News for November 23, 1999

Gané to ride Noumea six

World Individual and Olympic Sprint Champion, Laurent Gané will be one of the big names taking part in the Nouméa six day race, due to start on November 26th.

40 riders from New Caledonia, France, Japan, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand will compete in the six day event, with Gané to appear in the sprint competition. The other big drawcard from France is sprint ace, Félicia Ballanger, who will be competing in exhibition races during the event.

Madsen to finish?

By Tomas Nilsson, cyclingnews.com correspondent

Dane Jimmi Madsen, who took his eighth six days victory in Gent on Sunday might end his career. Since Acceptcard is not continuing next year, he is without a road contract. He is mainly a trackie but the road races are an important part of his preparation.

His best road performances in 1999 include: fourth at the Scandinavian Road Race Championships, fifth at the Danish Post Cup in Sřllerřd, and third at a national race in Gilleleje, Denmark. On the track he is ranked number one on the unofficial UIV (Union Internationale des Velodromes) ranking.

Good Friday for Riis?

On Friday 26th November, the next seasons Telekom team will assemble for the first time. It will be an important day for Bjarne Riis, whose future with Telekom will be decided. 35 year-old Riis, winner of the Tour in 1996, injured his arm on his way to a Tour de Suisse stage this summer and hasn't raced since. He would like to race another year for Telekom, however sports director Walter Godefroot would rather have him in a managing role.

Corruption in the Catalan Federation?

Miguel Arbós (president) and certain other members of the Catalan Federation (FCC) have been accused of corruption and misappropriation of funds by a delegation of Catalan Clubs.

It is alleged that a large sum of pesetas have been channelled from the Olympic fund into the accounts of Arbós, vice president Bosch, and lawyer Alberto Soms via an intermediate company. The Clubs' delegation has demanded that the above people resign, the money be returned and an audit conducted on the accounts of the FCC.

Rominger world champion again

By Tomas Nilsson, cyclingnews.com correspondent

22 year-old German Martin Rominger took his third World Champion title in artistic cycling in Funchal, Madeira, despite a fall.

In the women's single event Martina Stepankova of the Czech Republic defended her title ahead of Germans Sandra Schlosser and Astrid Ruckaberle.

Switzerland, with a team from RV Winterthur, won the cycleball tournament ahead of Austria, Czech Republic and Germany.

What is indoor cycling?

No it is not track cycling as we know it. For those uninformed, indoor cycling is an official UCI discipline involving two major categories: cycleball and artistic cycling. It is over 100 years old, with the first world championships being conducted in 1888.

The sport is very popular in Germany and other areas of Europe, although it is not as well known in the rest of the world.

In the cycleball competition, teams of two attempt to maneuver a ball into their opponents' goals using the wheels of their bicycles. The hands may be used only in defending the goals, and the feet only if they are on the pedals, i.e. no kicking allowed. The goal is 2 m square and players try to lift the ball off the ground into the net.

In artistic cycling, akin to synchronised swimming or rhythmic gymnastics, singles or pairs perform a routine to music over six minutes. The routine consists of up to 28 movements for singles and 22 for pairs (half of which have to be performed on two bicycles).

The routine is given to the judges in advance, who then take points off the maximum score for mistakes.