News for April 23, 2002

Edited by Jeff Jones

Mapei say success is due to better drug tests

Italians in front
Photo: © Sirotti

A few years ago it was being claimed that the Italian "cycling renaissance", where they seemed to be winning every major race in sight, was not just due to the country's Mediterranean climate and its natural affinity with bike racing. Critics believed that a strong part was also played by the then new wonder drug, EPO and certain high profile Italian sports doctors.

That has led to a (seemingly) major upheaval in Italian cycling, with several concurrent investigations now in progress aiming to determine who's on what and where they got it from.

In the meantime, Italian cycling went into a minor decline, with Italians only winning one of each of the first five World Cup races between 1999 and 2001. This year however, they've bounced back, taking three of the first four, with only Johan Museeuw's mud churning Paris-Roubaix victory getting in the way of an Italian clean sweep.

Interestingly enough, whereas before it was claimed that drugs were the reason the Italians were doing well, now it is proposed that the opposite is the case: tighter and tougher drug tests are putting the brakes on the Rest of the World, enabling the Italians to come back to their rightful place at the top of the cycling ladder.

Mapei-Quick Step have reason to cheer this year, with Andrea Tafi's win in Flanders followed by Paolo Bettini and Stefano Garzelli's 1-2 finish in Liege. Mapei spokesman Alessandro Tegner said in an interview with Bloomberg news, "Riders now know they're putting their career at risk if they are caught cheating, and when controls are tighter you see the true value of riders."

There's no doubt that Bettini, Tafi and Garzelli are fine riders, and all three started training earlier this year for the classics season and the Giro d'Italia.

The Italian dominance in Liege (first five places) "shows Italian cycling is alive and kicking," according to Giuseppe Martinelli, manager of the Saeco team whose rider Mirko Celestino was fourth. "It's a big boost coming just before the Giro d'Italia."

Giro investigations a big factor?

The Giro, which starts on May 11, is arguably the biggest race on the calendar for many Italians, and many riders target their season around it. Last year it ended in a scandal that was far bigger in scale than the Tour de France's Festina affair of 1998. The ramifications of the massive police raid on rider hotels just before the race finished are starting to be felt now, with a number of riders being recommended for sanctions by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), which is assisting in the sporting aspect of the investigations.

CONI recently asked the Italian Cycling Federation to ban 13 Italian cyclists, some for a period of up to four and a half years. One of those, Gianpaolo Mondini, has already been fired by his US Postal team as a result.

This investigation has had a significant impact on rider mentality, according to Tegner. "Last year's events were like a watershed for Italian cycling," Tegner said to Bloomberg. "Anyone wanting to cheat now would have to think twice."

...Or are they?

However with the news today that the 13 cyclists found in possession of banned substances during last year's Giro will not be prevented from starting this year's race by the Italian Cycling Federation, the question is again raised as to the effectiveness of the investigation. Is it just a political stunt, as it appeared to be last year?

The FCI announced today that none of the following 13 will be suspended now as a result of the findings: Giuseppe Di Grande (accused of having insulin and growth hormones, given a suspension of 6 months, but already served this); Antonio Varriale, Mariano Piccoli, Rinaldo Nocentini, Domenico Romano and Dario Andriotto (all in possession of caffeine, a restricted drug permissible in certain doses under UCI rules); Guiliano Figueras, Daniele De Paoli, Ermanno Brignoli, Marcello Siboni, Gianpaolo Mondini, Alberto Elli and Endrio Leoni (the anti-doping commission has demanded further information, and their cases have been put back, allowing them to compete in the Giro).

Little Tour de France success

Although Italians are dominant in the Giro, only two (Gimondi and Pantani) have won the Tour de France in the last 37 years. Martinelli wants his countrymen to challenge Lance Armstrong this year, in particular Gilberto Simoni, Stefano Garzelli, Dario Frigo, and even Marco Pantani.

"We have serious contenders once the race hits the mountains," said Martinelli. "Armstrong might have a real contest on his hands."

Pantani abandons
Photo: © Miwako Sasaki

However, Pantani is unlikely to be selected, after his DNF in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, a race run by the Societe du Tour de France. Pantani abandoned at the second feed zone with Ortenzi and will have to rely on the organiser's good will to gain an invite to the Tour.

