The Hindu : Sport / Cycling : Matteo Tosatto wins 18th stage

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 22, 2006

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Sport - Cycling

Matteo Tosatto wins 18th stage

MACON: Italian Matteo Tosatto of the Quick Step team won the 18th stage of the Tour de France here on Friday, a 197km race from Morzine to Macon.

Pereiro keeps lead

Spaniard Oscar Pereiro, of the Caisse d'Epargne team, retained the race leader's yellow jersey ahead of compatriot Carlos Sastre after they came in with the peloton around eight minutes later.

American Floyd Landis of Phonak is still in third place at 30sec adrift ahead of Saturday's 57km time trial, which will prove decisive for the yellow jersey.

Tosatto, meanwhile, claimed the first stage victory by an Italian rider and the first for his Belgian outfit in this year's race.

Having seen its Belgian sprinter Tom Boonen fail to click into gear in a first week of sprinting that was dominated by Australian Robbie McEwen, Tosatto's victory was more than welcome.

There are only two days of racing left, although Saturday's individual race against the clock means that only Sunday's final stage to Paris will be contended by the entire peloton.

Meanwhile, former champion Jan Ullrich, excluded from this year's race because of links to blood-doping, has been sacked by his T-Mobile team, SID news agency reported on Friday.

Germany's Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France winner who would have been one of the favourites for the 2006 race, had been suspended by T-Mobile, the day before the July 1 start.

The 2000 Olympic road race champion had been suspected of using the services of doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who Spanish police believe is at the heart of a blood-doping network.

Ullrich's agent Wolfgang Strohband said his client would take legal action. Spain's Oscar Sevilla, who had also been provisionally suspended on June 30, was also sacked by T-Mobile. — Agencies

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