* Dutch veteran John Talen has signed a one-year contract with the new Dutch professional team Batavus. The 33-year old rider from Spijkenisse (south of Rotterdam) is the 9th rider to sign with the team manager Piet Hoekstra. Batavus will be the third major professional team in the Netherlands after TVM and Rabobank. Talen, won the silver medal in the 1986 Amateur World Championships will be one of the top riders for Batavus. Last season he rode as an elite rider without contract for the amateur team Piels. He won the 10th stage of the Olympia's Tour and two stages in the Dokkumer Woudenomloop.
He will begin his 13th professional season. His debut as a professional was with Panasonic under Peter Post and then rode for PDM, TVM, the Italian team Mercatone and in 1997 the local Limburg team of Foreldorado-Golff.
* Yesterday it was reported that Cees Jeurissen has also signed a professional contract with Batavus. It was noted that he had previously raced for the Limburg club - Midden-Limburg. That is true but in 1998 Cees Jeurissen was a 1998 member of the P&O-Löwik-Giant Top Competition team in the Netherlands.
* According to the Gazzetta dello Sport (November 17), Rodolfo Massi will change from the French Casino team to Liquigas-Brescialat and not to Amica Chips, as was reported yesterday.
- I like it. It has a lot of mountains and the time trials are short.
- Would you like to ride it?
- Yes, it appeals to me. But my sport directors will have to be the ones to decide. In principle it was planned for me to ride the Tour and la Vuelta. I will adapt to whatever I am told, whatever is best for the team. And the ones that know best are Echávarri and Unzué.
- Lets say that they decide to send you, which is something that they are thinking about. Do you think that you would have the possibility of winning?
- Winning is a major word and I don't want to form false expectations. I would come out with the motivation of being the group of favorites, to opt for the podium of whatever can be done.
- Plus with Pantani in the race, things won't be easy.
- Obviously. Frankly it is difficult to beat Pantani in the mountains, especially in Italy, in a terrain that he knows. But many factors come into play in cycling and nobody ever wins before the race begins. Plus, if many Spaniard riders go and good climbers, the race could be wide open.
- What is your memory of the only Giro in which you participated?
- It was in 1995, the one that Rominger won and everyone said that it was the toughest. I liked it. The streets and the climbs are similar to the ones in Spain.
Kelme's Fernando Escartín: also likes the Giro route and he is convinced that it is designed for a pure climber. He is programmed to ride la Vuelta and Tour, but his sport director at Kelme, Álvaro Pino, has already said that he could realign Escartín for the Italian race if the Vuelta route is not very tough.
"We have to wait to see how la Vuelta is", says Escartín. "I would like to race the Giro because there is a lot of mountains and the time trials are pretty short, which suits my characteristics. But there is a long time to decide".
What is clear is that if he were to ride the Giro, he would have to forget La Vuelta, but never the Tour: "I want to return to France. I have a bad taste from the last Tour and I want to go back to pluck that thorn". Escartin was fourth when the Spanish teams retired en masse.
For Fernando the Giro route seems "tougher than ever. A climber always wants more mountains, the harder the better". He would go surrounded by a great team including Heras and Rubiera: "We would have a great team, although I don't know if it would be enough to beat Pantani. Marco is the best in the mountains, but nobody is unbeatable in cycling".
Kelme's Roberto Heras: "It's a very tough route, but I will have to be in good form to hold on this route, even in the case of climbers. I would be delighted to race against Pantani, but whenever I've coincided with him, I've never been in good form. If Escartin comes, better, we would have a great team".
Vitalicio Seguros' Santiago Blanco: "I like the fact that there are very short time trials and a lot of mountains. I like that it is tough. If it was up to me, I would ride it, but I depend on whatever Mínguez decided. I will do what's best for Vitalicio. I have never ridden the Giro and have barely participated in Italian races, only the Classics and I would like to try. The great favorite will be Pantani, without a doubt. The Italians have prepared a route for him, that's normal".
Kelme's Jose Luis Rubiera: "The Giro is always tough, but I think that this time the organizers may have gone too far in their zeal to make a good race for Pantani. For me, it is too much, but I will try to have a good race. The Giro is a race that suits me and I like it. It is very competitive and the Italian fans are grateful. If Fernando Escartín comes he will surely do well".
