Team Talk 6

On the agenda for the weekend of March 29/30 are E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (March 29), De Brabantse Pijl (March 30) and the Criterium International in France.

Astana

Astana Cycling Team have a new official Team website, www.astana-cyclingteam.com. The new site, serves to provide fans and media with the latest news and features on the 2008 squad.

The team line-up for the next races: -
E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Riders: Koen de Kort, René Haselbacher, Sergei Ivanov, Aaron Kemps, Dmitriy Muravyev, Gregory Rast, Michael Schär & Tomas Vaitkus. D.S.: Alain Gallopin & Viatcheslav Ekimov

De Brabantse Pijl - Riders: Antonio Colom, Koen de Kort, René Haselbacher, Sergei Ivanov, Benoît Joachim, Aaron Kemps, Berik Kupeshov & Dmitriy Muravyev. D.S.: Viatcheslav Ekimov

Quickstep

After the terrible crash in Wednesday Dwars door Vlaanderen, Gert Steegmans is unsure if he will ride the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. The decision will be taken on Friday 28 of March, at the end of the training. If Steegmans' condition won’t allow him to take the start, Carlos Barredo will ride in his place.

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Riders: Tom Boonen, Wilfried Cretskens, Steven De Jongh, Stijn Devolder, Kevin Hulsmans, Gert Steegmans, Matteo Tosatto, Wouter Weylandt D.S.: Wilfried Peeters

De Brabantse Pijl - Riders: Carlos Barredo, Paolo Bettini, Dmitry Grabovskyy, Addy Engels, Sebastien Rosseler, Kevin Van Impe, Giovanni Visconti, Maarten Wynants D.S.: Rik Van Slycke

Team Milram

U-23 World Champion Peter Velits and his Ukrainian teammate Andrey Grivko will lead Team Milram in the Criterium International (March 29-30). Directeur Sportif Vittorio Algeri will also count on Germans Dominik Roels, and Sebastian Schwager, as well as Brett Lancaster, Matej Jurco, Sergio Ghisalberti and sprinter Elia Rigotto.

It is U-23 World Champion Velits' second appearance in the French race, which he rode last year for Team Wiesenhof-Felt. It is also a repeat performance for Grivko and Jurco, both of whom started the race in 2006 for Milram. Ukrainian Grivko surprised everyone with a third place finish in the first stage last year. The 24 year-old proved that his talent is for smaller stage races when he wore the white jersey for the best young rider for two days in Paris-Nice.

The Criterium International, also called 'Triptyche', has since 1978 been carried on three stages over two days. The first day features a 193 kilometer long flat course from Signy-le-Petit to Charleville-Mézières. The second day starts with a 98,5 kilometere climbing course from Les Vieilles Forges (Le Mazures) to Monthereme. The decision of who will take the overall win will be made in the closing time trial on an 8.3 kilometer course in Charleville-Mézières.

The only German to have won the race, which has been carried out since 1932, is Jens Voigt (CSC). The Berliner won the Criterium International in 1999, 2004 and 2006.

Line is - Andrey Grivko (UKR), Brett Lancaster (AUS), Dominik Roels (GER/Köln), Elia Rigotto (ITA), Matej Jurco (SVK), Peter Velits (SVK), Sebastian Schwager (GER/Ansbach), Sergio Ghisalberti (ITA) Directeur Sportif: Vittorio Algeri (ITA)

Dwars door Vlaanderen - Youngster Niki Terpstra gave a great competitive peformance at the 63d Dwars door Vlaanderen (UCI 1.1). Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) won the race after a solo ride on the last nine kilometers. The Frenchman gave his former fellow escapees, Steven De Jongh (Quick Step), who finished second, and third-placed Niki Eeckhout (Topsport Vlaanderen), no chance. "Niki was really strong today, and surprised me in a positive way, especially in the finale,“ said Jochen Hahn, Milram's Directeur Sportif. "He was very active all day. I had never figured that at the end he would be able on his own to catch up with the leading chase group."

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - The Belgian Week begins for Captain Erik Zabel and Team Milram with two one-day races this weekend. The German ProTour Team starts its countdown to the Ronde van Vlaanderen (April 6) with the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (UCI 1.HC)

Directeur Sportif Jochen Hahn will look to an experienced team under the leadership of Erik Zabel in both challenging half-classic races. The 37 year-old sprinter will be supported by Germans Christian Knees, Markus Eichler, Martin Müller and Ralf Grabsch, as well as Slovakian Martin Velits, Niki Terpstra of the Netherlands and Italian Fabio Sabatini.

The E3 Prijs Vlaanderen with start and finish in Harelbeke has been carried out in West Flanders since 1958. The riders must master 12 cobblestone climbs, the so-called 'hillingen' along the way. The most difficult climb is the Patersberg, 38 km before the finish, with gradients of up to 20 percent.

On Sunday, the riders will face 192.7 kilometers in the De Brabantse Pijl. The course from Leuven to Alsemberg (Beersel), southwest of Brüssels, goes over a 109,7 kilometer course followed by five laps of a 16.6 kilometer long closing round course.

