Meanwhile, in Austria (spoiler)

iainf72

Columbia win again

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/61st-t ... -1/results

Previous winner Tom Danielson isn't there, not at the Tour. Will he be working at the garden centre next year?

Kléber

In other news from Austria, apparently Rabo have confirmed that Dennis Menchov visited Vienna a couple of weeks ago to help with the Humanplasma enquiry. Helping with enquiries

iainf72

Kléber wrote:

In other news from Austria, apparently Rabo have confirmed that Dennis Menchov visited Vienna a couple of weeks ago to help with the Humanplasma enquiry. Helping with enquiries

Is that Dennis Menchov who rode like a sack of spuds yesterday?

Kléber

Once again Rabo seems to have a GT contender who's spending his spare time in foreign places without their knowledge.

Cycling fans have been nodding and winking about this for years and several cycling journalists have been putting some direct allegations to the team but have Rabo done some big investigation to get to the bottom of this or have they just been crossing their fingers and hoping the story would fade with time?

cswebbo

Menchov's lack of performance in the time trial on Saturday would suggest he has not been to Austria for a refil since the giro? (allegedly)!

iainf72

Another Columbia riders wins stage 2.

Kléber

Meanwhile the Viennese investigation rumbles on.

So far Menchov, Weening and Posthuma have testified to the investigators looking at the Humanplasma team. But former riders Michael Dirk Boogerd and Thomas Dekker have been asked to help but have refused to go to Vienna.

Dekker said "I have never been to Vienna", logical since I thought he was trained by Luigi Cecchini?

Interesting that the active riders have co-operated, I wonder if this is Rabo saying "you'd better help the investigation, or else"?

knedlicky

Tomorrow, Saturday, it’s the next-to-last stage of the Tour of Austria, a TT over 26.3 km, and first to go off will be top female rider, Christiane Soeder. The Tour organisers there are letting her do the same course, starting just before the men, as an advertisement for women’s cycling.

Christiane Soeder rides in the Cervelo team with Emma Pooley and finished overall second to Pooley in this year’s Grande Boucle Féminine (women’sTour of France), 22 secs back, and took the green jersey too.
In 2008, she was even the winner of the Grande Boucle Féminine herself (Nicole Cooke was third).

She’s a good TT-iste, finishing 3rd in the TT World Championships in 2007 and 2nd in 2008, so she could well do better over the Tour of Austria TT course than some of the men.

knedlicky

Christiane Soeder finished the TT in 34-20. The fastest man, Dutchman Moerenhout, took 31-36, the slowest (111th) took 38-00. Had Soeder actually been in the race she would have placed 63rd. She was 11 seconds faster than Brit Ben Swift.

Afterwards Soeder said she was surprised to have been faster than nearly half the field but tactfully also said one shouldn’t forget they’ve 1200 km in their legs while the last 12 days she’s been having a break from competitive racing.

Ben Swift, from Rotherham, was successful on the track between 2004-2007 but has now turned profi and to the road with the Katusha team. He had some good placings in the Tour of the Basque Country (won by Contador) and also took part in the Giro, where he finished 132nd in the GC, just ahead of Fothen (who is in the TdF), and 23rd in the points competition. Occasionally he was mentioned in posts in this Forum about the Giro.

Swiss national and Columbia team member Albasini looks likely to win the Tour of Austria (it finishes tomorrow) and Swift is currently 73rd, a few places ahead of the more well-known Brit, Jeremy Hunt.

calvjones

I suspect Hunt won't be better known than Swift for very long.

Le Commentateur

knedlicky wrote:

Tomorrow, Saturday, it’s the next-to-last stage of the Tour of Austria, a TT over 26.3 km, and first to go off will be top female rider, Christiane Soeder. The Tour organisers there are letting her do the same course, starting just before the men, as an advertisement for women’s cycling.

Christiane Soeder rides in the Cervelo team with Emma Pooley and finished overall second to Pooley in this year’s Grande Boucle Féminine (women’sTour of France), 22 secs back, and took the green jersey too.
In 2008, she was even the winner of the Grande Boucle Féminine herself (Nicole Cooke was third).

She’s a good TT-iste, finishing 3rd in the TT World Championships in 2007 and 2nd in 2008, so she could well do better over the Tour of Austria TT course than some of the men.

I think she came 4th in the Olympics road race too, didn't she?