Cycling News Roundup - 16 October 2009
Team News: Lombardia Squads -Fuji/Servetto, Milram, Drapac Porsche for KIDS, NetAPP Team, In the News: Bob Stapleton, Saur/Sojasun Pro Continental, Landbouwkrediet 2010, CycleFest with Jonathan Vaughters and more...

Fuji/Servetto
Giro di Lombardia Squad
The 103rd edition of the Giro di Lombardia, the ‘Classic of the Fallen Leaves’, will be ridden on Saturday 17th and will mark the last stage of the 2009 UCI World Calendar, as one of the five monuments in world cycling. The Italian race will roll across a very selective, 242-km route from Varese to Como, and will have 24 teams in the start line.

Fuji Servetto, directed here by Stefano Zanini, is bringing a powerful squad composed by all their big leaders. Juanjo Cobo, Fredrik Kessiakoff, Eros Capecchi, David de la Fuente, Alberto Fernández de la Puebla, Paolo Bailetti, Fabrice Piemontesi and Andrea Tonti are the eight selected riders for the second-to-last competition in this year’s calendar for the Blue squad, only the Japan Cup remains on next Sunday the 25th.

Team MILRAM starts in the Lombardy
Lead by Fabian Wegmann, the German Pro Tour racing team Team MILRAM is tackling the 103rd edition of the Tour of Lombardy (UCI category HIS) this coming Saturday. The cyclist from Münster will be accompanied by specialist climbers Thomas Rohregger, Johannes Fröhlinger, Matthias Russ and Peter Velits as well as Niki Terpstra, Dominik Roels and Paul Voß on the 242 kilometers from Varese to Como.

“The Tour of Lombardy is one of the most difficult one-day-races, but is also one of my favorites”, says Milram-allrounder Wegmann about the upcoming Saturday. “I have been on site since Monday with our Directeur Sportif Vittorio Algeri and have been preparing myself for the race. I have been on this podium before and hope that I will be able to repeat this success.”

In 2005, Fabian Wegmann finished sixth wearing the Gerolsteiner-jersey. The following year, he was the first German to ever reach a place on the podium of the autumn classic, where he came in third after an exciting sprint with Spaniard Samuel Sanchez ahead of him and Italian Paolo Bettini in first position.

The  "Race of the falling Leaves" takes place every year in mid October. It is one of the five monuments of the racing sport, together with Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The 103rd edition of the Giro di Lombardia starts in Varese, the World Championship city of the year 2008. After 242 kilometers, the traditional last race of the season finishes in Como on the water front of the north Italian lake of the same name.

Tom Boonen Invites Alberto Contador to Quick Step
Belgian champion Tom Boonen would be happy to have Contador on the Quick Step squad, Super Tom is quoted in the Belgian paper Gazet van Antwerpen, "Contador would bring a breath of freshness to the squad and I would be among the first to celebrate his arrival.. We have five or six openings in the squad for riders that Contador could bring with him. I wouldn't it anyother way." 

Drapac Porsche
Team Supports KIDS  Foundation
Drapac Porsche Cycling has been associated with the KIDS Foundation for a lengthy period of time - attending their camps, assisting with fundraising and promoting awareness amongst schools and the broader community. In conjunction with the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, we have an opportunity to combine two of our passions - charitable causes and cycling.

Here’s an opportunity to Drapac Porsche Cycling as they ride more than 650kms throughout Victoria to help raise awareness and money for kids. The money goes towards a great cause and one we are hugely proud to be associated with.

To make a donation, simply click on “Drapac Porsche’s Fundraising Page” and select the "Donate Now" button to nominate the rider or team you wish to sponsor.

The KIDS Foundation is a Health Promotion Charity and national leader in childhood injury prevention and recovery. The KIDS Foundation Injury Prevention delivers quality school and community based safety education programs as well as facilities and programs for children with serious burns or life changing injuries and support for their families and carers. For more information on the KIDS Foundation, visit their website – www.kidsfoundation.org.au
http://www.drapaccycling.com/

New German Pro Team
NetApp Cycling Team
German IT supplier NetApp will be the primary sponsor of a Continental pro cycling team based in Germany. The company has signed a two-year agreement, which will see it take naming rights to the team. According to the company the team will be "positioned as a Continental team for young European talents and talented cyclists." The aim is to create the foundation for expansion to Pro Tour team by 2012.

