* Australian rider Patrick Jonker, who has been riding with a Dutch licence to enhance his role with Rabobank will now leave that team and ride for US Postal next year. Ever the pragmatic one, Jonker will also revert to an Australian licence because he thinks he has the best chance of a place in the Sydney Olympic road race as an Australian team member. That is however not guaranteed at all. Jonker has generally not shown anything like the form he had when he was with the Spanish team ONCE some years ago.
Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro will transfer from Euskaltel-Euskadi to Festina-Lotus next year.
* Farm Frites-TVM have announced two new signings - Belgian Dave Bruylandts who is currently with Palmans-Ideal and Belgian Erwin Thijs who is with the German squad Team Cologne. It is still not certain but both Hendrik van Dijck (Bel) and Tristan Hoffman (Ned) are rumoured to be going to Batavus.
* French sprinter Frédéric Moncassin who is currently with Crédit Agricole has announced that he is retiring at the end of the season. The feisty sprinter has lost his winning knack in recent years and is now no longer a threat in the major races.
* German squad Team Greese is rumoured to be withdrawing from cycling at the end of the season.
* Another Team Cologne rider, German Ralph Grabsch looks to be moving up in the professional peloton. He will replace Francesco Frattini in the Vuelta under a new contract which begins on September 1. He has signed until December 31, 2000. Telekom is fielding a strong team to support Jan Ullrich. It includes Rolf Aldag, Dirk Baldinger, Beppe Guerini, Jens Heppner, Danilo Hondo, Andreas Klöden, Giovanni Lombardi, Ralf Grabsch and Jan Ullrich. As to Grabsch's lightening elevation to big-time racing, team manager Walter Godefroot said: "I'm very glad with the excellent and fast cooperation by Team Cologne."
* Lithuanian rider Mindaugas Gonceras will ride for Belgian team Ipso-Euroclean this month.
* Steven Rooks has decided to quit as team manager for TVM. He said that he wishes to pursue his private life: "I want to be at home more in the future. After 20 years of cycling it's time to change." He hopes to be retained by TVM in some other capacity.
* "Shit happens" - this was Robbie McEwen's reaction to last month's kerfuffle with Rabobank. He said he felt the team had no confidence in him but he admits that he had a terrible first week in the Tour de France. He said that it would have been better to have won an earlier stage than the last one. "There was no opportunity to talk to other team managers the day after my victory."
When he went back home to Belgium he sent potentional new teams faxes about his availability. But he did not get any big responses. "There are some contacts, but no concrete offers. But I wasn't home much in the last few weeks."
A week after the Tour the Rabobank team management asked McEwen about his salary next year. McEwen said: "I told them the salary that I think I am worth. I haven't heard anything since then. One day before the start of the Ronde van Nederland Theo de Rooy said that my relationship with Rabobank will finish at the end of this season. That didn't surprise me though."
1. Sisco Pels 2. Martijn Lust 3. Martin SteenbeekThe omnium consisted of a 3 races inlcuding a derny race.
And the maglia azzurra (Blue Jersey of the Italian National Team)?
"I don’t want to think about it. It’s useless to talk about it. One most earn it in the field. It is true that right now I’m riding well. I need to continue to achieve good outcomes throughout September."
And your future?
"I have shown that I can ride well this year. My results and placings have been good. I was 10th at the Giro d’Italia, 4th at Trentino, 5th at Appennino, 7th at the Tour de Suisse. I’m happy with the results I have obtained since I only turned professional in 1997. That year I won in Lanciano at the Giro."
What are your main attributes?
"I consider myself a stage racer. When I am in form I am an allrounder and I can handle myself well in all terrain including the individual time trials. For the next season I am going to be working mostly towards a good result in the Giro d’Italia. I have been assured that the current team will be reinforced to help me in my quest for the Pink Jersey."
Two-time defending Mercury Tour champion Jerome Chiotti of France, the 1996 world champion and current national champion of France, leads the race after one day. Every stage of the four-day race takes place between elevations of 8,000 feet and 11,000 feet in the mountains of north-central Colorado. Armstrong will spend time in Vail before heading home to Austin.
