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Edited by Jeff Jones
French jewellery store sponsored team, Jean Delatour held its team presentation at Amelie-les-Bains, in the eastern Pyrenees. The team managed by Michel Gros will be once again headed by Laurent Brochard, Patrice Halgand and Laurent Roux, however Gros hopes that the remainder of the squad will improve this season.
The team's main goal this year will again be the Tour de France, and it hopes to be gain one of the wildcard selections come May 1. Should this not happen, then it's likely that the sponsorship will dry up at the end of the season.
"It is not the fault of the Tour de France, but the UCI regulations that came into place last year," commented Gros. "All the French teams have the same concerns."
The team's top riders Brochard and Halgand will aim for the spring classics, in particular Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as well as the Criterium International. Laurent Roux, who wore the climber's jersey in last year's Tour, will focus on the Midi Libre and the Dauphine Libere prior to the Tour de France.
Jean Delatour will debut on February 5 in France with the Grand Prix d'ouverture La Marseillaise, followed by the Etoile de Bessèges (February 6-10) and the Tour Méditerranéen (February 13-17). Paris-Nice is an important early season appointment for them, and Gros will be happy that the race will be held this year.
The team's budget has been increased to 2.9 million euros, with a slight increase in the number of riders (up to 19 this year).
Jan 14-21: Training camp in Hyères Les Palmiers
Jan 29-Feb 5: Training camp in Amélie-les-Bains
Jan 31: Team presentation in Amélie-les-Bains
Feb 5: Grand Prix d'ouverture La Marseillaise
Feb 6-10: Etoile de Bessèges
Feb 13-17: Tour Méditerranéen
Feb 19: Trofeo Laigueglia (Ita)
Feb 23: Tour du Haut Var
Feb 24: Classic Haribo
Feb 24: Grand Prix de civita nova marche (Ita)
Mar 2: GP Citta di Chiasso (Swi)
Mar 2: Het Volk (Bel)
Mar 3: GP di Lugano (Swi)
Mar 3: Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne (Bel)
Mar 9-10: Guldensporen (Bel)
Mar 10-17: Paris - Nice
Mar 15-17: Prix Erik Breukink (Ned)
Mar 24: Cholet Pays de Loire
Mar 24: Stausee Rundfahrt (Swi)
Mar 26-30: Settimana cycliste internationale (Ita)
Mar 27: Waregem (Bel)
Mar 28: Kruibeke (Bel)
Mar 30-31: Critérium International
Mar 30: Harelbeke (Bel)
Mar 31: Flèche Brabançonne (Bel)
Apr 2: Paris - Camembert
Apr 5: Route Adélie
Apr 7: Tour of Flanders (Bel)
Apr 9-12: Circuit de la Sarthe
Apr 10: Gent - Wevelgem (Bel)
Apr 12: Prix Pino-Cerami (Bel)
Apr 14: Paris Roubaix
Apr 17: La Flèche Wallone (Bel)
Apr 21: Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Bel)
Apr 25: Grand Prix de Denain
Apr 28: Tour de Vendée
Apr 28: Amstel Gold Race
Apr 30-May 5: Tour de Romandie (Swi)
Seoul District Prosecutor's criminal division has indicted with detention 24 people on charges of fixing the results of cycling races, netting an estimated US $114,000, according to a report in Korean newspaper Chosun.
The group includes a 41 year old cycling organising committee member identified as Jeon, 11 riders, and 12 involved in placing bets and giving payoffs. Bike racing is watched by four million spectators a year in Korea, with an annual gross betting turnover of $W2 trillion (US$1.5 billion).
Jeon has been accused of making arrangements with a 33 year old racer, identified as Lee, and others, to give them 50% of winnings, provided they finished in set positions.
Jeon reportedly was able to juggle rankings four times as a result of the race fixing, raking in 150 million won (US$114,000).
