60th Vuelta a España: 27 August - 18 September 2005

Beltran Okay to Ride

Yesterday Discovery Channel's team director Johann Bruyneel said that Manuel Beltran will be able to ride in the Vuelta a España - Beltran was involved in a bike versus motorcycle accident on 31 July.

Liquigas' Backstedt to Spain

Magnus Backstedt, who told Velo-Club.net that his favorite races are Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France, would like to win a Giro stage, a Vuelta stage or to win in Flanders.

In the meantime, Maggie's teammates will be riding as follows:

Due Giorni Marchigiana, Italy, 9 and 10 August:
Riders: Di Luca (9/8 only), Pagliarini (10/8 only), Andriotto, Capecchi (stagiaire), Di Lorenzo (stagiaire), Mason, Miholjevic, Noè, Wegelius.

Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian, Spain, 13 August
Riders: Di Luca, Calcagni, Carlström, Garzelli, Miholjevic, Noè, Pellizotti, Wegelius.

Simoni to Spain

Lampre's Gilberto Simoni, who took second in the Giro d'Italia but did not race in the Tour de France, will be racing in the Vuelta a España, and will ride the GP CTT Correios de Portugal next week.

U23 Francesco Gavazzi will ride as a stagiare in that two day race, as will Gerrit Glomser, Juan Fuentes Angullo, Oleksandr Kvachuk, Andreas Matzbhacher and Sylvester Szmyd.

Kaiku Won't Ride Vuelta

The "other" pink team, the very talented Spanish Kaiku continental professional team, has lost out its proposal to be included as an additional wildcard team in its own national race, the Vuelta a España. The team had petitioned the UCI ProTour Council to allow the Vuelta a España to include an extra team (bringing the total number of teams to 23 for the race).

Unipublic, the Vuelta organizer, was willing to have Kaiku as another wildcard, and to cover the costs for the inclusion of the additional team, but the UCI ProTour Council would not agree to the change, stating that the first year professional team had not made enough of an impact within the ProTour racing scheme to justify its inclusion.

The team has raced in two ProTour races this season, the Vuelta a Pais Vasco and the Volta a Catalunya, getting 10th in both general classifications, and a second and fifth in the mountains, respectively (see the team's season results below). This is a first test of the ProTour scheme when it comes to the wildcard inclusion of a non-ProTour team, albeit in slightly unusual circumstances - when the number of participating teams would need to be increased to include the team. The team will be racing in the ProTour Clasica San Sebastian next week.

This is very disappointing news for the pink cow boys (Kaiku is a Spanish dairy council), who have planned all season with an eye toward the Vuelta, and a disappointment for race fans familiar with the team. For those unfamiliar with the team, here is a short listing of their accomplishments this season.

Challenge Illes Balears
General Classification, 4th and 10th
Winner of Mountains Classification
Teams Classification - 3rd

Vuelta a Andalucia
General Classification - 8th and 10th
Teams Classification - 2nd

Trofeo Luis Puig
Sprints Special - 3rd
Teams Classification - 4th

Clasica de Almeria
General Classification - 4th and 6th
Sprints Special - 1st and 3rd
Team Classification - 2nd

Vuelta a Murcia
General Classification - 5th
Teams Classification - 1st

GP Miguel Indurain
General Classification - 5th and 8th
Teams Classification - 2nd

Vuelta a Pais Vasco (ProTour)
General Classification - 10th
Mountains Classification - 2nd
Combativity - Winner
Teams - 17th

Vuelta a Aragon
General Classification - 10th
Mountains - 4th
Regularity - 4th
Teams - 4th

Volta a Catalunya (ProTour)
General Classification - 10th
Mountains - 5th

GP de Llodio
General Classification - 5th

Euskal Bizikleta
General Classification - 2nd, 12th, 16th
Teams - 4th

Subido al Naranco
General Classification - 2nd
Mountains - 1st
Teams - 3rd

Vuelta a Asturias
Mountains - 1st

Spanish National Championships (highest placing)
Time Trial - 14th
Road Race - 22nd

Prueba Villafranca-Clasica de Ordizia
General Classification - 6th

Circuito de Gexto/Memorial Ricardo Otxoa
Metas Volantes - 2nd and 3rd

Visit the Kaiku team here.

The Vuelta a España Teams

Liberty Seguros-Wurth
Euskaltel Euskadi
Saunier Duval-Prodir
Illes Balears - Caisse d'Epargne
Relax Fuenlabrada
Communidad Valenciana-Kelme
Francaise des Jeux
Cofidis
Credit Agricole
Bouygeus Telecom
Liquigas Bianchi
Domina Vacanze
Fassa Bortolo
Lampre-Caffita
Gerolsteiner
T-Mobile
Davitamon-Lotto
Quick-Step Ennergetic
Rabobank
Phonak
Team CSC
Discovery Channel