Virenque, who was implicated in the Festina scandal, announced his retirement in December after he had failed to negotiate a satisfactory contract for 1999. However, on Thursday he signed a new 2=year contract with the Italian team Polti.
Admitting that his relations with the Frenchman have not always been good, Pantani said that these sort of frictions were inevitable at the top level of sport. He said: "Virenque is a great rider and a man of quality."
The rivalry between the two climbers will be conducted on new terrain in the 1999 Giro but will not continue into the Tour de France. Pantani said: "The presence of Virenque constitutes a true challenge and it will give me additional motivation." Pantani will not ride the 1999 Tour de France.
If Pantani is happy about the return of Virenque, his compatriot Ivan Gotti is seeing the arrival in another light. The leader of Polti and winner of the 1997 Giro, Gotti does not intend to cede his place. He said, rather sharply, "The leader of Polti is me. Virenque will be my assistant in Italy and I will assist him in the Tour de France."
When asked if he thought that was possible, Pantani said that he did not believe that the two riders could cooperate like that. "If Virenque races the Giro, I think he will inevitably go for the mailot rose especially because the Tour de France is not suited to him this year.
"His chances in the Tour are not good and I am sure he is already thinking about the mountain stages in the Giro."
Virenque joined Polti at their training camp in Calabria this season.
Now it seems that the South Australian police force are doing their part to discourage the plans. They have cautioned the leading European riders that they must wear helmets at all times or face on-the-spot fines of around $US30. In Australia, everybody who rides a cycle must wear an approved helmet. Hairnets and the like are not approved. Even young children riding in the park or to the local shop must wear helmets.
The Europeans, not used to this type of law, have been cruising around without helmets and members of the South Australian public have complained to the police. On Friday, the police notified the riders that they must ride within the laws of South Australia or be fined. The local press reported that Senior Sergeant Terry Roberts told the riders that they were not special in any way and that: "They now become exactly the same as any other rider on the road. If police see them not wearing a helmet, they will be treated the same as any other cyclist in that situation. That means they could be subject to a caution or a traffic infringement notice, depending on the circumstances."
So you can imagine Laurent Jalabert's reaction!
Vitalicio has been in Javea since January 11 and will remain there until January 21, a day before their team presentation at IFEMA in Madrid. The team will make their 1999 debut on February 3 at the Etoile de Besseges in France. The team entered for the race will be Clavero, Salmerón, González Heredia, Alvaro Galdeano, Prudencio Indurain, Curro García, Cerezo and Manchón. At the same time, the rest of the team will travel onto the 4th to Mallorca, where they will race the Challenge starting on the February 7.
Festina have been in the locality since Friday and will remain there until January 22. The team, managed by Juan Fernandez, will debut in Mallorca, arriving there on February 2.
Ullrich said: "For me it is not a question I ask. I have known him over the past years And my conclusion is that he is clean."
Ullrich, Tour winner in 1997, said the accusations against his predecessor (Riis won the 1996 Tour) were a high point of conversation among his team at present.
The Danish TV station accused Riis, then a member of the Gewiss-Ballan team of having high hemocrit levels in tests taking on June 10, 1995. He allegedly had a reading of 56.3% then, compared to 41.1% on January 14 in the same year. 34-year old Riis has denied it vehemently.
Ullrich said in an irritated way: "I have not seen the TV show but of-course if there is a hint of suspicion the story gets blown out of all proportion. He also thinks that the publication of analyses like in the Danish TV case should have been only at the consent of each rider. "It is a personal question. It is also a matter of keeping training secrets private."
But he is also in agreement with a move to make the minimum suspension 2 years for any rider who is tested positive.
Ullrich prefers to just do his training in Spain. When he was last here he was 12 kgs over his racing weight. Now he says he is riding with an easy tempo and "I have more muscles and less weight!" His objective for the season remains the Tour de France. He is angry about the way the police behaved in 1998 but in terms of riding in France he says he thinks of it "with nice feelings and I have nothing to hide."
The drugs included HGH, and they have been sent to the laboratory for further analysis. According to sources a procurer in Venice is involved and serveral other people are implicated in the matter.
1. Mario De Clercq (Bel) 2. Adrie van der Poel (Ned) 3. Beat Wabel (Swi) 0.30 4. Peter Van Santvliet (Bel) 5. Richard Groenendaal (Ned) 6. Sven Nijs (Bel)
Eric De Vlaeminck, the national coach, also is resting Tom Vannoppen, who was second and the youngest rider in the Belgian championships at Soumagne. "That is for another reason. Tom needs 7 more points in the local cross classification. He has to make sure he wins because there is 30,000 franks at stake. He recently crashed his car and he needs to replace it." Eric De Vlaeminck will himself be replaced by his assistant Rudy De Bie in France.
The juniors will also not go to France. They have to ride a tough race on Saturday at Vossem. And we want them fresh for the World Championships.