News for August 8, 2002

Edited by Jeff Jones

Museeuw hopes to hold onto World Cup lead

Johan Museeuw
Photo: © Sirotti

Johan Museeuw, winner of last weekend's HEW Cyclassics World Cup in Hamburg, wants to hold onto his World Cup lead for as long as possible. This Saturday will see him contest the Clasica San Sebastian, a race which doesn't really suit his abilities, compared with his nearest rival Paolo Bettini, who trails him by 96 points.

"The World Cup is certainly not yet over," said Museeuw in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. "A lot of things can happen. On Saturday there is San Sebastian, where I have only once finished in the top 10. Bettini will certainly score more points in the next few races than me, and with a hundred points for a win, a lead of 96 points is not that much."

"I will of course give everything to try and hold onto this jersey, but I know how difficult it is. The World Cup cannot be underestimated. In 1994 I thought I would win for sure, but then Bortolami won two races and took the overall World Cup. I won't make the error of just worrying about Bettini."

Museeuw will race the rest of the season with the goal of doing well in the World Cups and World Championships in Zolder. "You will therefore not see me in the Tour of Spain," he added.

Finally, when asked about his future next year, he was still undecided. The popular opinion is that - should he continue his career as a cyclist - he will follow his friend Patrick Lefevere to the new Quick Step team, and not ride for Sercu's Lotto-Domo squad. "I haven't yet decided," he said. "At the moment while it's going well, the temptation is great to go on, but that can change quickly. Nothing is concrete for next year, but everyone knows that Patrick Lefevere is a good friend. Furthermore, I have not yet had an offer from Christophe Sercu. I will chose with my heart, like I did when I followed Patrick from Mapei to Domo."

Lawyers asks for release of Edita Rumsas

The lawyers of Edita and Raimondas Rumsas have requested Edita's release from the prison in Bonneville, where she is currently being held under suspicion of "supplying, offering, transporting and aiding the use of doping substances." Edita has been in prison since July 30, following her arrest in Chamonix on July 29 when she was allegedly found by French customs officers to be carrying a large quantity of drugs in her car.

One of the couple's lawyers, Jean-Marc Varaut, said that "We wish to show that possession of these medicines is not a crime. The buying and selling of these medicines is illegal, but that is not the case. I think that the judge should answer us quickly."

The judge must answer within five days.

Peter Van Petegem in doubt for San Sebastian

Peter Van Petegem, currently lying in fourth place on the World Cup rankings, is in doubt for this Sunday's seventh round, Clasica San Sebastian. The Lotto-Adecco rider was involved in the same fall that took out his teammate Robbie McEwen in the HEW Cyclassics race in Hamburg last Sunday, and may have broken two of his ribs. So far, X-rays have not been able to determine whether the ribs are broken, cracked or bruised, but Van Petegem has not been able to ride for two days.

"I will try on Wednesday morning," he said to De Standaard. "Then I will see an osteopath who will advise me on starting in San Sebastian. I really want to go to Sapin, but if I feel like I do now, I don't see it happening."

Phonak with a strong team for San Sebastian

Phonak in action
Photo: © Team Phonak

The Swiss Phonak Hearing Systems squad has selected a strong line up for this Saturday's Clasica San Sebastian in Spain. With Giro d'Italia prologue winner Juan Carlos Dominguez, Swiss Champion Alexandre Moos past World Champion Oscar Camenzind and Spanish climber Oscar Pereiro, the team is looking to make an impact in this selective World Cup race.

The remainder of the team is Reto Bergmann, Daniel Schnider, Bert Grabsch and Iker Camaño. The team will be directed by Alvaro Pino.

Meanwhile in the Regio Tour in Germany, Phonak is competing with the following riders: Roger Beuchat, Martin Elmiger, Cédric Fragnière, Fabrice Gougot, Stefan Kupfernagel, Benoît Salmon, Massimo Strazzer, and Lukas Zumsteg. Director sportif: René Savary.

Sprinters Massimo Strazzer, winner of the Intergiro and Most Combative competitions in the Giro d'Italia, and Stefan Kupfernagel will look to gain a stage win on the flatter stages, while other riders such as Roger Beuchat and Martin Elmiger could try their legs in breakaways.