Simoni's Saeco team is also not pre-selected, but they have at least posted some good results this season.

"Outside a Pantani back to his best, I can't see any Italian who could rival Armstrong at the Tour de France," said Cyrille Guimard, a former team manager who guided four riders including Greg LeMond to Tour de France wins.

Pantani hearing put off until April 29

Marco Pantani's hearing with the CONI anti-doping commission, scheduled for this Wednesday, has been postponed until next Monday, April 29. CONI announced this today without giving reasons. Pantani is under suspicion in the 2001 "Giro blitz" affair.

Giro d'Italia 2003 to start in Lecce

The 86th edition of the Giro d'Italia will start in its own country, in the town of Lecce, in the southern part of Italy. President of the region Lorenzo Ria announced today that Italy's most popular cycling race will start in the Lecce velodrome, the scene of the 1976 World Championships. The track is currently being refurbished, but is expected to be ready by the end of the year.

The 2003 Giro will finish in Milan, as is traditional.

Latest UCI road rankings

The two rounds of the World Cup held over the weekend have produced a few changes in the UCI rankings, with the latest set being issued on Monday. In the men's table, Mapei's Paolo Bettini (Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner) has moved into second overall ahead of the injured Erik Dekker, who stands to lose even more points this Sunday as he won't be able to defend his title in the Amstel Gold Race.

Erik Zabel is still clearly number one, and he took a stage win and the points jersey in last week's Vuelta a Aragon to keep things ticking over.

Other big movers in the men's rankings were Belgian Mario Aerts (Lotto) who jumped from 46th to 24th, courtesy of his win in La Fleche Wallonne and 18th in LBL. Also Bettini's teammate Stefano Garzelli moved up into 37th (from 51st), after finishing second in LBL.

Fassa Bortolo improved their ranking in Division I, moving up from 7th to 4th - surprising given their dominance in many of the early season races. Meanwhile, number one team Mapei-Quick Step continues to increase its lead in division I, a position it hopes to hold until the end of the season.

In division II, EDS-fakta continues to hold the number one spot, with a 70 plus point advantage over Landbouwkrediet-Colnago and Bankgiroloterij-Batavus.

The women's rankings saw some changes at the top too, with Dutchwoman Mirjam Melchers (Farm Frites-Hartol) moving into the number one position. She only has a 5 point break over Judith Arndt (Saturn), but her consistent performances should keep her up there. Arndt's teammate and compatriot Petra Rossner moved up to third place, while Castilla y Leon winner Regina Schleicher (Michela Fanini) moved from 24th to 18th.

In the team's rankings, nothing has impacted on Saturn's number one spot (2,151 pts), with Acca Due O-Pasta Zara-Lorena Camicie in second on 1,546 points, and Farm Frites-Hartol in third on 999 points.

UCI rankings as of April 21, 2002

Men - individual
 
1 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Telekom                    2,345.00 pts
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step             2,017.20
3 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                       2,010.00
4 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service          1,773.00
5 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport        1,759.00
6 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Team Telekom                   1,705.00
7 Oscar Sevilla Ribera (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca    1,520.00
8 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner               1,318.00
9 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) Team CSC Tiscali          1,314.00
10 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo        1,264.00
11 Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro (Spa) ONCE-Eroski      1,160.00
12 Jens Voigt (Ger) Credit Agricole                1,152.50
13 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step       1,151.00
14 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport        1,103.00
15 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2R Prevoyance             1,098.00
16 Juan Miguel Mercado Martin (Spa) iBanesto.com   1,067.00
17 Didier Rous (Fra) Bonjour                       1,050.00
18 Mario Cipollini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone            1,029.00
19 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Team Telekom           989.00
20 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Fiordo  981.00
 
