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Edited by John Stevenson
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera yesterday expanded its story that Italian champion Fausto Coppi was murdered, with direct testimony from the Benedictine monk who claims to have heard the murderer's confession.
In a further three-page story on the case, published Sunday, Corriere quotes Brother Adrien, of the monastery at Koubri, near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (formerly the Upper Volta) as saying: "Coppi was poisoned after the death of a rider from Bouake in the Ivory Coast. I believe that he died in a fall in the Tour de france. People from Bouake told me about it. His family and friends wanted revenge. He was poisoned with a potion that is well-known in Burkina Faso, made from a local herb. It acts slowly and causes fevers that can possibly lead to death."
However, the small flaw in the tale is that no rider from the Ivory Coast has ever taken part in the Tour de france, let alone died in a fall.
The doctor who attended Coppi in his final illness, Ettore Allegri, pointed out that, "Blood tests were carried out after his death and confirmed that he died of malaria."
French rider Raphaël Geminiani, a contemporary of Coppi, who also contracted malaria in Burkina Faso while racing with Coppi, confirms that the Campionissimo died of malaria. "It was malaria. I was saved because the disease was diagnosed immediately when I got home. Coppi thought he had influenza but when I contacted his hospital to tell them about my case, the doctors said 'they treated you for your disease, we are treating Coppi for the same.'"
Despite these denials, Italian magistrates have opened an investigation into Coppi's 1960 death.
By Rochelle Gilmore, women's series winner
For the past few years the Victorian team with World No.1 Anna Millward has dominated the Bay Criterium Cycling Classic. This year NSW cleaned up with 4 out of 5 stage wins, the Winners Yellow Jersey, the Sprinters Jersey and the under 20's Jersey!
Before today's stage commenced I had decided that I would follow Hayley Rutherford (my only threat for the overall win) for the whole race. In the first 10 minutes of the race a group of 8 girls got away, Hayley did not move with this break so I stayed back in the main pack with her.
This is the way the race stayed to the finish, I did not chase the break away as one of my NSW team mates was in the lead group, I knew if she stayed in the break she would be the fastest of the 8 to take the stage win! It was extremely satisfying for me to see NSW team mate Olivia Gollan take the stage win today, she has always been a very hard worker and a great team player!
I was the first of the main bunch taking 9th place today- enough to secure the overall lead! It feels fantastic to finally take the series win!
By Karen Forman in Melbourne
Around 200 riders, officials and supporters gathered at Melbourne's Crown Casino Sunday night to bid a fond "ciao, ciao" to what race director John Trevorrow has described as the best Bay criterium series ever.
The night was hosted by the Voice of Cycling, Phil Liggett, visiting Australia from his home base in Britain for this month's Tour Down Under, and featured the induction of four of cycling's stars into the Victorian Cycling Hall of Fame (see story below), along with footage from the 2002 Skilled Geelong Bay Classic and a video of newly crowned Australian Cyclist of the Year Stuart O'Grady and his Tour de France stage victory.
Trevorrow publicly thanked event sponsors, particularly main sponsor Skilled Engineering, which has been on board for eight years, and the City of Greater Geelong, which got involved this year for the first time. He paid tribute to all officials, riders, media, volunteers and his wife, Kay.
"It has been the best in the 14 years," he said. "We had more publicity and for that I would like to thank Graeme Brown (in the midst of controversy for two of the five days of racing).
"It has been an absolutely brilliant series."
A highlight of the night was the impanelling of eight of the top riders who had contested the event: Stuart O'Grady, Robbie McEwen, Matt White, Jans Koerts, David McKenzie, Adriano Baffi, Hilton Clark and Graeme Brown.
Interestingly, McEwen was seated between Brown and his team mate Clarke, who spent the entire series working together with their SBR-elite team to beat him . . . which led to a war of words between the three at Barwon Heads on Thursday and Brown's controversial relegation by commissaires from first to 11th for sprinting illegally and pushing McEwenagainst a parked car.
The three sat at the table smiling at each other and made it obvious that there are no hard feelings off the bike.
This is what they said:
Adriano Baffi: "This is my first time in Australia. For me this has been a good time training for six days. At the beginning it was hard, at the end it was better. I am happy. And now I am going to the farm of Phil Anderson to see the sheep."
