Tour de France 2009

Cipollini gets Punk'd

Mario “The Lion King” Cipollini was set up a few years ago, in every cyclist's worst nightmare. During a training ride, he's stopped and told his house was broken into and his bikes stolen. Then, before he can get home, a crappy mobile home passes by, with two of his bikes strapped to the back. You don't need to know Italian to enjoy what comes next...

(Via Velochimp).

Taking the DeLorean back to 1998

Peleton 3,
originally uploaded by conibonjovi.

Somebody posted photos from the Tour's 1998 visit to Ireland today. That was, of course, the Tour made infamous by the Festina affair, and eventually won by Marco Pantani.

I see a few recognizable faces here, and in shots of the body of the peloton here and here. It would be very cool if you could tag the photo with notes of riders you recognize.

Also, does anyone know which stage this is? I think that's Chris Boardman in yellow, which means it's Stage 1 or the beginning of Stage 2, when he crashed out. The pictures are marked as “March 2004”, which is obviously wrong.

Some help: the 1998 review from letour.fr, including team rosters.

I promise no more games like this once there's some actual racing...

Petacchi to Domina Vacanze, exit stage left for Fassa Bortolo

VeloNews.com | Petacchi joins Domina Vacanze, as Fassa folds for '06

Italian supersprinter Alessandro Petacchi signed with Domina Vacanze for 2006 today.

Petacchi's current team, Fassa Bortolo, will dissolve at season's end. Petacchi teammate Juan Antonio Flecha signed with Rabobank earlier this week.

Petacchi committed for three years. Rumors had him insisting that several teammates come with him -- keep your eyes peeled for more announcements.

Update: BBC Sport reports:

Fabio Sacchi, Marco Velo and Alberto Ongarato are expected to move with him.

Velo, of course, has the greatest possible cycling name.

Petacchi's predecessor as king of the Italian sprinters was Mario Cipollini, who finished his career with Domina Vacanze.

Update: Marcello points out that Cipollini took some starts for Liquigas-Bianchi, including a final win over Petacchi this spring, but I have trouble giving them credit for being his last team when he quit at the end of April.

Brett Lancaster Giro's first leader

Cipollini's last skinsuit fashion show

Australia's Brett Lancaster of Panaria was the fastest kilo man in the field Saturday evening, taking the prologue of the 88th Giro d'Italia.

The unusually short prologue favored riders with track experience and sprinters, and Lancaster, who took a gold medal in Athens in the team pursuit, made the most of it, covering 1.15 kilometers in 1:20.958. Of course, the shortness also means you can throw a blanket over about the top half of the field, with the top 10 all within 2 seconds of Lancaster. The last-placed rider was Australia's Trent Wilson, 17 seconds back of Lancaster.

The prologue was run under the lights, along the coast at Reggio Calabria, with prime-time TV coverage in Italy.

Discovery's Paolo Savoldelli finished highest among those with GC aspirations, in 1:21.923, fourth on the stage. Alessandro Petacchi was 3rd on the day, just behind teammate Matteo Tosatto. T-Mobile's Olaf Pollack rounded out the top 5.

Stuart O'Grady's special rig didn't get him the maglia rosa, as he had hoped, but did place him 6th on the stage and overall.

Michael Barry led North Americans in 15th; Discovery teammate Ryder Hesjedal, also of Canada, was 18th; Dave Zabriskie was 20th; Tom Danielson 75th; Tony Cruz 98th; Jason McCartney 113th; and Christian Vande Velde was 152nd.

Defending Giro champ Damiano Cunego was 22nd, while his teammate Gilberto Simoni, the 2003 winner, was 97th on the stage.

Mario Cipollini took a parade lap, starting last in a glow-in-the-dark pink skinsuit that featured the names of all the towns where he won his 42 career Giro stages.

The full top 10:

1) Brett Lancaster, Ceramica Panaria-Navigare, 1:20.9
2) Matteo Tosatto, Fassa Bortolo, at :01
3) Alessandro Petacchi, Fassa Bortolo, at :01
4) Paolo Savoldelli, Discovery Channel, at :01
5) Olaf Pollack, T-Mobile, at :02
6) Stuart O'Grady, Cofidis, at :02
7) Jaan Kirsipuu, Credit Agricole, at :02
8) Mark Renshaw, Francaise des Jeux, at :02
9) Sergio Escobar Roure, Illes Balears, at :02
10) Sven Krauss, Gerolsteiner, at :02

Also:

Daily Peloton | Prologue Live Coverage

CyclingNews.com | Live Report | Full Results

The Lion King to roar no more

BBC SPORT | Cipollini to bow out of cycling

Mario Cipollini, who holds the record for stage wins at the Giro d'Italia, will retire from cycling. And, this time, it may even stick.

Cipollini retired and unretired in 2002, and said at the end of last season he was done, but raced through the spring with Liquigas-Bianchi, where he pulled off a satisfying victory over his spiritual successor, Alessandro Petacchi, at the Giro di Lucca.

"I would have liked to be at the start of the Giro d'Italia looking for victory again, fighting for the pink jersey," Cipollini said. "Maybe, an ‘old man’ like me, who has given a lot to cycling and has also received a lot, has to recognize when is the right moment to stop.

