Wilfried retires

He started his career with the Weimann-Merckx-team of Walter Godefroot in 1991. After riding for Peter Post (1993-1994) he came to Lotto In 1994 he broke his collar bone in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. In the Tour de France of 1994 he crashed into a policeman who was taking a photo during the final sprint into Armentiers. In the Tour de France 1995 he also fell. After a rehabilitation period of 15 months after the Gent fall, he attempted to make a comeback to the peloton in July 1997. However, it was clear that things were not right and his knee was a constant source of concern. He required a further operation in February 1998.

A very sad finish.

Tour Teams start coming in

I've just talked to Bo Hamburger about Casino's Tour team. Richard and Järmann will for sure not be on the team. Richard is not getting along with the team as you probably know and Järmann will have a summer-break after the Tour of Switzerland.

Also Jann Kirsipuu, who has won so many victories in the spring has big achilles-problems and Arturas Kasputis has some trouble with his wrist. Vinokourov, who also had a great spring, will not ride as he's a neo-pro.

Frederic Bessy who did well in the Giro and in the Tour of Switzerland could get a place on the team as he started his season late due to an injury and perhaps can keep his current form until the end of the Tour. Bo would very much appreciate that, as he's a good mountain-rider.

Hamburger himself, Massi and Elli are sure to get named, and according to Bo the team could very well look like this:

Bo Hamburger (Den), Christophe Agnolutto, (Fra), Stephane Barthé (Fra), Frederic Bessy (Fra), Pascal Chanteur (Fra), Jacky Durand (Fra), Alberto Elli (Ita), Rodolfo Massi (Ita), Benoit Salmon (Fra)

And Fernando Ferrari, our Spanish reporter (from Meta2Mil) says that the Kelme-Costa Blanca team will be managed by Alvaro Pino and will have the following riders: Fernando Escartín (Spa) 5th last year, Francisco Cabello (Spa), Carlos Contreras (Col), Juan Jose De los Angeles (Spa), Jose Javier Gomez Gozalo (Spa), Jose Angel Vidal (Spa), Santos Gonzalez (Spa), Jose Rodriguez (Spa), Marcos Serrano (Spa).

Swedish Championships, Relay

Tomas writes that the relay is a race form introduced in Sweden in the 1950’s but abandoned after a couple of decades. When we quit the team time trail the relay was back on the championships schedule again. I did a couple of district championship relays in the early 70’s and it’s quite fun for riders as well as spectators.

It’s raced in a criterium circuit and each team has three members, at least one of them must be a junior rider. Teams with good juniors put them on the first 30 km leg in order to hang on to the bunch an thereby giving possibilities for an elite rider to attack on the second leg, where most teams have their juniors. This is what Skara CK did this time. Nicklas Axelsson, pro in Scrigno Gaerne, attacked on leg two, got the elite riders from Tranemo and Örebro and the junior Tobias Lergård of CK Hymer with him. That made the bunch split up and the gap to the followers was 1.45 at the start of leg three.

But Skara had only one team, with Giro stage winner Glenn Magnusson on the last leg. Skoghall-Hammarö had their three, quite even, teams together and they led the chase and caught the front group. With three laps to go Rikard Karlsson, Skoghall-Hammarö, Anders Eklundh, Örebro and Tomas Holmgren, CK Bure, got away. Eklundh took the finish.

 1. Örebrocyklisterna I					     2.02.19
    (Petter Hermansson, Markus Persson, Anders Eklundh)

 2. Skoghalls CK-Hammarö II
    (Jonas Emanuelsson, Håkan Evertsson, Rikard Karlsson)
 
 3. CK Bure II							0.04
    (Tobias Johansson, Linus Jönsson, Thomas Holmgren)

 4. Team Crescent/Tranemo					0.35
    (Klas Johansson, Kristoffer Johansson, Niklas Rönnerling)

 5. Skoghalls CK-Hammarö I
    (Dan Kullgren, Joel Christensen, Örjan Gustavsson)

 6. Borlänge CK
    (Roger Karlsson, Anders Hägg, Mikael Hägg)

 7. Värnamo CK
    (Lars Robertsson, Klas Lagerqvist, Filip Svensson)

 8. CK Hymer I
    (Rickard Almqvist, Tobias Lergård, Michael Johansson)

 9. CK Hymer II
    (Fredrik Johansson, Kristoffer Bremström, Magnus Olzén)

10. Skara CK
    (Anders Grönqvist, Niklas Axelsson, Glenn Magnusson)

11. Skoghalls CK-Hammarö III					0.41
    (Conny Björkman, Henric Svensson, Johan Malmsten)

12. Falkenbergs CK III						6.39
    (Anders Johansson, Krister Lindén, Fredrik Fåglum)

29 starters

Swedish Championships, Womens Road Race 93 kms:

A not so dramatic race where a late attack formed the top quintet. And the finish was quite sensationless. Susanne Ljungskog will race another year in the white, blue and yellow Swedish champion jersey.

