Aarhus, Denmark, GP Sydbank, April 5: 1. Peter Meinert (Den) US Postal 2. Tayeb Braikia (Den) Acceptcard Pro Cycling 3. Lennie Kristensen (Den) Odder 4. Michael Sandstød (Den) Team Chicky World 5. René Jørgensen (Den) Team home Jack & Jones 6. Bo Hamburger (Den) Casino 7. Lars Michaelsen (Den) TVM 8. Mark Tune Madsen (Den) Team Chicky World 9. Nicki Sørensen (Den) Værløse-Farum 10. Frank Høj (Den) Palmans-Ideal GP Hadsten, April 6: 1. Bo Hamburger (Den) Casino 2. Peter Meinert (Den) US Postal 3. Tayeb Braikia (Den) Acceptcard Pro Cycling 4. Steffen Kjærgaard (Den) Team Chicky World 5. Michael Blaudzun (Den) Telekom Kortrijk, Belgium, Criterium: 1 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar 2. Nico Mattan (Bel) Mapei-Bricobi 3. Tom Desmet (Bel) Collstrop 4. Mario De Clercq (Bel) Palmans-Ideal 0.30 5. F. Vanhaesebroucke (Bel) Ipso 34 riders started Wateringen Criterium, 100 kms: 1. Leon Van Bon (Ned) Rabobank 2.18.01 2. Steven De Jongh (Ned) TVM 3. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank Amateurs: 1. Wilco Zuyderwijk
He also reports from the L'Etape du Tour which was run on July 23 between Grenoble and Les Deux Alpes, over 198 kms. This is an annual event that follows the exact route of one of the stages of the current Tour de France. It is a public participation event although it is fiercely contested at the front. The winner this year was the Australian rider Joe Doran.
His winning time of 6.57.52, was 5.25 in front of 2nd place. He is 32 years old and lives in France, where he has a licence with the "Sprinter Club of Nice".
Before you start thinking this would have challenged Marco on the same route four day's late, Pantani's time was 5.43.45, and the time cut off that day was 54 minutes. So Joe would have been excluded from the rest of the Tour on time delay.
* The 104 EPO ampoules, which were found in the TVM-truck in March, were for a children's hospital in Russia according the the TVM doctor Andrei Michailov who was asked to buy the drugs in Spain. In the TVM dossier is a letter from the hospital addressed to Michailov, the TVM laywer said. It still remains an illegal import and smuggling because the drug was not declared at the Spanish-French border
* The UCI met in Paris yesterday and reported that they were pursuing two directions to combat the drugs use endemic in cycling. They would increase testing and attempt to protect the health of the riders. They have admitted that they cannot win the detection war though. The President of the UCI, Hein Verbruggen top the press that: "One is confronted with the fact that one cannot detect all the doping products. In the case of the EPO, we are forced to focus on the health aspects via blood tests. We cannot guarantee, however, that the ethical aspect is being adhered to. There is the risk that other non-detectable products will replace the EPO and we must try to address that as a health matter. We cannot necessarily detect cheating. So we have to define health standards for riders and enforce those."
Daniel Baal, vice-president of the UCI and president of the French Cycling Federation was also satisfied with the meeting saying that there were many new ideas now and that there was a spirit of goodwill aimed at combatting the use of banned drugs.
On Tuesday, the UCI will meet around 12 riders in Lausanne to discuss the approach to fight drugs. This was one of the agreements that emerged during the stand-off during the Tour de France. The meeting was agreed before the departure of Stage 13
* The Tour of Denmark organizers today announced that TVM has withdrawn from the biggest race in Denmark, where the teams Servais Knaven won last year. TVM demanded to get a confirmation on their participation late last night, but the organizers wouldnt give them that, when their sportsdirector, doctor and masseur is still in prison in France. And then TVM said that they would'nt ride the Tour of Denmark. Instead the race will include the two strong italian teams Asics (with Bettini, Shefer and Noe) and Cantina Tollo (with Strazzer, Hvastija and Rittsel).