Riders are: Christian Knees (GER/Euskirchen), Erik Zabel (GER/Unna), Fabio Sabatini (ITA), Markus Eichler (GER/Mönchengladbach), Martin Müller (GER/Forst), Martin Velits (SVK), Niki Terpstra (NED), Ralf Grabsch (GER/Hürth) Directeur Sportif: Jochen Hahn (GER)

Lampre

After participation in Paris-Nice, Damiano Cunego will next ride in the Criterium International, for the two days race. He will be joined by team mates Matteo Bono, Roberto Longo, Mirco Lorenzetto, Mauro Santambrogio and Paolo Tiralongo.

Cunego is working on solving health problems that has been giving him trouble from the Volta Valenciana stage race, as doctor Guardascione (Lampre's medical responsible) explained: "Damiano is completing an antibiotic therapy for healing a cyst-urethra infection that has been disturbing him for 20 days and that influenced him during Paris-Nice. The course is under control and the problem is going to be solved: Damiano can go on in his trainings in view of Ardenne Classics".

AFP report - Former Giro d'Italia winner Damiano Cunego will return to action at next weekend's Criterium International, Italian news agency Ansa said on Thursday.

Cunego has been taking antibiotics to cure an infection he picked up during the Tour of Valenciana at the end of February.

The Lampre team leader is aiming to build up his form for the Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classic at the end of April before concentrating on his main goal for the season, July's Tour de France.

The 26-year-old 2004 Giro winner has even opted to miss this year's tour around his homeland to concentrate on the 'Grand Boucle' as the course more suits his abilities.

Lampre's teams for the Belgium weekend are; Baldato, Ballan Bandiera, Fornaciari, Mori, Murro and Spilak.

"Ballan will be the eagerly awaited rider - Fabrizio Bontempi (DS)commented - These races will be important for him in order to check his fit, in view of the important appointments of the next weeks. Team is competitive, a mix of experienced athletes and youngsters with great qualities".

Barloworld

Team Barloworld will be in the thick of the action yet again at the weekend, with Claudio Corti’s riders in action in France at the Criterium International and then in the semi-classics in Belgium.

The short race always suits complete riders who can climb and time trial. Directeur Sportif Flavio Miozzo will be in charge of a strong Barloworld team lead by Mauricio Soler who showed some form at Milan-Sanremo and this week’s Vuelta Castilla y Leon stage race in Spain. He will ride with John Lee Augustyn, Francesco Bellotti, Patrick Calcagni, Felix Cardenas, Gianpaolo Cheula, Christopher Froome and Christian Pfannberger.

The other Team Barloworld squad in Belgium begins the build up towards the Tour of Flanders on April 6 with a series of important semi-classics. The racing starts Saturday March 29 with the E3 Prijs Vlaanderene. It is a tough 203km race that covers sections of pave and 12 of the muur climbs of the Tour of Flanders, including the 12.5% Petersberg, just 38km from the finish.

The team will be directed by Valerio Tebaldi and includes Enrico Gasparotto – who was on fine form in Milan-Sanremo, Robert Hunter and Baden Cooke. Completing the team are Diego Caccia (who returns after breaking his nose at the Monte Paschi Eroica), Daryl Impey, Paolo Longo Borghini, Hugo Sabido and Carlo Scognamiglio. The same team will also ride the De Brabantse Pijl. on Sunday March 30 over 192.7 km between Leuven and Alsenberg.

The final race before the Tour of Flanders is the three-day KBC-Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde between April 1-3. This year the race has two stages and then two semi-stages: Middelkerke – Zottegem (192 km) on April 1, Zottegem – Koksijde (228 km) on April 2, De Panne - De Panne (119 km) and the De Panne – Koksijde - De Panne time trial (13,7 km) on April 3.

The Team Barloworld line-up for the race will be the same as in the other races except for the Patrick Calcagni who will replace Hugo Sabido.

BMC

IMG (Suisse) SA, the organizer of the Tour de Suisse, has extended a Wild Card to the BMC Racing Team.

The Swiss-American racing team had already secured multiple prestigious invitations this year, including invitations to the upcoming Criterium International and the Tour of Romandie. Expectations for a Swiss invitation were high, but nobody on the team was taking anything for granted. “When you are not a ProTour team you are never sure of an invitation,” Directeur Sportif John Lelangue said after hearing of the invitation. “But even though we do not have a big named leader,” Lelangue explained, “we have Alex Moos who has performed at a high level for many years, and we also have three of the brightest young Swiss racers on our roster.”

Thor Hushovd

AFP report - Top Norwegian cyclist Thor Hushovd has said he is prepared to boycott the opening ceremony to the Beijing Olympics in August to protest Chinese repression in Tibet.

"We sports people do not have any particular responsibility to take a stance over what is happening in China," he told the Faedrelandsvennen newspaper. "But all the same we can have some influence by snubbing the opening ceremony in Beijing. That would be a vaild form of protest and I am prepared to do it.

"However, from there to boycotting the Games entirely is a huge step."