News for April 18, 2000Latest UCI rankingsAfter last week's Ardennes classics, there have been several changes at the top of the UCI men's rankings. World number one, Laurent Jalabert (ONCE) is still on top, although he did not perform quite as well as last year. His lead is such that it will be some time before any others manage to come close, but the new guy in second place (from 5th) is Vini Caldirola's Francesco Casagrande (Ita) who has overtaken Erik Zabel (Telekom) for the time being. Michael Boogerd continues to drop down, as he did not have a stellar Ardennes campaign - he is now 11th, while Paolo Bettini has moved from 13th to 8th as a result of his win. Despite being considered a super domestique, he is Mapei's number one rider at the moment! In the division one teams, Mapei still lead quite comfortably, on 3096 points, with Telekom in second, over 400 points behind and O.N.C.E. creeping up in third. Another 500 point gap to the Dutch teams Rabobank and Farm Frites, then another to Banesto in 6th place on 1430 points. In division two, Credit Agricole remains on top, closely followed by Cantina Tollo who gained some points with Mondini's second placing in the final stage of the Tour of Aragon. Slovakian team, De Nardi-Pasta Montegrappa have the lead (464 pts) in division III, ahead of the Austrian Bosch Hausgeräte - Sport Kärnten team, with US team Shaklee back in third on 298 points. The nation rankings are, as usual, topped by Italy who have a 1,500 point lead over Spain, and 3,000 over France. UCI rankings as of April 16, 2000 1 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) O.N.C.E.-Deutsche Bank 2,632.75 pts 2 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 1,725.00 3 Erik Zabel (Ger) Deutsche Telekom-ARD 1,664.00 4 Abraham Olano Manzano (Spa) O.N.C.E.-Deutsche Bank 1,656.75 5 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 1,496.00 6 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service 1,449.00 7 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Deutsche Telekom-ARD 1,408.00 8 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,395.00 9 Andrei Tchmil (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 1,375.00 10 Jann Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r Prévoyance-Décathlon 1,370.00 11 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 1,368.00 12 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 1,332.00 13 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1,319.00 14 Markus Zberg (Swi) Rabobank 1,315.00 15 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Deutsche Telekom-ARD 1,182.00 16 Johan Museeuw (Bel) Mapei-Quick Step 1,110.50 17 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Lampre-Daikin 1,022.00 18 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 1,011.00 18 Alex Zuelle (Swi) Banesto 1,011.00 20 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Polti 1,008.00 20 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 1,008.00 22 Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) Polti 1,005.00 23 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank 982.00 24 Serguei Gontchar (Ukr) Liquigas-Pata 943.00 25 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Jean Delatour 940.00 26 Mario Cipollini (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 926.00 27 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 921.00 28 Sergio Barbero (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 909.00 29 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 902.00 30 David Etxebarria Alkorta (Spa) O.N.C.E.-Deutsche Bank 891.00 31 Dmitri Konyshev (Rus) Fassa Bortolo 886.00 32 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Farm Frites 878.50 33 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Cofidis 861.50 34 Fernando Escartin Coti (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 861.00 35 Igor Gonzalez Galdeano Aranzabal (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 860.00 36 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 859.00 37 Angel Luis Casero Moreno (Spa) Festina-Lotus 856.00 38 Laurent Dufaux (Swi) Saeco-Valli & Valli 854.00 39 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 850.00 40 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Farm Frites 836.00 41 José Maria Jimenez Sastre (Spa) Banesto 829.00 42 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Banesto 807.00 43 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 801.00 44 Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 792.00 45 Jan Schaffrath (Ger) Deutsche Telekom-ARD 762.50 46 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Mapei-Quick Step 755.00 47 Ivan Gotti (Ita) Polti 754.00 48 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Deutsche Telekom-ARD 738.00 49 Beat Zberg (Swi) Rabobank 737.00 50 François Simon (Fra) Bonjour-Toupargel 722.00 51 Tristan Hoffman (Ned) Memory Card-Jack & Jones 719.00 52 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 707.00 53 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal Service 683.00 54 Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 682.00 55 Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) Bonjour-Toupargel 680.00 56 Alberto Elli (Ita) Deutsche Telekom-ARD 672.00 57 