News for November 20, 1998

Contracts and Transfers

* Leontien van Moorsel has found a new team. The World time trial champion will ride for Hartol. This team shall be sponsored for the next 2 years by Farm Frites, a sponsor of the TVM-Farm Frites team. They will continue with the team until the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. A 2-year contract was the most important consideration for Van Moorsel. The National road champion Opstalen, sponsor of her last team, would not stay in cycling after 1999. She also thought about rejoining the National Team of the KNWU but clearly preferred to be in her own team. Debby Mansveld will join her at Farm Frites-Hartol. She will leave the National Team coached by Jean-Paul van Poppel. The new team will be called Farm Frites-Hartol. They are looking for other sponsors.

Ullrich not as fat this year

Rudy Pevenage, the assistant sport's manager of the Telekom team and some say the second father to 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, is full of praise for him so far this winter. Rudy laughs when he thinks that the young German is at this moment 10 kgs lighter than this time last year. Pevenage said: "He weighs 79 kgs now, compared to 89 last year. Jan is clearly doing his best given that he loves to eat and is on vacation. Jan and his girlfriend Gaby first went as tourists for a month to Mexico, and then had 4 days in New York shopping. After that he went back home to a health farm. He was on a special diet with lots of water and this cleaned out his system. The Italian riders have been doing that for years and it is one example we are following."

Ullrich is adopting a completely different manner as he approaches the start of the new cycling season. Last year when he finally started in a race he was clearly out of form. Pevenage said: "Not only was he overweight but he was also distracted by all the things he had to do for sponsors - lots of TV appearances and the like. Now he has last week done some promotional work for Nestlé and Adidas. All the promotion work is being done now so that later he can concentrate on riding and building up is condition. At this moment Ullrich is away with 6 teammates on Lanzarote where they are swimming and cycling. On Sunday, he will return and then have 3 days skiing in Austria. On December 5 he is flying with Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag and some others to California where the hard training will begin. I think that you will see another Jan Ullrich next year. He will be very strong."

One of the lesser lights retires

35-year old Belgian Carlo Bomans has decided to retire from racing after 13 years as a professional. Carlo who had a further year to go in his contract with Palmans-Ideal telephoned Walter Planckaert to say that he was finishing. Financial considerations did not influence his decision. He was second in the last Belgian Championship and he had gained a good contract with Palmans.

Bomans said: "This is an examination of myself. All other matters were handled by my wife. She handled all contract matters, she managed the wages, but this final decision had to be my own. I have decided that my motivation has gone and I cannot seem to find it. I was one of the top riders for the team but I cannot get any pleasure from it now."

Bomans trained for the last time last Saturday. "During the ride I started to wonder what I was doing? I rang Patrick Lefevere and asked him what he thought. I rang Ludwig Willems, and then Walter Planckaert. They all said that I had to work it out myself. The last 5 days I have been walking around like a zombie."

Bomans was a rider with a strong character but always seemed to have little ambition and a withdrawn personality. He won 19 professional races including the 1989 Belgian Championship where he destroyed the field. He won the E3 Harelbeke Prijs, the Dwars door België, a stage on Paris-Nice, two stages in the Ronde van België.

After a long career, though, Bomans hardly became a name. He did not get much fame from cycling. He said: "That was not my aim. I always gave 100 per cent. I dedicated my career to helping other riders who were better than me. At MG and Mapei I worked for Johan Museeuw. I was naturally in the second group of riders in the peloton but I still felt good about myself."

What about the black hole that retired riders sometimes fall into?

Bomans said: "I will have to see what is to come now. My wife Arlette has her travel agency to take care of. Perhaps in the future I will play a role there. But for the time being I am going to play the house-husband role. I will cook, and I will learn to wash."