First Edition Cycling News for April 20, 2004

Edited by Jeff Jones

The Ardennes in the Flèche

By Jeff Jones

Astarloa won in 2003
Photo © Jeff Tse

The mid-week Ardennes classic, La Flèche Wallonne, will once again be held between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, giving the riders with the best climbing legs three opportunities to perform. Once again, La Flèche Wallonne will serve as an hors categorie men's race (199.5 km) and the fifth round of the World Cup for women (97.5 km).

The men's race starts in the southern Belgian city of Charleroi outside the Stade du Pays, and heads through the provinces of Hainut, Namur and Liège to the small town of Huy, remarkable in cycling for its famous "wall". The Mur de Huy rises 130 m in 1.3 km, and contains some extremely steep (greater than 15%) sections. The men climb the Mur three times; the women just once. In both races, the finish is at the top of the Mur.

There are other climbs in La Flèche too, including the Côtes d' Amay, France, Pailhe, Coutisse, Bellaire, Bohissau and Ahin. In the men's race, these are encountered on the two (different) finishing loops once the race passes through Huy for the first time. The women, who start in Huy, also do most of these climbs, following the same finishing circuit as the men do.

With such a selective parcours, it's rare that there is a "lucky" winner of this race. Last year, the men's race saw Saeco's Igor Astarloa win the sprint to the top of the Mur. Astarloa went on to become World Champion in Hamilton six months later. Unfortunately he won't be able to defend his title, as his new Cofidis team has currently suspended itself from competition while it examines an internal doping affair.

In Astarloa's absence, riders to watch include Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step-Davitamon), Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner), Danilo Di Luca (Saeco), Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile), Axel Merckx (Lotto-Domo), Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola), Oscar Camenzind and Tyler Hamilton (Phonak), Unai Etxebarria (Euskaltel), Denis Menchov (Illes Balears) and Franck Vandenbroucke (Fassa Bortolo).

No Nicole Cooke
Photo © Jeff Tse

Similarly in the women's race, there will be no Nicole Cooke to defend her title. The Welsh talent is getting over a knee problem that has required a lot of work, and although she hopes to be back racing by the end of April, La Flèche Wallonne will come too early for her.

With 28 teams entered, the women's race will again be a fight for position, with riders like Oenone Wood (AIS), Mirjam Melchers (Farm Frites-Hartol), Zoulfia Zabirova (Let's Go Finland) and Susanne Ljungskog (SATS) expected to be among the front runners.

Cyclingnews will be providing live coverage of the 68th Flèche Wallonne, starting from approximately 14:30 CEST/08:30 EDT/05:30 PDT/22:30 AEST.

Fassa Bortolo for Flèche Wallonne

Fassa Bortolo team directors Giancarlo Ferretti and Alberto Volpi will take the following riders to Charleroi for the 68th Flèche Wallonne this Wednesday: Dario Cioni, Massimo Codol, Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni, Kim Kirchen, Roberto Petito, Fabio Sacchi, Frank Vandenbroucke, Marco Velo

Chocolade Jacques for Ardennes classics

The Chocolade Jacques team will compete with the following riders in both La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Mauricio Ardila Cano, Florent Brard, Zbigniew Piatek, Jan Van Velzen, Jurgen Van De Walle, Geert Verheyen, Bart Voskamp and Igor Abakoumov.

De Groot out for Ardennes classics

Dutchman Bram de Groot will not take part in the Ardennes classics this week. The Rabobank rider is still suffering from a bad cold, and missed last Sunday's Amstel Gold Race as a result. Oscar Freire will take De Groot's place in La Flèche Wallonne, while Karsten Kroon will ride in his spot in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

No operation necessary for Olmo

Antonio Olmo (Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme) will not require an operation for his dislocated collarbone, which happened during stage 1 of the Vuelta a Aragon. After examining Olmo on Monday, Dr. José Reyes Fernández-Velázquez of the Mutua Asepeyo de Sevilla, determined that the dislocation is not serious enough to require surgical intervention.

Olmo will rest for the remainder of the week, before beginning the next phase of his rehabilitation. The team believes he will be ready for competition by the middle of May.

Bettini closer to top in UCI rankings

After finishing third in Sunday's Amstel Gold Race, Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step-Davitamon) has moved closer to Erik Zabel (T-Mobile), who currently holds down the number one position in the UCI rankings. Bettini trails the German sprinter by 45 points, and this Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège could shift things in the Italian's favour.

Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) moved up a couple of places on the rankings (7th - 5th) courtesy of his Amstel win, while Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola) jumped nine places from 18th to 9th after winning the Vuelta a Aragon on the weekend. Given Simoni's form at the moment, Garzelli should go into the Giro d'Italia in three weeks with a lot of confidence.

In the teams rankings, CSC and Rabobank continue to hold the first and second spots, while Gerolsteiner moved up from eighth to fifth, with Rebellin's extra points. In Division II, Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme and Domina Vacanze have tied up the top two spots.

