News for April 1, 2002

Driedaagse van De Panne preview

By Jeff Jones

Next week from April 2-4 is the 26th edition of the Driedaagse van De Panne, the final tune up for many before the Ronde van Vlaanderen on April 7. The race consists of four stages, with the final day in De Panne being split between a 118 kilometre road stage and a 14 kilometre time trial, which normally decides the race.

The race is not easy if there's a lot of wind and rain, but if the recent trend continues the peloton will enjoy dry and windless conditions.

Stage 1 from Moeskroen to Zottegem takes the riders via Geraardsbergen, skipping the Muur but doing the Bosberg, before tackling three laps around Zottegem and Brakel. Each lap contains the climbs of the Leberg and Berendries, both of which will be used in the Ronde. With 9 climbs in total, it can be a selective parcours, but last year's stage ended in a bunch sprint with Danilo Hondo the victor.

Stage 2 starts in Zottegem's market place and heads for the coast, eventually finishing in Koksijde after 232 kilometres. It's a very long stage with six climbs including the Tiegemberg, Monteberg, Kemmelberg, Rode Berg and Vidaigneberg, but with the last climb at 100 kilometres to go, it's likely to finish in a mass sprint. The main difficulty will be the assumed headwind when riding west, which will turn into crosswinds as the riders do laps around De Panne/Koksijde.

The first part of the third stage is a 118 kilometre lap around West Flanders, starting and finishing in De Panne. Last year Zoran Klemencic won a difficult sprint on the cobbles in front of Paolo Bettini and Steven De Jong, after Lotto-Adecco controlled the stage.

The final and crucial leg on day three is a 14 kilometre individual time trial around the streets of De Panne, with the main difficulties being the cobbles and the tram tracks. Nico Mattan overcame wet conditions to win both the TT and the overall last year, finishing 4 seconds in front of Erik Dekker and 14 seconds in front of Viatcheslav Ekimov on GC. Both Mattan and Dekker were protagonists in the Ronde van Vlaanderen a few days later.

Nico Mattan will be starting as the defending champion this year, and he will have plenty of competition. Lotto's Andrei Tchmil and Peter Van Petegem, Domo's Johan Museeuw, US Postal's George Hincapie, Telekom's Steffen Wesemann, Rabobank's Marc Wauters, Alessio's Dario Pieri and Mapei's Laszlo Bodrogi and Fabien De Waele are all on the list of favourites.

The stages

Stage 1 - April 2: Moeskroen - Zottegem, 181 km
Stage 2 - April 3: Zottegem - Koksijde, 232 km
Stage 3a - April 4: De Panne - De Panne, 118 km
Stage 3b - April 4: De Panne - De Panne ITT, 14 km

The teams

Cofidis
US Postal
Domo-Farm Frites
Mapei-Quick Step
Telekom
Lampre-Daikin
Saeco-Longoni Sport
Fassa Bortolo
Tacconi Sport
Acqua e Sapone
Lotto-Adecco
Rabobank
Alessio
CSC-Tiscali
Index Alexia
Vlaanderen T Interim
La Française des Jeux
Collstrop-Palmans
Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
Marlux-Ville de Charleroi
Bankgiroloterij-Batavus
Bonjour
Gerolsteiner
RDM-Flanders

Boogerd will not ride Ronde

Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) will not be a starter in next Sunday's Ronde van Vlaanderen, the second round of the World Cup in Belgium. The Dutchman prefers to ride the Ardennes classics, namely La Flèche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, according to Rabobank team director Adri van Houwelingen.

"That was decided in the winter and we have not changed that plan," he said in reaction to Boogerd's comments made to Belgian TV after today's Brabantse Pijl, where he said that he would certainly like to ride the Ronde.

Ag2r out of the Ronde

The French Ag2r-Prévoyance team has forfeited its spot in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, which will take place on April 7. The team directed by Vincent Lavenu is currently missing its Baltic connection: Jaan Kirsipuu, Lauri Aus and Linas Balciunas. They will not be at full strength for the Ronde, and Lavenu decided to pull the team out.

Peers annoyed at Lefevere

Chris Peers (Cofidis) expressed his annoyance at comments made by Domo boss Patrick Lefevere after yesterday's GP E3-Harelbeke. Lefevere reportedly criticised Peers for being too tactically stupid to win a bike race. Today, the Cofidis rider placed third in Brabantse Pijl, won by his compatriot Fabien De Waele.

"I though that he was a good team leader, who could motivate riders," said an angry Peers to Belgian Radio 1. "I now know that he can also demotivate. But for me it was the reverse. I was annoyed and gave even more of myself. I was one of the few who after the E3-Prijs could also be in today's finale."

Mercado comes good

The winner of the 39th Setmana Catalana was the pint-sized iBanesto.com climber, Juan Miguel Mercado. At 54 kilos, Mercado is perfectly built for the big climbs, and last year won the stage to Lagos de Covadonga in the Vuelta España, along with the Vuelta a Burgos and a stage of the Volta ao Alentejo.

His team director Eusebio Unzúe says that this year he will be able to concentrate completely on the Vuelta. "He will be the a priori leader," said Unzúe after Mercado's recent win. "But to be good in the Vuelta I believe that he is best not to ride the Tour."

Mercado is still 23 years old, but is already in his fifth season as a pro. He started in Vitalicio Seguros aged 19 after just one season in the amateurs, as team boss Javier Minguez obviously recognised his talent.

Tournant and Duble's records ratified

The UCI have, after a five month delay, ratified the World Records of Arnaud Tournant and Arnaud Dublé. On October 10, 2001 on a high altitude track in Bolivia, the pair smashed the records for the standing 1 kilometre time trial (58.875 seconds by Tournant) and the flying 500 metre time trial (25.850 seconds by Dublé). Tournant thus became the first rider to break the 1 minute barrier in the kilo from a standing start.

Acqua & Sapone to list on stock exchange

The Acqua & Sapone company, sponsor of a cycling team containing a certain recent Milan-San Remo winner, have decided to list on the stock exchange. They will sell shares for 1 euro each in order to attract more of the tifosi. The company's directors expect that Acqua e Sapone's economic value will be between 15 and 20 million euros on the Milan exchange.