SPORTS SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2015 Cancellara faces tough Test for Tour opener

UTRECHT: Veteran will have his work cut out if he is to begin his 10th in yellow following today’s 13.8km timetrial. The 102nd edition of the Grand Boucle starts with a short race against the clock around Utrecht in the Netherlands. The ‘fantastic four’ overall favourites of champion , Giro d’Italia laureate and the two men they suc- ceeded, (2013 Tour winner) and (Giro victor in 2014) are unlikely to challenge for the victory on Saturday, although they will be looking to make time gains or limit losses against each other. Of the quartet, Froome is widely regarded as the strongest time- triallist and Quintana the weakest, so the race will be on to see how much time Briton can put into the Colombian. But at the front of the race, Cancellara, 34, will be aiming to win an opening Tour stage or prologue for the sixth time, and don the famous yellow jersey for perhaps the last time. The Swiss known as Spartacus admitted this could be his last Tour. “I thought about this could be my last participation and last possibility to arrive in Paris, yes this is in my mind,” he said Thursday. Cancellara is probably not the favourite, though, despite his incredi- ble timetrial record, winning Olympic gold in 2008 and four world titles. German has surpassed Cancellara in recent years as the king of the timetrials, winning three straight world titles from 2011-2013 before he was beaten by current Olympic champion last year. UTRECHT: Great Britain’s Christopher Froome rides towards the stage for the team presentation ceremony at Martin rarely loses a timetrial and has won three at the Tour since Lepelenburg park before the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. — AFP 2011 — missing out only in 2012 when Wiggins again was in his pomp. Martin won timetrials at the Volta ao Algarve and earlier this year and those were similarly short at 19km and Nibali hoping to turn cool 17km respectively. But perhaps the smart money will be on Dutchman who is riding at home. He is a growing force in timetrials spring into hot summer and beat Cancellara in two races against the clock at the recent Tour of Switzerland. He was third at the timetrial world championships last year, 40 seconds behind Wiggins. UTRECHT: Reigning champion Vincenzo ly veiled suggestion that the Movistar doping problems, Nibali insisted he and his And while he may not yet be able to beat Martin over a similar Nibali admitted yesterday that he has been leader was training back in his homeland to teammates had always remained calm distance to that-it was a 47km course in Ponferrada-over the shorter unhappy with his season so far, but insisted avoid being tested for doping. throughout the year, despite the possibility distance and roared on by a partisan crowd, many feel Dumoulin he is still on course to retain the Tour de “My intention wasn’t to discredit an of the Kazakh outfit’s World Tour licence could have the edge. France title. important country like in ques- being revoked. The 24-year-old is looking forward to the challenge. “It will be On the eve of the Grand Depart in tioning where Quintana was,” explained “We had problems at the beginning of really, really special and we saw last year in England when we started Utrecht with Saturday’s 13.8km timetrial, Nibali. “It was about knowing where every- the year when the media spoke a lot and there it was absolutely incredible to have all the crowds there and I Nibali pulled no punches about the tough one else is and seeing how many media there were many rumours, but nothing ever hope it will be the same or even better here,” he said. start he’s had to the current campaign, in were following our training when in Teide, happened. Our licence was in question but Other potential winners include ’s and which he had not yet won a race until last San Pellegrino or at the Dauphine. it was never revoked,” said Nibali. “We paid Mathias Brandle of Austria. Both briefly held the world weekend’s Italian championships. “It was just a simple ‘we don’t know with this whole problem for two riders who recently before Wiggins stretched that out to a mark that will be hard “It was a difficult spring because I didn’t where Quintana is because we haven’t seen were doped, but we can’t respond to errors to match. Brandle managed 51.852km in October last year but just have any wins and wasn’t able to find the him since (the Tour de) Romandie’. “It we haven’t made. over three months later Dennis pushed it out to 52.491km, although right conditions to win,” said the 30-year- wasn’t a controversy, just a way of saying “We kept working serenely and with that mark lasted less than three months before Britain’s old Sicilian. “Even from winning the Tour we haven’t seen him since Romandie. I’m commitment, and we arrive at the Tour de added another 500m and then Wiggins put 1.5km on top of that. last year, it