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Thursday's Eurofile: Farrar staying; Di Luca dreaming; Beltrán riding; Lombardi helping; Murcia surviving
American classics hope Tyler Farrar will be staying with Cofidis through the end of his contract this season and won’t be joining Discovery Channel - at least for now.
Farrar’s name was linked to the American team last week when he appeared on a list of Discovery Channel riders for the 2007 season. The 22-year-old admitted he’s spoken with Discovery Channel representatives, but denied he was poised to leave the French team just as the 2007 season kicks into gear.
“I was just as surprised as everyone else. I was at the Cofidis team presentation and someone pulled out a copy of Het Laatste Nieuws and they said ‘it says you’re going to Discovery.’ That was news to me,” Farrar told VeloNews. “I’m not sure how those things get started.”
The story broke just as Farrar is preparing for his second season with Cofidis, where he says he intends to stay through the end of his two-year contract. After that, he says he’s open to all serious offers.
“I am with Cofidis through the end of 2007,” he said. “I’ve stayed in contact with those guys [Discovery]. It’s hard to say in January where I will be in 2008. Ask me in June or July and I will have a better idea of where I will ride next year.”
Farrar is one of the top young American riders breaking into the European scene. A winner of two stages at the Tour de l’Avenir in 2004 and 2005, respectively, he posted solid results in his rookie year despite breaking his collarbone in a crash last April.
He expects even bigger things this year. Farrar is a core part of Cofidis’ new classics push and will be an integral player in a group of 10 riders who are short-listed for the spring classics.
With new rider Nick Nuyens the designated captain for the big races, Farrar will be racing a full schedule with chances to shine on his own in such events as Ghent-Wevelgem and some of the other Belgian semi-classics.
Farrar is also hoping to earn a shot at Paris-Roubaix as well as the Giro d’Italia in what would be his first grand tour.
Di Luca still dreams of Giro win
Danilo Di Luca still believes he can win the Giro d’Italia despite a disappointing 2006 effort that saw him fall well short of the final podium.
The Liquigas captain, winner of the 2005 ProTour crown and fourth overall in the 2005 Giro, said a less mountainous edition compared to last year’s vertiginous route bodes well for his aptitudes.
“I am once again convinced I can win after the presentation of the route. The course this year is perfectly suited to my capacities,” Di Luca told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Even the long time trials are better for me. And why should I be afraid of the climb at Zoncolan? As a professional you can never fear a climb. I’ve already proven I can defend well in the extremely steep climbs. In the 2002 Vuelta, in heavy rain, I proved myself with a beautiful sixth place in the steep road to Angliru.”
Last year, “the Killer” entered the Giro with big ambitions of bumping up to the final podium, but suffered against the overwhelming domination of Ivan Basso and finished a distant 23rd at nearly one hour off the winning pace.
It seems Giro had a killer toothache that required off-season surgery, a setback that Di Luca said explains his less-than-optimum performance in last year’ corsa rosa.
Beltrán all for Tour, Vuelta
Meanwhile, Di Luca’s new Liquigas teammate Manuel Beltrán has his 2007 season full with goals of starting both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.
The veteran Spanish climber was left out of Discovery Channel’s Tour squad last year, but finished securely in the Vuelta’s top 10 last year, a result that earned him a contract with the Italian team for 2007.
Beltrán expressed his disappointment that Liquigas won’t be racing at the Ruta del Sol later this month after the ProTour team wasn’t invited because race organizers were obliged to keep a certain amount of continental teams in the Spanish race. The Ruta course includes a stage finale in his hometown of Jaén.
Instead, “Triki” will make his season debut at the Vuelta a Castilla y León (March 26-30) as well as the Tour of the Basque Country in early April followed by the Tour de Romandie in May and the Dauphiné Libéré in June.
Lombardi helps Argentine track team
Ex-pro Giovanni Lombardi, who retired at the end of the 2006 season, will be working as a coach with the Argentine track team. Lombardi also works as a rider’s representative and has close ties to Discovery Channel rider Ivan Basso.
Lombardi, who won the gold medal in the 1992 points race before beginning his road racing career, will begin work with the Argentines at the world track cycling championships in Palma de Mallorca in March. He’s contracted to stay with the team through the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
“It’s an important job and I hope to make a positive contribution to a nation that loves both track and bike racing,” Lombardi told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “It will be a new task for me and I enter the challenge with a great deal of enthusiasm.” Murcia race back on
Just days after organizers said the Vuelta a Murcia might be cancelled due to a lack of national television coverage, the race is back on. Representatives from the regional government and cycling federation moved quickly to secure television coverage and save the race, set for March 7-11.
Among the bigger names expected to start include Ivan Basso (Discovery Channel), Iban Mayo and Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre).
