Frank Vandenbroucke will need surgery

Problems with Vdb Knee

This morning, the Acqua & Sapone doctors and Vdb have found the problem of Vdb in his left knee, in “plica sinovial” (some inside the knee)

Vandenbrouck, after his many visits to specialsits in Belgium the pain in his knee goes on, wich avoid him improving in his training.

This morning the doctor Daniel Parsi have found the problem in the knee, the “plica sinovial”.

Tomorrow 6th of February, Frank Vandenbroucke will go to the Hospital “poggio del sole” in Arezzo and the Doctor Ricci Gianni will made the surgery in the knee. After it. Vdb will need a period of rest and after thos period start again step by step.

He could be trainning in the end of February.

Frank Vandenbroucke have said “it was in Giro di Emillia when I start sufferin it wich avoid me founding the good condition. But this problem has a positive face, we have found the problem that avoid me training as i want this last four months. I hope to get the good condition as soon as possible”

 

Oscar Sevilla to Relax-Gam Fuenlabrada

The spanish rider Oscar Sevilla who was involved in the “Operacion Puerto” was sent out of T-Mobile. Today he has signed with Relax to ride for the spanish team for one year.
That could be a key for the team to get the services of Jan Ullrich, because is known that the german wants to ride with Sevilla, but the german has more offerts like Aqua & Sapone.
All depends on the results of the DNA test of Ullrich

 

Tour de Qatar

The season is here! since 5 years the season starts with the exotic Tour of Qatar, this small race is a good trainning with good weather so many ProTour teams are there.
This year the race has had a blue colour, blue like Quick-Step maillot.
The belgium team won the first stage, a Team time trial, behind Milram and Liquigas. The second stage was won by Tom Boonen, his first win of the season and it was behind the great sprinter Alessandro Petacchi.
The third stage was similar as the second, a big sprint won by Tom Boonen and Alessandro Ptacchi was the secong again.
The fourth was more fun because a 22 riders group that arrived with 5min over the second group and 47 minutes!! over the main group..and yes, it will won by the belgium Tom Boonen again but in this case over Greame Brown (Rabbobank).
The next stage was very amazing, a small group arrived with near 3min to the second group where was the leader Tom Boonen, this stage was won by Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Predictor-Lotto, the neo won his first stage. there were a change of leader but not problem to Quick-Step because the new leader would be Wilfried Cretskens a belgium of QSI.
The last stage was like the first satages, a big sprint won by..yeah Tom Boonen ahead Petacchi.

General classification

1 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick-Step 15.50.58
2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step 2.09
3 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick-Step 2.44
4 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) T-Mobile 2.52
5 Gregory Henderson (NZl) T-Mobile 3.01
6 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile 3.08
7 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 3.09
8 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3.11
9 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 3.30
10 Servais Knaven (Ned) T-Mobile 3.44
11 Loyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance 4.04
12 Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 4.09
13 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 4.26
14 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 4.39
15 Michael Schär (Swi) Astana 4.58

That was all from Qatar, and on tuesday 6th will start the european season with The Gp Apertura in France, Estrella Besseges, Mediterranean Tour…the season is here!

 

Ullrich DNA..

First of all…sorry for the time without news.

Well, The German rider involved in Operacion Puerto last year Jan Ullrich goes on having problems due to this isue. Ullrich is having contacts with the Italian team Aqua & Sapone, that is Known, the problem is that any country will give him a license to be able to ride.
Now, is said that Ullrich DNA will be compare with all the bags of blood found during the Operacion Puerto, that could be a solution because if Ullrich´s DNA is not in any bag, he could get a license and ride in this 2007 season. And if the results are that his blood is in one of those bags..that could be the end of a great cyclist because the punishment will be of 2 years.
The main question is, will Ullrich be in 2007 Tour of France?..Each day that is most difficult, but cycling lovers hope it because if there are some legend rider riding yet..that is Jan Ullrich.

