News for October 17, 1999

Committee to investigate Dekker affair

Following on from his suspension from the World Championship Road Race, a special committee has been selected to investigate the case surrounding the hematocrit level of Dutch rider Erik Dekker.

Professor J Marx and Mr R. Verbunt (plus a third person, to be selected by Marx and Verbunt) will form the committee for an independent investigation following a request from Rabobank.

Marx is a professor at the Academic Hospital in Utrecht and Verbunt is a lawyer and member of the top of the Dutch Fieldhockey Union with aspecial task to investigate doping.

Rabobank expects they will finish their job within a few weeks and the committee will report straight to the senior management of Rabobank.

Dekker, who came 8th in the ITT at the world's, was not allowed to start the road race. He was tested along with 23 other riders and was the only rider to have too high a hematocrit level and was the first Dutch rider to have tested too high.

It also depleted the Dutch team for the road race, as his suspension came too late for the Dutch team to replace him, and they started with 11 riders.

Kiwis plan tougher tour for 2000

The final race route for New Zealand's premier stage race, the Tour of Wellington, has been released and keeping up with tradition, there are more hills, according to Race Director Jorge Sandoval.

The Tour of Wellington is a seven day stage race from January 9 - 15. Licensed by the UCI, it will bring together national New Zealand composite teams and complete international teams including "major stars of the European circuit", say the organisers (although teams are still to be announced).

With an extra day's racing and many of the stages expanded from the traditional past routes, resulting in the race now covering a total of 896 km throughout the greater Wellington and the Wairarapa.

"Next year's tour is breaking new ground and for the first time in the 10th year's history of the event, riders will travel to Masterton via the Rimutakas and stay there for two days. This will be hard on their legs as it happens only after two days of racing," said Sandoval.

"Over the seven days of racing, riders will complete a total of 84 kilometres of hill climbing up some of the region's most tortuous hills such as the Rimutakas, Wainuiomata, The Akatarawas, Paekakaeriki and Hawkins hills."

The race starts wiht a criterium in Hutt City on Sunday January 9 and will finish seven days later with a circuit race around Frank Kitts Park in the middle of Wellington.

Race Route for the 2000 Tour of Wellington 


Stage		Route			 		Distance

Sunday		Hutt City - Criterium 	 		 45 km
			

Monday		Wellington - Waikanae	 		 60 km
		Via the Akatarawas

		Waikanae - Lower Hutt	  		 55 km
		Via Paekakaeriki Hill
	
Tuesday		Wellington - Palmerston North 	 	160 km
		Via Rimutakas and Masterton.
	
Wednesday	Palmerston North - Wellington	 	150 km
	 	Via Waikanae - Akatarawa Rd.	

Thursday	Upper Hutt Circuit.	 		166 km
			
Friday		Wellington - Wainuiomata                 60 km

		Lower Hutt - Miramar - Hawkins Hill	 80 km

Saturday	Wellington - Te Marua - Wellington	 80 km
	
		Criterium Frank Kitts Park	         40 km
			

German, Australian & Lithuanian teams dominate

With the last UCI-points for 1999 having been distributed in the World Championships, the teams from Germany, Australia and Lithuania are convincingly placed as the superpowers of women's cycling.

The biggest mover over the season has been the Australian team, boosted by the excellent seasons of Anna Wilson and Tracey Gaudrey, which has given the country its best ever results in both individual and country standings.

Anna Wilson, with two silver medals in the World's, and overall victory in the World Cup, is second in the individual classification with 741 points, only 31 points behind top-ranked German, Hanka Kupfernagel (772), while the third-placed Lithuanian, Diana Ziliute, is a somewhat distant third with 255 fewer points (486).

Another big jump was that of Australian Tracey Gaudry, who climbed to fifth place (389), behind 1999 World Race Champion Edita Pucinskaite (Lit) with 470 points and Germany's ace sprinter Petra Rossner in sixth with 330 points.

In the teams standings, Germany leads with 1,492 points, Lithuania second with 1,271 and Australia close behind with 1,252 points. The dominance of these three teams is shown by the 549-point gap to fourth-placed Russia, which scored 703.

