Giro d’Italia Day 18 News and Notes

Welcome back to Bike World News’s coverage of the Giro and other cycling news. Seems to be a run on knee injuries in the pro ranks today, Denis Menchov responds to doping allegations, Barloworld’s Daryl Impey back on the bike and more…

Giro d’Italia Day 18 News and Notes:

• Danilo Di Luca‘s fans were mad at Stefano Garzelli for not letting Di Luca win the sprint in his home region. [It's a race, folks, not an exhibition - Ed.]
• Race leader Denis Menchov denied on Wednesday he was in involved in a doping case after Austrian investigators spoke to his Rabobank team. Reports said authorities in Vienna wanted to speak to Menchov following a probe into Bernhard Kohl, who was caught using drugs in last year’s Tour de France and quit cycling earlier this week. “This story has nothing to do with me, I don’t know anything about it,” he told a news conference, confirming his team had been contacted. “I have no problem with responding to any questions.”
• Quick Step’s Kevin Seeldraeyers used the Sportwereld newspaper to propose to his girlfriend Ellen Joos. She said that she was “pleasantly surprised” and called his methods “very original”. They will shop for an engagement ring on the Monday after the Giro.
• Under further examination, it was discovered that Chris Horner received a hairline fracture in his shinbone in his fall during Stage 10 of the race. He’ll undergo an additional two weeks of rest before getting back onto the bike.
• Davide Malacarne of Quick Step withdrew from the race during as a result of injuries suffered during Stage 16. He bruised his right thigh and the lumbar region of his back.
• Danilo Di Luca has been auctioning donated items on the Italian version of eBay to raise money for victims of the Abruzzo earthquake. Some of the items include his shoes and helmets and jerseys autographed by Marco Pantani and Tom Boonen.

Other Results:

• Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil) won the second stage of the Tour of Belgium. Alberto Ongarato (LPR) and Graeme Brown (Rabobank) took second and third, respectively. Sergei Ivanov (Katusha) held onto the leader’s jersey. Katusha’s Robbie McEwen stopped just before the finish with a deep cut to the ligament just below his left knee. It was discovered later that he also fractured his tibia. It’s expected that he’ll be off the bike for four months.
• Austrian Markus Eibegger (Team Elkhaus-Simplon) won Thursday’s second stage of the Tour of Bavaria Mühldorf an Inn and Ruhpolding. He is the new race leader.

Other News:

• Okay, anyone who thinks that Lance Armstrong should just stick to racing bikes and not try to design sneakers, say “I”. I’ll go first – “I!”
• Lance tweeted today that Barloworld’s Daryl Impey did his first training ride today after the fall at the Tour of Turkey.
• British cyclist Victoria Pendelton (see above) did a photo shoot and interview for the current issue of lad mag FHM.
• Columbia-Highroad’s former World Champion Judith Arndt will make her return to racing in the Montreal World Cup in Canada following a period of almost eight months off the bike.  Arndt broke her collarbone early in the season and then on her return race in Holland this Spring, she crashed and broke her wrist.  But doctors have finally given Arndt the all-clear.
• The 5th annual Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, running August 18 – 23, has confirmed the initial lineup of professional and amateur cycling teams for 2009 all competing for a share of the US$45,000 purse and valuable National Racing Calendar points. Of the 16 teams that have thus far committed to compete in the 2009 Tour of Utah, eight are professional: BMC Racing; Team Garmin, OUCH Pro Cycling, Bissell, Team Type 1, Land Rover-ORBEA, Fly V Australia, and Colavita/Sutter Home. In addition, eight amateur teams have also accepted an invitation to compete: Trek-Livestrong, Cal Giant, Bob’s, Rio Grande, Waste Management, Ciclismo Racing, ZteaM Cycling, and Team RideClean.
• Frank Vandenbroucke can’t even buy a little luck. The Cinelli-Down Under cyclist had a crash yesterday when a tree branch went into his wheel. He ended up with four stitches in his head.
• Boy, it’s one thing when a black cat crosses your path, but another thing to run it over: Ben Hermans (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) was riding in the Tour of Belgium when a black cat appeared suddenly on the course. Other riders were able to evade the cat, but she walked right in front of Hermans. The cat did not survive.
• USA Cycling and the organizers of the Nature Valley Grand Prix have announced the selection of the third annual Ryan Collegiate Women’s All-Stars team. The All-Stars consist of six female collegiate riders chosen to compete with professional cycling teams in the Nature Valley Grand Prix, June 10-14, 2009. The 2009 Ryan Collegiate All-Stars include: Sinead Miller (Marian College), Tammy Wildgoose (University of California – San Diego), Rita Klofta (DePauw University), Kendi Thomas (Whitman College), Emma Bast (Mount Holyoke College) & Erica Zaveta (University of Arizona).
• American cyclists scored some impressive results abroad over the weekend with victories coming from Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif./Proman), Tejay Van Garderen (Fort Collins, Colo./Rabobank) and Ethan Gilmour (Ludlow, Vt.).
• Kevin Van Impe dropped out of the Tour of Belgium. He’s having pain in the tendon above his left knee.

Tags: Barloworld, Bernhard Kohl, bikes, BMC Racing, Chris Horner, columbia, danilo di luca, Daryl Impey, denis menchov, doping, garmin, Giro d'Italia, Graeme Brown, Judith Arndt, Kevin Van Impe, Lance, Lance Armstrong, Livestrong, marco pantani, national racing calendar, news, OUCH, Quick Step, Rabobank, Robbie McEwen, Stefano Garzelli, Team Type 1, Tom Boonen, topsport vlaanderen, Tour of Turkey, USA Cycling, vacansoleil