Fränk Schleck confident he can snatch Tour de Suisse title
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/frank-schleck-confident-he-can-snatch-tour-de-suisse-title)With one stage remaining at the Tour de Suisse, RadioShack – Nissan's Fränk Schleck says that he has to confidence to make up the 14 seconds required on race leader Rui Costa (Movistar) and claim overall victory.
The Tour de Suisse concludes today with a 215.8km stage from Näfels-Lintharena to Sörenberg.
"You must seize every opportunity," Schleck told Nieuwsblad.be. "I am very motivated here in Switzerland. In last Sunday's stage to Verbier I launched my attack a little too early, but now I waited for the right moment. I felt good and the team is strong. Everything is still possible in the final stage. I believe in the victory. "
Schleck made a solid attempt on Costa's lead on Saturday with an attack four kilometres from the finish, with Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharam-QuickStep) tagging along and darting forward at the last minute to get the better of the bonus seconds available on the line. Schleck however, moved from fifth overall to second with Costa's teammates aiding the Portugese rider to the finish and limiting the damage.
RadioShack – Nissan team director Kim Anderson said his charge would be in for a tough battle on Sunday.
"The big climbs are much harder than today but in the middle of the stage; then the final climb which is not as hard," he told the team website. "But it's a hard race and anything can still happen."
Schleck, who withdrew from the Giro d'Italia with a shoulder injury said that having ridden both the Tour of Luxembourg and now the Tour de Suisse he is feeling more and more confident ahead of the Tour de France which he'll race without brother Andy.
"I feel stronger every day and consider the final classification not yet lost."
Thanks to an ongoing knee injury, another GC contender may no make it to the Tour de France now:
Voeckler's Tour de France participation in doubt?
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/voecklers-tour-de-france-participation-in-doubt)Thomas Voeckler’s Tour de France participation could be in doubt after the Europcar rider was forced to abandon the Route du Sud on the slopes of the Col du Soulor on Saturday, citing an inflammation of his right knee.
The same injury had already seen Voeckler withdrew from the Critérium du Dauphiné on its final stage the previous weekend, and with just two weeks to go to the Tour de France, the Frenchman faces a race against time to prove his fitness to compete.
Fourth in the Tour last year, Voeckler enjoyed a solid classics campaign and was looking to use the Dauphiné and Route du Sud to fine-tune his climbing form ahead of July. Although he had spent much of Saturday’s mountain stage in the leading group, however, Voeckler had to give best to his injury three kilometres from the summit of the Soulor.
“I wasn’t able to pedal anymore,” Voeckler told L’Équipe. “These aren’t the best moments of my career but there’s nothing to do, the pain is too much. I have to admit that I’m waiting to see what happens a bit. I’ve just spoken with the team doctor and we’re going to see what decisions are to be taken over the course of the next week.”
Even if he does make it to the start in Liège on June 30, Voeckler hinted that his disrupted preparation would have a major impact on his performance.
“It’s clear that with two weeks to go to the Tour, the state of my knee could be a worry,” he said. “I prefer to wait before taking a decision. If I have the fortune to be at the start, I’m afraid that it mightn’t be a Tour like the others.”
In spite of his abandon at the Dauphiné last week, Voeckler was adamant that he would line up at the Route du Sud in order to test himself further. “I preferred to go into a race situation and see how the pain developed rather than just train at home,” he explained on Saturday.
That plan may have backfired, for Voeckler has now been advised to take a week off the bike completely in order to assist his recovery. Thus, he joins the long list of potential Tour protagonists who will not race in the national championships next weekend.
“He will have to observe a complete week of rest, and we’ll advise him according to the tests we make,” said team doctor Hubert Long.
So now we find out why the 'older' generation (minus Chris Horner) didn't get chosen for the London Olympics. I'd like to think that this is because of the Tour de France (or retirement in George Hincapie's case), but is there infact something more to this story, like the article is hinting at? Maybe Lance's former teammates just don't want to be under investigation or they were told by the powers-that-be that they wouldn't be selected? They all seem to have wanted to go to the Olympics, although because of his crash earlier this season, Leipheimer admitted he might not have been a good choice.
Hincapie, Leipheimer, Vande Velde, Zabriskie opted out of Olympics
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hincapie-leipheimer-vande-velde-zabriskie-opted-out-of-olympics)USA Cycling has revealed that George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie all requested that they not be considered by the eight-man selection committee for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. All four riders are former teammates of Lance Armstrong.
"USA Cycling will not speculate on the reasoning behind their requests and will not have further comment on this topic; any questions related to their decision should be directed to the individual athletes," it released via a statement.
