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News for January 13, 2002

Edited by Paul Goldsmith

Saturn in 2002

The Saturn Cycling Team will be its largest ever in 2002 with 25 athletes from eight different countries. After a successful 2001 season, Saturn is once again focusing on both the domestic and international cycling standings.

The division 3 Men's Cycling Team will begin the year much as they did last year with the early California races. These are a considered a warm-up for the Redlands and Sea Otter Bicycle Classics. Following the southern California races, the team will move north to the Solano Bicycle Classic and the Tour of Willamette before taking a breather and moving eastward to the Housatonic Valley Classic.

The team will then begin final preparation for the First Union U.S. Road Championships on June 9, 2002. Following Philadelphia is the Tour de Beauce, the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, the Tour of Delta and the Tour of White Rock. Saturn will then enter the 10-day Tour de `Toona before the move onto the Saturn Cycling Classic and the U.S. Criterium Championships.

Rounding out the year is the second annual San Francisco Grand Prix, which was an outstanding success in 2001

The Saturn Women's Team has a big task in 2002, particulary after the 2001 team was ranked the No 1 UCI team.

While the Saturn Women are competing at Redlands and Sea Otter, they will have teammates on the other side of the globe defending the Australia and New Zealand World Cups. Saturn will focus on the World Cups in the hope of defending their ranking. Also prominent in the program are the International Tours including the Tour de Snowy, the Tour de L'Aude, HP Women's Challenge, the Giro (Tour of Italy), Thuringen, the Tour of Holland and the Tour de Suisse. New to this year's schedule and concluding the calendar is the Transocean race, beginning in Montreal and finishing in Bretagne France.

The women based in the United States will focus on the races making up the US Pro Tour. Following a schedule similar to that of their male teammates, the U.S .based women will travel from California to Willamette and then to the east for the Saturn-Timex Women's Classic and the First Union Liberty Classic. After a short break the Tour de `Toona and the US Pro Criterium Championships become the focus. The Chris Thater Memorial marks the beginning of the fall before the finish in San Rafael, California in September.

The men's team has added four new athletes. Australian Jay Sweet will join Americans Will Frischkorn, Rahsaan Bahati and Damon Kluck.

Returning to lead the team is US Pro Tour Winner Trent Klasna. Klasna will have Canadian Tour of Willamette winner Eric Wohlberg at his side. Tour de `Toona winner Harm Jansen will bring his tactical experience back to the mix. Soren Peterson, Chris Fisher, Ivan Dominguez, Tim Johnson and Frank and Mark McCormack will all return to the 2002 roster.

Further team details (men).

The women's team has two new additions in #2 UCI ranked Judith Arndt and the promising young American Jessica Phillips. Returning to the #1 UCI Women's Team in the World will be World Cup and US Pro Tour titlist Australian, Anna Millward. Ladies Tour of Holland winner Petra Rossner, HP Laser Jet winner Lyne Bessette, and BMC Tour winner Ina Teutenberg will all be back. American Double National Champion Kimberly Bruckner will also return along with Suzanne Sonye, Kimberly Davidge and Kristy Scrymgeour.

Visit www.saturncycling.com for complete team and rider details.

From Kelme to the law?

Cardenas wins
Photo: © AFP
Even winning a stage of last year's Tour de France may not be enough to keep Colombia's Félix Cárdenas in cycling.

Cárdenas who rode with Kelme-Costa Blanca in 2001 did not have his contract renewed for this season, with Cárdenas blaming economic reasons. "I really wanted to sign a new contract with them, but I couldn't because of economical reasons," he said. Since then there has been some interest from other teams however nothing concrete, and Cárdenas is planning his future outside of cycling if a contract doesn't eventuate.

"I spoke with my family a lot, they understood and support me. And I would really like to begin studying law, I've been thinking about it for a while and it wouldn't be that bad for me to start doing it now, after such a good experience in the cycling world," said Cárdenas.

2001 was Cárdenas best season of his 4 year career as a pro. On Colombian Independence day last year (July 20) Cárdenas won stage 12 of the Tour de France with a strong solo attack in the final kilometres of the race. He finished 13 seconds ahead of Roberto Laiseka, with Lance Armstrong in third place and Jan Ullrich fourth. Cárdenas finished 50th overall in Paris.

Cárdenas also had an excellent Vuelta a España where he provide good support to teammates Oscar Sevilla and Santiago Botero. During the 2001 season Cárdenas raced more than 70 days. You know cycling is a tough sport when someone as talented as Cárdenas finds it difficult to get into a team.

Lets hope that he isn't lost to cycling; the world already has too many lawyers.

Gaumont on the comeback

Gaumont
Photo: ©AFP

After his bad fall in last years Paris-Roubaix, Philippe Gaumont claims to still have "the rage" to make it as a pro cyclist. Gaumont broke his right femur after he fell at the beginning of the Arenberg Forest and spent time in Berck hospital recuperating after the fall.