Points Race (30 laps) 1. Bjorn Nachtergaele (Bel) 15 points (time 6.03.65) 2. Etienne De Wilde (Bel) 8 3. Frank Corvers (Bel) 5 4. Rik Van Slycke (Bel) 4 5. Dany Baeyens (Bel) 3 6. Nicky Vermeersch (Bel) 3 7. Steven De Neef (Bel) 2 8. Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) 2 9. Gert Vanderaerden (Bel) 1 10. Bart Heirewegh (Bel) 1 11. Lorenzo Lapage (Bel) 0 12. Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) 0 By teams: 1. Rik Van Slycke - Bjorn Nachtergaele 2. Etienne De Wilde - Dany Baeyens 3. Frank Corvers - Wilfried Cretskens 4. Paul Van Hyfte - Nicky Vermeersch 5. Steven De Neef - Bart Heirewegh 6. Lorenzo Lapage - Gert Vanderaerden Miss and Out (Afvalling): 1. Frank Corvers 11.53 2. Etienne De Wilde 3. Paul Van Hyfte 4. Dany Baeyens 5. Johan Dhaenens 6. Rik Van Slycke 7. Steven De Neef 8. Bart Heirewegh 9. Bjorn Nachtergaele 10. Wilfried Cretskens 11. Gert Vanderaerden 12. Lorenzo Lapage Teams-Pursuit (20 laps, 4 rankings): 1st heat 1. Steven De Neef - Bart Heirewegh 3.49.75 2. Lorenzo Lapage - Gert Vanderaerden 4.00.52 2nd heat 1. Wilfried Cretskens - Frank Corvers 3.45.89 2. Paul Van Hyfte - Johan Dhaenens 3.47.98 3rd heat 1. Rik Van Slycke - Bjorn Nachtergaele 3.49.75 2. Etienne De Wilde - Dany Baeyens 3.50.27 500 metres with flying start 1. Frank Corvers - Wilfried Cretskens 29.60 2. Rik Van Slycke - Bjorn Nachtergaele 29.64 3. Etienne De Wilde - Dany Baeyens 30.05 4. Paul Van Hyfte - Johan Dhaenens 30.33 5. Steven De Neef - Bart Heirewegh 31.25 6. Lorenzo Lapage - Gert Vanderaerden 31.72 Final overall 1. Frank Corvers - Wilfried Cretskens 8 points 2. Etienne De Wilde - Dany Baeyens 10 3. Rik Van Slycke - Bjorn Nachtergaele 11 4. Paul Van Hyfte - Johan Dhaenens 12 5. Steven De Neef - Bart Heirewegh 19 6. Lorenzo Lapage - Gert Vanderaerden 24 Championship of Flanders Points Race (100 laps): 1. Robert Slippens (Ned) 27 points 2. Pavel Khamidouline (Rus) 17 3. Tom Jacobs (Bel) 14 4. Danny Stam (Ned) 22 (+1) 5. Steven De Champs (Bel) 10 (+1) 6. Wim Van Rengen (Bel) 8 (+1) 7. Nico De Weirdt (Bel) 4 (+1) 8. Gunther Van den Bossche (Bel) 3 (+1) 9. Steven Thijs (Bel) 3 (+1) 10. Darryn Medhurst (Nzl) 2 (+1) 11. Erwin Verfaillie (Bel) 6 (+2) 12. Olivier Louchart (Bel) 3 (+2) 13. Wim Beirnaert (Bel) 1 (+2) 14. Geert Dobbelaere (Bel) 1 (+2) 15. Laurent De Paoli (Bel) 0 (+2) Juniors Points Race (40 laps, 3 rankings): 1st heat 1. Koen Barbe (Bel) 13 points (8.46.87) 2. Iljo Keisse (Bel) 16 (+1) 3. Dimitri De Fauw (Bel) 7 (+1) 2nd heat 1. Iljo Keisse (Bel) 16 points 2. Gregory Vangenechten (Bel) 0 3. Koen Barbe (Bel) 13 (+1) Final Overall: 1. Iljo Keisse (Bel) 3 points 2. Koen Barbe (Bel) 4 3. Dimitri De Fauw (Bel) 7 4. Gregory Van Genechten (Bel) 7 5. Andries Verspeeten (Bel) 9 6. Geoffrey Van Humbeek (Bel) 14 7. Aaron Claeys (Bel) 14 8. Giovanni Bruneel (Bel) 15 9. Johan Mannaert (Bel) 17 10. Johan Amelynck (Bel) 21 11. Mathieu Denhaene (Bel) 21 Novices and Women's Points Race (30 laps, 3 rankings): 1st heat 1. Emma Davies (Gbr) 7.33.56 2. Kim Van Gastel (Bel) 3. An Philipsen (Bel) 2nd heat 1. Emma Davies (Gbr) 17 points 2. Pieter Van den Steen (Bel) 12 3. Laurent Michiels (Bel) 7 Final Overall: 1. Emma Davies (Gbr) 2 points 2. Pieter Van den Steen (Bel) 7 3. Laurent Michiels (Bel) 7 4. An Philipsen (Bel) 8 5. Nele Van den Bossche (Bel) 10 6. Kim Van Gastel (Bel) 11 7. Danielle Molendijk (Ned) 15 8. Bert De Meulemeester (Bel) 16 9. Wim Hoste (Bel) 16 10. Sharon Vandromme (Bel) 20 11. Josiane Molendijk (Ned) 22 12. Sylvia Debboudt (Bel) 22 13. Wendy Bernaerdt (Bel) 26Thanks to Stef Degryse from www.cyclingteams.com
