First Edition Cycling News for October 29, 2007Edited by Steve Medcroft Mori takes first win in last race of the seasonBy Gregor Brown
Manuele Mori of Saunier Duval-Prodir closed his 2007 season with his first elite win since turning professional in 2002. The 27 year-old Tuscan rider, guided by Directeur Sportif Matteo Algeri, won the 16th Japan Cup after 151.3 kilometres of racing ahead of German Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) and compatriot Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-Fondital). Mori concluded the race with an advantage of six seconds over a group of six riders that included team-mates Jesús Del Nero and Rubens Bertogliati (fourth and sixth). It is the team's second win in the one-day Japanese race, following on last year's win by Riccardo Riccò. The Italian from Modena lost time when he crashed in the finale. Top home rider was Yukiya Arashiro of Team Nippo Corporation. See the complete results and photo gallery from the 2007 Japan Cup here. Valverde eyes the Alps in 2008 TdFBy Antonio J. Salmerón
Alejandro Valverde missed the presentation of the Tour de France 2008 route last Thursday morning in Paris but the perennial challenger for Cycling's grandest spectacle, who came sixth in the general classification in 2007, told Cyclingnews at the Memorial of León Sánchez in Mula (Murcia) that he has on briefly reviewed the parcours. "The Tour in 2008 will be decided in the Alps since the layout (of the Alpine stages) is harder than in the Pyrenees, and, above all, due to the Alps will be faced later, during the last week," the Caisse d'Epargne rider said. About the trimming of time trial kilometers from the overall make-up of the 2008 Tour, 27-year old Valverde said he is pleased. "Although I have improved my performance in this discipline, I still have to improve [more]." Valverde said the Tour is his main goal for the season. "I have to work very hard, as always, for being as well as possible in the Tour, because all we know that the Tour is the most demanding race in the world," he said. "And I will be there with the same aspirations for success than ever and with more experience gained, and also thinking of (the Beijing Olympics)." Valverde was accompained by Spanish national champion, Joaquím Rodríguez at the Memorial of León Sánchez. Rodríguez said he agrees with Valverde that climbing more than time-trialing will settle the 2008 Tour. "Before arriving to the penultimate time trial stage (53 kilometres) the general classification will be settled, so that it will only serve to the showcasing of the specialist riders." Valverde said he would also like to race the Vuelta a España next season but has not confirmed his schedule for 2008. D'Hont to challenge court gag orderBy Susan Westemeyer Former soigneur Jef d'Hont has said that he will challenge an injunciton prohibiting him from speaking publicly about doping products he allegedly gave Jan Ullrich, the German news agency sid reported. Ullrich won the injunction in court in early September. D'Hont has also refused to sign a cease and desist order which had a deadline of October 25. D'Hont opened up the Team Telekom 1990s scandal in April, when he went public with details of an organized doping program at the team, where he worked as a soigneur. Subsequently a number of riders on that team, including Bjarne Riis, Erik Zabel and Rolf Aldag confessed to having used EPO. The team stopped its dealings with team doctors Andreas Schmid and Lothar Heinrich, who were subsequently fired by the Freiburg University Clinic. In June, d'Hont claimed that Ullrich had used doping products as well, and that he himself had one time injected Ullrich with EPO. a statement he later retracted. Ullrich has consistently denied having used performance enhancing drugs. Karl Menzies interview: A motivating, roller coaster season
Tassie rider Karl Menzies came to America four years ago while racing with an ad-hoc Aussie team at Superweek, with the team selling all its equipment after the series before heading back to Australia. The Tasmanian's results there put him back in the United States in 2005 with a small up-start team in the American Midwest and his results that year kept him there - racing the past two seasons with the top NRC team Health Net-Maxxis. This year was a roller coaster year for Menzies, from an early stage win at the Tour Down Under, a slow American early season, his father diagnosed with cancer, winning the Tour de 'Toona overall, father passing away and being part of an unprecedented fourth NRC team win. Menzies recapped the season with Cyclingnews' Mark Zalewski: Entering the 2007, the future looked bright for Health Net-Maxxis' Karl Menzies. The