I`m sorry, but I won`t be able to update the blog until tomorrow evening. I`m going away to visit some relatives, but, be sure, I`ll be back writing Sunday night. See you then...
The opener of the three-day Vuelta Ciclista a la Rioja didn`t quite produce the results Euskaltel wanted. As the day was all flat, hopes were high that Koldo Fernández would add another win to his palmarès. That didn`t materialize though, as Koldo could only muster a 12th place, closely followed by Dioni Galparsoro in 14th. I haven`t got any race-report on the stage, but from what it looks like, Euskaltel didn`t have a rider in the main break of the day. It all came down to a bunch-sprint, with Alberto Loddo taking top honours after a mad dash to the line. All Euskaltel riders, except Andoni Lafuente who finished 18 seconds down, came in with the pack. More on the first stage to come.
Overall placings:
Euskaltel placed 12th on the team rankings.
Beñat Albizuri abandoned, though I don`t know why.
Euskaltel enjoyed a somewhat strange day today in the Fleche Wallonne. On the positive side, Gorka Verdugo had an excellent day in the spotlight when looking strong in the break, while Mikel Astarloza also impressed. Though, Euskaltel`s hope for the win, Samu Sánchez, failed to live up to the high standards he`s set himself, coming home 27th. But, he was only 42 seconds adrift of winner Rebellin, so he shouldn`t be ruled out of contention for Liège-Bastogne-Liège this coming Sunday just yet.
Gorka was one of 4 riders that made the break of the day, going after roughly 40 km. The quartet had a lead of almost 7 minutes at one stage, but from then on, the advantage decreased steadily. The peloton, led by Gerolsteiner and Caisse d`Epargne, had it all under control. Though, Gorka tried desperately to keep the peloton at distance, breaking away with fellow breakaway-companion Bichot. Gorka looked impressingly strong, and when Bichot finally had to throw in the towel, he went solo. Gorka got something like a minute on the peloton, but with roughly 40 km remaining, the pack caught him. Nevertheless, Gorka was brilliant today, and showed what a quality rider he is. When the peloton hit the reknown and race-deciding Mur de Huy, Samu was seen close to the front, but as the climb got steeper and steeper, Samu drifted backwards. Eventually he finished 27th, while Mikel got a 47th place to show for his efforts. Here`s how the Euskaltel riders placed:
Rubén Pérez, Iñigo Landaluze, Unai Etxebarria and Aitor Galdos all abandoned.
In the team rankings, Euskaltel ended up a lowly 15th.
As the rest of the Euskaltel riders who started today don`t feature on the list, that being Beñat Albizuri and Unai Uribarri, I presume they both abandoned.
With a knee-injury and not much time to go until the Giro starts, I wonder if Iban will be in peak condition come the 12th of May. As we all know, his left knee has hampered his Giro preperations considerably, forcing him to abandon the Paris-Nice and the Vuelta al País Vasco, as well as ruling him out of the Ardennes classics. These races were supposed to fine-tune his form and serve as perfect preperation for the Giro; his first big goal for the 2007 season. Now, if you look at his calendar, Iban`s not supposed to do any more races until the Giro starts. How will that affect Iban`s form? Badly, I`m afraid, but I guess Iban will now change his calendar sligthly so that he`ll be ready for the Giro. I have no idea what Iban will do next, but personally I would have liked him to take part in the 6-day Pro Tour stage-race Tour of Romandy, running from the 1st to the 6th of May this year. Even if he would just chill and take it easy in the grupetto, I think that some competition ahead of the 3-week Giro d`Italia would do him good. This year`s Romandy features some seriously hilly stages, as well as a stage with a mountain-top finish. Or perhaps the Vuelta Asturias, from the 3rd to the 7th of May. Though, I guess Iban knows what do to. For all I know, Iban may turn up at the Giro super-fresh and with the legs to follow at his unpredictable best. It`ll be interesting to see, as the Giro seems tailor-made for a rider of Iban`s characteristics this year. Aupa Iban!
Euskaltel will take part in the Italian races Giro d`Oro, on April the 22nd, and the Giro de Trentino, running from the 24th to the 27th of April. Antton Luengo, Aketza Peña, Joseba Zubeldia, Beñat Albizuri, Ivan Velasco, Unai Uribarri and Lander Aperribay will be directed by Jon Odriozola in both races.
The poll I recently ran gave me the answers I expected for a change. 71 % of the voters meant Euskaltel should give "Puerto"-implicated riders a new chance if they cleared their names, while the remaining 29 % voted "No". You all know my view on it; if good and talented Basque cyclists should clear their names sufficiently enough, I`d be happy to see them ride for Euskaltel, no doubt. By that I mean that it`s not sufficient to just say that "no action was taken against me, so I`m free". Sufficiently enough would be that their names were never on the list, full stop.
La Diputación de Vizcaya has agreed to "sponsor" the Fundación Ciclista Euskadi with one million euros a year for 2007 and 2008. Vizcaya is one of four provinces that make up the Spanish part of the Basque country, and the support will no doubt come handy for Euskaltel.
Euskaltel sports director Jon Odriozola has given an interview to Basque daily el Diario Vasco. Click and read his thoughts on the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and the start to his Euskaltel career:
Euskaltel did an okay race today in Paris-Roubaix. As we all know, flat and cobbled races aren`t Euskaltel`s cup of tea, but still 3 riders finished the race. Iban Iriondo was obviously man of the day for Euskaltel today. Iban joined the 30+ break that got away early on. Iban did an amazing job to keep up for a long time, before eventually falling backwards. Though, Iban was still the first Euskaltel rider to cross the finishing line in the velodrome in Roubaix. Iban came in 63rd, while Markel Irizar was 79th and Koldo Fernández 81st. The four remaining riders, Andoni Aranaga, Alan Pérez, Andoni Lafuente and Unai Uribarri all abandoned. At the time of writing though, none of the Euskaltel riders seem to have gotten injured, even though one of the riders underwent a rather spectacular fall in the paved section of the famed Arenberg. The rider crashed in someone lying in front of him, and kind of summersaulted over him. The unlucky Euskaltel rider landed on his neck, but was incredibly quickly up and riding again. Thank God, that looked really bad...
