Cycling News Roundup 19 March 2007
Team News, Injury list: Ivan Gutiérrez, Nathan O'Neil on Mend, Team Volksbank Schedule, The Isle of Man Youth Tour, Support Tax Benefits for Cycling to Work.

Lampre/Fondital
Bennati withdraws to prepare for Milan San Remo
Bennati didn't take part in the last stage: yesterday he withdrew in order to avoid further efforts in view of Milano-Sanremo and other important races.

Marzio Bruseghin  Tirreneo Adriatico Stage 5 ITT   photo c. Lampre/Fondital

In the Civitanova time trial (20.5 kms) in Tirreno-Adriatico, Shumacher is today's winner and took the lead of the overall standing. Lampre-Fondital's best rider was the Italian champion Bruseghin (photo), who finished in 20th place with a gap of 1'07". Gorazd Stangelj obtained the 38th position (at 1'45") and now he's 24th in the overall standing.

Team CSC
Voigt in Overall Sixth Place
The advancement in the general classification was only slight for Jens Voigt as a result of Sunday's time trial in Tirreno-Adriatico. This was the fifth stage and the route took the riders from Civitanova Marche to Civitanova Marche Alta.

Voigt finished 24 seconds behind winner Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) and that meant a seventh place in the stage and a sixth place overall.

”Jens gave everything he had in him and that's all anyone could ask. His time was good and of course it would've been nice if it had resulted in a bigger jump upwards in the overall standings, but the simple truth is that some of the others were faster out there today. Tomorrow we have a very tough mountain finish, which could turn this race upside down. I still think it's realistic for Jens to advance even further before it's all over,” said Scott Sunderland after the stage.

Team Caisse d'Epargne
Ivan Gutiérrez Injury Status
In Tirreno-Adriatico, the riders had to ride a 20.5 kilometres individual time trials. In the absence of Iván Gutiérrez, -who is still recovering in the hospital of Perugia, after he crashed in the second stage of the Italian race, and received yesterday the doctors’ permission to go back to Spain on Tuesday.
Pablo Lastras was the best classified of  the Caisse d’Epargne riders. He finished the 17th, at 54” from the German rider of the team Gerolsteiner, Stephan Schumacher, who won the stage.

In the last stage of Paris-Nice, Nice-Nice, 129,5 kilometres, with three first category climbs (la Porte, la Turbie and Eze), the riders of the team Caisse d’Epargne realized one more time a great stage.

Vicente García Acosta and Fran Pérez went with the first breakaways of the day, but they never made a gap big enough to be able to reach the finishing line. At 35 km from the finish, Fran Pérez tried it once again, this time with Botcharov, Burghardt and Monfort, but with no success.

In the last difficulty of the stage, the Col d’Eze, David López counter-attacked behind Alberto Contador, who attacked with much strength, but the group with the other favourites caught the Basque rider of the team Caisse d’Epargne while Contador kept a sufficient gap to win the stage in solitary.

Health Net/Maxxis
O'Neill recovering from auto accident; will miss Redlands Classic
Nathan O'Neill of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis will once again have to delay his 2007 North American racing debut.

In January, O'Neill was struck by a vehicle while out training in his native Australia shortly after winning his record 8th Australian National Time Trial Championship. The resulting hip injury kept him from starting the Amgen Tour of California in February.

On Wednesday, O'Neill was a passenger in an SUV that was tapped from behind by another vehicle and sent out of control while traveling at highway speeds. The SUV flipped several times, collapsing the vehicle's roof.

O'Neill sustained a deep cut on his left arm that required 60 stitches to close, as well as several other cuts and bruises. The injuries will keep him from starting the Redlands Classic next week.

"It was one of the scariest things I've ever been through," O'Neill commented. "Given what happened, I feel very lucky that my injuries weren't more serious."

O'Neill was traveling back from Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was featured at an event promoting the Tour de Georgia, with Jackie Tyson, the Tour's director of Communications, as well as Judy Stanton of the Georgia Cancer Coalition. Tyson's Toyota 4Runner was allegedly bumped from behind on the freeway, causing her to lose control.

