Contract news - Julich out for season
The season is over for leading American rider Bobby Julich, as his team Cofidis has decided that he needs a proper rest. He fell heavily during the Vuelta on September 11 and after a major neurological investigation his team Cofidis decided he needs to lay off the bike.
It has been somthing of a miserable year for the American, as the bad fall during the Vuelta occurred only 17km into stage seven, but causing enough injuries for him to pull out of the race. The Cofidis rider was the worst affected of several riders when there was a major fall within the peloton.
Earlier this year, Julich crashed during the time trial on the eighth stage of the Tour de France, and retired. In the Vuelta, he crashed just outside of Salamanca and was taken by ambulance to a hospital suffering from concussion and minor head injuries. Race doctor Fernando Astorqui said "It was fortunate he was wearing a helmet, otherwise the consequences could have been a lot worse".
Chicky World rider ponders; Saeco sign up
Norwegian Team Chicky World rider Svein Gaute Hřlestřl is considering offers from two German and one Danish team. His choice will be announced Tuesday next week, according to Norwegian site "Syklingens Verden".
Sprinter Gianmatteo Fagnini will leave Saeco for Telekom but three young Germans will go the other way. Espoir-sprinter Thorsten Nitsche, (EAG Team Köstritzer), Jörg Ludewig (Gerolsteiner) and Christian Wegmann (Continentale). Other Saeco newcomers: Spaniard Daniel Atienza (Polti), Italians Dario Pieri (Navigare), Biagio Conte (Liquigas) and Czech Pavel Padrnos (Lampre).
Cadel Evans to the Road?
As noted by cyclingnews.com, Aussie MTB star and World Cup winner Cadel Evans, rode the Coppa Sabatini on Thursday as part of the Saeco-Cannondale team. He finished a creditable 38th, just days after his "disappointment" silver medal at the mountain bike World's, and is intending to participate today in the Giro del'Emilia and on Sunday at Milano-Vignola.
Will he take the step to professional road racing for Saeco-Cannondale?
Francois Simon Team Leader for New Team Bonjour
The French National Champion who currently rides for Credit Agricole will be one of the team leaders for new Team Bonjour, directed by Jean-René Bernaudeau. Emmanuel Magnien was also considering to join, but he has opted to stay with La Française des Jeux. Confirmed signings for the new team are François Simon, Didier Rous, Franck Bouyer, Damien Nazon, Olivier Perraudeau, Frédéric Gabriel, Charles Guilbert, Pascal Deramé and Jean-Cyril Robin. The team will also take a number of neo-pros from Team Vendée U: Walter Beneteau, Franck Rénier, Christophe Faudot, Fabrice Salanson, Mickaël Pichon, Sébastien Joly, Sylvain Chavanel, Frédéric Mainguenaud, Noan Lelarge.
The teams budget will be 22 million Francs, and they are aiming towards taking part in the Tour de France 2000.
Polti Ordered to Pay Leblanc:
Italian team Polti have been ordered to pay former French and World champion Luc Leblanc 4.8 million francs ($800,000) in damages for illegally sacking him, the rider's lawyer Mario Califano said on Friday. Leblanc took Polti to court after they fired him in December, when he still had a year to run on his contract, to make room on the team for another Frenchman, Richard Virenque.
US Postal has increased it's number of riders by three to 19. David George (SAf) is resigning, along with rising US star, Kirk O'Bee, currently riding as a stagiaire with Mapei, as well as Neo-pro Jamie Burrow. There is a possibility that young Belgian, Steve Vermaut will also be hired.
Laurent Brochard (Fra, Festina) is joining new French team, Jean Delatour along with current teammate Francisque Tessier (Fra).
