Bettini on track for Olympics

Italian Paolo Bettini made such huge improvements in his first six day race that now Silvio Martinello is considering the road world champion for a spot on the track team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Il Grillo, the reigning Olympic champion on the road, will seek to defend his 2004 title but could have a spot on the track squad for the points race.

"We passed a lot of months talking about the ProTour and DNA, and it seems never ending," commented Martinello, Italian federation technical director, to tuttobiciweb.com. "And we have lost the occasion to celebrate a champion like Paolo Bettini, a rider who in the last months has done some sensational riding, and considering in the same time he lost a close loved one.