Australian from Tasmania had a good first season on the top NRC team, a restful and productive off-season in the Down Under summer and got off to a winning start, taking out the first stage and the leader's jersey of the Tour Down Under. Returning to the States for the start of his trade team's campaign, Menzies was hoping to continue top results at the biggest race of the year - the Tour of California. But the two weeks between training camp and the race were spent at his U.S. home in Boulder, Colorado - under cloudy, snowy conditions. Needless to say, the legs did not come around for him. However, two months later in California, he and the team found early season success at the Redlands Classic, where team-mate and fellow Aussie Rory Sutherland took top honours. Read the entire Karl Menzies interview here. CPA asks for protection of rider rightsIn reaction to the conclusions of the "International conference on doping in cycling," which was held in Paris on October 22 and 23, and to the decisions and comments which follow, the CPA (Cyclistes Proffesionnels Associes) released a statement this week clarifying 'points' it hopes will be taken into consideration as the UCI and WADA implement any new doping initiatives. The list of considerations starts with a request that "before the implementation of a 'Biological passport' and any new method of detection, all the scientific and legal guarantees of reliability are given and demonstrated to the cycling community before the implementation of sporting sanctions." The statement, which seems to address concerns riders have in the way they are treated in the event of a positive doping test, also calls for the total confidentiality of all the riders' medical files, for the sport's governing body to not to reveal provisional results before knowing the final results of the B-samples in the event of infringement of the sport regulations, and to not to modify the rules during the season and avoid, as much as possible, to act hastily. "To be in line with the UCI policy '100% against doping' and in a concern of avoiding any suspicion from the people involved at every level in cycling," the CPA said in the release, "we ask the UCI for implementing a code of professional integrity aiming at excluding any person who has been sentenced for doping during his sporting career, or has been found guilty in any affair linked to doping. The CPA is very attached to this egalitarian measure with regard to the riders and which, moreover, would establish new bases for healthy confidence and transparency." Revolution Manchester to be televised
Promoters of the successful Revolution track events held at the Manchester velodrome have announced that the October round of Revolution will be televised on Manchester-based Channel M. With numerous World and Olympic Champions on the start list for Revolution 17, all eager to make an impact in the pre-Olympic season, the racing promised to be aggressive. The Channel M coverage will consist of 30 minute highlights packages of each day of the event featured on Channel M's Sports Central program. In the UK, Channel M is available on SKY Channel 203 - Virgin Media Channel 878. The coverage will also be available online from Friday 2nd November at www.channelm.co.uk/sport Sports Central Show times: Tues 30th Oct 7 pm & 11 pm Wegmann satisfied with second place in Japan
Fabian Wegmann finished second in the Japan Cup on Sunday, six seconds behind winner Manuele Mori of Saunier Duval, but said he was not unsatisfied with his result. "Of course a win would have been better. But there wasn't much to do against the dominance of Sauiner Duval, which had four men in the leading group. Second place is a good result," Wegman said. He was happy that the weather changed for the better on Sunday. "The last few days we had the end of a typhoon, but on Sunday it was all sunshine. And we have some great experiences here. The onlookers were very enthusiastic and recognized every rider." Polish rider contract newsBy Cyryl Szweda Former Polish National Champion Adam Wadecki did not not renew his contract with Pro Continental team Ceramica Flaminia. The racer will ride for Kalev Chocolate for 2008.
Sylwester Szmyd wrote on his website that he has renewed his contract with Lampre - Fondital for one more year. He will take part in Romandia, then begin his 2008 season training plan. Szmyd hopes to ride in his first-ever Tour de France squad in 2008 and also has ambitions to make Lampre's Vuelta a Espana squad. Szmyd said he fielded contract offers Gerolsteiner, Caisse d'Epargne, Saunier Duval - Prodir and Liquigas, but says he decided to stay with Lampre-Fondital.
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