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Wilfried Nelissen - happy for two reasonsAfter two years of bad luck and struggle, yesterday finally delivered two items of good news for Wilfried Nelissen. First, his wife and he had their second child, a son called Mauri. They also have a daughter called Naomi. "Anja was in labour for two hours, but just on half past seven our son was born."And he had some other good news. "The details I do not know yet, but I today I have received news that the investigation last week on my knee has yielded very positive results. The doctor has said that I am not yet finished in cycling." Palmans-Ideal manager, Walter Planckaert reacted happily to the news: "The news from the doctor is positive. Willie is still under contract until the end of this year. I will seek to look at that in two or three months. After that he can begin training in earnest again. He can have a lot of time to rest and get fit. But the ball is now firmly back in his court." Who will win the Giro?The Italian TV Station, RAI recently conducted a poll which asked who will win the Giro. He are the results of the poll. You will note that Marcel was 13th most popular.
Votes %
1 PANTANI Marco Ita 410 39.3
2 ZULLE Alex Swi 189 18.1
3 TONKOV Pavel Rus 115 11.0
4 BARTOLI Michele Ita 62 5.9
5 PODENZANA Massimo Ita 40 3.8
6 NOE' Andrea Ita 33 3.2
7 CIPOLLINI Mario Ita 24 2.3
GOTTI Ivan Ita 24 2.3
9 GUERINI Giuseppe Ita 13 1.2
10 FORCONI Riccardo Ita 11 1.1
11 BESSY Frédéric Fra 9 0.9
LEBLANC Luc Fra 9 0.9
13 WUST Marcel Ger 8 0.8
14 ZAINA Enrico Ita 6 0.6
BETTINI Paolo Ita 6 0.6
BUGNO Gianni Ita 6 0.6
FRIGO Dario Ita 6 0.6
ZUCCHI Simone Ita 6 0.6
19 SECCHIARI Francesco Ita 5 0.5
20 CHIAPPUCCI Claudio Ita 4 0.4
PICCOLI Mariano Ita 4 0.4
GONTCHAR Serguei Ukr 4 0.4
23 CAMENZIND Oskar Swi 3 0.3
REBELLIN Davide Ita 3 0.3
ARAZZI Francesco Ita 3 0.3
26 BARONTI Alessandro Ita 2 0.2
BALDATO Fabio Ita 2 0.2
GARZELLI Stefano Ita 2 0.2
MARTINELLO Silvio Ita 2 0.2
ROUX Laurent Fra 2 0.2
FERRIGATO Andrea Ita 2 0.2
PUTTINI Felice Swi 2 0.2
DELLA VEDOVA Marco Ita 2 0.2
34 JAERMANN Rolf Swi 1 0.1
SALIGARI Marco Ita 1 0.1
BRAMATI Davide Ita 1 0.1
AXELSSON Nicklas Swe 1 0.1
FARESIN Gianni Ita 1 0.1
DE PAOLI Daniele Ita 1 0.1
BOTERO ECHEV. Santiago Col 1 0.1
CALCATERRA Giuseppe Ita 1 0.1
CLAVERO Daniel Spa 1 0.1
DOMINGUEZ J. Carlos Spa 1 0.1
APARICIO Vicente Spa 1 0.1
ANDERSON Michael Sve 1 0.1
CALI Vincent Fra 1 0.1
BLIJLEVENS Jaroen Ned 1 0.1
PALUMBO Giuseppe Ita 1 0.1
FONTANELLI Fabiano Ita 1 0.1
MOLLER Claus Michael Den 1 0.1
VELO Marco Ita 1 0.1
ANDRIOTTO Dario Ita 1 0.1
SGAMBELLURI Roberto Ita 1 0.1
BOBRIK Vladislav Rus 1 0.1
CASSANI Enrico Ita 1 0.1
MINALI Nicola Ita 1 0.1
LEPORATI Simone Ita 1 0.1
BRIGNOLI Ermanno Ita 1 0.1
1044 100.0
Poland, EuroSport Tour, WomenStage 1, 134 kms 1. Susanna Lehtimäki (Fin) Greenery Hawk 2.34.26 2. Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Greenery Hawk 0.07 3. Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Greenery Hawk 0.09 .. peloton at 8.00 Netherlands, Ster van Zeeland, 3 Day Women's RaceStage 1: 1. Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel 2. Mirella van Melis 3. Chantal Beltman Netherlands, Dutch Youth Championships, June 6,On Saturday, June 6 the Dutch Championships for 8-14 year old boys and girls were staged at Nieuwkuijk which is near Den Bosch, in the Province of North-Brabant. Herman Harens writes that 350 youth riders (boys and girls together) competed for eight national red-white-blue-jerseys. Nice to see the youngsters ride, with plenty of ambition. But it was nicer to see the nervous fathers and mothers. Sons and daughters of famous dutch riders like Peter Pieters, Sjaak Pieters, Jean-Paul van Poppel, Egon van Kessel (former Dutch Junior coach), Andre Boskamp (former Dutch elite-coach), Eric Vanderaerden, Fons van Katwijk, and so on.