A cyclist identified as Kim who won the Asian Games twice is suspected of letting betters in the stands know the position he would finish in after making arrangements with fellow racers since 1999 to February of last year, and received some US $38,000 in bribes. The prosecutor said fixers bought cyclists to control their rankings and blackmailed them to the false rankings in a race.
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Colnago Landbouwkrediet has announced the team to contest the opening events on the Italian road racing calendar, starting with the GP Costa Degli Etruschi.
The team, under the directeur sportifs Olivano Locatelli and Gerard Bulens will be: Domenico Romano, Salvador Scamardella, Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych, Volodymyr Bileka, Sergey Avdyeyev and Yurij Metlushenko and Belgians Michael Vanhaecke, Marc Streel and Steven van Malderghen.
The team training camp will be held in de Santa Severo.
By Tomas Nilsson, Cyclingnews.com correspondent
The 2002 Danish Mini Six Days event began in Copenhagen today.
Now it is 25th anniversary year, it is the only event boasting a race for children aged 11 to 14 and in fact, has spawned several of today's stars.
Jimmi Madsen, who rides as number seven with Michael Sandstod, won the mini race in 1983. Jacob Moe reached the podium in 1989 and in 1991 and 1992 Jimmy Hansen, did the same. This year he has the honour of accompanying Etienne De Wilde in his last six days.
One of the main highights is a 50 lap madison by the young riders, each day in front of the crowds.
Twenty four riders have trained under the supervision of Kurt Hjorth and Tinna Hansen on the Odense track four times this summer in preparation for the event. In the winter months, they continued riding on the new Ballerup Arena.
"The riders comes from all parts of Denmark and they form friendships for the future," Tinna Hansen said in an interview on the race's official web site.
The organisers place the emphasis on fun rather than gathering points and laps. Jersey number seven, traditionally worn by the top Danish pair in the pro race, will be given to the riders who have shown the best sportsmanship and comradeship during the training.
A field of 125 riders will line up for the inaugural Wildside MTB, a unique mountain bike event to be held over four days, starting next Sunday, on Tasmania's rugged West coast.
The 210km event, comprising 7event competition stages linked by seven cruising stages from Cradle Mountain to Strahan , promises some of the most diverse riding the competitors are ever likely to experience in one event. The race has drawn riders from around Australia and even a couple of internationals. The breakdown by state is Tasmania (69), NSW (21), ACT (11), Victoria (16), Queensland and WA (3 each). The internationals are from Switzerland and Samoa. The men's open will be the largest category with 40 riders. The competition at the head of the pack is likely to be solid, with Tasmanian Mark Leis tipped as an early favourite after a solid domestic season last year. The veteran men's is almost as popular with 28 riders. Although the U23 category has just six riders, it is here that the competition is likely to be most intense and also where the overall winner is likely to emerge.
Current Australian U23 champion, Sid Taberlay, will start favourite, but U19 champion, Jai Crawford, will make a contest of it given current form. With only two entries in the U23 and veteran women's sections, it is likely these will be merged with the open. Of the 12 individual women entered, Mary Grigson is the stand out for overall honours, though she is still recovering from a shoulder injury that has kept her off the bike for nearly a month.
However she says she's looking forward to the event.
"Fifteen stages in four days! Luckily not all of it will be at race pace," she said.
"Between each of the competitive stages are cruise stages where I can take the time to enjoy the bushland and people. This will be new to me! But it will be fun, as well as fantastic training."
The two-person teams section, where the riders complete the whole course as a pair, has proved popular with 14 entries in the men's and 5 in the mixed. It is likely the eventual winners will stamp their authority on the event on the second day. Although one of the shortest at 52km, it is likely to be the toughest with some of the most technical riding and the biggest climbs.
The ratio of competition to cruise is also much greater than on other days. Mountain biking is a sport though, where luck can play a hand and there will still be plenty of opportunity to gain or lose time on the third day that starts with a 4.5km time trial followed by a tough 22km undulating coastal ride.