Now 39 years of age and threatening retirement, the Italian sprint hero did a year with US Postal in 1997.
"My career finished in 1997 but now I am really enjoying cycling. I do what I want, I can and I am still good. I don't know when I am finished. At 45? (the age suggested by Liggett). No! I live day after day".
Baffi named his greatest moment as taking the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia after winning five stages but said the race most special to his heart was the Milano-San Remo, which he has contested twice for a fourth and a fifth.
Jans Koerts: "This year I have a new team, Domo. Mercury last year . . . it was bad last year. Everybody wants to do the Tour de France . . .
"It was good to get the contract with Domo"
Graeme Brown: "I've got the problem like most people that I really want to win and unfortunately I do silly things. I'm aggressive on the bike, we have our verbal slinging when we are racing, but as far as I am concerned, it's over when we step off the bike.
"Last year I was with the under 23 team and this year I have a pro contract . . . I was stuggling with them. We climbed a lot of hills and I am not good at hills. But at the end of the year I got what I wanted . . . a pro contract.
"I can't set my goals too high as a first year pro, but obviously I want to win. I would like to win at least one race . . . maybe a stage in Malaysia."
Robbie McEwen: "They [team Lotto] tell me I will be in the Tour . . . but [Domo] told me that last year. I will also be in the Giro this year. But my wife is due to give birth at the end of May so I will be stepping off after two weeks . . . but I think that will be my biggest win of the year."
Hilton Clark: "I was racing in the States last year but an uncontracted at the moment. These guys are looking at the big races. I've looked at the Bay Crits and I wanted to win. We came up with the plan for the SBR team and we tried to give it to them and we went down fighting."
Son of the great Hilton Clark Snr, young Clark told Liggett that yes, his father does give "great advice".
"I have a few things in the works . . . but if anyone out there has a pro contract for me ... well..."
Stuart O'Grady: "The Tour de France - I'm gonna win. Well, probably not, but I will say it anyway.
"Obviously my Tour, getting the yellow and the green then losing the green . . . it was pretty devastating.
"Now I have got to look at the positives. I know I can win the green jersey. But there are other races. Obviously everyone in Australia thinks we ride the Tour de France and we do, but we also do 110 races."
He has just signed up for another couple of years with Credit Agricole.
Matt White: "Looking forward to the Commonwealth Games . . . whoever lines up in Manchester, any of us could win it."
On working with Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong on US Postal: "He is a great guy to work for. Working with him takes you to another level. There is nothing normal about him, the way he approaches life . . . he is a special man. I will do whatever it takes to get into the Tour team and hopefully be part of another winning Tour with him."
David McKenzie: "My win the a stage of the Giro (with a 168km breakaway)is something I don't really talk about much . . . but when you have a win like that, you realise you are good enough to do it again and that inspires you.
"I hope the new team (iteamNova.com) is here to stay. I won't talk about the Linda McCartney team anymore because everybody knows what happened. It was a very depressing time.
"In July last year I was at the point of thinking of quitting and retiring. It's good to be back."
Last words went to Liggett, presented with an iteamNova.com jersey in honour of his patronage.
"I shall wear this down the Great Ocean Road on Tuesday and I won't stop until I see Baffi cutting sheep," he said.
We presume he means shearing.
By Karen Forman in Melbourne
Four oldies but goodies were admitted to the Victorian Cycling Hall of Fame during a gala function held to mark the end of the 2002 Skilled Geelong Bay Classic at Melbourne's Crown Casino complex on Sunday night.
They were Les Dunn, the late Laurie Jones, the late Bill Guyatt and Dick Ploog.
Sons Laurie Jones Junior and John Guyatt accepted the awards on behalf of their late fathers.
Jones started bike racing in 1924 and finished in 1934. What made his entry into the sport quite incredible was the event he chose to do it in - the Warnambool to Melbourne. Apparently the non-cyclist read a report about the race in the Sporting Globe in 1923 and decided to take up racing for the following year's event.
His first race was the Ballarat to Melbourne the week before, then he rode the Warnambool to Melbourne, and finished it! Jones went on to become a president, administrator and riders' representative between 1931 and 1961, promoted many races including the first Sun Tour in 1952. "Dad put a lot into cycling," Jones Jnr told Sunday night's crowd. "He felt cycling was an exceptional sport provided it was kept decent and fair."
