News for November 21, 2002

Edited by Jeff Jones

Botero awarded Cross of the Grand Knight

On November 19 in a formal session of the Colombian Congress, Santiago Botero received the distinguished Cross of the Grand Knight of the Order of the Simón Bolivar Democracy. This is the highest honour Congress can bestow upon a civilian for outstanding accomplishments. "This is way too big for you as an athlete. I had not even imagined it. I thought I might be the best in the State and perhaps even the country, but that the House and Congress, the people that represent an entire people and a nation, will mention you in such a beautiful address, is a great satisfaction and a dream to have your work valued in such a manner", said Botero in response to the honour

Courtesy of Haroldo Camacho

Rumsas receives Olympic Star

Rumsas and Vaitkus
Photo: © ELTA

Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, who finished third in the Tour de France, has been awarded the Lithuanian National Olympic Committee's (LTOK) top honour, the Olympic Star. The ceremony took place in LTOK's headquarters in Vilnius on Wednesday, and also honoured World U23 TT champion Tomas Vaitkus, and Neringa Raudonyte, winner of a bronze medal at the European track cycling championships.

Rumsas said to ELTA newsagency that he greatly appreciated the award, and thanked everyone who supported him during the doping scandal he and his wife were involved in following the Tour de France.

"I could constantly feel attention from Lithuania," said Rumsas to ELTA. "It was a great pleasure when shortly after the Tour de France, [Lithuanian] President Valdas Adamkus called and was the first to congratulate me on victory. At the same moment the champion Lance Armstrong received a call from US President George W. Bush."

Rumsas has not signed a contract for next season, as his agent is still negotiating with Lampre. If that doesn't come off, Rumsas could get a contract with the Polish team CCC-Polsat.

De Knegt in place of De Vos in Frankfurt

Dutch rider Gerben de Knegt will be present at the first round of the cyclo-cross World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany, this weekend, taking the place of the injured Wim de Vos. De Vos has not recovered from his crash in the Superprestige race in Gavere last Sunday.

Zülle stays with Team Coast

Swiss cyclist Alex Zülle has extended his contract with Team Coast for another year. The deal has yet to be signed, but team manager Wolfram Lindner said that it will be within the next few days. Zülle, who is 34 this year, won the Tour of Valencia and the Tour de Suisse this year.

Belda wants Cerezo and Blanco

Vicente Belda, manager of the Spanish team Kelme, wants to invest the money the team hopes to receive from the Santiago Botero/Telekom buyout in reinforcing the Kelme team. Riders on his list would be most likely the Spaniards Francisco Cerezo (CSC) and Santiago Blanco (iBanesto.com).

Kelme has been present in the international peloton since 1980, and has in Oscar Sevilla an undisputable leader for the 2003 season. A leader who will try to give a better account of himself in the 2003 Tour, after his abandon in the 2002 edition. A leader who will try to make the third attempt to win the Vuelta the good one.

Sevilla has high expectations about the next edition of the Vuelta with the added incentive that Albacete, Sevilla's home town, will host a stage finish, a time trial and stage start between September 18-20. That is seen by Sevilla as a good sign and will strengthen his morale.

Meanwhile, Kelme's team doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, has decided to take a sabbatical year dedicated to his family. Fuentes, who is a father of a nine month old baby boy, denied the rumour that he would be working for the Spanish soccer team FC Barcelona.

Courtesy of João Cravo

Dionne signs for Saturn

US squad finalizes 2003 roster

Canadian Charles Dionne has signed for the Saturn team, which has now completed its roster for 2003. The 23 year-old from St. Redempteur, Quebec, impressed many when he won the San Francisco Grand Prix in September, and is considered a big talent for the future. He joins Australian Nathan O'Neill, who was confirmed earlier this week, as one of Saturn's final acquisitions.

Saturn Cycling Team men's director, Andrzej Bek, is happy with his team, saying that "With Chris Horner, Nathan O'Neill, Trent Klasna and Tom Danielson, we have a very competitive General Classification roster. Also, we have Charles Dionne, Tim Johnson, Will Frischkorn, Phil Zajicek, Rahsaan Bahati, Ivan Dominguez and Victor Repinski as young guys growing into the sport who will be eager to both work hard for their leaders and learn to win. Our veterans Mark McCormack and Eric Wohlberg will be great teachers and carry on the strong Saturn tradition of professionalism."

On the women's side, Australian Katie Mactier and Canadian Amy Moore [formerly Jarvis] will round out Saturn's nine woman roster. 27 year old Mactier leaves the Italian Michela Fanini Record Rox Team, where she rode in support of Regina Schleicher. Amy Moore comes to the Saturn Cycling Team from the Rona Team with a depth of experience as a top domestique or support rider. Alongside her former Rona teammate Manon Jutras, Moore will ride in support of her Saturn teammates Lyne Bessette, Ina Teutenberg and Laura Van Gilder. The team also contains Sarah Uhl, Megan Elliot and Jessica Phillips, making it a very strong squad for 2003.