Category I (8 years) Gold 1. Roy Pieters (De Bataaf) * Silver 2. Elise van Hage (Bollenstreek) (girl) Bronze 3. Frank de Reus (Hoekse Renners) Category II (9 years) Gold 1. Robbert-Jan Mol (HRTC Hoorn) Silver 2. Maurice Vrijmoed (De Spartaan) Bronze 3. Roger Mahler (De Zwaluwen-Almelo) Category III (10 years) Gold 1. Boy van Poppel (Pijnenburg) ** Silver 2. Martijn van Schaijk (Buitenlust) Bronze 3. Rik van IJzendoorn (JvR-De Batauwers) Category IV (11 years) Gold 1. Yondi Schmidt (De Mol) Silver 2. Davy Jorissen Bronze 3. Kirsten Kruizenga (De Stormvogels) (girl) Category V (12 years) Gold 1. Bram Wind (JvR-De Batauwers) Silver 2. Roberto Secci (De Jonge Renner) Bronze 3. Janneke Kanis (Noordwesthoek) (girl) Category VI (13 years) Gold 1. Wim Stroetinga (Olympia-Heerenveen) *** Silver 2. Gideon Jong (De Mol) Bronze 3. Maurice Minnar (Theo Middelkamp) Category VII (14 years) Gold 1. Stephan Speijer (JvR-De Batauwers) Silver 2. Joost Grooters (CC-75) Bronze 3. Berry Nagelhout (De IJsselstreek) Category Nieuwelingen-ladies (Girls 15-16 years) Gold 1. Bertine Spijkerman (St. Nicolaasga) Silver 2. Heidi de Voogd (Nieuwe Pekela) Bronze 3. Tamara Peek (Haule) * Son of Peter Pieters ** Son of Jean-Paul van Poppel *** Wim won his 6th National Championship have won every year from Category I to VI. Switzerland, Elite Classic, Pruntrut-Zürich, 222 kms, June 61. Martial Locatelli (Fra) 5.20.56 (41.96) 2. Urs Graf (Swi) GS Ericsson-Villiger 0.01 3. Guido Wirz (Swi) Post Swiss Team 0.14 4. Jean Michel (Swi) Tessier GS Pneuhaus Frank Cilo 5. Lukas Zumsteg (Swi) GS Ericsson Villiger 6. Joseph Christen (Swi) GS Ericsson Villiger 7. Stefan Rütimann (Swi) Team Schaller Häusermann 8. Uwe Straumann (Swi) GS Saeco-Wetzikon 1.05 9. Christian Eminger (Swi) GS Grepper Pinarello 2.34 10. Jan Ramsauer (Swi) GS Saeco-Wetzikon 11. Roger Beuchat (Swi) Post Swiss Team 12. Alexander Äschbach (Swi) GS Saeco Wetzikon 13. Michel Klinger (Swi) Team Romers Hausbäckerei 4.53 14. Christian Sidler (Swi) GS Pneuhaus Frank Cilo 15. Samuel Leuenberger (Swi) Team Romers Hausbäckerei 4.55 ARIF Standings (8 out of 11 Races) 1. Post Swiss Team 520 2. Ericsson-Villiger 405 3. Romer's-Mephisto 304 4. Grepper-Pinarello 302 5. Schaller 275 6. Saeco-Wetzikon 234Results from Stefan Girschweiler, Switzerland Lehigh Valley Velodrome Trexlertown PA, USA June 6,1998The start of a new season saw many of the usual Aussies and Kiwis joining us for a new cycling event called "American Team Cycling", designed around a format called "The Attack". The game, developed by 1984 Olympic Silver medal winner and Velodrome director Pat McDonough, features four teams made up of five riders of international mix. The race is a series of sprints every four laps that begin with two teams battling head to head beginning with several motorpaced laps. The summer long series will end in August with the A.T.C. Championship.The hometown riders ruled the day as the American Team Cycling League opened Friday night at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome. Despite the cool weather, a strong crowd looked on as the Express, led by T- town riders Marty Nothstein, Gil Hatton, John Walrod and Ryan Oelkers, dominated the Jame Carney-led Cyclones 108-52 in the opener of