Roberto Heras marries

Scarcely a week after finishing the Tour de France, US Postal climber Roberto Heras celebrated his marriage to Ana Gálvez. The couple tied the knot in the small town of Candelario, where Roberto has a house, and there were just 57 invited guests in attendance. Roberto met Ana in 1999 following the Giro d'Italia.

Riders tested in Tour of Portugal

37 riders from six teams competing in the Tour of Portugal were subjected to surprise drug tests by the UCI yesterday, before the start of stage 5. Today (August 7) was a rest day, with the riders due to race tomorrow from Mondim de Basto to Cantanhede, over 205.2 kilometres. At approximately 2000 kilometres, the Tour of Portugal is one of the longest national tours, outside the Giro, Vuelta and Tour de France.

Only one Belgian at the Track World's

At this year's World Track Championships in Cophenhagen (September 25-29) there will in all probability be only one rider from Belgium able to compete. Matthew Gilmore is the only rider with enough points to qualify, although there is a chance for sprinter Ingeborg Marx to ride, provided she finishes in the top five in this weekend's Track World Cup in Kunming, China.

Geneviève Jeanson back at Canadian Road Championships

After being out of competition for just over a month, Canadian cyclist Geneviève Jeanson (RONA) will return to racing in the Canadian Road Championships in Oxford County, in Southwestern Ontario between August 8-11. Jeanson has been suffering from tendonitis behind her left knee, and had to retire from the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic during its second stage on June 28. This injury not only kept her out of racing, but off her bike for more than two weeks. She started training again in mid-July, and gradually intensified her efforts.

Jeanson's first race back will be the Individual Time Trial on August 8. The 25 km race will be held in Tillsonburg, near London. On Saturday she will compete in the 108 km road race, which will be held in Harrington.

"I feel good and the pain is gone," said Jeanson. "But I'll have to race to find out how competitive I really am. I can't wait to compete, I have pins in my legs!"

Team Krone has high ambitions for the Gamuda-Eagle Tour of Malaysia

By Jean-François Quénet

Team Krone
Photo: © JF Quenet

Team Krone - the first ever Norwegian professional team - has recently focused on its preparation for the Gamuda-Eagle Tour of Malaysia starting next week (August 14-18). "It's been an honour for us to receive an invitation for this race," directeur sportif Øyvind Lillehagen explained. "So we've planned our summer season in order to do well in Malaysia."

After taking part in the Dokoola Mazsowya in Poland and the Mi-Août Bretonne in France where Rune Jogert and Tore Bekken came respectively 5th and 8th in the first event, the following riders have been selected: Gabriel Rasch, Roy Sønsterud, Kjetil Løitegård, Lars Breiseth, Rune Jogert and Tore Bekken.

Rasch, 26, will captain the team. "Since I came 5th in the Norwegian championship in June, I've trained more than ever with the trip to Malaysia in mind", said the former rider from Zalf-Fior in Italy and ACBB in France. In his early days at the international level, he was supposed to be as good as the current four top professionals from Norway, i.e. Tour de France stage winner Thor Hushovd, Steffen Kjærgaard of US Postal, EDS-fakta's Kurt-Asle Arvesen and Bjørnar Vestøl, but he hasn't given up his ambitions.

For its first year, Team Krone has been successful so far, with ten victories including four UCI wins: Classic Loire-Atlantique (Jogert), stage 1 in the Tour of Normandy (Jogert), stage 2 in the Ringerike Grand Prix (Per Martin Lund) and the overall classification of the Ringerike Grand Prix (Mads Kaggestad, with Rasch coming 2nd). In addition, many valuable places have showed the consistency of the team: Lars Breiseth 2nd of the Prix des Flandres Françaises and 3rd of the Tour du Loir-et-Cher, Kaggestad 3rd of the Circuit des Ardennes and 2nd and 3rd in different stages in the Vuelta a Navarra.

