News for March 14, 2002

Edited by Jeff Jones

37th Tirreno-Adriatico: Can Rebellin beat the Fassa B's?

Last year's Tirreno-Adriatico winner Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) will have his work cut out this year to defend his title in the "Race of Two Seas". The Italian who is nicknamed "TinTin" will face opposition from all quarters, in particular the very strong Fassa Bortolo team led by Michele Bartoli and Fabio Baldato. Bartoli beat Rebellin in the Tour of the Med, and has the strongest team on paper, including Francesco Casagrande.

Contenders include Saeco's Danilo Di Luca, who showed good form in the Tour of Murcia. "I feel in great form for Tirreno-Adriatico. I haven't had any problems so far this season and I've been able to train really well without worrying about anything, in fact I've been able to quickly get the results I wanted," said Di Luca.

"I consider Tirreno-Adriatico one of my main objectives in the first part of my season. I especially want to win a stage and if I get the chance I'll also have a go at winning the overall classification."

The stage 4 time trial in Rieti could present a problem, but Di Luca is confident that he can hold his own there, although he is not a noted time trialist.

Others to look for are Rabobank's Erik Dekker and Michael Boogerd, and US Postal's George Hincapie, eager for some more race fitness before the classics.

The sprinters Erik Zabel (Telekom), Mario Cipollini (Acqua e Sapone), Ivan Quaranta (Alexia), Paolo Bettini and Oscar Freire (Mapei) should enjoy the Tirreno-Adriatico parcours, which is a lot less hilly than its French counterpart Paris-Nice.

The stages

• Stage 1 - March 14: Massa Lubrense-Sorrento, 124 km
• Stage 2 - March 15: Sorrente-Frosinone, 212 km
• Stage 3 - March 16: Anagni-Rocca di Cambio, 180 km
• Stage 4 - March 17: Rieti-Rieti ITT, 12.7 km
• Stage 5 - March 18: Rieti-Torricella Sicura, 150 km
• Stage 6 - March 19: Rapagnano-Montegranaro, 208 km
• Stage 7 - March 20: San Benedetto-San Benedetto, 162 km

The teams

Acqua e Sapone
Alessio
Mapei Quick Step
Mercatone Uno
Index-Alexia
Saeco-Longoni Sport
Tacconi Sport
Panaria
Mobilvetta
Fassa Bortolo
Cofidis
Credit Agricole
Domo-Farm Frites
Lotto-Adecco
Team Coast
Telekom
Gerolsteiner
iBanesto.com
Kelme
Lampre-Daikin
ONCE-Eroski
Phonak
Rabobank
CSC-Tiscali
US Postal

Freire wants Milan-San Remo

Dual World Champion Oscar Freire (Mapei) says he would swap two Tour de France wins for a Milan-San Remo victory. Writing on his official website on the eve of Tirreno-Adriatico, less than 10 days before Milan-San Remo, Freire said that the World Cup remains high on his priority list, as well as the Tour de France, Vuelta España and World Championships.

"It would be a mistake to forfeit the classics to try and finish seventh or eighth in, for example, the Vuelta," he said. "I prefer to win a great classic such as Milan-San Remo than two stages in the Tour."

Oscar has not done a huge amount of training over winter, but trusts in his ability to get into form quite quickly. "The key is that there have been no physical problems since I started my preparation," he said, referring to the back problems that have plagued him throughout his occasionally brilliant career.

As for the World Cup, "I know that it is difficult to win it, but I also know that I can win it because I am able to score points in nearly all the races. I know all of them except for Liege-Bastogne-Liege and I can go well in all of them, with the exception of the Tour of Flanders." Freire emphasised that he won't be doing Paris-Roubaix either.

He aims to win a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico, and will use the race as preparation for Milan-San Remo (March 23). Two years ago, he won two stages in TA, "But this year I'll be satisfied with one," he said.

Mapei-Quick Step for Tirreno-Adriatico

Paolo Bettini will lead the Mapei-Quick Step team in the upcoming Tirreno-Adriatico. He will be supported by Davide Bramati, David Cañada, Oscar Freire, Stefano Garzelli, Daniele Nardello, Luca Paolini and Stefano Zanini, all in all a very strong squad.

Meanwhile the Mapei Espoirs squad will contest the GP Erik Breukink in the Netherlands, from March 15-17. Fabian Cancellara, Aurélien Clerc, Bernhard Eisel, Dmitriy Muravyev, Filippo Pozzato, Patrik Sinkewitz, Frederik Willems and Leonardo Zanotti are the riders.

Rumsas out for 10 days

Raimondas Rumsas (Lampre-Daikin) has had his early season marred by a crash in the Trofeo dell'Etna, which will see him out of action for at least 10 days. The diagnosis was made by team doctor Pietro Ronchi following Rumsas' treatment at Peterno hospital, where he received 30 stitches to various parts of his body.

"It's nothing irreparable, luckily, but the 'lacerated-contused injuries' yesterday's report talked about didn't save any part of the body of the rider," said Ronchi. "The most serious wounds are those in his right palm: it's impossible to open a packet of sugar, just imagine how he could grasp the handlebar."

Rumsas will go to the hospital in Lucca tomorrow for further examination. Swiss Rubens Bertogliati will substitute for Rumsas in Tirreno-Adriatico.

Ullrich training again

Jan Ullrich has recommenced training again, after having to stop last week due to knee problems. He rode a few kilometres around Badenweiler, and plans to increase his efforts soon to 80 kilometres per day. He may be back in time for Setmana Catalana (March 25-29).