Women - individual
 
1 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Team Farm Frites-Hartol      745.00
2 Judith Arndt (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team             740.00
3 Petra Rossner (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team            618.00
4 Nicole Brändli (Swi) Acca Due O                    593.00
5 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu) Figurella Dream Team       520.00
6 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Vlaanderen-T-Interim       478.00
7 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) Acca Due O                438.00
8 Fabiana Luperini (Ita) Edilsavino                  433.00
9 Lyne Bessette (Can) Saturn Cycling Team            420.00
10 Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (Fra)                      390.00
11 Anna Millward (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team           373.00
12 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) Itera Team                353.00
13 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Acca Due O                    327.00
14 Zinaida Stahurskaia (Blr) Usci Chirio             279.00
15 Debby Mansveld (Ned) Vlaanderen-T-Interim         263.00
16 Priska Doppmann (Swi)                             251.00
17 Monica Valen (Nor) Team Sponsor Service           246.00
18 Regina Schleicher (Ger) Michela Fanini Record Rox 241.00
19 Alessandra Cappellotto (Ita) Power-Plate-Bik      210.00
20 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Team Nürnberger           203.00
20 Joane Somarriba Arrola (Spa) Deia-Pragma-Colnago  203.00
 
Men - Teams
 
Division I
 
1 Mapei-Quick Step                            4,080.00 pts
2 Lotto-Adecco                                2,718.00
3 Rabobank                                    2,145.00
4 Fassa Bortolo                               2,130.00
5 Domo-Farm Frites                            2,049.00
6 Cofidis                                     1,945.00
7 Team Telekom                                1,860.00
8 iBanesto.com                                1,742.00
9 Alessio                                     1,686.00
10 Team Coast                                 1,502.00
 
Division II
 
1 EDS-fakta                                     751.00 pts
2 Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                       677.00
3 Bankgiroloterij-Batavus                       674.00
4 Palmans-Collstrop                             514.00
5 Jazztel-Costa De Almeria                      382.00
 
Women - Teams
 
1 Saturn Cycling Team                         2,151.00 pts
2 Acca Due O                                  1,546.00
3 Team Farm Frites-Hartol                       999.00
4 Vlaanderen-T-Interim                          936.00
5 Figurella Dream Team                          678.00
6 Itera Team                                    619.00
7 Edilsavino                                    606.00
8 Deia-Pragma-Colnago                           453.00
9 Team Sponsor Service                          442.00
10 Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung               410.00

Full UCI rankings

Injury update

Erik Dekker back on the bike

A month after fracturing his left femur in Milan-San Remo, Dutchman Erik Dekker has been able to start riding again. He did his first training ride last Saturday, spending two hours in the company of Rabobank teammate Jan Boven.

"Of course I was happy, I really wanted to get out," said Dekker to Algemeen Dagblad. "But starting is always difficult. He had a heartrate of 115. I sat around 155. That says everything about my condition at the moment."

Dekker is allowed to ride three times on the road this week. The other days he will do strength training and undergo physiotherapy to build up his leg muscles again.

Tchmil's comeback slowed

Andrei Tchmil will not be starting in this Sunday's Amstel Gold Race, as a broken finger has made training difficult. Tchmil sustained the injury in the Driedaagse Van De Panne, putting an end to his final spring campaign.

Beat Zberg breaks collarbone

Swiss rider Beat Zberg (Rabobank) has broken his collarbone after a fall in yesterday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He will be out for at least four weeks, and therefore will miss this weekend's Amstel Gold Race.

Domo doubtful about Giro

Domo will decide this coming Wednesday evening about whether they will start in the Giro on May 11. Team boss Patrick Lefevere doesn't think it's a good idea to go to Italy because his team still has a lot of injured riders.

"It isn't good to finish in Milano with two or three riders," he said. However, the Giro organisation can force Domo-Farm Frites to start.

Eeckhout out until June

Nico Eeckhout's right wrist was found to be broken, instead of heavily bruised, after his fall in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. He will now have it in plaster for four weeks. He hopes to come back for the Tour of Luxembourg at the beginning of June.

Marc Siemons dead at 35

Former professional Marc Siemons died last Tuesday from skin cancer, aged 35. Siemons comes from a strong cycling family, and rode for TVM in the early 1990's, with his best result being 17th in Paris - Tours (1991).

His brothers Jan and Ruud also race, while his parents used to sponsor an amateur team (until 2000). They have since stopped that in favour of their other business, a 'private' sauna. They were most famous for the "Sauna Diana bus", a luxury touring car which they rented out to pro teams during the grand tours in the 90's.