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News for January 27, 2002

Edited by Jeff Jones

A possible saviour for Paris-Nice?

Just a day after it was announced that one of the most important early season stage races will be cancelled, a new player has come into the picture.

Yesterday, riders, team managers and fans alike were dismayed when Paris-Nice owner Laurent Fignon could not come to an agreement with potential buyer, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The two parties could not agree on the terms of the payment and negotiations broke down.

Fignon was even quoted in L'Equipe as saying "I had the impression I was dealing with dishonest people" - a statement that ruffled more than a few feathers in the ASO.

Daniel Baal, who was in charge of negotiations for ASO, reacted by saying that "I want to believe that his words exceeded his thought."

ASO president Patrice Clerc said in an interview with AFP that Fignon "had pushed us far beyond being reasonable...the procedures criticised by Laurent Fignon are normal within the context of a company recovery."

While the Fignon-ASO avenue has definitely been closed in time to save the race scheduled for March 10-17, there is a possibility that Swiss sports marketing company IMG-McCormack may be able to save it. IMG is responsible for running the Tour de Suisse, arguably the biggest stage race outside the three Grand Tours, and the Tour de Romandie, another Hors Categorie stage race in Switzerland. The company which made its name in the golfing circles, representing the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and more recently, Tiger Woods, is certainly big enough to handle another cycling race.

A representative for IMG, Tony Rominger, has reportedly started discussions with Laurent Fignon, with an initial meeting planned for February 8. It could be just in time to save the race that has seen legends such as Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Sean Kelly, Miguel Indurain and Laurent Jalabert stand atop its podium.

Mega Mapei wants to regain top spot in '02

By Tim Maloney, European editor

Mapei train
Photo: © Bettini

The media presentation of Team Mapei-Quick Step in Milano showed the determination and commitment of Mapei boss Giorgio Squinzi to field the best team in cycling. "Besides important objectives like victories in Milano-San Remo and Giro d'Italia, I would like to see our team regain their place on the top of the (UCI) world rankings," stated Squinzi in Mapei's ultramodern world HQ in Milano. But Squinzi also went on to say that "If I have to chose between the Giro and the #1 ranking, I don't have any doubt that I'd chose the Giro".

Click here for the full profile.

VDB starts well

Jan Ullrich is not the only rider to have made a solid start to the season in the Tour of Qatar. After the race finished in Doha yesterday after five days of racing through the dunes, a few people were surprised that Frank Vandenbroucke (Domo-Farm Frites) had finished in the top 20 overall, just a handful of seconds behind winner Thorsten Wilhelms.

The undeniably talented Vandenbroucke has been in and out of cycling for over two years, and many VDB followers lost heart when things started to go bad with Lampre-Daikin in June last year. However with the help of several close friends and supporters, he managed to put himself on the comeback trail again, with a much stronger resolve.

His first race result can be seen as a small victory: to make the cut every day in a stage race is not an easy task. But the former Paris-Nice and Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner is under no illusions that bigger challenges await him.

When questioned afterwards, he was downplaying his achievement. "I came here to work, to see if I can be a rider again, and to see whether I could ride at the front of the peloton...But just one week is too early for firm conclusions. Next week we will train in Spain, then comes the Mallorca Challenge and the first real test in the Tour of the Mediterranean."

"You have to put Qatar in its proper perspective, it is too early for applause. But I can make one conclusions: I still have a place in the peloton," he added.

Nijs set for World Cup win

The current leader of the Cyclo-cross World Cup, Sven Nijs, should clinch the title tomorrow in Heerlen where the last round will be held. In the standings, Nijs currently leads second placed Mario De Clercq by 32 points, with Bart Wellens in third at 56 points behind Nijs. However, with 60 points up for grabs for the winner tomorrow, there is a chance that De Clercq (and possibly Wellens) can overtake Nijs.

If Nijs does win the overall, it will be his second World Cup victory in three seasons.

Bramati in for Pontoni

Italy has chosen Luca Bramati for the Italian cyclo-cross world's squad, meaning that dual world champion Daniele Pontoni will definitely not be on the start line in Zolder. Pontoni recently won his 13th Italian Championship, but failed to attend a blood control and was left out of the Italian team.

Kappes may ride in Ballerup

German six day specialist Andreas Kappes may be back in action in time for the Six Days of Copenhagen (February 1-6) despite breaking his collarbone last week in Stuttgart. According to the race organisers, Kappes contacted them on Thursday morning with the news that he had been operated on and three screws inserted into the break. Doctors have ordered him to have three complete days of rest, but he will resume training in Berlin on Monday, with the view to racing in Copenhagen next week.

Courtesy of Frank Rud Jensen/H Elmgreen

Nice is nice for young Aussies

Aussies in Nice
Photo: © CN

Although Paris-Nice is only a thin pencil mark on the race calendar at the moment, two young Australians have already made this trip by plane just after landing in France, back from the Tour Down Under.

Matt Wilson, 24, and Baden Cooke, 23, new signings with La Française des Jeux, have quickly organized their set up in Nice, Côte d'Azur, a place that any English speaking person thinks is fascinating the first time they view it.

Both Victorians have impressed their new directeur sportif Marc Madiot enough to be already scheduled on what is considered the best early season program for a French team: GP La Marseillaise, Tour Mediterranean, Tour du Haut-Var and/or Classic Haribo. They were also supposed to ride Paris-Nice, but now they may stay in Nice instead or fly to Holland and take part in the first GP Erik Breukink.

Tour de Georgia

A new professional stage race in the USA organised by Threshold Sports has been scheduled for April 22-27, 2003. The race will be six days long, with ancillary festivals and events, and will feature at least 15 American and international pro teams. The proceeds of the event will benefit the Georgia Cancer Coalition

The route has yet to be determined, but it's expected to showcase "Georgia's natural beauty and range of attractions". Teams will be invited early this year, with confirmations expected by July.

Joseph Sunde Memorial Criteriums

The Joseph Sunde Memorial Criteriums are conducted by the Eastern Suburbs Cycling Club at the popular Heffron Park criterium circuit and are dedicated to the memory of Joseph Sunde, who passed away in 1993 after an 18 month battle with leukemia.

During the past eight years the Joseph Sunde Memorial has established itself as one of the premier Criterium events during the summer racing season. The event is held on the Australia Day holiday weekend and attracts over 120 riders in the three events which cater for elite, women & masters and club riders.

Racing starts at 8:00am and finishes at approximately 11:10am. For full details, please see the race website.

Queen City Wheels/Wright Brothers 2002

Queen City Wheels/Wright Brothers Outdoor is a US amateur team based in the Greater Cincinnati region. The team's goal is a grassroots effort to gain ridership and exposure for bicycle racing in the Greater Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio area. Many veteran racers are returning along with a complement of new faces.

Team roster

Chris Anderson
Toby Costello
Tom Cross
Chip Ellison
David Hart
Larry Haubner
Tim Humbert
Scott Nichols
Mario Medina
Dave Nissen
Rick Strasser
Alison Thomas