News for December 21, 1999
Luperini penalty? After Fabiana Luperini's "B" sample was confirmed positive for nandrolone recently, the question is now what penalty she will face. Luperini initially tested positive for the drug at a training camp in October, and had to await results of the reconfirmation before she could be penalised. However, according to Italian national Olympic committee (CONI) rules, her case must be moved to the Italian Cycling Federation to determine the nature of her penalty, subject to the OK by the UCI. She may face a ban of up to two years, although the UCI may overrule this, claiming that such a ban would greatly impact on the rider's earning potential. [Isn't that the whole point?]
Person of the Year Although Lance Armstrong is clearly Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" on the basis of their internet poll, the magazine decided to ignore this segment of the population when deciding on their choice. According to their official announcement, Time have nominated Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos as "Person of the Year". Somewhat disappointing for Lance (and cycling) fans, but it was still interesting that Lance polled so many votes. Maybe a virtual award is in order... Note, that the PoY tag is not necessarily a good thing, as it is an indicator of who has, for better or worse, most influenced the world(?) over the past year. Past winners include Joe Stalin (twice), Adolf Hitler, Richard Nixon (twice), Ayatollah Khomeni, the Computer, and Bill Clinton, none of whom have won the Tour. Tilting at Windmills The return of Marco Pantani By Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent At last week's Mercatone-Albacom winter team camp at Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Marco Pantani started his preparation for the 2000 season at the same place where he was excluded from the '99 Giro d'Italia on June 5. Pantani was anything but relaxed; "When I come back, I'm gonna kick some ass," he said. "I came here (to Madonna DI Campiglio) trying to get past what happened in June - but the wounds have not yet healed, there's no justice yet," referring to his claim of innocence of the charges that EPO boosted his haematocrit past acceptable limits on the penultimate day of the '99 Giro. "It couldn't get any worse than this - if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have taken that blood test," claimed Pantani. "It was an ambush." "I'm not a saint and don't want to be one...but I have followed the rules. I still think I am someone that has value." Pantani's concerns were pronounced: "Someone is trying to do everything to stop me from racing again, but I really want to ride - my desire is very strong," and although Marco has not yet prepared his program for 2000, his main reason for returning besides his desire to prove his worth is the support of his Mercatone Uno-Albacom team. "For me, the most positive thing has been the support of my team - in everything that's been said and written, they have supported me 100%. Without the faith of my team, I really doubt that I'd want to continue cycling." "I haven't even looked at the maps of the Giro or Tour - other things are more important right now. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent talking, and how many kilometers I've spent driving to meet with prosecutors and drug squad officials," complained Pantani. "They have even threatened to call me to testify during next year's Giro! And I don't think they are joking...so I'll be putting a signed affadavit on file (with the prosecutor of Torino) just in case." Pantani and his Mercatone Uno-Albacom teammates will play in the snow of Madonna DI Campiglio until December 22, joined by new arrivals for 2000, climbers Daniele DI Paoli and Oscar Mason. However, with the strangely charged atmosphere at Mercatone, Pantani's faithful lieutenant Roberto Conti has gone to Vini Caldirola to support Francesco Casagrande, while emerging talent Sergio Barbero will transfer to Giancarlo Feretti's Fassa Bortolo squad in 2000. The cycling world awaits the return of Marco Pantani to the pro peloton, now officially scheduled for the Ruta del Sol in Valencia, Spain, from 22-26 February. After a 5 day training camp in Dozza, Italy in mid-January, the 18 man Mercatone Uno-Albacom squad will head for a three week sting in the Canary Islands before returning to Italy before the season begins.
