First Edition Cycling News for November 24, 2003

Edited by Jeff Jones

Lotto to shift its focus

Photo ©: Luc Claessen

The Belgian Minister for Public Enterprises, Johan Vande Lanotte, wants sporting teams sponsored by the national lottery to change their focus in future to a more developmental role. Vande Lanotte was interviewed in the Belgian media about his ideas, which he wants to be adopted by teams such as Lotto-Domo.

"The Lotto must play a social role again, not a commercial one," Vande Lanotte was quoted in Het Nieuwsblad. "I think that this is the natural role for a public company. Stimulating young talent is the most obvious, and actually completely logical. Lotto has to invest in a young cycling team again. The Lottery shouldn't be sponsoring a team for name branding but they can certainly invest in young talent, whatever the intentions were.

"I remember how a young Johan Museeuw was at odds with Lotto. Nevertheless that generation is great and is getting older. That is normal, I'm not criticising here. But now is the time to connect with the young people again."

Lotto-Domo's current manager, Christophe Sercu, was guarded in his reaction to the Minister's comments. "I respect the vision of the minister and look at what's happened in the team, which has acquired other sponsors," he said. "We have previously chosen to give young riders a chance for more than one season. I'm thinking of Gardeyn, Van Impe, Steegmans. You can also give jobs to ten newcomers, and the year after send away six riders with poor grades. Thus we must also be careful that we don't move into the zone of Vlaanderen[-T Interim]."

The Belgian national lottery will sponsor Lotto-Domo for at least another year. At the end of 2004 the contracts of all the team's major sponsors (Lotto, Domo and Adecco) will finish.

Colombia-Selle Italia 2004

The Division II Colombia-Selle Italia cycling team has finalised its roster for 2004. The squad will comprise 12 riders, made up of seven Colombians, two Italians, two Australians and a Venezuelan: Freddy González, Marlon Pérez, Uberlino Mesa, Rubert Alveiro Marín, Alexis Castro, Álvaro Lozano, Freddy Paredes (all Colombia), Leonardo Scarselli, Rafael Illiano (both Italy), Trent Wilson and Russell Van Hout (both Australia) and José Rujano (Venezuela).

The team's captains will be Marlon Pérez and Alexis Castro. Antonio Castaño will act as manager while Gianni Savio will be team manager. Marco Vellini will coach the squad and Libardo Leyton will be the team's technical assistant.

Leaving the squad are Jhon Freddy Garcia, Hernán D. Muñoz, Mauricio Henao, Carlos Ibáñez, Mikhailov Khalilov, Rodolfo Massi and Luca de Angeli.

Zberg set for Gerolsteiner

Swiss rider Beat Zberg will sign his contract with the Gerolsteiner team on Monday, November 24, a two year deal that will see him ride alongside brother Markus. Zberg rode for Rabobank this season, with his best result being a fourth place in the Tour of Lombardy World Cup race.

Gerolsteiner has added several new riders to its squad, including Sven Montgomery (Fassa Bortolo), Marco Serpellini (Lampre), Danilo Hondo (Telekom) and neo-professionals Sven Krauss and Markus Fothen. Captain Davide Rebellin has already extended his contract with the team by another two years.

More riders for Lamonta

The German Lamonta team, which will step up to Division II next year, is continuing to sign new riders. Its latest acquisition is ex-Telekom rider Stefan Schumacher, who brings the team's roster to 11 so far. The remaining riders are Björn Glasner, Holger Sievers (rider/director), Philipp Mamos, Björn Papstein, Jonas Owcarek, David Kopp (Telekom), Stefan Kupfernagel (Phonak), Christoph von Kleinsorgen (Bianchi), Steffen Weigold (Gerolsteiner) and Hungarian neo-pro Peter Magyarosi.

The team gathered together for the first time last Thursday, and will aim to do well in the German one day races and tours next season.

