News for December 4, 1999

Berzin moves

By Tomas Nilsson, cyclingnews.com correspondent

Russian born but not Sydney based powerhouse (sorry Roy and H.G.), Evgueni Berzin is leaving Amica Chips to join Mobilvetta according to "la Gazzetta Dello Sport". The 29 year old Russian won the Giro d'Italia and the Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 1994 and was set for a brilliant future, but never managed to deliver. His career has declined steadily ever since with new teams almost every season.

Mobilvetta's sports director Stefano Guiliano still believes in a hidden capacity in the Russian: "If he wants to he can still come back to a very high level. It's up to him. I don't think that a rider is finished at his age."

Navigators sign Sbeih and Swindlehurst

By John Alsedek, cyclingnews.com correspondent

One day after losing Trent Klasna to Saturn, the Navigators professional team signed ex-Saturn riders Adham Sbeih and Burke Swindlehurst. The duo, both aged 26, turned professional for Saturn last season. Sbeih won a stage of the '99 Herald Sun Tour.

Supercup news

Courtesy of Jim Anderson

Bart Bowen and Marc Gullickson are tied for lead in the Supercup series, and it all comes down to one last race: Saturday, Dec. 4th at Alpenrose Dairy (Portland, Oregon), home of the Alpenrose Velodrome. The leaders of the series will have a great course to race on along and a big spectator turn out is expected!

Six Swiss National coaches resign

Courtesy of Pascal Meisser

The smoldering conflict between the Swiss Cycling Federation (SRB) and the national coaches has had it's first consequence: Six out of the 15 National Coaches handed in their resignation today. First of all, they criticized the lack of financial support of the SRB, as they suffered a significant budget shortening this year.

The six coaches are Marcello Albasini (road, U23), Ivan Girard and Kurt Steinmann (road, juniors), Martin Mueller (cyclo cross, elite), Stephan Buchs (cyclo cross, juniors) as well as Roy Salveter (track, sprint). The other coaches will remain, but until the next delegate conference on May 13, 2000, they will not complete any administrative work (planning of the season, training camps etc.). If the Federation Committee won't resign in May, these coaches will leave their work as well. The story will continue.

Roussel not hopeful

Bruno Roussel, leader of the scandal-wracked Festina team of 1998 does not seem to put a great deal of faith in the ambitions to clean up the sport from drugs. In the preface to the book "Livre d'or du cyclisme" (The Golden Book of Cycling) by Jean-François Quén, he writes that after the season of 1999 he doesn't see much sincerity in the efforts to clean the sport, with two exceptions: The chairman of the French Cycling Federation, Daniel Baal and Roussel's former rider Christophe Bassons who was more or less pushed out of the Tour this year after criticizing his colleagues stating that it was impossible to win a stage in the Tour "on legs alone". "He became an isolated Don Quixote," writes Roussel who was fired as team manager after the doping scandal of 1998 when Festina was forced to abandon the Tour de France.

He also writes that today's top riders have an equivocal attitude towards the doping problem. He also calls himself a pessimist when it comes to the ethics of the sport and is happy to have left it behind in his life.

McCartney signs triathlete

British former triathlon World Champion, Spencer Smith is expected to join Linda McCartney next season. Team manager Sean Yates, who also helped Lance Armstrong transform from triathlon to cycling, said that not too much should be expected from his in his first year, but Smith was signed since the team needed more British riders, and it was hard to find someone with potential. Smith's withdrawal from triathlon was the result of a controversial drug test where he was finally freed of suspicion.

Steels plus one

Mapei-Quick Step sprinting star, Tom Steels and his wife Leen, have a new addition to their family. Baby Lobke was born yesterday, weighing in at 4.3 kg (9.4 lbs) and 54 cm tall (long?). The baby is in good health and congratulations to the couple are sent by the team management.