Riders target the Vuelta a Espana and the World Championships
Vincenzo Nibali plans to outdo his third-place finish at the Vuelta a Burgos, and will be leading Team Liquigas at the Vuelta a Espana, his major target of the season. Both races are held in Spain, but while Burgos doesn’t offer any Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) points, the Vuelta a Espana is the second biggest race in the world, after the Tour de France, and the final Grand Tour of the season.
"I want to ride as strongly there as I did at the Giro, but I won't say any more than that out of superstition," said Nibali to La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I'll ride as leader, with the same attitude as ever but with greater responsibility. I'd like to leave my mark in Spain."
Nibali is also targeting the UCI Road World Championships, held after the Vuelta, from September 29 to October 3. He credits his podium finish at the Giro d’Italia for giving him the confidence to take on these two major events.
"It gave me a lot of belief. It was my revenge on those people who didn't believe in me in the past. And there were a lot of them."
Nibali finished 16th in the Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday, 12 seconds behind Daniel Martin, the winner, as part of his build-up to the Vuelta and his bid for a selection on the Italian team at the Worlds. He skipped the Tour de France this year despite a 7th place finish in 2009, so that he could ride the Giro and the Vuelta in top shape. At the Giro, he rode in support of the winner, Ivan Basso, and thereby demonstrated his ability to ride for a leader, which he hopes will benefit his chances for selection.
Vuelta a Burgos stage winner Romain Feillu is also targeting the World Championships. The cyclist is riding for Vacansoleil, while his younger brother Brice announced his departure from that team after Burgos to find a team that will bring him to the Tour de France.
“Brice misses the Tour more than me, certainly,” said the elder Feillu. “Me, I trained very hard during July and that’s starting to pay off.”
The French rider is hoping that his stage win at Burgos will solidify his bid for the Worlds French team, run by Laurent Jalabert, but he does not intend to ride in the Vuelta a Espana.
“I know that Jalabert prefers riders who go from the Vuelta to the Worlds, but it’s up to me to show that I’m going well. In any case, there’s also Paris-Tours, which is dear to my heart,” he said.
Vuelta a Burgos overall winner and 2010 Tour de France 4th-place Samuel Sanchez had been speculated as a replacement for Brice Feillu on Vacansoleil, but he killed that rumour with the announcement of the two-year extension of his contract with Euskaltel-Euskadi, with whom he has ridden since 2000.
“Euskaltel-Euskadi has been my team for all my career and to be honest I never imagined myself in another jersey, even though I had some very good offers,” Sanchez said. “I’m very happy to continue in the same set-up that gave me the opportunity to be a professional, I feel very emotionally attached to this project.”
Pieter Weening, who rode in the Vuelta a Burgos for team Rabobank, broke his collarbone in stage five of that race and the team doctor has announced that the 29-year-old and his team will have to abandon their plans for Weening to compete in the Vuelta a Espana, the second most important cycling tour in the world.
“My break is in too difficult a place to s***w a plate and have any benefit from it,” said Weening. “I’m resigned to stop, but should be able to return for the races in October if the team needs me.”
Weening was not selected for the Tour de France and was not happy with his 24th place finish in the Giro d’Italia, so the doctor’s diagnosis is a major blow to the Dutchman.
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