September 7, 2006 – As reported yesterday on Veloptimum, Canada’s Charles Dionne will not be part of the Saunier Duval-Prodir team in 2007. According to the French website Velo-Club du Net, “‘Fritsch, Pagliarini, Olsen, Dionne and Zaugg (Gerolsteiner) will no longer be a part of Mauro Gianetti’s team.” Gianetti is the Director Sportif for Saunier Duval-Prodir. Dionne had already been sidelined for much of 2006 due to a restricted blood vessel in his leg.

Laurent Martel writes on his La Flamme Rouge blog: “It was a hard blow for Dionne who has experienced a frustrating season… Let’s hope that Dionne quickly finds a team for 2007 and there’s a good chance that it will be an American team.”

Dionne, 27, from St Redempteur, Quebec, has been racing full-time as a pro since 2001. In 2005, Dionne was both the Canadian criterium champion and the Quebec road race champ. In 2002, he won the San Francisco GP over an elite field that included Lance Armstrong. Dionne has previously raced with Webcor in 2005 and with Saturn in 2004.

For this story and other articles on cycling visit Veloptimum; for more on Charles Dionne click here.