UCI women's rankings

Following the Tour de Snowy and the Hamilton World Cup, the UCI has updated its women's rankings. After winning the Tour de Snowy, Germany's Judith Arndt (Saturn) now has a clear lead over Mirjam Melchers (Farm Frites-Hartol) with Swiss Nicole Brändli (Acca Due O) in third place, 203 points behind Arndt.

As expected, Anna Millward (Saturn) plummeted down the rankings after not being able to race so far this season. She is now into seventh place, and is looking forward to racing again in La Flèche Wallone on April 17.

Rankings as of March 10, 2002

Individuals

1 Judith Arndt (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team                         762.00 pts
2 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Team Farm Frites-Hartol                  643.00
3 Nicole Brändli (Swi) Acca Due O Pasta Zara Lorena Camicie      579.00
4 Petra Rossner (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team                        556.00
5 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu) Figurella Dream Team                   496.00
6 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Vlaanderen-T-Interim Ladies Team       495.00
7 Anna Millward (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team                        476.00
8 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) Acca Due O Pasta Zara Lorena Camicie  432.00
9 Fabiana Luperini (Ita) Edilsavino                              394.00
10 Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (Fra)                                  390.00
11 Lyne Bessette (Can) Saturn Cycling Team                       351.00
12 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) Itera Team                            345.00
13 Zinaida Stahurskaia (Blr) Usci Chirio                         337.00
14 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Acca Due O Pasta Zara Lorena Camicie      262.00
15 Debby Mansveld (Ned) Vlaanderen-T-Interim Ladies Team         260.00
16 Trixi Worrack (Ger)                                           238.00
17 Monica Valen (Nor) Team Sponsor Service                       225.00
18 Rochelle Gilmore (Aus)                                        202.00
18 Joane Somarriba Arrola (Spa) Deia-Pragma-Colnago              202.00
20 Alessandra Cappellotto (Ita) Power-Plate-Bik                  200.00
      
Teams

1 Saturn Cycling Team                             2,145.00 pts
2 Acca Due O Pasta Zara Lorena Camicie            1,432.00
3 Vlaanderen - T-Interim Ladies Team                998.00
4 Team Farm Frites - Hartol                         881.00
5 Figurella Dream Team                              650.00

Nations

1 Germany                                         1,871.00 pts
2 Lithuania                                       1,283.00
3 Netherlands                                     1,242.00
4 Switzerland                                       867.00
5 Australia                                         858.00

Calvente signs with CSC-Tiscali

Spanish climber Manuel Calvente (25) has signed a contract with the CSC-Tiscali team for the next two years, according to an official announcement. Calvente is considered to have a great potential in the high mountains, having won a number of mountain jerseys in Spanish amateur races. "I am very pleased that we got him. His strength on the climbs will be of great value for the team", said directeur sportif, Johnny Weltz, who has had his eye on Calvente for quite some time.

Calvente will probably make his debut in the Spanish stage race Setmana Catalana de Ciclismo at the end of March.

18 riders for USA National Espoir Team

The USA Cycling-U.S. Postal Service Espoir National Team will be comprised of 18 riders this season. All are between 19 and 22, and are considered to be the USA's future in professional cycling. The team will be based in Izegem, Belgium, while training and racing on the European scene.

The young guns began their early preparations in January at a camp with coach Noel Dejonckheere at Chula Vista's Olympic Training Center. The team schedule has now been finalised, with eight riders competing in the Redlands Classic before heading off to Europe for the Classic Loire Atlantique.

Last year, the squad saw some excellent results from Danny Pate (World U23 TT champ, Triptyque Ardennais winner); Mike Creed (3rd in Ronde de L'Isard d' Ariege) and Jonathan Retseck (3rd place in Trophee Haspengouw).

Pate is now riding for as an elite for Prime Alliance, but newcomers Basil Milsal, David Wenger and Dane Jankowiak should help to fill the gap.

The team

Rahsaan Bahati (Los Angeles)
Nieko Biskner (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
Michael Creed (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Walker Ferguson (Norwood, Colo.)
Mark Fitzgerald (Norfolk, Va.)
Will Frischkorn (Boulder, Colo.)
John Hygelund (Los Gatos, Calif.)
Dane Jankowiak (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Austin King (Phoenix)
Sterling Magnell (Occidental Calif.),
Patrick McCarty (Allen Texas)
Basil Milsal (Oakland, Calif.)
Saul Raisin (Dalton, Ga.)
Timmy Reinhart (Macungie, Pa.)
Jon Retseck (Doylestown, Pa.)
Cory Steinbrecher (Glen Ellyn, Ill.)
Nathan Treto (Temecula, Calif.)
David Wenger (North Lima, Ohio)

Argus "winner" may sue

Ronel Liss (Stellenbosch University) is considering suing the organisers of the Cape Argus/Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour, as she claims she was not recognised for "winning" the women's section of the event, considered to be one of the largest cycling races/fun rides in the world.

Liss claimed the victory but organisers ruled that she had not completed the entire course, as one of the timing stations (Ou Kaapseweg) had not recorded her number. In addition, the organisers could not find any video evidence that she had ridden the prescribed route, and no witnesses have reported seeing her.

Her husband, Jago Liss, won the "A group" section, and his win is also being investigated. Both Ronel and Jago have secured the services of a lawyer to argue their case.

Ronel told race organisers that she had taken her transponder strap off early in the race because it was irritating her. She only put it back on just before the finish.

The organisers have not accused her of cheating, but they are convinced that Ronel did not follow the whole route. Ronel said she had broken away from the leading women between Muizenberg and Scarborough (a 30 km section of the route) and maintained her lead until the end.

The race winner Anriette Schoeman claimed that she did not see Ronel Liss attack, despite being wary of any such moves. Schoeman attacked before Ou Kaapseweg to win the race, from Ronel van Wyk and Adele Jansen van Vuuren.

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