First Edition Cycling News for February 4, 2004

Edited by Chris Henry

Boonen answers McEwen

Just as Robbie McEwen cast doubt on young Belgian Tom Boonen's ability to win a big sprint, the Quick.Step-Davitamon rider secured his team's first win of the season, and the fifth of his career in the second stage of the Tour of Qatar Tuesday.

"I'm happy that I can now beat these big names in a sprint," Boonen said on Belgian's Radio 1.

"I feel good but did not realize that I'm already in winning shape," he added. "The team has been working hard here and it feels good to be able to finish it of for them. In the sprint Zanini helped me really well. Robbie McEwen started of quickly, but I was able to come past him."

Ballerini to choose Olympians after Tour

Italian national selector Franco Ballerini announced that selections for the Olympic Games in Athens will be made after the Tour de France. The team will consist of five members, but as Ballerini explained, it is not imperative that the final five come from the list of twenty to be pre-selected.

"We'll get good indications during the Tour de France," Ballerini said in a Datasport report, speaking about riders' condition in the weeks prior to the games.

Ballerini is also in charge of selections for the world championships, which this year return to Italy and the roads of Verona.

"When it is held at home it's always difficult to decide who will be the favourites," he added, noting that this season he expects a positive rivalry between former world champion Mario Cipollini and the top sprinter of 2003, Alessandro Petacchi.

Reynaud to RAGT

French rider Nicolas Reynaud has signed an 11 month contract with RAGT Semences-MG Rover, returning to the professional ranks after two seasons as an amateur. Reynaud rode for Festina in 2000 and 2001, and since then has ridden for the Amical Vélo Club Aixois (AVCA). News of Reynaud's contract comes a day after RAGT's David Lefèvre decided to end his professional career before the season had begun in France.

New climbs for Tour of Flanders

The 2004 Tour of Flanders was presented Tuesday in the Belgian city of Brugge, introducing several changes for the World Cup classic. Falling on April 4, one week before Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders, or Ronde van Vlaanderen, is the most important race on the Belgian calendar. The race is considered by many to be on par with a world championships.

This year's event will cover 257 kilometres between Brugge and Meerbeke. The race will begin with the customary loop west to the English Channel coast at Oostende, and will pit the peloton against 18 of the famous 'bergs' (climbs) of Flanders. The Eikenberg returns to the parcours for 2004, along with several new climbs including the Grotenberg, Rekelberg, and Rozebeke. The race finale will not change, crossing the famed Muur van Geraardsbergen on the way to Meerbeke, west of Brussels.

Date change for Settimana Lombarda

For the third time, organisers of the Settimana Lombarda have been forced to change the race dates on the UCI calendar. The Italian stage was set for April 14-18, but will now take place from the 8th to the 12th of the month, so as not to conflict with the Giro d'Abruzzo.

Southeast Asia Games drop cycling

The Southeast Asia (SEA) Games, to be held next year in Manila in the Philippines, will not feature cycling events as in years past. Cycling, along with several other Olympic sports including tennis, was dropped in favour of events such as dance sports, baseball, women's boxing, and triathlon.

The biennial SEA Games organisers have developed a habit of introducing somewhat obscure sports events, often popular only in the host nations. The preliminary list of sports for the 2005 games is not set in stone, and national federations of sports excluded can appeal to the Olympic Council of Malaysia by February 17.

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