posted Jun 20, 2009

after a great win in the giro, who do you see as your main rivals for the win in paris. and who would you consider to be your best helper on rabobank to get you to the yellow jersey

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posted Jun 21, 2009

Like everyone else here I'd like to congratulate you on your Giro win. It was tight with Di Luca, but he gained much more than you in time bounses, so if Di Luca had won he could have done so despite taking longer than you to cover the course. Do you agree with time bonuses being given for stage positions or do you beleive that the race should be decided only on time? My own feeling is that time bonuses are fine in sprints, but shouldn't exist in mountain stages; if a rider can't drop you (like Di Luca couldn't drop you) on a mountain why should he get time over you? Once again: great win in the Giro and best of luck for Le Tour.

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posted Jun 24, 2009

Hello Denis

Congratulations on your victory in the Giro - it looked a lot more tricky out there this year.

How are you viewing the general strength of the peloton this year against that of previous years? There's obviously been some big names missing from the Grand Tour events these past couple of years for whatever reasons, but is the peloton making up for the losses? Also, are there any young riders coming up through the ranks to look out for inyears to come?

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posted Jul 14, 2009

It's interesting to hear his disregard of lifetime bans for dopers. He clearly has less than full confidence in the testing system as it stands.....

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posted Jul 14, 2009

Good article with some interesting answers.

Perhaps we'll see Denis avoid any more of the bad luck with which he's been plagued thus far and he'll ride very well in the Alps to move up the GC.

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posted Jul 15, 2009

Interesting that he should not recall any particular 'inspiration' for taking the sport up and that he doesn't particularly recommend cycling but sport in general.

I regret not having posed a more direct question, i.e. his opinions on the bans on Rasmussen and Valverde, but I'm not sure he would have committed himself to answering too directly.

I admit it was a bit of a let down when he didn't initially answer, so thanks to the BBC for chasing him down.

Thanks too to Denis for committing part of his rest day in the middle of the competition to answering them.

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posted Jul 15, 2009

I DID ask a direct question about the Valverde ban, but it makes sense for a rider not to comment directly on other riders' problems, and also regards the non-committal doping answer - perhaps he doesn't want to prejudice other riders' behaviour towards him in the péloton. After all, it is pretty much agreed that after some of the things he's said about doping in cycling, Bernhard Kohl wouldn't be able to find a ride if he wanted to after his suspension, whilst others, like Basso, Ale-Jet, Millar, serve their punishment and return to the péloton.

Perhaps Menchov doesn't want to make any particular enemies out of them!

I also wanted to ask about the timing of the Valverde ban considering the number of rather suspect names of a different nationality at the Giro. And I wonder if Sella, Ricco (Giro) and Kohl (Tour) will ever have their results voided - after all, Petacchi's 2007 results were...

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