NEWS ROUNDUP

GIANT ASIA RIDERS TO TARGET CHINESE TOUR


After securing what is a record third national road race championship victory in Westport on Sunday, David McCann plus his Giant Asia Jamijo team-mates Paul Griffin and Stephen Gallagher are building up for what will be arguably their biggest race of the year. The Irish professionals will compete in the Tour of Qinghai Lake from July 15 to 23 and with a generous prize list plus valuable world ranking points up for grabs in the 2.HC event, they have every incentive to do well.

McCann showed excellent form in finishing almost three minutes clear of his closest rivals in Sunday’s road race championships, run by Mayo Wheelers. Including his four time trial championship golds, the victory marked his seventh national title. The Belfast man prepared specifically for the nationals but will hope to carry that form on into the prestigious Chinese race.

McCann’s team-mate Gallagher talked on Sunday about the important of the Tour of Qinghai Lake. “It is 2.HC ranked and has some big prizemoney,” he said. “I have heard there are hundreds of thousands of US dollars, so they have Liquigas coming to it and a load of other big teams. It is a real big objective for the team due to the sponsors, perhaps the biggest one of the year. So hopefully we will be going all right for it.

“David is the most likely leader for the team. We will see how it goes, anything can change, but on current form I think he will be a protected rider. Hopefully we will be aiming for a high GC place and one or two stage wins. I think we’d be very happy with that.”

Gallagher said that the team has a good schedule after that. “After Qinghai Lake we will fly to Taiwan and do the two day Giant Cup there, then will come home. I think we are home a couple of weeks and then will do the ten day Tour of Indonesia. It has been moved from the original date on the calendar…it now starts on the day of the national time trial championships so it looks like we will probably miss that, due to the clashing dates. After that, we have got an invite to the Sun Tour in Australia…it is just a matter of management giving us the go ahead to that. We will have the Japan Cup after that, I think that is in November.”


GALLAGHER BUILDING BACK UP


Speaking of Stephen Gallagher, he said at the national road race championships that he is building form after being sidelined this spring due to a hernia operation.

“I have been doing all right…I recently did a two week training camp in the Pyrenees and that did me good,” he said. “I was really rock bottom after a month or so off the bike. The two weeks training got me back down to race weight but it is just the intensity takes a while to come back. I think that maybe in another two or three races, maybe a wee stage race somewhere, that I will get back into good shape. I would like to be on top form for the Qinghai Lake race.”

Gallagher got some good results at the start of the year and agrees that it was perhaps his best form to date. “I had really good condition all right…I think the main reason was that I had no illnesses or injury during the winter, really…that is quite rare for me. And early season as well, up until when I had the hernia operation…I never had a cold or never had an injury. It all worked out for me, I was really going well. The Commonwealth Games went well, too.

“In the past, I had some good results in Belgium before but sometimes it is just a matter of if you miss one wheel and are not being in the top five, then maybe you finish fifteenth. It is a bit more cut and thrust. But in Asia, if you have good form and are riding a stage race, you can always pull it back, so you have a chance to redeem yourself. So it is a bit different to Belgium. I am happy due to the different style of racing – there are stage races, rather than just one day races, and that can work out well.”



ROCHE AIMING FOR TOUR DE L’AVENIR

Following his fourth place in the Irish road race championships last Sunday, Nicolas Roche will next compete in Portugal in the Troféu Joaquim Agostinho GP and continue to build form for the Tour de l’Avenir later this season.

“I am going off to Portugal next weekend,” the 21 year old told Irishcycling.com on Sunday. “It is a five day stage race called the Troféu Joaquim Agostinho GP (5 – 9 July, 2.1). It is nice and hilly so it should suit me. There are a few flat stages as well – I am also the lead out man for Chris Sutton, he was actually here today driving the team car. Hopefully he can win some stages down there. Then after that we have a training camp in the Pyrenees, in Laurent Fignon’s new camp at the bottom of the Tourmalet. We will be there for eight or nine days. I will then have four days at home and then…I’m not sure yet, it won’t be confirmed just yet, but I will probably do the Tour de la Région Wallonne (July 24 – 28, 2.HC), the Tour de l’Ain (August 6 – 9, 2.1), the Tour du Poitou Charentes (August 22 – 25, 2.1) and then the Tour de l’Avenir (August 31 – September 9, 2.1), which is the main goal of the season. So I will have a few days rest now, get ready and then be in good form for l’Avenir.”

