Philly week welcomes strong contenders
By Mark Zalewski, North American Editor
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While the teams have been known for weeks, just which riders would be making the start for the Commerce Bank Triple Crown was still unknown – with many big name starters possible, especially from the ProTour squads. Wait no more! The preliminary rosters were announced on Thursday, headlined by triple-stage Giro winner Daniele Bennati (Liquigas), defending overall winner Bernhard Eisel (High Road) and Swedish champion Magnus Backstedt (Slipstream Chipotle - H30).
One of the surprises is not seeing CSC's speedster and 2007 Philadelphia International winner JJ Haedo on the list, with the team needing his services in Europe to cover for multiple injured riders. His speed will definitely be missed as Philadelphia can often result in a field sprint.
Another highlight on the start list is Kiwi Greg Henderson (High Road), who won two races here two years ago, helping secure his spot on a ProTour squad. Slipstream's Paris-Roubaix surprise Martijn Maaskant (Slipstream Chipotle - H30) will join a well-rounded team that also includes sprinter Tyler Farrar.
Cyclingnews will be covering the Giro d'Italia live every day starting from 12:00 local time (CEST)/6:00 EDT (USA East)/3:00 PDT (USA West)/20:00 AEST (Australia East).
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On the domestic side, Rory Sutherland (Health Net-Maxxis) is having a killer first-half of the season, winning two stage races in two weeks and he achieved a lot of top five finishes, including fourth on Brasstown Bald in the Tour de Georgia. Toyota-United rolls in with a lot of fast firepower, with Ivan Dominguez, Hilton Clarke and B world champion Ivan Stevic. Former USPRO road champion Freddie Rodriguez (Rock Racing) has won here before and will be looking to navigate his team to a win. BMC is coming off a win at the Tour de Leelanau with Taylor Tolleson, and also brings Michael Sayers to his last Philly week after announcing Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the season.
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Bissell's Ben Jacques-Maynes has recent results pointing towards a strong Philly week, as does Colavita-Sutter Home's Lucas Sebastian Haedo. Team Type 1's former Navigators riders know this week well with Glen Chadwick always dangerous for a breakaway. The Tecos-Trek team had a successful Tour of the Gila with overall winner Gregorio Ladino back for more. The Symmetrics team has strongman Svein Tuft and sprinter Andrew Pinfold, winner of the final stage at Mt. Hood.
The women's field has a number of strong teams, including three European squads that will be a force to be reckoned with – High Road, Cervelo-Lifeforce and Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung. Ina Teutenberg (High Road) comes into the race with two wins at the Tour de l'Aude. Former US road champion Kristin Armstrong leads the Cervelo-Lifeforce team while 2006 winner Regina Schleicher and Suzanne De Goede (Nürnberger) are strong threats.
Cyclingnews will have full coverage of all three men's races plus the women's Liberty Classic.
CSC Invitational ready with international fields
By Mark Zalewski, North American Editor
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Both the men's and women's fields for the 11th CSC Invitational outside of Washington, DC, are quite strong this year, including two ProTour men's teams with CSC and High Road. The tough course on the streets of Clarendon in Arlington, Virginia, feature sharp turns, a long finish stretch and a pace that keeps most riders on the rivet. This, combined with a quality field, makes this race a feather in the cap for any domestic team. Last year's men's winner Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) said on the awards podium, "besides winning Nationals, this is the biggest win I have ever had!"
Both men's ProTour teams have more than adequate riders, including Bernhard Eisel (High Road) and Matthew Goss (CSC). Unfortunately, CSC will not be bringing their talented speedster Juan Jose Haedo. However, another Haedo will be in the running for the domestic teams. The younger Haedo brother Lucas Sebastian, who races for JJ's former domestic team Colavita-Sutter Home, already has a number of quality wins this year. Health Net-Maxxis will have to convert from its recent domination of US stage races to criteriums, and will likely rely on US criterium champion Kirk O'Bee and Tasmanian Karl Menzies for this job. Rock Racing will have three-time USPRO road champion Fred Rodriguez to help defend its title.
In the women's race, three former winners will race against each other for the first time at this event. German Ina Teutenberg (High Road) is keeping up her usual winning ways this year. Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) comes to this race once again as the reigning US criterium champion and herself off of two stage wins at the recent Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. Finally, Cheerwine's Laura Van Gilder has raced in all but two years at this event and is the defending champion. Her team is coming off a one-two finish at the tough Tour de Leelanau last weekend.
The two races begin after amateur events at 10:15am with the women racing 50 kilometres. The 100-kilometre men's race is the final event of the day, scheduled to begin at 12:15. The spectator friendly course is located aroundf the start-finish area at the Clarendon Metro stop in Arlington, VA at 3100 Wilson Blvd.
Men's teams: Women's teams:
Team CSC (DEN) High Road
High Road Aaron's Corporate Furnishings
BMC Cheerwine
Slipstream-Chipotle-H3O Colavita-Sutter Home
Toshiba-Santo presented by Herbalife Team TIBCO
Bissell ValueAct Capital
Calyon-Litespeed (CAN) Team Advil-Chapstick
Colavita/Sutter Home Van Deissel
DLP Racing PCIM
Health Net, presented by Maxxis Team Kenda Tire
Jelly Belly
Jittery Joe's
Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast
Team Type 1
Rite Aid presented by Shebell & Shebell
Rock Racing
Successfulliving.com-Parkpre
Time Pro Cycling
Battley Harley-Davidson
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