Lance returns to the USA.

Milan-San Remo

The return of Laurent Brochard who was injured during Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico is expected to be in Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

UCI happy about Tirreno-Adriatico jury decision

Mapei and Saeco in Belgium

In the amateur ranks in Belgium there is not only Mapei but another Italian sponsor of a GS I team, Saeco. The coffee aparatus manufacturer is sponsor of the Saeco Team Benelux team (it has the same colours and same red jersey as the Italian professional team). The only difference is that the Belgian riders are riding Colnago bikes while the Italian professionals are riding Cannondales. Gino Verheyden (former pro with Palmans), the Russian Dmitry Muravyev and the Scheirlinck brothers (Staf and Bert) are the most known in the team.

De Koning back to Tegeltoko

Ronnie Schmeer, Nutra-Fig professional writes....

I'm up early and riding on Seattle-Tacoma airport's dingy bumpy subway to the North Satellite. This is were all United flights leave from and even though the last time I traveled by plane was returning from the Killington stage race last September, it seems like I was just here. One thing about racing the National circuit in the United States is that you get to, or more accurately in my view, you must travel a great deal. Being able to race in many different places is a great experience and a great way to see the country, but the actually act of travel is tiring and expensive. But this February morning I'm excited. All the apprehension of being away from home for weeks has been replaced with the excitement of getting to camp, seeing the guys on the team, and getting the 1998 racing season under way. Happy to have the support, the big opportunities, and to be racing with such cool guys.

Our February training camp as well as the week in between the March Visalia and Sea Otter races is spent staying at the home of our Nutra-Fig sponsor, Roy and Betty Jura. Their son Keith, who runs the Nutra-Fig business, lives just down the road. We are in Fresno and the training and accommodations are great. In all I'll end up spending almost a full month here. Training wise, on easy days we ride out through the vineyards and it's dead flat and there are few cars. For hard days in the hills we ride east into the Sierra national forest. I have ridden up the infamous Tollhouse climb twice in the past few weeks. It reaches 5000 feet of altitude, climbing gradually all the way from Fresno with the "real" climbing from the Tollhouse store to the top is about 35 minutes in the 39x19 or 21. Both times the top of the climb has been epic; long steep and twisty, cloudy and cold, the temperature just above freezing at the top. Only the first few minutes of the descent were cold since it didn't take long to get back into the warm sunny valley.

Accommodation wise the Nutra-Fig ranch is also great! We've had up to 12 riders and one coach staying here at Betty and Roy's and the meals Betty cooks are incredible. Both in variety, taste and size. Imagine cooking for 12 guys riding 25 hour weeks! Our training routine goes something like this: Up at 8 and breakfast of juice, sausage and eggs if it's a long ride, bread or waffles, fruit (lots of figs, bananas, and oranges) and a cup of coffee. Then riding at 9:30. When we return there is always a big pot of stew on the stove and after a snack, shower and stretching it's time for a little nap. Dinner is at 6:30; Meat, a few vegetable dishes, bread, a fruit salad, a green salad, water, a glass of red wine and then dessert. The first few nights of camp were taken up with team meetings. Then we'd busy ourselves with bike maintenance and other chores; dishes, cleaning out the van, laundry, etc. We have decided to spend our limited budget getting riders to races so there is no mechanic or soigneur. All the bike work and leg massages are our own responsibility. There is a hot tub and a pool here so life isn't rough by any means. Also in our free time there is plenty to read, many of us have laptops to e-mail friends and loved ones and to check other race results on web pages. There is also one of the traveling cyclists most faithful companions, the always loyal TV!

At the races, other riders such as Kirk Willet (Team Mercury) and Levi Leipheimer (Team Saturn) who have stayed at the Jura's in past years past come and ask us how things are going there. "Great!" is our reply. They nod knowing the sweet setup we have. Before one of the early season training races former Nutra-Fig racer Mike Sayers comes over to bum a pack of Nutra- Figs. The Figs are great. They are kind of a funny looking wrinkled little fruit but it didn't take me long to get used to them since they taste incredible! Sweet and chewy almost like a piece of candy. They are also a great ride food, tasty, loaded with potassium and more calories per dollar than a powerbar. Ask for them at your local shop! Or see our team page at: WWW.NutraFig.com

