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STAGE 15: ROAD BIKE ACTION FIRST EDITION NEWS JULY 20, 2009
Road Bike Action & AFP
July 20, 2008
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Mark Cavendish: photo Yuzuru Sunada
Cavendish Non-Starter On Stage 15
Quadruple stage winner Mark Cavendish will not start Stage 15th of the Tour de France in Embrun, according to his Columbia team. Cavendish has been one of the stars of the Tour de France, winning four bunch sprints to set a new British record for stage wins in a single Tour. The 23-year-old from the Isle of Man admitted he was suffering fatigue following two tough weeks of racing. "I've done enough here with four stages," said Cavendish Saturday. "I'm a bit tired now. I've rode one Grand Tour at the Giro d'Italia. At the Tour, I rode hard through the Pyrenees and was able to get a couple more results. Maybe if the green jersey was still in contention I'd carry on, but I'm 60 points behind now."
Cavendish elaborated, saying "I think the green jersey is out of contention now so it's better to go home and try and recover. I'll take a week's rest in the Isle of Man, then I'll start to concentrate on the Olympics." Cavendish will now set his sights on the Olympic Games, where he will compete for Britain in track cycling's Madison, an event in which he and Wiggins are current world champions.
Chris Froome: photo Roberto Bettini
Barloworld to leave cycling after Duenas affair
South African firm Barloworld will pull out of sponsoring its British-registered team after the Tour De France after Spanish team rider Moises Duenas tested positive for EPO on Stage Four. In a statement on their website, Barloworld, said the Duenas affair had been decisive in their decision. "After serious consideration and in accordance with our policy towards doping. Barloworld they will be withdrawing their cycling sponsorship following the Tour de France 2008," said Chris Fisher, head of corporate marketing at Barloworld. "This follows the disappointing actions of Moises Duenas, a team member, who tested positive for EPO, a prohibited substance, following Stage 4. We consistently drive the values of our business through the team. Team Barloworld has a zero tolerance policy towards doping which has been constantly communicated to the riders, so we have to act on this policy and as such we will all have to live with the long term consequences of one individual's action. This incident has a negative impact on Barloworld and our brand principals, which our board has a duty to protect."
The statement added that Barloworld "will honour contractual obligations and discussions are underway with replacement sponsors". At the start of Saturday's 14th stage Barloworld had only four of their nine starting riders still left in the race. Australian Baden Cooke crashed out injured during the 12th stage while Colombian Felix Cardenas pulled out during the 11th stage with a leg injury, the same day as Italian Paolo Longo also crashed out. Colombian climber Mauricio Soler. the 2007 Tour 'King of the Mountains', pulled out earlier in the race due to a fractured wrist. The remaining Barloworld riders are sprinter Robert Hunter of South Africa, compatriot John-Augustyn Lee, Italian Giampaolo Chuela and Kenyan-born Briton Chris Froome.
Duenas, who was charged with "use and possession of poisonous substances" before a court in Tarbes, France on Thursday, has claimed that the EPO was sold to him by Spanish doctor Jesus Losa, but the former Euskaltel-Euskadi team doctor denied "ever providing Duenas with prohibited products" and was ready to testify before the French justice system. Spanish newspaper El Pais said that Losa's name came up several years ago in connection with providing doping products to Scottish rider David Millar and the Cofidis doping affair, but Losa was never questioned.
Duenas' former Barloworld teammate South African sprinter Robert Hunter, was unconcerned and compared the Barloworld situation to the scenario at T-Mobile, last year, which evolved into High Road, now Columbia. "There's no reason to react, it's the same situation as High Road," said Hunter. "The team now has no name but the budget is there and the contracts are signed." Hunter's Barloworld teammate Chris Froome, said that the current crisis can only lead to "a win-win situation". "It's going to end up being a team that continues the same way as it has, with the same riders and perhaps a different name. I know that for 2009 the sponsorship is still confirmed," Froome told AFP.
Froome slammed Duenas, saying "I don't know if he fully understood the consequences of what he was doing," said Froome, who recently acquired British nationality having spend much of his adolescence in South Africa. "But it was a very selfish act on his part, selfish enough to take away almost 45 people's jobs. It makes me very angry, but what can you do about it?"
Regarding Duenas, Froome said "Moises got on well with everyone on the team. I really liked him and thought he was a decent guy, so to me it was a huge shock. I find it incredible that he's managed to hide it from all of us like that. But what I find more amazing is how he thought he could come to the Tour de France and get away with it. You're going to be tested, so what's the deal?"
Cadel Evans: photo Roberto Bettini
Maillot Jaune Evans Looking for Alpine Allies
31-year-old Aussie Maillot Jaune Evans may try to make alliances in the
upcoming Alpine stages at the Tour De France. A candid Evans explained
after Saturday's stage "I'm kind of surprised to hold the jersey this far,
to be honest," explained Evans, who has maintained a one-second lead
on Luxembourg's Frank Schleck (CSC-Saxo Bank)
Regarding Sunday's stage, Evans explained "It depends on what happens over the first climb," he said. "We finish on top of a hill (Prato) but I think it's a fast climb. They finished there on the Giro and I think at the finish it was quite a big group at the finish." Evans has acknowledged the strength of CSC team, but hopes teammates Yaroslav Popovych, Mario Aerts and Dario Cioni can step up when he needs them. And Evans did not deny that he has already started looking towards potential allies from other teams, an option he admits is never straightforward. "When you talk about collaboration among competitors it's a sensitive issue," he said Saturday. "Everyone who wants to win the race has their own interests to look after. But it depends on the moment and who has the most to lose and who has the most to gain. "We don't have a strong team for the mountains, I'm well aware of that and I'm sure my competitors are as well. But so far the team has raced way beyond what I expected of them."
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