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Road News and Results – September 30, 2009

September 30th, 2009 by Al Fresco No Comment

Wow. The end of another month. For the pros, the season is starting to draw to a close, but this is prime riding weather for me. Of course, cross season is starting to kick into gear, with the local series already having had its first race and some larger scale domestic events taking place, too.

In today’s news: Pierrick Fedrigo wants out of the BBox, Cadel Evans back on the bike at GP Coppa Sabatini, Thomas Dekker acknowledges doping and Battenkill expands.

With the news that BBox Bouyges Telecom has not received a Pro Tour license for 2010, Pierrick Fedrigo has expressed an interest to leave the team. He says that he wants to be able to compete “at the highest level”, but team manager Jean-Rene Bernaudeau says that he is “not prepared to negotiate anything.”
Pro Tour manager Alain Rumpf says that the demotion of Cofidis and BBox from the Pro Tour had to do with their lack of performance over the last year.
Italian champion Marco Pinotti (Team Columbia High Road), Damiano Cunego (Lampre NGC), Ivan Basso (Liquigas Doimo) and Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) are expected to appear at the Coppa Lella Mentasti time trial, which takes place in Lake Maggiore, Italy, the day after the Giro di Lombardia. Kjell Carlstrom (Liquigas Doimo), Francesco Ginanni (Serramenti Diquigiovanni), Dario Cataldo (Quick Step), Giampaolo Cheula (Team Barloworld), Paolo Longo Borghini (Team Barloworld), Fabrice Piedmont (Fuji Servetto), Jairus Ermeti (Team LPR Brakes), Fabio Negri (Team LPR Brakes), Marco Cattaneo (Team LPR Brakes), Ivan Santoromito (Doimo Liquigas) and Matteo Montaguti (Team LPR Brakes) are also expected to race.
Cadel Evans’ first race after the World Championships will be the GP Coppa Sabatini, taking place on October 8th in the Italian town of Peccioli.
Casting further doubt on the future of the Astana team, Theo de Rooij has again turned down an offer from Astana. This is the second time that the Dutchman has been approached by the Kazakh cycling federation to take over for Johan Bruyneel. De Rooij was previously approached by Rini Wagtmans and now his successor, the Italian team manager Giuseppe Martinelli.
Skil-Shimano have announced the line-ups for the Circuit Franco-Belge and the Münsterland Giro this week. Mitchell Docker, David Deroo, Floris Goesinnen, Jonathan Hivert, Roy Curvers, Robert Wagner, Tom Veelers and Maarten de Jonge will ride in France and Belgium between October 1st and 4th, while Koen de Kort, Kenny van Hummel, Fumiyuki Beppu, Steve Houanard, Thierry Hupond and Simon Geschke will head to Germany.
Skil-Shimano also announced today that they have signed 24 year old Norwegian cyclist Frederik Wilmann to a one year contract. Wilmann rode for the Norwegian Continental Team Joker Bianchi this year. The team expects to primarily use him in stage races. Wilmann comes from a cycling family. His father Jostein was a professional cyclist in the 80′s and won stages in the Tour de Romandie and the Catalan Week.
As if he wasn’t in enough trouble, Davide Rebellin, accused of doping in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, is now be charged with tax evasion. Rebellin is one of several athletes being investigated by Italian financial police. Rebellin’s lawyer says that the charges are unfounded, as Rebellin has lived, worked and trained for years outside of Italy. Rebellin has a residence in the noted tax haven of Monaco.
32 year-old Swiss cyclist Patrick Calcagni has decided to conclude his career as a professional in 2009, his second and final season with Team Barloworld. Calcagni joined Barloworld in 2008, when he won the most important success: victory in the GP Cerami of Belgium.
Thomas Dekker said through his lawyer on Wednesday that admitted to doping [but just this one time! - Ed.] in late 2007. The lawyer’s statement also acknowledged that a B-sample test has shown postitive results for doping products. Dekker has accepted the results and acknowledges that he made a mistake. The statement added that Dekker takes full responsibility for the positive and notes that he will hold himself accountable to and apologize to his employers, teammates, coaches, family, supporters, and such. It is now up to the Monaco federation to determine the penalty. In related news, Silence-Lotto announced that Dekker has been dismissed from the team.
The Tour of the Battenkill in upstate New York, will expand from one to two weekends in 2010 and has been accredited and scheduled on the UCI America’s Tour for Professional Cycling. (from the Cycling Examiner) [http://www.examiner.com/x-1155-Cycling-Examiner~y2009m9d30-Tour-of-Battenkill-expands-gets-UCI-sanction-for-2010?cid=examiner-email]