Gianni Bugno wins Circuito di Campi di Bisenzio, Firenze, 68 kms:

 1. Gianni Bugno (Ita) Mapei-Bricobì         1.31.07 (44.942)
 2. Alessandro Baronti (Ita)                   	0.02
 3. Franco Ballerini (Ita)
 4. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita)                     	0.05
 5. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita)
 6. Fabiano Fontanelli (Ita)
 7. David McKenzie (Aus)
 8. Filippo Casagrande (Ita)
 9. Tristan Priem (Swe)
10. Luca Scinto (Ita)

Australian Cyclists To Race the 1998 International Women’s Challenge

Consisting of six stages, the 15th annual International Women’s Challenge is regarded as the toughest cycling event for women in the world. Cyclists will race 274 miles and climb more than 25,000 vertical feet in six days for a prize list totaling $100,000. Australian competitors include:

Kathy Watt, Patterson, Victoria- Watt, a 1992 Olympic gold medalist, 1994 Commonwealth Games champion and multi-national champion, has won three stages in previous editions of the International Women’s Challenge. Watt will be racing for the Texas Premier Cycling Team.

Jane Despas, Sydney- An international marketing director who holds an MBA, Despas is also a world-class runner, duathlete and triathlete. She finished second at both the New Zealand and Alabama triathlons last year, and is a former national long course duathlon champion. Despas will compete in her first International Women’s Challenge for the Staples Cycling Team.

Anna Wilson, South Blackburn, Victoria - Wilson, the reigning National Time Trial Champion and Hour Record holder, became Australia’s first and only International Women’s Challenge winner in 1996. In 1998, Wilson finished second in the Tour de Snowy and New Zealand’s Street Skills Classic.

An Australian National Team member, Wilson has successfully balanced her law career with an international cycling program. She foresees the climbs up Idaho’s infamous 8700-foot Galena Summit as the biggest obstacle in this year’s event. "It’s going to be a really tough stage that may decide the race."

Elizabeth Tadich, Shepparton- Racing for the Australian National Team, Tadich won the silver medal at the 1997 World Championships in San Sebastian, Spain. Last March, Tadich finished third at the inaugural UCI 1998 Women’s World Cup event in Sydney.

Juanita Feldham, Brisbane- Feldham, a veterinarian working on her master’s degree, won a stage of the 1997 Tour de France Feminin.

Tracey Gaudry, Canberra- When not cycling, Gaudry works as a statistician, where she has conducted university lectures and performed work for the Australian Defense Department. A 1996 Olympian, Gaudry will join Feldham, Wilson and Tadich to represent the Australian National Team at the International Women’s Challenge.

Karen Barrow, Melbourne- Barrow is an accomplished track cyclist who will join Canberra’s Kim Palmer to race for the Bob’s Bikes Cycling Team.

These cyclists will join a record international field of 140 competitors, including Olympic gold medalists Jeannie Longo (France), Petra Rossner (Germany), and Zulfia Zabirova (Russia); 1997 World Champion Alessandra Cappellotto (Italy), and former race champions Dede Demet (USA), Clara Hughes (Canada) and Rasa Polikeviciute (Lithuania).

The International Women’s Challenge will be broadcast (via syndication) in late July on 25 CBS-affiliated stations. The one hour show will be produced by Emmy award-winning former Tour de France film maker David Banks.

Another cop dies in a bike race

Netherlands, Harderwijk, Parel van de Veluwe

Elite and Neo-amateurs:

 1. Van der Tang (Voorhout) 	180 km in 4.10.14
 2. Godert de Leeuw (Ermelo)
 3. Den Ouden (Galder)
 4. Venenberg (Purmerend)
 5. Van der Steen (Hooglanderveen)

Women:

 1. Van Moorsel (Rotterdam) 	125 km in 3.20.11
 2. Van Zuylen (Oudewater)
 3. Gemser (Groningen)

Leontien van Moorsel has done it again. The rider of the OPSTALAN team won de Parel van de Veluwe in Harderwijk by beating Marion van Zuilen. This is the seventh victorie of Van Moorsel this season so far.

