Read the two, daily interviews with the Big Loop's sporting or team managers. For the letour.fr site, they set out their aims and strategy and review the form of their riders.
ā The enemy is not cycling but doping ā
Christian Prudhomme
Several riders, including some of the favourites for the 2006 edition of the Tour de France, will be absent from the start. How did you come to this decision?
āFrom the beginning of this enquiry conducted by the Guardia Civil and named āOpercion Puertoā, we have been waiting for the justice department to produce an official document that would allow us to make a decision. We received a list of riders which was sent to us by the Spanish cycling federation. According to these elements we met the members of the AIGCP and all the member decided that the riders on this list will be put out of the selection for the Tour, without any replacements. I want to emphasise that T-Mobileās decision to immediately suspend two riders and the ādirecteur sportifā involved in this affair is a good example and a decisive one.ā
What about Astana-Wurth?
āSeveral riders from this team — some selected for the Tour, some not — are implicated. The number of names appearing on this list can lead us to believe that it is an organized doping system within the team. I wish that we had received this list 24 hours earlier. The Court of Arbitration for Sportās decision would surely have been different.ā
And now...?
āI maintain that cycling is a magnificent sport, that the Tour de France is an exceptional race in which we will still see huge champions. The enemy is not cycling, but doping and we remain determined to maintain our fight against it.ā
ā Ivan continues to be part of the team ā
Bjarne Riis
The decision has been made to exclude Ivan Basso from his place in the team line-up for the Tour. Can you please comment on this episode?
āThis morning we had a meeting with all the team directors and and we decided to forfeit the places of riders who have been listed as part of the investigation by the Spanish āGuardia Civilā. Ivan was on the list of riders and, in accordance with the code of ethics, he will not be at the start. He is very upset by this situation. I continues to maintain his innocence in relation to this matter. For the moment, however, there are some issues which need to be clarified. Until this happens, he cannot continue to be part of the team.ā
Why do you still trust Ivan?
āIvan wonāt be on the Tour because it is impossible for a rider to remain focussed on his goal when he is involved in such an affair. But all this is very difficult to believe. Iāve never had any sign of suspect behaviour with Ivan but I canāt be with each of my riders 24 hours a day. I just canāt control what they do when they are away from me. Be sure, however, that to me it was a bit of a betrayal. Iām the first to express my disappointment.ā
What is the future for you?
āIāve been working with this team for five or six years. We have rules, methods and values in which I believe. So I wonāt change anything and Iāll maintain my approach. We all have to be responsible for what we do. My role now is to run this team at the Tour. The riders have to take part in the race since it is the decision that I made. Now I have to keep them motivated. There wonāt be a special leader and no special strategy; but I hope the team will conduct itself as well as possible on the race.ā
"A prestige stage for Simoni"
Matxin Fernandez (SAUNIER DUVAL ā PRODIR)
Since the beginning of the Giro, Saunier Duval riders have often been to the forefront. What are the aims for the Tour?
Itās true weāre arriving with riders who are brimming with confidence and who want to continue to be in the spotlights on the Tour de France. First of all, there are the Italians with Gilberto Simoni, a regular on Tour of Italy podiums (3rd in the latest edition), and Leonardo Piepoli, who in particular won two stages on the Giro this year. Then the Spaniards, younger riders but who have proved this year that they have a lot of potential: Jose Angel Gomez Marchante by winning the Basque Country Tour and David Canada, stage winner on the Tour of Catalonia. With all these assets, I think we have what it takes to bring off a stage.
So thereās no big ambition for the general classificationā¦
I donāt think we can be setting our sights on the podium, for example. So, for someone like Simoni, I think itās better to assert himself on a prestige stage, such as the Alpe dāHuez or Toussuire, for instance. As for the general classification, Gomez Marchante will be our leader, with the possibility of hoisting himself into the Top 10.
The Tour is also beginning with a big challenge for David Millarā¦
Heās one of our main chances for a stage victory. Weāre backing him a lot for the prologue, and he really wants to prove that heās worthy of taking part once again after being suspended for two years. For him, itās a big comeback. Heās trained hard, with dedicated work in particular in San Diego, California, then on track in Manchester. He is capable of asserting himself on the prologue.
The team: David Millar (GBR), David Canada (Spa), Nicolas Fritsch (Fra), Jose Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa), Ruben Lorato (Spa), Riccardo Ricco (Ita), Christophe Rinero (Fra), Gilberto Simoni (Ita), Francisco Ventoso (Spa).
"Ivan will have to attack in the mountains"
Alain Gallopin (TEAM CSC)
Ivan Basso is the big favourite for this Tour de France. Does he feel comfortable about this position?
Itās clear that his stated aim is to win and all the team has been built around him with this goal in mind. It wasnāt easy to do without someone like Fabian Cancellara who had chances of pulling off stage victories. But the group knows that the game is worth the candle and Ivan is ready to assume this status. On the other hand, we canāt say the situationās cut and dried because the competition really is there. Jan Ullrich is the most dangerous, but thereās also Landis, Valverde or Cadel Evans who, although not many are talking about him, has all the qualities to make it onto the final podium.
Will CSCās strategy be similar to those of Discovery and US Postal in previous years?
Everything hinges on the first time trial. Iām convinced that Ivan can put in a good time in Rennes and up to then the teamās mission will be to control the breakaways. But this responsibility will also be shared with other groups: T-Mobile of course, but also the team-partners of the leading sprinters who have big stakes on the green jersey. In any case, on a long Tour, the tactic is always the same: create the gap over the first time trial, then widen it at the finish of the first summit. At that stage, you know the handful of riders who can assert themselves. Whatās for sure is that Basso wonāt be able to establish as wide a gap as Armstrong in the time trial. So heāll have to attack in the mountains, and that means spectacle on the menu.
How will his victory in the Giro help him?
Heās shown that heās capable of being present for major events, and that what happened to him last year was precisely just an incident. I find heās changed a lot from last year. Heās much more relaxed, while at the same time staying focused. Before, he used to ask a lot of questions, because he had a lot of fears. Now he has assurance. Itās not the same Ivan.
The team: Ivan Basso (Ita), Carlos Sastre (Spa), FrƤnk Schleck (Lux), Jens Voigt (Ger), Giovanni Lombardi (Ita), Stuart O’Grady (Aus), Bobby Julich (USA), David Zabriskie (USA), Christian Van de Velde (USA).
