First Edition Cycling News for August 26, 2005Edited by Jeff Jones CPA supports athletes' rightsIn the wake of the investigative reporting carried out by French newspaper L'Equipe that alleged Lance Armstrong had tested positive for EPO on six separate occasions during the 1999 Tour de France, the Association of Professional Cyclists (CPA) has issued a statement calling for more respect of athletes' rights: "With the intention of defending the general interests of its members, the CPA has been following, with a great deal of attention, the declarations, affirmations, and apparent reports in the press in the last few days concerning the revelations divulged by the newspaper L'Equipe on the subject of research carried out on the B samples of the '99 Tour de France. "From this perspective, the CPA deplores the fact that a leak of confidential information occurred in France, sparking a controversy based on data that should have remained in the context of medical confidentiality and strictly scientific research. "The riders and the CPA have always supported and continue to support the fight against doping, but they cannot accept this type of situation that seriously damages their interests, their credibility, as well as the image of cycling in general. As soon as the situation has been clarified, they reserve the right to commence possible actions with the aim of establishing their integrity. "In future, the riders and the CPA will continue to collaborate with the UCI to ensure that progress is made in the anti-doping campaign, without all the polemic and external interference. "In the meantime, the riders and the CPA feel they have been treated unfairly, and are waiting for such a time as responsibilities have been officially and clearly defined to ask the UCI to implement and apply measures to strengthen medical confidentiality in anti-doping controls." Ullrich leads T-Mobile at GP Ouest-FranceJan Ullrich, the recent runner up in the Deutschland Tour, will be back in action again this Sunday in the Grand Prix Ouest France-Plouay. The one-day race in Brittany, the traditional home of French cycling, forms part of the UCI ProTour. The T-Mobile captain will be joined by Alexander Vinokourov on the undulating parcours. The dual 2005 Tour de France stage winner dropped out of the Deutschland Tour because of a cold. Matthias Kessler also forms part of the team, and is the third Tour de France rider who will race for T-Mobile in Plouay. The seven man roster is rounded off by Torsten Hiekmann, Jan Schaffrath, Christian Werner, and Sergey Yakovlev. Team director Valerio Piva's expects a tough, fast race. "Especially the French teams will be highly motivated," said Piva, who calls the region close to the French Atlantic coast "one of the most cycling-crazy areas in France." Year after year, more than 100,000 spectators swarm to the Circuit Jean-Yves Perron. Piva sees this as an advantage: "We are not pressed to set the pace, instead we can keep an eye on how the race develops. If Jan Ullrich can maintain his form from the Deutschland-Tour, we may have a chance at the finale." A total of 25 teams, including five wild card continental teams, will tackle the 13 laps (195 km) around the town of Plouay, which hosted the 2000 Cycling World's. Among the favourites are defending champion Didier Rous and Laurent Brochard (both Bouygues Telecom), the Italians Luca Paolini and Filippo Pozzato (both Quick Step), 2001 winner Nico Mattan from Davitamon-Lotto, the Dutchman Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) and the Spaniard Carlos Barredo (Liberty Seguros). Buitenpoort-Flexpoint for Holland Ladies TourThe Dutch-based Buitenpoort-Flexpoint team will be among the top favourites for the Holland Ladies Tour, which takes place between August 29 and September 3. The will be led by Mirjam Melchers and Susanne Ljungskog, and both riders are in with a great chance of overall victory. Joining them will be Sandra Rombouts (Ned), Linda Serup (Den) and Germans Tanja Hennes, Luise Keller, Madeleine Sandig, and Christina Becker. The team will be directed by Jean-Paul van Poppel and Klas Johansson. The stages Stage 1 - August 29: Scheveningen - Scheveningen, 82,6 km Transfer newsSwedish rider Marcus Ljungqvist (Liquigas-Bianchi) has signed a one-year contract with Team CSC. The 30- year-old who turned pro in 1998 with Cantina Tollo has 11 career wins. He has spent some time in Team fakta, where he had CSC's sports director Kim Andersen as his director. "It's nice to finally sign the contract after having talked to Bjarne a number of times during the season," said Ljungqvist on team-csc.com. "I'm really looking forward to joining Team CSC and working with Bjarne and Kim Andersen and I hope to be able to perform well for the team in races like Tour of Flanders and Amstel Gold Race." Team manager Bjarne Riis added, "We are very happy to have Marcus on our team for next season. He is a really good rider, who has the right attitude and fits perfectly on the team. Primarily he is a reinforcement