He loves fishing and nature in general. He wants to buy a boat to do deep sea fishing. He is also a fan of horses and has one that was given to him during the 1995 Tour which he called Abebe (like Bikila, the barefoot marathon runner). His little dog is called Ruud, like Gullit.
Marco always finds a way of covering his bald head. At the Giro the player was the cap that he threw when he launched his decisive attack. At the Tour instead he used the Pirate's bandana. Pantani threw the bandana, during his legendary climb up the Galibier.
Even at the table, Marco is not "normal". When he was really young, he would eat only pop corn for two days, so that he would regain his mandated weight at the time of a test by his sport's director. Now that he doesn't have to answer to others, he can train for eight hours and when he comes in he will eat only watermelon at the kiosk of Mamma Tonina. In races he is similar, his knapsack will have sandwiches of cheese and tuna. His favorite is pizza, with sausage and onion, light stuff.
He is a restless person and eternally dissatisfied, so he frequesntly changes the way that he looks. He shaved his head three years ago, because he had only four hairs.
Pantani has cars in line with the way he is: classy and traditional. He has affection for a 1955 Mercedes 300, like his old Jaguar and his old Pontiac. Of the motorcycles he can't miss a Harley Davidson, which soon will be accompanied by a Cagiva Gran Canyon 900, a Pirate motorcycle that that his brother Castiglioni is giving him after his Giro-Tour double.
Marco loves to sing. He has always done it, with his friends at the karaoke bar, but he also does it seriously. His voice started the 1996 Giro d'Italia 1996 (where he didn't participate after his incident in the Fall of 1995). In the Winter he is supposed to come out with a CD with 8 musical themes from the Pirate. The money earned will go to charity.
Pantani gives everybody nicknames. Ferdinando his father became Paolo, his sister Laura is Manola and his mom, Tonina is Kony. Many of his teammates have nicknames: Brontolo Conti, because the climber always grumbles, Mortadella Fontanelli, because he goes crazy over his (food?) and Big Jim Borgheresi, because his fragility.
He has worn an earring in this left ear for many years. First it was a gold solitaire, then a ring and now a refined diamond clip. Talking about diamonds, at the Plan di Montecampione stage, Pantani used a diamond nose ring. But he took it off, as a symbolic gesture before the last decisive attack on Tonkov.
With palette and brush, Pantani has shown himself as a painter. Specially during his convalescence in 1996 he showed some talent.
Marco has always been a fan of Team Milano. He is not a fan of Milano by vocation, he says that he became a fan when he was really young because the Milan Club in Cesenatico were giving pastries. Milan has sent the Pirate season tickets for the VIP section.
Marco has a tattoo of a red and black devil. And on his chest he has one of a flower and a butterfly.
America's previous golden boy was none other than Greg LeMond, a three-times Tour winner (1986, 1989 and 1990). He quit in 1994.
Julich has had a chequered rise up the ranks. In 1993, he turned pro and tried to race in Europe without a contract. He signed his first major contract with Motorola in 1995 and some good performances in 1996 (9th in the Vuelta) stimulated the interest by Cofidis in him. Part of this was also the Cofidis signing of Lance Armstrong in that year.
Wanninger says that: "We'll see more people get involved because it was on television for three weeks. And then people are going to say, Hey, I knew Bobby Julich when we were in juniors."
The men's races for the "Fastest" title led up to only qualifying them for the big money event, the KEIRIN! After the motorcycle pulled off with a lap and a half to go, Marty "The Blade" Nothstein found himself in perfect position for the win when Hill surprised Nothstein and Marcelo Arrue to become the "Fastest Man" for 1998! In the women's event, Jennie Reed displayed amazing power by leading out the field after the motorcycle took off. Quinn's finishing power proved to be too much as she came around to nip Reed and Nicole Reinhart, Topton, PA, at the line.
