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Edited by John Stevenson
Paris-Nice organiser Laurent Fignon is in talks with the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the owners of the Tour de France, in an attempt to save the race.
Fignon told news agency AFP, "We are talking to the Tour so that Paris-Nice can continue." The 1983 and 84 Tour de France winner took over the promotion of the race in 1999 but has been unable to secure the necessary sponsorship for the 2002 edition.
Fignon estimates he needs approximately 300,000 Euro for the race to go ahead, and with the HC-classified week-long tour scheduled to start March 10, he and the ASO don't have much time.
Fignon said that the timing of his acquisition of the race was unfortunate."I arrived at the worst moment. Some things are better today, such as the fight against doping, but cycling is bleeding financially. For me, three years earlier or three years later, things would perhaps have been different."
The Tour organisation was interested in taking over Paris-Nice in 1999 and is still open to discussions. Tour bosses Jean-Marie Lebland and Daniel Baal have both talked with Fignon in the last few days, and while they have been guarded in their statements to the press, they have been full of praise for Fignon's efforts in keeping the race going.
" I have a lot of respect for Laurent Fignon," said Jean-Marie Leblanc. "Like Eddy Merckx, he did not hesitate after having hung up his bicycle to become en entrepreneur, to take risks."
Nevertheless, Leblanc hinted that things hopeful for a rescue. "Taking into account the work done by Laurent Fignon's team and our capabilities, the race could take place if we can reach an agreement this week," said Leblanc.
Another possible source of assistance in the UCI, which has a fund to help races that are in financial difficulty. Fignon has been keeping UCI poresident Hein Verbruggen informed of the situation.
The magistrates in charge of the investigation into the alleged 1960 murder of Italian champion Fausto Coppi will ask for toxicologists' advice before deciding to exhume Coppi's body, Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport revealed yesterday.
"The magistrates in charge of the investigation are considering the possibility of exhuming the body, but they will take into account the advice of the experts," said Fausto Cardella, the prosecutor of the court at Tortona, northern Italy. "The doctors and toxicologists will tell us if it is possible to detect poison in a body after 42 years."
Researchers from the universities of Milan and Pavie will carry out the tests.
Magistrates Elisabetta Pagliai and Sara D'Addea, delegated by Cardella, are now in charge of the investigation and have already obtained Coppi's medical files from the archives of the Saint-Antoine and Marguerite hospital in Tortona, where Coppi died January 2 1960.
Coppi officially died of malaria, contracted at a race in Burkina Faso the previous year. However, his death has attracted attention after Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport recently claimed he was poisoned. Based on the testimony of a Benedictine monk, the Corriere claims Coppi's death was in revenge for the death of a young rider from the Ivory Coast. Coppi's contemporaries have dismissed the claims as "pure fiction".
Jan Ullrich has two wishes for the new year: "to win the Tour de France and in the same breath to be healthy." The second half is giving Ullrich problems at the moment as his strenuous winter training schedule earned him a dose of the flu.
After his first 2500km of training in South Africa the 1997 Tour winner ended up in bed with a fever. "I could not train for ten days" he said at the beginning of his team's training camp in Mallorca.
But Ullrich hopes this will be the last problem in his preparation for the 2002 Tour. "Perhaps I will now be exempt from such setbacks." Last year, a similar illness affected Ullrich during the Giro, impeding his preparation for the July showdown with Lance Armstrong.
"I know what I am lacking to be able to strike at Armstrong," he said. "I must be ready earlier than before."
Ullrich realised last season that his 'motor' must ready earlier so it is capable of going at full speed in July. In previous seasons, he has had his best form from July to October. "I have no doubts that if I can go well before the Tour, I can hold my form" he said.
Telekom team manager Rudy Pevanage said Ullrich's Christmas illness was not a serious concern. Ullrich starts his racing program for 2002 with the Tour of Qatar.
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Imagine having a pro cyclist in your lounge room, sitting back on a sofa with a beer in his hand, chatting away freely about life in the peloton.
