First Edition Cycling News for February 18, 2005

Edited by Hedwig Kröner & Jeff Jones

CAS correct Millar's ban

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has corrected the ban imposed on David Millar, after the British rider was heard by a panel on January 24. The Panel considered that the two year suspension imposed by British Cycling was appropriate, but nevertheless started and therefore will end at a later date than it should have.

"The Panel noted that, from the date of his arrest, David Millar was unable to compete any more and that, in addition, he promptly and voluntarily announced that he was withdrawing from the British Team for the Olympic Games in Athens. As a consequence, the CAS arbitrators decided that the two year suspension should be calculated to run from June 24 2004, as requested by Millar, and to end on June 23 2006," the CAS said in a statement. The initial starting date of the ban had been August 5, 2004.

The decision taken on Thursday, February 17 could mean that David Millar will return to competition in the end of June 2006, possibly even participating in the Tour de France next year.

Simeoni case: Pozzato and Guerini to explain

Two Italian riders, Filippo Pozzato (Quick.Step) and Giuseppe Guerini (T-Mobile) will have to explain themselves to the Disciplinary Commission of the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI). Accused of having offended and reprimanded Filippo Simeoni at the Tour de France last year, when Simeoni returned to the peloton with Lance Armstrong on stage 18 (click here for the previous story), the FCI wants to hear their point of view. Filippo Simeoni, who currently rides for the Pro Continental team Naturino-Sapore di Mare, had named the two riders to the federation.

Cipollini sick

Mario Cipollini (Liquigas-Bianchi) will be forced to miss this Saturday's Trofeo Luis Puig due to illness, and his participation in the Vuelta Valenciana is not certain. Cipollini has laryngitis and doesn't want to risk getting bronchitis. If his condition does not improve in next days, his team says that he will have to renounce the Vuelta Valenciana as well.

BMX Supercross World Cup in Dew Action Sports Tour

The UCI and the Dew Action Sports Tour have announced the inclusion of the UCI BMX Supercross as a specialty competition at the Dew Action Sports Tour's fourth event, from September 8-11, 2005 at the HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA.

"This will be an excellent opportunity to show BMX racing at its best and gives us a platform to promote BMX racing in a format we can expect in the 2008 Olympics," said Johan Lindstrom, UCI BMX Sports Coordinator.

The UCI BMX Supercross World Cup is the major international BMX racing series featuring three rounds in Europe and North America, with the finals being held together with the Dew Action Sports Tour. With eight riders going head-to-head on a highly technical BMX track, the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup features BMX racing in a spectacular format, tailor made for the best BMX athletes in the world.

Owned by NBC Sports and Clear Channel Entertainment-Motor Sports, the Dew Action Sports Tour debuts in June 2005. A series of five major events with a cumulative points system, the 2005 Tour will consist of multi-sport and entertainment festivals in both indoor and outdoor venues. In addition to the primary sports of skateboarding, BMX, and freestyle motocross, each Tour stop will feature a unique "specialty comp", such as BMX Supercross or snowboarding. At season’s end, the Tour will award champions in skateboarding (park and vert), BMX (park, dirt & vert) and freestyle motocross with the Dew Cup.

The Dew Action Sports Tour schedule and founding sponsors’ respective entitled events are as follows:

Event One: June 9-12, 2005 Panasonic Louisville, KY
Event Two: July 7-10, 2005 Right Guard Xtreme Denver, CO
Event Three: August 18-21, 2005 Vans Portland, WA
Event Four: September 8-11, 2005 Toyota San Jose, CA
Event Five: October 13-16, 2005 PlayStation Orlando, FL

Great Britain versus Germany in Revolution 8

In the Revolution season 2 finale on February 26, another revenge match is on the cards as Olympic Team Sprint gold medallists Germany go head to head with Great Britain in a team sprint face off. The Germans knocked out Britain in the team sprint competition at the Olympics last year, crushing British hopes of a medal. The team sprint was one of the events where confidence was high in Team GB, but the Germans proved too powerful, riding under 44 seconds to knock out the Brits. The team of Jens Fiedler, Rene Wolff and Stefan Nimke went on to take the gold medal but this didn't ease the disappointment of the British riders.