Other racing action saw the appearance of 1998 Winter Olympic Double Medalist Chris Witty taking on the women's field in other events. Her world championship preparation seemed to be right on track with her team efforts in the women's events. Brian Walton, of team Saturn and a great road racer, also raced with the men. Walton and John Walrod, Macungie, PA, took off early in the men's ten mile only to be caught by Jame Carney and Stephen Pate with a few minutes to go in the bike race. All four racers put a lap on the field which made for a great sprint finish with Walton squeezing out Carney and Pate for the top spot just short of a new Lehigh Valley Velodrome 10 mile record.
Women's 5 lap Final:
1. Becky Quinn
2. Nicole Reinhart
3. Narelle Peterson
4. Tanya Lindenmuth
5. Jennie Reed
Men's Tempo Points Race:
1. Stephen Pate (Aus)
2. Jame Carney
3. John Walrod
4. Brian Walton
5. Phil Hutt
Men's Sprint:
Heats:
1. Nothstein defeated Sharman, Orowitz, Haines
2. Hill defeated Solt, Baker, Sinton
3. Arrue defeated Katakasi, Swift, Fitzsimmons
Final:
1. Nothstein defeated Hill, Arrue (1st thru 3rd)
2. Swift defeated Solt, Sharman, Orowitz (4th thru 8th)
Women's Miss and Out:
1. Nicole Reinhart
2. Jennie Reed
3. Narelle Peterson
4. Becky Quinn
5. Fiona Rammage
Men's 16 kms Final:
1. Brian Walton
2. Jame Carney
3. Stephen Pate
4. John Walrod
5. Matthew Goold
Women's 25 lap Points Race:
1. Rawea Greenwood
2. Becky Quinn
3. Jennie Reed
4. Tanya Lindenmuth
5. Narelle Peterson
Men's Miss and Out:
1. Jame Carney
2. Stephen Pate
3. Brian Walton
4. Brent Dawson
5. Shane Hodskiss
Women's Keirin Final:
1. Becky Quinn
2. Jennie Reed
3. Nicole Reinhart
4. Narelle Peterson
5. Michelle Woomer
6. Fiona Rammage
7. Rawea Greenwood
8. Tanya Lindenmuth
Men's Keirin Final:
1. Darryn Hill (Aus)
2. Marty Nothstein
3. Marcelo Arrue
4. Jame Carney
5. Stephen Pate (Aus)
6. Shane Hodskiss
7. Brent Dawson
8. Brian Walton
This is the best time for the sport here in years. The biggest problem we have had before - the lack of international events - is being reduced now. We are now getting a number of good races with strong riders and there is a rising star emerging - Caloi's Luciano Pagliarini, a 19-year old who won two of our most important races, the "9 de Julho" criterium, in São Paulo, and three stages in the "Parana Integration Tour", a 1,008 km stage race in Parana State. I have no doubt that he will be a Pro in a little time, the guy is really amazing!
The year's first important race was Brasilia's International Meeting, on April 19th. Among the starters, an Argentinian team with Jorge Giacinti and Ruben Pegorín and two French brothers - Jean Pierre and Jean-Phillipe Duracka, from the Jean Floch-Mantes amateur team. Guess who won? Yes, Luciano Pagliarini.
One the same weekend we had here, in Belo Horizonte, where I live, the "Prova Ciclística da Inconfidencia", a 3-stage race (Road, Time-Trial and Criterium) and again with foreign participation, American Cat-3 rider Jean Daigle, from Dracut (MA). Victory went to Caloi's Marcio May, silver medal in the last Pan-American championships.
Then, on May 12th, we have the fourth edition of "Discovery International Race", a 155 road race in Porto Seguro, Bahia State, the city where the people from Portugal arrived in 1500, as Brazil was born. Nothing better than a Portuguese team to challenge our best racers. Three cyclists from Maia-Cin pro team - Portugal's National Champion for 1998, Carlos Carneiro, accompanied by Ricardo Filgueiras and Paulo Barroso were on the start. It was a close race and was decided in the last sprint, with a surprising winner, Valcemar Justino (FMD team), beating Carneiro and another newcomer, Murilo Fischer.