Graham writes: "As you are aware I have been unable to send the veteran track championships results. Apparently the SACF secretary has been instructed to send them directly to ACF HQ in Sydney. The ACF (that is, CA) claim they are now responsible for publishing all Australian results. It has been 3 days since they have been faxed to them and still no results in either newspaper or otherwise. I was at the SACF headquarters last night at a meeting and asked for a copy of the results. The aformentioned was quoted. Therfore it appears I will need to be present at events to get results in a timely manner in the future."
Thanks Graham. Cycling Australia (the ACF) don't seem to understand that people want information about cycling in Australia. Even the riders who pay the ACF licence fees which helps to pay their salaries wouldn't mind some data. The ACF will not send me results. They seem to have the attitude that this site is not a bona fide outlet for Australian cycling news and data. They finally built a WWW site of their own which after a few weeks is incomplete and out of date. I am sorry to all those people who have requested the vets data. We tried but we cannot be at every major event with a notepad and pencil. Usually, the state federations were willing to release data. Anyway, the ACF are part of their own little in-house mailing list (via Aussports, a government agency) and they get to share the results around themselves.
Tyler-Sharman, told Roger Vaughan, AAP cycling reporter, when she heard of Kathy's latest statement that: "I'm the world champion in the pursuit, while her best in that event at a worlds is eighth. Her best time is about six seconds slower than mine, the statistics speak for themselves. I have form coming out of my ears and I'm keen to race anywhere."
Watt has not raced track for 2 summers due to injury. She has said she believes that this summer she will be okay.
Currently riders in SA must join a club within one's residential boundaries set by SACF executive members from time to time. "Specialist" Veteran only clubs, as with all clubs, therefore have limited geography to draw membership from. Members then arrange a clearance to join the club they desire. These rules were an attempt to stop clubs from collapsing due to exit of riders to the "stronger" clubs for more competition or social reasons. New rules are not due for ratification until approved next AGM in April.
To blame the Federation (SACF) for lack of support is hypocrisy. Vets must think that there are dozens of keen volunteers ready to do anything they want. When the truth is that the SACF has 2 volunteer administrators in the office working half-time only during office hours. Veterans need to learn to help themselves. All the other work is done by the club members themselves.
It seems that the prime cause of the secession is the new fees that the ACF is charging this coming year. The recent increase in the ACF fee component of the licence has been argued by some in South Australia as the real root of it all. People who rarely race are being forced to become non-riding members of clubs due to the cost. For example, a Vet (who may or may not race open) needs to pay $100 + for the right to race on Sunday morning club races. There are no club licences as such. The veterans are saying they can race without the ACF licences for much lower insurance costs.
There has always been a long debate about whether the ACF insurance fees are worth it anyway. Anecdotal evidence appears to indicate that it takes a long time to get anything out of the insurance policy following a fall.