to our classics team, but he is a rider, who has the ability to make a difference in almost any kind of race." Andy Cappelle will be riding for Landbouwkrediet-Colnago next season, the team has confirmed. The 26 year-old Belgian, who last rode for Chocolade Jacques in 2004, is a two-time Belgian U23 champion (1999 and 2000). French rider Geoffroy Lequatre (Crédit Agricole) has signed for Cofidis for the next two seasons, the team has reported. Lequatre is the fifth new rider for Cofidis, after Dutchmen Michiel Elijzen and Mathieu Heijboer (Rabobank Continental, and French Sébastien Minard (RAGT) and Tristan Valentin (Auber 93). Czech rider Martin Mares, winner of the Tour of Qinghai Lake, will ride for Naturino-Sapore Di Mare next season, according to his management agency ACSO. Mares also won a stage in the 2004 Tour de l'Avenir, and was a Czech U23 National Champion. Tafi Paris-Roubaix Jersey Helps Cancer ResearchThe Georgia Cancer Coalition (GCC) has raised more than $800 from the sale of the Paris-Roubaix cycling jersey donated by Italian champion Andrea Tafi at the 2005 Tour de Georgia. The proceeds from this sale will be matched by the GCC and allocated directly to Georgia 's Cancer Research Awards program, which brings the total contribution to $1800. Clive Chapman of Great Britain won the jersey in an eBay auction, telling the GCC, "Andrea Tafi was the winner of the first professional bike race my wife and I ever saw in 1997 and so is very special to us. We have watched him race many times since, either on TV or at the roadside in Europe." The Chapmans are quite loyal fans of Tafi, having won a jersey of the former champion at another auction. "This will be the second signed Andrea Tafi jersey that we have bought at auction," said Chapman. "In 1999 Andrea was the Chief Guest at an annual cycling charity dinner we attended. At the time he was the Italian champion and he bought with him an Italian Champions jersey for auction. I successfully bid for it and he signed it with a personal dedication to my wife June." Tafi, winner of the 1999 Paris-Roubaix one-day classic in Belgium, wore this cobblestone-inspired jersey at the 2005 Paris-Roubaix, his final European race. He also wore this jersey in his final race as a professional, Stage Six of the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia. After being presented the Aaron's Most Aggressive Jersey for Stage Six in Alpharetta, Ga., Tafi donated this jersey to the Georgia Cancer Coalition. Dine with Roll, Kiefel, and CarpenterDavis Phinney Foundation benefitDavis Phinney will be the guest of honour as friends and USA cycling's former A-list join together in "An Evening with Davis Phinney and Friends - Dinner with the Pros". The dinner will be held at the Italian Athletic Club (1630 Stockton St.) in San Francisco's North Beach on September 2 at 7:30 pm, and serves as a benefit for the Davis Phinney Foundation and to kick-off to the Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix. Phinney's friends Bob Roll, Ron Kiefel, and his wife, 1984 Olympic Road Race Gold Medalist, Connie Carpenter, will be present, along with members of pro teams such as Team HealthNet presented by Maxxis, Navigator's Insurance, Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada Pro Cycling Team Lampre-Caffita and more. Other guests include MC Michael Aisner, the man behind the Coors Classic, former US Pro Champions Thomas Prehn and Kurt Stockton, and three-time Olympian and Pan Am Gold Medalist, Wayne Stetina. The evening includes a family-style Italian menu while dining with US and European pro cyclists as dinner guests, a Silent Auction, a raffle of items totaling over $20,000 and, an exclusive VIP after-dinner party in the fi'zi:k VIP lounge. The evening will be hosted by filmmaker Scott Coady who will present recent Phinney video clips from the Tour de Georgia, For more details, auction item updates or to purchase tickets for the event, visit www.thetourbaby.com. All proceeds go directly to the Davis Phinney Foundation, www.davisphinneyfoundation.org. Details Where: Italian American Athletic Club at 1630 Stockton Street, San Francisco. Prices: Dinner/Auction/Film $40 advance, $50 at the door (if available) Ride like the Pros in San FranciscoFans of the Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix can ride a portion of the pro course at the Great San Francisco Bike Ride, courtesy of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and the Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix. The community ride is open to cyclists aged 16 and up and encompasses the 5 mile loop of the Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix race course - including the infamous Taylor Street climb. More information about the course online registration is available at www.sfbike.org/bikeride. All proceeds benefit the SFBC’s campaign to build the Citywide Bike Network. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Great San Francisco Bike Ride
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