If you'd been one of the 130 fans who turned up to An Evening With Stuart O'Grady in Melbourne, Australia last night, you wouldn't have to imagine it. Cyclingnews reporter Karen Forman was there and she recorded the highlights of O'Grady's chat with Phil Liggett. To find out what the Tour star had to say for himself, click here.
Cyclingnews rider of the Year Erik Zabel has thrown his weight behind the city of Dusseldorf's bid for the 2012 Olympic games. Zabel has promised North-Rhine/Westphalian Prime Minister Wolfgang Clement that he will campaign to boost the areas Olympic application.
"This area has all the prerequisites for the Olympic Games. The people are openly enthusiastic about sport and fascinated by the Olympic ideals. Therefore it is natural for me to support the application," said Zabel, who is currently training in Mallorca.
Despite saying a couple of days ago that he would ride for the new Marlux team, Bart Leysen yesterday announced he had signed a one year deal with Palmans-Collstrop.
In an unfortunate start to his pro career, South African James Perry has broken his collarbone. The U23 TT bronze medallist in last year's worlds and new signing to the Italian Amore & Vita Beretta team sustained the injury during a race in Durbanvale, along with numerous abrasions.
Perry's doctor Joe De Beer said the rider would be ready to return to racing in early March.
Team Coast has presented its riders and objectives for 2002. The German Division I team will be led by Vuelta winner Angel Luis Casero, along with Fernando Escart’n and Alex Zuelle and managed by former Festina director Juan Fern‡ndez and Wolfram Lindner.
Directeur sportif Marcel Wust said Coast's objectives were the Giro and Vuelta, and he believed it had a good chance of an entry in the Tour de France this year. "At the moment we are 18th in the team classification and we hope to make the top 12," said Wust.
Riders
Daniel Becke (Ger)
Sascha Henrix (Ger)
Andre Korff (Ger)
Steffen Radochla (Ger)
Thorsten Rund (Ger)
Rafael Schweda (Ger)
Malte Urban (Ger)
Christoph von Kleinsorgen (Ger)
Thorsten Wilhelms (Ger)
Fabrizio Guidi (Ita)
Anton Chantyr (Rus)
Bekim Christensen (Den)
Lars Michaelsen (Den)
Frank Hoj (Den)
Niki Aebersold (Swi)
Mauro Gianetti (Swi)
Rolf Huser (Swi)
Alex Zuelle (Swi)
Stefan Adamson (Swe)
Manuel Beltran (Spa)
Angel Luis Casero (Spa)
Fernando Escartin (Spa)
Aitor Garmendia (Spa)
Jaime Hernandez (Spa)
Paco Lara (Spa)
Luis Perez (Spa)
David Plaza (Spa)
The Bonjour team has presented its riders for 2002 both for the professional squad and for its 'feeder' club Vendée U-Pays de la Loire.
The team will not have a specified leader, though for most races this role is expected to be taken by French national champion Didier Rous, 2001 Tour yellow jersey wearer Francois Simon or new signing Emmanuel Magnien.
Team manager Jean-Rene Bernaudeau said he didn't want to put the team under pressure, but he was ambitious for his squad to become a major player on the international scene in the next three years.
Bernaudeau said that the feeder team was a vital part of this dream, "Because the high level cannot exist without the amateurs." He created Vendée U-Pays de la Loire ten years ago and it has been one of the most successful French amateur teams.
This year three riders, Jimmy Engoulvent, Anthony Geslin and Jérome Pineau have graduated from the amateur squad to the professional team. In addition, former Vendée U-Pays de la Loire rider Mikael Malle has joined the Crédit Agricole espoirs team.
