News for September 29, 1999

By Tomas Nillson, cyclingnews.com correspondent

The French government has announced that it will use 4,733,000 francs (approximately US$400,000) to the Council for Prevention and Actions Against Doping (CPLD).

The council started as a result of a parlamentary decision this spring. When the council opened in June, Sports Minister Marie-George Buffet pointed out its "independent character" since no members are elected by the government but by their "peers".

Further doping releases:
*Two Italian U23 riders, Mario Erbetta and Maurizio Iaconisi, have been reported as having "non negative" results (which means positive) from a drug test taken after a regional U23 chamionship by the laboratory in Barcelona. The B-sample analysis in Lausanne showed traces of the steroid nandrolone.
*Ten riders of the Italian track World Champion squad have had their haematocrit levels tested at the hospital in Padiva. Riders including Baldato, Benetton, Capelli, Collinelli, Citton, Crepaldi, Martinello, Sacchi, Trentini and Villa all passed, although some test results differ up to three or four points from tests taken in the previous week.

Aussie teams announced

Cycling Australia selectors today have announced the men's and women's road squads - "The Cyclones" - to compete in next weeks World Road Cycling Championships in Verona, Italy.

All of the teams look to be very strong, and Australia will have good prospects in all events. Men's coach Shayne Bannan believes that the U-23 squad is one of the strongest yet. The ACT pair of Hayman and Rogers are in top form for the time trial while Cadel Evans is targeted as a real chance for a medal in front of a very strong team in the road race.

Despite the absence of some of the top Aussies pros in the elite squad, the named team is still strong enough to gain Australia good results in both the ITT and road race.

Many cyclingnews.com readers will be familiar with some members of the women's team, who are valued contributors to this site. They will be headed by national road champion, Tracey Gaudry, ranked 3rd in the world, and Commonwealth Games gold medalist and World Cup champion Anna Wilson, ranked 4th in the world. These two riders make up a very strong Australian contingent for the Time Trial along with reigning Oceania Champion, Kathy Watt.

National Coach, James Victor, is looking for Australia¹s best chance in the Road Race for many years. The in-form Gaudry and Wilson will be backed up by experienced team riders, Elizabeth Tadich and Jaunita Feldhahn and a group of talented juniors who have had exceptional results in their first season of major European competition.

Indicative of Australia's press coverage of cycling is that in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald, the fact that Kathy Watt wasn't in the women's road race squad was given the same amount of space as Anna Wilson's sensational double world cup triumph. The old "if it's not controversial, we won't print it" scenario.

The articles combined wouldn't have even made a dent in the Rugby League Grand Final summary.

WOMEN

Road Race: (six to start) Sara Carrigan (Qld), Juanita Feldhahn (Qld), Tracey Gaudry (ACT), Kym Shirley (Qld), Liz Tadich (Vic), Anna Wilson (Vic), and Alison Wright (ACT)

ITT: Tracey Gaudry (ACT), Kathy Watt (Vic), and Anna Wilson (Vic). Reserves: Juanita Feldhahn (Qld), and Kristy Scrymgeour (NSW)

MEN

Elite Road Race: Scott Sunderland (NSW), Brad McGee (NSW), Peter Rogers (ACT), David McKenzie (VIC), Nick Gates (NSW), Nathan O¹Neill (QLD), Jonothan Hall (NSW), Tom Leaper (VIC).

ITT: Brad McGee, Nathan O¹Neill

U23 Road Race: Cadel Evans (VIC), Matthew Hayman (ACT), Cameron McDonald (QLD), Michael Rogers (ACT), Sean Sullivan (TAS) and reserve, Mark Roland (QLD).

ITT: Matthew Hayman, Michael Rogers

Contract news - Baffi wins at 37, Wenzel retires

* Norwegian Svein Gaute Hølestøl of the closing Team Chicky World will ride for Team Gerolsteiner or Team Nürnberger next year. "I will make up my mind Thursday or Friday," said the Norwegian.
* Adriano Baffi won at age 37 the track version of Giro d'Italia after the eighth and final stage at the mythical Vigorello velodrome in Milano in the presence of all the best trackies, except Martinello and Commesso.
* Timex women's team member Kendra Wenzel announced her retirement from racing after winning the final stage in the Bermuda Grand Prix this past Sunday. After twelve years as a competitive cyclist, Wenzel will be now work as a coach, specifically through her business called Wenzel World Champion Cycling, that she and her husband, Rene Wenzel, run together. Wenzel enjoyed the most amount of success in her career as team captain for the Timex Cycling Team. After winning the Pan American Gold Medal in the Individual Pursuit, Wenzel made a successful transition to road competition by winning the 1994 National Collegiate Road Cycling Championships. Joining the Timex Team in 1997, Wenzel had 19 wins and a second place finish in the National Racing Calendar Series. This year, Wenzel finished fifth in the Saturn Pro Cycling Tour, as well as claiming the Bronze Medal at the National Road Championships.

Next year's Vuelta to be even harder

While most of the riders on this year's Vuelta were probably cursing the race organisers on a daily basis due to the difficulty of some stages, race director Enrique Franco has promised that the Vuelta in 2000 will be even harder.