Les Dunn joined Kensinton Cycling Club in 1935 and raced with moderate success until 1941. He was Victorian Cycling Federation president from 1976 to 1988, referee from 1962 to 1976, manager of the national team and the Commonwealth team in 1974, the Olympic team in 1980, the world team in 1987. In 1991 he was given the Order of Australia. He is a UCI commissaire.
Bill Guyatt was Gippsland Junior time trial champion in 1933, Victorian junior road champion in 1935, Australian road champion in 1936, Australian junior one mile and five mile champion in 1937. He turned pro at 18 and won 20 Australian amateur and professional road and track championships, two six-days and more than 300 sprint matches during the 1940s. He won the Melbourne to Warnambool in 1954 and was the gold medal track coach at the 1956 Olympics.
Dick Ploog was empire and Commonwealth Games kilo champion in 1956, Australian amateur champion in 1957 (winning five out of five events), winner of the Commonwealth 1km sprint and bronze medallist in the world amateur championships in 1958. He turned pro and in 1960 was Australian 1km sprint and one mile champion. He rode three six days and in 1994 was the kilo champion at the World Masters Games in Brisbane.
The Dutch Olympic Committee announced Saturday that a study it had commissioned found 25 percent of food supplements examined contained substances not listed in the ingredients, some of which could result in positive drug tests.
However, the Dutch research showed that the substances were present only in small quantities which would not usually be enough to produce a positive test. Nevertheless, a positive test could result if the supplements were used together with certain other foods and drinks, or in conditions of heat, cold or altitude.
The research has so far investigated 55 of 69 supplements submitted for examination, some of which were being used by athletes preparing for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The Dutch Ministry of Sport has recommended sportsmen not use supplements.
US governing body is looking for a new CEO to replace Cycling Lisa Voight who steps down from the position May 1. Voight is expecting a child shortly afterward, but will still be involved with USA Cycling as Olympic and international relations special advisor.
"I was very honored the USA Cycling board voted to extend my contact as chief executive officer for the next two years," Voight said. "However, my short-term priorities and focus need to be on my family. This change will allow me to devote time to my family and still provide a valuable resource to USA Cycling."
Voight has been USA Cycling CEO since 1993 when the organisation was the US Cycling Federation. It has since grown by merging with NORBA, the U.S. Professional Racing Organization and the National Bicycle League.
By Øyvind Aas
As if there weren't enough different standards in the world of cycling gear already, a new one is on its way. For 2002 Answer/Manitou, Cane Creek, King Cycle Group, Race Face and Rocky Mountain Bicycles have got together with Park Tool and Intense Cycles to create a new standard for headsets.
Out of the 2001 Interbike came an idea to improve one of the parts of the mountain bike that has been regarded as a weak link by the increasingly extreme 'free-ride' crowd.
Targeting the free ride/downhill market the new headset/head tube standard is intended to provide more rigidity and strength to the head tube area of the bike. Bikes with the new standard will steer more accurately and withstand a lot more abuse from big jumps, drops, and high speeds, claims the consortium.
The common head tube standard today is 1 1/8 inch. Gary Fisher tried his luck in the early 90's with an oversized standard he called Evolution which used a 1 1/4in steerer. Today Evolution is gone and 1 1/8 remains the oversized standard compared to the 1 inch used on road bikes and veteran MTBs.
The new standard is a way big 1 1/2 inch and will affect frame builders, fork manufacturers, headset manufacturers and stem manufacturers.
Cannondale, which has been making its own big head tubes for years is the first big builder to take on the new standard. Their current headsets are close to 1 1/2 inch big, but will not be compatible with the new standard. Expect also Rocky Mountain to have One Point Five equipped bikes in their 2002 line-up.
The new head tubes, headsets, stems and forks are intended for use with single crown forks only as the double crown forks are rigid enough as they are. The new standard will make longer travel possible without having to resort to two crowns on the forks.
As with the ISIS standard for bottom brackets and cranks, the documents and drawings for the new standard will be available free for everyone to use.
For more information take a look at www.onepointfivestandard.com
US Postal has pledged to put more support behind Classics hard-man and all-round nice guy George Hincapie this year. In this brief interview, he talks about his New year resolutions, Paris-Roubaix and Postal.
Click here for the George Hincapie interview.
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