 1. Susanne Ljungskog Hisingens CK 		    	     2.21.07
 2. Marie Höljer Ramnäs CK
 3. Madeleine Lindberg Västerås CK
 4. Jenny Algelid Åstorps CK
 5. Lotta Green CK Revanche
 6. Karin Thorvaldsson CK Ringen 				1.30
 7. Cecilia Bäckstedt Borås CA
 8. Sofie Andersson Eslövs CK
 9. Caroline Håkansson Degeberga CK
10. Annica Jonsson Västerås CK

28 starters

Pascal Richard to quit

Dutch Changes

Tom Steels to stay with Mapei

Its nearly here again....SuperPrestige program for 1998-99

24/10 Ruddervoorde (Bel)
15/11 Asper (Bel)
22/11 St Michielsgestel (Ned)
29/11 Gieten (Ned)
 8/12 Silvelle (Ita)
13/12 Overijsse (Bel)
23/12 Hoogstraten (Bel)
27/12 Diegem (Bel)
30/12 Surhuisterveen (Ned)
24/1  Wetzikon (Swi)
 7/2  Harnes (Fra)

Zottegem, Belgium, Het Volk Trophy, World Cup Event for Espoirs

 1. Wesley Huvaere (Bel)
 2. Pinot (Fra)
 3. Pencole (Fra)
 4. Guns (Bel)
 5. De Peuter (Bel)
 6. Van de Walle (Bel)

USA, Elite National Road Races, Cincinnati

Schuster rode alone for 44 of the 64 miles after shedding her breakaway partners on the third of eight climbs through Eden Park.

"I didn’t believe I had it until 200 meters to go," Schuster said.

Only 19 of the 67 starters finished the race, which took place in humid conditions and rising temperatures. At least two riders needed medical treatment after the race for dehydration, including Cori Book (Celestial Seasonings), the top under-23 finisher.

Schuster, of Northridge, Calif., wasn’t as affected by the weather. "I grew up in Colorado and live in California. We don’t know what humidity is," she said. "I didn’t really think about it."

On the second lap, Schuster joined an early three-rider break, which included her teammate Ellen Krimmel, Tina Mayolo (PowerBar) and Laura Shuford (CT Cycling). On the ensuing climb through the park, Schuster rode away from the others and was on her own, building a lead of over two minutes.

A group of five riders, including Saturn’s Dede Demet and Karen Kurreck, slowly reeled in Schuster, cutting the margin to 50 seconds on the last lap, but they never got closer.

"It was gutsy to do what she did," Demet said.

Schuster’s teammate, Kendra Wenzel, won the four-rider sprint for second, followed by Demet, Joan Wilson (Celestial Seasonings) and Tana Stone (Einstein’s).

Schuster will wear her brand-new national championship jersey at the women’s Tour of Italy, which begins Wednesday.

1. Pam Schuster (Saeco-Timex), Northridge, Calif., two hrs, 57 mins, 32 secs;
2. Kendra Wenzel (Saeco-Timex), McKenzie Bridge, Ore., @1:00; 3. Dede Demet
(Saturn), Boulder, Colo., s.t.; 4. Joan Wilson (Celestial Seasonings), Palo
Alto, Calif., s.t.; 5. Tana Stone (Bingham’s), Salt Lake City, Utah, s.t.; 6.
Karen Kurreck (Saturn), Cupertino, Calif., @1:56; 7. Ward Griffiths (Safeway-
Saturn), Seattle, Wash., @7:15; 8. Laura Shuford (CT Cycling), Goodlettsville,
Tenn., s.t.; 9. Carmen Richardson (Celestial Seasonings), Colorado Springs,
Colo., s.t.; 10. Elizabeth Emery (Saturn), New York, N.Y., s.t.