UCI Rankings as of April 18, 2004

Elite men
 
1 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                               2266.75 pts
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick.Step-Davitamon                     2222.00
3 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                      2132.00
4 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme 1773.00
5 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                           1694.00
6 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service-Berry Floor          1624.00
7 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco                                  1540.00
8 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                               1327.00
9 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie    1242.00
10 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                      1212.00
11 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank                           1196.75
12 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team                    1196.50
13 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team                             1178.00
14 Isidro Nozal Vega (Spa) Liberty Seguros                     1155.00
15 Robbie Mcewen (Aus) Lotto-Domo                              1153.00
16 Francisco Mancebo Perez (Spa) Illes Balears-Banesto         1145.00
17 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone        1122.00
18 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Lampre                           1115.00
19 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco                                  1114.00
20 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems                 1096.20
 
Teams
 
Men's Division I
 
1 Team CSC                                                     2814.00 pts
2 Rabobank                                                     2752.00
3 Quick.Step-Davitamon                                         2390.00
4 T-Mobile Team                                                2300.00
5 Gerolsteiner                                                 1865.00
6 Lotto-Domo                                                   1795.00
7 US Postal Service-Berry Floor                                1788.00
8 Fassa Bortolo                                                1618.00
9 Cofidis, le credit par Telephone                             1570.00
10 Illes Balears-Banesto                                       1548.00

Men's Division II
 
1 Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme                                   1180.00 pts
2 Domina Vacanze                                                954.00
3 Ceramiche Panaria-Margres                                     498.00
4 Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo                                  444.00
5 Colombia-Selle Italia                                         393.00
6 Team Barloworld-Androni Giocattoli                            378.00
7 Costa De Almeria-Paternina                                    351.00
8 L.A.-Pecol                                                    287.00
9 Navigators Insurance Cycling Team                             241.00
10 Vlaanderen-T Interim                                         240.00
 
Full rankings: Individuals, Teams, Nations

Kelme and Giro bosses to meet

Vicente Belda and José Luis Aznar, respectively the director and manager of the Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme team, and Carmine Castellano, the organiser of the Giro d'Italia, will meet on Tuesday in Madrid, at the same time as the Professional Cycling Council is holding its second seminar. The three will discuss the team's participation in the Giro d'Italia, with Belda and Aznar wishing to give Castellano their version of events in the wake of Jesus Manzano's doping allegations.

Sportsbook.com sponsors women's team

Internet sports bookmaker Sportsbook.com has announced it will become the title sponsor for the erstwhile worlddiff.com women's cycling team. This is not Sportsbook.com's first foray into cycling, nor its first into women's sports. In 2003, Sportsbook.com sponsored a U.S. Division 3 Trade Team that enjoyed some success, including a stage win in the FBD Milk Ras. And, for several years, Sportsbook.com sponsored LPGA golfer Laura Davies. However, it's the first time that Sportsbook.com has combined sponsorship of bicycle racing and female athletes

The Sportsbook.com Women's Cycling Team's six woman roster consists entirely of riders age 26 and under, a rarity in US cycling. The best known member of the squad is 14 time National Champion Magen Long, who also races for OBRU/The Bicycle Store. The other five team members are Andrea Dvorak, Jessie Peil and Aimee Vasse, Sarah Faulkner and Tracy Cundiff

"All of them have shown the physical ability to be competitive at the national level," said team manager John Alsedek. "What they need now is the opportunity to race against the best on a regular basis, as well as the guidance and support to be successful. Sportsbook.com, along with our other sponsors, is making that possible."

After contesting regional events during April and the beginning part of May, Sportsbook.com Women's Cycling will kick off its 2004 National Racing Calendar campaign on May 8 in Richmond, Virginia's CapTech Classic. Major events on the schedule will include the Wachovia Liberty Classic, the Nature Valley Grand Prix, the Tour de ‘Toona, and the T-Mobile International.

More information: www.sportsbookracing.com

Founders Ride and Legends Luncheon at 20th Wachovia USPRO Championship

The Wachovia cycling series in the USA will host its annual Founders' Ride and Legends Luncheon on June 5. This year it will celebrate two decades of the USPRO championships in Philadelphia, while at the same time raising money for the Nicole Reinhart Memorial Fund.

The Founders' Ride will see 50 past and current USA cycling legends and 50 patrons of the sport pedal 65 miles (escorted by police) from the Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown to Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Each of the 50 patrons will donate at least $250 and in addition to the ride, will also join the legends in a special Legends Luncheon, sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza hotel afterwards.

Proceeds from the Founders Ride and GlaxoSmithKline Legends Luncheon will be donated to the Nicole Reinhart Memorial Fund, Inc. Mike Reinhart, Nicole's father and president of the Nicole Fund will attend the event to present a special award to the highest donor.

"Nicole knew many of these legendary cyclists, having grown up at the Lehigh Velodrome and she loved the Wachovia USPRO Championship," he said. "There will be great stories and memories to come out of this gathering and we're so pleased that funds will be raised from it to help the Nicole Fund support initiatives that will go toward perpetuating cycling's greatest values and traditions."

More information: www.nicolesbench.com or www.procyclingtour.com.

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