News for May 7, 2002

Edited by Jeff Jones

Mapei-Quick Step for the Giro

After a very successful early part of the season, the Mapei-Quick Step team is heading to the Giro d'Italia with high hopes. The leader of the team will be Stefano Garzelli, who has showed his form in the hilly classics. He will be supported by Andrea Noè, Dario Cioni and Cadel Evans in the climbs, with Davide Bramati and Paolo Fornaciari for the flats and Paolo Bettini, Daniele Nardello and Robert Hunter for stage wins. The team will be directed by Roberto Damiani, with Serge Parsani and Fabrizio Fabbri alternating.

Fassa Bortolo for the Giro

Giancarlo Ferretti has selected a similar team to last year for the Giro d'Italia, which starts on May 11. Leading the team is Francesco Casagrande, who has an excellent chance of winning the race, and he will have strong support in Wladimir Belli, Serguei Gontchar and Michele Bartoli, with Dmitri Konychev, Gorazd Stangelj, Matteo Tosatto, and Denis Zanette as domestiques and Alessandro Petacchi for the sprints.

Kelme-Costa Blanca for the Giro

In the face of financial problems for the team, Kelme-Costa Blanca has selected its riders for the Giro. Led by strong time trialist Aitor González and Romandie revelation Santiago Pérez, the team features sprinters Angel Vicioso and Isaac Gálvez, and domestiques José Cayetano Juliá, Jesús Manzano, Juan José de los Angeles and Francisco León.

Lotto-Adecco for the Giro

Thierry Marichal has been given the final spot in the Lotto-Adecco team for the Giro, as Tom Stremersch is out of form. The team is as follows: Rik Verbrugghe, Kurt Van De Wouwer, Ief Verbrugghe, Robbie McEwen, Stefan Van Dijk Aart Vierhouten, Thierry Marichal, Kurt Van Lancker and Christophe Detilloux.

Cipollini the second most successful Giro stage winner

With an impressive 34 stage wins in Italy's biggest race, Mario Cipollini is ranked second behind only Alfredo Binda in Giro d'Italia stage wins. Binda, who was active between 1925 and 1933, won 41 stages in the Giro, a target that is probably even out of Supermario's reach. But not completely, as Cipollini has managed to win four or more stages in the Giro six times in his career (1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001). He just has to do that for another two years to give him 42 wins.

Cipollini's first Giro stage win came in 1989, and since then he won at least one stage a year with the exception of 1993 and 1994. He is currently the most successful rider in the peloton, with over 170 career wins, including criteriums.

Top 10 Giro stage winners

1 Alfredo Binda (Ita)            41
2 Mario Cipollini (Ita)          34
3 Learco Guerra (Ita)            31
4 Costante Girardengo (Ita)      30
5 Giuseppe Saronni (Ita)         24
5 Eddy Merckx (Bel)              24
7 Francesco Moser (Ita)          23
7 Fausto Coppi (Ita)             23
9 Roger De Vlaeminck (Bel)       22
10 Franco Bitossi (Ita)          20
10 Miguel Poblet (Spa)           20

Merckx has the most leader's jerseys

There is no-one in the current peloton who can get close to Eddy Merckx's record for number of days in the leader's jersey in the Giro d'Italia. Merckx, who won five editions of the race, held the pink jersey for a total of 72 days. The next best is Francesco Moser (56 days) followed by Alfredo Binda (55).

Most days in pink

1 Eddy Merckx (Bel)              72
2 Francesco Moser (Ita)          56
3 Alfredo Binda (Ita)            55
4 Gino Bartali (Ita)             55
4 Giuseppe Saronni (Ita)         47
6 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)         40
7 Bernard Hinault (Fra)          28
8 Miguel Indurain (Spa)          27
9 Costante Girardengo (Ita)      26
9 Fausto Coppi (Ita)             26
9 Roberto Visentini (Ita)        26

More Giro teams
More Giro news

Tchmil will start in Dunkirk

Despite earlier reports to the contrary, Andrei Tchmil (Lotto) has decided to start in the Four Days of Dunkirk, which takes place from May 8-12. Tchmil will undergo a final medical checkup on Tuesday, and if everything is OK then he will start in his first race since the Three Days of De Panne a month ago, when he broke two fingers.

Mapei-Quick Step for upcoming races

Young Riders

May 7-12: Tour de Slovénie, Slovenia

Riders: Aurélien Clerc, Bernhard Eisel, Evgueni Petrov, Filippo Pozzato, Patrik Sinkewitz, Pavel Zerzan. DS: Luca Guercilena.

