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Thursday’s EuroFile: Petito grabs win at Dunkirk; Giro blood okay; Liberty hopes for Giro surprise

by Andrew Hood

• May 04, 2006
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By Andrew Hood

Itaian Roberto Petito (Tenax) grabbed the lead at the Four Days of Dunkirkafter winning Thursday’s second stage between Arques and Le-Cateau-Cambresis.Petito was part of a breakaway that pulled clear in the 204km stagethat also hit some cobblestoned road across northern France. Petito heldoff Stephane Petilleau (Bretagne-Jean Floch) to claim the stage as thebreakaway faded under pressure from the chasing peloton. Simone Cadamuro(Milram) led the main bunch across the line for third at 37 seconds back.Petito now leads Petilleau by four seconds while overnight leader FrancescoChicchi (Quick Step-Innergetic) slipped to third at 41 seconds back. FredRodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto), second in Wednesday’s opener, sits fourthat 45 seconds adrift.Four Days of Dunkirk, Stage 2,
Arques to Le-Cateau-Cambrésis, 204km
1. Roberto Petito (Ita), Tenax 5h07:53
2. Stéphane Petilleau (Fra), Bretagne-Jean Floch – same time
3. Simone Cadamuro (Ita), Milram  +0:37
4. Steven De Jongh (Ned), Quick Step-Innergetic
5. Gerald Ciolek (Ger), Wiesenhof – all same time
 
Overall standings after two stages
1. Petito 8h50:13
2. Stephane Petilleau +0:04
3. Francesco Chicchi (Ita), Quick Step-Innergetic +0:41
4. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Davitamon-Lotto +0:45
5. Niels Brouzes (Fra), Auber 93 s.t.All ‘apt’ and ready to go
Mandatory pre-race blood tests Thursday cleared all 198 riders penciled in start the 89th Giro d’Italia on Saturday. The nine starting riders from 22 teams underwent blood screenings and all were deemed “apt” to start the three-week, 21-stage Giro.

Liberty hopes for Giro surprise
Liberty Seguros isn’t among the favored teams for the upcoming Giro d’Italia, but that suits the Spanish outfit just fine.

With the likes of Alexandre Vinokourov focusing on the Tour de France, Liberty is bringing a mix of young and experienced riders with eyes of surprising the Giro heavyweights.

“The team has a little of everything, riders that are young and riders with experience,” said sport director Marino Lejarreta in a team release. “We don’t have a clear leader to challenge for victory, but instead we have several riders with possibilities. For Scarponi, Unai Osa and Caruso, it’s a goal to challenge for the podium. It will be complicated, but they are going with a lot of motivation.”

Osa looks to be back in good shape after a string have injuries have plagued the once-promising career for the Basque rider. Osa finished third in the 2001 Giro and hopes to get back on the podium for another view.

Scarponi was brought in last year to lead the team in the Giro, but failed to live up to expectations last year with 47th overall. In fact, it was Gianpaolo Caruso who led the team’s efforts last year with 19th overall.

Lejarreta said the 89th Giro is “one for climbers” and said the race will be “open and interesting,” but complained that the final week of the Giro is too difficult.

“It’s exaggerated,” he said. “Until you actually race it, you never know, but on paper it looks excessive. It’s not necessary to make stages like the 17th, with a final to a ski station with ramps as steep as 25 percent which can create technical problems for the riders.”

Liberty Seguros for Giro d’Italia (May 6-28)Dariusz BaranowskiGianpaolo CarusoKoen de KortDaniel NavarroUnai OsaJavier RamirezMichele ScarponiMarcos SerranoSerguei YakovlevBeloki’s little brother joins on as massage therapist
Gorka Beloki – younger brother of three-time Tour de France podiumman Joseba Beloki – will ride along with Liberty Seguros during the Girod’Italia as the team’s new massage therapist.Gorka ended his professional career at the end of the 2005 season afterracing with Andalucía-Paul Versan. Previously, he raced 2002-03with ONCE and joined his brother on the ill-fated stint at Boulangere in2004.

