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Linda McCartney Feel Saeco Red Heat
The Linda McCartney Foods Cycling Team weathered the storm at the Tour of
Romandie, as Saeco tightened their grip during the race's 2nd stage.
Paolo Savoldelli, leading since the short prologue time-trial, didn't wait
for his rivals to attack on today's difficult, hilly run-in. His Saeco
teammates kept the pace high, the race hurtling towards it's destination well
up on the expected schedule. They were battling both for him and yesterday's
stage winner, the prolific Mario Cipollini. But in the last 15kms it was
another man in a red Saeco jersey who was sent out on the attack.
It was the man from Montreux, the musical town hosting the day's start,
Laurent Dufaux. The former Festina and Once star has been out of the
limelight since his 4th place behind Texan legend Lance Armstrong at last
year's Tour de France. Today he showed everybody what they'd been missing
with a blistering attack that was only matched by six brave men, but his
all-important teammate Savoldelli was one of them.
When Dufaux pulled over, there was still a great deal of work to be done to
escape the clutches of the whirling peloton behind, and Savoldelli himself
put in a phenomenal turn on the front, bringing pain to his rivals Francesco
Casagrande and Wladimir Belli who struggled to hold him. He rode on until the
finish in line was in sight, and then Dufaux catapulted out from behind him
to take the stage with obvious delight. Savoldelli also punched the air in
pleasure at a job well done.
Behind them in the vastly diminished bunch, there cruised home another Swiss
happy with his day's work. It was Pascal Richard, the Olympic Champion from
the Linda McCartney team, who has nosed unnoticed up the rankings to 29th, a
mere 34 seconds behind Savoldelli. The Saeco man may not be looking at Pascal
just yet, but he would do well to take heed of his experience. McCartney's
best-known rider won this race in 1993 and 1994.
Will today's efforts blunt the Italian's edge tomorrow? He faces the
unnerving prospect of a split stage - a short and probably extremely rapid
road stage followed by a 24km time-trial in the evening. You can follow the
McCartney's progress in Eurosport's programme, beginning at 5.30pm UK time on
Friday evening. The splendid coverage achieved by the McCartney team already
is likely to continue, with David Duffield not the only commentator impressed
with the impact they're making here.
Report by John Deering
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