Team Talk 8 - updates

Flanders, what else is there to talk about? Many of the teams used the Three Days of De Panne as a warm up for the Tour of Flanders, although Cofidis and Team CSC stayed away.

The final day of De Panne saw Napolitano obtained a good 4th place. In the afternoon time trial good performances by Spilak and Ballan (photo). Tour of Flandres 2007 winner obtained the 16th position, at 40" from the winner Posthuma, while young Slovenian was 17th (at 42").

Lampre's sport director Fabrizio Bontempi is satisfied: "Two good results in the overall standing, especially for Spilak for whom this was the first experience as pro in Belgium. Ballan has good fitness and on Sunday he will be ok"

The same team that took place in De Panne will be in Tour of Flanders: leader Ballan will be supported by Baldato, Bandiera, Fornaciari, Mori, Murro, Napolitano and Spilak.

Lampre will now train in a light way, visiting the toughest parts of Tour of Flanders parcour

The Tour of Flanders team is; Carlos Barredo, Tom Boonen, Wilfried Cretskens, Steven De Jongh, Stijn Devolder, Gert Steegmans, Matteo Tosatto and Maarten Wynants. DS. Wilfried Peeters

As scheduled, Tom Boonen did not participate in the final time trial of the Three Days of De Panne. At the following press conference said:

“I’m coming into the Ronde Van Vlaanderen in better condition than I was in last year - says Boonen -. At De Panne I didn’t want to overdo it in the stage finals because I didn’t want to take any risks leading up to Sunday’s race. The team is excellent, the guys are highly motivated.

The weather forecast is typically Flemish: cold, rainy and it may even snow. I’ve never raced in these conditions and I’m very curious to see how things will go on Sunday. The weather will definitely make things harder.

The favorites? As always there are lots of them. From all of them, Cancellara sticks out and will still be hungry for victory, then there’s Ballan, Hoste, and Gilbert."

Team Check over the Route
There was Intense training day for Carlos Barredo, Wilfried Cretskens, Matteo Tosatto, Kevin Van Impe e Maarten Wynants. The five were being followed and observed by Sports Director Dirk Demol, while their team mates were tackling the last stage of the Three Days of De Panne, they had a training trial for the last 120 km of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen.

“The training session was very useful to mentally review the crucial points in Sunday’s race - explains Matteo Tosatto -. We also faced the Koppenberg, the terrain is splendid. Sunday’s race will be truly spectacular.”

There was a bit of bad news relating to Gert Steegmans at Three Days of De Panne. The rider is suffering with back pain. “Ever since the fall during the Dwars door Vlaanderen I’ve been having a few problems, a constant aching pain but for the moment nothing too serious”.

Thankfully Sebastien Rosseler is backing on good form after having problems with his knee that hindered the first part of the season for him.

“I am really pleased – Sebastien said – the pain has gone away meaning that I am able to pedal away forcing the pace at last. I really enjoyed myself yesterday being right at the front up until about 30 kilometres from the finish. Unfortunately after that the light turned off but that is normal, I still haven’t completely got back to a 100% racing pace. The main thing is that the awful pain I was suffering with earlier on in the season has disappeared”.

The UK team, Plowman Craven are set to race in the Redlands Classic in Calfornia.

The team travel to California for a for a couple of weeks.

Plowman Craven will travel to the US for three races in California. The eight man squad will ride the Redlands Classic (3-6 April), Garrett Lemire Memorial Grand Prix (13 April) and the Sea Otter Classic (17-20). The team will return in time for the fourth round of the Premier Calendar series, the Chas Messenger Two Day at Long Crendon in Bucks on 3/4 May.

Under 23 Niki Terpstra ended the Three Days of De Panne with another strong performance. After the individual time trial which closed the Belgian stage race, the 23-year old Netherlander missed out on third place overall by only two seconds. The stage win and also the overall title when to Joost Posthuma of Rabobak, who used the time trial to jump from eighth to first place. Second place went to Italian Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas).

