The allegations went to Pierguido Soprani in Ferrara. He is the investigating judge examining the dope networks in Italian sport. He has been working on the case since the beginning of this year. He has also received information in recent days about a bag allegedly from an Under-23 Italian team which was found in a container during the Tour of the Jura. It allegedly contains suspicious material.
Lampre team manager Pietro Algeri believes there is a chance that the riders and himself will be picked up in Sestriere on Tuesday. He told the press: "It can happen. wo weeks ago the anti-drugs brigade came to 29 riders and teammates. In our team they came to my assistent Piovani and me and the riders Ballerini, Bertoletti, Belohvosciks, Codol, Missaglia and Serpellini."
Soprani is not just concentrating on Lampre though. He is also talking to all riders who have had contact with the notorious Dr. Michele Ferrari. This is why the other riders are worried. Anyone who has been treated or advised by Ferrari is likely to be called in by the NAS tomorrow night.
He said: "I will be very satisfied with a stage win because a victory would put me in the top 10 of the GC. At present I feel in good form. My feelings are good if you consider the pressure I have been under. I have to remind you that I did not know I was going to be riding the Tour until 3 days before the start and I was therefore not fully prepared physically for it. I would like to see how the other top riders would have coped with the pressure that I have been under."
It is clear that the doping business was not the reason Virenque is popular. The sense the public have that he has been singled out has helped him though. On the roads the crowds clearly show that he is their favourite. A sense of injustice heightens this. Virenque comments: "I believe that this popularity is not due to only one event but to a whole career. I have been in cycling since 1991 and the cycling fans support me for what I am and for the character which I have displayed."
There will be hundreds of thousands on Alpe D'Huez tomorrow waiting the French rider like a saviour. In the absence of Pantani and Ullrich, they are dreaming once again of a French victory, the first since Bernard Hinault won on the mountain in 1985. 29-year old Virenque said: "I still believe I can win a Tour de France. I hope to return the next year and I hope that there will be a testing parcours. By then I will have had a year of normal life and I think that is still a possibility."
And what about this year?
"If I succeeded in winning the Tour this year after all the troubles I have had I would retire."
According to Beppo Hilfiker, himself the Italian-born emperor-for-life of Cannondale's European subsidiary, celebrating Caesar's birth at the Tour de France is entirely appropriate. "Just like Saeco/Cannondale, Caesar participated in epic struggles throughout Europe. In fact, what is now France was the scene of some of his greatest triumphs." Hilfiker was also quick to point out that the Roman empire was famous for its road building expertise, creating a network of 50,000 miles of paved roads in every country between Scotland and Iraq. "To say that Julius Caesar dominated the European road scene in his day is very much an understatement," said Hilfiker in a metaphor so tortured it fairly screamed for mercy.
Julius Caesar (100- 44 BC) is one of the most controversial characters in Italian history. Revered by some as a defender of the people's rights against an oligarchy, he is regarded by others as an upstart demagogue who bullied his way to power and destroyed the Roman republic. That he was gifted and versatile is generally agreed upon. His seven books on the Gallic Wars and three on the Roman civil war are regarded as literary masterpieces, as well as classic military discourses. Caesar was married three times, to Cornelia, Pompeia, and Calpurnia.
Saeco/Cannondale, with team leader Mario Cipollini, is one of the most controversial squads in professional cycling. Revered by some as a phenomenal sprinter with a remarkable flair for style, Cipollini is regarded by others as a primping, self-promoting, one-trick pony who routinely abandons once a stage race heads into the mountains. That he is a gifted athlete is beyond doubt, having won over 140 races in his career. Cipollini is married to Sabrina and has a daughter Lucrezia. He and his wife are expecting their second child later this summer.
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Virenque also had some difficulties when he reached Christophe Capelle. He was hindered by the cars that were following Capelle. The cars (including two promotion cars) have been ordered out of the peloton for one day.
Bobby Julich has to stay for one night in the hospital at Metz. He was suffering from pain in his chest, ribs, back and elbows.
Young French rider Jimmy Casper has withdrawn from the Tour as it heads into the mountains. Before the start of the Tour the team management said he would only contest the sprints in the first week. He is considered too young at 21-years to take on the mountain stages.
