First Edition News for July 30, 2003

Edited by Jeff Jones

2003 Track World's: Showdown in Stuttgart

By Jeff Jones

Chris Hoy
Photo: © Mike Gladu

This year's Track Cycling World Championships will be held in Stuttgart, Germany, between July 30 and August 3. Originally scheduled for Shenzhen, China, the Championships had to be relocated to Stuttgart due to the unwillingness of several countries to send teams to China because of the threat of SARS. Stuttgart last hosted the World's in 1991, and will host the World Road Championships in 2007.

The events kick off on Wednesday morning with the men's kilo and women's 24 km points race. In the evening, the men's 15 km scratch race is the only event on offer. Thursday morning sees the first rounds of the men's and women's 4000/3000m individual pursuits, with the men's final held that evening. Also the men's keirin competition and the women's 500m time trial will be held on Thursday.

On Friday morning, the men will line up again for the 4000m team pursuit qualifying, with the finals to be held on Saturday evening. The men's sprint qualifying, men's 40 km points race, and women's keirin will all be held on Friday. Saturday sees the women's scratch race as well as the first rounds of the women's sprint, followed by the final of the team pursuit and men's sprint in the evening. The racing concludes on Sunday with the final of the women's sprint, the men's 51.4 km madison and men's team sprint.

Full preview.

Bartko replaces Lehmann in German team

Rabobank's Robert Bartko is a surprise replacement for Jens Lehmann in the German track team for the World's. Bartko will ride the individual and team pursuit events, despite not having ridden much on the track for the last three years since he won two gold medals in the Sydney Olympics. Lehmann, a six-time World Champion, was shocked by the German federation's decision, "I feel deceived and deeply disappointed," he told DPA.

Cipollini comes back

World Champion Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze-Elitron) will race in his first event since his exit from the Giro d'Italia tomorrow in the Netherlands. Cipo will be one of the star attractions at the Acht van Chaam criterium, and will take his faithful teammate Mario Scirea with him. Cipo will also ride in the Nacht von Hannover this Friday, August 1, along with teammate Giovanni Lombardi.

Mercado to Quick.Step

Spanish rider Juan Miguel Mercado will ride for the Quick.Step-Davitamon team next year. The iBanesto climber will sign a two year contract with the Belgian squad, and will help to strengthen the team in the mountains. Mercado turned down offers from US Postal, CSC and Cofidis to ride for Patrick Lefevere.

U.S. MTB rider fails to show up for drug test

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has notified the U.S. Olympic Committee that there is sufficient evidence of doping to proceed further in the case of Rob Sears of Golden, Colorado. Sears refused to participate in a drug test following the NORBA National Championship Series event in Big Bear Lake, California on May 18, 2003. Sears is disputing the case in the USADA adjudication process. If a sanction is imposed, USADA will make the announcement at a later date.

Irish weekend preview

By Tommy Campbell, Irish Independent, Evening Herald, Sunday Independent

The Gene Moriarty Cup is now in its 21st year and is firmly established as one of the top one day cycling events in Ireland. It is scheduled for Listowel on Sunday with a one o'clock start.

The main protagonists on the home scene will be present to do battle for this prestigious trophy held in honour of Gene Moriarty, who was a top class cyclist in the late 40's and early 50's. When the wheels were hung up, he turned to the administration of the sport.

In recent years, members of the Carrick Cidona Club have been very much to the fore, and their good form would indicate that the team members would be knocking on the door to add to their unprecedented number of wins since the beginning of June. Fortunately for them, Brian Kenneally who won in '98 and '99 and was a member of the Hibernian Team Ireland at the recent B World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland, is showing a very good form at the moment.

The big disappointment for the promoters (Listowel CC) is that Eugene Moriarty will not be attendance as he is with the Cycling Ireland Project in Belgium where he is the co-ordinator.

What a fairy tale it would be if Aidan Crowley were to win in Listowel. Not many would have raced here from U/12 up to senior level. There wouldn't be a dry eye at the presentation if Aidan were to win. His colleague on the Cycleways/Lee Strand Team, Philip Finnegan, created his own piece of history last weekend by winning his first ever open race. Who said a double is out of the question?

The favourite is probably Brian Kenneally, who only returned to competition back in April in the Credit Union Ras Mumhan. He has the incentive now to be the one to watch for the remainder of the season. He shows no lack of conviction with or without team support. He always supports this event and I have a feeling on Bank holiday Sunday, he'll do the business.

This year's race is on 7 laps of the usual circuit that has been used in 18 of the previous years. It is a 10 mile (16 km) circuit that is hilly for a two to three mile stretch leaving the town. It is not an easy lap by any means and this year it is on the Classic League Series, the fourth of the six events. Points will be awarded to the first 10 over the line. There are prizes for the first 14 over the line, and there is a team prize also.

Also scheduled in conjunction with the 'Moriarty' is the Listowel GP for senior 3's, ladies, veterans and juniors. Incidentally this will be a curtain raiser for juniors, who will have their big promotion next week when the M. Donnelly JT starts next Tuesday with a time trial, sponsored by "Duffs" of Bray, Co. Wicklow. The proprietor, Ken, is a big supporter of cycling and can be regularly seen in Malaysia where he is a regular at the Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi.

The Listowel Grand Prix will be a separate race for Senior 3, Vets, juniors and ladies. Prizes for the first 6 here. The race will be five laps of the circuit (50 miles).

This year, the Listowel Club and West Clare have combined their efforts and on Monday the option is there to compete in Kilrush in the Crotty Cup. The hero in this part of the world is Vincent Gleeson, who has certainly put cycling on the map in this corner of the world. His selection as a member of the Irish team for the FBD Milk Ras turned out to be the highlight of his career to date and a win here would be the icing on the cake. Earlier this season, when David O'Loughlin was in full flight, Vincent dented his winning sequence by winning the Mick Cahill Trophy in Banteer. It is anticipated according to race officials that O'Loughlin will take in both events in the Kerry and Clare over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Also in Kerry this weekend is the Youth Tour. This will be held in Killorglin starting on Saturday. The entry list is truly very international.

Those wishing to avoid a trip south for the Moriarty Cup will be able to take in the Mountnugent Grand Prix on Saturday evening.

Nature Valley Grand Prix to Air on OLN

A program chronicling the Nature Valley Grand Prix is set to air on the Outdoor Life Network at 5:00 PM Eastern time on Saturday, August 2.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix, which is part of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival, is a National Racing Calendar stage race that took place on June 12-15 in Minnesota. Men's teams included Saturn, Navigators, Schroeder Iron, 7UP, Jelly Belly and the US Postal Service. Women's teams included Saturn, Equipe Nürnberger, DietRite, Equipe Rona, T-Mobile, Basis, TDS and Red 5 Racing.

The men's race saw the lead change after every stage, with Saturn's Trent Klasna emerging as the surprise winner after the brutal Stillwater Criterium. The women's race, which included some of the most aggressive racing of the year, was "Saturn against the World", with Katie Mactier finishing as the winner.

The program was produced by Kent Gordis Productions, the leading producer of bicycle racing coverage in the United States. Bob Roll and Bob Papa provided the commentary for the Nature Valley Grand Prix program.

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