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Edited by John Stevenson
US Postal directeur sportif Johan Bruneel says that Roberto Heras is ready for the job of assisting Lance Armstrong's attempt at a fourth consecutive Tour de France win in July.
Speaking to Spanish sports newspaper Marca, Bruyneel said, "Roberto is in much better shape than last year and has now got used to the change of atmosphere and mentality. Having Roberto in the team is a real bonus for Lance, and it won't stop Heras going for a top place either."
Great things were expected of the 2000 Vuelta winner last year, but Heras failed to live up to expectations, failing to find again the form that took him to a fifth place in the 2000 Tour. But this year, Heras is already deep into pre-season preparation, instead of being distracted by contract squabbles.
"I am really motivated because everything is going well and at this time last season I was still having problems with my contract," said Heras at the team's training camp at Javea, Spain.
Playing the role of second-in-command to Armstrong doesn't worry Heras, and he thinks that the attention the triple Tour winner attracts could help him to a podium place. "I will be in the Tour to help Lance win, but that doesn't stop me from shining. In fact as a support rider I attract less attention and that is the way I like it."
Heras doesn't believe anyone can beat Armstrong at the moment anyway, so it's better to be part of his victory: "In the shape that Lance is in there is no one else around that can realistically aspire to win the Tour and so my chances are certainly not damaged by having to ride alongside him."
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Angel Casero (Team COAST) and Joseba Beloki (ONCE-Eroski) are expected to be the two main contenders in the 48th Vuelta a Andalucía-Ruta del Sol which runs February 17-21.
Casero, winner of the 2001 Vuelta Espana, will be the leader of Team COAST for the Ruta, kicking off COAST's bid for selection for the 2002 Tour de France. The team's other goal for the year is to move up the UCI ranks to the top 15, a position that will mean automatic selection for the 2003 Tour.
After ONCE-Eroski's recent training camp in the El Bosque area, team manager Manolo Sáiz confirmed that Beloki would lead the team in the Ruta.
Other significant riders slated to attend include Manuel 'Triqui' Beltrán, Erik Zabel, Marco Pantani and Francesco Casagrande.
By Tommy Campbell
February 1 sees the start of the Tour de Langkawi, Malaysia's national tour and one of the richest events on the pro calendar. The race consists of ten stages, starting with a time trial and concluding with a city center criterium in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. Here's a mixed bag of TdL facts and information.
1/ The Tour de Langkawi is a sanctioned Union Cycliste Internationale stage race with world ranking points on offer.
2/ It brings together cyclists and teams from all corners of the globe. It is a national tour, which attracts massive interest from the general public.
3/ Riders from up to 40 nations including the Italians and the French come to Malaysia in early February. The Italians head the list of overall wins since the inauguration back in 1996. Paolo Lanfranchi has two victories to his credit, 1999 and last year.
4/ Competitors have a variety of terrain to contend with and an average temperature of approximately 28-30 Celsius. The mix is good with flat and hilly stages. Thrown in for good measure is an individual time trial and a city centre criterium.
5/ The smooth running of the Tour de Langkawi has benefited from the close collaboration between race organisers, State Government, local authorities and the various uniformed bodies. The event has enjoyed the full support of the Malaysian Government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
6/ Also the race has benefited enormously from the active participation of generous sponsors since its inception in 1996. Now Telekom Malaysia, the country's telecommunications giant is the title sponsor. Alongside Telekom Malaysia are Tourism Malaysia, Milo, Genting, Perodua, Malaysian Airlines, Gamuda, Petronas and Proton.
7/ All top class events rely on the cavalcade, which is an intrinsic part of its promotion. The Tour de Langkawi's cavalcade has 70 vehicles participating for the duration of the event.
8/ All dietary needs of riders and event staff are well catered for. Accommodation is of the highest quality with four and five star hotels available to the tour personnel.
9/ Security is of the highest quality. Traffic surveillance from the air by the Police Air Wing coordinates with the traffic police on motorbikes to ensure an orderly closure of the race route. Supplementing this support are more than 50 marshals, also on motorbikes. In addition countless numbers of general duty police are on hand along the route each day.
