Team Talk 2

News from the Pro teams - Team focus include the one day Monte Paschi Eroica, and the week long Paris Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. (Teams do seem to be a bit coy about who they are sending to the later two and so we can expect more announcements on the eve of the starts).

Lampre
Lampre is ready to take part in Monte Paschi Eroica second edition. On Tuscan dirt roads there will be, wearing blue-fucsia jerseys, the following riders: Ballan, Baldato, Bindi, Fornaciari, Longo, Murro, Righi and Santambrogio.

In Lampre staff there will be sport director Fabrizio Bontempi, doctor Andreazzoli, masseurs Della Torre, Napolitano and Rubino and mechanics Bortoluzzo, Carminati and Tosello.

"the main part of the season is becoming: Eroica is a charming and important test - Lampre sport director Fabrizio Bontempi explained - Last year cyclists welcomed with enthusiasm this race, even if it was tougher than what was thought. The 57 kms of dirt roads will be crucial points, this year they could be tougher because of the possible bad weather. Ballan and Baldato, skilful on these parcours, could realise good performances".

Liquigas
The Liquigas Team is one of the team that will take part, Saturday 8 March, in the second edition of the Monte Paschi Eroica. On the dirt roads from Gaiole in Chianti to Siena, the captain of Liquigas’pioneers will be Vincenzo Nibali.

With him, in this Sienese race, will be Maciej Bodnar, Francesco Chicchi, Alberto Curtolo, Mauro Da Dalto, Murilo Fischer, Matej Mugerlie Frederik Willems. Team manager: Stefano Zanatta.

Team Barloworld
While Team Barloworld are enjoying success in South Africa at the Giro del Capo stage race (See below), another squad is getting ready to ride the Monte Paschi Eroica race in Tuscany. The one-day race is only a year old but is set to become one of the new classics of the sport.

The characteristic sections of dirt roads that wind through the Chianti vineyards will test the riders suited to the spring classics. Team Barloworld directeur sportif Valerio Tebaldi will have a strong team, including Baden Cooke who is still looking for his first major win for Team Barloworld in Europe. Also in the Team Barloworld line-up are Francesco Bellotti, Diego Caccia, Patrick Calcagni, Gianpaolo Cheula, Marco Corti, Paolo Longo Borghini and Carlo Scognamiglio.

The Eroica is the final test before Team Barloworld ride next week’s Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy and the Volta ao Santarem in Portugal. Both are important stage races before Milan-San Remo, the first big classic of the 2008 season.

Team Barloworld 2
Team Barloworld remain firmly in control of the South African 2008 Giro del Capo with Austrian champion Christian Pfannberger coming second on the third stage, thus strengthening his hold on the Pink Leaders jersey.

Climber Felix Cardenas started the day with a strong attack on the first climb which allowed the team to exert pressure on the chasing peloton and fend off any attacks. In the final climb Christopher Froome and Christian Pfannberger worked together to position Pfannberger for a strong sprint finish which came down to the wire.

Claudio Corti, team manager says, “Today I was concerned during the race because of the very hot temperature, this can make the race tough for even the strongest cyclists. Froome and Pfannberger surprised me in the last climb as they were still looking very strong. Because of the weather this is definitely one of the hardest Giro del capo’s!”

Quickstep
Quickstep teams for the West Flamdrian Tour, a three stage race held in the heart of Flanders cycling. Riders are Ad Engels, Dmytro Grabovskyy, Leonardo Scarselli, Hubert Schwab, Kevin Seeldraeyers, Jurgen Van de Walle, Wouter Weylandt.

For the Monte Paschi Eroica they send World Champion Paolo Bettini, Mauro Facci, Alessandro Proni, Andrea Tonti, Giovanni Visconti. D.S: Davide Bramati.

Astana
Out of action are Tomas Vaitkus (viral infection) and Aaron Kemps, (tendinitis right knee) and both will not ride next weekend. The team line-up for the next race: Three Days of West Flanders riders are: Assan Bazayev, Koen de Kort, Sergei Ivanov, Berik Kupeshov, Dmitriy Muravjev, Gregory Rast and Michael Schär. Led by D.S.: Sean Yates

Astana were also busy racing the Tour of Murcia: Jose Luis “Chechu” Rubiera won the queen stage in the Tour of Murcia after a thrilling finale. With three kilometers to go, Rubiera attacked in the streets of Totana. Only two other riders, out of the front group of 12, could close the gap. In the sprint, Chechu, the veteran of Astana Cycling Team, was faster than Aitor Pérez and Vasil Kyrienka. Alberto Contador finished 7th, Antonio Colom 9th.

It was snowing on the last climb of the day, the Alto Collado Bermejo. five riders reached the top still 30 kilometers from the finish, with 30 seconds advantage: Alberto Contador, Stefano Garzelli, Alejando Valverde, Ricardo Serrano and Ezequiel Mosquera. In the descent, seven riders including Rubiera and Colom, were able to catch the leaders. Garzelli gave the strongest impression, but Chechu Rubiera was the cleverest rider.

“3 K from the finish was the perfect moment to attack”, said the happy Asturian rider. “Toni Colom didn’t feel strong enough to attack. Neither did I, but I tried. And it worked. More than having good legs, you have to be lucky in such situations. The legs were good of course. Already in the Tour of California, you could see that I had the good shape.”

This victory will not change Rubiera’s plans to end his cycling career at the end of this season. The ideal team mate participated in 19 big Tours (four times top ten in GC and two stage victories in Giro d’Italia), “It is super nice to stop with these feelings. It is time to do something else. The decision has been taken. Definite for sure.”

“What a day. We were so close to canceling this stage. It was dangerous in the peloton. With a few riders, and I was one of them, we wanted to cancel the stage after 40 kilometers. We stopped riding, but after a short discussion, we went further. I don’t regret it any more. For me it is a nice victory but without Alain, Toni, Alberto, Jani, Benjamin, Sergio, Daniel and Maxim, it would have been impossible.”

Team Milram
Team Milram will for the first time be at the start of the second edition of the Monte Paschi Eroica (UCI 1.1) on Saturday, March 8. The German ProTour team will be led by German all rounders Martin Müller and Enrico Poitschke. Directeur Sportif Oscar Pellicioli will also look to Italians Marco Velo, Fabio Sabitini, Elia Rigotto and Alberto Ongarato.

"The race must be very special, from all that we have heard about it,“ said Milram's Martin Müller. "Among other things it has 60 km of gravel roads and long, narrow forest passages. It sounds a bit like Paris-Roubaix. At any rate, such stretches are an important preparation for the upcoming races.“

Riders are: Alberto Ongarato (ITA), Elia Rigotto (ITA), Enrico Poitschke (GER/Görlitz), Fabio Sabatini (ITA), Marco Velo (ITA), Martin Müller (GER/Forst). Directeur Sportif: Oscar Pellicioli (ITA)