Roche has had some good results this year, going close to a stage win in the Four Days of Dunkirk, but also had a tough time in some races. “I have been unlucky…I had a lot of allergies and asthma attacks. It has been pretty up and down. I did a lot of good performances but the thing is performances are one thing, getting actual results is another. I have two top tens but they don’t count for much when you are a professional…even second or fifth is just going to be forgotten by you a few days later. The thing is, I am not asked to win…I am asked to do a certain job. It is not easy to understand when you are not into professional cycling – when people ask what I do and then ask why I don’t win, I just say that at the moment there are many, many guys there to win. When you are in a big team, you have to focus on certain things and you can’t just go off and do what you want. When they tell me I have to ride, that I have to do the leadout for Chris Sutton or Jimmy Casper or whoever, I have to bring them there and set them up for the sprint. Nobody cares where I finish then.”

“The team are quite happy. I have put in the performances. I had a good Four Days of Dunkirk, the whole month of May was good. Then I did too much racing in Catalunya. I had an asthma attack up on the mountain stage, then fainted a hour later in the bus coming down from the stage. I was sick all night after that. The team said I was over-tired, so I went home for a few days and then did a training camp in the Alps with my cousin Daniel. After that I did a race in Portugal and was feeling good there. CJ got beat on the last day in the sprint, he got second so that was unfortunate.”

“Most recently, we got ninth in the ProTour team time trial in Eindhoven…I was very pleased with that, I had a really good sensation. It was one of the times this year where I really enjoyed being on the bike, as well. It was completely different to the other races. We were there three days before, we were in Paris and Cofidis rented a car race track there so we did a lot of practice to see who would be behind who. I was pretty enthusiastic about it. It was a bit of a challenge because we had a very young team…I think the average age was about 23. Three of us were 21, and then the oldest Stefan Roget was 30. But all the rest were 21 and 23, except for Chavanel who is 26 and Wiggins, who is 24. So the team took a bit of a gamble this year…instead of using the older riders, they put in the younger guys for the experience. It was a good bet, because we did a pretty good time.”


Eindhoven team time trial, Netherlands (ProTour, June 18):


1, Team CSC, 48.6 kilometres in 52 mins 28.19 secs (55.57 km/h)
2, Discovery Channel, at 42.62 secs
3, Gerolsteiner, at 55.57 secs
4, Phonak Hearing Systems, at 1 mins 25.67 secs
5, Davitamon Lotto, at 1 min 31.65 secs
6, Rabobank, at 1 min 34.77 secs
7, Liquigas, at 1 min 56.19 secs
8, T-Mobile Team, at 2 mins 9.29 secs

Other :

9, Cofidis, le crédit par Téléphone, at 2 mins 18.08 secs
10, AG2R Prevoyance, at 2 mins 24.59 secs




GP CTT Correios de Portugal (2.1, June 8-11) :


Stage 1 - June 8: Gaia - Figueira De Foz :

1, Enrico Degano (Barloworld) 170.8 kilometres in 4 hours 5 mins 1 sec
2, Javier Benitez (Grupo Nicolas Mateos)
3, José Martins (Vitoria-Asc)
4, Manuel Cardoso (Carvalhelhos-Boavista)
5, Maxim Rudenko (Ceramica Flaminia)
6, Kristof Szczawinski (Ceramica Flaminia) all same time

Irish:

93, Nicolas Roche (Cofidis, le credit par Telephone) at 34 secs



Stage 2 - June 9: Montemor-O-Velho-Cartaxo:

1, Javier Benitez (Grupo Nicolas Mateos) 181.1 kilometres in 4 hours 23 mins 3 secs
2, Enrico Degano (Barloworld)
3, Manuel Cardoso (Carvalhelhos-Boavista)
4, Alberto B. Guerrero (3 Molinos-Resort)
5, Bruno Neves (Madeinox-A.R. Canelas)
6, Nuno Marta (Imoholding-Loulé) all same time