On August 26 next year the Vuelta will commence from the coastal resort town of Malaga and head through the south of Spain, unlike this year's event which ventured mainly into the north and east of the country. "This Vuelta was modern and rational, without long stages of transition and with large days from mountain," said race winner Jan Ullrich in Madrid.

The race has to commence early to accommodate the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, which start mid-September, meaning the riders will be racing through a hot Spanish summer. And the brutal climb of Angliru, which devastated this year's race (Olano injured, Escartin crashed, etc) will again be included.

The race director's aggressive stance has certainly lifted the profile of the Vuelta this year, which now rivals the Giro d'Italia. Indeed, there are many international teams on the Spanish tour, and having Jan Ullrich win this year has certainly generated more headlines in northern Europe.

Escartin to decide about his future this week

Kelme rider Fernando Escartín may make a decision this week as to his future team, according to his trainer and agent Ignacio Labarta. Labarta explained that he is in negotiations with various teams such as TVM, Rabobank, and Festina, and that the final decision should be made by the end of the week.

Spanish Worlds Squad

Elite men - Road Race: , Iñigo Chaurreau, Oscar Freire, José Vicente García, Igor González de Galdeano, Roberto Heras, Roberto Laiseka, Miguel A. Martín Perdiguero, Melchor Mauri, Jon Odriozola, Aitor Osa, José Luis Rubiera and Mikel Zarrabeitia.
Reserves: Manuel Beltrán, Pedro Díaz Lobato, Alvaro González de Galdeano

Elite men - ITT: Alvaro González de Galdeano, Melchor Mauri and José Luis Rubiera .

Elite women - Road Race: Montserrat Alonso, Fátima Blázquez, Rosa María Bravo, Margarita Fullana, Dori Ruano and Joane Somarriba.

Elite women - ITT: Dori Ruano.

Sub 23 - Road Race: (to be selected from) Jorge Capitán, Juan Miguel Cuenca, Gorka González, Francisco Lara, David Muñoz, Oscar Pereiro, Sergio Pérez, Antonio Pontón, Xavier Tondo and Patxi Ugarte

Sub 23 - ITT: (to be selected from) José Cacho, Miguel Clamor, José Guillén, José Iván Gutiérrez,

Junior men - Road Race: (to be selected from) José Alberto Benítez, David de la Fuente, Juan Escamez, Isaac Escolá, Koldo Fernández, Johnatan González, Jesús Hernández, Alejandro Paleo, Genaro Ramos and León Sánchez.

Junior men - ITT: (to be selected from) Juan José Cobo, Angel García, Carlos Saiz and Vicente Reynés.

Junior women - Road Race: Eider Antxustegui, Arantzazu Azpiroz, Maribel Moreno and Patricia Roel

Junior women - ITT: Arantzazu Azpiroz and Maribel Moreno.

Swiss team for World's

Courtesy of Velopages, Switzerland

The complete Swiss team for the World Championships has been announced, with Alex Zülle and Beat Zberg nominated to ride the individual time trial.

The Swiss have announced 13 names in the lead up to the races which commence on October 4. The elite men's squad includes: Niki Aebersold (Steffisburg, Rabobank), Oscar Camenzind (Steinen, Lampre), Mauro Gianetti (Riazzino, Vini Caldirola), Rolf Huser (Hünibach, Festina), Fabian Jeker (Füllinsdorf, Festina), Sven Montgomery (Burgdorf, Post Swiss Team), Roland Meier (Windlach, Cofidis), Felice Puttini (Camignolo, Amica Chips), Pascal Richard (Aigle, Mobilvetta), Daniel Schnider (Habschwanden, Post Swiss Team), Beat Zberg (Brunnen, Rabobank), Markus Zberg (Gunten, Rabobank), Alex Zülle (Zuckenriet, Banesto).

Elite women include: Nicole Brändli (Horgen), Marion Brauen (Niederglatt), Chantal Daucourt (Servion), Priska Doppmann (Baar), Barbara Heeb (Flawil, Zeitfahren), Yvonne Schnorf (Oetwil am See).

Espoirs: Sandro Güttinger (Tesserete, Zeitfahren).

Junior men: Cornel Bachmann (Schmerikon), Fabian Cancellara (Hinterkappelen, Zeitfahren), Daniel Flühmann (Uster), Marco von Känel (Vordemwald), Oliver Zaugg (Pfäffikon ZH). Junior women: Bettina Kuhn (Mels, Zeitfahren), Doris Roth (Oberkirch), Simone Trafelet (Gossau, Zeitfahren), Sonja Traxel (Silenen).

New pro team for France

Following last year's doping scandal at the Tour de France, it's been lean times indeed for French cycling, which makes the formation of a new professional cycling team even more surprising.

Nonetheless, the French national champion Francois Simon is one of the key signings of the new "Bonjour" team, which will operate on a budget of US$3 million over the next three years. The major sponsor is the publisher of a free newspaper in the country.

Other riders for the team include: Didier Rous, Franck Bouyer, Damien Nazon, Olivier Perraudeau, Frédéric Gabriel, Charles Guilbert, Pascal Deramé and Jean-Cyril Robin. There are also nine new professionals for 2000 who come mainly from the Vendée U team, including Walter Beneteau, Franck Rénier, Christophe Faudot, Fabrice Salanson, Mickaël Pichon, Sébastien Joly, Sylvain Chavanel, Frédéric Mainguenaud, Noan Lelarge.