O'Neill was treated and released from the hospital Wednesday evening after the accident. Staton is in stable condition and recovering in an Atlanta hospital, while Tyson suffered extensive injuries and remains in intensive care. O'Neill will likely make his season debut in his home-state Tour de Georgia. Health Net Presented by Maxxis sends its best wishes to Staton and Tyson for a rapid recovery. Best to Nathan from the Daily Peloton staff and readers get well soon!

Team Volksbank
"Nordic combined" as prelude to packed program
With two nordic classics the Team Volksbank starts its packed race program this week: On Wednesday the team starts at Nokere Koerse in Belgium, on Sunday the Dutch "Ronde van het Groene Hart" (both UCI 1.1) is on the agenda. With an strongly Austrian stamped roster the team embarks on its journey.

Three riders face their first race of the season in Belgium: Tyson Apostol and Josef Benetseder start their year at Nokere Koerse as well as Gerrit Glomser.

Classics-specialist René Weissinger is looking forward the the race covering a distance of 196.9 km: The parcours between Oudenaare and Nokere isn't new territory for the German: Weissinger has already raced there in the previous year and showed a strong performance, still riding for Skil-Shimano. From the start he joined almost every breakaway and also approached the finish line with the right group. "Unforunately I couldn't follow the pace on the final climb", Weissinger remembers his 13th rank and indicates, that he has still a score to settle at Nokere Koerse.

The "Ronde van het Groene Hart" on Sunday leads over 203.3 kilometers from Leiden via Rotterdam and Amsterdam to Woerden.

Team Volksbank at Nokere Koerse:
Tyson Apostol (USA), Josef Benetseder (Aut), Gerrit Glomser (Aut), Philipp Ludescher (Aut), Christian Pömer (Aut), Patrick Riedesser (Aut), Simon Schärer (Sui), René Weissinger (Ger)

Team Volksbank at Ronde van het Groene Hart:
Tyson Apostol (USA), Josef Benetseder (Aut), Christian Lener (Aut), Philipp Ludescher (Aut), Christian Pömer (Aut), Werner Riebenbauer (Aut), Patrick Riedesser (Aut), Simon Schärer (Sui)

Cycling in the News:
Outside Magazine Features Kodak Gallery.com/Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
The World's First Carbon Neutral Pro Sports Team
In recognition of it's leadership position as the world's first carbon neutral pro sports team, The Kodak Gallery Pro Cycling Team, Presented by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is featured in the April issue of Outside Magazine. The issue is currently available on newsstands nationwide.

"We are thrilled to have the importance of this step recognized by the mainstream media," commented program originator and Team Marketing & Communications Director, Rob O'Dea. "Too often, notable accomplishments within the cycling community stay there. Our vision was for the team's commitment to environmental stewardship to be recognized around the world - with the hope being that others will follow our lead."

The Outside Magazine feature is the latest of dozens of pieces that have been written around the globe about the Team's work with Renewable Choice Energy to purchase 460,000 kilowatt hours of wind credits. These credits are used to offest all of the carbon pollutants generated by the Team's racing activity, air and ground travel and corporate office, rider and management home energy use.

When asked about the Team's program for a recent Chico Enterprise Record story, Ken Grossman, president of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., commented, "the team does not get any kind of return, other than the sense of doing something environmentally responsible." The Team's concern about the environment complements other measures Sierra Nevada has taken, such as installing four 250-kilowatt Hydrogen fuel cell power plants that provide electric power and heat to the brewery, and its commitment to solar power.

More information about Renewable Choice Energy and the steps that you can take to minimize your environmental impact, can be found online at: http://www.RenewableChoice.com 

Scott USA Sponsors Rock Racing
SCOTT USA announced today that it will become the frame sponsor of Rock Racing, a domestic road racing team co-sponsored by Rock & Republic, a premium luxe lifestyle brand. The team will compete on Scott’s performance carbon CR1 frames; equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace drive trains and wheels, Race Face components and Fizik’ saddles.

“We are excited to be racing domestically. We have only been back in the U.S. market for two and a half years now and to be set up with a team like Rock Racing is a dream,” remarked Adrian Montgomery, Scott Bikes Marketing and PR Director. “The team has enormous potential, and the Rock & Republic vibe is hot so we expect great things from the squad.”