Saturn Cycling Team women's director, Giana Roberge, is looking forward to the 2003 racing season, "I foresee a fresh new approach to our racing style. I am excited to work with both veterans and youngsters (with a closet full of impressive jerseys) and bring a competitive team to the women's peloton."

The entire Saturn team will gather in Detroit on January 14 for Saturn training and photo shoots before heading to California for seven days of training in Buellton, near Santa Barbara. The men's team kicks off its season at the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, with the women's season beginning in Australia with the Tour de Snowy and the first race of the Women's World Cup Series in Geelong.

The team

Men

Rahsaan Bahati (USA)
Tom Danielson (USA)
Charles Dionne (Can)
Ivan Dominguez (USA)
Will Frischkorn (USA)
Chris Horner (USA)
Tim Johnson (USA)
Trent Klasna (USA)
Mark McCormack (USA)
Nathan O'Neill (Aus)
Viktor Repinski (Blr)
Eric Wohlberg (Can)
Phil Zajicek (USA)

Women

Lyne Bessette (Can)
Megan Elliot (USA)
Manon Jutras (Can)
Katie Mactier (Aus)
Amy Moore (Can)
Jessica Phillips (USA)
Ina Teutenberg (Ger)
Sarah Uhl (USA)
Laura Van Gilder (USA)

No Planckaert in Lotto-Domo

One of Lotto-Adecco's directeur sportifs, Walter Planckaert, will not have a job at the new Lotto-Domo team next season. He was offered a job as a PR man, but did not accept it. Planckaert was one of the men who was opposed to the merger between Lotto and Domo.

Remi De Moor "RDM" pulls out

Remi De Moor, better known as "RDM" is pulling out of all cycling team sponsorship, according to Belgian news sources. He was an important sponsor for several small Belgian teams such as Marlux, RDM-Flanders and the Vlaanderen-T-interim ladies team. The public could also read his name on the shorts of the CSC-Tiscali riders, but not any more.

RDM may spend some money at CSC, depending on whether they can sign Jan Ullrich. Due to his sponsorship, CSC has some Belgian riders, Paul Van Hyfte and Geert Van Bondt, who will stay with the team in 2003.

Courtesy of Fred Borgers

Vlaanderen-T Interim adds another

Vlaanderen-T-Interim completed its roster with another neo-professional: Kevin Van Der Slagmolen. The young Belgian was a stagiaire with Lotto-Adecco in 2002, and performed well during this period.

Vainsteins to Marlux

The 2000 World Champion Romans Vainsteins will probably ride for Marlux next season after not being able to find a Division I team to ride with for 2003. The sprinter's best performance in 2002 was second place in a stage of the Tour of Belgium, and his UCI ranking plummeted as a result. Vainsteins, who rode for Domo this year, did not get an offer to join the Lotto-Domo team, leaving the way open for a Division II squad to sign him. Future Marlux team director Jef Braeckevelt is very enthusiastic about the idea of having Vainsteins on board, although the contract has yet to be signed.

Marlux is also strongly interested in Italians Marco Milesi and Enrico Cassani, both formerly of Domo.

Bourquenoud to Jean Delatour

33 year old Swiss rider Pierre Bourquenoud will ride for Jean Delatour next year. Bourquenoud rode for the French team Saint Quentin-Oktos last season. Despite being a modest - almost anonymous - rider in the international scene, Bourquenoud finished second in the Swiss Championships in 2001 while riding for Phonak, and finished third in 2002. The honest climber started his professional career in 1996 riding for the PMU team.

Courtesy of João Cravo

Klostergård for Glud and Marstrand

Kasper Klostergård has signed a new one year contract with Glud & Marstrand Horsens, according to team sources.

Race against Lance

Many cyclists would give their right legs to race against four time Tour winner Lance Armstrong, despite the fact that they could be in for a sound beating. On Sunday, December 8 in Austin, Texas, any cyclist who can run a bit has a chance to race against Lance and several members of the US Postal team in the Dirty Duathlon.

The race will be held at Rocky Hill Ranch (about 40 miles east of Austin) and is the first of four races in a series. The course consists of a 3 mile off-road run followed by a spectacular 12 mile mountain bike course, finishing with another 3 mile run.

A portion of the proceeds from the Dirty Duathlon will benefit the Kelly Davidson Pediatric Cancer Foundation (www.kellysteam.org). All the event information as well as online registration can be found at www.dirtyduathlon.com.

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