UCI World Masters Track Cycling Championships 1999, Manchester
Courtesy of web site author Fat Nick
Friday night saw drama at the World Masters Track championships, currently being held at the Manchester Velodrome, when Ian Hallam, the first rider to cross the line in the 3-up final of the sprint competition for Men in the 50-54 category was relegated to third place. This came as a surprise to the crowd, as Hallam had looked supremely dominant, leading the race from start to finish, with the other two riders unable to even get alongside him. They crossed the line like that, Hallam in front, America's Jerry Woodruff on his wheel, and Dutchman Piet Slikkers bringing up the rear. I stress that Woodruff was firmly behind Hallam in the finishing straight, and appeared to have lacked the speed all through the race to challenge Hallam.
Shortly before the medals were due to be presented, it was announced that Hallam (one of the smoothest riders you could wish to see on a bike) had "left the track and ridden on the blue cote d'azur in the back straight and then ridden up to the sprinters line on the final banking" and that this had impeded the progress of the rider behind him. Funny, because it looked to me like a simple lack of speed on his own part had impeded that rider's progress.
There was clearly a lengthy discussion between Hallam and the UCI officials in the track center, with Hallam apparently being told that he had no right of appeal. He was told that he could watch the video, but that the decision would not be reversed. Hallam then declined to attend the medal ceremony to accept the bronze medal. Given that he had crossed the line first, without any apparent sign of foul play (at least to the crowd), one cannot entirely blame him. Obviously, riders do sometimes make mistakes and move off a line, and I didn't have a perfect sight line down the back straight. So maybe Hallam did move a centimeter off the perfect straight line - but it appeared to be completely immaterial to the race result in any case. By the same token, though, it must logically follow that commissaires also sometimes make mistakes.....
Danny Clark won the points race for men in the 45-49 age group with a perfect display of track riding, winning virtually all of the sprints in the 80-lap points race. Only America's Kent Bostick could get anywhere near the former 6-day rider, and Bostick had to settle for being a good second to the Australian. News of Clark's race had spread in the British cycling press, and the Manchester Velodrome had a good crowd of spectators to watch the former world Keirin champion ride in his first Track Masters.
Northwest Cyclocross
Courtesy of Sarah Appelgate
September 19, 1999 - Olympia, Washington hosted the first round of the 1999 Seattle Metro Cyclocross Series on Sunday, September 19th, under sunny skies with warm temperatures. Loren Hanson (VoiceStream Wireless) won the Men's A race, followed by Dale Knapp (Kona), Erik Tonkin (Team S & M), Jon Sundt (Redline), Jon Flack (The Valley/GT), and Masters National Champion Dan Norton (Redline).
In his exclusive column in the daily De Telegraaf, Dutch favourite Michael Boogerd writes about his preparation for the World Championships in Italy in October: 'The Coppa Sabatini was the first race in Italy for me. I had the legs for winning, but finished eighth - I wasn't cool enough in the final."
He goes on: "I was confronted by riders here in Italy with rumours. Three riders suggested I should ride for the new team of Ferretti next season. In the coming weeks I will do the Giro del'Emilie (Saturday), Milano-Vignola (Sunday) and then the 4-day Giro di Lucca. That parcours seems to be a lot like the parcours of the Championships. I'll have one day off before Paris-Tours - maybe that's not enough rest(!). Maybe I won't do all four days in the Giro DI Lucca, but that isn't my intention at this moment."
Boogerd will be hoping to achieve a good result in the Worlds after having a fairly up and down year, especially after he did not perform in one of his major goals - the Tour de France.
By Tomas Nilsson, cyclingnews.com correspondent
Successful, but trouble stricken Danish outfit, Home Jack and Jones, does have some good news as well. The team has been invited to the world cup race Paris - Tours, organized by the Societé du Tour de France with a supporting message from president Jean Marie Leblanc, and also support from UCI president Hein Verbrüggen.
In a last effort to get enough points for the first division, HJJ will also take five riders to the Australian Herald Sun Tour starting October 14. The sponsorship for next year is a problem - all sponsors except main sponsor Home will hang on under one condition: The team must have a new main sponsor with enough money to make the upgrading the other sponsors have been promised. The team management has one month to do the trick. On October 31 the team has to be registered at the Danish Cycling Union.