An interesting fact is that the Australian National Team missed out on two spring rounds in the World cup in Europe, with a lot of ranking points at stake. But their participation in the other races was enough to secure Anna Wilson's overall victory, although she was under considerable pressure to win the last round in Embracht, Switzerland.

Wilson also won the first round in Canberra, Australia's first World Cup win ever. Tracey Gaudry won the round in Montreal and also the Tour de Snowy.

The Australian women's road coach James Victor told cyclingnews in an e-mail that these rankings are important for qualification in the Olympic Games next year. The 16 top nations will have three riders in the Olympic road race, while in the ITT, the 15 top nations will have a rider each and the ten top nations in the World Championships will have one extra time trialist.

Victor also noted that since four Australian riders of last season's AIS program got pro contracts, the AIS was mostly a development program. Nevertheless, Kym Shirley won the Tour de la Haute in France.



UCI Rankings, October 9, 1999


1   Hanka Kupfernagel  Germany 			772
2   Anna Wilson  Australia 			741
3   Diana Ziliute  Lithuania 			486
4   Edita Pucinskaite  Lithuania 		470
5   Tracey Gaudry  Australia 			389
6   Petra Rossner  Germany 			330
7   Zoulfia Zabirova  Russia 			309
8   Tatiana Stiajkina  Ukraine 			256
9   Gunn-Rita Dahle  Norway 			219
10  Lyne Bessette  Canada 			217
11  Joane Somarriba Arrola  Spain 		207
12  Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli  France 		205
13  Judith Arndt  Germany 			204
14  Leontien Zijlaard-van Morrsel  Netherlands 	184
15  Mari Holden  USA 				181
16  Rasa Polikeviciute  Lithuania 		180
17  Valentina Polkhanova  Russia 		174
18  Daniela Veronesi  San Marino 		160
19  Susy Pryde  New Zealand			159
20  Svetlana Boubnenkova  Russia 		155
21  Mirjam Melchers  Netherlands 		153
22  Heidi Van de Vijver  Belgium 		151
23  Chantal Beltman  Netherlands 		149
24  Sara Felloni  Italy 			147
25  Roberta Bonanomi  Italy 			141
26  Gabriella Pregnolato  Italy 		124
27  Catherine Marsal  France 			123
27  Yvonne Mcgregor  Great Britain 		123
29  Fabiana Luperini  Italy 			121
29  Karen Kurreck  USA 				121
31  Barbara Heeb  Switzerland 			118
32  Pia Sundstedt  Finland 			117
32  Lenka Ilavska  Slovakia 			117
34  Jolanta Polikeviciute  Lithuania 		101
35  Vera Hohlfeld  Germany 			 98
36  Zinaida Stahurskaya  Beloyrussia 		 93
37  Cindy Pieters  Belgium 			 91
38  Vanja Vonckx  Belgium 			 89
39  Viola Müller-Paulitz  Germany 		 88
39  Valeria Cappellotto  Italy 			 88
41  Rikke Sandhøj Olsen  Denmark 		 85
41  Elisabeth Vink  Netherlands 		 85
43  Alessandra Cappellotto  Italy 		 78
44  Marion Clignet  France 			 77
44  Karen Dunne  USA 				 77
46  Ina Teutenberg  Germany 			 75
47  Sarah Symington  Great Britain 		 72
47  Nicole Brändli  Switzerland 		 72
49  Kathryn Watt  Australia 			 67
50  Susanne Ljungskog  Sweden 			 64
51  Arenda Grimberg  Netherlands 		 63
52  Yuliya Murenka  Ukraine 			 59
53  Monica Valen  Norway 			 58
54  Elizabeth Emery  USA 			 52
55  Nada Cristofoli  Italy 			 51