In Malaysia, Team Krone will line up a good combination of sprinters (Jogert, Breiseth, Bekken), GC contenders and team-mates. "My old friend Bjønar Vestøl took part twice in Le Tour de Langkawi and always enjoyed it, Lillehagen added. I hope the Eagle Tour will be the start of a long relationship between our team and Malaysia and we'll improve and be able to compete in Le Tour de Langkawi with the big teams in one or two years time."

Krone's sponsorship is valid for at least three seasons and the interest for cycling in Norway is getting bigger and bigger - especially after Hushovd's showing at the Tour de France - so the Scandinavian influence in cycling shouldn't be limited to Denmark and Sweden in the next few years.

Old boys show in Skara

The seventh edition of Skara Elit Grand Prix will be held Thursday night with European TT Champion Jonas Olsson in his first appearance on home soil after the victory in Bergamo. Organising club Skara CK's pro Jonas Ljungblad (Amore & Vita) and 50 other top Swedish elite riders will also start.

The evening's appetizer, "Skara Oldboys" will be equally interesting for the cycling fan. The club has managed to gather ten ex-pro's to race a few laps ahead of the Grand prix. Among them are twice Giro runner up (and team Crescent DS) Tommy Prim, Sven-Åke Nilsson, the only Swede ever to wear a Tour leader's jersey (The spotted from three stages of 1980) and more recent riders as triple Giro stage winner Glenn Magnusson and World's ITT silver medallist Michael Andersson. Others to watch: Anders Adamsson (Eurosport commentator), Patrick Serra (Team Mälarenergi DS), Torbjörn Olsson, Lars Wahlqvist, Per Christiansson and Jan Karlsson. The race will be commented by Eurosport's commentator Roberto Vacchi who didn't qualify despite being the Lanterne Rouge of the Tour of Normandy some years ago ;-)

British team for China Track World Cup

Four British riders will be heading for China later this week for the final round of the UCI Track World Cup. Victoria Pendleton, who has made a real impression this year in both the sprint and the 500 Time Trial will need to perform at her best if she is to qualify a place in either event for the world championships. Keiran Page, Tony Gibb and Bradley Wiggins will be dividing the Points, Scratch and Madison events between them. Bradley is also looking to qualify for the Individual Pursuit - which shouldn't be too difficult following his strong 4.19 ride at the Commonwealth Games.

American Cycling Showdown at Lehigh Valley Velodrome

The Lehigh Valley Velodrome will host the All-American Cycling Showdown on Friday, August 9 at 7 p.m. The Showdown is the largest purse for a single bike race in U.S. track cycling, and will be sponsored by Red Robin and B104.

The featured events are the Men's 10-Mile Dash for Cash and the Women's 5-Mile Dash for Cash. The men will compete in the Men's 5-Mile Heats and the Miss-And-Out, a fast-paced race that eliminates the last rider each lap. The men will then go head-to-head in the 10-Mile Final. The prize for the top male finishers totals $5,500 cash. The women will compete in the Women's 1-Mile race and then the 5-Mile Final. The total prize money for the women is $2,500. There will be a bonus to the woman who breaks the 5-mile record of 10:36.18 held by Lucy Tyler. Similarly if Jame Carney's 1999 10-mile record (18:56.71) falls, a bonus will be paid.

Olympians Marty Nothstein and Tanya Lindenmuth are expected to take part, as is 2001 Junior World Champion Sarah Uhl. Five-mile record holder and 1998 World Champion Lucy Tyler is returning from a chronic injury, but is always considered a contender. Also, keep an eye on Ashley Kimmet (Bethlehem, PA), who in 2000 medalled in the Junior Worlds and has recently turned her focus to longer distances, whereas Lindenmuth has focused on the sprinting events.

In the men's field the favourite is Marty Nothstein, who will be chased down by Australian young gun Jeff Hopkins and New Zealand veteran Graeme Miller. "With $5,500 on the line, my competition will pull out all the stops," said Nothstein, "But, I'll be the one to beat and with my road training it's going to be tough for any of them to catch me."

As part of the celebration and in special recognition of local emergency workers, the Velodrome staff has announced a tribute to American Heroes. The Tribute includes the American Heroes Challenge, a mountain bike relay event, pitting local heroes, from police to fire fighters, against each other in another exciting race.

(All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2002)