The Roster:
Rahsaan Bahati
Mariano Friedick
Austin Carroll
Rudy Napolitano
Sterling Magnell
Adam Switters
Jeremiah Wiscovitch
Sergio Hernandez
Kayle Leogrande
Haldane Morris
David Clinger
Gianmarco Rullo
Justin Williams

The Equipment:
Scott CR1 frame and fork, Shimano Dura-Ace drive train and wheels, Race Face bar, stem and post, Continental tires and Fizik’ saddles.

USACycling Squad for UCI World Track Championships
Six-Member Squad Features Defending World Champion Sarah Hammer
USA Cycling announced today the team that will represent the United States at the 2007 UCI Track World Championships in Palma de Mallorca March 29-April 1.

The six-member team will feature four women and two men.
Headlining the roster for the women’s squad is defending world champion in the three-kilometer individual pursuit, Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif./Ouch Pro Cycling). Hammer captured the world title last year in Bordeaux, France – the first for an elite American track rider since 1996 – where her mark of 3:37.227 in the gold-medal final was just fast enough to edge Olga Slyusareva (RUS) for the rainbow jersey.

This year, Hammer will have her sights set on two events – both the individual pursuit and the points race. In her only international competition of the season, Hammer rode to gold medals in both the pursuit and the points race at the third round of the UCI Track World Cup series in Los Angeles in January. Her pursuit mark of 3:32.058 in the qualifying round was a new American record, personal best and ADT Event Center track record.

Joining Hammer on the women’s squad will be first-time world championship competitor Neva Day (South Bay Wheelmen), Becky Quinn and Jennie Reed. Reed and Quinn were the only other American women to medal in international competition this season with three medals between them. Reed won a silver medal in the keirin at the World Cup opener in Sydney last November and a bronze medal in the keirin at the Los Angeles World Cup. Quinn rode to a silver medal in the scratch race in Los Angeles.

In Palma de Mallorca, Quinn will compete in the scratch race while Reed will contest the keirin and the sprint. Day will ride the individual pursuit.

The two-man men’s contingent consists of two endurance athletes – Michael Creed (Slipstream-Chipotle) and Brad Huff (Slipstream-Chipotle). Creed will compete in the men’s points race, while Huff will contest the scratch race and the newly added omnium competition.

Huff was the only male to medal for the U.S. in World Cup competition this season with a bronze medal in the scratch race at the series finale in Manchester, Great Britain last month.

In Palma de Mallorca, the omnium competition will make its world championship debut and consists of several events – a 200-meter time trial, a five-kilometer scratch race, a three-kilometer individual pursuit, a 15-kilometer points race and a kilometer time trial – all tied together with a cumulative points system.

2007 UCI Track World Championships
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
March 29-April 1
U.S. Team Roster
Women
    Sarah Hammer (Temecula, Calif.) – Individual Pursuit, Points Race
    Neva Day (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) – Individual Pursuit
    Becky Quinn (Quakertown, Pa.) – Scratch Race
    Jennie Reed (Kirkland, Wash) – Sprint, Keirin
Men
    Michael Creed (Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Points Race
    Brad Huff (Fair Grove, Mo.) – Points Race, Omnium

The Isle of Man Youth Tour
International Junior Men & Boy's Competition
Organisers of the Sleepwell Hotels sponsored Isle of Man Youth Tour have been overwhelmed by so many entries that they have had to close the Junior Men and Youth A Boy's categories. Other categories remain open until the closing date (April 13) however, riders are requested to enter as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

The impressive list of entries include World, European and British champions, Dutch champions, Great Britain Olympic Development riders plus virtually all of the Youth and Junior British Olympic Talent teams plus a team all the way from Bermuda!

The Island's Department of Tourism and Leisure are once again supporting the event as do the Isle of Man Steam Packet. Douglas Corporation, Marown, Peel and Port Erin Commissioners have helped the race organisers to promote the respective stages. Organisers have also this year teamed up with clothing manufacture, Vermarc, who will provide the race leaders and points Jerseys for the tour. Vermarc are a well known clothing provider based in Belgium who supply clothing for Pro Tour Teams such as Quick Step and Predictor Lotto.

