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Mikhail Ignatyev

Olympic champion Mikhail Ignatyev won today the penultimate stage of “Tirreno-Adriatico” in Macerata ahead of Garzelli from “Acqua & Sapone” and Cadel Evans from “BMC Racing”.
Ignatyev was a part of 12-man escape and attacked with 8 km to go on penultimate climb. Did a good gap of 20 seconds on the top, Katusha’s rider, entered in last climb in Macerata with 10 seconds ahead of chasing group and conserved his leader place till the finish line.
- We did for three times climb in Macerata, before I tried to go out from the escape group. I attacked and after I did a good individual time trial till the finish. My legs were good and I thought, it would be nice to try something in this stage. I tried some stages ago, but without success. Now, I did it and for me stage in Macerata is something special. I wanted too much to win here and, finally, I did it, – said Mikhail Ignatyev.

Ivan Gutierrez

Like all his Caisse d’Epargne team-mates, Iván Gutiérrez achieved a really impressive job in Paris-Nice which finished yesterday on the French Riviera, to help both his leaders Alejandro Valverde and Luis León Sánchez to try and win the race.

“I did not finish the last stage, like some other team-mates because we had no forces left to reach Nice”, explained this afternoon Iván Gutiérrez who travelled home in Cantabria on Sunday evening.

“We gave it all till the last day to try and change the overall classification but even if we did not succeed doing that I believe that we should be very proud for the job we achieved every day as well as for the fact we took place two and three in the final ranking.”

“We have been fighting really so hard every day that we surely deserved at least a stage victory but we never have to forget that many other riders are giving it all to win too and there is only one winner every day.”

“All the stages were very fast ones and besides the fact the rhythm was so high, it was also necessary to be very attentive all the time. And except for the last day, it was so cold during that race!”

“I believe we should be satisfied because once more time we showed that we are really a great tem and that it is always possible to rely on us, in all the races we take part in,” also said the rider from Cantabria who will take part next week in the Tour of Cataluña before starting in the northern classics where he hopes to get some good results.

Contador in Paris Nice 2010

Yellow continues to be Alberto Contador’s favourite colour. There was an excellent preview to the Tour de France this week on the roads of the Paris-Nice. The Spanish ace from the Sidi Sport stables was as always the strongest contender on the climbs and with the best times in the time trials Contador placed himself at the top of the overall standings in the brief French stage race. This is a double header for Contador, coming after the 2007 success in the “race to the sun” that made his name a buzzword with the cycling crowd. This Spanish twofer has been carried off only once before in the history of cycling, by the great Miguel Indurain.

Sidi Sport also enjoyed a double header at the Paris-Nice with Alberto Contador (Team Astana) coming in first and his fellow countryman Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) taking second. Rounding out the success for the Sidi colours were the Czech Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas-Doimo) in fourth place (winner of the young rider jersey classification) and the other Spaniard Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) coming in fifth. Revelation of the race the young Slovak riders from Team Liquigas-Doimo Peter Sagan winner of a stage and of the point jersey classification.

The Team line-up for the next race:

Milan-Sanremo (Ita), 20/03/2010

Riders: Lance Armstrong, Daryl Impey, Markel Irizar, Geoffroy Lequatre, Dmitriy Muravyev, Gregory Rast, Sébastien Rosseler & Tomas Vaitkus

Director: Johan Bruyneel

Wednesday’s edition of the Belgian semi-classic Nokere Koerse provides the BMC Racing Team with an opportunity to fine tune its form for the upcoming northern classics.

Good Practice For Echelon Riding

“This is a good race for the younger classics riders on our team,” BMC Racing Team Director Sportif John Lelangue said. “Since we don’t have one of our big leaders there like Alessandro Ballan or (Marcus) Burghardt or George Hincapie, they can play their own card. It’s also good practice for positioning and leading in the echelons.” Assistant Sport Director Mike Sayers will direct the squad in the 192 km race. Five of the past seven editions have been decided in field sprints.

Nokere Koerse Roster – March 17

Chad Beyer (USA), Martin Kohler (SWI), Alexander Kristoff (NOR), Alex Moos (SWI), John Murphy (USA), Jackson Stewart (USA), Danilo Wyss (SWI), Simon Zahner (SWI).

When world champion Cadel Evans caught the two leaders in the last kilometer Sunday on Stage 5 at Tirreno-Adriatico, the BMC Racing Team rider immediately went on the attack to gain time.

