News for July 31, 1999

Pantani to miss Trofeo Matteotti

Marco Pantani will not race in the Trofeo Matteotti, which is an important race for riders building up to the worlds. It is held on August 1 in Pescara (Italy). Pantani's Mercatone Uno manager Guiseppe Martinelli announced that the Italian will not ride until August 15. Martinelli told the press: "Last Wednesday Marco and I conducted an extensive analysis of the situation and we have reached the conclusion that even with the best laid plans he will not be ready to race in the Trofeo. We are not in a position to give an exact date for his return to racing but it won't be before August 15th. No-one, not even Marco Pantani can regain a reasonable level of fitness after not riding for 40 days... We have to take into account his psychological state and the circumstances that forced him to stop. It is not the same as coming back after being injured in an accident. Marco considers himself free from any guilt and it is difficult for him to accept what has happened. His immediate objective is the World Championships".

Teams for the Vuelta

Spain: Banesto, ONCE-Deutsche Bank, Kelme-Costa Blanca, Vitalicio Seguros, Euskaltel-Euskadi, Fuenlabrada.

France: Casino, Cofidis, Festina-Lotus.

Italy: Cantina Tollo, Lampre-Daikin, Mapei-Quick Step, Mercatone Uno-Bianchi, Saeco-Cannondale.

Netherlands: TVM-Farm Frites, Rabobank.

Belgium: Lotto-Mobistar.

Germany: Telekom-ARD.

USA: US Postal Service.

Portugal: Sport Lisboa e Benfica.

Netherlands, Wateringen Criterium, 100 kms, July 28:

Apart from the fast racing, the only other incident at the Wateringen Criterium was the lapse of memory by Polish rider Grzegorz Gwiazdowski (Cofidis). He came to the criterium in Wateringen after a drive from Poland. He said he was certain that he had loaded his bike into his car before leaving home. But after he arrived in Wateringen he realised that he had forgotten something rather important - his two wheels. After some consternation he was aided by a kind offer from mechanic Nol Vis who loaned him some wheels. 

 1. Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank          2.18.11
 2. Stefan Wesemann (Ger) Telekom        0.10
 3. Michel Cornelisse (Ned) Spar-RDM     0.10
 4. Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom             0.10
 5. John Den Braber (Ned) Batavus        0.10

Lance Armstrong in New York

Lance Armstrong was in New York on July 30 and the reports indicate that he swept through the town like a hurricane. He did a series of TV, radio and news media interviews and a number of promotional appearances. His visit was greeted with a large amount of enthusiasm and seen as a victory for cancer sufferers.

At a press conference Lance said: "That has been the nicest part. I have a responsibility to tell my story and encourage people who have cancer to stay strong. At every stage of the Tour, people would come up to me and tell me they were supporting me. It's a big community, unfortunately. The thing I'm most proud of is being a cancer survivor."

At another interview he said: "The whole day has been crazy -- good crazy. I didn't expect all this. I knew the race was going to get significant play in the States, but I didn't think it would be like this."

His trip began on Wednesday in the Netherlands and his timetable went like this:

Wednesday 23:00 - Board a plane (with two-beds) with partner Kristin and others in the Netherlands.

Thursday 1:00 - Arrive Teteboro (New Jersey)

2:00 - arrive at Soho Grand Hotel.

4:30 - After a short sleep prepare for TV interviews.

6:00 - Television interview on "CBS This Morning."

7:30 - Television interview on NBC's "Today" show.

8:00 - Television interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."

9:00 - Visit to the New York Stock Exchange,

10:15 - Public relations work in New York.

11:00 - News conference attended by 100 reporters, 12 TV crews and hundred of spectators. He gave his bike as a public promotion and received $US25,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani presented him with a crystal Big Apple and announced that is was Lance Armstrong Day in New York City.

12:00 - TV interviews.

13:30 - Met with Bud Greenspan who is making a Hollywood movie about Lance Armstrong.

14:00 - Satellite media interviews.

16:30 - Rest and refreshments.

19:00 - Taped an interview for the Late Show.

21:00 - Taped an interview for Larry King Live.

23:00 - Flew out of Europe.

Friday 12:00 - Arrival in Brussel.

He then went to Heerven in the Netherlands for another Post-Tour Criterium.

Saeco-Cannondale news

The Saeco-Cannondale is pursuing a very active racing programme in the post-Tour period and they will be in Germany for the Luk Cup Buhl on August 1, then the Criterium Freiburg (August 3) and finally the Regio Tour International (August 4-8).

The squad under the guidance of Manager Bruno Vicino in Germany will be led by Roberto Petito and Dario Frigo. Frigo is fresh from success at the Dekra Open Stuttgart. The other riders will be Dario Andriotto, Vitali Kokorine, Eddy Mazzoleni, Massimiliano Mori, Harald Morscher, and Igor Pugaci.

At the Criterium Freiburg and the Regio Tour International Petito and Mori will be the key riders while sprinter Mario Traversoni will be racing in Italy at the GP Città di Camaiore on Wednesday, August 4. Also participating in the race in Tuscany will be Salvatore Commesso, the Italian champion, Alessandro Guerra, Paolo Savoldelli and Francesco Secchiari.