Milram all for Peta
It’s no surprise that Milram is building its Giro squad around the formidable legs of one Alessandro Petacchi. The Italian sprinter – winner of 19 Giro stages since 2003 – will have most of his train at his service for season’s first grand tour.

One problem for Petacchi and the other sprinters is a general lack of stages tailored for a mass gallop. The mountainous course delivers up few truly flat stages ideal for Petacchi’s profile, and it’s even worse in the second half of the race.

Petacchi will be keen to make the most of the opportunities when they do present themselves. Despite an impressive haul of 13 wins so far in 2006, including overall victory at the Tour of Lower Saxony, Petacchi has missed out in high-caliber victories after misfiring at Milan-San Remo and getting shelled in the spring classics.

Milram for GiroAlessandro PetacchiAlessandro CortinovisSergio GhisalbertiChristian KneesAlberto OngaratoFabio SacchiAlessandro VanottiElia RigottoMirco Lorenzetto

Rujano back for Giro
Last year’s Giro sensation José Rujano is back, but no one knows what to expect from the pint-sized Venezuelan.

Rujano and his Selle Italia tam had a falling out this spring over money and Rujano only reluctantly recently returned to racing.

Rujano – who won the queen’s stage to Sestriere and finished third overall – has a contract to race through the Giro with Selle Italia, before joining Quick Step-Innergetic for the remainder of the season.

“We know that to repeat the success of last year will be difficult to repeat,” team manager Gianni Savio told TuttoBici. “But we come with riders in our style and we always respect the race and will try to make something beautiful.”

The team won’t have the services of Colombian mountain goat Ivan Parra, a winner of two stages last year, who left the team for better money at Cofidis.

Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni for GiroJosè RujanoSanto AnzàSergio BarberoWladimir BelliAlessandro BertoliniRaffaele IllianoAlberto LoddoGabriele MissagliaJosè Serpa

Landis Tour odds on the rise
The incredible spring enjoyed by Floyd Landis has seen his stock rise in that all-important barometer of Tour de France prospects – the bookies.

Earlier this year, before Landis blazed to impressive wins at the Tour of California, Paris-Nice and Tour de Georgia, he was well down the list of Tour favorites, sitting quietly at 50-to-1 odds to win in July.

A recent perusal of various betting web pages reveals the bookies are coming around on the world’s fastest Mennonite on two wheels. His odds have been shortened to 20-to-1, a sure sign that people are starting to believe in his chances for Tour victory.

Odds for Tour de France favoritesBasso – 7 to 5Ullrich – 3 to 1Vinokourov and Valverde – 8 to 1Landis – 20 to 1

Euskaltel extends sponsorship deal
Euskaltel – the Basque Country telecommunications firm – confirmed it will extend its sponsorship contract with the ProTour team for two additional years, guaranteeing the team its emblematic sponsor through the 2008 season.

It was Euskaltel’s trademark orange colors that give the team its distinctive look and make it one of the most prominent teams in the peloton, at least in terms of looks.

The news comes as a delight for the team that was feeling the pressure after two seasons of lackluster results. There were even some rumblings that Euskaltel would leave the team when its contract ended at the conclusion of this season.

Thanks to major changes in the team’s structure – most visibly the addition of ex-pro Igor González de Galdeano as technical advisor – as well as a spate of recent strong results, the sponsorship deal was sealed.

The major challenge now for the team is to keep the services of its top stars. Haimar Zubeldia, Iban Mayo and Samuel Sanchez are among 14 riders who have their contracts up at the end of this season.

Attracting big riders is always a challenge for the team, which limits its roster to only riders who are Basque or at least have very strong Basque roots. Several riders might not live in Spain’s unique Basque Country, but they have Basque parents. In fact, Sanchez is the only rider on the team who isn’t Basque. He was allowed to join the team, however, after racing with Euskaltel’s development squad since he was a junior.

UCI sets track World Cup schedule
The UCI announced that four legs of the “classics” track World Cup have been set for the 2006-07 season:No. 1 November 17–19, 2006, Sydney (AUS)No. 2 December 15-17, 2006, Moscow (RUS) No. 3 January 19-21, 2007, Los Angeles (USA)No. 4 February 23-25, 2007, Manchester (GBR)

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