Evans Up To Fourth

Although Evans did not win the four-up sprint that was taken by Enrico Gasparotto (Team Astana), his fourth place did move him up to fourth overall, 18 seconds behind Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli). “I saw Scarponi in difficulty and made an acceleration,” Evans said about the steep climb before the finish. BMC Racing Team Director Sportif John Lelangue said it was either go for the stage and sacrifice important seconds, or go for the GC. “We took the option to go for the GC because Monday is still a big day when everything can change.”

In the 5th stage of Paris-Nice, Pernes les Fontaines-Aix-en-Provence, 157 km, characterized by Col de Murs, Cote de Lacoste, Cote de Bonnieux and Cote de Saint Canadet (this one at 30 km to the arrival), Mirco Lorenzetto performed an outstanding race, but he had to surrender to Sagan, who attacked at 1 km to go and could keep an advantage on the chaser (a group of 50 cyclists, with Righi and Bono too) of 2″. Lorenzetto won the sprint of the following group, obtaining the 2nd position.

Contador is still the leader of the overall standing.

Second place for Lampre-Farnese Vini also in Tirreno-Adriatico. In the 3rd stage (San Miniato-Monsummano Terme), Petacchi took part in the sprint and crossed the finish line after Bennati (new leader of the overall standing).

“I’m happy I saw Petacchi battling in the sprint – sport director Fabrizio Bontempi said – The team worked very well to support him, even if we had to face a crash that involved Da Dalto and Pietropolli, changing our plans. Anyway, Hondo could drive Petacchi on Bennati’s wheel: they performed a long sprint, but today Bennati was stronger”.

Tirreno-Adriatico, 3rd stage from San Miniato to Monsummo Terme. San Baronto at 15 km to the arrival.

Paris Nice

The 4th stage of Paris-Nice, 173,5 km from Maurs to the mountain arrival in Mende, gave to Cunego fans the image of a tenacious Damiano. The grind was the quality that, added to a good pedalling, allowed Lampre-Farnese Vini’s cyclist to obtain the 6th place, at 21″ to the winner Contador (who’s also the new leader of the overall standing).

The  moment of the stage was the last climb of 3 km, approached by the bunch led by team Astana with a high pace; at the beginning of the climb Righi and Loosli worked perfectly for Cunego, who kept the pace of the best riders and, later, the forcing by Contador.

In the tougher sector of the climb, Cunego was skilful in show all his grind and so, in the next meters (at 700 mt to go) he could shortened the gap from Contador, even if in the final sector he lost some seconds.

“The sixth place, but most of all the performance, are good signs about Cunego’s fitness – sport director Copeland commented – The team was perfect in supporting Damiano in the beginning of the climb, then is was Cunego’s turn to face its opponents: I think that it was a good day for us”.

These are the words by Cunego: “Thanks to my team mates performance, I could approach the climb in the head of the group.

At the beginning maybe I hesitate a little too much, but then I found the proper pace. After the tougher sector, I gave my best and I could be close to Valverde and Rodriguez that was following Contador but, when it was time to use the remaining energy, I was not completely brilliant: this means that the fit is still improvable and I’ll do my best to improve it”.

A massive sprint at the end of the 2nd stage of Tirreno-Adriatico (Montecatini Terme-Montecatini Terme, 165 km) and victory for Boonen, with Hondo for Lampre-Farnese Vini at the 8th place.

Fabrizio Bontempi, blue-fucsia sport director, commented the stage: “When the pack neutralized the breakaway of 4 cyclists, the pace was very very high and so no action was possible on the hill of Vico: Gavazzi, who was in a good fit, could not perform any attack. For the sprint we supported Hondo, since Petacchi was not brilliant: Danilo did what he could, but the race had been very tough and so we could not obtain more than the 8th place”.

Overall standing is led by Linus Gerdemann.

Cadel Evans world champion Photo BMC Racing Team

Safely through the first two stages of Tirreno-Adriatico, BMC Racing Team Director Sportif John Lelangue looks forward to a pivotal three-day stretch that will likely decide the winner of the six-day Italian race.

Protecting Evans

Lelangue said it begins with Friday’s 159 km stage that includes two climbs in the final 25 km. “We have said all along that Stages 3, 4 and 5 will be the most tricky,” he said. Brent Bookwalter said the goal is to protect Cadel Evans, who is the team’s best-placed rider. “We did well today keeping him up front and out of trouble,” Bookwalter said. “It was a pretty heated and hectic finale with a hard climb and hectic finish.” A four-man breakaway that led by 4:05 was caught with 4 km to go. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won a field sprint and Linus Gerdemann (Team Milram) kept the overall lead.