Ronnie Schmeer writes about his ride in the US Professional Road Race

Someone that lives on the course has the volume of their giant thunder lizard stereo system cranked ALL the way up to 10, or maybe even 11. The speakers are out on the deck pointing toward the course but I still can't hear what song is being played over the screams of the spectators.

The sidewalk is crammed sardine style with race fans. They are on the sidewalk, on decks and porches of houses, in yards and at open windows, leaning over the barriers pumping their fists wildly as we go up. The noise is literally deafening. Welcome to the First Union U.S. Pro Road Race Championships in Philadelphia, PA. This race is unlike any race I've ever done. The number of people here is unreal. Going up the Manyunk wall is like being in a Tour of Flanders video going up on of the classic's epic climbs, except here I think there is even more room for spectators. This is an awesome race. The best in America in my book. I'm not quite halfway up the climb and the little momentum I had going into the base has worn off. My legs are burning and my pedal stroke is getting choppy. I finally recognize that it is the Stones that are blaring from the stereo, "jumpin jack flash, it's a gas gas gas!" That's all the motivation I need and I redouble my effort. My quads are shot and I'm altering my pedal stroke, trying to use my calves and hamstrings more, moving my upper body around to get more power. I'm sure it's not a pretty sight, not to mention the rictus of pain on my face, but I don't care. This is the last time up. I'm not going to get dropped. Just as I start to get gapped the top of the climb levels out a little.

I look up and see Mapei's Tom Steels in his Champion of Belgium jersey. I sprint to the corner and get his wheel just as the terrain turns back to descending and make it over the top in the third split. On the descent, the "fall from the wall", which by the way is still lined with fans for the next few kilometers, just like the few kilometers preceding the Wall, my group catches the second group. The first group is long gone though.

More than 30 guys up the road and my team didn't get anyone in the final group. Only Burke and I are left. Tony crashed and separated his shoulder at mile 75, Adham started the race sick, got in an early break and was leading the KOM but later got dropped and pulled by the officials. Jason threw up all night and was unable even to start. Team Nutra-Fig is having a bad day but I'm only barely disappointed. Things can't go well all the time and just being here is so cool. The people watching (750,000 estimated!) are so excited and having such a good time. The words that my Swiss amateur team director used to describe big great races come back to me, "Ah yes, she's a classic!" On the way back to the final three finishing circuits, the group rides a medium tempo. The first group is gone and we know it. After 140 miles no one is inclined to chase hard. We have 3 laps left of 3 miles each. On the circuit through the start finish (bleachers filled with people like a stadium, still cheering like crazy for our second group) we can look over and see the US Postal Service driving the train with Lance at the front, keeping it together to set up their boy for the sprint. About 2 miles out from the line we climb up little Lemon hill for the last time. With 6 places in the money left for our group I jump away and get a gap.

I keep it all the way in to the "stadium" section, around the steps from "Rocky" one last time and into the hairpin to the finish. Ouch! my heart rate is pretty low but my legs just can't turn the gear into the stiff headwind. I get swarmed about 200 meters out and finish in the 50's. The Americans had a good day as Lance set up George Hincapie for the hectic sprint to the line (watched it on TV later). It's great to see an American win the whole thing against Mapei, Saeco, et all. Burke and I head back to the team van, get some food and something to drink. A few people come up and ask about the race. It was the same the next day at the airport when we were packing up our bikes.

Really nice people excited about the bike race. More really great people we met (and BIG fans of www.cyclingnews.com) were Bill and Theresa Laudien who housed us in Lancaster for all the midweek lead-up races and Rob and Carlos who set us up in their apartment in Philly for the US Pro Championship race. The team stays in hotels often but it's always a treat to meet and stay and ride with fellow cyclists around the country. I can't wait to come back next year! It's back home for a few days and then on the road again and to the races. My legs are cooked from the long hard race but I bet with a few days of mellow rides and some sleep I'll be flying. Let's hope so! Ronnie