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News for January 25, 2002

Edited by Jeff Jones

Recent results and new features

Ullrich and the camel
Photo: © AFP

Ullrich in good shape

Jan Ullrich is enjoying the sun in Qatar it seems, currently holding down 13th overall in the inaugural Tour of Qatar. The German champion, who is again aiming to win the Tour de France this year, has started his racing season earlier than ever in an attempt to keep himself in good condition.

Ullrich made the decisive cut of 31 riders in stage 4 of the tour, where the riders averaged over 50 km/h along the coastline of the Arabian peninsula. He finished the stage (won by Alberto Loddo) in 12th place and then went for another 70 kilometre training ride. "Jan is in excellent condition," said Telekom DS Rudy Pevenage. "So he can continue."

Risi and Betschart are tops

Inseparable Swiss pair Bruno Risi and Kurt Betschart are the new six day champions after winning their 29th six day victory in Stuttgart on Wednesday night. The pair beat the record of Germans Gustav Kilian and Heinz Vopel who were active in the 1950's.

On the final night of racing, Risi and Betschart had to hold off a strong challenge from Scott McGrory and Matthew Gilmore, who finished on the same lap as the Swiss, just 14 points behind. Although expressing satisfaction at the record, they have no time to celebrate as they had to start in Berlin tonight.

Bartko subs for Kappes in Berlin

Olympic double champion Robert Bartko will ride on the track again for the first time since the 2000/2001 season in the 91st Six Days of Berlin, January 24-29. Bartko will ride in place of the injured Andreas Kappes, who broke his collarbone in Stuttgart, and will partner with Andreas Beikirch. The young Telekom professional did not have much time to prepare, only returning from the Tour Down Under in Australia on Wednesday night - the six day race starts today (Thursday).

Gerolsteiner presentation

Rebellin aims for a classic

The new German division I team Gerolsteiner was presented in its hometown of Gerolstein today. Since its inception in 1998, Gerolsteiner has gradually ascended through the divisional ranks, and the team is now looking at an increased presence in the pro peloton in 2002. To help achieve this, team manager Hans-Michael Holczer has signed top Italian rider Davide Rebellin, together with his former Liquigas teammates Daniele Contrini, Gianni Faresin, Federico Morini, and Ellis Rastelli.

Rebellin was a key signing, as the team needed a lot of points to move up a division. The management got together in June 2001 to discuss the budget for next season and potential candidates with points. Rebellin was considered due to his status, although there was of course competition for his signature. The team budget was increased, and Rebellin agreed to the offer.

The team should therefore get an invitation to the Giro d'Italia, but there is still only an outside chance of a start in the Tour de France, given the competition for the remaining spots. Gerolsteiner's program means that if they are asked to the Tour in May, they will be ready. The World Cups will also be a major goal for the team.

Existing riders such as Peter Wrolich, Tobias Steinhauser, Michael Rich, Olaf Pollack, and Saulius Ruskys are all proven competitors, and will help the team's race winning prospects. The other signing of interest is red-headed Dane Nicolay Bo Larsen, who rode for CSC-Tiscali last season. Larsen should provide extra strength for the team's World Cup campaign.

Full team roster and sponsors.

Lotto-Adecco 2002

The number one Belgian team Lotto-Adecco presented its riders in Brussels today. Although Lotto will lose its star classics competitor, Andrei Tchmil in May, there are plenty of others who will fill that role. New signing Robbie McEwen has already given the team five UCI wins in 2002, and team boss Claude Criquielion hopes that this will help Lotto repeat (or better) their 39 victories in 2001.

Tchmil said at the launch that "At the end of May I will hang up my bicycle in order to finally spend time with my family. But before that, believe me, I will have done everything to win the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix."

Another important signing is Belgian Peter Van Petegem, who will be one of the team's main riders for the classics, along with Tchmil. Van Petegem is a former Tour of Flanders winner, and can certainly do so again if things go the right way. "It is true that after my experiment of last year [at Mercury-Viatel] I wanted to move to a well structured team. Now I will be able to just think about cycling," said Van Petegem.

Then there is Rik Verbrugghe, winner of La Flèche Wallonne, a stage in the Tour de France, the Critérium International and the prologue of the Giro d'Italia. Verbrugghe aims to repeat that performance in 2002, although he admits it will be tough. "I dream of a victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liege," said the Liege inhabitant.

Full team roster and sponsors.

Armstrong, USPS and Capriati get USOC honours

Lance Armstrong, along with his U.S. Postal Service team and tennis player Jennifer Capriati have been voted the 2001 USOC SportsMan, Sports Team and SportsWoman of the Year respectively.

Armstrong won his third consecutive Tour de France in 2001, the first U.S. rider to achieve this feat, although Greg Lemond also won three Tours. On his way to victory, Armstrong won four stages. He also finished first in the Tour de Suisse, was second in the Amstel Gold Race (Netherlands) and eighth in the Semana Catalana (Spain), finishing the year as number four on the UCI rankings. Armstrong is the only cyclist to have won the USOC SportsMan of the year, also winning it in 1999.

