News for April 12, 2002

Edited by Jeff Jones

Paris-Roubaix: Mapei-Domo showdown in Centenary Edition

100 years is a long time in cycle racing, and only a few events have reached that milestone. Paris-Roubaix was first run in 1896 and has withstood the test of time to become one of the monuments of the sport. It's an incredibly tough race to win - a combination of experience, good luck, good positioning, good legs and a good team is necessary in this race more than any other.

The brutal cobblestone sections, which total 49.3 kilometres this year, really shape the race. There are 26 of them, the first at Troisvilles after 100 kilometres. The last is in Roubaix, just before the riders enter the velodrome for the final sprint. The cobbles are tough on both bodies and bikes, and normally sturdy equipment is really put to the test in the Hell of the North.

Full Preview
Course map & profile
Start list.

Cyclingnews' Live coverage of the 100th Paris-Roubaix will start at 11:00 local time (5:00am USA eastern time, 2:00am USA west, 7:00pm Australian east).

Andrea Tafi on the new sections of Roubaix

The Mapei team, headed by Andrea Tafi, Daniele Nardello, and Stefano Zanini will previewing the course on Friday morning over some of the cobbled sections that they will have to face on Sunday.

"The only new part of the race is the section called Moulin de Vertain," said Tafi. "It is a section of 500 metres of uneven, potholed and badly looked after cobbled paving that could be dangerous in wet conditions."

The amount of cobbled surface has also increased from 47,300 metres in 2001 to 49,300 metres this year. The Trouée d'Arenberg section will be a key point of the race once again; in the forest it will be easy to work out who will be able and who won't be able to win the race."

"It really is fundamental being able to see the route. This is the only way one can guess what the conditions of the cobblestones will be. Guess...but not really ever fully understanding them! This is the charm of the Roubaix!"

Bruyneel on Hincapie

US Postal team director Johan Bruyneel is looking forward to Roubaix, where he feels George Hincapie is in with a good chance. "The team morale is really high after the Tour of Flanders and Gent-Wevelgem," Bruyneel said. "I am also happy to say that we came through with a solid team performance in both races, which was not the case last year. Last year, George was good but the team was not so good, and mentally that is a big advantage for him and the other guys."

Everybody is really excited for Sunday and knows it is a big day for the team. Normally, everybody is a little bit scared of Paris-Roubaix. Now, it is just the opposite - we are hungry to be there."

On Hincapie, Bruyneel added, "He feels really good right now and knows he is one of the big favorites for Sunday. He is also perfectly able to deal with his role. That is the George that we didn't know until now; he was always holding off and waiting to see what would happen. He has made a big step forward mentally."

Lotto will ride without Eeckhout

Nico Eeckhout will not start in this Sunday's Paris-Roubaix, due to a wrist injury sustained in last week's Ronde Van Vlaanderen. Nico raced in the mid-week classic Gent-Wevelgem, attacking from the gun and riding solo for 80 kilometres before he was caught by the speeding peloton.

The Lotto-Adecco team for Paris-Roubaix will be built around Peter Van Petegem, with Hans De Clercq, Thierry Marichal, Gorik Gardeyn, Glenn d'Hollander, Kevin Van Impe, Stefan Van Dijk and Aart Vierhouten the eight riders.

Tom Steels not ready

Belgian Tom Steels will not be part of the Mapei squad to contest Paris-Roubaix, despite a solid showing this year in the early season races. Steels has been sick for over two years, after he contracted mononucleosis (glandular fever) in 2000. It's been a slow recovery, but he seems to be getting there.

"I need to take a break before I return to my peak, physically and mentally," he said. "The start of the season has been encouraging, but I am not confident enough to play a leading role in a race such as Paris-Roubaix."

His replacement is Fabien De Waele.

Pantani gets advice from Guimard

Marco Pantani, the only Italian to win the Tour de France in the last 36 years, has been seeking advice from a Frenchman to make this year's Tour selection. The 1998 winner was left out last year when the final wild card teams were determined, but wants to rectify that situation this year. However, he's running out of time, having only another three weeks until the teams are announced on May 2.

He has gone to French coach Cyrille Guimard, who has coached nine Tour de France winners, three Giro d'Italia winners, two Vuelta España winners and three World Champions.

"Working with Pantani would be an interesting challenge," said Guimard in an interview with Darren Tulett, of Bloomberg News. "He could still be a contender."

He will be pushing it though, as he only met Pantani in Italy this week. "Marco has put in a lot of hard work over the winter and, with the Tour of Italy first, would be on target for the Tour de France. The problem is we have a deadline approaching."

Pantani has had almost no results since he was excluded from the Giro d'Italia in 1999 due to a high hematocrit. In 2000, he came into form briefly during the Tour, winning two mountain stages and annoying Lance Armstrong. Then he abandoned the race, and has won nothing ever since.