Stage 8, Einasleigh - Mt. Surprise, 127.5 kms: 1. Marc Desmet (Bel) 4.07.08 2. Jaap Viergever (Ned) 3. Ard Jansen (Ned) 9.55 4. Jurij Robic (Slo) 9.55 5. Richard Uhlschmied (Ger) 9.56 6. Juan Carlos Najera (Spa) 9.56 7. Johan van Buuren (Ned) 23.58 8. Ron Schoens (Ned) 23.58 9. Simon Apperloo (Ned) 23.58 10. Thierry Courtens (Bel) 23.58 GC after Stage 8 1. Jaap Viergever (Ned) 25.22.03 2. Marc Desmet (Bel) 2.09 3. Richard Uhlschmied (Ger) 9.54 4. Jurij Robic (Slo) 0.12 5. Ard Jansen (Ned) 30.24 6. Marcel Esser (Ned) 1.06.35 7. Ron Schoens (Ned) 1.21.36 8. Simon Apperloo (Ned) 1.26.04 9. Dennis Teeuwen (Ned) 1.37.07 10. Juan Carlos Najera (Spa) 1.38.08 Stage 9, Mt. Surprise to Chillagoe, 168 kms: 1. Jurij Robic (Slo) 5.39.23 2. Richard Uhlschmied (Ger) 3. Jaap Viergever (Ned) 4. Marc Desmet (Bel) 0.04 5. Ard Jansen (Ned) 11.31 6. Marcel Esser (Ned) 30.41 7. Ron Schoens (Ned) 30.41 8. Simon Apperloo (Ned) 30.41 9. Johan van Buuren (Ned) 30.41 10. Juan Carlos Najera (Spa) 30.41 GC after Stage 9 1. Jaap Viergever (Ned) 31.01.21 2. Marc Desmet (Bel) 2.18 3. Richard Ulschmied (Ger) 9.49 4. Jurij Robic (Slo) 9.52 5. Ard Jansen (Ned) 42.00 6. Marcel Esser (Ned) 1.37.21 7. Ron Schoens (Ned) 1.52.22 8. Simon Apperloo (Ned) 1.56.50 9. Juan Carlos Najera (Spa) 2.08.54 10. Johan van Buuren (Ned) 2.09.00 Stage 10 results not available Stage 11, Mt. Mulgrave - Laura, 165 kms: 1. Richard Uhlschmied (Ger) 8.11.45 2. Jurij Robic (Slo) 3. Marc Desmet (Bel) 0.01 4. Jaap Viergever (Ned) 0.01 5. Ard Jansen (Ned) 6.47 6. Thierry Courtens (Bel) 43.43 7. Massimo Torelli (Ita) 46.40 8. Simon Apperloo (Ned) 48.25 9. Toni Imfeld (Swi) 1.09.00 10. Jack Oldfield (Aus) 1.11.04 GC after Stage 11 1. Jaap Viergever (Ned) 42.57.32 2. Marc Desmet (Bel) 2.48 3. Jurij Robic (Slo) 9.46 4. Richard Uhlschmied (Ger) 9.56 5. Ard Jansen (Ned) 48.59 6. Simon Apperloo (Ned) 2.54.13 7. Ron Schoens (Ned) 3.43.04 8. Dennis Teeuwen (Ned) 3.52.01 9. Johan van Buuren (Ned) 4.03.31 10. Thierry Courtens (Bel) 4.11.53 Stage 12, Laura - Cooktown, 140 kms: 1. Richard Uhlschmied (Ger) 5.56.50 2. Jaap Viergever (Ned) 3. Jurij Robic (Slo) 1.01 4. Marcel Esser (Ned) 4.19 5. Ard Jansen (Ned) 4.19 6. Alfred Thoma (Swi) 15.59 7. Simon Apperloo (Ned) 18.05 8. Axel Schlonvogt (Ger) 28.33 9. Thierry Courtens (Bel) 28.54 10. Ron Schoens (Ned) 30.37 GC after Stage 12 1. Jaap Viergever (Ned) 48.54.12 2. Richard Uhlschmied(Ger) 9.51 3. Jurij Robic (Slo) 10.52 4. Ard Jansen (Ned) 53.28 5. Simon Apperloo (Ned) 3.12.28 6. Ron Schoens (Ned) 4.13.51 7. Dennis Teeuwen (Ned) 4.32.37 8. Thierry Courtens (Bel) 4.40.57 9. Matic Smon (Slov) 5.10.10 10. Johan van Buuren(Ned) 5.35.35
Zülle will be supported by the two climbers, Piepoli and Jiménez. Eusebio Unzué: "When Piepoli is in form, like at the present time, he is difficult to beat on the climbs. While Jiménez is going better every day, but still has to progress more for la Vuelta."