The project is being led by two former Tour de France professionals, Jens Heppner and Enrico Poitschke, who will train the team. Overall management of the team will be in the hands of former cyclist-turned-team manager Ralph Denk. Initially a group of young German cyclists will be sought. The company press release from NetApp added that the team "is busy acquiring new sponsors, technical sponsors and cyclists."

currently the team has signed 11 riders: Huub Duyn (Garmin), Dimitri Claeys (Bauknecht-Jong Vlaanderen), Eric Baumann and Andreas Schillinger (Nutrixxion), Alexander Gottfried (Kuota), Daniel Schorn (Elk Haus), Jan Barta (KTM Junkers), Nico Keinath (Hadimec), Michael Schwarzmann, Timon Seubert and Tassilo Fricke.

Vuelta de Oro de Guatemala
Colombian Team to Guatemala
Cycling Federation of Colombia will send 7 riders under the banner of the national flag to contest the Vuelta de Oro de Guatemala to be staged from the 20th of October to the 1rst of November.

 Boyacan  Ismael Sarmiento, 1998 champion and three-time runner, 95, 96 and 2001, leads the group who are also are from Boyaca, Victor Benitez, Jose Ibanez, Mauritius Neiza Nestor Bernal, Emiro Matta and Luis Peña.

The group is complemented in the direction Jairo Sierra, Lucas Giovanni Oviedo Velasco and general assistants will travel on Sunday October 18 from Central America with the support of the Colombian Cycling Federation and the Interior of  Indeportes Boyaca. Colombia has won the race eighteen times: with Jose Patrocinio Jimenez who won the race twice in consecutive years, 76 and 77. The first champion was the Colombian tricolor in 1958, the student prince, Hernan Medina  Calderòn the last Colombian to win was Victor Hugo Gonzalez in 2002.

Cycling In the News
"Bob Stapleton is cycling’s new dynamo"
Columbia/HTC Team Owner Bob Stapleton is profiled and interviewed on the history of his becoming a team owner in an excellent article by James Emmett in ProSportsMedia.com.

July's world showcase event for cycling, the Tour de France, put much of the focus on the return of seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong. The future of the sport, however, is in the hands of another American. Bob Stapleton is the owner of Team Columbia Highroad and he is taking professional cycling by the handlebars.

Bob Stapleton has a very enviable lifestyle. The 51-year-old sold his telecommunications company for US$50 billion to Deutsche Telekom in 2002 and, since then, has divided his time between his California home, Australia, Qatar and the finer parts of Europe. Yet Stapleton is not the man of leisure that his fortune might afford him. Far from it. In fact, Stapleton tours the world with his cycling team, Team Columbia Highroad. A real innovator – possibly even a visionary – Stapleton entered men’s cycling in 2006, created his team and has very quickly moulded it into arguably the greatest cycling team in the world.

As the owner and manager of a professional road cycling team, Stapleton is unique. Not only is he an American in a field dominated by Europeans, but he is also a businessman in a job ordinarily filled by an ex-cyclist. In fact, when asked if he can think of another team manager with a non-cycling background, Stapleton ponders for a while before answering: “I actually can’t think of another…actually, there’s one other – the guy who runs Team Rabobank now. He’s a banker,” Stapleton chuckles. “I don’t know if that’s a really handy skill right now, I’m not sure.”
Read the article here.

The weekend includes a Friday night cocktail reception, Saturday Gala Dinner and Sunday ride through Marin County. All events will feature Jonathan Vaughters as special guest and host.

2009 CycleFest with Jonathan Vaughters
NorCal League Dinner Fundraiser
The League and our Dinner Sponsors: Clif Bar, Fox Racing Shox, Gu Sports, Mike's Bikes, NCNCA, Ritchey, Specialized, Syncros, at the 2009 CycleFest Weekend with Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports and founder of the Garmin-Slipstream Professional Cycling Team. Saturday’s main event will kick off with cocktails and appetizers, and a silent auction with great items like:

* 4 day mountain bike trip from Western Spirit Cycling;
* A year’s worth of coffee from Peet’s;
* A gym membership to Club One.

There is sure to be something that entices you! The event will also showcase the collection of Vintage European Posters (www.vepca.com) with bicycle themed posters.

An evening highlight will include an on-stage interview with Jonathan Vaughters. Jonathan has extensive experience in the professional peloton from a variety of perspectives - come hear him talk about the in's and out's of professional cycling. Come have a great time with other cyclists and League supporters – get your tickets here! If you are unable to attend but would like to make a donation, click here.

The CycleFest Dinner is a celebration of cycling that raises essential funding that goes directly to supporting the original High School Mountain Biking League!