Marchante to Paternina

One of the top Spanish amateur riders in 2003, José Ángel Gómez Marchante, will turn pro with the Paternina-Costa del Almeria team in 2004. Marchante won the Circuito de Lasarte, the Bira and the Vueltas a Valladolid and Extremadura this year. His move to Paternina follows on from the signing of the other top Spanish rider of 2003, Javier Ramírez Abeja, to Liberty Seguros.

Andoni Aranaga to Chocolade Jacques

21 year old Spaniard Andoni Aranaga is the latest rider to join the Chocolade Jacques team, which now has 21 members. The neo-professional won the amateur version of the Bicicleta Vasca this year, as well as finishing second in the Circuito Montañes. Jacques team leader Jef Braeckeveldt was impressed with his climbing abilities and signed him on.

Gualandi to Flanders

Italian amateur rider Alex Gualandi will ride for the Flanders-Afin team in 2004.

52nd Vuelta al Valle

The 52nd edition of the Vuelta al Valle will take place in Rio Negro, Argentina between November 23-29. The race will consist of a prologue and seven stages, as follows.

The stages

Prologue - November 23: Allen ITT, 6,2 km
Stage 1 - November 24: Allen-Allen, 160 km
Stage 2 - November 25: Allen-Allen, 100 km
Stage 3 - November 25: Autódromo Gral, Mosconi, TTT, 20 km
Stage 4 - November 26: Allen-Catriel, 155 km
Stage 5 - November 27: Catriel-Catriel, 150 km
Stage 6 - November 28: Allen-5 Saltos-Cipolletti-F. Oro-Roca, 170 km
Stage 7 - November 29: Allen-Allen, 160 km

Past winners

2002 Adrián Gariboldi (3)
2001 Adrián Gariboldi (2)
2000 Alejandro Borrajo
1999 Jorge Giacinti
1998 Adrián Gariboldi
1997 Edgardo Simon
1996 Roberto Prezioso
1995 Juan Sosa
1994 Juan Curuchet
1993 Erminio Suárez

Vuelta Juvenil de Antioquia

As preparation for the Vuelta del Porvenir, the Colombian Cycling Federation is holding a three day stage race for Junior U19 riders. The Vuelta Juvenil de Antioquia will take place between November 26-28 over three stages and 193 kilometres, with riders from Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Quindìo participating in the event.

The stages

Stage 1 - November 26: Marinilla-Peñol-Guatapè-Marnilla, 82 km
Stage 2 - November 27: Marinilla-Rionegro-La Ceja-Marinilla, 92 km
Stage 3 - November 28: Peñol- Marinilla ITT, 19 km

Easton-Clif Bar Cycling Team scholarships

The U.S. based Easton-Clif Bar Cycling Team has announced its three scholarship recipients for 2003. The scholarships are a reward for young cyclists who have excelled on and off the bike during the season. Each recipient will receive a $US400 scholarship to be used towards a college education. The winners were selected on the basis of their abilities to "train, educate, and challenge themselves" on the bike, while supporting the organisation through "volunteering and devoting time to promote cycling through events, advocacy, and educational programs" off the bike.

Scholarship winners

Wesley Satterwhite, a 12 old 9th grader at Weddington Middle School
Greg Powell, a 17 year old 11th grader at Myers Park High School
Will Hoffarth an 18 old 2003 graduate of JM Robinson High School

Rotorua MTB Club awarded

The New Zealand Rotorua Mountain Bike Club emerged as a winner in the recent Trustpower Spirit of Rotorua Awards, which recognise the contribution of a wide range of volunteer organizations in the community. The awards cover five categories: Heritage & Environment, Health & Well Being, Art & Culture, Sport & Leisure, Education & Child or Youth Development. The Rotorua Mountain Bike Club won the Sport and Leisure category and the overall Supreme Award.

"This is a fantastic reflection of all the hard work put in by club members organizing events and building and maintaining tracks and the success of our riders in various events, both in New Zealand and overseas, over the last year," said Club secretary, Graeme Simpson.

The Club will host the 2004 Oceania Championships in January, the first step in a two and a half year build up to the World's.

Previous News    Next News

(All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2003)