All of your cycling news: March 12, 2010

March 12th, 2010 by Al Fresco View Comments

In today’s cycling news, disappointing turn at Paris-Nice for Jurgen Van den Broeck, Erik Zabel says we shouldn’t write off Mark Cavendish just yet, snow re-routes Tirreno-Adriatico and more…

Pepsi has signed on to sponsor the 2010 Tour of the Battenkill, the closest thing we have to Paris-Roubaix in the United States. The race, which will take place on April 18th, received UCI certification and is on the international race calendar for the first time this year. The sponsorship will help race organizers keep the race moving forward.
Peter Sagan (Liquigas) notched his second victory at Paris-Nice today. On the win, he told Eurosport, “I like to attack in the ribs, maybe it’s my specialty. I saw that I could not follow the best on such slopes. I am not strong in the climbs like Alberto Contador.”
Sagan has single-handedly raised the profile of cycling in his home of Slovakia. After his first win, three Slovakian TV crews went to his home and interviewed his father.
Sagan started on a mountain bike at the age of nine before moving to road cycling under the guidance of his father. “At some point, I got fed up and I wanted to quit but my family would not let me, so if I’m there, it’s thanks to them,” he said.
Jurgen Van Den Broeck was looking for a top ten placing at Paris-Nice but has struggled through the race and currently sits in 42nd. Van Den Broeck, who has recently been tagged with Frank Vandenbrouke’s old nickname of VdB, was battling plugged sinuses and vomiting on Wednesday. [I don't know if I would want to have 'VdB' as my nickname - Ed.]
Tom Boonen’s elation for stage victory in Tirreno-Adriatico was slightly “dampened” after he received a 100 Euro fine for public urination. Boonen’s win there was his first ever victory in Italy. He’s considered one of the favorites for Milan – San Remo.
Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo) dropped out of Paris-Nice yesterday after continuing to be plagued by knee problems resulting from a crash at the Tour of the Algarve. He’ll continue training in Southern France before heading to Milan.
Erik Zabel and Mario Cipollini, both former winners of Milan-San Remo, say that it’s too early to write off Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) to repeat. On his performance at Paris-Nice his advisor Erik Zabel said, “We had expected that he would be better. I was surprised that his contact with the first group already so quickly lost, but we make ‘no big deal’ of it, because we still believe that Mark is going to Milan-San Remo is just. You never know what happens in Milan-San Remo.” Cipollini added, “You can see that Mark is back with his training and struggling with his form, but he is still young and can quickly get in shape. He is also very talented and he has a great class, so I will never write (him) off.”
Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) joins Mario Cipollini, Davide Rebellin and Paolo Bettini in the notorious club of Italian cyclists investigated for tax evasion. Investigators allege that during his time at Team Milram (2006-2008), advertising revenues in the amount of three million euros were not declared in Italy, but instead were diverted to a Swiss bank account with the help of a Dutch company. Petacchi, currently racing at Tirreno-Adriatico, testified that he knew nothing of the ongoing investigations against him. “I was told nothing about it. I need to talk to my lawyer to understand what is going on.”
T-A organizers have announced that Sunday’s 5th stage from Chieti to Colmurano will be re-routed to account for the snow storm that afflicted the region for several days. The affected stretch is between Marino del Tronto and Fiastra.

USA Cycling announced today a change in the dates and venue for the 2010 USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships. The event will now return to Moab, Utah for 2010, to be held in conjunction with the 24-Hours of Moab event, October 9-10.
The USA Cycling Board of Directors elected Bill Peterson as president at its biannual meeting, Wednesday in Colorado Springs. The board of directors of the national governing body for the sport of competitive cycling in the United States also re-elected three additional officers.