Piepoli’s recent performances in the mountains have made him the favorite to win the start climb of this edition of La Vuelta, the Angliru. The climb of El Angliru is one of the objectives for Banesto and that is why on Saturday they went there with their three best climbers (Piepoli, Jiménez and Beltrán) to inspect the colossus. But the main goal for the team is to win la Vuelta.
Eusebio Unzué has already chosen his favorites for GC contention: "Alex Zülle, Abraham Olano and Pavel Tonkov are the favourites in my view. Fernando Escartín and Laurent Dufaux have both shown great consistency and have recorded podium finishee at the major stage races. Consideration might also be given to José María Jiménez, Roberto Heras, Santiago Blanco, Dario Frigo, Marcos Serrano, and Angel Casero. Jan Ullrich is not in my list because to win he still needs to improve."
Competition begins Wednesday, September 15, with the team relay, a new event added to this year's championships. On Friday, September 17, the junior and under-23 cross-country riders compete, with junior and elite downhill athletes competing on Saturday, September 18. The '99 World Mountain Bike Championships conclude Sunday, September 19 with the elite cross-country. "All of the members of the team have worked hard this year and have proven to be competitive within their respective fields," said USA Cycling's National Mountain Bike Coach Stephane Girard. "The experience of the elite riders, combined with the energy of the junior athletes, should prove to be valuable in competition."
Cross-Country Men, elite *Travis Brown (Boulder, Colo) *Tinker Juarez (Downey, Calif) *Jimi Killen (Fort Collins, Colo) *Steve Larsen (Bend, Ore) *Kirk Molday (Temecula, Calif) *Carl Swenson (Boulder, Colo) Women, elite *Audrey Augustin (Williston, Vt) *Golden Brainard (Flagstaff, Ariz) *Alison Dunlap (Colorado Springs, Colo) *Shari Kain (Cupertino, Calif) *Rene Marshman (Lafayette, Colo) *Ruthie Matthes (Durango, Colo) *Ann Trombley (Golden, Colo) Men, Under-23 *#Patrick Bower (Casper, Wyo) *Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Denver, Colo) *Ryah Radomski (Bend, Ore) *#Ben Scherrer (Bellingham ,Wash) *#Jess Swiggers (Ramona, Calif) Men, junior *Adam Craig (Exeter, Main) Walker Ferguson (Norwood, Colo. *Matt Kelly (Johnson Creek, Wis) Skyler Reeves (Pinckney, Mich) Women, junior Allie Warfel (Millersville, Pa) Downhill: Men, elite *Eric Carter (Temecula, Calif) *Mike King (Vista, Calif) *Brian Lopes (Laguna Beach, Calif) *Shaums March (Santa Barbara, Calif) *Shaun Palmer (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif) *Myles Rockwell (Durango, Colo) *Kirt Voreis (Lake Arrowhead, Calif) Women, elite *Elke Brutsaert (Durango, Colo) *Leigh Donovan (Capistrano Beach, Calif) *&Cheri Elliott (El Dorado Hills, Calif) *Missy Giove (Durango, Colo) *Tara Llanes (Newport Beach, Calif) *Lisa Sher (Laguna Beach, Calif) *Marla Streb (San Geronimo, Calif) Men, junior Jason Codding, (othills Ranch, Calif) *Travis Gardner (Big Bear Lake, Calif) *Ryan White (Bakersfield, Calif) *Jesse Whitsell (Monroe, N.Y) Women, junior *Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz) *Danielle Connolly (Novato, Calif) Kathy Pruitt (Lake Almanor, Calif) * Previous World Mountain Bike Championship experience # US Olympic resident-athlete & 1998 World Mountain Bike Championship medallist
Junior Men, 126 kms: AVS: 39.759 km/h 1. Sébastien Morvon (Aquitaine) 3.11.03 2. Olivier Cambe (Aquitaine) 0.44 3. Serge Canouet (Aquitaine) 0.46 Junior Women, 63.3 kms: AVS: 35.380 km/h 1. Virginie Moinard (Ile-de-France) 1.47.21 2. Rebecca Menart (Aquitaine) 0.03 3. Ludivine Prevaust (Picardie) 0.03
The $1000 Queanbeyan Cycling Club 50km road race will be held at Gunning on October 17 starting at 10am. Entries are to be in by Wednesday, October 13. Please phone thru entries and pay on the day. Licences must be produced (ACF licence only) no licence no start. There will be a Bar-b-que following the race. The race will start and finish in front of the 'Pub'. Entries to Norma Sumner 02-62315362 or enquiries to Tony O'Connor02-62914767.