News for December 19, 2000Pantani's defense quitsMarco Pantani's lawyer in his sporting fraud case, Gaetano Insolera, will take no further part in the rider's appeal to clear his name, after he was found guilty last week by the court in Forli. Mr Insolera reached an agreement with Pantani's manager, Manuela Ronchi and they subsequently announced the decision. In addition to Insolera, all the legal and scientific advisors that were used in the case will also not be continuing. "I have decided to resign the case of Marco Pantani, as well as all of those in my office," said Insolera. "I made the decision after a lot of thought and a meeting with Manuela Ronchi, who assured me that Pantani was confident that all the work that the legal and scientific professionals had done in his defense was of the highest quality." "The continuation of the defense, deemed necessary to show the innocence of Pantani, will be trusted to other technicians," he added. "Perhaps the astonishment and incredulity in relation to this sentence makes it necessary to change the defense." Pantani lost his case last week, and was given a three month suspended sentence. He immediately stated that he would appeal the decision and try to clear his name.
Riis to receive compensationAccording to reports in Ekstrabladet, the Danish daily, Bjarne Riis is going to be receiving an early Christmas present. The former Tour-champ-turned-team-director (and owner, for that matter) is to receive significant compensation from his insurance company for the injury that put an end to his career. For those who do not remember, fate threw a curveball at Bjarne in June 1999 when the otherwise meticulous Riis hit the curb on the way to the start of a stage in the Tour of Switzerland. The ensuing fall resulted in a multiple fracture to his elbow that he never fully recovered from. Unable to assume his normal position over the bike, Riis was forced into retirement. According to Ekstrabladet, Riis will be receiving just short of US $2 million from the Swedish insurance company, Euro Accident Group. Courtesy of Jon Jay Neufeld German track pursuit team: sports team of the yearThe world record breaking team pursuit squad of Robert Bartko, Daniel Becke, Guido Fulst and Jens Lehmann, have been awarded "Sports Team of the Year" by the Internationale Sport-Korrespondenz (ISK) group. The 1,500 German journalists that comprise the society voted the sub-4 minute quartet as the best team of the year, ahead of the German athletics, equestrian and beach volleyball teams. In addition, Jan Ullrich was voted third best sportsman of the year, behind Nils Schumann (athletics, 800 m) and Michael Schumacher (Formula 1). On this poll, Robert Bartko rated 5th. Injured sprinting star, Marcel Wüst was also honoured at the awards ceremony in Baden-Baden, following his success in the Tour de France.
UCI cyclocross rankingsThe UCI have issued their latest cyclocross rankings as of December 18. World Champion, Richard Groenendaal remains well on top, followed by Mario de Clercq and Sven Nijs. Despite having retired at the beginning of 2000, Adri van der Poel is still 9th. After his recent fall and stay in hospital, he was able to work again as a UCI official during the World Cup cyclocross race in Zolder. Rankings as of December 18, 2000 1 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) 2398 pts 2 Mario De Clercq (Bel) 1606 3 Sven Nijs (Bel) 1409 4 Bart Wellens (Bel) 1314 5 Daniele Pontoni (Ita) 1038 6 Erwin Vervecken (Bel) 1018 7 Peter Van Santvliet (Bel) 737 8 Tom Vannoppen (Bel) 618 9 Adri Van der Poel (Ned) 594 10 Beat Wabel (Swi) 557 Monument to Goddet on top of TourmaletOn the top of the Tourmalet there will be a monument placed as a tribute to Jacques Goddet who died last week. The organiser hopes to erect the monument before the peloton of the Tour de France 2001 will pass over the Tourmalet.
Thijs can't start with LottoBelgian team Lotto have sacked Erwin Thijs before he has even turned a pedal in anger with them. The 30 year old former Vlaanderen 2002 rider showed excessive amounts of caffeine in his urine (12.6 ng/mL), after a test was taken at the Belgian Time Trial Championships. Lotto's team rules state that a rider may be fired if he tests positive, and this was applied to Thijs. The latter claims that the caffeine came from a bronchitis medicine, and he is confident that he will clear his name.
KNWU starts with its own health testsThe Dutch KNWU will introduce around 200 health tests this coming year for riders in the national teams. The three year project will costs 125,000 Euro, part of which will be paid by the ministry of sports. Joop Atsma, chairman of the KNWU said that "We will control 42 sportspeople from all categories and another 8 veterans four times per year. There will be no sanctions made from the results of the controls, but if we find something we will contact the rider. As far as I know we are the only federation with which this campaign has been requested by the UCI."
Rabobank renew sponsorship of KNWURabobank has renewed their sponsorship of the KNWU until the end of 2003. Some changes were made in the contract, so Rabobank won't be the jersey sponsor during European and World Championships any more. The KNWU can look for other sponsors for these championships.
Dave Millar auctionThe bidding closed for Dave Millar's signed Tour de France yellow jersey last Friday, with the final price reaching £1,000 ($US 1,500). The winner bought the jersey for his girlfriend, who is apparently keen on cycling. The money is due to go to the Dave Rayner Fund, and the winners will be announced on Dave Millar's website, www.itsmillartime.com when it goes live early next year.
BCF plans World Class futureIn a lengthy press release the British Cycling Federation has outlined its plans for its World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) team development in 2001 and subsequent years. The BCF's main aim remains Olympic medals, because "it is now clear that Olympic success is the only guaranteed method of achieving widespread recognition for cycle sport in the UK, within the current WCPP funding." The base of this effort is the Start and Potential programs, designed to find and nurture talented young riders. Perhaps the most exciting development is the notion of scholarships for under-23 riders to join teams and clubs on the European mainland. According to the BCF, "A rider selected for such a placement will receive full WCPP support including a personal grant, coaching and science/medical support. They will receive best of both worlds: WCPP back-up and exposure to the real world they are hoping to enter." The women's road and track teams will be combined, with all riders competing in both disciplines. The intention is to ensure that in particular female track riders have a large base of road conditioning, as the BCF believes this is necessary for success in track endurance events. The position of Performance Director will be split in two - one person to handle management and admin, the other focused on strategic planning and coaching. Peter Keen, current Performance Director, will take the coaching role. David Brailsford will occupy the Programme Director role in a caretaker capacity while recruitment takes place for a permanent person. Looking specifically at the UK's prospects for Athens 2004, the BCF observes that the average age of the Sydney 2000 team was 28.7 years and that the Start and Potential programmes will take 6-8 years to produce new talent. The majority of the 2004 team are therefore currently racing, and the WCPP has to focus on its strengths. Fisher denies Subaru deal, Specialized heads for the SunAccording to Dean Gore, Director of the Gary Fisher team, no deal has been done as yet between Fisher Bikes and Subaru. However, after a Specialized spokesperson earlier told us that losing their car sponsor was "news to me", Specialized today announced that the team will not in fact be continuing its association with Subaru and will become more closely aligned with computer maker Sun Microsystems.
Houseman and Houseman to TomacGary Houseman, up-and-coming mountain bike downhiller previously of the Haro team, has signed for the Tomac team where he joins older brother Rich who has spent the last two seasons on Johnny T's squad.
MTBers Bynans and Laroy to Blancs Gilets - Free BikeBelgian junior champion Damien Bynans and multiple Belgian women's champion Lory Laroy have signed for new mountain bike team Blancs Gilets - Free Bike, managed by Laurent Saublens. The pairing will form the core of a 30-strong squad, with the full roster to be announced in the next few days. |