Although Wildside MTB has attracted some of the best riders in the country, and they will be out to win, for some riders the journey may be more important - and it'll be a great journey no matter where they finish.
By Tommy Campbell, Irish Independent/Evening Herald/Sunday Independent
News emanating from Irish cycling's HQ is that a series of Classic races has been initiated for the upcoming season. The Classic races have always been popular down the years and organisers have always been assured of a top class turnout of competitors up and down the country.
Hopefully a sponsor will come on board to boost the series this season.
Many years ago, Le Coq Sportif lent their name to the series and for a number of years it flourished but eventually they opted out. The series did attract other interested parties, but the wind of change in the sponsorship area and oft times a clash between the race sponsor and the series sponsor was not harmonious to say the least.
Thankfully from a competition viewpoint the Classic races will again be an integral part of the racing calendar, and will assure the races live up to a high standard.
One man certainly happy to see his event listed is Tadgh Moriarty from Listowel in Co. Kerry.
"I'd like to think that the Gene Moriarty Memorial is deservedly back on the Classic Series. All associated with the event put a huge amount of effort in to make it a first class event with an attractive prize fund. The Moriarty family have been involved in the promotion of cycling here in Munster and always welcome cyclists to this part of the country. The fact also that we retained our traditional date of the August Bank Holiday weekend is a bonus," said Tadhg.
The province of Leinster has done exceptionally well in the divvy of events, getting no less than six of the ten events listed. Oddly enough there is no place for the Matt Corcoran that is always an eagerly fought contest in around the town of Naas.
Those listed with Classic status are: Meath Grand Prix, Des Hanlon, Ben McKenna, Sheaffy Grand Prix, Noel Hammond, Shay Elliott, Gene Moriarty, National Road Race Championship, Noel Taggart and the Tour of Armagh.
Norway's fastest growing cycling club, Frikransen, will make its mark in the national cup this year with an elite team of some of the country's best riders.
The club, which began in 1998 and now boasts more than 130 riders of all categories, boasts riders the calibre of Arild Treiten, who is the best long distance triathlete in the country, along with the most promising woman rider, Gunhild Giske.
Njål Engløk, proud chairman of Frikransen, said he believed both elite and masters teams would be among the five most successful teams this season.
Elite men
Erik Hicks
Stig Folkestad
Ola Magnus Laugaland
John Henry Strupstad
Morten Nygård
Sveinung Vea
Njål Engløk (riding coach)
Elite women
Siri Simonsen
Gunhild Giske
Line Søvik
Junior
Sigurd Rinde jr
Edvard Rinde
Sondre Nordberg
Martin Kristiansen
Snorre Winge Engløk
Masters women
Laila Hjulstad
Gerd Steinheim
Hege Rokseth
Masters men
Einar Bråthen
Sigurd Rinde
Harald Brekke
Finn-Arne Weltzien
Tormod Nilsen
Magne Ådna
Kjell Dragnes
Knut Erik Finstad
Odd Johansen
Ole Kjærsgaard
Robin Hicks
and many more
Sponsors
Hertz
VG
High5
Viner
Campagnolo
Montanus
Pentax
thingamy.com
website: www.frikransen.com
Red Hills Racing Club is a Cat. 3 and Masters team based in Tallahassee, Florida. Last year the team managed to win the state criterium, time trial and road race championships, and hopes to do so again this year. The Master's 40+ team includes Matt Rini, Scott Gross, John Salsbury, Brian Steins and new addition, Randy Lewandowski, formerly of the Jacksonville Racing Club.
Matt Rini
Randy Lewandowski
Scott Gross
Brian Steins
John Salsbury
Rob Gates
Curtis Long
Ralf Teten
Patrick Dorian
Daniel Domingo
Dean M. Krueger
Chris Bridier
Clint Bridier
David Anderson
Sponsors
American Bicycle Company
Tec's Pro Shops
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