All of your cycling news – November 25, 2009

Only one more day till Turkey day! There was actually more new to report today than yesterday, so here we go:

Pereiro to support Contador at Astana, UCI track changes may kill six day racing, Boasson Hagen and Lokvist say Columbia too focused on sprinters, Radio Shack steps back on Beppu matter and more…

• Former Wales striker John Hartson says he is planning to visit cycling legend Lance Armstrong to thank him for his support during his battle with cancer. Armstrong asked his Twitter followers to pray for Hartson when he was  diagnosed in July. The retired striker, who is recovering from testicular cancer, was admitted to hospital for surgery and chemotherapy in August.
• Lampre’s Damiano Cunego, Allesandro Ballan and Marzio Bruseghin are being featured in a documentary called ‘Adrenaline Stories’ that will be airing soon on Sky TV. The segment will focus on their passion for the sport of cycling and their personal memories, emotions and expectations for the future. Climber Chris Sharma, race walker Alex Schwarzer and trials rider Vittorio Brumotti will also be featured.
• The UCI announced today that the Trofeo Matteotti will return for its 64th edition on Sunday, August 1, 2010 after a year’s absence.
• In an interview with the Luxembourg newspaper Le Quotidien, Andy Schleck stated that he thinks that Alberto Contador “could suffer over the cobbles of the Tour” in 2010. He still thinks that Contador is the favorite, but he thinks that Saxo Bank is better suited to handle the rough roads that are expected to be encountered in the race’s third stage.
• Edvald Boasson Hagen and Thomas Lövkvist cited Team Columbia’s seemingly myopic focus on Mark Cavendish and André Greipel as their reason for jumping to Britain’s Team Sky. Both note that they would like to be somewhere that they can develop their skills to win races instead of supporting sprinters.
• Tour de France organizers are considering moving the start time of the 2010 prologue to fall between two World Cup football matches that are airing the same day.
• USA Cycling’s Mike Plant was elected to the 15-member UCI Management Committee by the UCI Congress in Lugano, Switzerland during the UCI Road World Championships in September. A previous member of the UCI Management Committee from 1997 to 2004, Plant joins the president of the Pan American Cycling Confederation, Cuban Jose Pelaez, for another four-year term representing the American contingent to cycling’s international governing body.
• Gert Steegmans was apparently an early and strong choice for the new Radio Shack Cycling squad. Team DS Dirk Demol says that when he mentioned Steegman’s name to team leader Lance Armstrong, he was in immediate agreement.
• Team RadioShack confirmed that Fumiyuki Beppu, who is under contract at Skil-Shimano until the end of 2010, has also committed to them. RadioShack’s team manager Johan Bruyneel notified Skil-Shimano team management that he allow Skil-Shimano and the Japanese rider to clear the matter up.
• Just a day after the announcement of the arrest of a doping ring in Spain comes the news that Austrian officials have taken down an international network of suppliers of drugs, arrested five people and siezed two tons of banned products. The group, which operated from Austria on the Internet, distributed doping products to Europe (especially Great Britain), Bulgaria, Germany and the United States. Investigators believe that the substances were manufactured in clandestine laboratories in China and Eastern Europe and transported illegally into Austria to be reshipped.
• 2006 Tour de France winner (sort of) Oscar Pereiro will transfer to Astana to ride in support of Alberto Contador in 2010.

Six Day News:

• Some are saying that the elimination of the Points Race, Madison and individual pursuit from Olympic track cycling will have a detrimental effect on the viability of Six Day racing, where these disciplines play a vital part. UCI President Patrick McQuaid is set to carry the proposal to the International Olympic Committee, but there are petition drives going on that may sway his opinion.
• Roger Kluge, the partner of Iljo Keisse for the Ghent Six Day is only 23, but he is no stranger to the Six Day world, having raced the Future Six Day several years ago. He is already eyeing the 2012 Olympics, but wonders what will happen to his favored disciplines.

Tags: alberto contador, Allesandro Ballan, andy schleck, astana, Damiano Cunego, Edvald Boasson Hagen, fumiyuki beppu, Gert Steegmans, Iljo Keisse, johan bruyneel, Lampre, Lance Armstrong, Luxembourg, Mark Cavendish, Marzio Bruseghin, oscar pereiro, Patrick McQuaid, radio shack, radio shack cycling, Roger Kluge, six day racing, Skil-Shimano, Team Columbia, World Championships