Second Edition News for May 18, 2002

Edited by Karen Forman

Hincapie out of Housatonic Classic

The United States Postal Service Cycling Team has lost its key rider for Sunday's Housatonic Valley Classic in Connecticut, USA. George Hincapie has withdrawn from the top US event, suffering exhaustion.

Team manager, Frankie Andreu, said Hincapie needed to rest after an arduous Spring campaign.

"He's not up to a race of this calibre," he said.

Meanwhile, with US Postal suffering Hincapie's loss, the Mercury Cycling Team is out to impress in the event, which boasts a strong, international field. Favourites include US Postal, Mercury, Prime Alliance and Saturn.

Canadian rider Gord Fraser, known for a quick sprint and strength, has made no secret of the fact he is out for a win.

Indeed, team Mercury team has fielded some impressive Spring results, including wins at New Mexico's Tour of the Gila and the Athens Twilight Criterium in Georgia.

Other top pros on teh start roster include Australian Henk Vogels, Plamen Stoainov from Bulgaria, and American's Chris Wherry and Derek Bouchard-Hall, who form the nucleus of the Mercury team for next week's US Professional Championships.

World Champion Danny Pate will head the Prime Alliance Cycling Team and will be closely watched. Known for his great speed and power, he has traditionally performed very well in races in North America and Europe - including the 2001 World Individual Time Trail Championships in Lisbon, Portuga, which he won.

Pate will be joined by top season performer, Chris Horner, along with four other American professionals. Horner is in top form, winning premier American stage races such as the Redlands Classic, the Sea Otter Classic and the Solano Cycling Classic this season.

US Postal Service joins Pro Cycling Tour Service

The United States Postal Service has been named the official package and delivery service for this year's Pro Cycling Tour.

The new relationship was announced by Threshold Sports, which manages the tour, and Tailwind Sports, which has managed The US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team for the past seven years. The team, which features Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie, will enter riders in all 2002 PCT events.

Threshold Sports and Tailwind Sports initially got together last year for the inaugural San Francisco Grand Prix presented by BMC Software, which was watched by more than 400,000, and will produce the 2002 event.

Top teams for Milk Ras

By Tommy Campbell, Irish Independent, Evening Herald, Sunday Independent

Irish competitors traditionally had a stranglehold on their national tour, the FBD Milk Ras, but things changed with the advent of Union Cycliste International points two years ago.

Suddenly came the support of top-rated teams from as far away as Japan, thanks to sponsorship by the National Dairy Council, and this year's event - which starts tomorrow with a 156km stage from Finglas to Ballinamore and finishes with a criterium in Dublin on May 26 - is no exception.

This edition is the 50th and it would be hard to justify picking a winner at this stage, because of the talent that the race organiser has assembled.

"I am of the opinion that former dual winner Philip Cassidy can do the business but I also have a sneaking suspicion that the Danish Jylland-FYN are not coming to look at the scenery," spokesman Dermot Digman said this week.

No doubt the result will be a toss-up between last year's runner-up, the South African Nicholas White who represents HSBC, the Great Britain competitor, Chris Newton who did exceptionally well in the recent Circuit des Mines in France and Ireland's Ciaran Power.

The preference has to be for the South African who is more than capable of beating the best at climbing. Sure to do well will be the Lancs Compensation Group of John Tanner, Mark Lovatt, Kevin Dawson, Pete Hinchliffe and Ian Furness who between them could notch up a couple of stage wins, but not the overall.

The opening stage of the 2002 FBD Milk Ras tomorrow is over 156 kilometers from Finglas to Ballinamore. To all intent and purposes the stage does not throw up any climbs but with a flat opener, competitors have to be on their guard that no significant time is lost on day one.

After the competitors go through the finishing line they will have to negotiate roads, which are very narrow. Also the road runs parallel and very close to the waterway.

This being one of the early season stage races for many, it will be hard to gauge which of the 195 competitors will be the outright winner.

Although it is unlikely that an Irish competitor will have home supporters jumping for joy over an outright victory, there is enough variety in 2002 route of the FBD Milk Ras to suggest that last year's winner, the Englishman Paul Manning will have strong challengers from a variety of strong rivals.

Obviously, the opening stage will give bearing as to who is the fittest in the event, but stage four from Killorglin to Castletownbere will be decisive because of the climbs.

While the distance of 171kms may not cause problems, the climb up to the Healy Pass will determine who the serious contenders are in this 50th edition of the Ras.

If the Healy Pass does not show the cracks in the peleton and then without doubt the climbs in the Wicklow Mountains which features in the penultimate stage, will yet again have left an indelible mark as to the where the winner of this year's tour is likely to come from.

Those in with a chance of day seven of the event will have to contend with the Devils Glen, Luggala, Drumgoff and the Wicklow Gap all category one climbs and for good measure the category two climbs at Sally Gap, Ballygannon Hill and Lugnagroagh will certainly separate the men from the boys.