"I have to praise not just Niki but the whole team today,“ said Jochen Hahn, MILRAM's Directeur Sportif."That was not just good preparation for the Ronde van Vlaanderen, we also used the possibility to present ourselves well. Now we have to look at what is possible for us on Sunday. But I think we shouldn't expect too much in light of the long 260 kilometers, especially from our youngsters.“

The team was: Artur Gajek (GER/Bergisch Gladbach), Brett Lancaster (AUS/Pistoia;ITA), Christian Kux (GER/Chemnitz), Enrico Poitschke (GER/Gera), Markus Eichler (GER/Mönchengladbach), Martin Velits (SVK/Riemst;BEL), Niki Terpstra (NED/Krommenie), Ralf Grabsch (GER/Hürth). Directeur Sportif: Jochen Hahn (GER)

Classic specialists start in the Tour of Flanders
Erik Zabel, Ralf Grabsch and Markus Eichler lead Milram in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. The team management will look for success from a promising mixture of experienced Classics specialists and youngsters in the 93rd running of the famous 'Ronde'.

"The Ronde van Vlaanderen is an absolute highlight of the Spring Classics,“ said team manager Gerry van Gerwen, who eagerly anticipated his riders' appearance in the traditional one-day race. "We are sending a strong team to the start. The last race days have given our team self-confidence and the riders are ready to pull off a surprise.“

Erik Zabel, who finished fourth in the race in 2005, rides along with Classics specialists Ralf Grabsch and Markus Eichler. The two Directeurs Sportif, Jochen Hahn of Berlin and Italian Oscar Pellicolli will also look to Germans Christian Knees and Christian Kux, as well as Slovak Martin Velits and Italian Fabio Sabatini to do well on the 264 kilometer long stretch through East Flanders. Van Gerwen's fellow Netherlander Niki Terpstra will also be at the start n Belgium. "Niki has proved his good form with good results in the last few days. In the Driedaagse De Panne, he has shown that our young riders are on the right way."

Team for Flanders: Markus Eichler (GER/Mönchengladbach), Ralf Grabsch (GER/Hürth), Christian Knees (GER/Euskirchen), Christian Kux (GER/Chemnitz), Fabio Sabatini (ITA/ Monsummano Terme), Niki Terpstra (NED/Krommenie), Martin Velits (SVK/Riemst;BEL), Erik Zabel, (GER/Unna). Directeurs Sportif: Jochen Hahn (GER/Berlin), Oscar Pellicioli (ITA)

Milram also start in two one-day races in Spain and Holland, on the previous day to Tour of Flanders, two other Milram squads will be in the GP Miguel Indurain (UCI 1.HC) in Spain and the Hel van het Mergelland (UCI 1.1) in Holland, near Maastricht.

Former World Champion Igor Astarloa of Spain and Slowakian U-23 World Champion Peter Velits will lead the team in the GP Miguel Indurain. The race, which carries the name of five-time Tour de France winner Indurain, runs over a challenging 199 km through the autonomous region of Navarra in the north of Spain. The last German winner was Gerolsteiner's Fabian Wegmann in 2006.

Line-up for the GP Miguel Indurain: Andrey Grivko (UKR/Wohnort:Poggio a Caiano;ITA), Björn Schröder (GER/Berlin), Dominik Roels (GER/Köln), Igor Astarloa (ESP/Monte-Carlo;MON), Matej Jurco (SVK/Liptovsky Hradok), Peter Velits (SVK/Riemst;BEL), Sebastian Schwager (GER/Neusass), Sergio Ghisalberti (ITA/Bergamo).

The 35th Hel van het Mergelland will see sprint star Alessandro Petacchi return to racing after a brief illness. The MILRAM captain will be escorted by his landsmen Ongarato, Velo, Rigotto and Barla on the 188 km long race in the „Dreiländereck“ on the German-Netherlands border between Maastricht and Aachen.

