The Cycliste Moderne, August 15, 2005

Saunier Duval Wins Clasica San Sebastian Again

Saturday was the Clasica San Sebastian the most important one day race in all of Spain. Spaniard Constantino Zaballa of Saunier Duval-Prodir won the race soloing away from a late break. It was the second year in a row that Saunier Duval had won the Txapela (the flouncy black Basque beret that the winner gets at the finish). Saunier Duval’s Joaquin Rodriguez finished second in the race and Saunier Duval’s American Chris Horner finished 11th overall. It was an excellent day for the modest Spanish side. A rolling course with a couple of significant climbs, the course favors an all around rider who can climb.

Many have forgotten that Lance Armstrong won this race back in 1995. He is the first and only American to win the race. Most forget that in 1992, Armstrong competed in the race as his first ever as a professional, racing for Motorola, turning pro after the 1992 Olympics. He finished alone in 111th, the last man across the line more than 26 minutes behind the winner. The second to last group finished more than ten minutes ahead of Armstrong.

Chris Horner Transfer News

I have never been a really big fan of Chris Horner. Although he has dominated the American racing scene for years, his attitude really turns me off at times. The good news this weekend is that Horner will be joining Davitamon-Lotto next season on a two year deal. This is a good move for Horner, whose first stint in Europe in the late 1990’s with Francaise de Jeux was an unmitigated disaster, he was not prepared emotionally for the difficulty of racing in France for a French team. He has had an excellent season, however, for Saunier Duval-Prodir. Coming off an early season injury which limited his racing, he had a strong week leading up to the USPRO Championship in Philadelphia, where he finished third. Then he won a mountain stage at the Tour de Suisse and competed at his first Tour de France where he showed some real aggression.

At 33 he is a little old to finally be making something for himself this season in Europe. A two year deal with Davitamon-Lotto, a team which is not particularly deep when it comes to riders who can climb, will likely give Horner some excellent opportunities over the next couple of years. Racing domestically has probably prolonged his career and I would not be surprised if he came back to the US and was able to dominate until he was 40.

Simoni Watch

With one stage left to go in the Volta a Portugal, Monday’s 36km time trial in Viseu, Simoni has strengthened his grip on 109th place. He is over two hours behind the leader and with his time trialing abilities being what they are it is unlikely that Simoni will be able to overcome that deficit and catch the current leader Barloworld-Valsir’s Vladimir Efimkin. I think Gilberto came to Portugal solely for the queijadas (little cheese cakes that are to die for) and Sumol d’Ananas (an oddly refreshing pineapple soft drink), which are Mrs. Cycliste Moderne’s favorites as well.

Manhattan Beach Grand Prix Results

Sunday was the 44th Manhattan Beach Grand Prix one of the most prestigious criteriums in the United States. Health Net, unsurprisingly, swept the Pro Men’s race with Greg Henderson finishing just ahead of his teammates Tyler Farrar and Ivan Dominguez. Those are three incredibly fast guys and reaffirm Health Net’s domestic dominance in 2005. With the speed that Health Net has as a team and its team discipline, they really have to mess up a finish not to win every sprint race in the United States. On the women’s side, T-Mobile guided their German rocket to the finish. Ina Teutenberg finished strong just as she always does.

Deutschland Tour

Monday is the start of the Deutschland Tour. Historically held prior to the Tour de France, the German national tour’s inclusion in the ProTour has seen its status rise as it not only attracts the top German riders but all of the ProTour teams. Jan Ullrich is expected to come and race for the win. The move to after the Tour de France means that the top riders in the race will not have to hold anything back. I would expect really strong performances from Ullrich and the rest of T-Mobile, Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteiner and Jens Voight of CSC. Bobby Julich could close the gap to ProTour leader Danilo DiLuca with a strong showing in the race. DiLuca will race but had a poor showing at the Clasica San Sebastian due to illness. DiLuca has a significant lead but he will need to mark Vinokourov, Julich and Rebellin for the rest of the season. He should win the ProTour overall but he needs some results here in the last half of the season. We will have more on this race on Friday.