Over a 17-year career, Cipollini won 12 Tour de France stages and wore the yellow jersey for 6 days, despite dropping out every year when the race hit the mountains.

There's also this enigmatic bit from the AFP story on Cipo's retirement:

The Liquigas team announced that Cipollini, nicknamed the "Lion King" would reveal further details of why he has decided to retire at a press conference in Milan on Friday.

At left, Cipollini far from his native habitat, laboring up Brasstown Bald at the 2004 Tour de Georgia.

It's starting to feel like a generational shift, with Cipo's retirement, Lance Armstrong's announced retirement, and Andrea Tafi's retirement.

Also:

cyclingnews.com | First Edition Cycling News: Cipollini retires, Farewells to Cipo

gazzetta.it | Cipollini's palmares (in Italian)

nytimes.com | Cipollini Suffers Angst of Long-Distance Rider

Samuel Abt offers a profile of Cipollini facing the onrushing dusk of retirement last year.

TdFBlog's Mario Cipollini archive

Armstrong testifies in Simeoni case

Eurosport | Armstrong answers Simeoni charges

Lance Armstrong flew to Italy on Wednesday to meet with an Italian magistrate about the Filippo Simeoni case. Prosecutors are investigating whether Armstrong verbally assaulted or slandered Simeoni after Simeoni testified against Michele Ferrari in his doping trial. Ferrari was convicted last year.

Armstrong had worked closely with Ferrari before the doping case against him was launched, then broke off the relationship.

At last year's Tour, Armstrong chased down a break that included Simeoni, then told the group that he would let it escape only if Simeoni was not involved.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that magistrates are investigating whether Armstrong asked Mario Cippollini to pressure his Domina Vacanze management to get teammate Simeoni removed from the team. That accusation apparently comes from Vincenzo Santoni, still managing Simeoni while Cippollini moved on to Liquigas-Bianchi.

Simeoni also has a libel suit pending against Armstrong in France, stemming from Armstrong calling Simeoni "a compulsive liar" and saying Simeoni had been doping before he ever hooked up with Ferrari.

Petacchi takes Stage 1 at Tirreno-Adriatico

procycling | Petacchi takes Tirreno opener

After coming third in the Tour of Lucca last week, Alessandro Petacchi showed he's in remarkable early-season shape, beating Bernard Eisel of Francaise des Jeux and Robbie McEwen of Davitamon-Lotto for the stage win and first leader's jersey of Tirreno-Adriatico.

Mario Cipollini, who beat Petacchi at Lucca, was dropped on the last climb and reportedly "complained of breathing problems at the finish."

Also in the day's top 10 were Oscar Freire, Thor Hushovd, and Paride Grillo.

Tomorrow's stage has an uphill finish into Tivoli.

Tirreno-Adriatico set to kick off

cyclingnews.com | Sprinters galore in 40th Tirreno-Adriatico

If you're wondering where the superstars of racing are, and why they're not at Paris-Nice, it's because they're in sunny Italy, readying for the 2nd race of the ProTour, which kicks off tomorrow in Civitavecchia.

Most of the world's best sprinters are on hand, including both Mario Cipollini and Alessandro Petacchi, Stuart O'Grady, Erik Zabel, Robbie McEwen, Oscar Freire, and Paolo Bettini, last year's winner.

We'll get a look at Joseba Beloki, who's back on a Spanish squad with Liberty Seguros, T-Mobile's Andreas Klöden, CSC's Ivan Basso, and Discovery's George Hincapie.

Tirreno-Adriatico runs seven stages, and most of these riders will also contest Milan-San Remo a week from Saturday.

Also:

Cycling4all.com | official startlist

Daily Peloton | Tirreno-Adriatico Preview

Cipollini beats Petacchi

cyclingnews.com | Cipollini triumphs in Altopascio

It's been a long time coming, but the Lion King roared again today, as Mario Cipollini outsprinted heir apparent Alessandro Petacchi at the Giro di Lucca.

Cipollini, now with Liquigas-Bianchi, has retired and unretired a few times already, but he showed great early season form, staying at the front when the field split, leaving Petacchi with only one teammate, rather than the long blue express train that has dropped him at the finish line of so many stage victories over the last few years.

Petacchi has 8 wins this season, and Monday was his first loss in a heads-up sprint in 2005, as he finished behind Cipollini and Paride Grillo.

Petacchi, Cipollini withdraw from Tour

BBC SPORT | Top Italians quit Tour

Alessandro Petacchi and Mario Cipollini have both withdrawn from the 2004 Tour.

Petacchi won 4 stages in 2003, and 9 stages in this year's Giro d'Italia, but hadn't figured in a finishing sprint yet this year, and hurt his shoulder in a crash during Thursday's 5th stage.

Cipollini blames his withdrawal on the injury that took him out of the Giro. Super Mario has never finished a Tour in 8 starts with 12 stage victories.

Update: Alasdair Fotheringham of The Independent provides details of the Italian sprinters' medical conditions:

A crash early on in the race had re-opened a major wound in Cipollini's shin - caused when he skidded across the road in a similarly lethal finale in the Giro - and gravel infected the inside of the wound. The pain proved too much for Cipollini, and Petacchi, suffering from torn ligaments from a crash on Wednesday, opted to join his fellow-Italian on a flight back to Milan from Paris.