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Final Belgian Cross RacesEeklo, Memorial Geert De Vlaeminck, Cat A, February 14, 1998: 1. Bart Wellens (Bel) elite 2. Sven Nijs (Bel) elite 3. Mario De Clercq (Bel) Palmans 4. Danny De Bie (Bel) Rollini 5. M. Lefevre (Fra) elite 6. Peter Van Riet (Bel) elite 10. Marc Janssens (Bel) Palmans 14. Gretinus Gommers (Ned) VKS Oostmalle, Memorial Geert De Vlaeminck, Cat A, February 15, 1998 1. Arne Daelemans (Bel) elite 2. Peter Willemsens (Bel) elite 3. Alex Moonen (Bel) elite 4. K. Wouters (Bel) elite 6. Danny De Bie (Bel) Rollini 14. Paul Herijgers (Bel) Tonissteiner Final GC Geert De Vlaeminck Trophy: 1. Arne Daelemans (Bel) 2. Danny De Bie (Bel) 3. D. Willemsens (Bel) 4. Peter Willemsens (Bel) 5. Alex Moonen (Bel) Final Analysis of the 1997-98 Cyclo Cross SeasonWim van Rossum has completed his analysis and here it is. Now the final ranking and points as at 15/2/98 are published by the UCI it is interesting to decompose the aggregate into individual events - based on UCI points. Some riders obtained their points mainly in the "big" races, while some others, even with a high total ranking obtained all or nearly all their points in the "other races", with Paul Herijgers and Peter Willemsens (both Bel) as the best examples.Wim divided the season's events into: the World Championship (WC), the National Championships (NC), the World Cup (WC); the Super Prestige Trophy (SP) and all other races (Oth). For the National Championships he only had the top 9 places which might lead to minor discrepancies.
Name of rider Cat Nat Points UCI WC NC WC SP Oth Richard Groenendaal Eli Ned 2265 1 9 1 1 1 1 Adri van der Poel Eli Ned 1674 2 25 2 2 2 2 Mario de Clercq Eli Bel 1172 3 1 3 6 3 8 Daniele Pontoni Eli Ita 1104 4 4 1 3 6 20 Dieter Runkel Eli Swi 869 5 7 2 5 25 5 Erwin Vervecken Eli Bel 802 6 2 2 9 5 24 Marc Janssens Eli Bel 793 7 11 1 4 11 18 Radomir Simunek Eli Cze 772 8 5 1 7 8 15 Beat Wabel Eli Swi 749 9 10 1 10 28 4 Sven Nijs U23 Bel 645 10 1 2 25 4 12 Danny de Bie Eli Bel 586 11 12 4 51 12 3 Jiri Pospisil Eli Cze 555 12 26 2 11 17 10 Peter van Santvliet Eli Bel 539 13 6 8 9 22 Bart Wellens U23 Bel 494 14 2 1 33 7 21 Paul Herijgers Eli Bel 368 15 51 7 Peter Willemsens Eli Bel 362 16 6 Wim de Vos Eli Ned 347 17 3 12 14 26 Roland Schätti Eli Swi 342 18 7 13 22 19 Henrik Djernis Eli Den 308 19 3 1 26 92 Arne Daelmans Eli Bel 307 20 49 13 11 Emmanuel Magnien Eli Fra 307 20 6 3 15 25 33 David Pagnier Eli Fra 295 22 5 24 32 13 Petr Dlask U23 Cze 288 23 3 1 33 27 Karel Aushuber Eli Cze 285 24 16 3 20 22 23 Pascal van Riet Eli Bel 273 25 9 Christophe Mengin Eli Fra 268 26 8 1 18 59 Thomas Frischknecht Eli Swi 266 27 3 14 30 25 Alex Moonen Eli Bel 261 28 9 16 13 Ben Berden Eli Bel 255 29 7 19 10 37 Jörg Arenz Eli Ger 249 30 24 1 27 32 Luca Bramati Eli Ita 243 31 15 17 15 34 Maarten Nijland U23 Ned 242 32 7 1 50 24 36 Peter VandenAbeele Eli Bel 239 33 5 30 16 Fabrizio Dall'Oste U23 Ita 223 34 9 1 51 28 35 Ondrej Lukes Eli Cze 207 35 34 4 22 35 29 Interview with César Solaun SolanaThis Interviews comes from Jesus Angel Ugalde.The Data:
Name: César Solaun Solana DOB: 12/23/70 Place of birth: Bilbao Residence: Llodio Civil State: Single Height: 188 cms. Weight: 71 Kgs. Resting Pulse: 42 Amateur Teams: Brasileña, Avsa & Fortaleza Pro Teams: Euskadi (1994-97) and Banesto Amateur Palmares: 4 victories. Pro Palmares: 1 victory (2nd stage Vuelta a los Valles Mineros '95) The manuals for professional cyclists talk about what to say as the answer for most common questions. In the case of a first year rider the phrases commonly used are "I'm here to learn" or "the road will dictate my future". But César Solaun is not using any of this replies. Solaun is known for his sincerity and he claims that he has never had the idea of "becoming a cycling star". He knows that Banesto has hired him this year to help Olano and Jiménez. - Have you been able to assimilate the ascent from modest team Euskadi to almighty Banesto? - Until now, the experience has been good, although until now I can't compare sporting wise. What I can't deny is that the infrastructure here is better. That I have noticed already. - Are the requirements more than at Euskadi? - The work method is different. Here I will have to start the season stronger. I know my calendar until half year and the races where I must be OK will come soon. - The main objective of a rider at Banesto has always been to be part of the team for the Tour. Will you go to France? - I have possibilities. There is a block of riders that are fixed and the rest will have to fight for the other places. To go I must win my position as the Tour del Mediterráneo, Trofeo Luis Puig, Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana, Milano-San Remo, Paris-Nice, Semana Catalana and specially la Vuelta al País Vasco. - What do you have to do to win a position amongst Olano's lieutenants? - This is my first season with the team. I have to try to ride well and have the directors gain confidence in me, so they will count on me for the major stage