Yesterday, USA Cycling named a five-man road team for London: Timmy Duggan, Tyler Farrar, Chris Horner, Taylor Phinney and Tejay van Garderen.
Leipheimer, 38, may have been a consideration for the one time trial position on the US team, having won a bronze medal in the event at the 2008 Games in Beijing. However after being hit by a car while training in April, Leipheimer admitted he was an unlikely starter.
Hincapie, also 38, has represented his country for the last five Olympic Games – from Barcelona in 1992 through to Beijing in 2008. Just last week, the three-time national road champion announced his retirement at the end of the season. He talked to Cyclingnews last year about the prospect of a sixth Olympics.
"It would be nice; I've done five of them. To do a sixth Olympics would be pretty cool. It's pretty crazy actually to think of that," admitting at the time that ending his career at the Games had not entered his thinking.
In May 2011, Hincapie was alleged to have given evidence to a grand jury in the Jeff Novitzky-led federal investigation into alleged doping practices in American cycling. Unidentified sources claimed that Hincapie told the grand jury that he and Armstrong supplied each other with EPO and also discussed the use of testosterone. Hincapie later denied giving such evidence.
"I can confirm to you that I never spoke with '60 Minutes,' he said via a statement through his attorney. "I have no idea where they got their information. As I've said in the past, I continue to be disappointed that people are talking about the past in cycling instead of the future. As for the substance of anything in the '60 Minutes' story, I cannot comment on anything relating to the ongoing investigation."
Vande Velde missed the chance to compete in Beijing having been passed over in favour of Leipheimer and so the Garmin – Barracuda rider admitted that London was one of his goals for the 2012 season.
"I want to go to the Olympics really bad," he told Cyclingnews earlier this year. "I don't see myself going to Rio – I don't want to go to Rio... I want to come out of the Tour de France really well and I know that in the past that I always have. So the road race coming five days after the Tour de France and the Champs Elysees, I know I can do a good race."
Zabriskie, five time and reigning national time trial champion was seemingly involved in a tight two-man battle for the sole time trial spot on the team. Selectors announced yesterday that 21-year-old Taylor Phinney was their pick.
Speaking after the Tour of California where he dominated the Bakersfield time trial, Zabriskie said he was motivated to perform in order to gain an Olympic bid, and said the selection committee should "take who [they] think is the best. It's pretty simple."
On Wednesday, USADA formally charged Armstrong with doping with the use of evidence gathered in investigation of potential doping on the United States Postal Service (USPS) (1996-2004), Discovery Channel (2005-2007), Astana (2009) and RadioShack (2010) cycling teams. Johan Bruyneel, Dr. Pedro Celaye, Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral, Dr. Michele Ferrari, and Mr. Pepe Marti are also accused of a variety of doping violations, from the administration of doping products, trafficking, assisting and abetting and covering up.
USADA names 10 witnesses to the alleged conduct, made up of cyclists and cycling team employees, but their identities remain secret.
With the Lance investigation going on, rumors begin. Once they spread, it becomes hard to tell what is true and what isn't. Yesterday it looked liked Filippo Pozzato was under investigation for visiting Dr. Michele Ferrari, but now we find out Pozzato isn't under investigation...as of yet anyway...
Pozzato not under investigation, says lawyer
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pozzato-not-under-investigation-says-lawyer)Filippo Pozzato’s lawyer has denied that the Farnese Vini-Selle Italia rider is under investigation as part of the Padova-based inquiry into the activities of Dr. Michele Ferrari, following a report published in Italy this weekend.
On Saturday, La Repubblica printed an article which suggested that Pozzato was a client of the controversial Ferrari, who this week has been formally charged with doping by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), alongside Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel.
The article quotes extracts from a telephone conversation intercepted in the summer of 2009, in which Pozzato allegedly speaks of working with Ferrari, something which the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) outlawed in 2002. According to La Repubblica, Pozzato can be heard speaking in Vicenza dialect in the recording, saying “Listen: I went to Ferrari because I asked him myself.”
Pozzato also allegedly discusses the Emanuele Sella doping case in the recording, and expresses his distaste at the manner in which the rider had negotiated a reduction on his ban after collaborating with the Italian Olympic Committee’s (CONI) panel.
“If you go to see him in his own house, then you’re responsible,” Pozzato is alleged to have said. “You don’t have a gun pointed to your head. I wanted to go to Ferrari. We’re grown-ups aren’t we?”
