News for February 17, 2000

Belgians unsure

Four of Belgium's top cyclists, Frank Vandenbroucke (Cofidis), Peter van Petegem (Farm Frites), Johan Museeuw (Mapei) and Andrei Tchmil (Lotto) are not sure whether they wish to go to the Olympic Games this year in Sydney, or to the World Championships in Plouay. The belief is that the proximity of the races (they are less than three weeks apart) precludes peaking for both, as well as the adjustments for travelling to the other side of the world. According to Johan Museeuw and Andrei Tchmil: "There is a choice: Sydney or the World Championships in Plouay. A combination is impossible."

Atlanta 1996 was the first time that professional cyclists were allowed to compete in the Olympics, and many were ambivalent about the validity of the decision. Would it become a big event like the World's, or "just another road race" for the increasingly overworked peloton? There was also the problem that it would push the amateurs out of the limelight, in one of the main events that allowed them to shine, and attract the attention of pro teams. However, over the past three and something years, the Olympic Road Race (and Time Trial to a lesser extent) have become somewhat of a talking point amongst the pro's, who seem more eager to add an Olympic medal to their palmares.

The men's Olympic Road Race is on the 27th of September, finishing just 10 days after the Vuelta, 10 days before Paris-Tours and 3 weeks before the World's. It is a hard choice for people like Vandenbroucke to make, given his desire for major tour, World Cup and other big single day race wins. Especially since according to VDB, "the parcours in Plouay fits me like a glove."

Peter van Petegem has other concerns, dealing with the acclimatisation to Sydney time after the Tour of Spain. The large time difference can mean it takes up to ten days to adjust, and possibly a similar time to get back in the groove for Paris-Tours. Not ideal preparation, according to him.

Andrei Tchmil is not sure whether he will be selected, and he is unsure whether he would want to make the trip, as in Atlanta when he was with the Russian team "we felt isolated in the Athletes village. Not good for the concentration." He will make his choice if and when he is selected.

Johan Museeuw was the road captain in Atlanta and gave his thoughts on this year's Games: "I think that it will take 15 days to recover from the plane trip. You can't go for that long in the mid-season without competition. It is not too problematic for riders who want a holiday. It fits into the end of my season planning, so why not?"

Come on Johan, there's always Heffron Park...

Rinero out for three months

The French Cofidis rider (yes, there are some) Cristophe Rinero will be off from the roads for three months as a result of the injury he sustained from a fall in the season's first stage race, the Tour Méditerranéen. The 26 year old climber hurt a tendon in one of his knees in the crash on the fifth stage. He underwent surgery in Toulose and will not be able to ride in six weeks. He is not expected to race until late May.

Rinero was King of the Mountains in the 1998 Tour de France after Rodolfo Massi had been arrested by police. Rinero then refused to put on the jersey on the podium the same day that Massi had been stopped from racing.

Australian selection for the Games

Selection in the Olympic Games has often aroused a large degree of controversy in Australia, most recently with the Kathy Watt-Lucy Tyler-Sharman-Charlie Walsh affair which dominated pre- and post-Olympics headlines from 1996 onwards. The ramifications of the case are still being felt, with the Watt v Walsh trial still scheduled for later this year.

To avoid this happening this year, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) released its athlete selection criteria yesterday, giving full details of the channels that athletes should go through, should they have any problems. Each sport has own clearly defined selection criteria (for cycling, this can be found here).

Athletes who are not selected may appeal through an independent internal tribunal and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Counselling will be made available to those that are not selected, as "we are very anxious that they [the athletes] are not lost to sport," said John Coates, AOC president at the launch of the policy.

"Because we've insisted that sports set out in writing an unambiguous selection criteria and because we've insisted it meet all the principles of natural justice, and be brought to the attention of the athletes, we would hope that there will be fewer disputes," he said.

Elita Women's team

By John Alsedek, cyclingnews.com correspondent

On February 15th, Elita Lingerie of Montreal QC announced the roster for the 2000 Elita Professional Women's Cycling Team. Coming off a 1999 season that saw them win 35 races, including the G.P. Feminin in Canada and the Univest G.P., Team Elita made only one off-season move, acquiring American Karen Dunne. Dunne, several times a U.S. National Champion and winner of the gold medal in the '99 Pan-American Games, is looking forward to joining her new team: "I am excited about the prospect of riding with such a talented group of young athletes with a proven record of teamwork." Her Elita teammates, all of whom are holdovers from last year, are: Erin Carter, Kim Davidge, Cybil Di Guistini, Melanie Dorion, Annie Gariepy, Sophie St. Jacques (all CAN), and Sarah Ulmer (NZ).

For the 2000 season, Team Elita has set its sights on the Sydney Olympics, and several riders are considered locks to make the trip Down Under: Ulmer has already made the New Zealand team, and both Dunne and Gariepy are Long Team members for the U.S. and Canada, respectively. Following a four-day team building session in Tucson, AZ from February 28-March 2, Team Elita will kick off the season at the Visalia Cycling Classic (March 4-5) and the Redlands Classic (March 7-12).

Fiedler branches out

Although professional track teams are somewhat of a novelty, there is a German based team, called the "Erdgas XXL" (natural gas). The team has as its captain, sprinter Jens Fiedler and they have recently branched out into the other areas. According to German Radsport-News, they intend on opening a training camp for the general public in Mallorca (where else?), in the town of Cala Ratjada.

They will run this in partnership with vice president of the German Federation, Olaf Ludwig. The camp will be aimed at all levels of riders, involving distances of between 30-150 km, as well as instruction from top coaches and mechanics.