Short time trial splits:
9.5 kms: 1. Armstrong 12.02 2. Hamilton 0.15 3. Olano 0.18 4. Zülle 0.18 5. Gonzalez 0.29 26.5 kms: 1. Armstrong 33.34 2. Zülle 0.42 3. Hamilton 1.01 4. Moreau 1.21 5. Olano 1.24 42.5 kms: 1. Armstrong 50.30 2. Zülle 0.47 3. Moreau 1.42 4. Hamilton 1.43 5. Olano 2.04 51.5 kms: 1. Armstrong 1.01.43 2. Zülle 1.14 3. Moreau 2.11 4. Olano 2.29 5. Hamilton 3.13 56.5 kms: 1. Armstrong 1.08.36 2. Zülle 0.58 3. Moreau 2.05 4. Olano 2.22 5. Hamilton 3.31
The victory on Sunday was the 46th victory for Lance Armstrong:
1. Gemser (Groningen) 1.42.10 2. Van Moorsel-Zijlaard (Rotterdam) 3. Beltman (Slagharen) 0.10
Australian track cycling head coach Charlie Walsh leaves Adelaide today for overseas training camps and competitions confident that the reputation of his Australian Institute of Sport program is intact. Walsh leaves behind the scandal surrounding suspensions to Australian Institute of Sport cyclists Tim Lyons, Tim O'Shannessey and Josh Kersten. Kersten is serving a three-month suspension for taking a substance he claims was a herbal dietary supplement - without official approval. Lyons and O'Shannessey have been the subject of an Australian Sports Commission investigation after taking a substance without consulting Walsh or team doctor Peter Barnes. Last week the ASC announced two cyclists - understood to be Lyons and O'Shannessey - had tested positive to a banned substance. The case is still to go before the Court of Arbitration to determine whether the cyclists have breached the AIS anti-doping policy.
Walsh believes the suspensions will not tarnish the AIS program. "I'd like to think our program hasn't been sullied," he said. "We stood up when we found there was a problem, we recognised it and attacked it and I hope that gets the public behind you. "We acted on it and so I think we hold our integrity.
"As long as people see you have that integrity they will stay with you," he said. Walsh said morale was strong among AIS riders. "I think the repercussions of it is it has allowed us to get the attitude of all the other riders fierce about what they do and responding the right way," he said. "We certainly have an extremely positive environment." Walsh joins sports scientist Neil Craig, kilometre rider Shane Kelly and endurance riders Luke Roberts, Nigel Grigg, Brett Lancaster and Graham Brown when he travels to Germany today. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Alayna Burns will join the group this month and overseas-based riders Brett Aitken and Scott McGrory will train with the squad intermittently. Walsh said South Australian teenager Gene Bates had also been asked to join the senior Australian squad following the world junior championships in August.
Australia's sprinters will remain in Adelaide through August before heading to compete in World Cups in the United States and Colombia. Tour de France star Stuart O'Grady has also had discussions with Walsh with regard to being involved in Australia's track team for the Olympic Games in Sydney. Changes to the Australian team's track training program were likely to benefit O'Grady on the road, Walsh said. "The modification is slight. There is the same amount of work but a different focus," he said. "In the past we've looked at the neuro-muscular system and a lot of high frequency work whereas now we're doing more work on the delivery of power."
The Shwab team set up Nicole for the win by sending a rider off with 500-700 meters to go forcing Suzanne Soyne(Helen's), a Helen's teammate and Anke Erlank(Timex) to chase. I was sitting on Nicole Freeman's wheel thinking I wanted to get to the corner before her but Elizabeth Emery had dialed it up not making my plan an option. It wouldn't have mattered much in that Nicole is faster so I was happy with being the first looser. My teammate Anke was the crit animal today as she was represented in most all the moves and broke away solo to win herself a car stereo on a prime lap. I am thinking to myself....does she know it is a car stereo since she doesn't have a car? I later found out that she won it for her mom who needs one.
1. Nicole Freeman (Shwab) 2. Pam Schuster (Timex) 3. Suzanne Sonye (Helen's) 4. Katrina Berger (Harbor lights) 5. Pam Walkoff (Muscle Works) 6. Elizabeth Emery (Celestial Seasonings) 7. Stacy Spencer (Fuji) 8. Ann Schelert (Giant) 9. Trish Mckay (Tailwinds) 10. Christy Nicolson (Gillette)
Men's Downhill: 1. Vouilloz (Fra) 4.03,09, 2. Kovarik (Aus) 4.04,52, 3. Vazquez (Spa) 4.08,89, 4. Peters (Ned) 4.10,98, 5. De Bever (Ned) 4.12,25. Standings: 1. Vouilloz 1015 points 2. Peat (USA) 915 3. Peters (Ned) 720
