News for December 2, 1999
VDB quits Cofidis(?) Frank Vandenbroucke was reported to be leaving Cofidis due to "excessively serious faults to his detriment" according to a statement from his managing company "Sports et Entertainement Management". In other words, the main reason was his six weeks suspension by his team, from May 10 to June 23, that he had to bear while leading the World Cup. It took Vandenbroucke another month to come back into racing again. Vandenbroucke was held for four hours by the Paris police after a drug raid against the soigneur Bernard Sainz, also called Dr Mabuse, and the lawyer Bertrand Lavelot. However, in a late breaking development, it was reported on Belgian TV that VDB was offered a raise by Cofidis and has subsequently re-signed with them, after threatening with legal action. More to follow. VDB had admitted to having bought some homeopathic substances from Sainz, but denied all involvement in doping. He was subsequently cleared from all suspicions and returned to racing. His form understandably suffered during his period of suspension. He was not able to defend his lead in the World Cup but came back with a strong performance in the Vuelta and the World Championships. A couple of days ago he was awarded the "Golden Sprint 1999", well ahead of World Cup winner Andrej Tchmil. Since the French justice department only called him in as a witness and not as a suspect, confirming this position in late June, VDB thinks that his suspension was not the correct punishment from his team. At the time of his suspension, he was the leader of the World Cup, but lost all condition and this lead due to his three month "break" in the peak season. Despite his 3rd place in the final UCI rankings, VDB thinks that his interests were damaged by this temporary suspension, which has now been confirmed as groundless. Is this the real reason? No one knows, but apparently ONCE was interested in VDB after his performance during the last week of the Vuelta. This has been confirmed by Alain Bondue, manager of Cofidis. Cofidis stated in the end of October that a deal was made with Vandenbroucke and that his contract was prolonged, but whether papers were signed seems a bit unclear. With both hands broken in the last race of the year, the world championships at Verona, this might have been a practical problem. VDB himself has said that he did not want to disturb the racing during the rest of the season, but also that he lacked support from his team when he was accused of dealing with drugs. The story is bound to unfold within the next few days. Second Watt trial over The Kathy Watt vs. the Herald Sun defamation trial has concluded a week earlier than expected, with an out of court settlement reached between the two parties this morning. The settlement was once again in Ms Watt's favour after the defence collapsed. This is the second victory that Watt has gained from both defamation cases against Rupert Murdoch's News Limited newspapers. The third and final trial, where Watt is suing National Coach Charlie Walsh, is scheduled for December 2000, however the question now arises as to whether it will go ahead. If simply publishing Walsh's comments (about Watt to the Adelaide Press Club in 1996) is considered defamatory, then there is a fairly logical sequence as to what will happen to the originator of the comments. Bearing in mind that Australia's biggest news organisation has failed to beat Watt, how will Mr Walsh's lawyers, which will be funded from taxpayers money, expect to be any more successful? In earlier developments in the case, several witnesses were called to give evidence as to Ms Watt's character, including Australian Sportswoman of the Century, Ms Dawn Fraser, former AIS assistant coach Ms Jenny Albrecht, a sports trainer Mr Michael Kewley, and current AIS coaches Shayne Bannan and Charlie Walsh himself. According to a report in "The Age" newspaper, Walsh denied that he was motivated by ill-will or a dislike for Ms Watt when he said a rider he coached, Ms Lucy Tyler-Sharman, would have had medal prospects if she had competed in a 3000-metre individual pursuit at the Atlanta Olympics instead of Ms Watt (who was beaten in the quarter final). When the Herald Sun's senior counsel, Jeremy Ruskin, QC, asked Walsh about his reaction to Ms Watt's performance in the event, he replied: "My reaction was that we'd thrown away a gold medal. She was distracted, she wasn't going to perform. To say 'I was happy with that' ... was unacceptable," he said. However, Walsh denied a suggestion by Watt's senior counsel, Will Houghton, QC, that he had never given her proper credit for her performances for Australia. Later on in the hearing, sports trainer, Michael Kewley, said Watt was known for being a "self-centred and selfish person with certain eccentric habits." This view was held by Jennifer Albrecht, former assistant cycling coach at the AIS and Shayne Bannan, the current national track coach.