Riders are: Alberto Ongarato (ITA/Wohnort:Servazzano), Alessandro Petacchi (ITA/Lido di Camaiore), Artur Gajek (GER/Bergisch Gladbach), Dennis Haueisen (GER/Gera), Brett Lancaster (AUS/Pistoia;ITA), Elia Rigotto (ITA/Creazzo), Luca Barla (ITA/Imperia), Marco Velo (ITA/Mazzano)

The Astana Cycling Team will race Tour of Flanders and País Vasco over the weekend.

The team for Tour of Flanders are; Vladimir Gusev, René Haselbacher, Sergei Ivanov, Aaron Kemps, Dmitriy Muravyev, Gregory Rast, Michael Schär & Tomas Vaitkus D.S.: Alain Gallopin & Viatcheslav Ekimov

Vuelta al País Vasco / Tour of Basque Country will feature: Antonio Colom, Alberto Contador, Chris Horner, Maxim Iglinskiy, Daniel Navarro, Benjamin Noval, Sergio Paulinho & Sergey Yakovlev. D.S.: Sean Yates and Andrey Teteryuk

Astana’s Michael Schär suffered a crash in the Three Days of De Pann. The Swiss rider of the Astana Cycling Team was involved twice in a crash in the 2nd stage of the Three-Day Race of De Panne. In the first crash, his finger got stuck between the brake and the rear wheel of a another rider, who continued to ride. Thankfully nothing is broken.

Schär, who finished 11th in last Saturday’s E3-Price Flanders, most likely will participate in the Tour of Flanders. His finger will be immobilised with a special custom made cast in thermoplastic material. With his experience on cobblestones (4th in Paris-Roubaix U23 in 2006), the young rider is important for the team.

Astana Cycling Team has big ambitions for Tour of Flanders on Sunday, as in 2007 three of the Team’s riders (Vaitkus, Gusev and Muravyev) finished in the top ten in Meerbeke.

A bad crash on stage one of the Three De Panne for Leif Hoste, Silence-Lotto's leader for Ronde van Vlaanderen of coming Sunday, but he was able ride the second stage at Driedaagse van De Panne without great problem, and he will be a the start tomorrow morning for the finishing time trial.

Team are: De Vocht Wim, Gardeyn Gorik, Hoste Leif, Sentjens Roy, Tjallingii Maarten (Ned), Van Avermaet Greg, Vansevenant Wim and Vansummeren Johan.

Team Barloworld's build up to Sunday's Tour of Flandersgot off to a perfect start on Tuesday as Enrico Gasparotto won the first stage of the Three Days of De Panne stage race after 192 km between Middelkerke and Zottegem. The 26 year-old Italian is clearly the strongest rider in Claudio Corti's squad and finally won his first race in Team Barloworld's red jersey after a few near misses.

Winning in De Panne just five days before the Tour of Flanders is significant and shows that Team Barloworld will be a favourite for one of the biggest classics in the cycling season. The team impressed yet again in the first stage of De Panne. Gasparotto forced the first selection, inspired the decisive break of the day before beating the other three riders at he finish.

His team Barloworld team mates backed him in the race with Baden Cooke using his excellent form and experience to protect the break and slow the chase of the leading chasers that included Italy's Alessandro Ballan, the winner of both De Panne and the Tour of Flanders in 2007. Cooke ended a great day for Team Barloworld by taking sixth at the finish.

"What can you say after a day like that?" directeur sportif Valerio Tebaldi said. "Everything went perfect. The team showed right from the start that they wanted to win and Enrico inspired the team. Now we'll see what happens in the remaining two days of the race. This is a difficult and unpredictable race but the guys have been fantastic."

Gasparotto won the stage with an attack on the Berendries climb, taking Luca Paolini (Acqua e Sapone), Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas) and Nicki Tepstra (Milram) with him. They worked well together in the final 16km of racing and then Gasparotto won the sprint, jumping away with impressive confidence, 300 metres from the line. Just behind Baden Cooke was sixth in the first chase group.