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 669.00 58 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Festina-Lotus 668.00 59 Juan Carlos Dominguez Dominguez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 624.00 60 Jonathan Vaughters (USA) Crédit Agricole 620.00 61 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 616.00 61 Marco Velo (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 616.00 63 Roberto Sgambelluri (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 610.00 64 Lars Michaelsen (Den) La Française des Jeux 608.00 65 Stéphane Heulot (Fra) La Française des Jeux 598.00 65 Gabriele Missaglia (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 598.00 67 Massimo Donati (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 591.00 68 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Rabobank 588.00 69 José Alberto Martinez Trinidad (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 587.00 70 Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) Fassa Bortolo 566.00 71 Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Rabobank 557.00 72 Tom Steels (Bel) Mapei-Quick Step 556.50 73 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Farm Frites 544.00 74 Marcel Wust (Ger) Festina-Lotus 536.00 75 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) La Française des Jeux 518.00 76 Gianni Faresin (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 516.00 77 Richard Virenque (Fra) Polti 514.00 78 Servais Knaven (Ned) Farm Frites 512.50 79 Unai Osa Eizaguirre (Spa) Banesto 509.00 79 Steffen Wesemann (Ger) Deutsche Telekom-ARD 509.00 81 Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro (Spa) Festina-Lotus 507.00 82 Aitor Osa Eizaguirre (Spa) Banesto 499.00 82 Geert Van Bondt (Bel) Farm Frites 499.00 84 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 495.00 84 Mikel Zarrabeitia Uranga (Spa) O.N.C.E.-Deutsche Bank 495.00 86 Marc Streel (Bel) Ville de Charleroi-Newsystems 494.00 87 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 487.00 87 Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 487.00 89 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 486.00 90 Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal Service 485.00 91 Mauro Gianetti (Swi) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 468.00 92 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis 465.50 93 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Memory Card-Jack & Jones 464.00 94 Jan Hruska (Cze) Vitalicio Seguros 463.00 95 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 461.00 96 Gilles Maignan (Fra) Ag2r Prévoyance-Décathlon 454.50 97 Christopher Boardman (GB) Crédit Agricole 448.50 98 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Crédit Agricole 445.00 99 Francisco Mancebo Perez (Spa) Banesto 444.00 100 Nicolay Bo Larsen (Den) Memory Card-Jack & Jones 438.00 Teams, division I 1 Mapei - Quick Step 3,096.00 pts 2 Team Deutsche Telekom 2,667.00 3 O.N.C.E. - Deutsche Bank 2,507.75 4 Rabobank 2,004.00 5 Farm Frites 1,981.00 6 Banesto 1,430.00 7 Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1,427.00 8 Fassa Bortolo 1,365.00 9 Vini Caldirola - Sidermec 1,344.00 10 Vitalicio Seguros 1,330.00 11 Kelme - Costa Blanca 1,283.00 12 Lampre - Daikin 1,206.00 13 Lotto - Adecco 1,203.00 14 Memorycard - Jack & Jones 974.00 15 Liquigas - Pata 939.00 16 Ag2R Prevoyance 928.00 17 La Francaise Des Jeux 776.00 18 Festina 773.00 19 US Postal Service 708.00 20 Mercatone Uno - Albacom 562.00 21 Saeco - Valli & Valli 487.00 22 Team Polti 486.00 Top 15 Teams, division II 1 Credit Agricole 1,157.00 pts 2 Cantina Tollo 1,011.00 3 Euskaltel - Euskadi 858.00 4 Jean Delatour 705.00 5 Mercury Cycling Team 639.00 6 Palmans - Ideal 481.00 7 Bonjour 396.00 8 Alessio SGM 312.00 9 Uniao Ciclista Da Maia/MSS 297.00 10 Team Gerolsteiner 263.00 11 Linda Mccartney Racing Team 229.00 12 Amica Chips - Tacconi Sport 216.00 13 Collstrop - De Federale Verzekeringen 209.00 14 Bigmat Auber 93 184.00 15 Tönissteiner - Colnago 173.00 Top 10 Teams, division III 1 De Nardi - Pasta Montegrappa 464.00 pts 2 Bosch Hausgeräte - Sport Kärnten 403.00 3 Team Shaklee 298.00 4 Team Hohenfelder - Concorde 244.00 5 Stabil Steiermark 204.00 6 Axa Professional Cycling Team 129.00 7 Jelly Belly Cycling Team 113.00 8 Kia - Villiger Suisse 112.00 9 7Up - Colorado Cyclist 107.00 10 Barbot - Torrie 77.00 Top 10 Nations 1 Italy 11,075.00 pts 2 Spain 9,609.75 3 France 7,939.25 4 Belgium 7,717.50 5 Germany 6,902.50 6 Switzerland 6,636.00 7 Netherlands 6,349.50 8 U.S.A. 4,573.00 9 Russia 4,119.00 10 Denmark 3,818.00 Ullrich back in the Midi-LibreJan Ullrich's latest race schedule has him returning to competition in the Midi-Libre (mid May), after not having raced with his Telekom team since March. The 1999 World Time Trial champion and Vuelta winner has been suffering from illness since then and did not wish to enter into competition until he was fully fit. He also intends to race in the Tour of Germany - the race which put him out of action last year - on May 26. Team director, Walter Godefroot has made it clear that he does not want to push the return of Ullrich to racing until he is ready. He will have 6 weeks of competition before the Tour, provided he starts in mid-May.
