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Edited by John Stevenson
France's two most popular riders, Laurent Jalabert and Richard Virenque, will face off for the first time this year at next week's Tour Méditerranéen. 22 teams will start this year's Med Tour, including all eight French teams.
Other stars rolling out from Salon-de-Provence on February 13 include Mario Cipollini, who has made a habit of stage wins here; Michele Bartoli; Danilo Di Luca; Davide Rebellin; Michael Boogerd; and Rik Verbrugghe.
Like many French races this year, the Tour Méditerranéen has struggled for funding and only survives as a result of public subsidies.
Teams: AG2R, BigMat, Bonjour, Cofidis, Crédit Agricole, Francaise des Jeux, Jean Delatour, Oktos, Acqua e Sapone, Colpack, Fassa Bortolo, Lampre, Mapei, Saeco, Tacconi, CSC-Tiscali, Domo, Lotto, Gerolsteiner, Phonak, Rabobank, iBanesto
Stage 1 - February 13: Salon-de-Provence - Berre team time trial, 36km
Stage 2 - February 14: Bouc-Bel-Air - Le Cannet, 168km
Stage 3 - February 15: Villeneuve-Loubet - Hyères, 142km
Stage 4 - February 16: La Londe-les-Maures - Toulon Mont-Faron, 147km
Stage 5 - February 17: Rousset - Marseille, 120km
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Italian pundits are paying close attention to 22-year-old Ukrainian neo-pro Yaroslav Popovych who joined the Colnago-Landbouwkrediet team this year after a stellar year on the Italian espoir scene.
Popovych was instrumental in the win by team-mate Yuriy Milutshenko in Sunday's GP Costa degli Etruschi. The team's sponsor, Ernesto Colnago is one of the experts with a close eye on the Ukrainian. Colnago has a reputation as a talent-spotter as well as a bike builder, having supported riders such as Eddy Merckx and Guiseppe Saronni.
Italian national team manager Franco Ballerini is another who is impressed with Popovych. "Popovych is definitely a great talent," he said. "He has done great things as an amateur. He has strength and brains. He also has an optimal power-to-weight ratio and goes well on teh flats withouit losing contact in the climbs."
Ballerini added, "Anyone who wins 20 races in one year cannot be an average rider. He has another advantage too: he acts with total professionalism. He trains a lot and knows how to suffer during his preparation. He is a tough one. In two years he will be a champion."
Christophe Moreau has joined riders such as Scott Sunderland on the 'amazingly unlucky start to 2002' list, sustaining a broken clavicle in a crash at yesterday's French season-opener, the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise.
Robert Hunter (Mapei-Quick Step) took yesterday's stage of Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi and kept his place at the top of the leader board. The young South African has controlled the race from day one, and is in a commanding position for the overall win.
By Tommy Campbell in Melaka
A hat trick of titles is within his grasp in the Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi, but Hong Kong's Kam Po Wong is aware that the challenge for the blue jersey of best Asian rider will come from within his own team, Telekom Malaysia.
By Bram de Waard
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A famous retired Dutch rider said once: "Soccer players are saying after a game: We played well... Cyclists are never playing."
I doubt that, and to prove my doubts, I want to take you with me to Italy, April 2001 near Bari. We were coming into the last ten kilometres of the first stage of The paths of King Nicola. After severe attacks from a Hong Kong rider from the Marco Polo Cycling Club, only four riders are left in front on the savage circuit. Three Slovenians of the same team (Ptujna Ptuj) and the Champion of Asia, Wong Kam Po, born in Hong Kong on March 4th 1973.
Click here for the full profile.
The transfer season may be nominally over, but one rider still looking for a place is Spaniard Manuel Calvente, who is reported by Spanish sources to be close to signing with CSC-Tiscali after talks at the Challenge Mallorca.