For Gasparotto the win finally ended a run of bad luck and near misses. "I knew I was on good form and had a strong team to help me and so we deserved a big win. It's important for all of us and we can even win the overall classification of this race and look forward to Sunday's Tour of Flanders," he said.

Team Barloworld will line-up for Sunday's Tour of Flanders with: Diego Caccia, Patrick Calcagni, Baden Cooke, Enrico Gasparotto, Robert Hunter, Daryl Impey, Paolo Longo Borghini And Carlo Scognamiglio

Down memory lane
Team Barloworld manager Claudio Corti will be in the team car alongside directeur sportif Valerio Tebaldi, one of his riders when Corti directed the legendary Gianni Bugno. The Italian star won the Tour of Flanders in 1994, just beating Johan Museeuw after raising his arms too early before the finish.

Corti’s memory of that race is an important lesson in understanding the secrets of the Tour of Flanders. “Gianni was a great rider but did not seem suited to the Tour of Flanders,” Corti remembers. “He wasn’t aggressive, and to win Flanders you need to be quick thinking and never get distracted… Fortunately, he had a great day, you could see it at the top of each climb, it was always easy for him. His immense strength, combined with extraordinary class, meant he could do whatever he wanted, even at a race like the Tour of Flanders, which is for specialists.”

In 1994 Valerio Tebaldi no longer rode in the same team as Bugno, and has a different opinion to Corti. “With the strength he had, I thought Bugno could have won Paris-Roubaix… I always asked myself why he didn’t ride it… Someone like him, with the strength he had in his legs and being used to pushing big gears while sitting in the saddle, would have been ideal on the pave….”

Distant memories from Corti’s past but the present also offers a great chance of victory thanks to the 2008 Team Barloworld squad for the Tour of Flanders.

“Gasparotto’s win at the first stage in De Panne has given everyone in the team extra motivation and determination to do well,” Corti says. “In races like the Tour of Flanders it’s important to be focused, aggressive and forceful. Often mental strength is more important than physical strength. We’ve got a good team and riders who can do well in this type of race. Enrico Gasparotto is definitely our strongest rider at the moment and is gradually showing his true ability. So even if it’s the first time Team Barloworld ride the Tour of Flanders, I’m confident we can do well.”

“Baden faded a but after Milan-Sanremo but was back to his best in Belgium and is definitely motivated. Rob started the season more gradually this year but has worked hard. He’s had the flu recently but I’m sure he’ll find some form very soon and be at his very best.”

All three Team Barloworld captain’s will have the support of their talented team mates. Gasparotto will end his spring classics campaign after next Wednesday’s Ghent-Wevelgem, while Hunter and Cooke will also ride Paris-Roubaix. All three have the same motto: nothing is impossible, especially in the classics. And so Team Barloworld has another chance of proving its ability in the biggest races in the world of cycling.

Team Swift have strengthened their squad with the addition of Louise Kerr and Toni Bradshaw. Louise is strong young rider from Australia. She was part of the ill-fated Rapha squad who ceased racing at the start of 2008.

Toni is the team leader, she's from NZ. I've attached some details of her for you. Emma Davies is back after a stint with Eurosport to cover the Track Worlds in Manchester.

The team ride the Women's Tour of Flanders on Sunday (World Cup), and GP Dottignies (UCI 1.2).

Flanders squad: Emma Jones, Toni Bradshaw, Ine Beyen, Lien Beyen, Louise Kerr and Helen Wyman

GP Dottignies: Ine Beyen, Emma Davies, Lien Beyen, Jenny Fay, Alice Monger Godfrey and Gabby Day.

Team CSC missed the Three Days of De Panne and have been training elsewhere.

The team for Tour of Flanders are Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Lars Bak, Matti Breschel, Fabian Cancellara, Allan Johansen, Karsten Kroon, Marcus Ljungqvist and Stuart O'Grady.

On Friday, April 4 your Poll has Fabian Cancellera as favourite: Tom Boonen 18% , Fabian Cancellera 45%, Alessandro Ballan 21%, Leif Hoste 6% and Roger Hammond 9%.