Le Tour de Langkawi 2000 Courtesy of Seamus Shortall Next year's Tour de Langkawi (LTDL) will once again create history in the world of cycling, as the riders encounter the longest ever climb during Stage Five from Lumut to Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands. The 162km route, introduced specially for the millennium challenge, will take riders up a 49km Category One climb up to the finishing line in Banjaran Titiwangsa. This "cruel vacation" on the famous hilltop resort, will certainly provide some significant changes in the overall standings. Amongst the new routes introduced this year are Stage Two (Alor Setar - Batu Feringgi), Stage Three (Taiping - Sitiawan) , Stage Four (Lumut - Tanah Rata), Stage Seven (Kuantan - Kuala Rompin), Stage Eight (Mersing - Melaka), Stage Nine (Melaka - Kajang), Stage Ten ( KL Tower - Genting Highlands) and Stage Eleven (Shah Alam -Shah Alam). The third largest purse in world class cycling, still offers some $US 400,000 (RM1.5 million) in prize money. The event will be held on 26th January to 6th February 2000. The overall route is 1640.1km taking in a combination of twisting climbs and long, flat terrains in order to provide a good, open and exciting race. The Tour is mainly around the Malaysian Peninsular, but focus will be given to the West Coast routes, where most of the new routes are introduced. The 12 day race will again kick-off in Langkawi with an Individual Time Trial and ends in Dataran Merdeka. The longest stage will be Stage Eight from Mersing to Melaka with a total distance of 248km. Stage details: Jan 25 Stage 0 Langkawi - Criterium Jan 26 Stage 1 Langkawi - Time Trial 9.2 km Jan 27 Stage 2 Alor Star - Baru Ferringhi 174.3 km Jan 28 Stage 3 Taiping - Sitiawan 86.2 km Jan 29 Stage 4 Lumut - Tanah Rata 162.5 km Jan 30 Stage 5 Tapah - Bentong 169 km Jan 31 Stage 6 Bentong - Kuantan 191.3 km Feb 1 Stage 7 Kuantan - Kuala Rompin 133.5 km Feb 2 Stage 8 Mersing - Malacca 243.4 km Feb 3 Stage 9 Malacca - Kajang 115.2 km Feb 4 Stage 10 Kuala Lumpur Tower - Genting 111.3 km Feb 5 Stage 11 Shah Alam - Shah Alam 134.5 km Feb 6 Stage 12 Kuala Lumpur - Criterium 75.6 km Total Race Distance: 1605.8 km Bartoli back on the bike Ex-World Cup champion, Michele Bartoli has finally started training again. Bartoli damaged his knee in the Tour of Germany on June 2, and hasn't been able to do any serious training since. He has put on some weight but the major problem is that he still isn't able to ride with force, since his knee still hurts. He has also suffered from inflammations and fevers. "I will regain a certain form in a couple of months but I must be patient. But I know I will be back in the peloton in 2000," Bartoli said to Italian newspaper, Correra dello Sport.
Mercury outlines 2000 roster By John Alsedek, cyclingnews.com correspondent The Mercury Cycling Team has released its roster and schedule for the 2000 season. After getting their feet wet with short European forays over the past few seasons, Mercury is preparing for a full-blown overseas campaign that begins January 26th with the Tour de Langkawi. Among the events that team director John Wordin is hoping to ride are the spring classics such as the Tour of Flanders and Ghent-Wevelgem, the Tour of Switzerland, and the Vuelta. Mercury cycling team roster: Derek Bouchard-Hall Jan Bratkowski Gord Fraser Chris Horner Roy Knickman Floyd Landis Scott Moninger John Peters Thurlow Rogers Mike Sayers Henk Vogels Kirk Willett Steve Zampieri Jesus Zarate
UCI happier with rider health The International Cycling Union (UCI) is pleased with the health situation of the riders, at the end of it's first year of testing. A total of 536 tests were carried out, over a wide variety of countries and teams. However, the major problem found by the UCI is still excess levels of iron (as ferritin) in the blood of a significant number of riders. According to a report in "Cycle Sport", there are still nearly 30 percent of riders with excessively high ferritin levels (greater than 500 ng/mL). Levels that are chronically this high can result in heart problems, cirrhosis and diabetes. Somewhat encouragingly, it was found that most of the under 25's had normal levels, but 30 percent of those above 34 had levels greater than 700 ng/ml In other words, a large accumulation of iron over a long period of time. Although the body needs iron to make haemoglobin, whether artificially assisted or not, a huge excess of iron stores will not speed up the process. Red cells last a month or so, but iron simply builds up if it is not able to be used. The UCI report emphasised that riders and doctors should not be taking large amounts of iron supplements and should perform regular screenings themselves. Although the UCI found no indications of pathological or metabolic disorders in the tested riders, such things normally manifest themselves in the long term after the riders have retired.
Cycling pain Seat adjustment can ease back pain According to Israeli researchers, a majority of back pain caused by cycling could be remedied by moving the saddle forward some 10-15 degrees. Dr Moshe Salai and his colleagues found that this reduces muscle strain and realigns the bones, and have published their study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine Up to 70 percent of cyclists suffer from back pain which the researchers believe is caused, at least in part, when the angle between the pelvis and the lower end of the spinal column is overextended. They tested their theory on 40 cyclists, aged 17 to 72, who complained of back pain. Six months after adjusting the saddles, three-quarters of them said they felt better. Salai said the findings could be particularly important for children because tension between the spine and pelvis could interfere with growth. Bouncing MTB's could harm scrotums In another Reuters cycling health report, Austrian researchers have shown that mountain biking may cause scrotum problems including benign tumours, swelling and pain. However, manufacturers of seats with holes in them could take heart from the fact that they may help to alleviate the pain, as well as wearing a jock strap. Ferdinand Frauscher of University Hospital, Innsbruck and his co-workers also supported full suspension bikes, due to their greater ability to absorb shock than rigid machines. The study was carried out on 45 serious mountain bikers and a similar sized group of non-bikers ranging from 17 to 44 years old. They were all given scrotal ultrasound examinations, and it was found that 96 percent of the bikers had scrotal abnormalities, compared with only 16 percent of the nonbikers. The problems found among the bikers included often painful benign tumours, sperm-containing cysts which can cause infections, calcification of the sperm-storing epidermis, which can cause infection and swelling, and fluid-filled cysts called hydroceles. Not for the faint hearted. However, only half of the bikers in the study complained of pain or other symptoms, and in most cases the problems ease with time off the bike and require no treatment, the study said. They did not examine sperm counts, which are reported to be lower in long distance cyclists, although they did point out that damage to the blood vessels and nerves could cause impotence problems.
New Farm Frites doctor Dion van Bommel, who was the former union doctor of the KNWU (Dutch Cycling Federation), will be the team doctor of Farm Frites in 2000. 17 members of the Farm Frites-team started their first training on Tuesday, November 30 with the aim of racing in the Tour Down Under in Australia starting on January 18 of next year.
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