Second edition News for April 3, 2002Edited by John Stevenson Stive Vermaut diagnosed with heart problemThe 2002 season, and possibly the racing career of Lotto rider Stive Vermaut may be at an end after he was recently diagnosed with a cardiac condition. Vermaut began to complain of chest pain after Milan-San Remo and underwent a complete examination at the Catholic University of Leuwen after having been aware of some problems since the beginning of the season. The examination discovered that all was indeed not well. Vermaut's team announced the problem at the start of the Driedaagse van De Panne (Three Days of De Panne) in Mouscron yesterday. According to team medic Dr De Neve, Vermaut suffers from tachyarythmy and has an over-sized right hand side of his heart. "The combination of these two factors puts him at risk of serious arrhythmias," said the doctor. "He can live perfectly well with it, but it is not wise for him continue has to carry out the career of high level sportsman." The 26 year old rider, a former member of US Postal and various Flandrian teams, is therefore stopping racing for the duration, and may have to abandon his racing career if a cure cannot be found. Nevertheless, Vermaut is hopeful that he can continue racing. "I am clinging to the percentage chance that remains," he said. "I am realistic that there is not much chance that I'll be able to return, but I am hanging on to that chance with both hands." Vermaut will undergo a further examination to confirm the problem, Dr De Neve added. Vermaut, considered one of the rising stars of Belgian cycling, finished 36th in his first Tour de France last year. Freire missing from Driedaagse van De PanneMapei's Oscar Freire is MIA from the Driedaagse van De Panne because of tendonitis in his right leg, according to the team. Freire began to notice problems on Saturday while doing high-intensity training for the race and for Sunday's Ronde van Vlaanderen (RVV). Mapei's team doctor diagnosed a problem with a tendon attached to the tibia and recommended two day's rest in the hope that the problem will recover in time for RVV. Freire will ride again on Wednesday, but will take it gently to assess the injury. The decision to ride RVV will be taken Thursday. The Ronde was one of Freire 's early-season targets as part of an overall assault on this year's World Cup. Freire says his form is currently "very good, I've been going well" and this may be part of the problem. "When you are going well you have stronger muscles and the sinews undergo more," he said. Recent intense training may have caused the problem, along with the effort of Milan-San Remo, but it doesn't seem to be as severe as the back injuries that have plagued Freire for much of his career and kept him off the bike for most of last year. Quaranta out with broken metacarpalIndex-Alexia rider Ivan Quaranta is also sitting out the Driedaagse van De Panne after breaking the fourth metacarpal in his right hand. Quaranta crashed on Monday when a dog unexpectedly ran out in front of him while he was training near Waregem, Belgium after the GP. Quaranta was taken to the hospital in Courtrai for X-rays and returned to Bergamo, Italy yesterday afternoon to consult a specialist. The injury will probably put Quaranta out of action for a couple of weeks, adding another setback to a season that has been beset with misfortunes despite starting well with a stage win at Qatar. Quaranta's opinion on the move to restrict interactions between riders and dogs (Cyclingnews, April 1) are not recorded, but we bet he's a supporter now. Russell Stevenson signs for Prime AllianceSeattle rider Russell Stevenson has turned pro for the Prime Alliance team, the squad that has dominated the beginnings of the 2002 US domestic men's season. (Cyclingnews Prime Alliance team profile) Stevenson will make his debut for Prime Alliance this Saturday at the Boat Street Criterium in Seattle's University District. He will then join the entire Prime Alliance team on April 20 for the First Charter Criterium in Shelby, NC. Stevenson's talent was recognized by the professional squad after consistent riding on the national Pro/Am circuit in the last year and a half, including a seventh place in last April's Tour of Willamette. Ride for the Roses 2002Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor and three-time TdF winner, will host the Lance Armstrong Foundation's sixth annual Ride for the Roses next weekend, April 12-14, in Austin, Texas. As well as being a weekend-long cycling get-together, the event is a major fund-raiser for the Lance Arnstrong Foundation. This organisation was set up by Armstrong after his near-fatal