First Edition Cycling News for November 22, 2004Edited by Jeff Jones & Hedwig Kröner Zabel healingAt the T-Mobile team meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Erik Zabel was spotted wearing two different shoes. Because of the heel fracture Zabel suffered at the beginning of October, he needs to wear a special shoe, but has already taken up training again. "I'll have to wear this shoe for another two weeks," the 34 year-old sprinter said. "But I'm riding on the trainer and I've been getting daily rehab exercises for one week now." Zabel will be back on his bike as soon as the fracture has healed completely, which it should have by early January, when T-Mobile will be going to its annual pre-season training camp in Mallorca. Bäckstedt awardedSwedish powerhouse Magnus Bäckstedt (Alessio-Bianchi) has been named Sportsman of the Year award in his hometown of Linköping, Sweden, after his effort in winning this year's Paris-Roubaix. Bäckstedt was honoured at a ceremony in Stockholm, before flying straight to Stansted Airport in the UK and driving to Coventry, where he was the special guest at Pedal Power, the annual conference of the Association of British Cycling Coaches. Scarponi still negotiatingItalian cyclist Michele Scarponi is still trying to secure a ride with a ProTour team for next year, according to Tuttobiciweb.com. Scarponi, who currently rides for Vincenzo Santoni (ex-Domina Vacanze manager), has had interest from Cofidis, T-Mobile, Gerolsteiner, Illes Balears and Liberty Seguros. Even the "new" Domina Vacanze-De Nardi team has offered to take him on board to smooth the relationship between Santoni and Domina boss Ernesto Preatoni. But before anything happens, Scarponi will need to reach an agreement to leave Santoni. Colombia-Selle Italia completeNext year's Colombia-Selle Italia team has completed its lineup for next season. Managed by Gianni Savio and captained by Colombian Marlon Perez Arango, the team will be keeping Alexis Castro, Freddy Paredes (Col), José Rujano (Ven), Leonardo Scarselli (Ita), Philippe Schnyder (Swi), Trent Wilson and Russell Van Hout (Aus). New signings for the team are Luca De Angeli (ex-Fassa Bortolo), Moreno Di Biase (ex-Team Icet), Yony Leal (ex-Orbitel 05) and Rolando Trujillo (ex-Bono del Ciclismo), as well as neo-pro's Mariano Giallorenzo and Nilton Ortiz. EuroGifts.com confirms ridersAfter Marvin van der Pluijm extended his contract with EuroGifts.com earlier, team director Arthur van Dongen has confirmed a number of other riders for the team next season. Jeroen Boelen, Jelle van Groezen, Björn Hoeben, Jos Pronk, Robbert van der Stelt and John Sulkers have all extended their contracts for 2005, while young talents Tim van der Zanden and Gideon de Jong have also been signed on. "Alongside the continuation of our core riders, I'm happy that we could secure these two young talents out of the De Jonge Renner pool," said Van Dongen. "We are still in negotiation with a number of riders from the current pro peloton. I expect that we will be able to fill the last couple of places shortly." Cohnen and Cuppens leave ComNetThe two Dutch riders, Stefan Cohnen and Tjarco Cuppens, are leaving ComNet-Senges to ride for new teams. Cohnen signed a contract for 2005 with another German squad, Team Lamonta, while Cuppens will be riding for Belgian elite team Diametal-Colnago, which is likely to become a satellite team for a Belgian pro team. Orbea sponsors Continental teamBasque bike manufacturer Orbea will sponsor a Continental team next year, according to the Spanish cycling federation (RFEC). Orbea has paid its €6,000 deposit to the RFEC, well before the December 3 deadline, and is the first Spanish team to do so. Ster Elektrotoer links up with ProTourNext year's Ster Elektrotoer will run between June 15-18 over five stages, the organisers announced today. Although not part of the UCI's ProTour calendar, the race will benefit from the ProTour team time trial in Eindhoven on June 19, as many of the top teams will be in the Netherlands to ride that event. The Ster Elektrotoer will thus be a perfect lead up, and has been cooperating with the UCI and the Eindhoven TTT organisers to that end. The stage routes of the Ster Elektrotoer have yet to be finalised, but it's certain that there will be a split road/time trial stage on the second day. There will also be stages ridden through the south of Limburg and the Belgian Ardennes, and the race will finish in Eindhoven a day before the ProTour team time trial. Brugge interested in Tour stageThe Belgian city of Brugge is interested in hosting a stage of the Tour de France in either 2006 or 2007, according to Sportwereld.be. It's expected to cost between €200,000-250,000, but the city will more than recoup that via the exposure and number of people that a Tour stage brings. Best Performance Record for the Hour in LABy Mitch Friedman
After winning the 4K Individual Pursuit Talent Pool time trial on Friday with a time of 4:44, Curtis Gunn went out to set a world record for 'Best Performance Record' (hour record with aero equipment allowed) at the ADT Event Center Velodrome, Los Angeles, on Saturday afternoon. Gunn, 33, didn't have time to do specific training because only a few weeks ago he was busy competing in the Tour of Southland (UCI 2.5) in New Zealand where he won the Harcourt Sprint Ace jersey. He and his teammate and advisor Eddie Monnier (Velo-Fit, a Cyclingnews Form & Fitness Contributor) took advantage of the L.A. Time Trials event, as USA and UCI Cycling officials would be on hand to verify his record. Gunn rode 47.764km, setting a new world record for a non-pro rider in the 30-34 age group. This is the inaugural attempt on this category, so Gunn has set the standard for others to break.
Gunn, who rides for Veloworx Racing thanked Eddie Monnier and Veloworx Racing for all their help this season. He said that while he knew it would hurt, it was even harder than he expected, and if he ever tried it again, he would train for it specifically! He found that every time he took a sip of water (he used a Camelbak drinking system) the next lap seemed a bit slower, so he had had to pick up the pace. Actually, he was remarkably consistent in his pacing with less than a second between his fastest and slowest laps (aside from the starting lap, of course). Gunn hopes to turn pro next season so he wanted to set this age-graded record for the 30-34 age group before he became ineligible. PhotographyImages by Mitch Friedman photography
Australian teams namedCycling Australia has announced the complete list of riders who will compete in the Oceania Track Cycling Championships (December 3-5) and the Australian Olympic Youth Festival (January 18-23, 2005). The Oceania Track Cycling Championships will be held at Melbourne's Vodafone Arena while the cycling competition for the Australian Olympic Youth Festival will be staged at Sydney’s Dunc Gray Velodrome. Oceania Track Cycling ChampionshipsElite Men Paul Bayly NSW (All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2004) |
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