the new league. "That was a blast," Hatton said. "It’s always good when you win." The combination of the two powerful sprinters, Nothstein and Hatton, plus two strong endurance riders, Walrod and Oelkers, proved lethal. The Express built a 54-26 halftime lead and then doubled the margin in the second half. The ATC format combines elements of points races, match sprints and keirins. Each team has four riders on the track, and one in reserve. Those on the track are paced by a motorcycle at speed ranging from 25-30mph. Each half of the game, known as an "Attack," is 20 laps with a point sprint every five laps. The motorcycle pulls off with one and one-half laps to go before each sprint. Sprints are scored on a 10-6-4 basis. Hatton and Nothstein combined to win six of the eight sprints in the match and Hatton had a game-high 36 points for the Express. "We were slicing and dicing," Nothstein said. "We don’t have to tell each other what to do. It just happens." The match was decided before the final sprint, which turned into the most crowd-pleasing of the night. Showing his frustration at the impending loss, Carney hooked Hatton toward the rail, but Nothstein returned the favor, sending the Cyclone captain toward the bottom of the track. Hatton won the sprint anyway. "The official lets us get a little crazy, which is okay," Hatton said. Carney, who finished with 20 points -- none in the second half -- overcame his frustration after the match and endorsed the concept. "It’s a great idea," he said. "Once its gets ironed out, it will be good. It’s hard to figure out what to do because it’s so new." Carney objected to the Express’ tactic of sacrificing one rider in order to remove the other team’s top riders from a sprint. Walrod and Nothstein both used that tactic to perfection to keep Carney out of the points. Nothstein also earned a place in league history, becoming the first rider to enter the penalty box after hooking a Cyclone rider just before halftime. "I just hope I don’t lead the league in penalty minutes," he said. In the evening’s other game, the Speed Demons defeated the Thunder, 90-70. Shaun Wallace led the Speed Demons with 28 points. Anthony Peden added 22. Stephen Pate led the Thunder with 26 points. ATC action resumes Friday, June 26, as the Speed Demons (1-0) will face the Express (1-0) for the league lead. The Cyclones (0-1) and the Thunder (0-1) will be looking for their first win of the season.
Team Rosters: THE EXPRESS THE SPEED DEMONS; Marty Nothstein (USA) Shaun Wallace (UK) Gil Hatton (USA) Anthony Peden (NZ) Ryan Oelkers (USA) Sheldon Serrao (Trin) John Walrod (USA) Bob Schuler (USA) Joe Masser (USA) Sam Baker (USA) THE THUNDER THE CYCLONES Stephen Pate (Aus) Jame Carney (USA) Greame Miller (NZ) Brent Dawson (Aus) Vince Oliver (USA) Kirk Whiteman (USA) Mike Tillman (USA) Rob Coulton (USA) Brandon Haines (USA) Jason Orowitz (USA) 50 lap Madison: 1. Jamie Carney-Jonas Carney (USA) 2. Stephen Pate-Brent Dawson (Aus) 3. Shawn Wallace-Sheldon Serrao (UK/Trin) 4. John Walrod (USA) Standings after Night One: 1. The Express 108 points 2. The Speed Demons 90 3. The Thunder 70 4. The Cyclones 52 Vets in Western AustraliaThe Masters' Cycling Council held it races south of Perth, at Jandakot.
