First Edition Cycling News for May 3, 2004Edited by Jeff Jones Saeco team decided for Giro
Team Saeco has decided its line up for the 87th Giro d'Italia, which starts in Genova on Saturday. The team's number one objective is to help Gilberto Simoni win his third maglia rosa. At his side will be the very much in form Damiano Cunego, who recently won five races in 12 days. Eddy Mazzoleni, Paolo Fornaciari, Leonardo Bertagnolli, Alessandro Spezialetti, Gorazd Stangelj, Sylvester Szmyd and Andrea Tonti comprise the rest of the squad. Landbouwkrediet-Colnago names Giro teamYaroslav Popovych (3rd in the Giro last year) will lead the nine man Landbouwkrediet-Colnago team for the Giro d'Italia. The team includes the experienced Jacky Durand, Wolodimir Duma, Christian Gasperoni and Johan Verstrepen as well as young riders Nico Sijmens, Wolodimir Bileka and Tomas Vaitkus. Landbouwkrediet-Colnago will select the ninth rider this week, however it won't be one of Ludo Dierckxsens, Maxime Monfort, Marc Streel, Geert Van Bondt, Yuri Metlushenko, Sergey Lagutin or Ruslan Gryshenko, as they are all riding the Four Days of Dunkirk. Vasseur has clean hair (again)Counter analyses performed on the hair of French cyclist Cedric Vasseur have revealed no traces of any banned substances, according to a statement released by his lawyer, Bertrand Wambeke, on Monday. "The new hair analyses are all negative," said Wambeke. "The charges preventing Cedric Vasseur from doing the Four Days of Dunkirk have been dropped." The counter analyses were ordered by the investigating magistrate in charge of the Cofidis case, Richard Pallain, after a L'Equipe article claimed that he had returned a positive test for cocaine. After that was first published, Vasseur had a sample of his hair analysed in March by a laboratory in Strasbourg, which also came back with a negative result. Vasseur has been suspended by Cofidis since April 8 while this process was taking place, but is now theoretically able to race again. Although he was not named in the Cofidis team for Dunkirk, Mr Wambeke said, "If Cofidis follows its own logic, it should register him for the race." 57th Peace Race kicks off in BrusselsThe 57th edition of the Peace Race/Course de la Paix/Závodu míru/Wyscig Pokoju/Friedensfahrt will for the first time commence with a 143 km stage in Brussels, Belgium. The race, which travels across Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, will feature 17 teams with riders from 21 countries. And with Poland and the Czech Republic's recent inclusion into the EU, a start in Brussels was seen as a symbolic part of the race's trans-EU route. The first three stages are relatively flat and should suit the sprinters' contingent, of which Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) is part of. Zabel last rode the Peace Race in 1994, and has once again chosen to include it on his program this year. Stage 4 from Lutherstadt Eisleben to Beierfeld will be a tougher one, with two Cat. 1 and two Cat. 2 climbs en route and an uphill finish. The fifth stage starts in Görlitz and ends in the Polish city of Wroclaw, and should be another one for the sprinters. Stages 6 and 7 are both quite mountainous, and should sort out the general classification, although Stage 8 from Bílina to Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic isn't particularly easy either, containing a tough finishing circuit. The final stage is from Karlovy Vary to the Czech capital of Prague over a flattish parcours. The stages Stage 1 - May 8: Brussels - Brussels, 143,1 km Three Belgians for SydneyThe Belgian team for the Sydney round of the Track World Cup has been named, with Matthew Gilmore, Iljo Keisse and Dimitri De Fauw the three starters. Gilmore will ride the points race and the madison, while Keisse will do the madison and the scratch race. De Fauw will ride the scratch race at the World Championships in Melbourne, where Gilmore and Keisse will team up in the madison to try and win Belgium another spot for the Olympic Games. Keulen argues for more Belgian races in ProTourThe Flemish Minister for Sport, Marino Keulen, met with UCI president Hein Verbruggen today to discuss the new Pro Tour. The Belgians (particularly the Flemish) have been incensed by the plan to include only four days of racing on Belgian soil in the Pro Tour: Ronde van Vlaanderen, Gent-Wevelgem (both in Flanders), Flčche Wallonne and Ličge-Bastogne-Ličge (both in Wallonia). According to Keulen, Verbruggen indicated that there is a chance of increasing the number of races in Belgium, which is one of cycling's true heartlands. The Pro Tour calendar will be finalised in December. Pantani bike auction to benefit juniors
As part of its grand opening, Cadence Performance and Cycling Center in Philadelphia, USA, is sponsoring a silent auction to benefit the Hot Tubes Junior program it sponsors. "We are hoping that the silent auction of Pantani's former race bike will raise plenty to support the good cause of the Hot Tubes Junior program," Cadence managing partner Matt Heitmann told Cyclingnews during their grand opening. "This is an authentic Wilier Triestina time trial bike that Marco Pantani used during the 1997 Tour De France." Heitmann explained that bids would be accepted in Cadence's silent auction until Friday, May 7 at midnight EDT. "Bidders can either come into our store or send their bid to info@Cadencecycling.com", said Heitmann. "Either way, it's for a really good cause." The Cadence Performance and Cycling Center is located at: 4323 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA 19127 ARIA TV launched this weekARIA TV Sports, a new internet-based sports TV channel, will be officially launched on May 5, hoping to carve a niche in the growing internet broadband television market. The channel will provide its subscribers with coverage of US and international pro cycling events, including the Wachovia USPRO Championship, the T-Mobile International in San Francisco, Tour of Connecticut and European races like the Tour Méditerranéen and Tour of the Basque Country. "ARIA TV Sports allows major races to be seen by anyone with broadband access, anytime, anywhere in the world," explained John Eustice, race director for the Tour of Connecticut who is also ARIA TV Sports' content and strategic advisor. "It opens up international markets for these races, and represents the most exciting development in the sport in years." ARIA TV Sports will offer original content not available on cable or dish networks via streaming video and video on demand. It will add additional content to the service on a monthly basis. More information: www.ariatv.com Rider dies in 12 hour raceBob Bachtel of Akron, Ohio was killed while competing in the 13th Annual Calvin's Challenge, a 12 hour bicycle race held on May 1 in Ohio, USA. According to the organisers, Bob was struck by a motorist who crossed a double-yellow line and passed a group of cyclists who were making a left turn. Bob was riding with several members of his club when the accident happened, none of whom were injured. This year's event was stopped at 1:30pm as a result of the accident, although the organisers intend to hold the race next year on April 30, 2005. Lehigh Valley Velodrome gets musicalThe Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown, PA, USA is working on a project with WDIY FM 88.1 to combine live music with cycling at the velodrome. The plan is to bring some of the best Lehigh Valley musicians to play weekly at the track, including Wolfe, Illinois Slim, the Roamin Gabriels, the Eric Steckel Band, BC and the Blues Crew, the Nessmonsters, Jumbo Maverick, the Thom Palmer Band, the Municipal Band of Allentown, the Celtic Classic Bagpipe Club and the Raucous Brothers. "Last year the addition of musicians was extremely popular and we have decided to make live music a permanent fixture here at the Velodrome during international cycling events," said Jacob Burns, LVV's marketing director. For full information about the band schedule, visit: www.lvvelo.org.
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