Over the winter Calvente has looked set to sign for several teams including Relax-Fuenlabrada and Kelme-Costa Blanca. Kelme offered the 25-year-old a contract through 2003, but it now lookslike Calvente will turn pro with CSC, joining three other Spaniards (Carlos Sastre, Francisco Cerezo and Marcelino García) on the Denmark-based squad.
By Philip Ingham, BCF
Britain's top female road rider, Ceris Gilfillan, has decided to take a year's break from international cycling in 2002. Twenty-two year old Ceris will spend her sabbatical year continuing her education and making plans for her post-cycling career. Although she is disappointed to be missing out on the Commonwealth Games, Ceris is already planning her programme up to the 2004 Athens Olympics. A former triathlete, Ceris has enjoyed some outstanding results in European Championships, World Cups and major stage races. In 2000 she was national champion.
Tracy Moseley (Kona), one of Britain's top female downhill and dual riders will be on Friday's "They Think it's all Over" on BBC1. Tracy is one of the "Feel the Sports Person" contestants - the show goes out on BBC1 this Friday at 21:30 - 22:00
German Team Coast has started its second year as a Division I team. Although the team didn't exactly set the world alight with a string of top results in 2001, they've restructured the team, signed a lot of new riders and significantly boosted the management. The following profile has been compiled by Anne Richter, webmistress of Team Coast rider Alex Zülle's fan site, and a keen follower of cycling.
Click here for the full profile.
New regulations regarding competition-legal wheels for UCI races came into effect January 1 and seem to be creating some confusion as to what is and isn't allowed. The UCI recently posted a list of wheels that are definitely legal. For that list and an explanation of the new rules, click here.
After a concerted membership drive, Lost River Cycling (LRC) is now the largest cycling club in Idaho with 80 men, women and junior riders, nearly half of whom hold a USA Cycling license.
At the core of LRC is racing. The 2002 teams will include Elite Men and Women's teams, plus amateur teams in an effort to promote developing riders.
In the vanguard of the men's elite team are Cody Peterson, Matt Newbill, Calvin Allan and Eric Ransom.
Peterson crosses over from mountain biking to the road in 2002, after being a member of the 2001 Under-23 World's US Mountain Bike team and currently ranked one of the top 10 Pro mountain bikers in the US. In addition to a full road schedule, Peterson will be racing on the NORBA NCS Circuit as well as attending two UCI World Cups in North America.
Newbill and Allan are former Boise Stars members. Last year, Allan was fourth in the Espoir Time Trial Nationals, (behind Michael Creed, Danny Pate and Jon Retseck). Allan intends to improve on that finish this year and eventually move on to the European racing scene.
The youngest member of the Elite team is Eric Ransom. He has established himself as the best Junior's rider in Idaho by winning all available Idaho State Junior Championships in Road, Time-Trial, Criterium, Expert XC and Downhill Mountain bike.
New for 2002 is the Elite Women's Team. This squad will compete in the National and Regional race scene, and its sights are set on racing in the Hewlett Packard Women's Challenge Stage Race, in Idaho.
Men
Chris Abbruzzese
Calvin Allan
Andy Bopp
Tom Liby
Justin Maines
Matt Newbill
Cody Peterson
Eric Ransom
Eric Smedberg
'Fast Start In 2002'
Zach Vestal
Tom Volk
Heinrich Wiebe
Erin Witter
Women
Becky Bjork
Kris Erwin
Barb Kriesle
Simone Otto
Liza Rachetto
Joelle Ypma
Sponsors
Bob's Bicycles, Vicious Fish Tacos, S.P.O.R.T.S Rehabilitation Clinic, Titus Cycles, Reynolds, Shimano, Thomson, Serfas, Hutchinson, Smith Sport Optics, Peak Bar, Sock Guy, Hammer Nutrition, Louis Garneau, Mail Boxes Etc, Lyle Pearson Motors, Murphy Holzer and Vaughn, Boise Co-op, Fletcher Chiropractic, Randy Smith DDS, Lytle Signs, Wobble-Naught
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