Irish:

116, Nicolas Roche (Cofidis, le credit par Telephone) at 1 min 18 secs



Stage 3 - June 10: Almeirim-Montejunto, 153.6 km

1, Jordi Grau (L.A. Aluminios) 153.6 kilometres in 3 hours 31 mins 37 secs
2, Pedro Cardoso (Maia Milaneza)
3, Jesus Del Nero (3 Molinos-Resort) both same time
4, Tiago Machado (Carvalhelhos-Boavista) at 7 secs
5, Danail Petrov (Maia Milaneza) at 9 secs
6, Amets Txurruka (Barloworld) at 12 secs

Irish:

55, Nicolas Roche (Cofidis, le credit par Telephone) at 3 mins 15 secs



Stage 4 - June 11: Peniche-Lisboa:

1, Javier Benitez (Grupo Nicolas Mateos) 156.7 kilometres in 3 hours 28 mins 21 secs
2, Christopher Sutton (Cofidis, le credit par Telephone)
3, Bruno Neves (Madeinox-A.R. Canelas)
4, Pedro Soeiro (Riberalves-Alcobaca)
5, Manuel Cardoso (Carvalhelhos-Boavista)
6, Vidal Celis (Orbea) all same time

Irish :

43, Nicolas Roche (Cofidis, le credit par Telephone) same time



Final General classification:

1, Jordi Grau (L.A. Aluminios-Liberty Seguros) 15 hours 27 mins 52 secs
2, Jesus Del Nero (3 Molinos-Resort) at 6 secs
3, Carlos Pinho (Barbot-Halcon) at 22 secs
4, Ramon Troncoso (Imoholding-Loulé) at 28 secs
5, Pedro Cardoso (Maia Milaneza) at 36 secs
6, Rui Sousa (L.A. Aluminios-Liberty Seguros) at 45 secs

Irish :

56, Nicolas Roche (Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 5.17





CASSIDY GAINING FORM DESPITE ANKLE PROBLEM


Sean Kelly Racing Team/ACLVB M. Donnelly rider Tim Cassidy finished a good fifth in the national road race championships on Sunday, despite not being able to train as much as he would have liked due to ankle tendonitis. He is hoping for a good second half to the season.

“I am really coming around in the last three weeks…I am feeling much stronger. I did a race in Germany and that went well, then did Fleche Hesbignonne. That was a good one, 200 kilometres with Unibet riders and other professionals. Then last week I was going really well in the Boucles de la Mayenne but had terrible bad luck..I had to change my bike the first day and lost 15 minutes, then punctured with 800 metres to go on the last day. But my form is coming around, so that is good.”

Cassidy rode the FBD Insurance Rás in May but injury led to his withdrawal. “I had tendonitis. I have had it since January. My cleats wore on the outside at the beginning of the year and that affected the way I was pedalling. Ever since I have been feeling it. I have to tape it up and my training is suffering big time from it. I have done a few races now and they have helped me build a bit of condition.”

“I’m too old for the Europeans but if I can get right and build form, the Tour of Liège would be a good one to go for. I think it is in three and a half weeks time. Then we have the Tour de l’Ain after that…I don’t know if I will get around that, it is quite a mountainous pro race. Anyway, if the year goes well you never know…there could be a worlds spot, there are three up for grabs. I am fresh so I am hoping to have a very good end of season.”




Boucles de la Mayenne, France (2.2, June 16-19):

Prologue - June 15: Laval ITT :

1, Chris Newton (Recycling.co.uk) 6.5 kilometers in 8 mins 14 secs
2, Tom Veelers (Rabobank Continental) at 3 secs
3, Markus Eichler (Team Regiostrom-Senges) same time
4, Jens Mouris (Team Regiostrom-Senges) at 4 secs
5, Nicolas Rousseau (Frane Espoirs) same time

Other :

44, Jehudi Schoonacker (Sean Kelly Team) at 26 secs
58, Paidi O'Brien (Sean Kelly Team) at 34 secs
72, Ciaran Kelly (Sean Kelly Team) at 40 secs
86, Tim Cassidy (Sean Kelly Team) at 48 secs
104, Andrew Mc Quaid (Sean Kelly Team) at 1 min
110, Eoin Concannon (Sean Kelly Team) at 1 min 15 secs



