News for August 26, 1998

Contracts and Transfers

One day after his victory in Le Transalsace the 21-year old talent Thorwald Veneberg signed for 2 years with the Rabobank Elite team. AGU team manager Egbert Koersen (another Dutch Elite team) is very angry about this. He told the press: "I have invested three years in Veneberg. And now he wins, he has left the sponsor AGU. It's terrible that Rabobank buys all the talent that is nurtured by others. There will be no sponsors for amateurs anymore if Rabobank continues with this practice. I will be speaking to the KNWU about this problem and also I will talk with Jan Raas and Rabobank amateur team manager Nico Verhoeven."

Chateaulin, France, Circuit de l'Aulne, 137 kms:

 1. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno           3.02.00
 2. Luc Leblanc (Fra) Team Polti
 3. Franck Vandenbroucke (Bel)  Mapei-Bricobi      0.12
 4. Stephane Heulot (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
 5. Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi
 7. Michele Bartoli (Ita) Asics                    s.t.

Brazilian Update:

Rodrigo Gini, from Belo Horizonte (Brazil) keeps us updated about cycling news and results in Brazil. He will be reporting on their only UCI sanctioned Tour - the Tour of Santa Catarina State - a UCI Cat 2.6 event which will run from August 28th to September 7th. Ten days of racing, 923 kilometers and one ITT. He writes that "we also have our L`Alpe D`Huez - the climb of Rio do Rastro Mountains - 49 kilometres with 15% in some points."

The national teams of Chile, Peru, Argentina and Venezuela are confirmed. They will use the Tour as a warm-up to the Panamerican Championships.

Santa Catarina Cycling Federation is still trying a deal with Polti. The Italian company has a huge factory in Brazil and maybe...

Twelve teams and more than 70 riders are already confirmed. Among them, Caloi (hadn't informed its cyclists yet, but we can wait for Marcio May, Daniel Rogelin and Luciano Pagliarini), Specialized and FMD/Blumenau.

The Stages

Prologue, Orleans (circuit), 20 kms
Stage 1, Orleans-Bom Jardim (with Rio do Rastro Mountains), 49 kms
Stage 2, Bom Jardim-Lages, 128 kms
Stage 3, Lages-Alfredo Wagner, 110 kms
Stage 4, Alfredo Wagner-Ibirama, 130 kms
Stage 5a, Ibirama-Pomerode, 90 kms
Stage 5b, Pomerode Time Trial, 18 kms
Stage 6a, Pomerode-Joinville, 84 kms
Stage 6b, Joinville Circuit, 50 kms
Stage 7, Joinville-Brusque, 141 kms
Stage 8, Brusque-Tijucas, 50 kms
Stage 9, Tijucas-Florianopolis, 53 kms

Some Riders already confirmed

Chile - Gonzalo Garrido, Juan Fierro, Marcelo Arraigada
Venezuela - Eliecer Izarra, Alexis Mendez
Argentina - Ruben Pegorín, Fabian Tapia, Jorge Giacinti
Peru - Antonio Muñoz, Alfredo Mondejar, Saul Estrabidis

Trexlertown Track Results

Rebecca "Becky" Quinn made history at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome by becoming the first racer to ever consecutively repeat three times as Rider of the Year. Quinn did it in convincing fashion as she coasted into the night's events with a 20 plus point lead. Stephen Pate, the "Thunder from Down Under," also took the men's title for a third time, after finishing with a 22 point lead over runner-up Jame Carney.

Another highlight and pleasant surprise of the evening was a speech made by the injured New Zealand cyclist, Gary Anderson, who has almost fully recovered from the horrific crash suffered on August 7. Anderson with wife and newborn baby girl, thanked the spectators and medical staff of the Lehigh Valley Velodrome for the support he's been given since the accident.

Becky Quinn is just one Rider of the Year title away from tying the record of Australia's Lucy Tyler-Sharman. This feat certainly marks Quinn as one of the most dominant racers in the country and the most consistent. She did have some challenges throughout the night from the New Zealand teammates of Rawea Greenwood, Sara Ulmer and Fiona Ramage. The women's racing heated up all night as Ulmer had her eye on the third place spot in the standings overtaking 1998 National pursuit champion Jane Quigley.

Pate faced the men's races with more than enough points to be able to give up a few victories tonight. His points cushion still didn't stop his determination from taking on the rest of the international field that has challenged him all season long. Defending Rider of the Year Shaun Wallace was on hand to race, but was not in contention for the title after handily taking the Morning Call Rider of the Year title 5 times. Pate has medaled in the Australian National Championships 43 times, more than anyone in the history of Australian Cycling.

Other racing action saw some of "T-Town's" juniors return from San Diego to strut their late season form for the 1,500 plus crowd. In other men's racing, Jame Carney took two events from Pate. Pate then bounced back to take the 30-lap Preme Race from local favorite John Walrod. Women's racing saw great challenges from the New Zealand National team and Australia as Sara Ulmer took the women's Point-A-Lap, and Narelle Peterson, Australia, took two wins looking to improve her form.

Professional Men Chariot Heats:

 1. Carney def Oliver, Dew
 2. Sinton def Pate, Morehouse
 3. Hatton def Mark, Hodskiss
 4. Baker def Wallace, Godfrey

Junior Men 7-Lap Final:

 1. Andy Lakatosh
 2. Andrew Zigler
 3. Larry Detris
 4. Tyler Petrie
 5. Todd Zigler

Professional Women 15-Lap Point-A-Lap:

 1. Sara Ulmer
 2. Ashley Kimmet
 3. Fiona Ramage
 4. Becky Quinn
 5. Laura Pasicznyk

Professional Men Chariot Final:

 1. Jame Carney
 2. Gil Hatton
 3. Stephen Pate
 4. Mattew Sinton
 5. Sam Baker

Junior Men 12-lap Tempo Race:

 1. Larry Detris
 2. Tyler Petrie
 3. Andy Lakatosh
 4. Todd Zigler
 5. Andrew Zigler

Professional Mens 30-lap Preme Race:

 1. Stephen Pate
 2. John Walrod
 3. Tim Carswell
 4. Glen Thomson
 5.  Jame Carney

Women One Mile Final:

 1. Narelle Peterson
 2. Fiona Ramage
 3. Becky Quinn
 4. Tanya Lindenmuth
 5. Linda Braley

Professional Men 15-Lap Point-A-Lap:

 1. Jame Carney
 2. Shaun Wallace
 3. Mike Grabowski
 4. John Walrod
 5. Brent Morehouse

Junior Men 20-Lap Points Race:

 1. Larry Detris
 2. Andy Lakatosh
 3. Andrew Zigler
 4. Todd Zigler
 5. Tyler Petrie

Women Miss-and-Out:

 1. Narelle Peterson
 2. Sara Ulmer
 3. Rawea Greenwood
 4. Amy Lowry
 5. Linda Braley

Professional Men Miss-and-Out:

 1. Jame Carney
 2. Stephen Pate
 3. Tim Carswell
 4. David Dew
 5. Glen Thomson

Rider of Year Final Standings:

Women:

 1. Becky Quinn
 2. Nicole Reinhart
 3. Sara Ulmer
 4. Jane Quigley
 5. Narelle Peterson

Men:

 1. Stephen Pate
 2. Jame Carney
 3. Brent Dawson
 4. Marty Nothstein
 5. Shane Hodskiss