News for September 23, 2002Edited by Jeff Jones 2002 Track World ChampionshipsThe 2002 Track World Championships take place this coming week from September 25-29 in Siemens Arena, a brand new velodrome constructed by German Ralph Schürmann located in Ballerup on the outskirts of the Danish capital Copenhagen. The organisers expect between 300 and 350 riders from 35 countries to take part in the championships, which are the highlight of the track season for many. The racing will start at 10:00am on Wednesday, September 25 with the qualifying rounds of the men's and women's keirin, and the men's 4000m individual pursuit. The finals of these events will take place later that evening. The women's individual pursuit and men's team pursuit qualifying will take place on Thursday morning, followed by the finals of the men's kilometre TT, women's 500m TT and men's 15km scratch race that evening. Friday will see the start of the women's sprint competition, which runs through until Saturday evening. The men's team sprint will be held solely on Friday, with the finals in the evening. The finals of the women's individual, and men's team pursuit will also be held on Friday evening. The men's sprint will be held over Saturday and Sunday, and Saturday will also see the men's and women's points races. Sunday will finish the championships with the men's sprint finals, men's 50 km madison, and women's 10 km scratch race. 4th Giro di Lucca previewThe Giro della Provincia di Lucca takes place from October 1-4, over four stages totalling 714 km. It is the last race in Italy before the World Championships, finishing 10 days before the men's road race, and is thus an important final tune up for the Italians. The first stage starts in Pescia and will be run over 165 km, finishing in Castelvecchio Pascoli. Stage 2 will start from Capannori and finish in Altopascio, taking in nine ascents of the Montecarlo climb. The third stage starts in Stazzema and ends in Forte dei Marmi. The first 100 km of which takes place in Garfagnana, followed by the climb of Cipollaio, which is the toughest climb in the race. The final 30 km are mainly downhill to Forte dei Marmi. The fourth and final stage is from Viareggio to Lucca, including three times up the Monte Pitoro before the finish in viale Marconi. 20 teams will take part in the race as follows: Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo (Cipollini, Gentili) Upgrade for the Sun TourThis year's Herald Sun Tour, which will take place in Australia between October 18-27, is shaping up to be the biggest yet. It has been upgraded to a 2.3 status by the UCI, meaning that more UCI points will be on offer. Increased prizemoney totalling AU$120,000 will also help to attract a good field, which will total 80 riders. The tour recently gained a major sponsor in VicRoads, which hopes to use the Sun Tour to promote its "arrive alive" road safety and awareness campaign. VicRoads will share the naming rights to the race along with the Herald Sun. The 10 day tour starts with a criterium in Melbourne's CBD on October 18. Young Spaniard killedJuan José Rodriguez (19), a member of the Viveros Alcanar team, was killed last Wednesday afternoon while training in the vicinity of Cambrils. He was preparing for the Semana Aragonesa that is taking place at the moment. He was hit by a truck and was taken to hospital, where doctors fought for 24 hours to try and save his life. However he was pronounced dead on Thursday night at 9 pm.
(All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2002) |
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