35-49: A Tindale 1; M Bowles 2; D Townson 3. 50-59: W Lally 1; S Ratcliffe 2; H Wilson 3. 60+ : S Baker 1; L Ross 2; R Knowles 3. Some fun...A $US0.65 sweet ended up being worth $US1000 to a certain James Holcomb. A local jury in Gwinnett County delivered this decision last week and said that Holcomb must pay for throwing the "last two bites of his Baby Ruth" bar out the window of his vehicle. Why? The lolly bar left over struck a passing cyclist on the leg.Yep, this is a story about cycling power! 20-year old Holcomb was reported at the end of his 2-day court case as saying: "I saw him, but I didn't think it would hit him. He had every right to feel it was dangerous. I definitely learned from this." So what about the cyclist? Brendan Kerger swerved when the Baby Ruth bar hit him but didn't lose control. His leg was apparently bruised (what are these bars made of?!!) and he took 3 days off work. 47-year old Kerger apparently was incensed when he found out that Holcomb laughed about it with the cops. He then decided to sue. He said: It was a matter of principle. I wasn't very seriously injured, but I could have been killed." The Jury awarded Kerger $US200 for medical bills, $US180 for the 3 days lost wages and $US620 for pain and suffering. Ronnie Schmeer talks about the Lancaster First Union GPSlept in late but still had plenty of time to get ready for the 4:30 pm start of the Lancaster First Union GP. Had a small cup of coffee with breakfast but it feels like I had 6! Been wired all day, pinning numbers, checking bike and rechecking it again and again, organizing stuff for the next days races. Excited and nervous but not in a bad way. Looked over the start list to see names like Andrea Tafi, Stefano Zanini, Tom Steels, Jan Svorada, Wilfred Peters, not to mention Lance Armstrong; the real world cup heavy hitters. Drove the course last night. Looks like it really suits our team if we have the legs. Lots of up and down hills, short and steep with many corners and rough pavement. A real race of attrition. Hopefully we'll all recover from last weekends stage race and the long drive to get here. Just strapping on my shoes and helmet for the ride to the start line. I'll know soon enough if the legs are good and let you know!Later, Ouch! what a rude awakening. I was too tired and grumpy to send in my column the night of the race. The answer to my question about the legs was a resounding NO. The race was a seven mile loop we did 14 times. Well, in my case I only did it six before getting dropped. I chased back on but that only prolonged my agony for another lap before I was done for good. The pace was high from the start and the strong winds and numerous corners made for lots of single file suffering. I counted four crashes on the first lap, mostly from guys who would crash trying to avoid someone who was almost crashing trying to move up before one of the many short steep climbs. Lots of spectators cheering us on. That was cool but it's really disheartening to feel so bad in something you've been keying on for 3 months. I watch a few laps before riding a few miles back to the house we're staying at near Lancaster with my Nuta-Fig teammate Burke Swindlehurst who had been stuck behind a lap one crash. The other Fig riders fared better and were riding well but Aham Sbeih flatted with 2 to go and Tony Cruz and Jason Van Marle were in the third group, just out of the top 25. Today was a day for the Americans though. Lance powered the break about one third of the way into the race and Frankie Andreu rode across a big gap to bridge. Both those guys looked very strong and comfortable going hard. It's good to see Lance back in the action. They finished one-two (Frankie-Lance) and US Postals Hincapie won the field sprint. After the race it was a quick meal, shower, rub the legs a little, stretch and go to straight to bed. This morning we were up early to eat and load up the Mercury Grand Marquis (see, we support companies who sponsor cycling! ;) rental car for the 2 hour drive to Willmington Delaware for the Christiana Care Cup Classic. Nice weather; cool and sunny but way too windy for my liking. This race was supposed to be hillier but it didn't feel it. For most of the climbs you carried more momentum than yesterday. There were less turns but it was just as bumpy and scetchy in places. Like I''ve said before, these big events rule! Spectators, Spangled Banner, the whole works and very well run. The first 3 of 6 laps I didn't feel to great but thought if I conserved I'd end up feeling better. And, as is often the case with me, that's what happened. Burke had gone up the road in a move a few miles ealier and the chase seemed to be dying out. I put in a few respectable attacks but got caught each time by the pack, no chase groups for now. The break up the road split and Burke came back. We were the only 2 figs left in a group of about 50 (The big trend today was guys who had good rides yesterday didn't fare so well today, and vice versa) Hincapie seemed to be the exception and was pretty high up again. On the final lap team Accept Card from northern Europe started up a heck of a chase and the race came down to crunch time. This is what racing is all about. Even if you're hurting, if your going fast and in the race everything is right in the world. The course was bumpy and twisty like yesterday but more picturesque, looping out of town through horse pastures and past small lakes before a long climb with a rock wall on the side and back into town with a long tailwind roller section through downtown. With half a lap to go I asked two time Olympian Steve Hegg how he thought the race would play out. Field sprint? Would the break stick? Did he think a counter move would go? Steve has a ton of experience and he always seems to be happy to share his, er, impressions. "Just make it to the line baby!" was his call for today. Well, that's the plan then! In the last 1/2 lap Mercury went to the front to chase the break down and set up a group sprint as their rider in the break dropped back. I was on the rivet in the 12 in the long tailwind section a few guys back from Burke when the guys between us start sitting up. I cursed my self both for not having an 11 and for not being further up where guys wouldn't be sitting up. But then again there was only 2k or 3k to go and only 40 guys left. If you slip by 15 guys in the sprint you get money! I couldn't catch on and rode the last kilometer trailing the bunch. Well, I made it this far and hopefully my legs will continue there upward trend. Team Accept Card's chase paid off as their guy won the brutal headwind sprint (did not catch his name) ahead of Jan Svorada and Geoge Hincapie. Well, one more race in Trenton, New Jersey and two days to rest and tune up for the biggie, the US Pro road race championships in Philledelphia on Sunday. I'll let you know how it goes! Ronnie Schmeer, Team Nutra-Fig |