Visa-less Nigerians out of Milk Ras

By Shane Stokes, irishcycling.com

With the 2002 FBD Milk Rás race almost underway, director Dermot Dignam has angrily criticized the Department of Justice after the Nigerian Lagos team was forced to pull out of the eight-day International event.

The Department refused to issue the required visas for the squad, despite the submission of documents in recent days which disproved their claim that the team papers were forgeries.

Dignam had received verification as to the authenticity of the Lagos squad through a number of sources, including an approach to cycling's world governing body, the UCI.

"Despite the submission of these papers the Department failed to reply to our calls and faxes in recent days," an angry Dignam said. "Their treatment of this matter and of the team, has been shameful. It is bad enough for us here in Ireland being given the run-around over the past few weeks by our own government officials, but it is unbelievable that five Nigerian cyclists looking forward to riding in a cycle race in Ireland were rejected for no apparent reason."

Ironically their soccer-playing compatriots had no such trouble and on Thursday beat the Republic of Ireland national squad two-one in their final warm-up match before the World Cup.

The Lagos cycling team had booked flights and had also paid a sizeable deposit towards their accommodation for their stay in Ireland.

New Norwegian pro team?

by Tomas Nilsson

Norway may get another cycling trade team.

Cycling enthusiast Eilif Christiansen of Stavanger, is trying to start another Norwegian third division trade team based in western Norway.

With the establishment of Team Krone, based on Ringerike SK cycling club, Sandnes SK is dominating the national races.

Christiansen wants to form a trade team around the Sandnes riders in a similar manner, but is aware of the fact that more riders are needed and thinks that the team should be the cream of western Norwegian cycling with members from all the elite teams in the area and with the support of the clubs.

Christiansen is prepared to form a company, Velonor-Pro AS, and invites interested people and clubs to buy shares.

Bessette takes a break from Saturn

Canadian Lyne Bessette is leaving Saturn, after deciding she needs a break.

The 27 year old, who has been with the team for four years, announced yesterday she intended to take a sabbatical to focus on two international events for the remainder of the 2002 season, as a member of the Canadian National women's cycling team.

Bessette will focus on the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England and the World Championships in Zolder, Belgium. She has the strong support of the Canadian National Team in her pursuit of her two important goals.

Since joining Saturn in 1988, Bessette has risen from an unproven but talented second-year racer to winning numerous races, including the Redlands Bicycle Classic, the Tour de l'Aude, the Hewlett-Packard Women's Challenge, three Fitchburg Longsjo Classics and the 2001 Canadian Road and Time Trial National Championships. She is currently ranked ninth in the UCI standings.

Wicklow decision soon

Ireland's premier leisure cycle challenge, The Wicklow 200 Classic, will be decided on June 16.

Run by the Irish Veteran Cyclists Association, the event is often spoken in the same vein as a mountain stage in the Tour de France.

The Challenge is approximately 126 miles, meaning riders can depart at 7am and return within the given time, by 8pm.

The Vets are in a celebratory mood and to mark the occasion of the 20th edition, all participants will be presented with a unique souvenir quality racing jersey.

The press blurb is adamant that this is not an offer to be passed up. The jersey will be a badge of honour to be worn with pride on every cycling occasion.

Naturally that will be a carrot for participation but the organisers stress that pre-registration by June 4 is a must.

Entries and enquiries should be directed to the event organiser, Dick O'Brien, at 24 Dowland Road, Walkinstown, Dublin 12, telephone (01) 4558216 or e-mail w200@gofree.indigo.ie

Last chance for Melbourne's Hell Ride

It's famous throughout Australia and even the world, but now Melbourne's Hell Ride might be no more.

The regular Saturday morning hammer session, which attracts an average of 100 cyclists and sometimes even up to 200, may have to be canned, because Victorian police are sick of rides flouting the road rules and causing havoc with traffic on the route around Melbourne's scenic (but heavily populated) Port Phillip Ba.

A public forum is being held next Monday night, for police, cyclists, the State's government road authority VicRoads and four local councils, to discuss the issue.

Cycling journalist Roger Vaughan says while cyclists admit there are problems with the Hell Ride, they also want to use the forum to encourage better awareness among motorists of riders' rights.

The Hell Ride began in the 1970s and, according to Vaughan, has become a victim of its own success. "Some riders treat it as a race to the extent where they ignore red lights and at times even ride on the wrong side of the road," he says.

"The bunch, sometimes larger in number than the field for the Tour de France, can reach speeds of more than 60 kmh as it rides around the bay from Black Rock to a loop at Mt Eliza and back.

Police have reportedly been monitoring the ride for several months. They say they want it to continue but need riders to comply with rules so it is safe for all concerned.