 

Pro Tour for Astana

The Kazakhstan’s Astana Team will have Pro Tour license for 4 years. They had some problems with the date when they gave all the documents to be Pro Tour but the UCI Licence Commission has extended the dead line to 20th of December so the team will be Pro Tour next year.
That is a good news for cycling world, due to the fact that Astana has in his team riders such, Vinokourov,(winer of La Vuelta), Savoldelli (2 times winer of Giro di Italia), Kloden (3th in this year´s Tour of France) and Andrey Kashechkin, (3th in last Vuelta)
So the team will prepare his objectives to 2007 season.
They will probably fight for the 3 big tours, Giro with Paolo Savoldelli, Tour with Kloden and Vinokourov, and La Vuelta with Kasechkin and maybe Vinokourov. They will fight for same classics like, Lieje-Bastogne-Lieje, Amstel Gold Race..with “Vino”

 

Quick Step Inergetic, and exclusive pictures of them!!

The belgium team Quick Step Inergetic has been presented the 15th. This has been the best team in spring races last years, thanks to the Belgium Rider Tom Boonen who has won Tour of Flandes two times, and Paris Roubaix one. 2007 will be like last years for the belgium rider, he will start in Qatar, and some races in Spain to be at 100% for Belgium races, Het Volk, Kuurne, GP E3..and Tour of Flandes and Paris Roubaix as the first objectives. After that some rest to be at 100% for Tour of France and the World Championship, wich was won by him in 2005.
The other big rider will be Paolo Bettini, The world champion will fight for the same objectives, some spring classics, stages in Giro de Italia, World Championship and Giro di Lombardia.
What is Sure is that the team will fight for each race they want because is a grat team that has some new riders, specially Peter Van Petegem, a rider that will be sure in the top 10 in Flandes and Roubaix.
The team will change the cloth and the bikes, tne new will be Spezialized.

Thanks for the pics to Stijn Vercaemer, who has send it to me in exclusive for Spain

 

2007´s Vuelta is here

Yes, the 2007s Vuelta is here.
Some new…Lagos de Covadonga are in the race again, this fantastic climb came back some years after his last time.This Vuelta is like last Vueltas, with many short stages, the 2 others big races, Giro and Tour, have same very long stages while la Vuelta has stages of 150 160km..
This Vuelta has the first big mountain stage very soon so some riders will suffer it. There are 4 finals in a mountain and only 2 TT and one of them of only 25km. That allow us to think that this 2007 Vuelta will be a tour that climbers are going to fight to get the yellow maillot in Madrid

 

Boonen will start as soon as posible

Belgium rider Tom Boonen, will start the season as soon as possible, to be at 100% in belgium races and in their 2 main objectives, Tour of Flandes and Paris Roubaix.
He will take part in Tour of Qatar at the end of January, in Challange of Mallorca and Ruta del Sol in Spain, and Volta al Algarve in Portugan before going to Beligum races, Het Volk, Kuurne..

 

A hard Giro…

As I said, yesterday was presented the 2007 Giro Di Italia..ans as was known..it will be a hard tour. If last year´s Giro was considered as a very hard race, next year´s will be more or less the same.
The prologe is a 24km of Team TT, it will be for teams like CSC or Discovery Channel, this team will be a strong team due t othe fact that the last Giro winner, Iban Basso will be fighting to the 2ns win.
It will be many mountain stages, and the hardest finish will probably be Zoncolan..a 12km at 11% average..
There are a new stage, a mountain TT , to conmemorate the memory of Marco Pantani, who made a incredible stage win in this mountain, Santuario Di Oropa,
There will be only a ITT of 42km and in the last days so..the difference between TT riders and climbers will be less than if the TT was in the first week.
So..the 2007 Giro di Italia will be a race for climbers, so riders like, Iban Basso, and Damiano Cunego have said that they like this race.
The fight will probably be between Italian riders, Basso, Cunego..and logicaly Simoni.

 

Giro di Italia 2007..today!

Today, 2nd of December the 2007 Giro di Italia, will be presented, one of the most important news of the last weeks..there are many things that everybody want´s to know..are tye riders going to climb Pla de Corones? this mountain that everybody talked about it last year and the snow avoid us knowing it?
So in few hour we will be able to speak about the Giro

More news soon