10/ Proton, the national car maker gives full backing to teams and cyclists with the best possible transportation.
11/ The Tour de Langkawi projects itself through the Press Corp as one of the international cycling events in the world.
12/ A general prize fund is available, plus world ranking points courtesy of Telekom Malaysia the Tour de Langkawi de Langkawi. Each day's top 25 riders are in the money and the prize list for general classification goes down to 30. The event is regarded as one of richest on the UCI calendar.
13/ As a public spectacle, the Tour de Langkawi is also a festival of colour and fun. Entertainment including cultural shows and side shows forms part of the action alongside the racing.
14/ The Malaysian people have given their enthusiastic support. Spectators from villages and cities around the race route come in their thousands.
15/ Organisers First Cartel have a dedicated group of professional and highly committed individuals. Thirty departments are involved in the logistics plus European Consultants, Sport for Television who manage the technical aspects.
Stage 1 - February 1: Putrajaya ITT, 20.3km
Stage 2 - February 2: Klang - Sitiawan, 183.5km
Stage 3 - February 3: Lumut - Ipoh, 129.6km
Stage 4 - February 4: Tapah - Bentong, 176.0km
Stage 5 - February 5: Bangi - Melaka, 127.7km
Stage 6 - February 6: Muar - Johor Bahru, 172.0km
Stage 7 - February 7: Kluang - Tampin, 196.7km
Stage 8 - February 8: Port Dickson - Petaling Jaya, 95.5km
Stage 9 - February 9: Menara Telekom, KL - Genting Highlands, 133.7km
Stage 10 - February 10: Kuala Lumpur (Criterium), 6.3km x 12 laps
Preview
News Stories
Start List
Stages
Map
By Karen Forman
WORLD number one Anna Millward's plans to tackle the Australian Pursuit Championship this year have been dashed, due to the return of a mystery leg injury.
Coach John Beasley confirmed this morning the Victorian rider - currently in the United States with her pro team, Saturn, but due back in Australia on February 1 - would not be riding the national championship, or a pursuit challenge planned for the 2002 Forges Stores Wheel Race in Melbourne on February 9.
"Anna has been having pain in the leg for some time and although we thought it might have gone away, it flared again under pressure during the nationals," he said.
"Now we just want to place emphasis on getting to the bottom of the injury; we just want to get it healthy."
Beasley isn't sure exactly when Millward injured the leg, but suggests it may have emanated from a crash in the time trial at the world championships in Portugal in October.
"It flared in the world road race a couple of days after," he said, "so who knows exactly when it happened."
With investigations continuing into the implications of the injury, Millward is doing only base kilometres because she can't do any real intensity yet.
"She won't have the preparation for the Australian Pursuit Championship," Beasley said. "It is disappointing, because it is something she had always wanted to have a crack at.
"We thought this year might be the opportunity, but with the leg bothering her, no."
Also disappointed is Cyclists International, which had been excited about including a pursuit challenge involving Millward and another prominent female rider on its $10,000 Forges Stores Wheel Race program.
However, riders and spectators alike will still find plenty of action at the fixture, to get underway on the indoor velodrome at Vodafone Arena in Melbourne's Olympic Park precinct, at 7pm.
As well as the feature handicap event - which has already attracted the likes of Olympian Sean Kelly, World Keirin champion, Ryan Bayley and Jobie Dajka - the program will include the Victorian 20km scratch race championship and, for the first time, a mini madison.
And, to add that something extra for the crowd, a match race will be held during interval between two Melbourne Storm (rugby league) and two Hawthorne (AFL) players.
It is the first time in the history of the event - which for 23 years has been sponsored by Forges Stores - that a madison has been included on the program, and the promoters are hoping it will be well supported by riders.
In other Forges Stores Wheel Race news, Tasmanian rider Darren Young will use the 20km Victorian Scratch Race Championship to start his campaign for Commonwealth Games selection and announcer Stewart Doyle will be attending his final wheel race as representative of the sponsor.