Stage 1 - June 16: St Berthevin – Evron:

1, Benoit Sinner (Agritubel) 186 kilometres in 4 hours 32 mins 54 secs
2, Franck Perque (CC Nogent sur Oise)
3, Kristian House (Recycling.co.uk)
4, Nicolas Rousseau (Frane Espoirs)
5, Koji Fukushima (Cycle Racing Team Vang)
6, Steven Tronet (VC Roubaix) all same time

Other:


70, Jehudi Schoonacker (Sean Kelly Team) at 15 mins 29 secs
75, Paidi O'Brien (Sean Kelly Team)
78, Tim Cassidy (Sean Kelly Team) both same time
99, Andrew Mc Quaid (Sean Kelly Team) at 18 mins 23 secs

Not classified (unsure if DNS, DNF or outside time limit): Kelly, Concannon


Stage 2 - June 17: Le Genest St Isle – Gorron:


1, David Le Lay (Groupe Sportif Bretagne-Jean Floc'h) 184 kilometres in 4 hours 15 mins 47 secs
2, Eduard Vorganov (Omnibike Dynamo Moscow) at 2 secs
3, Emanuele Bindi (OTC Doors-Lauretana)
4, David Burgy (Sprinter Club Olympique Dijon)
5, Denis Robin (Agritubel)
6, Johnathan Dayus (Team Nantes 44 Atlantique) all same time

Other:

23, Tim Cassidy (Sean Kelly Team) at 1 min 4 secs (sprinting for 9th place)
49, Paidi O'Brien (Sean Kelly Team)
64, Andrew Mc Quaid (Sean Kelly Team)
82, Jehudi Schoonacker (Sean Kelly Team) all same time




Stage 3 - June 18: Le Horps – Laval :

1, Franck Charrier (CC Nogent sur Oise ) 164 kilometres in 3 hours 53 mins 55 secs
2, Eduard Vorganov (Omnibike Dynamo Moscow)
3, Christophe Diguet (Team Nantes 44 Atlantique)
4, Antoine Dalibard (Groupe Sportif Bretagne-Jean Floc'h)
5, Markus Eichler (Team Regiostrom-Senges) all same time
6, Aivaras Baranauskas (Agritubel) at 8 secs

Other:

44, Paidi O'Brien (Sean Kelly Team) at 14 secs
51, Tim Cassidy (Sean Kelly Team) same time


Not classified (unsure if DNS, DNF or outside time limit): McQuaid, Schoonacker


Final general classification:

1, Koji Fukushima (Cycle Racing Team Vang) 12 hours 51 mins 37 secs
2, Markus Eichler (Team Regiostrom-Senges) at 20 secs
3, Nicolas Rousseau (France Espoirs) at 35 secxs
4, Franck Perque (CC Nogent sur Oise) at 37 secs
5, Antoine Dalibard (Groupe Sportif Bretagne-Jean Floc'h) at 39 secs
6, Benoit Sinner (Agritubel) at 41 secs

Other:

68, Paidi O'Brien (Sean Kelly Team) at 16 mins 34 secs
73, Tim Cassidy (Sean Kelly Team) at 16 mins 48 secs





Fleche Hesbignonne / Cras Avernas, Belgium (1.2, June 11):

1, Erwin Thijs (Unibet.com) 200 kilometres in 4 hours 55 mins (40.678 km/h)
2, Johan Verstrepen (Landbouwkrediet) at 23 secs
3, Shinichi Fukushima (Team Vang Cycling) at 34 secs
4, Iljo Keisse (Chocolade Jacques) same time
5, Takashi Miyazawa (Team Vang Cycling) at 35 secs
6, Wouter Van Mechelen (Chocolade Jacques)

Other:

24, Tim Cassidy (Sean Kelly Racing Team/ACLVB M. Donnelly)
26, Paidi O'Brien (Sean Kelly Racing Team/ACLVB M. Donnelly)
33, Kurt Bogaerts (Sean Kelly Racing Team/ACLVB M. Donnelly) all same time