First Edition Cycling News for January 17, 2005

Edited by Hedwig Kröner and Jeff Jones

Bayley crashes hard in Queensland - likely to miss World's

By Gerard Knapp

Ryan Bayley is escorted off the track after falling heavily at the Rockhampton Cup on Wheels.
Photo ©: Brett Ruff

In his first competitive event for the season, dual Athens Olympic gold medallist Ryan Bayley crashed heavily and has broken two ribs, placing his track World Cup and World Championships campaigns in doubt. Bayley was the star attraction at the Rockhampton Cup on Wheels, a major track racing carnival held in the Queensland centre. Racing in a heat of the wheelrace, Bayley crashed into fallen rider Mario Mazza, who'd earlier hit the deck after touching wheels with another rider. Bayley was behind this crash with two other riders; two went up the track to avoid the crash, while Bayley tried to go under but hit Mazza as he was sliding down the embankment of the outdoor concrete track.

"It was either I hit him or I hit the fence," Bayley told Cyclingnews of his options to avoid an seemingly unavoidable crash. Instead of slamming into the fence, Bayley attempted to go under the fallen rider but Mazza slid down the track and Bayley clipped his bike, launching himself over the 'bars, landing heavily on his shoulder and then having his bike slam into his back.

Bayley told Cyclingnews he expects it's unlikely he will be able to compete in the Sydney round of the UCI Track World Cup, and "I'll pretty much have nothing (condition) by the time of the World's". Bayley also expects it's unlikely he will be racing at the Australian track national championships. "Well, I've got two broken ribs, my shoulder's pretty stuffed and my hip's pretty sore," Bayley said before boarding a flight to Adelaide, where he is meant to start a training camp with other members of Australia's track squad at the Australian Institute of Sport. Now, he will go back to the AIS for a full assessment of his injuries.

Ryan Bayley lies injured on the ground
Photo ©: Brett Ruff

When asked how Australia's national sprint track coach, Martin Barras, reacted, Bayley said: "He wasn't too happy. 'Marv' is always concerned about us racing at these carnivals, but it's what we do," he said of the leading track riders taking part in the regional carnivals that are held throughout Australia in the southern hemisphere summer.

At his first serious meeting, Bayley said he "didn't feel too bad, actually. I felt I had the speed there but not the endurance. I felt I was going pretty quick for this time of year. I thought everything was going pretty well; now, everything's broken. But, you get that - it's bike racing."

Earlier, Bayley had found the going tough in his return to serious racing, with Rockhampton local Grant Irwin holding him out in the final of the keirin, one of the events he won in Athens. The major event for the men, the Rockhampton Wheelrace, was taken out by Hayden Josefski, while the women's wheelrace - said to be the richest event for women in Australia - was a clean sweep by Rockhampton riders, with Olympic gold medallist Anna Meares winning front of her sister, Kerrie, with Alex Bright third and Katie Smith in fourth.

A full report, results and photos from the Rockhampton Cup on Wheels is to come soon on Cyclingnews. Results and reports from the lead-up events are already available.

Photography

Images by Brett Ruff

• Ryan Bayley is escorted off the track after falling heavily at the Rockhampton Cup on Wheels.
• Ryan Bayley lies injured on the ground, with the blue paint from the track evident on the shoulder he fell on. Later, Bayley's skinsuit was cut open, where it was revealed that two of his ribs were broken,
• A broken helmet is the least of Bayley's concerns, with his his track World Cup and World Championships campaigns in doubt.

Savoldelli breaks collarbone

Italian Paolo Savoldelli has crashed during a training ride on Sunday 16 and fractured his collarbone. The Giro d'Italia winner of 2002 changed from T-Mobile to Discovery Channel for this season, but stayed unlucky: the injury is a setback to his preparations for the season, and will mean a month break. Savoldelli has been unlucky in the past with accidents and illnesses preventing him from riding the Tour de France during the last two years.

Madsen, McGrory and Gilmore injured

Track riders Jimmi Madsen (Denmark) and Scott McGrory (Australia) have been hospitalised on Sunday, January 16 after a heavy crash at the Bremen Six Day. Both riders suffered various injuries which were going to be examined. The Swiss rider Marvulli suffered lighter injuries.

The first night of Bremen Six Day, Thursday 13, saw Belgian Matthew Gilmore (Chocolade Jacques-T Interim) crash heavily. The teammate of Andreas Kappes was diagnosed with a vertebrae crack in his back, which made him abandon the event. The winner of the Munich Six Day will be examined at the Gent University Hospital today.

Quick.Step start JCTDU with seven

Belgian squad Quick.Step will take the start of this year's Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under with only seven riders instead of eight. Wouter Weylandt, a 20 year-old neo-pro has been diagnosed with mononucleosis in Australia and will fly back to Belgium for further examinations today.

Nys and Van den Brand win Cross World Cup

Belgian Cross champion Sven Nys secured his victory in the World Cup and won his fifth World Cup race in Nommay, France. The Belgian soloed to the finish line after an impressive race and season, which lacks only the World Championships to top it off. There are two races remaining in the men's World Cup series.