The U.S. Postal Service Team was awarded Sports Team of the year after successfully defending the Tour de France yellow jersey in 2001 for the third consecutive year. U.S. team members were Lance Armstrong, Dylan Casey, Antonio Cruz, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Kenny Labbe, Levi Leipheimer, Christian Vande Velde, Robbie Ventura, and David Zabriskie. The team also finished second overall in the Vuelta a España and fifth overall in the Tour de Suisse.

"This is a great honour for Lance and our team," said Mark Gorski, the CEO of Tailwind Sports. "It is especially satisfying for the team to be recognized for its major role in supporting Lance at the Tour and for its season long effort."

In 2001, Capriati won her first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open, defeating Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final, respectively. She added the French Open title to this and became one of only four women in tennis history to win the Australian Open and French Open in the same year.

Javier Otxoa awarded, wants to ride again

Spanish cyclist Javier Otxoa is still making slow progress in his rehabilitation after he and his brother Ricardo were hit by a car in early 2001. Ricardo was killed in the accident and Javier was left in a coma for several weeks, and many feared that he would never come out of it.

Today however, Javier received a morale boost when he was awarded the Silver Medal for Sporting Merit at a ceremony in the palace of Real Madrid. "I am proud that they invited me and they remember Ricardo," said Javier at the presentation. "I have a long way to go. I want to ride a bike again, but that is a decision that does not depend on me. I hope that Vicente Belda and Pepe Quiles [Kelme bosses] remember me."

The Consejo Superior de Deportes also awarded (posthumously) a Silver Medal to Ricardo and a Silver Plaque to the Kelme team.

Javier has not yet started training on the road again, although he is making good progress on a stationary trainer in order to build up his muscles again.

End of the month decisions for Meier and Hamburger cases

The Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) has announced that it will hand out its verdict on the doping cases of Roland Meier and Bo Hamburger on January 28. Both Meier and Hamburger tested positive for EPO in April last year. Meier was suspended for eight months by the Swiss federation and appealed to the CAS. Hamburger was cleared by the Danish federation but the UCI appealed to the CAS.

The two riders are disputing the validity of the EPO urine test that was introduced in April last year and resulted in several positives.

Cannondale Midwest Cycling Team

The Cannondale MidWest Cycling Team has announced its roster for 2002. The team, sponsored by Mortgage Solutions and Cannondale bicycles, consists of 13 riders from around Iowa focusing on Iowa road and mountain bike racing with a presence at major events throughout the midwest.

Cannondale Midwest team members have won numerous events in the past two years including the Quad Cities Criterium, Iowa State Criterium Championship, TDS Telecom Criterium, Proctor Cycling Classic Criterium, and received numerous honours for Iowa Rider of the Year.

The team hopes to promote teamwork, sportsmanship and the growth of local cycling events throughout Iowa.

Team roster

Riders

Lee Venteicher, USCF Cat II, Norba Expert
Thaddeus Paisar, USCF Cat II, Norba Expert
Lane Anderson, USCF Cat II
Marc Hollander, USCF Cat III, Norba Expert
Jim Holmes, USCF Cat III, Norba Expert
Josh Tack, USCF Cat III, Norba Expert
Brian Duetschendorf, USCF Cat III, Norba Expert
Cully Todd, USCF Cat III, Norba Expert
Brian Eppen, USCF Cat III, Norba Elite
Jay Friday, USCF Cat III
Matt Kleinmeyer, USCF Cat IV, Norba Expert
Kentner Cottingham, USCF Cat IV, Elite triathlete
Andrea Mugge, USCF Womens IV, Norba Expert

Recycle-A-Bicycle track racing program

Recycle-a-Bicycle, the successful youth bike shop program, is starting a youth bicycle track racing program. An introductory meeting will be held on Thursday, February 7, 2002 at the Henry Street Settlement, 367 Madison Street in Manhattan, New York. The meeting will start at 6:30pm and run for about an hour. In addition to a short talk, video presentation and bicycle demonstrations, there will be snacks and door prizes. The meeting will introduce racing and explain how the program will work. The intention is to provide gear and coaching free of charge.

For Karen Overton, the program director, adding the racing program is just one more way to develop the vision of R-a-B, which started in 1994, as a way to teach kids about environmental issues, let them earn bicycles through sweat equity, and return discarded bicycles to the streets. There are currently R-a-B programs and shops in Washington Heights, the Lower East Side, and Brooklyn.

For more information, contact Tijon Randall at (212)475-1655
Website: www.recycleabicycle.org
Email: rab@recycleabicycle.org

Fix It Friday: Get your gears working

The latest in our monthly series of bike repair and maintenance articles deals with adjusting your rear derailleur to get your gears shifting perfectly. To find out how to get things clicking right, click here.