It's kind of a "doomed if you do, doomed if you don't" situation...
British and Sewdish Teams for 1999 World's
Road Race Teams: Elite: Max Sciandri (David Millar is injured and Chris Boardman is concentrating on the TT) Under 23: Jamie Burrow; Charley Wegelius; Phil West; Yanto Barker Junior: Steve Cummings; Mark Baker; Tom Southam; Two riders yet to be chosen Women's Elite: Sara Symington; Ceris Gilfillan; Caroline Alexander; Sally Boyden; Michele Ward; Louise Jones Junior: Rhiannon Allport Time Trials: Elite: Chris Boardman; Chris Newton Under 23: Charley Wegelius; James Gilfillan Junior: Steve Cummings; Mark Kelly Women’s Elite: Yvonne McGregor; Ceris Gilfillan Junior: Rhiannon Allport
SWEDISH WORLDS TEAM Elite TT: Michael Andersson (Acceptcard) & Martin Rittsel (Team Chicky World) Road: Glenn Magnusson (US Postal); Niclas Axelsson (Navigare) & Martin Rittsel U23 TT: Tobias Lergĺrd & Jonas Ljungblad Road: John Nilsson (Team Wirsbo); Robert Österling( Team Crescent??); Jonas Ljungblad (Team Crescent); Junior TT; Petter Rennäng (Skoghall) & Jocke Bernström Road;Rickard Almquist; Jonas Holmquist (CK Bure); Petter Rennäng & Jocke Bernström Women Elite road: Susanne Ljungskog; Marie Höljer; Jenny Algelid & Madeleine Lindberg TT: Susanne Ljungskog & Jenny Algelid Women Junior road: Veronica Andreasson TT: Veronica Anderasson & Anna Hjelm
US Postal has increased it's number of riders by three to 19. David George (SAf) is resigning, along with rising US star, Kirk O'Bee, currently riding as a stagiaire with Mapei, as well as Neo-pro Jamie Burrow. There is a possibility that young Belgian, Steve Vermaut will also be hired.
Laurent Brochard (Fra, Festina) is joining new French team, Jean Delatour along with current teammate Francisque Tessier (Fra).
O'Grady mugging - Millar interview in Cycling Weekly
Fans, friends and family of Aussie cycling star Stuart O'Grady were shocked when he and team-mate Henk Vogels were mugged in Toulouse three weeks ago. Here's the Cycling Weekly interview with David Millar, an eye witness to the O'Grady mugging:
"It was crazy, one of those things that you think will only happen to other people.
We came out of the restaurant, there were loads of people around, but suddenly Stuey (Stuart O'Grady) shouted "They've robbed my necklace."
Some guys had stolen it and when Stuey turned around and tried to get it back, they just went mental. One of them who held a windscreen wiper smashed Stuey across the head with it. Stuey went down then when his girlfriend tried to stop the guy hitting Stuey, they smashed her finger and broke it.
Then it was just pandemonium. We all went in there, there was nothing else we could do. They were bad medicine. I picked the smallest one and kicked somebody else - with my bad leg, unfortunately. I've never been in a fight before, but Stuey was just covered in blood.
Eventually they ran off, but the police saw them sprinting down the street, put two and two together and managed to stop the guy with the wiper. Apparently, they've been after him for ages, he's got about eight different lawsuits pending for assault.
We were up until about seven in the morning. We wanted to be with Stuey until we knew what was wrong with him. He's gutted - him and Henk (Vogels) were meant to be riding the Tour of Poland and the World's. Now that's over for him. Then we had to go to the police station the next day and make statements. It was a real nightmare experience.''
Roger Legeay (DS Credit Agricole) added: "O'Grady has had six stitches in his head, he is off for a month and his season is effectively over. We will have to see what kind of results the test on the blood clot produce. Vogels starts training this Monday but he is psychologically very shaken by it. It is terrible that this kind of thing can happen.''