The Tour commences on Friday evening (May 4) with a prologue time trial on Douglas promenade followed on Saturday morning with the Junior riders competing in a 107km road race followed by a Kermesse in Douglas in the evening. Most of the Youth riders will race on the tough Ellerslie course on Saturday afternoon, while the younger Youth riders will compete on Saturday evening at Douglas.

Sunday sees all riders converge on the famous Port Erin Kermesse circuit, that used to be used for the Sky Sports City Centre Series. The Isle of Man Youth Tour forms part of the British Cycling National Junior Road Race Series and National Youth Circuit Race Series. Large crowds are expected as Greenlight Television will be filming the Youth Tour for Sky TV. For more information including course profiles and entries received so far please view the race website at www.youthtour.co.uk

UCI America Tour Boasts Biggest Day at the Commerce Bank
Philadelphia International Championship UCI 1.HC
As pro riders across the Americas begin the long season ahead, the most ambitious will have their sights focused firmly on the UCI’s prestigious America Tour classification. This year’s Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Championship celebrates 23 years of international bike racing in the USA’s fourth largest city by providing these riders with the best opportunity to accumulate America Tour points in a single day of racing.

The UCI introduced the new America Tour competition two years ago and by all accounts it has been a huge success. Similar year long Continental Tours in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Oceana region (such as New Zealand, Philippines, Australia) use a format of accumulated UCI points and gives the strongest riders in each region the chance to be recognized. The five Continental Tours have provided new focus on cycling’s emergence around the world, shining the spotlight on many professional events that have developed equal or better prestige than the longer running but less progressive races in Western Europe. For these reasons professional teams across North and South America, as well as some from Europe, will be marking their race calendars with a gold star on June 10 to attend the USA’s most bountiful one day point offering of the year, the Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Championship.

Not only is the Philadelphia International the only UCI 1.HC race in North and South America, it is preceded by the Commerce Bank Tom Bamford Lancaster Classic and the Commerce Bank Reading Classic, both top ranked UCI events as well. Packing all of these races into one week will surely bring the cream to the top and the winner of the prestigious Triple Crown of Cycling will likely be at the top of the America Tour rankings at season’s end as well.

With so much as stake during this week of racing the Commerce Bank Triple Crown will showcase some of the best and most ambitious teams on the America Tour. In addition to the strongest professional teams in both North and South America, invitations have also been sent to several top European teams who have publicly declared stringent anti-drug policies and recognize that the United States and events like the Commerce Bank Triple Crown are offering a bright future for the sport.

About Commerce Bank
Commerce Bank, "America's Most Convenient Bank," is a leading retailer of financial services with 400+ convenient stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland and Florida. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., Commerce Bancorp (NYSE: CBH) has $45.3 billion in assets and in fiscal year 2006 achieved an 18% increase in core deposits, a 23% increase in net loans and total asset growth of 18%. For more information about Commerce, please visit the company's interactive financial resource center at www.commerceonline.com, or call 888-751-9000.

About Pro Cycling Tour
The Commerce Triple Crown of Cycling is managed by Pro Cycling Tour, LLC of Norristown, PA. Pro Cycling Tour is dedicated to the development of quality cycling events and programs in the United States. For the latest news on all three races, go to www.procyclingtour.com

Advocacy News
Support TAX Benefits for Cycling to Work
The Bicycle Commuter Act (H.R.807, S.2635) is before congress right now. It would provide a tax benefit to employers who offer cash reimbursements to employees who ride to work in order to help defray their commuting costs. All this requires is an amendment to the Transportation Fringe Benefit of the tax code to extend the definition of "transportation" to include bicycles. Employers are given the flexibility to set their own levels of benefit payments and the bike commuter can use those payments to pay for a bike, accessories, safety equipment, insurance, and locker or shower fees.

Here's what you do: It is so SIMPLE!! Just go to this link: and input your zip code and the page generates emails to go to all your congress people....Then just sign and send.