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.

Alejandro Valverde (Foto Valverde Prensa)

finished the second of the sixth stage of Paris-Nice which took place this Saturday between Peynier and the touristic locality of Tourrettes-sur-Loup. The longest stage of the French race, with 220 kilometers to go, was a very difficult one, with five third category hills, two second category ones and one of first category, the Col de Vance, at 32 kilometers from the finish.

“Once again second!” declared Alejandro Valverde who thanks to the time bonuses is now fourteen seconds behind Alberto Contador in the general classification.

“If one could win everything he would like to it would be wonderful. I am every day very close and that shows how well I feel but there is a little something missing every day to give me the possibility to raise my arms. Nevertheless today Tondo achieved a great stage and he deserved to win.”

“The job my team is doing every day is incredible too and it is really a pity not to be able to win something but there is one stage left to go and tomorrow many things can happen. I hope to recover very well tonight and tomorrow I shall fight till the race is finished”, concluded the Caisse d’Epargne rider.

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.

Ivan Gutierrez (Foto Prensa Ivan Gutierrez)

“In such a day like today I have to be in front , very careful to what is happening and work to help my leaders”, explained Iván Gutiérrez behind the finishing line in Contres where the first stage of Paris-Nice finished today.

“Alejandro Valverde and Luis León Sánchez came here to win the race and we have to be there with them in all the stages, not only in the mountain stages. In a stage like today, very fast and very nervous, many things can happen and it is very important to be there with them.”

“Today we are the ones who decided to break the bunch. At about ten kilometers from the line I felt that it was the right moment to do it and I attacked. And we did it!”

“The psychological factor is also very important. Today we caused some damage in the bunch and we know that our rivals will respect us”, concluded the rider from Cantabria.

Alejandro Valverde (Foto Valverde Prensa)

Alejandro Valverde, who took the start of the first stage of Paris-Nice with the jersey of the leader of the mountain classification (yesterday he was the second best time at the top of the hill included in the prologue), finished at place five in Contres after a 201,5 kilometers long stage won by Greg Henderson.

“I would have like to win the stage too”, declared Alejandro Valverde as soon as he crossed the finishing line, “but after he worked a lot in the breakaway to increase the gap as much as possible with the bunch, I was no longer strong enough to defeat a sprinter like Henderson. Anyway I am really happy because of what we achieved today.”

“The stage was a very fast and very nervous one, with many crashed. We were very careful and all the time in front of the race. Our team manager Yvon Ledanois perfectly knew the final of the stage because he came here a few weeks ago to see how the last kilometers look like. He told us that at 23 kilometers from the finish, as soon as we turned right, the wind could play a very important role and that we had to be in front of the bunch right there.”

“And things went exactly the way he told so that we gave it all to make a break in the bunch. The gap on the line reached 17 seconds. It is important most of all because many rivals finished with the second group. Today we showed Team Caisse d’Epargne is a great one and that we will try to be in front every day”, concluded Valverde very happy.

Team RadioShack’s Gert Steegmans broke his left collarbone in the Prologue of Paris-Nice. Steegmans was caught in a whirlwind while on his bike. The wind picked him up off the ground while he was going 75kph/47mph on a downhill section of the course. In addition to the fracture, Steegmans suffered from a big contusion of the shoulder muscle and has road rash all over his body.

Driving behind Steegmans was Director Dirk Demol, who said, “Gert crashed on the descent of the first of two climbs, just on the fastest part where everyone was riding more than 70kph. There was an opening of maybe 20 meters between a house and a hedge. I saw the wind coming. Leaves and tree branches flew in the air and a second later Gert was lifted in the air too. He was blown away from the road and tumbled over and over many times. It was a terrible crash. I’ve never seen such a thing in my life. It took 12 minutes for the ambulance to arrive while we waited and could do nothing. Gert was screaming all the time. He seemed to have broken more than one thing. This is very bad news for him. He would have been our leader in the Classics.”

The big contusion caused the extreme pain. Earlier this season in the 3rd stage of the Tour of Algarve Steegmans crashed on his head. He recovered soon but now will be out for at least three weeks. The doctors hope he can train again soon thanks to osteosynthesis (fixing his break with a plate and screws).

On Monday the Team Doctor will bring Steegmans to the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-van-Lourdes Hospital in Waregem, Belgium, where Dr. Sioen will perform the shoulder operation.

In the Prologue of Paris-Nice Levi Leipheimer, performing extra-strong in the second part of the course, finished third at six seconds behind winner Lars Boom. Of all the favorites for the overall victory, Leipheimer was the fastest rider. Also Jani Brajkovic (11th) and Chris Horner (16) confirmed their good form.

Photo: Team MILRAM

ProTour squad Team Milram was left off the list of starting squads posted Thursday for the 2010 Paris-Nice race organised by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The team has been assured it will be invited to ASO’s other races, according to team general manager Gerry van Gerwen.

ASO informed the German ProTour team of the news on Thursday, but at the same time ASO assured the team it would be invited to its other races which include Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogen-Liège, Dauphiné Libéré and the Tour de France.

“Jean-François Pescheux of the ASO informed me of the decision over the phone. But he also guaranteed us a starting permission for all other ASO races,” said van Gerwen.

“In all the ASO races, different teams shall get a chance to prove themselves worthy of getting one of the much sought-after wild cards for the Tour de France,” he said. “This year, there are more high-class teams vying for a place at the Tour than ever before.”

“Naturally, it’s disappointing for us, but of course we have to respect the ASO’s decision. But it also means that we have to find an alternative racing program to Paris-Nice and revise the riders’ schedules for the next races.”

The first 17 teams of the 2009 season’s International Cycling Union (UCI) rankings will start Paris-Nice this year along with three additional French teams and two wild card teams.

Team Milram will next head to the Tour of Qatar from February 7-12 and the Tour of Oman from February 14-19, both organised by ASO. Other races currently on the squad’s planned program are the three Grand Tours, the traditional Classics and the five ‘monuments of cycling’.