MONDAY'S INTERNATIONAL NEWS ROUND-UP

• Monday, 17 November 2008
• Andrew Canning
• 0 Comments

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BRUYNEEL BORED WITH CONTADOR: MISSES ARMSTRONG
Astana manager Johan Bruyneel, has admitted to being bored with his star rider, Alberto Contador.

In an interview with Belgian sports paper La Dernière heure-Les sports, Bruyneel admitted that winning races “no longer excites me! I felt that during the Tour of Spain, which Contador won. Ok, it was good but the sparkles weren’t there. With [Lance] Armstrong , I’ve got that back. I’ve got to face the evidence: I’ve coped with years of stress and controversy, and that’s what I miss now”.

These latest remarks from the Belgian now seem to place in doubt Contador’s leadership role at the Astana team after Armstrong’s comeback.

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SELLA REMAINING CAUTIOUS
The Italian Olympic committee recommended only a one year sentence for Emmanuele Sella after he tested positive for third generation EPO, CERA in an out-of-competition test.

However, Sella is being realistic about the possibility that his sentence may well be increased. Sella cited the case of Ricardo Riccò who tested positive for the same substance at the Tour de France. Riccò was originally given a 20-month ban, which was later increased to 24 months, an extra four months added for consulting banned doctor, Dr. Carlo Santuccione.

Sella was handed a one year ban (instead of the usual two years for doping offences) because he co-operated with the Italian Olympic Committee and named his supplier, team-mate and stage-winner at this year’s Giro d’Italia, Matteo Priamo.

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CIPOLLINI ‘JOKE’ BACKFIRES
French website cyclismag.com today published details of a joke by Mario Cipollini, which backfired.

15-year old Marco Guadagnini saw the Italian sprint legend in a bike shop in Milan and asked to have his photo taken with ‘Super Mario’.

“Yes,” Cipollini said, “but not in front of the ‘I’m doping free’ stand, [instead I want it in front of one which says] ‘I’m doping and I’m using Viagra’”.

Little did Cipollini know that young Marco actually set up the ‘I’m doping free’ campaign. It makes you wonder what exactly he’ll be teaching the younger riders in his role as ‘advisor’ at new team, ISD.

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OLYMPIC CHAMPION TO SKIP THE TOUR
Olympic road race gold-medallist Samuel Sanchez has admitted that he will not ride the 2009 Tour de France.

Sanchez told La Opinion that, “in principle I am not going to race the Tour, but instead focus on the Tour of the Basque Country, the Vuelta a España and the World Championships.

“It bothers me that I will not be going to the Tour, but I am trying to look for what’s best for me and for my team”.

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SAVOLDELLI VENTS HIS FRUSTRATION
Paolo Savoldelli vented his frustration with cycling in an interview with Tuttosport.

Savoldelli stated that he became disillusioned with the sport after former team-mate Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for blood doping at the 2007 Tour de France.

“I don’t believe in that positive test. He doesn’t have the same blood group as [Andriy] Kashechkin. Something strange happened. Like with [Floyd] Landis, how else can you explain why he spent a fortune on his [legal] defence? And the case of Rasmussen? That’s simply proof that cycling is paying the price for the war between the UCI and the Tour de France”.

The two-time Giro champion has now retired from professional cycling, after a largely fruitless season with Italian team, LPR.