Doyle, who manages Melbourne's Forges department Store in Footscray, will retire from that position next month. He first convinced the company to sponsor the event 23 years ago.
It will be a bitter-sweet night for the Melbourne resident, who is also vice president and life member of Cyclists International.
While he says he is looking forward to his retirement on February 28, he is hoping this won't mean an end to the marriage between the company and the track cycling event.
And so this year he says he is going all out to make it a great night all round.
"Especially when it's your own company that is sponsoring...it puts a bit more pressure on you, you've got to make sure its right and people get value for the dollar they put in," he said.
Melbourne born, Doyle started riding with the Brunswick Cycling Club, at 18 when he lived in Coburg.
In later years, he became involved with Cyclists International and then, being in the "rag trade" used to get his company to come in as sponsors of events.
Meanwhile, CI saw an untapped talent and asked him to do some commentating at events . . . a move which led him to larger fields, such as the world track championships in Perth in 1997, the Sydney Olympics 2000, Brisbane 1982 Commonwealth Games, the Tour of New Zealand, the Milk Race in England, the Tour of Hawaii.
"Cycling has been good to me," he said. "I got a lot of good travel out of it..."
His one regret is never having ridden his favourite event of them all - The Forges Stores Wheel Race - but he will be there to commentate on February 9.
The Forges Stores Wheel Race night is the second of five in Cyclists International's 2002 international track cycling progam. This is the second year the organisation has used Vodafone Arena as its venue.
The season opened with the Melbourne Cup on Wheels on December 1 and continues after the Forges with the Bicycle Superstore Austral Wheel Race on February 23, the Australian Madison Championship March 16 and the Sid Patterson Grand Prix on April 6.
Tickets for spectators are on sale through Ticketek in Melbourne or at the door, starting at $20. And to add a European feel to the night of racing, infield dining is being offered.
After winning four stages of the Tour Down Under, Robbie McEwen has been engaged in a spot of serious planning with his Lotto-Adecco team. In an email to Cyclingnews, he tells us, "After my good form at TDU I have decided with the team directors that it is best to race a lot now until Paris-Nice then take a short break from racing and build up to the Giro and Tour de France."
"My program in the early season will be: Etoile de Bessèges, Tour Méditerranéen, Giro Liguria Ponente, Clasica de Almeria and Paris-Nice."
Of course, that rather assumes that the troubled Paris-Nice will go ahead. If not, McEwen, like many others will be looking for an alternative.
The opening round in the US NRC series, the McLane Pacific, March 2-3, has confirmed two more teams that will start their season at the race. Diet Rite and 7Up/Nutra Fig, both run by Podium Sports Management, will field a total of 16 riders in the opening salvo of its bid for NRC dominance.
The Diet Rite women's team, will be looking to open its defence of NRC Champion Tina Mayolo's title. The McLane Pacific is an important race for 7UP/Nutra Fig, as its newest sponsor, Nutra Fig has facilities just 30 miles south of Merced in Madera, California. The central part of California is one of the farming capitals of the world, and figs are a major product.
"It is wonderful to have a local agricultural company sponsor a professional team. Our organization applauds the continued efforts of Nutra Fig to use cycling as one of its major marketing efforts. They have had a great relationship with McLane Pacific over the years by sending teams regularly to our event", said Doug Fluetsch, race director of McLane Pacific. "We plan to use them in media and school presentations this year".
In addition to McLane Pacific, the teams will be holding a training camp in Fresno, California the week prior to McLane Pacific. Fresno is just 45 minutes south of Merced and has some great hills for training in. Recently the area has been hit by snow and rain showers, but typically this type of thing doesn't last long in Central Califonia and should give way to warmer conditions for both the McLane Pacific and the Podium Sports Management training camp.
After a successful 2001 that saw Subaru-Gary Fisher rider Mary Grigson frequently atop the podium in the US and Ryder Hesjedal usually breathing down the neck of countryman Roland Green, Subaru and Gary Fisher have announced a three-year extension of their sponsorship arrangement.
