News for February 1, 2003

Edited by Chris Henry

Money Time In Monopoli: 2003 World Cyclocross Championships

Mario De Clercq
Photo: © Dick Soepenberg

By Tim Maloney, Cyclingnews European Editor

Set amongst the scrub pines and olive groves along the rocky Adriatic coast south Bari, Italy, the World Cyclocross Championships will be contested this year near the heel of the Italian boot, almost 2000 kilometres south of Belgium, where the heart of the sport of Cyclocross beats most true.

Saturday will see Junior and U23 men, while Sunday has the Elite Men's and Women's World Championships. Look for race reports from Monopoli on Saturday & Sunday, including LIVE coverage from Monopoli of the Elite Men's race on Sunday, 2 February from 1240-1350 CET.

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UCI sets 2006 track and cyclo-cross world's

At its meeting Friday in Monopoli, the UCI awarded the 2006 Track World Championships to Bordeaux, France. At the same time, the 2006 Cyclo-cross World's were awarded to Zeddam, Netherlands. Bordeaux has hosted the Track World's once already, in 1998.

2003 Open des Nations cancelled

The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), organisers of the Open des Nations track competition, announced the cancellation of the 2003 event. The reason for cancellation lies in the change to earlier dates for the Track World Championships, to be held this year in Shanghai, China. With the World's set for July 30-August 3, ASO has reportedly decided that the length of time between World's events and the Open des Nations in mid-November would be too great, risking a decline in participation, particularly amongst national teams.

Source: Velomania

David Cañada injured

Add one more to the list of cyclists injured in training. Quick-Step-Davitamon's David Cañada suffered a fracture in his left arm while training Friday in his home town of Zaragoza, Spain. Cañada lost control of his bike after hitting a rough stretch of road, and was taken to hospital in Zaragoza following the incident. After initial examination, surgery did not appear necessary, in which case Cañada should return to competition in six weeks.

Wegmann to RSV Gütersloh

German Christian Wegmann, 27, will ride this season for the Division II team RSV Gütersloh. Wegmann was released from Saeco following a positive caffeine test at the 2002 Internationalen Hessen-Rundfahrt. Wegmann was not suspended by his national federation, but the episode nonetheless complicated his plans for continuing with Saeco.

Source: Radsport-news

Honey Stinger/Spinergy Cycling Team

The Honey Stinger/Spinergy Cycling Team, based out of Cleveland, Ohio, will compete regionally in the Midwest on the road, in cyclo-cross, cross-country and downhill mountain bike, and on the track. The team will focus on races such as the Elite National Championships ITT, NORBA National Championship Series #2 & #3 (XC and Downhill), and the Ohio and Michigan Cyclo-cross Championships, among others.

Team lineup for 2003:

Tim Edwards, Captain and Manager (Road, XC MTB, Cyclo-cross)
Karen Edwards, Co-captain (Downhill MTB, Track)
CJ Urbancic (Road, XC MTB)
Edwin Hadi (Road, XC MTB)
Mario Mazza (Road, XC MTB)
John Meade (Road, XC MTB, Cyclo-cross)

Team sponsors:

Honey Stinger - energy gel and bars
Spinergy - wheels
Rudy Project - sunglasses and helmets
Pedro's USA - lubricants, tools, and bags
Cytosport - sports drinks
Kenda USA - tires and tubes
SPF to Go - sunscreen packets
Bike Pro USA - travel cases
Ski & Sport Haus - bike and adventure equipment
Hidden Bay Sports - uniforms
E.T.C. - coaching

Team Ford Outfitters

Team Ford Outfitters, a women's mountain bike team entering its third season, will continue to grow for 2003, adding two new members to the lineup: Melanie McQuaid and Tiffany Kenny. The team begins the season with a training camp in Arizona, after which it heads to the NOVA stage race in late March. The women will compete on the road at Redlands before facing a full season which includes the Sea Otter Classic, all NORBA National Championship Series events, the Tour of the Gila, World Cups, select AMBC events, and select festivals and 24 hour races.

The team roster for 2003:

Tiffany Kenny
Jody Koch, managing rider
Rachel Massey
Lisa Matlock
Melanie McQuaid

Team sponsors include: K2 bikes, Sundog Eyewear, Gaerne shoes, 661 gloves, and Singletrack Solutions. Team members will be riding K2 Razorback SL mountain bikes and K2 Mod 5.0 road bikes.

Australian and Oceania Mountainbike Championships

As a result of the back-burning necessary on Mt. Beauty to fight bush fires, the Cycling Australia Board has accepted the recommendation from the Mountainbike Commission and MTBA concerning the 2003 Australian Mountainbike Championships and 2003 Oceania Mountainbike Championships.

The 2003 Australian Mountainbike Championships will remain at Mt. Beauty but have been postponed to later in the year, likely at the end of October or early November.

The 2003 Oceania Championships will proceed to be staged on the same dates of February 21, 22 and 23 but will be relocated to Eildon in regional Victoria. The Championships will be hosted by the Fat Tyre Flyers Mtb Club (FTF) who are in the process of affiliation to CycleSport Victoria. The Oceania Championships will include both cross-country and downhill events for Elite Men, Elite Women & U19 Men.

There will be additional support events conducted on the day to cater for other participants who were expecting competition on this weekend, especially those who made long distance travel arrangements. Support events will be covered on the same licensing and permit basis as the current national series events. However, the Oceania Championships will be restricted to UCI affiliated licence-holders only.

Information on arranging accommodation and other infrastructure details will be available on the CA, FTF and MTBA web sites as it comes to hand.

Record Field for Dimmeys-Forges Stores Wheelrace

A record number of entries have been received for the Dimmey-Forges Stores Wheelrace, one of the most prestigious track cycling events on the national track cycling calendar. Over 150 cyclists have entered, including top riders from the UK and Japan, to contest the historic carnival.

The highlight of the night will be the Dimmeys-Forges Stores Wheelrace final which will pit cyclists against each other over 8 laps (2km) of the 250m board track housed inside Vodafone Arena.

Another feature of the night will be a head to head series between Shane Kelly, Olympic medallist and former World Champion, and Jobie Dajka, current World Champion and Commonwealth Games medallist. These two will face each other in an Omnium series which will consist of a sprint, 500m time trial, and a motorpaced flying lap.

The Fortress Flooring Women's Series boasts one of the largest female cycling fields seen in many years. Twenty female cyclists will be lining up in the women’s series contesting a handicap and a scratch race. Newly crowned Australian Criterium Champion Lizzie Williams will feature in these events, and is most likely the rider to beat.

Vodafone Arena will be hosting the Dimmeys-Forges Stores Wheelrace on Saturday February 8 commencing at 7.00pm. Tickets are available now from Ticketek (132 849 or www.ticketek.com) priced from $15. For further information please contact Adam Murchie on 0412 879 871 or amurchie@cyclistsinternational.com.au, or Joe Ciavola on 03 9439 7921.

(All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2003)