Latest News for July 31, 2003Edited by Chris Henry & Jeff Jones Dajka crashes but qualifiesBy Valkerie Mangnall in Stuttgart, Germany Defending champion Jobie Dajka overcame a crash on the first lap of his keirin heat to qualify for tonight's second round at the world track cycling titles. The Australian fell after a clash of wheels going into the first bend and, with his feet locked into the pedals, had to pull himself up using the trackside barriers before rejoining the group. He failed to finish in the top two but breezed through his repechage, taking off with just under a lap to go and winning comfortably. Dajka joins countrymen Mark French and Ryan Bayley in the next round, along with Barry Forde of Barbados. Forde progressed after winning his repechage the first time and then being forced into a repeat performance when the race was re-run because the derny rider did not leave the track correctly. Also through are Germany's Rene Wolff and Jens Fiedler, Frenchmen Mickael Bourgain and Laurent Gane, Ross Edgar of Great Britain, Pavel Buran of the Czech Republic, Japan's Yuji Yamada and Malaysia's Ng On Lam Josiah. Follow Cyclingnews' full coverage of the World Track Championships here. Bronze OK for Tournant
Last year Arnaud Tournant was in tears at the World Track Championships, beaten by the smallest margin in the kilometre time trial by Chris Hoy. This year in Stuttgart, Tournant dropped a place on the podium, taking the bronze medal behind Stefan Nimke and Shane Kelly, but after a season of injury and bad luck the Frenchman can be content with his podium place. "After all of my problems, this third place is worth a lot, almost gold," Tournant told l'Equipe after Wednesday night's ride. A herniated disc was one of several problems keeping Tournant on the sidelines for much of the year, even confined to bed rest in the winter months. Several missed opportunities in the Track World Cup did nothing to lift his morale, but in recent months things have turned around and Tournant, who claimed three world titles in 2001, can now be satisfied with a return to top form in the kilometre. "Plus, my time was excellent," he added. "To do 1'01", you can't be just half there..." New York City Cycling Championships
Professional racing heads to New York City with the second annual New York City Cycling Championships presented by BMC Software on Sunday, August 3rd. The race is a 100 kilometre criterium in the heart of New York's financial district in Lower Manhattan, and is part of the Pro Cycling Tour (PCT) series. In addition to the pro race, several races will be run in the morning, including the Junior PCT Grand Prix, the Mengoni Grand Prix, and the BMG Bike Messenger Relay. The professional race will begin at 12:15 p.m. at the intersection of Wall and Water Streets, a few blocks south of South Street Seaport. The 50-lap race, run over a 1.2-circuit, will feature 19 teams consisting of six racers each competing for a purse of $40,000. Defending champion Ivan Dominguez (Saturn) will face off against a host of sprinters including Marty Nothstein (Navigators) and Gord Fraser (Health Net), as well as an international contingent. Team CSC's Tyler Hamilton, stage winner and fourth place overall in the Tour de France, will be in New York as an official starter for the pro race along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Spanish ONCE team will have three riders on hand: José Azevedo, Alvaro Gonzalez de Galdeano, Isidro Nozal. Italian sprinter Moreni Di Biase will return to the US with Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave, and although Lance Armstrong will not be racing, US Postal Service will be well represented with the likes of Antonio Cruz, Robbie Ventura, Christian Vande Velde, Damon Kluck, and Kenny Labbé. Cyclingnews will offer live coverage of the pro race on Sunday. Mengoni Grand PrixThe Mengoni Grand Prix, an amateur team cycling race at the second annual NYC Cycling Championship presented by BMC Software will honour US Bicycling Hall of Famer Fred Mengoni. Mengoni, who made the inaugural amateur race possible last August by donating the $10,000 purse, is a long-time supporter of the sport of cycling. Mengoni, best known in the cycling world as the co-founder of US Pro Cycling, the first governing body for the sport in the US before it grouped with USCF under USA Cycling, annually sponsors his G.S. Mengoni amateur cycling team out of New York City. Famous G.S. Mengoni team alumni include Greg LeMond, George Hincapie, Mike McCarthy, Steve Bauer and Juan & Oscar Pineda who all turned pro after riding on Mengoni's teams. The G.S. Mengoni team competed in the 2002 NYC Cycling Championship presented by BMC Software Amateur Team Race, which featured Category 1-2 riders on a 1.2-mile course through Lower Manhattan prior to the pro men's race. BMC Corporate ChallengeThe BMC Software Corporate Challenge, featuring teams of four riders racing ten laps of the course, will support World T.E.A.M. (The Exceptional Athlete Matters) Sports, the official charity of the race. World T.E.A.M. works to promote the greatness of sport and athletic challenge for all individuals in a team-oriented setting, combining disabled athletes with able-bodied athletes in a common setting. Popovych stays with LandbouwkredietUkrainian talent Yaroslav Popovych, who finished third in this year's Giro d'Italia, will stay with his current team Landbouwkrediet-Colnago in 2004. Popovych made his decision during the Tour de la Region Wallonne earlier this week. He turned down several offers from other big teams and will remain in the relatively unpressured environment at Landbouwkrediet. In addition to Popovych, the following riders also have contracts with Landbouwkrediet-Colnago for next season: Ludo Dierckxsens, Johan Verstrepen, Bert De Waele, Ludovic Capelle, Tomas Vaitkus, Mikhail Timochine, Yuri Metlushenko and Ruslan Gryshenko. Ster Elektrotoer to start in VeldhovenThe 17th Ster Elektrotoer will start with a 4.8 kilometre prologue time trial in Veldhoven this year, for the first time in the race's history. Veldhoven is no stranger to cycling though, having hosted the start and finish of the Omloop der Kempen and Olympia's Tour. The five day, UCI 2.3 classed race begins on September 10 and finishes on September 14 in Schijndel. Due to UCI regulations preventing two stages to be ridden in a single day, the customary long time trial has been removed from the race, and the riders will only have to ride 4.8 kilometres in total against the clock. Stage 2 will start in Eindhoven and finish in the Limburg town of Nuth. Stages 3 and 4 both start in Valkenburg, and will feature a number of climbs in the Limburg region. The final stage starts in Sittard and finishes in Schijndel, the home of the race organisation. The stages Stage 1 - September 10: Veldhoven ITT, 4.8 km Previous News Next News (All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2003) |
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