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Team CSC: Last Pre-Tour Press Conference

By Jessica | Permalink | No Comments | June 19th, 2006 | Trackback

Members of Team CSC arrived in London today with Directeur Sportif Bjarne Riis and held a press conference - the last before the start of the Tour on July 1.

Among the topics discussed was the team’s roster, announced earlier in the day, which had the notable absence of 2006 Paris-Roubaix winner Fabian Cancellara. Riis indicated that the reason Cancellara was left off the Tour squad is that there’s no team time trial event in this year’s Tour, and they’ve gone with a team of eight men dedicated to one thing - helping Ivan Basso win.

“Ivan will be the exclusive leader and the full team will work for him,” Riis said. “The one big goal is to win the Tour but that doesn’t mean we won’t take chances that come up. Carlos Sastre is very important and we will see him lead Ivan into the mountains and he will be ready, that’s for sure. Everybody knows Jens Voigt and his qualities. He is a world class rider who is always there. Bobby Julich had a hard Giro this year but finished strongly and I have followed him a lot in the last couple of weeks and have seen the best Bobby Julich I have ever seen.”

Riis said he only made the final decision yesterday, leaving Cancellara off in favor of American Christian Vande Velde. As Riis put it, “It is difficult to call someone who is qualified to be in the team and say I’m sorry I have made other choices, but it’s my job. I chose Christian Vandevelde because his form is there. The choice was to focus on the mountains and I had to sacrifice Fabian Cancellara for a guy who can climb.”

Since no one has “done the double,” winning both the Giro and Tour in one year, since Marco Pantani managed it in 1998, there is obviously speculation about whether Team CSC’s goal is achievable. On that topic, Riis offered this commentary: “Everybody knows that it is not easy to peak in the Giro and peak again two months later. We have been spending a lot of hours together day by day and many kilometres. And I think that’s the most important thing that I feel what he needs.”

Basso himself said, “After I start the Tour I want to feel better and better every day and get to my peak after the first week. We spent the last 10 days together in the Alps and Tuscany and did a lot of training.” Basso also said he has “a lot of respect” for his principal rival, Jan Ullrich. He acknowledged that Ullrich “will take time from me in the time trials,” also noting that the course isn’t perfectly suited to him.

“Honestly, I don’t like the course 100%,” said Basso, “But to me the Tour de France is the best race in the world.”

You can read more about the press conference, and see pictures, here.

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