* Palmans-Ideal rider Frank Corvers has signed for RDM. He has indicated that he will concentrate on track racing. Several of his teammates are already in that position - Etienne De Wilde, Matthew Gilmore, Lorenzo Lapage and Rik Van Slijcke.
Willy Teirlinck will be director of a new Division 3 Belgian professional team. It will consist of at least 12 riders including Marc Chanoine (ex-Collstrop), Bert De Waele, Kris Pollin, Christophe Roodhooft and Nico Strynckx.
Nelissen was asked whether his knee troubles were gone now that he had stopped riding. The answer is that he still has problems. He said: "The last few days I have had troubles. Sitting in the care a lot does it no good at all. It will never be very good. I have just got a special knee band made for me in America. I take medication to ease the pain but if I do anything on it the drugs don't help much. According to my doctors in Gent the knee will get worse as I get older. In the future I have have an artificial knee put in. The accident in Gent-Wevelgem has spoilt my life really. All the money I have foregone, and my knee is bad and all the pain... All that remains is to work out a deal with the insurance company. We have spoken with them and they have 14 day to settle before legal action begins."
Nelissen misses the competition. He said: "I was continually going to other countries, and living my life out of hotels. But that is not the part I miss. I miss the comradeship of my training mates Capiot and Wauters. I also miss the fitness. My body has deteriorated since I stopped. I am around 10 kgs heavier and my heartrate has gone up and if I run for 20 metres I am stuffed."
And what about his new job? He seems to be going well. He is now dedicated to selling trucks. He said: "I begin at 8 in the morning and stop at 18.00. In between, I talk a lot, sit in the van, and have constant contact with people. The last part is the most interesting. It makes it easy to go to the office each day. I am trying to do my best. My wife has also begun to work. In a perfume business in Sint-Truiden. We are doing okay. We have a good life."
Abraham and Karmele took advantage of the wedding of Miguel Ángel Peña, a rider for Banesto, to spend the weekend in Beltran's house and surprise him with the BMW.
'Triki' couldn't believe what he was seeing, while his wife, Ana, laughed out aloud, since she was an accomplice to the gift. She was the one that send Olano all the documentation to do the paperwork. "I'm going to kill you", Beltran told his wife for her part in this surprise. "This has been the biggest surprise of my life, I will never forget it", said Beltran. "And people say that Olano is a serious guy. He might be like he is, but this is the first time that I've seen him do something like this".
The idea started during la Vuelta, where Beltrán, who drove a Peugeot 205, wouldn't stop saying that he wanted a BMW. "As Banesto won stages, I would kid around with my teammates saying 'I already have the tyres' or things like that. And they would joke another day: 'here you have enough for the air conditioning".
With all that joking around, Olano kept it in mind and bought him the car of his dreams, a dream of more than 5 million pesetas ($US32,000).
Karen: In cycling, the review into the management of the Australian track cycling program is continuing with interviews having started this week with those who have lodged submissions to the review committee. To bring us up to date I am joined by the executive director of the Australian Sports Commission Jim Ferguson. Jim, good morning.
Jim: Good morning, Karen.
Karen: At which stage is the cycling review at now?
Jim: We've received a number of submissions. We've received about 26 submissions, and we have interviewed I would guess somewhere between 25 and 30 people. We've got at least another day of meeting people in Adelaide, which is coming up shortly. And, unless there's a few people we can't get hold of I think that will probably cover the number of people we will have to see.
Karen: 26 submissions has that number surprised you?
Jim: No, not really. They've been from people that have been involved in cycling. Most of the people that we invited to put in submissions have done so.
Karen: What proportion of the submissions would be from current and from past players?
Jim: Not a high percentage of the submissions would be from cyclists. We'll be picking most of them up from I think oral interviews.
Karen: So, who have the submissions mostly come from then?
Jim: Quite a few from coaches, most of the coaches involved in the network, have put in submissions.
Karen: are they current coaches?
Jim: Yes, they are current coaches.
Karen: Many people from over the past 10 or 20 years?
Jim: Nobody from way back, as far as I recall. They've all been people who are involved stage. There have been a few from state institutes, a few from athletes. The majority have been from coaches who are in the network.
Karen: So, how many submissions would you have received from cyclist themselves.
Jim: About half a dozen.
Karen: And are they all from the curent cyclists?
Jim: I believe so.
Karen: So, no past cyclists to your knowledge have submitted a submission to you?
Jim: I don't have the list with me, but I think that is correct.
Karen: Jim, are there any common threads coming through the submissions you have received?