Elite Team

May 8-12: Les Quatre Jours de Dunkerque, France

Riders: De Fabien Waele, Oscar Freire, Pedro Horrillo, Tom Steels, Andrea Tafi, Stefano Zanini, Charly Wegelius. DS: Vanderaerden Eric

Sydney Track World Cup news

The Sydney round of the UCI Track World Cup will kick off on Friday, May 10 with the fastest men and women on wheels in action on the Dunc Gray Velodrome. The gold, silver and bronze medal nations of the 2001 World Championships will do battle when France, Australia and Great Britain line up in the team sprint event.

France, the reigning World and Olympic champions, will be led by Arnaud Tournant, who along with the team sprint gold also claimed the sprint crown and his fourth consecutive kilometre time trial world title at last year's championships in Belgium.

But the Australians, the silver medallists last year, are in form after the recent national titles and will be riding with a home town advantage. Reigning world keirin champion, Ryan Bayley, 20, will join recently crowned Australian keirin and kilometre time trial champion, Danny Day and Ben Kersten to challenge the French. 2001 World title bronze medallists Great Britain make up the trio of favourites for the event.

In the keirin, Australia's hopes rest with Sydney's Sean Eadie and Adelaide's Rosealee Hubbard. Eadie was second at the Australian titles while Hubbard stormed across the finish line to claim gold in the women's event, which only this year has been added to the national and world championships' schedule.

The endurance riders will also appear on the first day of racing with competition in the men's 4km and women's 3km individual pursuit. 2002 Australian pursuit champions, Peter Dawson and Amy Safe, have been confirmed to start with other countries yet to lodge their entries for the events.

The other final on Friday's schedule is the men's points race in which Mark Renshaw will race for Australia. Tasmanian rider Darren Young is expected to represent Australia in the Men's 15km Scratch race.

Sixteen countries will contest the World Cup round. They are: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, and the USA.

Event Schedule

Friday, May 10th

Session 1 - 10:00

Men's & Women's Keirin - Qualifying and Repechage 
Men's & Women's Individual Pursuit - Qualifying

Session 2 - 19:30

Men's Team Sprint - Qualifying and Final 
Men's & Women's Keirin - Semis and Final 
Men's & Women's Individual Pursuit - Final 
Men's Points Race - Final

Saturday, May 11th

Session 3 - 10:00

Men's & Women's Sprint - Qualifying, 1st Round & Repechage 
Men's Teams Pursuit - Qualifying

Session 4 - 19:00

Men's Sprint - 2nd round and Quarter Finals 
Women's Sprint - Quarter Finals 
Men's Teams Pursuit - Final 
Men's & Women's Scratch Race - Final 
Women's 500m Time Trial - Final

Sunday, May 12th

Session 5 - 10:00

Men's & Women's Sprint - Semi Finals, 
ride off for 5th to 12th place

Session 6 - 13:30

Men's Kilometre Time Trial - Final 
Men's & Women's Sprint - Final 
Women's Points Race - Final 
Men's Madison - Final

iTeamnova.com taste success in the Netherlands

Australian track rider Brett Lancaster has won his first race for iTeamnova.com in the Ronde van Overijssel in the Netherlands, a UCI 1.5 race. The 22 year old, who recently missed out on qualifying for the Commonwealth Games team pursuit squad, beat Domo's Arno Wallaard and Rabobank's Kenny van Hummel in the final sprint.

After a dangerous break was caught with just 14 km to go in the 199 km race, Lancaster and his teammate Scott Guyton made the final selection of 10 riders. Guyton attacked with Rene Obst (Berlin) to put pressure on the Rabobank team, and the tactic succeeded. In the end it was Domo's Wallaard who closed the gap with 500m to go, with Lancaster on his wheel able to come round for the win.

24 hour record for Wolfgang Fasching

Austrian long distance rider Wolfgang Fasching has broken the World 24 Hour Road Record. The 34 year old winner of the 2000 Race Across America rode 856 kilometres on an 11 kilometre parcours in Halbenrain, beating Brit Andy Wilkinson's mark by 12 kilometres. He averaged 35.66 km/h over the whole 24 hours, despite stopping with 40 minutes to go.

Fasching said after the attempt that "I am totally smashed. It was easily the biggest challenge that I have ever done. In the end, it was quite tight, I risked a lot, but it went well thanks to God."

Although he said that the 2000 RAAM would be his last, Fasching may ride again in 2002 when the 5000 km race starts in June.