The team can be contacted in Germany at the following locations:

July 31-August 9 - Kohler's Hotel Engel - Buhl (Telephone: +49-7223-93990)

August 2-8 - Hotel Rebstock - Bahlingen (Telephone: +49-7663-2357)

For the GP Città di Camaiore (August 3) the team will be at the Hotel Guinigi - Lucca (Telephone: 0583-4991)

French Track Championships, Days 3 and 4

Catherine Marsal won the French women's points score championship on the 4th day of the championships at Hyères. She won the animated race which featured 10 sprints. On lap 4 she attacked in the company of previous title-holder Isabelle Nicoloso and Marion Clignet. They took a lap out of the field. On lap 8, Marsal dropped her two breakway partners and went on to take a lap off them as well.

In the team pursuit for men, the team of Franck Perque, Philippe Ermenault, Fabien Merciris and Vincent Socquin retained their French title. It was a super performance from Philippe Ermenault who also won the individual pursuit on Tuesday. The team dominated the other contender from the Ile-de-France composed of Yohan Bouteloup, Damien Pommereau, Baptiste Ferre and Nicolas Meunier. The winning team from Picarde their adversaries by over 1.5 seconds (4:20.908 to 4:22.577).

On Day 3, Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli retained her individual pursuit title when she easily beat Marion Clignet, who was considered to be the favourite for the event. Clignet, who set the world record on August 31, 1996 at Manchester - 3.30.974, was never able to comes to terms with Longo and lost by nearly 2 seconds. 

Women Individual Pursuit:

 1. Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli	3.49.880
 2. Marion Clignet		3.50.376
 3. Laurence Restoin		3.56.272
 4. Isabelle Nguyen Van Tu	4.02.034

Junior Women Individual Pursuit:

 1. Julie Vandekerckhove	2.31.140
 2. Adeline Le Borgne		2.38.839

Junior Women Sprint:

 1. Mathilde Doutreluingne	12.591
 2. Céline Nivert

Men Individual 4000m Pursuit:

 1. Philippe Ermenault		4.30.559
 2. Francis Moreau 		4.31.894
 3. Jérôme Neuville
 4. Cyril Bos
 5. Sylvain Anquetil
 6. Damien Pommereau
 7. Franck Perque
 8. Andy Flickinger

Men Team Sprint:

 1. Romain Barelli/Frédéric Lancien/Thomas Montano 	47.511
 2. Dimitri Paul/Hervé Gane/Olivier Hass 		47.558
 3. Firmin Touchais/Mickaël Quemener/Vincent Le Quelec 	47.556
 4. Ronan Nivol/Arnaud Leboulenger/Jérôme Hubschwerlin 	48.142

Women 500 Standing Start Sprint:

 1. Félicia Ballanger (Pays de Loire) 	34.521
 2. Magali Faure-Humbert 		35.454
 3. Christelle Ribault 			37.372
 4. Sandrine Adamiak 			38.211
 5. Aurélie Lassouag 			38.550
 6. Delphine Tonini 			38.578
 7. Stéphanie Baujon 			38.922
 8. Nathalie Delpech 			40.158

Junior Women 500 Standing Start Sprint:

 1. Céline Nivert 			36.802 *
 2. Julie Vandekerckhove 		38.032

* French record

Junior Men Individual Pursuit:

 1. William Bonnet
 2. Grégory Bernard

Women Points Race:

 1. Catherine Marsal		22 points
 2. Isabelle Nicoloso		17 (+1)
 3. Marion Clignet		15 (+1)
 4. Magali Faure-Humbert 	24 (+2)
 5. Sonia Huget			12 (+2)
 6. Fanny Jouvin		11 (+2)
 7. Isabel Ngguyen Van Tu	 7 (+2)
 8. Aurélie Lassouag	 	 2 (+2)

Olympic Team Pursuit for Elite Men:

 1. Picardie 			4.20.908
 2. Ile-de-France       	4.22.577
 3. New Caledonia		4.23.617 *
 4. Dauphiné-Savoie     	4.24.189 **

*  Jean-Michel Tessier, Jean-Charles Goyetche, Robert Sassone
   and Julien Tejada.
** Andy Flickinger, Jérôme Neuville, Stevens Dupouy, Fabrice
   Monegat.

Olympic Team Pursuit for Junior Men:

 1. Lyonnais           		4.27.093
 2. Ile-de-France      		4.28.920
 3. Flandres-Artois    		4.30.740
 4. Nouvelle-Calédonie 		4.37.499

Teams in order:

Fabrice Billard, Guillaume Canet, Charles Riocreux, Sylvain Villacampa
Niels Brouzes, Sébastien Pommier, Ludovic Lenceleur, Remy Quignon
Grégory Bernard, Vincent Brunelot, Raphaël Devienne, Frédéric Limousin
Jerry Bousquet, Nicolas Nagle, Steeve Clavier, Yohan Honore

Points Score for Junior Women:

 1. Julie Vandeekerckhove	45 points
 2. Nathalie Delattre		16 (+2)
 3. Adeline Le Borgne		14 (+2)
 4. Sandrine Sauvage		 7 (+2)