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RACE

Cyclists gear up for Tour of Lombardy race

A host of challengers including fellow Italian Fabio Aru and Spain's former two-time champion Joaquin Rodriguez saddle up looking to snatch Vincenzo Nibali's crown in the Tour of Lombardy on Saturday.

Published: 30 September 2016 08:48 CEST
Cyclists gear up for Tour of Lombardy race
The Giro d'Italia earlier this year. Photo: AFP

But to do so, they would do well to remember if, and how they raced the 2014 edition.

Astana rider Nibali, who is nursing a broken collarbone from a crash at the Olympics, won his maiden Lombardy crown in Como just outside Milan last year.

But the organizers' decision to alternate the start and finish towns between Bergamo and Como for 2014-2017 means the 'Race of the Falling Leaves', like 2014 when Ireland's Dan Martin triumphed, finishes in Bergamo.

The race's marquee Madonna del Ghisallo climb – a 10.6 km ascent at an average gradient of 5.2 % – now comes just 65km into the 241km race instead of in the final third.

Italy's Vincenzo Nibail. Photo: AFP

Five or six climbs that follow suit, two of which have been included for the first time as organizers look for drama in what is the European cycling season's finale.

The world championships will be held in Doha next week, so for some 'Il Lombardia' – one of cycling's five 'monuments' – is a chance to show, gauge and hone form ahead of their national teams' respective bids to secure the coveted rainbow jersey.

Aru is a former Tour of Spain winner whose sole win this season was a stage at the Criterium du Dauphine.

But the 26-year-old Italian warmed up for a tilt at Nibali's crown by finishing sixth in the Milan-Turin in midweek that finished atop Superga.

Aru was given an extra boost after teammate Miguel Angel Lopez triumphed with a nine-second lead on Canadian Michael Woods. But the Italian faces tough opposition.

Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) pulled out of Milan-Turin with a “light illness but is expected to be among the challengers after successive runner-up places in 2012 and 2013.

Whether Rodriguez feels the same motivation remains to be seen. Spain's 2012 and 2013 winner has been forced to come out of retirement after his Katusha team insisted he race the autumn classics.

The Giro d'Italia last year. Photo: AFP

Dutchman Wout Poels, the Liege-Bastogne-Liege champion, leads the hopes of British outfit Team Sky amid scrutiny and suspicion following reports the team's former star, Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins, used medicines to gain an unfair advantage on his rivals.

Sky have claimed just two top-ten finishes at the race in six attempts, including Rigoberto Uran's third place finish in 2012.

Uran on Wednesday finished third, at only 14secs behind Milan-Turin winner Angel Lopez.

All the riders still in the race at the 176 km mark, however, will face the fresh challenges of two new climbs for 2016: the Sant'Antonio Abbandonato, followed by Miragolo San Salvatore.

The Abbandonato, 6.5 km long at a gradient of 8.9 percent but with sections at 15 %, begins after 176.1km of racing. Almost 10 km after the summit, the peloton heads into the unknown again with the 8.7 km ascent of San Salvatore (seven percent).

They both come before the day's final major challenge, the 6.9 km Selvino climb whose summit is 28.3km from the finish.

Just to make sure the Lombardy champion is worth his salt, the Bergamo Alta – a small climb which features cobbles and grades up to 12 per cent – has been placed 4 km from the finish.

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CRIME

Spain women’s World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

The crisis within Spanish football deepened Friday as the women's World Cup winners demanded more heads roll at its scandal-hit RFEF federation whose disgraced ex-boss appeared in court on sexual assault charges.

Published: 16 September 2023 07:56 CEST
Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

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