Under-23 Women

1. Cori Book (Celestial Seasonings), Cambridge, Minn., three hrs, 10 mins, 5
secs; 2. Kori Kelly (Squadra Corsa), Fargo, N.D.; 3. Emily Hamilton
(PowerBar), Louisville, Colo.; 4. Katherine Francis (NECSA-Richard Sachs),
Rochester, N.Y.

After 192 kms grueling in 96-degree heat, the U.S. National Elite Men’s Road Race title came down to a three-rider sprint. Patrick Heaney (Lombardi’s) topped Danny Pate (Colorado Cyclist) and Jon Hamblen (Snow Valley) to capture the crown after five hours, 17 minutes and 46 seconds.

"This is a dream come true," Heaney said. "Last year, I felt I was close (fourth), so I had to come back."

Heaney overcame a strong team ride by Pate, 19, and his teammate, 1988 Olympian Jim Copeland. Copeland finished fifth after driving the final five- man break for much of the race’s final 100-plus kms.

The 221-rider field shattered rapidly in the wilting, humid conditions. With more than half the race remaining, only one-third of the starters remained. Only 21 finished. An early 20-rider break evolved into an eight-rider break with 80 kms to go.

"It was an excellent group," Heaney said. "Everyone was doing their share. We’re buried ourselves and were committed."

Soon, only five remained -- Heaney, Pate, Copeland, Jon Hamblen (Snow Valley) and Kirk Albers (Mongoose). Albers was the only remnant from an early four- rider break. He stayed with the break despite crashing on the descent from Eden Park.

through Eden Park, when Copeland and Albers could no longer sustain the pace. Pate led the climb ahead of Heaney, but Hamblen soon joined them after the descent. The trio then came into downtown Cincinnati together. Heaney had the lead coming out of the final turn and held it to the line. Pate was second, followed by Hamblen.

Pate easily won the day’s other title, for finishing as the best under-23 rider. He finished one minute, 37 seconds ahead of Tom Davis (Jeep Eagle- Brielle).

"I know I can ride with these guys," Pate said. "You just can’t be intimidated."

Copeland, 36, who doubles as the Colorado Cyclist team manager, said the race compared to his days (1991-96) racing as a pro.

"That really was extremely hard," he said.

The U.S. Elite Road Championships conclude Sunday with the criterium events in Loveland, Ohio. Championship racing starts at 2:15 p.m.

Elite Men

1. Patrick Heaney (Lombardi's), San Jose, Calif., five hrs, 17 mins, 46 mins;
2. Danny Pate (Colorado Cyclist), Colorado Springs, Colo., s.t.; 3. Jon
Hamblen (Snow Valley), Manassas, Va., @:01; 4. Kirk Albers (Mongoose),
Columbus, Ohio, @:19; 5. Jim Copeland (Colorado Cyclist), Colorado Springs,
Colo., @:51; 6. Thomas Davis (Jeep-Brielle), Mashpee, Mass., @1:37; 7. Floyd
Landis (Chevy ZR2-Trebron), Cincinnati, Ohio, s.t.; 8. Ted Huang (NationsBank-
Montgomery), Los Altos, Calif., s.t.; 9. Erik Saunders (Santa Barbara BC),
Richmond, Va., @7:02; 10. Amos Brumble (Eurotek), Westerly, R.I., @10:55.

Under-23 Men

1. Danny Pate (Colorado Cyclist), Colorado Springs, Colo., five hrs, 17 mins,
46 mins; 2. Thomas Davis (Jeep Eagle), Mashpee, Mass., @1:37; 3. Jonathan Page
(Hot Tubes), N. Troy, Vt., @13:10; 4. Steven Cate (Canadian River), Norman,
Okla., s.t.; 5. Josh Smith (Jeep-Brielle), Pittsburgh, Pa., s.t.

Interviews with Matt White

JUNE 20 1998

KAREN TIGHE: ..... News this week, unfortunate news, that well-known Australian cyclist Henk Vogels has got an injury with his right knee. He's coming back to Australia for treatment and is out of the Tour de France.

MATT WHITE: That would be heart-breaking for Henk. I know the classics in April/May are a big goal, then he has a little bit of a rest and comes up for the Tour de France. That would be a big blow for Henk because the Tour de France is the World Cup of cycling for 21 days. But his goals will change too now. It will be up to his team, of course, but maybe they'll let him go to the Commonwealth Games. I know the World Championships is a big goal for Henk in October in Holland

KAREN TIGHE: At the moment 3 Australians are definitely confirmed for the this year's Tour de France. Patrick Jonker who has done so well a couple of years back, Neil Stephens who won a stage last year and interesting this year, isn't it, looking at Henk's GAN team-mate Stuart O'Grady, winning the Tour of Britain, what chance do you give him?