Jim: There are some common threads coming through both the submissions and the interviews. It's perhaps a little early to be going into that in too much detail. But, the one thing that seems to be coming through is that there needs to be a close look at the management arrangements. There seems to be a bit of confusion as to who is responsible for what, and how far their accountability goes and those sorts of things. And I think that has caused some of the problems that we've seen in recent times.
Karen: So, there has been concern expressed about the structure of the Australian track cycling program and how it has been managed?
Jim: It's probably too much to say there have been concerns expressed about the structure of the program. This is the impression we have received from the discussions we have had and from reading the submissions that there are some issues relating to the structure which need to be ironed out.
Karen: From the people that you have spoken to so far have they been concerned in the interviews that you have had with them?
Jim: Well, I think everyone agrees there have been some problems and they need to be addressed. And, they need to be addressed very quickly. Different people have got different views on the magnitude of the problems, and to some extent I suppose, on how they should be addressed. But, as I say, it's been fairly positive and from our discussions we're forming the views that at least as a background issue there are some structural problems that need to be addressed.
Karen: Alright, Jim, just before we let you go, what informatioon will the public, and the media, receive once this investigation has been completed?
Jim: Well, I would imagine that the report that we produce will be available. It's actually a report which will go to the Australian Cycling Federation. But, I do believe that there's going to be anything in it which shouldn't be made public.
Karen: So, are you hoping at this stage to have the investigation completed by December 18?
Jim: Yes. We think we can still meet that timetable.
Karen: Okay Jim, we'll keep in touch. Thanks again for your time on Grandstand this morning.
Jim: Thank you. Thanks very much.
The winner was Ramon Medina who has signed as professional for Vitalicio Seguros. Medina also won the Spanish official ranking and was 9th at the National Championship, amongst all the UCI riders. Another Catalan rider, Daniel Bayes, will ride for the new Portuguese team Bemfica in 1999.
On the other side there is much uncertainty about the appearence of a new UCI team in Spain. It seems unlikely that Detec Competition will find a sponsor and it will leave six Catalan and Balear riders without UCI contracts for 1999. They are the track world champion Joan Llaneras (ex-US Postal), Josep Jufre, Carles Torrent, Eloi Coca, Joan Horrach and Xavier Llamas. Jufre was 2nd in the Catalan ranking and 5th in the Spanish rankings. Torrent was 3rd in the Catalan, 15th in the Spanish and finished 10th in the National championships. Coca was 4th Catalan and 25th in the Spanish.
Final Classification:
Rider Team Points Born Team for 1999
1. Ramon Medina Ideal-Olimpic 612 1975 Vitalicio Seguros
2. Josep Jufre Porcelanatto 605 1975 Detec ?
3. Carles Torrent Vestisport 550 1974 Detec ?
4. Eloi Coca Tadesan 444 1976 Detec ? first under-23
5. Joan Fuentes Ideal-Olimpic 433 1977
6. David Alcaraz Vestisport 375 1975
7. Juan-D. Gonzalez Vestisport 371 1974
8. Robert Lozano Vestisport 370 1977
9. Santiago Segu Vestisport 305 1977
10. Joaquim Rodriguez Vestisport 272 1979
11. Daniel Bayes Ideal-Olimpic 260 1976 Bemfica
12. Xavier Florencio Iberdola 249 1979
13. David Molinero Ideal-Olimpic 214 1978
14. Rafael Mila Tadesan 212 1977
15. Xavier Perez Tadesan 209 ?
16. Albert Castillo PC-Alas 208 1977
17. Ernest Segu Vestisport 208 1975
18. Jaume Rovira Vestisport 202 1979
19. Sergi Escobar Ideal-Olimpic 194 1974
20. Joan Codina Saunier-Duval 190 ?
21. Marc Prat Porcelanatto 173 1976
1998 Unofficial Catalan and Balear Ranking (as at UCI October 18):
Rider Team Points Born Team for 1999
1. Melcior Mauri ONCE 55 1966 Bemfica
2. Angel Edo Kelme 84 1970 Kelme
3. Gines Salmeron Vitalicio 354 1972 Vitalicio
4. Jaume Hernandez Festina 542 1972 Festina
5. Toni Tauler Ros Mary 724 1974 Kelme
5. Ramon Medina Elite 724 1975 Vitalicio
7. Francesc Leon Avianca 754 1973 Kelme
8. Carles Torrent Elite 818 1974 Detec ?
9. Josep Jufre Elite 993 1975 Detec ?
10. Joan Codina Elite 1223 ?
11. Joan Llaneras US Postal 1320 1969 Detec ?
11. Joan Horrach Elite 1320 Detec ?