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Edited by Jeff Jones
After his serious crash during the Amstel Gold in 1998, Australian Scott Sunderland has proved he's not only well and truly back in the peloton - but a force to be reckoned with. To read about his hopes that 2002 will be his year, click here.
In case you missed it, Cyclingnews is covering each stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under live, with regular updates posted in the live pages to keep you informed. In addition, comments collected before the start of each stage will be incorporated into the live reports. Simply click on the link on the homepage from 11:00am (Adelaide time) each day, or click through from the main results index.
The first training camp of the Saeco Macchine per Caffé-Longoni Sport team has finished today after ten days of training in Terracina, south of Rome. The 15 riders who took part (the only ones missing were those racing in the Tour Down Under in Australia and Gavazzi who is injured) were able to train hard and undergo tests ready for the new season thanks to good weather conditions.
"I'm really happy with everybody in the new look team," said team manager Corti. "Almost everybody is in good shape. I was impressed by the professionalism of the new riders and by the strong sense of responsibility and dedication of the other riders. However the best thing is the great atmosphere in the team even though there has been a lot of changes to the team line-up. Everybody is already good friends. That's important."
The team tasted its first success of the year in yesterday's second stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under in Australia, with Fabio Sacchi placing second and taking the leader's yellow jersey. Sacchi, who said that he'd lost 5 kilograms since last year, is looking to defend the jersey for as long as possible.
The next important date for the Saeco-Longoni Sport team is the official presentation in Milan on Tuesday January 29 at 7:00pm at the Spazio Sironi in the Palazzo dell Informazione. The morning after the team will then head back to Terracina for the second training camp, staying until February 9.
Mapei-Quick Step will present its 2002 team next Friday, January 26 at 11am in the Mapei auditorium in Milan. The Mapei team has been split into two this year, with 27 riders forming the main Mapei squad, and 13 riders in the Young Group.
Basque team Euskaltel-Euskadi will hold its 2002 team presentation tomorrow in the auditorium of the Kursaal Palace in San Sebastián, Spain at 7:30pm. All 25 riders will be present including the neo professionals: Lander Euba, Joseba Zubeldia, David Herrero, Egoi Martínez and Julen Fernández.
The riders will then travel to Benidorm where they will participate in their first training camp, which runs until January 26. The team makes its debut in the Mallorca Challenge, February 3-7.
By Tommy Campbell, Irish Independent/Evening Herald/Sunday Independent
Twelve months ago the future looked very good for cyclist David O'Loughlin. He had joined Team Ireland which was to be based in France, but within days he opted out of the set-up after securing a more lucrative contract in France. Unfortunately before the season started in earnest he was injured and as such missed out on the best part of the year. Such was his love for the sport that he became involved in the promotions of his club, Mayo Wheelers who hosted the Irish Time Trial Championships.
Now, David has opted to sign a professional contract for the new US Division 3/UCI registered trade team Ofoto-Lombardi Sports. The team is American based and will operate out of San Francisco on the west coast. There is a full team squad of 16 riders and the team will contest the American races as well as some European races.
For the last three months, David has been training in Fremantle, Australia and it is the intention of the team to use him in many of the early season events because of his current fitness.
David's program for March
March 2-3: McLane Pacific Classic
March 9-10: Sequoia Classic
March 12-17: Redlands classic stage race
March 21-24: Mercury Sea Otter classic Stage Race
It is also expected that the team will participate in the FBD Milk Ras which will be held in May and that the O'Loughlin cyclist will be the team leader.
Other members of the team include Colby Pierce who was 3rd in the 1999 FBD Milk Ras and Erik Saunders who rode with the Swiss professional team Fisconseils in last year's event. David will have fellow Irishmen on the team, John Brady who was a professional with '7 -Eleven' in the eighties and James Hodnett who has been an amateur with the team for the last 4 years.
James played a big role in getting David to sign for the team as he has participated in the FBD Milk Ras for the last 2 years and is very enthusiastic about David's prospects for the team.
Danish computer company CSC has become the principal sponsor of the Grand Prix Aarhus, which will be renamed the CSC Classic. With a three year agreement in place, the race organisers are hoping to promote the one day event to UCI 1.1 status
"We have a successful organization, the manpower and know-how to go far with a conventional one-day cycling race," said the race organisers in an official statement. "But at the same time it is obvious that if we are to meet the new goals, we must develop in a number of areas as race organizers. We must listen, absorb from our growing international network and, not least, work hard and determined."
In connection with the CSC Classic there will be a large cyclo-tourist event, where participants start and finish the same place as the stars. There will be two routes: 40 km and 90 km, so everyone can join.
The next edition of La Grande Boucle féminine (women's Tour de France) will start on August 4 in the Dutch town of 's-Hertogenbosch, near Eindhoven. The 15 day race, considered one of the biggest races on the women's calendar, will finish on August 18 in Paris. 's-Hertogenbosch is known for hosting the start of the Tour de France in 1996.
The 17th edition of the Clásica Almería takes place on March 3, 2002. The race is promoted by Almería Tourism, which also sponsors the team Costa del Almeria-Jazztel. A total of 16 teams of 8 riders are down to start in the one day race, which has been promoted to 1.3 (from 1.4) by the UCI.
Moldavian rider Igor Bonciucov is looking for a new team to ride for after Polish teams Ceresit and Atlas will no longer exist. Turning 29 in March, Bonciucov is the reigning Moldavian road champion, with stages wins in the Vuelta Asturias and Okolo Slovenska. He can be contacted via Adolf Koper.
Despite the team's setback with leader David McKenzie injured for several weeks, iteamNova.com is still concentrating on establishing itself as a professional team, and is fund raising for the season ahead. The next venture is a training camp, held from February 9-15 in Geelong, which is open to full team members only.
The camp will include a visit from Sean Yates and the team members after their return from the Tour de Langkawi on February 12, and will be hosted by Phil Anderson and David McKenzie.
Podium Sports Management has announced a roster change for its 2002 7UP/Nutra Fig Pro Cycling Team. The team will not be contracting New Zealander Graeme Miller for the 2002 season. The team will replace Graeme with one of his countrymen, Hayden Godfrey. 23 year old Godfrey is a track specialist, placing second in the individual pursuit and first in the team pursuit at last year's World Cup in Cali, Colombia. He also won races in Germany and two stages of Criterium America.
The Southeastern USA based Realitybikes.com cycling team will undergo a few changes for the 2002 season. Registered as a Division III team last year, Realitybikes.com will instead compete as an elite U23 team with a completely new roster and new title sponsor. The sponsor is Homeland Communities, a Metro Atlanta based building company.
The team's focus will remain as a southeast regional squad but they will compete in several NRC events throughout the year.
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