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All of your cycling news: March 23, 2010

March 23rd, 2010 by Al Fresco No Comment

In today’s news, Carlos Sastre back after 8 month break, Omega Pharma-Lotto still looking for a 2010 win, World Heritage status for Tour of Flanders and more…

Oscar Freire will continue his spring classics campaign at Gent-Wevelgem. The Rabobank rider, fresh off of his win at Milan – San Remo, also plans to race the Brabant Pil as well as the Ardennes triptych of the Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liège.
The Tour of Catalonia marks Carlos Sastre’s (Cervelo) return to competion after eight months. The Spanish winner of the 2008 Tour de France says that he needed the break to rediscover the spark for racing.
Omega Pharma-Lotto and Euskaltel are the only Pro Tour teams yet to notch a win in 2010. By this time last year, former team leader Cadel Evans had grabbed a stage at the International Week of Coppi and Bartali.
The route of Dwars door Vlaanderen has been redesigned and offers a much more intense finale. 12 Pro Tour teams are expected at the start in Roeselare along with 9 professional continental teams and 3 continental teams. The last of 12 climbs, the Nokereberg, comes just 7 km from the finish.
The Tour of Flanders may be granted World Heritage status on account of its departure in Brugges. It would be the first sporting event to recieve that designation.
David Moncoutié will be the captain of the Cofidis team at the Tour of Italy. While the 35 year old French rider has done the Tour de France nine times (with two stage wins) and the Vuelta twice (taking a stage and the mountains jersey each time), this will be his first time at the Giro.
Giro boss Angelo Zomegnan promises for the upcoming Tour of Italy (May 8 to 30) the “toughest drug testing of all times”. The second most important stage race of the year has been shaken in recent years by repeated doping cases, so the Italians are working with the anti-doping laboratory in Rome, Cologne, Lausanne and Chatenay-Malabry (France).
Riccardo Ricco is bitter about his exclusion from the Giro d’Italia. “They want to me force to an additional year of purgatory, as if the two years were not enough hell. They want me to pay all my sins. I think that’s not fair,” said the Italian, who made his comeback at the Settimana Coppi e Bartali after serving a 20 months suspension for doping. [I think he should get some additional time for his girlfriend and son. - Ed.]
Andre Greipel is the first major committment to the “Nacht von Hannover” post-tour criterium. This year’s edition of the race will take place on August 20th.
Andy Schleck, who made a late start to his season because of knee problems, dropped out of the Tour of Catalonia overnight with stomach troubles. Schleck finished 27 second behind race leader Paul Voss in the opening time trial.
After his victories in the GP Samyn, Three Days of West Flanders and Nokere Koerse, many are looking for Cofidis to put Jens Keukeleire on the squad for Dwars door Vlaanderen. Team management urges his fans to have patience, as they want him to grow slowly.
Australian journalist and former World Solo 24 Hour mountain bike champion James Williamson has died while taking part in the Absa Cape Epic stage race in South Africa. Williamson was taken to hospital this morning after his riding partner, Shaun Lewis, could not rouse him.
Steve Schets (Bauknecht-Jong Vlaanderen) has been called by the Royal Belgian Cycling League (RLVB) to replace Iljo Keisse at the Track World Championships.