Subaru has been a long-time supporter of mountain biking, both as a racing team sponsor with the Fisher squad and before that with Specialized, and with its support of IMBA's trail access activism. Gary Fisher brand manager Dean Gore recognised this, saying, "While many sponsors of cycling have come and gone, Subaru's support has remained strong. This new contract to continue the Subaru Gary Fisher race team proves that Subaru is committed to our sport now and for the long run."
Subaru Vice President of Marketing, Mark Darling added, "We're proud to continue our partnership with the top team in mountain bike racing and we look forward to a successful 2002 race season."
Myles Rockwell, the 2000 world downhill champion, will lead Giant Bicycle's new North American Mountain Bike Team. Rockwell is joined by Canadian National Downhill Champions Cassandra Boon and Dustin Adams, US Cross-country Semi-Pro Champion Jamey Yanik, and former BMX World Champion Thomas Allier.
The team will concentrate on North American World Cup Events, the NORBA Series, and other high-profile events in the US and Canada with the final goal of fielding a strong presence at the 2002 World Championships in Austria.
Wearing one of his many hats at Giant, team director Russ Okawa said that Rockwell is interested in winning the US national championship series, rather than travelling the globe for World Cup points. He added "The other racers on our team are relatively new to the sport... We're excited to be bringing new blood into the elite ranks of the racing scene."
Boon and Yanik are very much up-and-comers. Both started racing in 1999 and won their national titles last year aboard Giant bikes, as did Adams. Allier has won two world titles and is currently racing for the Giant BMX team. His first outing on 26in wheels was the 2001 Sea Otter MountainCross.
Frank Trotter will be the team manager and head mechanic, while professional wrenching duties will be handled by team veteran Matt Duniho. The Giant North America Team will kick off its season at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California, March 21-24.
Giant Europe's team will continue to compete in World Cup and World Championship events. The east of the pond squad for 2002 includes former world champion Bart Brentjens, former World Champion Christophe Dupouey, World Cup winner Rune Hoydahl, Thomas Hochstrasser, Marti Gispert Liberta, and David Vasquez.
British readers looking for a change of pace might like to get themselves along to Astley, Greater Manchester this coming Sunday or Wednesday and try the discipline of cycle speedway.
Astley & Tyldesley Miners' Welfare / CTA Direct Cycle Speedway Club are starting their pre-season training this week. Sessions start on Sunday, February 3, between 2pm and 4pm, and on Wednesday February 6, between 7pm and 9pm. The sessions will run every Sunday and Wednesday throughout February and March, at the Cycle Speedway track at the Astley & Tyldesley Miners' Welfare Club, Meanley Road, Gin Pit, Astley, Gt. Manchester.
Existing, new and former riders are all welcome, along with cyclists from other racing disciplines. All ages are catered for. The club boasts impressive facilities and has bikes and helmets available for hire. For further details, please contact Mike Hack on 01942 515341.
Team DARE is based in the Ontario California region, about an hour east of Los Angeles with riders as far north as San Luis Obispo, CA. It started out several years ago as the Chevrolet/LA Sheriffs masters racing team and has evolved to what it is now. It rides and races to promote cycling as a "lifetime" sport and a positive means to teach kids to resist drugs and violence. Encouraging and promoting cycling to enhance self-esteem and developing growth within the individual, community and the sport of cycling.
Riders
Category 1
Josh Goodwin
Greg Mendinilla
Haldane Morris
Frank Serate
Category 2
Jacques Benoit
Jon Davis
Jeremy Dixon
Mike Easter
Ruben Meza
Sean Robbins
Earle Shofstall
Staff
Club: Pacific Sunset Velo
Owner/Director: Ray and Irma Moreno
Assistant: Robert Dixon
Coach: Haldane Morris
Sponsors
DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance and Education Program)
Kenwood Communications
OPOA (The Ontario Police Officers Association-Ontario, California)
GU
Serfas
Yakima
UPTime
Zoom
Benoit Construction
Benoit Chiropractic
Bikes: Torelli
Pedals: Speedplay
Shoes/Tires: Vittoria
Helmets: Giro
Clothing: Castelli
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