His Mercatone Uno team has been built around him, and they have experienced a similar lack of success in the 2002 season. It's going to be very hard to qualify for Tour selection on a results basis, but that is a strong part of the criteria.

Guimard said he may meet with Pantani's team again in Belgium next week, where the riders will be preparing for the April 21 Liege-Bastogne-Liege World Cup race, an event run by the organisers of the Tour de France. Liege-Bastogne-Liege is more suited to Pantani's climbing characteristics, and he finished 8th in it in 1997. However, he hasn't raced it since then.

"Marco is fully focussed on Liege-Bastogne-Liege," said Manuela Ronchi, Pantani's manager. "We have to do well to show the Tour de France organisers we deserve a place."

On top of that, Pantani has to face the anti-disciplinary commission of CONI next Monday, April 15, to answer questions in relation to the Giro blitz of 2001. Prior to this, he was questioned today by members of the NAS (Italian narcotics police), who discovered traces of insulin in a syringe found in his hotel room last June.

"This syringe is not mine, and I don't understand how someone can assert that the room in which the syringe was discovered was my room," Pantani told police. "For some time now and for private reasons, my team never gives out the names of racers and the rooms that they occupy. I remain quite calm."

Pantani will be one of 13 riders to be heard by the CONI commission chairman Giacomo Aiello. Ivan Gotti and Davide Rebellin will also be heard on Monday.

Riders break the speed limit in Gent-Wevelgem

Yesterday's 64th edition of Gent-Wevelgem was run at an impressive average speed of 44.731 km/h. Not bad going considering the strong winds, which had cut the peloton into pieces by the finish. When the riders reached the coast at Oostende and headed south, they were breaking the 50 km/h speed limit, with automatic speed detectors recording a number of speeding violations from both the riders and their following cars.

Surprisingly, no-one was fined, given the normal attitude of Belgian police [I can personally vouch for this]. But the police magistrate in Brugge said "Even if the facts are proved we will not pursue it."

Farm-Frites Hartol and Novilon selections for Ronde van Drenthe

Team Farm Frites-Hartol will not be counting on Swedish champion Madeleine Lindberg in Saturday's Novilon/Ronde van Drenthe. The 2000 winner is remaining at home in Sweden where she is undergoing an examination in relation to her bad fall in the Tour de Snowy in Australia. The other eight riders from the team will start on Saturday. Also, Team Ton van Bemmelen Sport-Novilon, led by Michael van der Wolf, will feature six riders in the classic.

Team Farm Frites-Hartol

Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel
Sissy van Alebeek
Mirjam Melchers
Arenda Grimberg
Elsbeth Vink
Kirsty Robb
Sonja Pfister-Van Kuijk
Anouska van der Zee
DS: Michael Zijlaard

Team Ton van Bemmelen Sport-Novilon

Sandra Missbach
Soraya Bartels
Wendie Kramp
Caroline Slikker
Catharina Mulders
Daphny van den Brand
DS: Michael van der Wolf

David O'Loughlin looking forward to Shay Elliot

By Tommy Campbell, Irish Independent, Evening Herald, Sunday Independent

The big surprise last weekend in the Ben McKenna Memorial was not the fact that Philip Cassidy was successful, but the showing of David O'Loughlin from the Mayo Wheelers team in Cong. David stopped racing at the end of May last year because of an injury. He involved himself in the promotions of events on behalf of the club and then decided that he would winter in Australia.

This paid dividends on behalf of the 23 year old as he got a professional contract with Foto Lombardia in the USA at the beginning of the year.

He has been racing successfully there for the last couple of months and decided with the permission of the outfit to race here for the month of April. One of his priorities as is with many of the home-based guys is a good showing in the upcoming Shay Elliott, which has UCI ranking points.

Last week he took the McKenna race by storm by being out front for virtually all of the 80 miles before he finally ran out of pace with 8 miles remaining.

So the notion amongst many here at home, is that American racing is not up to much. Well David answered the cynics and on Sunday goes to Banteer in Co. Cork for the Mick Cahill 100k event.

"I know the Cidona boys will be there and hopefully I can give a good account of myself in the lead up to the Elliott," said David.

Cidona have four winners in the stable for the Cork event, so with the presence of O'Loughlin and Ritchie Cahill of the promoting club, the Tipperary boys' could be put on the back burner to say the least.

Meanwhile in the Beggan Trophy in Co. Meath, Philip Cassidy who has gone to the top of the league standings. He has won races and has amassed 25 points, one ahead of Timmy Barry. So the absence of the Cidona boys should see him record his fifth win of the season.

Undoubtedly his sponsors, Cycleways and Lee Strand must be very happy overall with the team's performance and with the FBD Milk Ras around the corner, things are on the way up.