Rick Scott's Weekly Rap: We're Movin' On Up!
The May is all about Italy and the Giro d’Italia, but next May the focus will be back on California as in the Amgen Tour of California. Check it out, kids.The Beat
Before traveling to Italy to begin the season’s first Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia, a few American riders decided to add some race miles to their legs by heading to New Mexico for the challenging five-day SRAM Tour of the Gila. Perhaps you’ve heard of them before: Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner. Politics nearly prevented their participation in the event and sadly red tape did force BMC Racing to send all except for three of their riders home, but thankfully the three Astana musketeers were granted permission to compete at the last minute. However, UCI rules prevented them from wearing their team kits so they donned black & white Mellow Johnny’s kits, the Austin, Texas bike shop owned by Armstrong. Leipheimer, the three-time Amgen Tour of California champion, won the opening stage, the time trial and the overall with Armstrong finishing 2nd overall in his first race since breaking his collarbone in late March.
The final major European stage race prior to the Giro is the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland. Young stud Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) seems to loves him some Switzerland. Last year, he won the Tour de Suisse and this year he added the Tour de Romandie to his palmares. Of special note to us at the Amgen Tour of California was the triumphant return to form of Oscar Freire (Rabobank), who was out of action for a couple months following injuries sustained in the Golden State in February. Freire sprinted to a pair of stage victories in Romandie.
The U.S. domestic herd was in Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Joe Martin Stage Race. Despite the efforts of a powerful Bissell squad, which included Ben Jacques-Maynes, who set a new course record during the opening stage time trial, and a pair of victories from sprinter Sebastian Haedo (Colavita-Sutter Home), Rory Sutherland lassoed the overall triumph for the third consecutive year. It was the first win for his new OUCH-Maxxis outfit.
The Four Days of Dunkerque is really six days of racing (the French do things their own way). Caisse d’Epargne’s Rui Costa won the General Classification, but the race marked the return of Columbia-Highroad’s Andre Greipel after crashing out of the Tour Down Under in January with a shoulder injury. Back from a four-month layoff, the German sprinter won the final stage and the sprint points competition.
The centennial anniversary of the Giro d’Italia is underway. It began May 9th in Venice with a team time trial and will finish in Rome on May 31st with an individual time trial. The route for the three-week Grand Tour will visit each city the first Giro visited. Except for last year’s Giro winner, Alberto Contador (Astana), cycling’s biggest stars packed their passports for a romp around the boot, including Armstrong, Leipheimer, Ivan Basso (Liquigas), Denis Menchov (Rabobank), Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam), Damiano Cunego (Lampre) and Michael Rogers (Columbia-Highroad). Columbia-Highroad bested the rest in the team time trial putting two-time Amgen Tour of California stage winner Mark Cavendish into the first leader’s pink jersey. Sad to report that American Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) crashed out of the race on Stage 3. The Italians are dominating the opening week with sprinter Alessandro Petacchi winning back-to-back stages and his LPR Brakes teammate, Danilo DiLuca (LPR Brakes), who climbed to one stage victory, presently rides pretty in pink.
The Flow
The big news around here is that the 2010 Amgen Tour of California will take place May 16th-23rd. The move will enable the race to avoid the wet weather that has pelted the event the last few editions and allow for more mountain stages in the majestic Sierras, including a likely mountaintop finish. It’s going to be bigger, better and harder, boys and girls, thus worth the wait. America’s top stage race will become a ProTour event in 2011, which everyone is excited about. We couldn’t have done it without YOU. Thanks for your support…
June 7th will mark the 25th staging of the biggest one-day pro race in the U.S.: the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship. The 156-mile affair takes over the streets of Philly and attracts over 300,000 spectators annually. The race, like many, is feeling the pinch of the global recession and almost had to be cancelled. Thanks to a grassroots “Embrace the Race” campaign (that evolved into a “Save the Race” campaign), the efforts of Pennsylvania’s Governor Ed Rendell, and a pair of casino sponsors that stepped up in a big way, the race is on! Visit www.procyclingtour.com to find out how you can help support the race won by such American champions as Armstrong, George Hincapie and Fred Rodriguez…
Speaking of Armstrong, he announced plans to announce the formation of a new professional team after the Tour de France that he will own, direct and ride for. Although he didn’t reveal the title sponsor, he hinted that it would be his LIVESTRONG cancer charity. With Astana sponsors struggling, it’s possible an Armstrong-led group could take over the team as soon as this season. More news to come on this for sure…
And speaking of Hincapie, a multiple Amgen Tour of California stage winner, a documentary film about his storied career will unspool at a premiere in his adopted hometown of Greenville, South Carolina on May 21st and DVDs will go on sale in early June. The film provides a rare glimpse into the life of one of America’s most beloved cyclists who has competed in five Olympics, won a Tour de France stage, and was the only teammate who was by Armstrong’s side for all seven Tour de France victories. Lensing was completed after April’s Paris-Roubaix, one of Hincapie’s biggest annual goals that has continued to elude his grasp. Hopefully next year will be Big George’s year…
Another top ProTour team will be feasting on Missouri barbecue come September: Saxo Bank confirmed their participation at the Tour of Missouri, a race won last year by Vande Velde. The Danish powerhouse squad will be wrestling up a plate beside Garmin-Slipstream, Astana (or whatever they may be called then), Columbia-Highroad, Quick Step, Liquigas, Cervelo TestTeam, BMC Racing and Jelly Belly. Additional teams will be announced…
Props to the Kelly Benefit Strategies pro cycling team for partnering with World Bicycle Relief, an organization that supports healthcare, education and economic development programs in underdeveloped regions, creating better access to independence and livelihood through bicycles. KBS cyclists will promote the organization throughout the racing season and travel to Africa after the season ends to witness the power of bicycle relief…
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Rick Scott is president of Great Scott P.R.oductions, an entertainment and sports public relations, marketing and management boutique. He can be contacted through www.greatscottpr.com. Follow him at www.twitter.com/greatscottpr.