races. - Where would you like to reach peak form, before the Tour? - In theory, I'm working towards going well at la Vuelta al País Vasco, which is the race in my home. If I arrive their well, maybe I can win the ticket for the Tour. Then I will have to lower the intensity, in case they take me, so I can arrive with strength to the Tour. - When you talk about working, do you refer about working for the leaders at Banesto? - I have not been told yet, which will be my job in the team, but I imagine that at first I will work to launch sprinters like Hunt and Barbosa. Then if I go to the major stage races, it will be to pull the riders that go for the overall. - I see that you are clear about why Banesto signed you. - When you leave a small team, where you were a leader, to go to a powerful team, where there are great figures, you have to know that you've been signed to help the leaders. - You don't feel capable of being a leader? - I don't think that I will ever be a figure, although I think that I can ride well. In any case, even if I feel strong during training, I always reach the races with nervousness. I never know how I will respond until the first stage and a few kilometers. Indurain back on his bikeMiguel Indurain is once again riding a bike. But not to pedal in any races, not even the Tour. He has simply sat on a saddle to take a ride in the mountain with his son, who is sitting calmly in the back seat of his father's bike and is trying to get some of the goodies that his father is carrying in the back pockets of his jersey. But things are a bit difficult for him due to the ups and downs of the road, he can get his objective.Suddenly, Indurain stops in a crossroads to take a look at a map and little Miguel thinks: "This is my chance". Rapidly he takes one of the baked goodies out of his father's pocket. Miguel senior realizes his son's plan and can't prevent him from getting away with it. So he decided to seat with his son and eat up all their supplies. His second commercial. This is the script for the second commercial that Miguel Indurain has done for Reposterías Martínez (Bakery). The first spot was presented last year and it was received well. This second spot will debut today on TVE 1, 2 and Telecinco and starts a new campaign until the end of March. The second one will be in September. Sad eh? Lance JournalCordoba, Spain, February 17, 1998Lance did fine again yesterday - came in somewhere in the 60's. I asked him if the riders were acting any differently after his absence - not really. Only a couple riders made a point to say anything at all, and if they did, it was along the lines of, "good to see you" or "glad to have you back." Today was a totally different perspective for me. I rode with Johnny the Director of the Postal Team, and Julian, one of the mechanics. Since George had done well, we had a good "slot" for the team car, third place behind the riders. Watching the race from up close, you have a totally different appreciation for what goes on. It's your basic high speed chase on a cop show - cars zipping past each other within a hair width of room to pass as they compete for placement, motorcycles with journalists hanging off the back, dust flying, horns blaring, some to the tune of "la cucaracha". On the flat stretches, cyclists and drivers pull over to pee. When a rider needs assistance, they signal to someone on a motorcycle who then announces it over the radio - then that team car speeds ahead, honking at everyone, until they reach their guy. For those who haven't watched a professional race, it is beautiful. All the colorful jerseys. All the finely chiseled legs appearing to move in synchronicity. They look like a human flag when you spot them moving across the countryside. When you get up close, and see their faces - covered in sweat and twisted in pure agony - you feel such respect for the awesome, elite athletes in your midst. Contrary to the beauty of the riders, there is a very harsh, ugly side to the sport. The dirt and dust. And of course, the crashes. We came down a descent, and suddenly there was a Postal guy facedown in the road with his bike about 50 meters ahead. I could only see the shorts, and my first thought was that it was Lance. He had just stopped by our car to say hello moments before. It turns out that he barely missed the crash and the flying bike, which did land on another rider. The guy leaking blood on the road was Pascal Derame. He broke his collarbone and slid across the road on his face. There was blood everywhere, his knees, his arms and his face were covered. They packed him up on a stretcher and took him to a local hospital in an ambulance. The climbs today were so steep it almost hurt to drive up them. Lance did great - we just now heard he came in 14th! Three guys from ONCE took top three. From Kristin Richard. These extracts that I publish are part of a more comprehensive journal that is available at http://www.laf.org, which is the home page of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Please support the Foundation in anyway you can. |