I went home for a week after Redlands to take and break and see my girlfriend. It was nice to go home if only for a week. I'd been away for exactly one month and needed some time at my own pad. I also needed a week of mellow riding and rest after the Redlands Classic Stage Race. I was cooked! Team Nutra-Fig had been sitting in 7th place team GC after stage three's Oak Glenn road race. It was a 100 mile road race that finishes with a 2,500 climb up Oak Glen for a mountain top finish. The plan for team Nutra-Fig was to get a man in the early break for sprint and KOM points. We also wanted to conserve our climbers. This includes myself, Burke Swindlehurst, and Chris Walker. The race started in cold, cloudy and drizzly weather, Not what you would expect from a southern California stage but with this year's El Nino effect it's been different, i.e.; wet. After the first ten miles things look up when the weather breaks and Eric "Chewy" Messenger gets in the early break. The pack all but stops and the break of 8 riders gets almost 4 minutes before the postmen (US Postal Service team) start the chase to defend Jonathan Vaughters' lead. The rest of us sit back for the train ride trying to conserve energy and stay out of trouble.

The pack goes hard a few times over the intermediate climbs and through the wet muddy bad pavement sections that leaves us speckled with mud. When the going gets hard all I have to do look down at my bare muddy legs and booties for "classics style" motivation. I get all the water I think I will need for the whole race at the first 2 feed zones. The third feed zone is only 6 miles before start of the climb and from experience I know that the big teams with cars in the caravan will send someone back for feeds early so they can dial it up through the flat crosswind feedzone and keep it dialed all the way to the base of the climb to break the field up and make sure the break comes back. With a 220 riders desperately trying to feed this last feedzone is usually mayhem. Well, this is exactly what happens but I still didn't get far enough up front and get stuck in the second group. I'm pretty sure Burke and Chris are in the first group, so instead of punching it on the flat trying to get across and risk being cooked for the climb I opt to sit back and start the climb fresh. The strategy plays out OK as I climb pretty well and catch all but 19 guys from the shattered first group for a 21st place on the stage. Former World Mt. Bike champ and Festina rider Jerome Chiotti caught me about 1/2 way up. He must have come up from the third group! I got on his wheel for a few pedal strokes before realizing it wouldn't take long to blow up trying to match him all the way up. On the long stretches and look up and see two riders more than a kilometer ahead. Turns out it was Vaughters and Cadel Evans, no surprise there. The good news at the top is that Burke got 14th. The bad news is that Chris Walker crashed before the climb and broke his little finger and would be forced to abandon. Team GC is taken from the top 3 riders per team each day and Lane Packwood manages to finish in the 50's for a 7th place team GC. Not what we were hoping but respectable for early season.

Things remained unchanged through Saturdays crit but changed for the worst on Sunday's final stage, the Sunset Circuit race. The race started ballistic as usual and strings out all the way from the downtown start up the 1500 foot climb to the start of the loop where we do 11 laps before the run-in to town and the finish. The field is shattered the first time up and after 2 laps I'm in the front group of about 70 riders. There is a break off the front and once again the Postal Service is driving train but this time I'm not sitting in all mellow, I'm suffering, bad! I'm now becoming painfully aware of my lack of endurance! Yesterday I was still good after 4 days of racing but today I'm bad. I'm drinking cokes early and hoping I feel better soon. Not soon enough though as the inevitable counter attack comes and I'm popped instantly on lap 5. About 25 guys come off and 15 of us form a group that includes Lane and I. Our group keeps a decent tempo to finish about 60th -75th. Burke made the first main group of 55 riders behind the winning break of 3. Team Nutra-Fig slips to 12th team gc with Burke getting 15 overall. Not where we wanted to be. However we do have to remember that all us neo- pros worked non-cycling jobs all fall instead of exclusively training and resting. We haven't been racing as much as many of the other guys either. It's early in the season and we have yet to get fit. I keep all this in mind but still hate getting my legs handed to me week in and week out and I'm definitely looking forward to finding some form and getting some results. Last year most of us on the team just rode for small local clubs and if we were not fit early it was no big deal since no one was really paying much attention to us. This year it's different. Being on a team with a strong tradition like the one Nutra-Fig has it feels as if everyone is looking at us. We just keep in mind that this means we'll get noticed when we find good legs.

Team Nutra-Fig

Director: Mike Cooley
Bingham, Skyler Salt Lake City, UT
Cruz, Antonio  Reno, NV
Dahlke, Paul Corvallis, OR
Eric Messenger Boise, ID
Foster, John  Boise, ID
Gardner, Alex Boise, ID
Reeb, Donald Salem, OR
Sbeih, Adham Pollock Pines, CA
Schmeer, Ronnie Seattle, WA
Swindlehurst, Burke Hurricane, UT
Jason Van Marle Hamilton, MT
Walker, Chris Santa Barbara, CA