MATT WHITE: Well, Stuart is the man of the moment. He also won a stage last week in Luxenburg which is one of the big lead-up races for the Tour de France. For General Classification, being realistic, Stuart's not...we haven't got anyone, except Patrick who can ride classification to win the Tour or run top ten. But, as far as the first ten days go, and when it's not too hilly, Stuart is one of the most aggressive riders in the world, and he'll certainly be amongst it, certainly for a stage win, Stuart has got the form to win a stage or two. He' s got great form at the moment. He's a big fighter, and one of the most aggressive riders.

KAREN TIGHE: It will be great to look out for, and just question marks at the moment over the possibility of Robbie McEwan and Jay Sweet as to whether they may ride in this years Tour de France. Back to you though, formerly with the AIS professional team before that went defunct because of funding problems, what took you over to Italy and what has the experience been like so far ?

MATT WHITE: Well, myself and Peter Rodgers had a contract in America actually, until December, and that fell through at the last minute. So there was a week or two there in December where we were looking at not having a contract at all, and maybe going back to the amateurs and then we finalised our contract for Italy just before Christmas. They let us stay in Australia, through summer and prepare here and we arrived in Italy in early March. Actually I was pretty disappointed when I arrived because the team didn't treat us really well. We've got a big team of 25 riders and they didn't know anything about us and they didn't race us at all for four weeks. So, for my first four weeks in Italy I just sat at home training and it was pretty hard. Then we went to our first race and our sprinter, Magnusson, won. Me and Peter played a big role in that win and from then on it's all been looking forward all the time.

KAREN TIGHE: The Tour of Italy is a big race in Europe, your team did well, winning a stage, and you almost were able to snare one yourself. Tell us about that.

MATT WHITE: The Tour of Italy is definitely the hardest and the bigest thing that I've ever taken part in, in cycling, only the Tour de France is bigger. Cycling in Italy is as big as soccer. As soon as the Tour of Italy finished it was straight on to the World Cup but while the Tour of Italy was on, for those 21 days it was front page news. It's shown live every day for 5 or 6 hours on Italian television. We had a great Tour. We're a low budget team in the Tour of Italy - talking probably 2 million dollars a year. Whereas some teams are up to 15 million. So we haven't got the class of say a 9 rider team. We've got one or two really good bike riders. Our sprinter, Magnussen, won a stage around day 8 or 9, I think, in a very, very tight bunch sprint. We had to wait about 15 minutes for the photo finish to see that Glen had won. That was a BIG buzz because I swung off with 1 kilometre to go with Glen 3 or 4 riders back. That's my role. Last year it was with Jay Sweet and this year it's with Glen, I was very happy with that and my team was very happy with me as well when Glen had won. Then, after that I got a little bit of freedom to ride a bit for myself. One day I attacked, it was round about day 12, it was an undulating stage, and I was away from about 30 kilometres to go on my own and I only got caught in the last 2 and a half kilometres. It was my first sniff of a big, BIG win and I liked it. I did like the feeling.

KAREN TIGHE: So, one is going to come one day, you've got the taste now?

MATT WHITE: Yeah. It's given me a lot of confidence to go on to think of bigger and better things. And definitely the Tour de France is a big goal. But, everything, for this year now, will be towards the World Championships. The World Championships is very important every year, of course, but it's also important for Sydney 2000. We've got to find that right combination of the five Australians who will ride in the Olympics and the World Championships is as big as the Olympics in cycling.

KAREN TIGHE: It's very congested. It's an interesting scenario with athletics because the World Cup for athletics in South Africa is just before the Commonwealth Games affecting athletes competing in Malaysia. You're the opposite way around, there's the Commonwealth Games in September, then the World Championships in October in Holland, then coming back to Australia for the Bank Classic down the east coast.

MATT WHITE: Yes. I know with the track cyclists they've got to do the opposite to us. They've got to come from their World's to the Games Village, and we've got to go basically from the Village, back to where we live in Europe to prepare for the World Championships.

KAREN TIGHE: How do you feel about that - from what's going to be heat and humidity in Kuala Lumpur - what conditions would you be expecting in Holland?