wasn’t easy to get going again in sorry if the question was taken the wrong France with the right motivation and the In fact, Dowsett is another who could be in contention on the new season. way. desire to do well, peddle hard and enjoy it.” Saturday and all three could pull a surprise on the likes of Martin, “But with my coach Paolo Slongo we “For me he’s one of the favourites, if not Kazkah brothers Maxim and Valentin Cancellara and Dumoulin. managed to find the ideal preparation and the absolute favourite.” Quintana had react- Iglinsky both tested positive for EPO last As for Froome, Contador, Nibali and Quintana, it will be a first training before the Tour, just like last year, ed angrily when asked about Nibali’s ques- year while three riders from the team’s feed- chance to gain a psychological boost in the race for the yellow jersey, and now we’ll see at the Tour.” tion, fuming to Het Nieuwsblad newspaper: er Continental Tour outfit also failed dope which will likely be decided in the high mountains in the final week. Nibali also moved to backtrack on his “We are talking about Colombia as if it were tests. The International Cycling Union (UCI) There will also be a few outsiders, including the likes of young barb aimed at Tour rival Nairo Quintana, in a country lost in the jungle, far from any- recommended that Astana’s licence be French pair and who will be eager to show they have the form to make a charge for a podium finish. which he questioned where the Colombian thing or anyone. You can rest assured that I revoked but that was rejected by its own And with temperatures expected to hit around 35 degrees celsius climber had been preparing for the Tour- have undergone and passed tests there.” licence commission, although Astana were (95 fahrenheit), Saturday’s stage promises to be a scorcher. — AFP something that was seen by many as a thin- Speaking about his own team Astana’s put under greater scrutiny. —AFP African cyclists ready to embellish landscape

UTRECHT: When five African cyclists stood wildcard from cycling’s governing body the is the team leader with Britain’s time trial “Now we have to find a strategy which on a podium in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum UCI. Hard-nosed cynics might sneer-after all expert and Serge Pauwels can help them. “The goal of our team this in front of Rembrandt’s masterpiece The positive PR for a race tarnished by scandal from Belgium completing a lineup that will year is to make an impression, to ride Night Watch this week Douglas Ryder prob- down the years is priceless. But accusations target a stage win. aggressively, be visible. We have to take lit- ably pinched himself. of tokenism would be grossly unfair to the The team’s German sports director Jens tle pieces of the cake. If you look at the 21 Former Olympic cyclist Ryder is the man ceaseless efforts of 42-year-old Ryder and Zemke said the rookie Africans will have stages there are only four or five maybe who a decade ago took on a small continen- the cyclists who will wear the colours of the “goose bumps” when they speed through where the smaller teams can survive in a tal African team and dreamed of turning it Rainbow Nation on their backs on Stage 14 the thousands who will line the route of the breakaway. “But the goal will be a stage vic- into one capable of competing in the to mark Nelson Mandela Day. prologue in Utrecht on Saturday, but they tory.” Should that happen, the sound of world’s greatest races. On Saturday, 50km In their ranks will be the first two have earned the right to ride. cheering from some of those in African down the road in Utrecht, nine men kitted Eritreans to compete in the Tour — 21-year- Teklehaimanot won the climber’s jersey townships and villages who have received out in the distinctive black and white striped old Merhawi Kudus, the youngest rider in in the prestigious Criterium du Dauphine bicycles from the Qhubeka Foundation-the jerseys of MTN Qhubeka will roll down the the race, and national champion Daniel last month while 23-year-old Meintjes was heart of what the team is about-might well ramp for the start of a Tour de France adven- Teklehaimanot. They will be joined by South sixth in the Tour of Oman and 11th in the be heard in Paris. Qhubeka in Nguni means ture few believed possible. Africans Jacques Janse van Rensburg, broth- Liege-Bastogne-Liege. “What can they “to progress” or “move forward” and so far The team, funded by a South African er Reinardt and Louis Meintjes. Experienced achieve? Their dream has already come true, 220,000 bicycles have gone to people who mobile phone giant, is the first from Africa to American Tyler Farrar will act as “road cap- the dream to take part in the biggest cycling take part in community-based activities, compete in the Tour having been handed a tain” while Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen race in the world,” Zemke told Reuters. helping them travel to school. —Reuters