The Women's World Cup was won by Dutch crosser Daphny van den Brand. Whilst the race was won by Hanka Kupfernagel, Van den Brand beat the German winner of last year's World Cup in the overall classification.

Ullrich and Cunego for Vuelta a Murcia

The organisers of the 15th Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia, which will be held from March 2-6, have confirmed the participation of Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Caffita). The two riders of the German and Italian teams will further compete against the following: Gerolsteiner, Rabobank, Bouygues Telecom, Chocolade Jacques, Phonak, MrBookmaker.com, Barloworld, Illes Balears, Saunier Duval, Comunidad Valenciana, Kaiku and Relax Fuenlabrada.

UCI goes for maximum suspensions in Guatemala

The nine riders implicated in the Vuelta a Guatemala doping affair will be sanctioned for the maximum two years, according to UCI president Hein Verbruggen. Speaking at the Congreso de la Confederación Panamericana de Ciclismo in Cuba, Verbruggen was quoted by AP as saying, "The UCI will apply the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency to the letter. An athlete that tests positive for doping is suspended for two years and another transgression is for life."

The nine riders include winner Leandro Ajcú and his Guatemalan compatriots Abel Jochola, Nery Velázquez, and David Calanche, as well as Noel Velázquez (2nd), Carlos López (3rd), Federico Muñoz (4th), Reynaldo Murillo and Yeisson Delgado. The Guatemalan and Venezuelan riders had already been sanctioned by their national federations for as little as two months, but now the sanctions have been revised. Eight of the nine riders will be suspended for two years, while repeat offender Abel Jochola will be given a life ban. Also, Guatemalan coach Augusto Bony Pérez was given a life ban while another coach, Fernando Pineda, earlier received a one year suspension.

Costa Rican Paolo Vargas, who finished fifth overall, will be declared the winner of the race once the sanctions are made official.

Verbruggen also declared that, "The athletes are victims and many times they don't know what they're taking." Words that were echoed by the head of the Guatemalan cycling federation, Fernando Sosa. "The cyclists are used, they tell them that they are going to give them something to help them recuperate, and they accept it out of ignorance."

Sosa added that the Vuelta a Guatemala is in danger of going ahead next year after the scandal, as sponsors have turned away.

Aljazeera sponsors team

Arab news network Aljazeera will sponsor Qatar's first professional cycling team, debuting in the Tour of Qatar at the end of January. The sponsorship will come from the network's sports channel, and the team will be known as Aljazeera Sport Channel. The squad will number nine riders with Ahmed Al Humaidi as team as team director and manager.

Team roster: Ahmed Abduljaleel (Irq), Rdhwan Al-Moraqab (Qat), Khaleel Bduljanan (Qat), Tareq Esmaeili (Qat), Farkad Mohammed (Irq), Mihsien Reauf (Irq), Mohcena Rhiele (Mar), Ibrahim Said Khan (Qat), Faisal Thabet Shaif (Qat).

FIAC calls for National Championships hosts

The Federation of Independent Associations for Cycling (FIAC) invites race organizers to host one or more of ten National Championships in 2005. Proposals will be considered for elite men's and women's championships in the following events: Stage Race, Hill Climb, Six-Day Track, Criterium, and Team Time Trial. Only established race organizers with a record of quality events will be considered.

These championships will be run under FIAC Racing Rules and only riders who hold an annual license from a FIAC member association will be eligible for championship placings, though others may be allowed to participate. FIAC will provide medals for the top three places and championship jerseys for the winners. To apply, fill out an www.fiac.us/natzapp.htm application and submit it by February 15, 2005.

FIAC supports racing programs that are independent of USA Cycling. For further information, go to www.fiac.us

Champion Cycling Elite and Development teams

Champion Cycling www.championcycling.com has announced the formation of an Elite and Development cycling team for 2005. The Arkansas based bicycle shops are looking to grow the sport of cycling as well as providing young and upcoming cyclists with a means to follow their passion. Following an initial training camp in November, the team will officially kick off the season with a training camp in February.

The Champion Cycling team is looking forward to racing in the region, as well as competing in NRC races this year. The Elite team includes rider/director Steve Grife, as well as Mike Stewart, Tim Tobbe, Carl Garrison, Bill Sowers, Scott Barnes, Matt Miller, and Scott Walnofer.

Team Schwab Cycles-Torelli Velo

Team Schwab Cycles-Torelli Velo, a USCF Category 1/2 team based out of Denver, CO has finalized its 2005 roster. 2004 was a very successful year, highlights included a 3rd and 2nd place at the USCF Masters National Championships 30-34 Road Race & Criterium by Grayson Pointer, who also took the Best All-Around Rider for the age group. The team competes mostly in Colorado, but will be traveling to the Valley of the Sun Stage Race (AZ), Tour of the Gila (NM), Ecology Center Classic (MT) and Superweek (WI).

Click here for its 2005 team roster.

Previous News    Next News

(All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2005)