Yesterday about 20 riders ended up on the floor amongst them German Jan Ullrich. The German was not injured. Here is a review of the more important riders and their status at Catalana:
Gotti - The Bergamascan from Team Polti re-entered competition on Wednesday after a 15 day retreat in Tenerife where he pedalled at 2000 meters in the area of the Teide volcano. The other day Gotti was riding with Pantani's group on the first climb but was left behind on the descent due to a flat tire. He is in good form.
Virenque - is riding among the best riders this year - like Pantani and Camenzind. He is in good form indeed. He made his comeback race in Paris-Nice and he laid a trap for Vandenbroucke at the mountain finish of Valberg. At Catalana he failed to do anything due to a wheel problem. "I didn't think that I would be at a good point on my second race but I must admit that things are going well right now".
Jimenez - El Chava wasn't able to train much during the offseason because he experienced an unusually cold winter in his hometown. Josč Maria Jimenez, the climber from Banesto, has not been climbing so far this season with the front groups in the races he has entered. "I'm not worried. I'm farther along than in other years. The important part is to reach the Giro without problems".
Camenzind - The World Champion from Team Lampre-Daikin is one of the riders who has raced the most so far this season - 21 days of racing since January 18th, when his season started in Australia. At Tirreno-Adriatico he was often seen driving the race from the front. Now he's taking a period to rest at his house in Gersau.
Tonkov - "I must ride and only ride", repeats Pavel Tonkov. The Russian would like to be a protagonist at the Ardennes classics but he is struggling to find any semblance of good form. "I've lost almost one month of training due to antibiotics".
Ullrich - The German from Telekom came in yet again with a big time loss - 11.06 down yesterday. His seven kilos overweight condition, which is very noticiable when you look at his stomach, means that Ullrich is suffering a lot in the climbs and gets dropped when the speed increases. The influenza he suffered in early February and the extraction of his wisdom teeth have disturbed his plans for the start of the season.
Its 19.00 and we knock at the door of a hotel room. "Come in, come in", answers Marcelino Torrontegui, masseur for Richard Virenque, who years ago also took care of the legs of Rominger and Zülle. Inside, the French rider is receiving his massage session, while he talks on the cellular phone. He finishes talking, we say hello ... "Vous pouvez comnencer", he says.
- How did you feel when you returned to competition?
- At Paris-Nice I felt better than expected. I raced with great motivation, because after the problems that I had last year, to dedicate myself to only pedalling seems really easy to me.
- You are once again on the bike.
- Yes, I'm very happy to have been able to return to my profession, which is what I really care about.
- What did all of last year mean to you?
- I had it so bad that I am a new person now, I have changed a lot and I have become mentally stronger.
- So something good came out of 1998.
- Well, now I'm stronger, but I don't advise anybody to go through that experience.
- What do you ask of 1999?
- To win a stage and finish at the podium of the Tour de France, plus to win a World Cup classic. That would be a good year for me.
- What did you feel when Pantani, a climber, won the Tour?
- Nothing, that a climber had won the Tour.
- I mean that if you saw an opportunity disappear?
- I can't know how I would have been in that race.
- But didn't your opportunity of a lifetime escape you?
- Well, if you insist: Yes, I could have won that Tour!
- How did the French fans receive you in Paris-Nice?
- Incredible...
- Was it emotional?
- Yes, it was touching. There was a time when only the public were backing me up in France.
- Now others back you up?
- Now there are many, for example reporters, that again are patting me in the back. In December, I must have been blind, because I didn't see so many friends.
- What was the worst thing that happen at that time?
- The worst was in December, when the teams started their camps and I didn't have anywhere to go.
- Did you completely lose hope?
- I lost hope in December, when no team wanted me. What happened was that later, in January, I was encouraged again because I received four offers, two from Spanish teams, Unipublic and Kelme and two from Italian teams, Polti and Lampre.
- Why didn't you come to Spain?
- I really wanted to race in Spain. It was my first option, because the fans have always been good to me. At la Vuelta, when everything was against me, they encouraged me a lot. I also liked the declarations from the Spanish directors when I announced my retirement. They all said it was an injustice.
- Then, why Polti?
- Because sporting-wise I was more interested, because it's a team with many important riders like Gotti, Rebellin and Celestino. To race at the Tour, it was the best.
(At this time the cellular phone rings. Torrontegui grabs it. "It's for you Richard, it is Toni Rominger". Virenque and Rominger have a close friendship. It's normal because they have something in common: Marcelino Torrontegui. The time when they were rivals is left behind, like at that 1994 Tour, when the Frenchman approached Miguel Indurain in Hautacam to tell him: "Rominger is going badly, attack". That's cycling. That's life).
- How does a Frenchman feels, when he has been kicked out of the Tour and have talked badly about you in your own country?
- The only thing I feel is the damage that has been done to cycling.
- But in the long run, all that fight against doping, can it be good for cycling or its destruction?
- If it is not done well, it'll be the destruction of cycling. I regret it, but that's the way it is.