In a press conference in Paris, the Confides rider says that he initially tried to come back from the injury too soon. "I do not wish this kind of fracture on anybody. It was located in a place where the muscles bleed much. I began training again a little early, after two and a half months, which was an error because the pain persisted. Normally, I should have remained off the bike for one year. So, I then again stopped riding. The pin was finally removed after five months. Since then, I have ridden 2800 kilometres and I feel well within myself".

Asked whether he would be ready for this year's Paris-Roubaix, Gaumont wasn't sure, but did think that the injury would help rather than hinder him as a cyclist. "I am not 100 percent sure if I will ride it, because I will not be fully fit. I respect too this race. But I have only it in my head. I will have a successful day there, because my injury has hardened me. I meet unhappy people at Berck. To see paraplegics of twenty years reinforced me psychologically. Each time I re-examine my fall, I become aggressive. I acquired the rage to succeed from it ".

Lance's Olympic Flame

Supporters of Lance Armstrong have another chance to see the man in person as he carries the Olympic torch in San Diego on Monday.

The torch program has Armstrong receiving the flame close to 6:15 pm on Monday, January 14th. Lance will carry the Olympic flame into Embarcadero Marine Park, San Diego, just west of downtown and onto the stage to light the city Cauldron.

Meanwhile in a warning shot to French Sports.com website Armstrong has responded, via his lawyers for what he believes were defamatory articles on the site.

"Mr Vayer (site publisher) and your writers attempts to discredit the athletic achievements of Lance Armstrong only bring discredit upon themselves and to the sports values they pretend to be defending. Rather than to sling defamatory innuendo and to publish assumption on your web site that lack the support of any facts regarding a three time winner of the Tour de France, they might take the trouble to study modern training methods and to acknowledge the diligence and preparation that seems so sadly lacking in their own statements and articles."

"Lance Armstrong has been subjected to the most intensive investigation of any athlete in the history of the French judicial system .The investigation has now lasted nearly two years without any wrong doing being even alleged, much less proven on his part. In fact all clinical tests have proven him to be clean. This Messrs Wariguez, Langlais and Vayer feign to ignore. Their statements are actionable, they are defamatory per se; and we reserve all rights to bring all appropriate proceedings before all appropriate jurisdictions," said the statement published on the site.

Triathlete in hit-and-run

Promising Australian triathlete Luke Harrop is in a critical condition after being thrown from his bike, and over a concrete barrier, in a hit and run accident. The 24-year-old brother of Goodwill Games triathlon champion and Olympian Loretta Harrop, was hit by a stolen car while on a training ride in Queensland, Australia.

He was in intensive care at the Gold Coast Hospital with severe head injuries. The female driver of the car has not been apprehended.

Harrop was preparing for tomorrow's second round of the Accenture Triathlon Series at Surfers Paradise.

One of Harrop's riding partners was also involved in the accident. 26-year-old Craig O'Connell, of Brisbane, is in hospital with two broken vertebrae

Harrop came second in the 2001 Triathlon Australia National Series and was aiming for Commonwealth Games selection.

Gold Coast Police Inspector David Marshall said the driver sped away from the scene, dumping the car which had been stolen about six days ago before changing her clothes. "This is very serious. We want to hear from the woman or anyone who may know her whereabouts," he said.

Northampton Cycling Club work to get Hill in Belgium

Northampton Cycling Club have teamed with BikeReg.com to make sure US cyclo-cross worlds team member Christopher Hill makes it too the start line in Belgium. Hill has been chosen in the junior team for the world championships in February

Apart from the support from he will receive from the US Junior Development Foundation and the ACF, any donations received via the BikeReg site will go towards Hill's expenses.

Also on the fund-raising front, the Verge New England Cyclo-Cross Series will once again be donating their unclaimed overall series prize money to the world's team effort. This year, the $500 will divided equally between all the New England-based U23 and junior riders: Jesse Anthony, Chris Hill, Josh Anthony, Alan Obye, and Adam Craig.

Team Krystal/Powerade

Team Krystal/Powerade, have announced their plans for the 2002 season. The amateur road teams and full Semi-pro mountain bike teams program for the year will include the east coast AMBC series as well as the NCS national series for the mountain bike team. For the road team it will be a steady diet of NRC and regional races and state series in Tennessee to keep the legs spinning. The team is made up of riders from ages 17 to 31.

Bikes are provided by the American Bike Group who outfitted the MTB team with Tomac Buckshot pros and the road team with Litespeed Sirius'. Helmets and clothing are supplied by Louis Garneau, sunglasses by Catlike and shoes by Nike. Local company Smart Wool provides the socks with bike support coming from local Chattanooga bike shop giant River City Bikes.

The team is based Chattanooga Tennessee where the principle sponsor, Krystal restaurants is based.

Team list
Frank Matthews semi-pro/Cat.2
Robert Johnston Expert/Cat.3
Mike Calway-Fagen semi-pro/Cat.2
John Seiters semi-pro/Cat.2
Jeremy Hoff semi-pro/Cat.2
Ryan Barnett Cat.1
Travis Hutchinson Cat.1
Johnny Hayes Jr. Expert/Cat.