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Pro Cycling News – Vuelta '06, Liberty Boss Quits,

Posted on 14 December 2005 by cosmo

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a Vuelta. It’s posted here, complete with map, and features a fat five summit finishes. The Spanish Tour also has a mere 61k of TT in toto, perhaps in a show of solidarity with the other Grand Tour courses for next year, filling in the gap left by a hard man’s Giro and an “Ullrichfest” Tour. Distubringly, though, Liberty Seguros, the team that just lost the ’05 Vuelta title on a doping positive, has also lost its president to resignation. Manuel Pradera, who was the majority shareholder in the company that owns Liberty, cryptically cited “things I do not agree with and that I cannot change” (I really feel like that means “drugs”, but won’t go so far as to say it) as his reasons for departure, but promised that the team was in no danger of collapse.

While some of his friends have gathered to create a tribute song (no, seriously) the late Pirate’s mother remains unconsolable over her son’s death some three years after the event, and is increasingly coming to believe that her son was murdered. Having a l’Equipe reporter writing a book examining the Pantani murder theory probably isn’t going to help the ’98 Tour winner’s grieving mother recover, though such a wild, and apparently suspicious death at a such an early age certainly has cemented il Pirata’s legacy in the pantheon of cycling greats. It’s relevant, I think, to the UCI/Grand Tours debate (latest update here) to realize that such legacies are dependant upon being able to make the start list of big races. Pantani made his name as a wild card who boldly struck out against the dominant riders, but was deeply wounded by his team’s automatic exclusion from later Tours. No matter who wins this ugly debate, a more flexible team selection process is definately in order.

thoughts on “Pro Cycling News – Vuelta '06, Liberty Boss Quits,”

  1. mags says:
    14 December 2005 at 9:05 pm

    I understand why the 3 Grand Tour organizers would like to have more “wildcard” teams. It makes sense, both from a national exposure point of view, as well as giving non-ProTour continental teams a chance to show what they can do.

    Mags
    https://roadrace1.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    16 December 2005 at 5:37 am

    Liberty Boss Quits
    “(I really feel like that means “drugs”, but won’t go so far as to say it)”

    He did say it:-

    Manuel Pinera
    “Je suis en désaccord avec Manolo Saiz et comme je sais que je ne peux rien y changer, je préfère arrêter”, a-t-il déclaré à Madrid lors de la présentation du parcours de la Vuelta 2006.”Manolo prétend que Roberto Heras est seul responsable de son affaire de dopage et cela me semble un peu facile.”

    Reply

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About the Author

a headshot of Cosmo Catalano

Best known for his How The Race Was Won® video series, Cosmo Catalano began blogging about pro cycling from a bike shop in 2005. Between then and now, he's designed cycling infographics, built cycling web apps, and supplied cycling content to print and broadcast media, all in the name of backing up his near-endless criticism with proof that it can be done better. He complains about cycling on Twitter at @Cyclocosm.

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