Rebellin: forgotten #1 of Italian cycling? Although he is currently ranked 5th in the UCI Standings, Davide Rebellin is the forgotten man of Italian cycling. As the top Italian rider, his major UCI points total carry a lot of value on the market and after a bland season in '99, Rebellin has left the Polti Team and will be leader of the emerging Liquigas team headed by manager Fabio Bordonali. The 28 year old Rebellin is undeniably a rider of quality, perhaps one of the hardest working athletes in the peloton. With his resemblance to Tin-Tin, the shy, retiring and prudent rider from Verona eschews the spotlight. Some have accused Rebellin of lacking self-confidence, but his hard work this winter may quiet those critics once and for all. His trainer of many years, Giosue' Zenoni will now manage the also emerging Vini Caldirola team next season, but Rebellin will follow Zenoni's tough training program to prepare for the 2000 season. After a post-World championship break of three weeks, Rebellin started again in early November with some mountain biking and long walks along the seafront in his Monte Carlo home. In late November, the serious training started again, with each of Rebellin's four winter training phases lasting about three weeks. With the SRM Power Meter hooked up to his new Wilier Triestina bike, Rebellin just completed Phase One, from late November to mid December, with gym work 3x per week focusing on upper body strength and 2-3 hour road rides, with short intervals on steep, short climbs combined with spinning a low gear to develop agility (100-110 rpm). Phase Two for Rebellin is from mid-December to early January. More gym work 3x per week, and an overall increase in strength training on and off the bike. Maximum length of 5 hour road rides, with 4-5 minute medium resistance intervals on climbs at 40-50 revs, balanced against other intervals at 80% of Rebellins' anaerobic ceiling (150-157 beats/min). This will be combined with 2-3 hour recovery days as well as continued gym work 2x/week. After the Christmas Holidays in early January, Rebellin will begin Phase Three, the most intensive part of his preparation for the 2000 season. The gym work will taper off and focus more on stretching to balance the heavy strength work on the bike. A week of training for Rebellin will look more or less like this: Day 1: Strength Day: 3 hour ride; based around maximum power (maximum
power: 12 sets of 15" intervals on steep (15% ) grade in 53x15) and
dynamic strength training. (dynamic power: 12 sets of 10 second sprint
simulation intervals on flats in 53x15) Phase 4 is similar to Phase 3, but with longer rides up to 7 hours on day 3 to build more endurance, and the addition of motor pacing at the end on Day 2 for training above anaerobic threshold. To beat the battle of the bulge this winter (Rebellin has a tendency put on weight), the Italian's diet includes pasta and lots of steamed vegetables. Phase 4 will conclude in mid-February, when Davide Rebellin will make his 2000 racing debut in Liquigas colors at the Tour of the Mediterranean, 9-13 February. Rebellin's 2000 program is targeting the World Cup and to be ready for the spring campaign, the level of work is very high in winter to bring him into form early on. His specific objectives are Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April, and the World Championships in Plouay, France and Giro di Lombardia in October, as well as a good showing via a stage win in the Giro d'Italia for his new team.
Amstel on the same roads The 35th Amstel Gold Race will be decided on basically the same course as last year with one little adjustment. After the first passage of the finish line in Maastricht at 212.4 kms, the will be extended by 1.2 kms. All climbs and other difficulties will be the same. Lance Armstrong has announced that the Amstel Gold Race will be part of his schedule for 2000, and he will try and seek revenge for last year's defeat by Michael Boogerd. Dutchman Boogerd beat him in a two man sprint in a race dominated by Boogerd's team Rabobank. As a result Boogerd was instructed by his team director not to help Lance in their two-man break, a move that was tactically sound although unpopular, even with some of the Dutch fans. However, "that's bike racing".
Bartali's museum closer 85 years ago, Gino Bartali was born in Florence, Italy and his name is now in the pantheon of cycling as one of the greatest riders ever. The still hale Bartali is following the development of a museum, being constructed in the house where he was born in 1914. Over one million dollars have been collected for the Bartali museum project. Work is scheduled to begin in summer 2000 with an opening in the spring of 2002. Bartali will donate much of his personal collection of momentos from his long and successful cycling career. |