The Germans are back making their first appearance at Revolution with the legendary Jens "I'm not dead yet!" Fiedler leading the charge in his last appearance on the track. Fiedler is a triple Olympic Champion and four times World Champion and has dominated track sprinting for nearly a decade. His experience will be complemented by the strength of two up and coming German sprint stars, Daniel Giese and Robert Eichfeld. Giese was the 2003 Team Sprint Junior World Champion and Eichfeld is rapidly moving up the ranks in the German squad.

This combination of youth and experience will prove a formidable force for the British squad, who will be nursing its bruised pride following the defeat at the hands of the French at Revolution 7. The British team is aiming for a strong result at the World Championships in March and the squad of Craig MacLean, Chris Hoy and Jason Queally will be eager to take a convincing win against the Germans. This will be an important confidence boost as well as a small taste of revenge ahead of crunch time at the World's.

Chris Hoy is ready for the challenge and looking forward to the final Revolution of series 2, "The Revolution has been fantastic and it's been great to race in front of a capacity crowd at the velodrome. It would be good to end the Revolution in style and even better to beat the Germans in front of the home crowd. We're training well so it should be a happy ending!"

More information: www.cyclingrevolution.com.

Entries open for Australian MTB Championships

With a month to go until the Australian Mountain Bike Championships in Eildon, Victoria, entries are now being taken online via credit card or downloadable entry form at www.mtbnats.com.au. The Championships will be held on the weekend of March 17-20 across four disciplines: Cross Country, Downhill, Four-Cross and Trials, with over $20,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs.

This year is shaping up to be the most open ever in the Elite Men's Downhill and Cross Country. With Athens Olympian and reigning Australian XC Champion, Sid Taberlay and reigning Under 23 Champion Trent Lowe being forced to travel to America due to professional obligations with their teams, the Men's Cross Country race is wide open with the current National Series leader Dylan Cooper (Kona-Mt Buller Factory Team) setting up for a dual with last year's runner-up, Avanti rider Chris Jongewaard.

The Men's Downhill is no different with three different winners coming from the last three National Rounds: Mick Hannah (Haro-Adidas MTB Team), 2003 World Cup Champ Nathan Rennie (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Jarrod Graves (Team Yeti) are all in with a chance. With seven Aussies ranked within the Top 50 in the World (2 in the top 6) racing is sure to close.

Tour of Murrieta on the weekend

The Tour of Murrieta (ToM) is the first 3-day stage race of the Southern California 2005 season, taking place this week-end from Friday, February 18-Sunday, February 20. Riders may register for the whole race or any individual stage, but every single event will have omnium points awarded for overall general classification.

The stages

Stage 1 - Friday, February 18 - Max Cash Agro Individual Time Trial, 3.5 miles
Stage 2 - Saturday, February 19 - California Pools & Spas Road Race
Stage 3 - Sunday, February 20 - Bosch Criterium

The TT is an out and back for 3.5 miles and relatively flat. Stage two is a closed circuit of 13.4 miles per lap. It includes moderate rollers and flats, making no more than a 21 gear necessary. On Sunday, the Criterium will be held in French Valley, approximatively five miles per lap, four corners, with a slight incline to the finish line. Last year, the Tour de Murrieta was won by Chris Horner.

Team Carina to participate in pro races

Las Vegas area-based Team Carina (Vegas Velo Racing Team Inc.) founded by Chris H. Hansel and Anthony Luna has been growing steadily since fall 2001, when the team was established. During the annual team meeting with the owner of Carina, the team laid out its goal of expanding to compete in the SW US Pro ranks for 2005 and other national events that include Downers Grove, Sea Otter, Superweek, etc. Looking to the future, it plans to continue growth up to the national pro team level. In 2005, Team Carina has already logged its first pro win, one second and one third placing.

Besides its pro racing goals, Team Carina also encourages and supports new racers. At its third annual training camp in Redlands, CA this past January, more than 50 riders attended.

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