56  Tanja Schmidt-Hennes  Germany 		 50
57  Anne Samplonius  Canada 			 47
57  Sanna Lehtimäki  Finland 			 47
59  Clara Hughes  Canada 			 46
59  Géraldine Loewenguth  France 		 46
59  Elisabeth Chevanne-Brunel  France 		 46
62  Emily Robbins  USA 				 45
63  Greta Zocca  Italy 				 44
63  Silvia Zoller  Switzerland 			 44
65  Linda Jackson  Canada 			 41
66  Elisabeth Tadich  Australia 		 35
66  Caroline Alexander  Great Britain  		 35
68  Sonia Rocca  Italy 				 34
68  Zita Urbonaite  Lithuania 			 34
68  Olga Slioussareva  Russia 			 34
68  Julie Young  USA 				 34
72  Pamela Schuster  USA 			 33
73  Meike De Bruijn  Netherlands 		 31
73  Goulnara Ivanova  Russia 			 31
75  Alison Dunlap  USA 				 30
76  Sarah Ulmer  New Zealand 			 29
76  Bogumila Matusiak  Poland 			 29
78  Magali Le Floch  France 			 28
79  Valentina Gerasimova  Russia 		 27
80  Kerstin Scheitle  Germany 			 24
80  Irina Chuzhynova  Ukraine 			 24
82  Fany Lecourtois  France 			 23
83  Evi Gensheimer  Germany 			 22
83  Anke Erlank  South Africa 			 22
85  Sara Carrigan  Australia 			 20
85  Leigh Hobson  Canada 			 20
85  Sigrid Corneo  Italy 			 20
88  Lucia Pizzolotto  Italy 			 18
88  Jenny Algelid  Sweden 			 18
88  Natalia Iouganiouk  Ukraine 		 18
88  Laura Vangilder  USA   			 18
92  Kim Shirley  Australia 			 17
92  Jacinta Coleman  New Zealand 		 17
92  Yvonne Schnorf  Switzerland 		 17
95  Priska Doppmann  Switzerland 		 15
95  Marcia Eicher-vouets  Switzerland 		 15
97  Sally Boyden  Great Britain   		 14
98  Giovanna Troldi  Italy 			 12
99  Jacqueline Brabenetz  Germany  		 11
100 Alison Sydor  Canada 			 10
100 Rosa Maria Bravo Soba  Spain 		 10
100 Albine Caillie  France 			 10
100 Megan Hughes  Great Britain 		 10
100 Elena Tchalykh  Russia 			 10
100 Madeleine Lindberg  Sweden 			 10
100 Kendra Wenzel  USA 				 10
107 Teodora Ruano Sanchon  Spain 		  9
107 Ceris Gilfillan  Great Britain 		  9
107 Regina Schleicher  Germany 			  9
107 Luisiana Pegoraro  Italy 			  9
107 Solrun Flataas  Norway 			  9
107 Valetyna Karpenko  Ukraine 			  9
113 Nadia Triquet  France 			  8
113 Michelle Ward  Great Britain 		  8
113 Mandy Hampel  Germany 			  8
113 Rasa Mazeikyte  Lithuania 			  8
113 Marie Höljer  Sweden 			  8
113 Deirdre Demet  USA 				  8
113 Kimberly Bruckner  USA 			  8
120 Andrea Ratkowic-Bowman  USA 		  7
121 Juanita Feldhahn  Australia 		  6
121 Larysa Chuyenka  Beloyrussia 		  6
121 Sari Saarelainen  Finland 			  6
121 Katia Longhin  Italy 			  6
121 Yvonne Brunen  Netherlands 			  6
121 Wenche Stensvold  Norway 			  6
121 Alexandra Koliasseva  Russia 		  6
121 Brooke Blackwelder  USA 			  6
121 Jennifer Evans  USA 			  6
130 Alison Wright  Australia 			  5
130 Alena Peterkova  Czechian Republic 		  5
130 Karine Dalmais  France  			  5
130 Séverine Desbouys  France 			  5
130 Susan Carter  Great Britain 		  5
130 Olena Budovitska  Ukraine 			  5
136 Susan Palmer  Canada 			  4
136 Maryline Salvetat  France 			  4
136 Alexandra Le Henaff  France 		  4
136 Louise Jones  Great Britain 		  4
136 Birgit Söllner  Germany 			  4
136 Gitana Gruodyte  Lithuania			  4
136 Sandra Rombouts  Netherlands 		  4