La Repubblica’s report notes that the recorded conversation also reveals that it cost €40,000-50,000 per year to be “followed” by Ferrari. The doctor has been banned for life by the FCI, and in February 2002, the body issued a decree barring riders from consulting with Ferrari, a regulation which is still in place.
Responding to the article on Sunday, Pozzato’s lawyer Pierfilippo Capello told Tuttobici and Gazzetta dello Sport that his client was not under investigation.
“We’ve checked several times with magistrates in Padova and in other places where there are ongoing anti-doping inquiries, and my client is not listed in any register of those under investigation,” Capello said. “From a criminal point of view, at the moment there is no investigation involving Pozzato and the same can be said from the sporting point of view: we have no news of an investigation from either CONI or the Italian Cycling Federation.”
Pozzato is currently in action at the Tour de Slovenie, as he continues his build-up to the London 2012 Olympics, although his participation could be at risk should the FCI or CONI opt to open an investigation into the allegations.
I want to end with this article. This is what got me out of bed this morning; it's 06:43 EDT right now. I read this article and I wanted to share it with you. This was written by RSNT rider Jens Voigt about his long-time teammate and friend:
The Tour de France won’t be the same without Andy Schleck. Not even close.
By Jens Voigt
(http://bicycling.com/blogs/hardlyserious/2012/06/16/pure-class/)
This week Andy Schleck, my longtime team leader, announced he wouldn’t ride the Tour de France because of injuries sustained in a crash at the Dauphiné. I’ve been asked what it’s like to lose my leader and what it means for my RadioShack team.
But my very first thought was, “What the hell! Forget about losing our leader! I only care about Andy—my friend.”
I’ll just plain miss Andy, for being Andy.
I’ll miss Andy, the man who went ballistic on the stage up the Galibier in last year’s Tour. We talked about that attack before the stage, and he agreed to it, knowing full well that if he failed the fans and the media would butcher him for making such a “stupid” move.
But he straightened his back, took responsibility like a true champ, and went along with our beautiful and risky plan. And he went out there and ignited the fireworks.
I love Andy’s devil-may-care attitude.
I’ll miss the man who, after his dropping chain and then was attacked by Contador, got back on his bike and chased all alone. And after the stage, when the press asked him about what happened, he said not one bad word. He took that hit like a man.
Andy showed character beyond his age. He acted with class, even though I knew he was furious about what had happened.
I’ll miss Andy the boy too. The boy who comes through the team bus 20 minutes before the start of a stage in the Tour saying, “Have you seen my cycling shoes?” Generally he is joking, but he loves our shocked faces, not to mention those of our sport directors.
He can do that because we all know that every now and then Andy is not joking. Once in a while somebody has to race back to the hotel Formula 1 style to get his shoes …
I’ll miss Andy in the Tour for being relaxed on the rest days. Like last year, when he came with me to chill out by the river and watch some locals fishing. Andy’s a great outdoorsman. At the Tour he’s always coming up to me asking if I brought a new fishing magazine or a diving or hunting magazine, and then we talk about our latest fishing experiences. It was Andy who showed me how to catch big pike. He explained where to put the knots and where to place the hooks.
And then later, when his brother Franky’s wife and their little daughter, Leah, came to visit us, I enjoyed watching Andy being totally in love with his little niece, carrying her and laughing with her.
I’ll miss Andy, the little brother in the Tour, who always has these discussions with his big brother Franky in Luxembourgish. Franky still feels responsible for his little brother, and the little brother tries to tell his older brother, “I’m OK. I’m grown up now.”
If nothing else, it’s a very entertaining part of our long bus transfers.
I’ll miss Andy the great bicycle racer, the racer who saved our asses in so many Tours with stage wins, white jerseys, podiums—the Andy who won a Tour for us.
I’ll miss one of our leaders, miss his positive attitude, and how he says with total calmness and self-confidence before some killer hard stage in the Pyrenees or Alps, “No worries, boys. Today’s gonna be a good day for us!”
So yes, Andy’s absence is going to change our plans in the Tour quite a bit. But I believe that Franky and Klöden are both hitting their form perfectly about now, so I think we still have two great chances to go for the podium. OK, maybe we won’t start as top favorites, but such a situation has advantages too. Like this, we can hide and wait a little, maybe surprise a few people one day.
This situation may force us to ride with more improvised tactics than in previous years. And if somebody would come up to me and ask, “Hey, Jens. Feel like going into the break today?” Well, you know the answer I’ll give.
“Does a bear shit in the woods?”
But mostly I love Andy, and it hurts me to see him suffering. All I can say to him is what older and wiser men have said. “Shape comes and goes, but class always stays with you.”
And there’s no arguing whether Andy has class.
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