bout of cancer a few years ago to help cancer sufferers and survivors. The weekend will feature a "Faces of Survivorship" panel and discussion about how athletes are winning the war against cancer. The panelists will share their personal experiences with cancer and discuss how athletics played a role in their recovery. The panel will feature Lance Armstrong, and Corina Moriaru, a professional tennis player and leukaemia survivor, and will be moderated by ESPN host Chris Fowler. The Faces of Survivorship panel takes place at the PowerBar Health and Sports Expo, Center Stage, Austin Music Hall, 208 Nueces Street, Austin, Texas on Saturday, April 13, 2002, 2:15-3:15 p.m. The program will also be Webcast live at www.oncolink.com/rft. For more information see the Lance Armstrong Foundation's website For the latest in-depth interview with Lance Armstrong, see our Racy Language interview. Kelli Turcotte auction is goThe auction of bike racer memorabilia to help fund the fight against cancer of popular industry veteran Kelli Turcotte is now up and running on ebay (see March 11 news). Kelli's friends and supporters are appealing for more donations of hardware and cash. If you and/or your company can donate an item to be auctioned off to raise money for Kelli's chemo bills, send a picture, description, and estimated value of the item(s) to blissimages@compuserve.com as soon as possible. The eBay auction page with a complete list of current items is here. Please send checks or money orders to Kelli Turcotte; 3631 Lyndale Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55409 She also has a paypal account that is accessible through the E-bay auctions. Due to some difficulties in e-bay's search function, the easiest way to find all of the items for sale to click below or simply paste in the URL below into your browser: Below is a list of the items you can buy, along with their current bid prices as of April first. Mountain bike industry character and PR Guy Steve Boehmke – who has been prominent in the campaign to help Kelli – said "No fooling - these are great items at amazing prices! Please bid on the item(s) of your choice, and let's raise some money for a great cause!" Current Item Bid $50.00 Myles Rockwell signed archival inkjet print. $50.00 Anne Caroline Chausson signed archival print. $50.00 Filip Meirhaeghe signed archival inkjet print $50.00 Official Anne Caroline Chausson signed jersey $150.00 Signed UCI Rainbow Club jersey $142.50 Lance Armstrong autographed Oakley print. $50.00 Signed Brian Lopes and Wade Bootes print $35.00 Autographed Sea Otter Classic t-shirt $50.00 Team Be One autographed jersey $50.00 Paola Pezzo signed Italia jersey $50.00 Autographed Alison Dunlap collectors print $50.00 Autographed Fisher team jersey $50.00 Signed Bart Bowens natnl championship jersey $56.00 Autographed Alison Dunlap US Jersey $150.00 Autographed Lance Armstrong book $50.00 Roland Green autographed skinsuit $30.00 Autographed Mary Grigson Fisher team shorts $35.00 Signed SAAB Fisher team shorts $50.00 Autographed Mary Grigson Fisher team jersey $24.95 Signed Tour of the Rockies jersey $49.99 Signed Nirve BMX factory jersey $24.99 Frischknecht Hawaiian Mountain Tour jersey $24.99 New "Ikaika" leaders jersey $49.99 Signed Cadel Evans Elite/U23 leaders skinsuit $49.99 USA Cycling Development Foundation jersey $39.99 National champ cycling jersey Wisconsin off-road series goes NORBARiders in the 2002 Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) will be eligible for points in NORBA's National Rankings Program, according to a release from NORBA. The release quotes WORS Director Don Edberg as saying, "We just haven't been in a position where it really mattered in the past, but now, because of the series' status, we looked at how we could better serve our racers. We have riders who want to get recognition and respect for accomplishing of what they have in a series our size." The series' new affiliation with NORBA also means that competitors will be eligible for state championships. The 2002 WORS series adds two new races – the Hixton Holeshot and Rome Around – and has expanded its age categories and added a singlespeed class Riders can register on-line for the series at www.wors.org. In conjunction with the June 23 WORS Cup in Wausau, Wis., WORS will sponsor the North Central Women's Mountain Bike Challenge June 22. Edberg said he hopes to draw approximately 300 competitors for the women's-only race. Nearly 20 percent of WORS participants are women. 2002 Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) ScheduleMay 4-5: Alpine Valley Open East Troy |
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