So, on July 19th through 25th, the "Parana Integration Tour", with 68 starters. Five international teams among them - Argentina National (Ruben Pegorin, Jorge Giacinti, Fabian Tapia), Venzezuela National (Hussein Monsalve, Robson Merchan and Manuel Guevara), Cuba National (Ineido Marquez, Markley D'Avila, Nivaldo Govea), Chile National (Luiz Sepulveda, Victor Garrido) and a Swiss amateur team. (I have no information about the Swiss make-up). Pagliarini was in excellent form, winning 4 stages which also gave his team Caloi the Teams GC. But the individual GC went to his teammate Marcio May.
And then all the bunch went to Sao Paulo on July 26th for the "9 de Julho", a 80 km criterium that uses parts of an old airport and some avenues in the neighbourhood. Again the race came down to the final sprint. Pagliarini won, Andre Grizante was second and Valcemar Justino third. Hussein Monsalve, in fifth place, was the best foreigner
April 19, Petrobras Brasilia International Cycling Meeting 1. Luciano Pagliarini (Caloi) 2. Jorge Giacinti (ARG-Municipalidad de Mendoza) 3. Hamilton de Souza (SAP Seguros-São Lucas) April 19-21, Prova Ciclística da Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte Overall results (after 3 stages): 1. Márcio May (Caloi) 2. Daniel Rogelin (Caloi) 3. Jose Reginaldo Cardoso (Specialized-SETA) May 12, Discovery Tour, Porto Seguro, 155 kms: 1. Valcemar Justino (Bra) FMD/Blumenau 3.37.15 2. Carlos Carneiro (Por) Maia-CIN 3. Murilo Fischer (Bra) Ciluma s.t. July 19-25, Parana Integration Tour Stages 1 to 3: 1. Luciano Pagliarini Stage 4, Londrina-Maringá, 98 kms: 1. Daniel Rogelin (Bra) Caloi 2.17.59 2. Elivelton Pedro (Bra) SAP Seguros-São Lucas 3. Hernandes Quadri Jr. (Bra) Caloi s.t. Stage 5, Peabiru to Campo Mourão, ITT 11 kms: 1. Márcio May (Bra) Caloi 15.34 2. Luiz Sepulveda (Chi) Chile National 15.47 3. Ineido Marquez (Cub) Cuba National) 16.10 7. Luciano Pagliarini (Bra) Caloi .. 19. Hussein Monsalve (Venezuela National) Stage 6, Mambore to Cascavel, 144 kms: 1. Murilo Fischer (Bra) Ciluma 3.15.01 2. Robson Merchan (Ven) Venezuela National 3. Markley D'Avila (Cub) Cuba National Stage 7, Laranjeiras do Sul to Guarapuava, 140 kms: 1. Victor Garrido (Chi) Chile National 2.49.34 2. Marcio May (Bra) Caloi 0.05 3. Manoel Guevara (Ven) Venezuela National 0.10 Stage 8, Guarapuava to Irati, 105 kms: 1. Luciano Pagliarini (Bra) Caloi 2.25.59 2. Victor Garrido (Chi) Chile National 0.05 3. Hussein Monsalve s.t. Stage 9, Circuit race at Curitiba: 1. Hernandes Quadri Jr. (Bra) Caloi Overall Standings: 1. Marcio May (Bra) Caloi 2. Luiz Sepulveda (Ven) 3. Hernandes Quadri Jr. (Bra) Caloi Sao Paulo, "9 de Julho Criterium", 84 kms: 1. Luciano Pagliarini (Caloi) 1.45.50 2. Andre Grizante (Sao Caetano) 3. Valcemar Justino (FMD/Blumenau) 4. Flavio Barbosa (Unattached) 5. Hussein Monsalve (Venzuela National) s.t.