Saur/Sojasun Pro Continental Team
The Besson Chaussures-Sojasun team will make the leap to Pro Continental. The team is on track to build a squad of 20 riders for 2010.
Among the confirmed riders are:  Cédric Coutouly, Cyril Bessy, Fabrice Jeandesboz, Jean-Marc Marino, Jérémie Galland, Jimmy Casper, Jimmy Engoulvent, Julien Simon, Laurent Mangel, Romain Mathéou and Yannick Talabardon.
New arrivals: Jérome Coppel, Sébastien Joly ans Guillaume Levarlet,  Jonathan Hivert andCyril Lemoine from Skil-Shimano; Rony Martais formerly of Bbox Bouygues Telecom, Stéphane Poulhiès from Ag2r neo pro Anthony Delaplace .

Landbouwkrediet/Colnago 2010
The Belgian team Landbouwkrediet-Colnago team has 18 riders currentlysigned for the 2010 season after signing Steven Caethoven the expansion continues with Frederic Amorison, David Boucher, Koen Barbé, Dirk Bellemakers, Jonathan Bertrand, , Sebastien Delofsse, Bert De Waele, Mathieu Drouilly, Benjamin Gourgue, Kevin Neirynck, Sven Nijs, Kevin Peeters, Martial Ricci Poggi, Bert Scheirlinckx and Geert Verheyen.

Team HotChillee Ready for End To End in UK
Double Olympic champion, James Cracknell, and Team HotChillee are heading to Cornwall for the start of their attempt to set a world record for cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats this weekend. Cracknell and a team of three elite riders will take part in the HotChillee End To End Challenge starting at 05.00 on Saturday, October 17th. It will be an attempt to establish a world record for a cycle relay team riding from one end of the UK to the other.

Team HotChillee
Phill Sykes, Steve Golla, James Cracknell and Jerone Walters
Cracknell, who this year rode in the London-Paris Cycle Tour and the L’Etape du Tour, said: “In the past couple of days I've stepped up the sprint training to try and make sure I deliver in my stints. Some chance with the way Jerone, Phill and Steve put the hammer down. It's going to be a brutal 842 miles but I couldn't ask for better riders to go with. I can't wait.”

His HotChillee End To End team-mates are London-based Australian IT director Jerone (correct) Walters, Steve Golla and Phill (correct) Sykes.

Walters (36), a Sigma Sport rider, said: "My biggest concern is the weather. It looks like we’ll start with a headwind and end in the rain. Perhaps we should have planned to go from north to south in June!"

Sykes (35), a sports manager from Petersfield, said: “I’m waxed, fake baked and ready!”

Sven Thiele, of HotChillee, the global marketing and events company staging the world record attempt, said: “Everything is in place and we’re ready to set the record. We have a great team of sponsors and a talented back-up crew. If the weather’s with us, James and the HotChillee team could produce something really special.”

Regus, the world's largest provider of workspace solutions, will be supplying Cracknell and his team with a mobile HQ which will follow the riders along the route. Andrew Brown, spokesman for Regus, said: "We are thrilled to be backing Cracknell and the HotChillee team. On an adventurous challenge like this, the team and the crew will need an office without frontiers and that's where Regus can help with the on-the-road office."

Web specialists Map My Tracks will provide real time tracking of the End To End Challenge. People will be able to follow Cracknell and the team as they power their way across Britain at www.hotchillee.com or www.mapmytracks.com

Photographer Michael Blann (www.michaelblann.com) will be photographing the HotChillee team along the route and pictures will be available at www.gettyimages.com/editorialimages/news
The Twitter hash tag for the HotChillee record attempt is /e2er

The HotChillee End To End team will ride the 842 miles non-stop on aerodynamic time trial bikes. One rider will always be on the road, with the other three resting in a support vehicle.

The current record for the End To End ride by a single rider is held by ex-pro cyclist Gethin Butler, who covered the distance in 44 hours, four minutes and 20 seconds in 2001. The assault on a relay record for Land’s End to John O’Groats will set the benchmark for next summer’s HotChillee E2E Relay Challenge. This new endurance relay ride will be open to amateur cyclists wanting to challenge the record set by Cracknell and his team.

The End To End Challenge is sponsored by HotChillee, road cycling and triathlon specialist Sigma Sport, sports nutrition manufacturer Science In Sport, sports skincare company Sportique and media and sponsorship specialists Cyclevox, who will be filming the record attempt. Sports clothing company adidas will be supplying Team HotChillee’s kit.

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