Equipment
Time bicycles
Mavic wheels, Michelin tyres
FSA cranks and headsets
San Marco saddles
Sigma Sport computers
Elite bottles and cages
Santini clothing
Management
Jean-René Bernaudeau
Philippe Raimbaud
Riders
Didier Rous (Fra)
Emmanuel Magnien (Fra, Francaise des Jeux)
Francois Simon (Fra)
Franck Bouyer (Fra)
Damien Nazon (Fra)
Sylvain Chavanel (Fra)
Walter Bénéteau (Fra)
Fabrice Salanson (Fra)
Franck Renier (Fra)
Pascal Deramé (Fra)
Anthony Charteau (Fra)
Sébastien Joly (Fra)
Thomas Voeckler (Fra)
Mickael Pichon (Fra)
Frédéric Mainguenaud (Fra)
Charles Guilbert (Fra)
Olivier Perraudeau (Fra)
Anthony Geslin (Fra, neo-pro)
Jérome Pineau (Fra, neo-pro)
Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra, neo-pro)
Riders
Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra)
Alexandre Bouseau (Fra)
Olivier Cambet (Fra)
Sébastien Chavanel (Fra)
Matthieu Claude (Fra)
Matthieu Drujon (Fra)
Yohann Gene (Fra)
Maryan Hary (Fra)
Christophe Kern (Fra)
Matthieu Letellier (Fra)
Rony Martias (Fra)
Alexandre Nauleau (Fra)
Stéphane Pazé (Fra)
Dietrich Plumérat (Fra)
Alexandre Pichot (Fra)
Jean Zen (Fra)
Vincent Jérome (Fra, Junior)
Willy Dugleux (Fra, Junior)
Perrig Quemeneur (Fra, Junior)
By Richard Fries, American Cyclo-cross Foundation
Funding is desperately needed for the U.S. National Cycling Team headed for Zolder, Belgium to represent the United States at the Cyclo-cross World Championships. The World Championships of Cyclo-cross will be held February 2 and 3, 2002. ACF was founded three years ago to raise money to assist American cyclo-cross racers travelling to the world championships.
"USA Cycling announced in the spring that athletes wishing to go to cyclo-cross worlds would have to pay their own way. While it was helpful that this decision was made early enough so that hopeful riders could plan accordingly, USA Cycling's support of top US riders bound for international competition is disappointing at best. The rest is up to the riders, and the ACF" lamented ACF board member Dan Callen.
"The US cyclo-cross dollars to world championship ratio medal beats every other discipline of cycling. Our riders have stood on the podium three times over the last three worlds with little funding. Some of America's best cyclists will represent the US this year in Belgium. We should all do what we can," blurted ACF board member Christopher Zigmont.
The ACF realizes that this year, in particular, there's great competition for people's donations, especially in light of the Sept. 11 attacks. The ACF feels strongly, however, that investment in the growth of cyclo-cross pays back tremendous dividends to the bicycle economy and culture. For some of these athletes, this will be their only chance to represent their country in an international arena. It seems a tragedy, albeit a comparatively minor one in the face of recent events, that they must spend their own money for that privilege.
Every dollar counts. Small companies such as Richard Sachs Bicycles, RLX Polo Sport, Cyclocrossworld.com, and Mavic have made contributions, and so should you. The Society of the Woolly Mammoth, a group of cyclo-cross cronies organized by the SuperCup staff pulled together an auction in Baltimore that raised close to $4,000 for the athletes. Unfortunately there's so much more needed to properly travel and outfit the team. All companies that make or sell cyclo-cross products are encouraged to contribute twice, with a smile.
Those who can donate any amount – be it as little as $5 – are encouraged to visit the ACF at www.maddogmedia.com/acf.html, click on the PayPal logo, click on the "Send Money" button, then follow the instructions (you'll need our e-mail address: velodog@ris.net). Technophobes may simply send a check or money order to the American Cyclo-cross Foundation, account number 103-555-5, Colorado Mountain Bank, 1000 Main Street, Westcliffe, CO 81252. Be sure to include the ACF's account number on your check.
In yesterday's item on the appointment of Jorgen Marcussen as a directeur sportif of CSC-Tiscali we inadvertently mistranslated Bjarne Riis' comment about Marcussen. It should have read "he fits very well into our profile." Our apologies for any confusion caused.
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