136 Wendie Kramp  Netherlands 			  4
136 Svetlana Samokhvalova  Russia 		  4
136 Nicole Reinhart  USA 			  4
146 Kristy Scrymgeour  Australia 		  3
146 Miluse Flaskova  Czechian Republic 		  3
146 Fatima Blazquez Lozano  Spain 		  3
146 Angela Hunter  Great Britain 		  3
146 Antonella Bellutti  Italy 			  3
146 Rosalind Reekie-May  New Zealand 		  3
146 Erica Green-Groenewald  South Africa 	  3
146 Chantal Daucourt  Switzerland 		  3
146 Diana Rast  Switzerland 			  3
146 Tamara Poliakova  Ukraine 			  3
146 Tina Mayolo  USA 				  3
146 Serena Gazzini  Italy 			  3
158 Mary Grigson  Australia 			  2
158 Bridget Evans  Australia 			  2
158 Ulrike Baumgartner  Austria 		  2
158 Tatsiana Makeyeva  Beloyrussia 		  2
158 Annie Gariepy  Canada 			  2
158 Karla Polivkova  Czechian Republic 		  2
158 Lisbeth Simper  Denmark 			  2
158 Ann Svendsgaard Mathiasen  Denmark 		  2
158 Aline Camboulives  France 			  2
158 Isabelle Carro  France  			  2
158 Virginie Moinard  France 			  2
158 Bettina Schöke  Germany 			  2
158 Tina Liebig  Germany 			  2
158 Sara Savino  Italy 				  2
158 Paola Pezzo  Italy 				  2
158 Tania Belvederesi  Italy 			  2
158 Miho Oki  Japan 				  2
158 Debby Mansveld  Netherlands 		  2
158 Jorunn Kvalö  Norway 			  2
158 Dorota Czynszak  Poland 			  2
158 Marion Brauen  Switzerland 			  2
158 Yevgenia Vysotska  Ukraine 			  2
158 Andrea Graus  Austria 			  2
181 Joanne Robinson  Australia 			  1
181 Veronique Belleter  Belgium 		  1
181 Evy Van Damme  Belgium 			  1
181 Lensy Debboudt  Belgium 			  1
181 Cybil Di Guistini  Canada 			  1
181 Montserrat Alonso Bernal  Spain 		  1
181 Ruth Martinez Gomez  Spain 			  1
181 Laurence Restoin  France 			  1
181 Ruth Ellway  Great Britain 			  1
181 Alexandra Nohles  Germany 		          1
181 Veronika Pare  Hungary 			  1
181 Simona Parente  Italy 			  1
181 Gabriela Gonzalez de Ferrat  Mexico 	  1
181 Janneke Vos  Netherlands 			  1
181 Ghita Beltman  Netherlands 			  1
181 Angela Hillenga  Netherlands 		  1
181 Ragnhild Kostöl  Norway		 	  1
181 Vanessa Rochelle Cheatley  New Zealand 	  1
181 Kirsty Nicole Robb  New Zealand 		  1
181 Youlia Razenkova  Russia 			  1
181 Sandra Wampfler  Switzerland 		  1
181 Oksana Saprykina  Ukraine 			  1
181 Natalya Kishchuk  Ukraine 			  1
181 Svitlana Hihilyeva  Ukraine 		  1
181 Tracy Timms  USA 				  1
181 Kathleen Gleason  USA 			  1
181 Kerry Hellmuth  USA 			  1
181 Katie Compton  USA 				  1
181 Kimberly Smith  USA 			  1
181 Fatma Galiulina  Uzbechistan 		  1
181 Marie Höljer  Sweden 			  1


UCI Rankings - Women's Cycling by Nations 

1 Germany 		1492
2 Lithuania 		1271
3 Australia 		1252
4 Russia 		 703
5 Netherlands 		 634
6 Italy 		 621
7 France 		 497
8 Usa 			 476
9 Canada 		 371
10 Ukraine 		 366
11 Belgium 		 333
12 Norway 		 294
13 Switzerland 		 266
14 Great Britain 	 254
15 Spain 		 230
16 New Zealand 		 209
17 Finland 		 170
18 San Marino 		 160
19 Slovakia 		 117
20 Belarus 		 101
21 Sweden 		 100
22 Denmark 		  89
23 Poland 		  31
24 South Africa 	  25
25 Czech Republic 	  10
26 Austria 		   2
26 Japan 		   2
28 Hungary 		   1
28 Mexico 		   1
28 Uzbekistan 		   1