Lance for CamembertUS Postal's Lance Armstrong, who recently quit the last stage of the Tour of Aragon, will compete in next week's category 1.2 race, the Paris-Camembert (April 25). This will follow this weekend's Amstel Gold Race (April 22), his first classic since Milan-San Remo in March where he finished 108th. Also on the program is the GP Gippingen in Switzerland (April 30) - all part of the grand plan for the Tour 2000.
Tour of GermanyThe presentation of the Tour of Germany (Deutschland Rundfarht) was held today in Bonn. The second edition of this category 2.3 race will go for seven days, from May 26 to June 1. Last year, it gained some notoriety for taking out several top riders, and destroyed Telekom's chances in the Tour de France that followed. This year, they will be back with Ullrich and Zabel, the latter who will be aiming for sprint stage wins against Festina's fast man, Marcel Wüst who has now won five races this year. Udo Bölts and Jens Heppner (last year's winner) will be there to help Zabel and Ullrich, while Wüst will have his Festina colleagues there to try and fine tune him for the Tour de France this year. However, the course is designed for tour riders, rather than sprinters according to the organisers. The hardest stage is number three, from Pforzheim to Bad-Dürkheim (215 km), which contains several climbs including the Kandel. The organisers are keen to increase the race's standing to that of a higher category, e.g. Hors Categorie or Grand Tour. They will need to add another two weeks and a few more mountain stages if the latter is to occur.
Farm Frites for AmstelThe final round of the first half of the men's road World Cup concludes this Saturday, with the Amstel Gold race in the Netherlands. Dutch squad, Farm Frites have named six of their eight riders to contest the event: Geert van Bondt (Bel), Serguei Ivanov (Rus), Steven Kleynen (Bel), Servais Knaven (Ned), Michel Lafis (Swe) and Peter van Petegem (Bel). They have three options for the last two positions: Miquel van Kessel (Ned), Wim Vansevenant (Bel) and Koos Moerenhout (Ned) to be decided on Friday. They will contest the Grote Scheldeprijs in Belgium (Cat 1.1) tomorrow with a similar team (van Bondt, van Petegem, Ivanov, Klier, Knaven, Lowik, McEwen and van der Ven). The following day, in the French 1.3 race, G.P. Denain, new signing Dirk Ronellenfitsch (Ger) will make his debut for the team.
Davidson signsAustralian Brad Davidson, currently competing in Italy with the GS Vezza Brunero team, has been riding well enough (he has won two races this year) to attract the attention of one of the country's biggest professional teams - Saeco Valli & Valli. Davidson was offered a two-year contract which he signed recently with Mario Cipollini's squad, commencing in September 2000.
Pantani has to waitMarco Pantani, whose blood is currently the subject of scrutiny in Forli, Italy, will have to wait a few more days to find out whether prosecutor Luigi Russo will continue with his investigation, according to Pantani's lawyer, Gaetano Insolera. The Pirate is being examined in relation to his alleged high hematocrit (60.1 percent) discovered after his crash in the 1995 Milan-Turin race. Pantani was taken to hospital after the incident, where he was operated on but doctors also noticed that his blood contained more red blood cells than normal. He was initially investigated by Rafaele Guarinello in Turin, however Pantani's lawyers argued that the case should be transferred to Forli (near Pantani's home), where the alleged hematocrit boosting would have occurred. They succeeded and the new judge will have to decide whether to shelve it or to continue prosecuting.
Zberg movesSwiss rider, Beat Zberg will be transported to a hospital in Zurich tonight. He has been undergoing treatment for a torn right kidney and broken pelvis in San Sebastian since his fall in the Tour of the Basque country. Doctors still believe that he can return to competition within two or three months.
Museeuw's jerseyA small but important point: the jersey auctioned on the weekend (refer to item in yesterday's news), did in fact go for BEF555,000, which is equivalent to US$12,000 (not $1,200). Survey updateThe cyclingnews.com survey competition to win the Spinergy wheels has now closed, and we are currently processing all the entries. The winner will be announced tomorrow, but if you have just logged on to find out you have missed a once in a lifetime chance to win a pair of wheels, never fear as there will be more competitions throughout the year. A big thank you to everyone who participated, as your responses will help us develop the site to reflect your interests. |