MATT WHITE: Maybe snow. You've certainly got to be flexible with your weather conditions. I'll have a look at the program and see what I've got to gain and what racing my team has got between the commonwealth Games road race and the World Championships. I think it's 3 to 4 weeks so, yeah, I'll just have a look at my race program and see what's going to be best for my preparation for the World Championships.

KAREN TIGHE: So, once you return back to Europe after this break in Australia, there's, at the moment, a squad of 10 or 12 riders for the Commonwealth Games that's got to be narrowed down to just 6. When does that all occur, and how will that happen?

MATT WHITE: I think the Australian selectors will wait until August 10th, basically until the Tour de France is finished so it gives the guys in the Tour de France a chance to get some results and to finalise who's got good form. Then it will get narrowed down to 6. Then, the Time Triallers, I think we're taking one speciallist to Kuala Lumpur then the other five of us will be versatile road riders. With cycling it's not a sport where you can pick from the fastest time or ...it boils down to a lot of personal opinion and picking that right combination for Kuala Lumpur. and every course is different too so Kuala Lumpur it might suit me and Sydney Olympics might not suit me. So, we've got to mix and match combinations and see who does click well together.

KAREN TIGHE: It's such a big international schedule for cycling as you say, with things like the Tour de France every year, for the elite, the World Championships, your own professional commitments in Italy, just what does the Commonwealth games mean for you as an Australian?

MATT WHITE: It's a big thing. It would be my second Commonwealth Games. Last time at the Commonwealth Games in ' 94 I was probably a little bit over-awed, because it was such a big thing. Four years down the track I've got a lot more experience, and I'll certainly be a lot more cool, calm and collected this time around. Whoever we do send as the Australian team we will win the Commonwealth Games. If we don't win the Commonwealth Games we'll have made a tactical mistake. We will have the strongest team there on the day no matter who we send. We've got a team of ten and any of them will be the strongest guys on the road. So, we've just got to find that right combination. It does mean a hell of a lot to Australians - but it's hard to explain it to Italians (!)

KAREN TIGHE: Have you tried?

MATT WHITE: I have tried.What the Commonwealth games is - let alone how important it is to us. Yeah, it's a big goal for me. And then of course the World championships, that's recognised as probably harder even than the Olympic Games because in the Olympic Games countries like Italy and Spain are restricted to only 5 riders whereas in our World Championships the first ten countries in the world are allowed to have 12. So, the bunch is a lot bigger and a lot more team work comes into a World Championship victory than in the Olympics where basically the best individual will probably win on the day.

KAREN TIGHE: I'm speaking with Australian cyclist Matt White. Now, Matt I alluded to this experience earlier this hour when I was pointing at this interview. In Italy, was it recently, you've had the chance to meet the Pope personally?

MATT WHITE: Yeah, in April. My team - I don't know how it came about - I think it's the last ten years my team has been going to the Vatican once a year, getting introduced to the Pope, getting his seal of approval for the years racing, and they present him with a bike. Yeah, it was a great day. We drove down to the Vatican, had all the photos taken with the Pope, we got to talk with the Pope, yeah, it was an experience. I'm glad I've had the chance to do it.

KAREN TIGHE: Did you speak to him in English or in Polish, or is your Italian pretty good now?

MATT WHITE: Well, I'd like to say my Italian is pretty good - it's enough to get by - but yeah, I just said, "Hello" and shook his hand. Yeah, it was a big day. It was a big day.

KAREN TIGHE: Wow, what an experience! Now, it is a fair dinkum photo, it's not like one of those super-imposed photos we see in that ad. on TV?

MATT WHITE: It's a photo that will look good on the bar one day, it's a good photo with me and the Pope.

KAREN TIGHE: A terrific story. Matt White it's always great to speak to you. We'll keep in touch on your return to Italy for the rest of the year, and, of course, see you for the Commonwealth Bank cycle classic. The Commonwealth Games to come before that we'll be there in Kuala Lumpur to cover your action, and the World Championships. Is there any relaxation in store over the next ten days or so, before returning home?

MATT WHITE: Well, the relaxation for me is not having to pin a number on. It's good not having that pressure of racing. It is very mentally draining racing such a heavy schedule. Just to be back in Australia is relaxing for me spending time with family and friends, just getting back to a bit of a routine in Australia is great, I enjoy it.

KAREN TIGHE: Matt White, thanks very much for your time and joining us on "GRANDSTAND".

Henk interview coming!