Saunier Duval +3:00Eisel wins Algarve opener
Austrian Bernard Eisel won the opening stage of the Tour of the Algarvein southern Portugal in a bunch sprint. Eisel held off Olaf Pollack (T-Mobile)and Tom Steels (Davitamon-Lotto), who came through in the 140km circuitstage in Albufeira.Just a year ago, Lance Armstrong used the Algarve race to jump-starthis quest for a record sixth Tour de France. Armstrong won a time trialstage and Floyd Landis took the overall prize last year.Volta ao Algarve (Por 2.1), Stage 1, Albufeira-Albureira, 140km
1. Bernhard Eisel (Aut), Francaise Des Jeux 3h36:31
2. Olaf Pollack (Ger), T-Mobile Team
3. Tom Steels (Bel), Davitamon-Lotto
4. Hans Dekkers (Ned), Rabobank
5. Candido Barbosa (Por), L.A. Aluminios-Liberty Seguros -- all same
Armstrong's on for the Tour
Ending months of speculation – and underscoring what Oprah fans already knew - Lance Armstrong announced Wednesday he will start the 2005 Tour de France and make a run for a seventh consecutive maillot jaune.
The six-time Tour champion outlined a partial racing schedule that also includes a return to the Tour de Georgia in April at the expense of the Ardennes spring classics.
“I am grateful for the opportunity that Discovery Communications has given the team and look forward to achieving my goal of a seventh Tour de France (victory),” Armstrong said on his official web page paceline.com.
Since winning a record sixth Tour, Armstrong has hedged at revealing his Tour plans. Under his two-year contract with Discovery Channel, Armstrong is obliged to race just one more Tour, leading many to speculate the 33-year-old might skip the 2005 Tour to focus on other cycling goals this season. Appearing on the Oprah Winfrey talk show with his companion Sheryl Crow last Friday, Armstrong hinted strongly that the 2005 Tour was in the plans.
Armstrong has also suggested he’d like to make a run at the world hour-record, but there was no mention of that in Wednesday’s announcement.
As confirmed earlier this week, Armstrong will make his 2005 season debut at Paris-Nice on March 6-13, marking the first time he’ll race the French race since the early days of cancer comeback in 1998.
Armstrong will also race in the 89th Tour of Flanders on April 3, the Belgian classic he last raced in 2002. From there, he’ll return to the United States to defend his title at the Tour de Georgia on April 19-25.
That means Armstrong is scrapping previous notions to attack the classics in favor of racing in the United States, something that’s sure to please race fans at home. Armstrong won the Tour de Georgia en route to claiming a record sixth Tour title, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Armstrong said he’s likely to add more races to his schedule after assessing his fitness.
“I am excited to get back on the bike and start racing although my condition is far from perfect,” he said. “Johan (Bruyneel) and I will evaluate my fitness later this spring and possibly add some races to the calendar.”
Lance Armstrong 2005 schedule
March 6-13: Paris-Nice
April 3: Tour of Flanders
April 19-24: Tour de Georgia
July 2-24: Tour de France
Discovery wants a Tour win without Armstrong
Officials with Discovery Channel say the team is building for the future and want to win the Tour de France even after the departure of six-time champion Lance Armstrong.
Dan Osipow, speaking in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, said the team wants to prove it can win without the star Texan in the line up. Armstrong announced Wednesday he will race the 2005 Tour de France.
“We want to prove to the world of cycling that we can win the Tour with someone other than Lance,” Osipow told the newspaper.
Veteran José Azevedo and promising rider Yaroslav Popovych are being groomed to take over once Armstrong decides to hang up the cleats. Under the best-case scenario, Osipow said Discovery Channel could win one more Tour with Armstrong and then another within the next three years.
“That would prove the program is not a one-trick pony. It would prove that an American team can win the Tour without its biggest star,” he said.
Beloki’s sure Armstrong will race Tour
Three-time Tour de France podium man Joseba Beloki won’t be surprised by the news that Lance Armstrong will be racing this year’s Tour. Just last week, the Liberty Seguros rider said he couldn’t imagine him skipping the Tour to wait until 2006.
“I think Armstrong is going to the Tour. I don’t see how he can’t,” Beloki told VeloNews during a break at a training camp last week in northern Spain. “I think he will win seven Tours, go home and then leave it to the rest of us.”
Beloki said Discovery Channel will sorely miss Armstrong once he’s eventually gone from racing. Without Armstrong, Beloki said there’s not one rider or team strong enough to fill the void.
“Discovery Channel without Armstrong is another team. Azevedo is good, but he’s not Lance,” Beloki said. “I don’t think T-Mobile will be able to step up and control the race like Postal Service did. For one, they’re not strong enough in the team time trial. With Lance, he had the prologue, the team time trial, the first time trial and the first mountain finish and had a three-minute lead. That was the race. I don’t see either Azevedo or Ullrich being able to do that.”
Beloki insists he’s fully recovered from his injuries that nearly ended his career in a gruesome crash in the 2003 Tour. Beloki struggled through a sub-par 2004 season, but believes he can return to form in the Tour.
Tafi to open hotel after one last Paris-Roubaix
Andrea Tafi -- a winner of five ex-World Cup races in his 17-year career -- is already taking the next step following his retirement at the end of this year’s classics campaign. The soon-to-be 39-year-old says he will open a hotel to attract cyclo-tourists to the Tuscany region of Italy. “I am reforming an old mill to develop rural tourism,” Tafi told the Spanish daily AS. ‘We are going to construct three houses with eight apartments each designed for cyclists. I am leaving professional racing, but I will keep riding the bike and I will continue to be in the world of cycling.’ Tafi's complex will be near the Tuscan city of Vinci, about 1km from his home, and it expects to be ready sometime in May. In the meantime, Tafi is putting everything into the next few weeks. More than anything, he wants to shine once again in Paris-Roubaix. “I am retiring from cycling content, because I have done great things in my career. I was thinking of retiring after last year, but I was ill during the classics and things didn't go well. I want to end my career on a good note,” Tafi continued. The ideal ending would be to win once again on the cobbles. “Paris-Roubaix is special, very different than the other races. It's a race from another era,” he said. “I was 10 years old when I saw my favorite rider, Francesco Moser, win the race. I said, ‘this is my race.’ The first time I raced, in 1990, when I arrived I felt a great feeling of liberation. But things were a little contradictory, because the next day I ached all over, my hands, my shoulders.”
Racing today
Racing continues in the Ruta del Sol in southern Spain with the 161km fourth stage from La Guardia de Jaén to Córdoba. The course hits three punchy climbs in the final 30km which could stymie the top-flight roster of sprinters taking part. Serge Baguet (Davitamon-Lotto) has won two consecutive stages while Spanish rider Francisco Cabello (Comunidad Valenciana) took over the leader’s jersey from teammate Carlos Garcia Quesada in Tuesday’s third stage.
