News for February 20, 2000

Armstrong delays

Lance Armstrong has arrived in Europe "tired" according to press reports. He was to have made his season debut in the Trofeo Luis Puig, to be held today, but will instead put off his start until the Vuelta a Comunidad Valenciana, starting on Tuesday, February 22. The Texan, accompanied by Kristen and Luke David, flew in to Nice, France on Friday morning, however he was looking forward to heading to Italy.

"Now we are here in France, but my tie with Italy remains strong," he said. "We have just flown in from Las Vegas, where they have opened a new hotel called 'Bellagio': we arrived from there," he said to La Gazzetta dello Sport, however he will have to wait some time before his first competition there.

Despite the difficulties of having a newborn son, Armstrong believes he is in better condition than at this time last year, although he feels "a little tired". "I will not participate in the Puig Trophy as planned: I would make an ugly figure for sure. Therefore I will make my debut Tuesday in the Vuelta Valenciana. I am not worried, even though I am 3 kilos above race weight - it is early in the season."

Mario Cipollini is another not keen for the Trophy, despite his suitcase leaving on Friday afternoon to Spain. He will not leave until Saturday, however. "I must give up three days with my family in order to race up the climb in Benidorm, like Bugno when he won the World Championships," said the King Lion. "It is better for me to remain here in Montecarlo to train. I will resume racing in the Valenciana."

He was spotted out training on the Poggio climb yesterday though, in order to get a feel, like so many others, for the deciding climb of the Milan Sanremo.

Verbruggen meets

Hein Verbruggen, president of the UCI, will travel to Valencia today for a meeting of the international association of cyclists. Present also will be Francesco Moser and Miguel Indurain, who are the riders' representatives on the new Professional Council. Ingrillì, president of the Italian cyclists, has said that he will ask Verbruggen to move the disciplinary case against Ivan Gotti to a higher court, with the remaining four riders to be referred to the CONI anti-drug commission.

Coupe de France

This weekend marks the start of the 9th "Coupe de France", a series of 16 races commencing with the Tour du Haut Var, and finishing with Paris-Bourges on October 1. Last year saw the introduction of foreign riders to the competition, as long as they are in French teams, allowing Estonian Jan Kirsipuu to win the overall classification. Although he did not race in the Haut Var, won by Nardello, he will start in the Haribo Classic alongside his AG2R teammates, and will be a clear favourite for this event.

The Coupe de France, started in 1992, offers an opportunity for second division teams to make their mark in a major competition outside of the World Cup. The races for this year are as follows:

February 19: Tour du Haut Var
February 20: Classic Haribo
March 19: Cholet/Pays de Loire
March 31: Route Adélie
April 2: Grand Prix de Rennes
April 20: Grand Prix de Denain
April 23: Tour de Vendée
April 25: Paris-Camembert
April 30: Trophée des Grimpeurs
May 27: A Travers le Morbihan
June 3: La Classique Des Alpes
June 12: Grand Prix de Villers Cotterêts
August 21: Circuit de l'Aulne (à Chateaulin)
September 10: Grand Prix de Fourmies
September 17: Grand Prix d'Isbergues
October 1: Paris-Bourges

EPO test gaining momentum

The Australian Institute of Sports push to have a surefire test for EPO in time for the Sydney Games is well on track, according to Allan Hahn, head of the physiology unit at the AIS. The test, outlined in cyclingnews late last year, currently has a "one in 100,000" chance of failure, based on Australian data. It is currently undergoing rigorous testing amongst a range of ethnic groups involving testing of 1200 athletes around the world.

The aim is to have the test ready by July to present to the IOC for legal and medical checking, with the final test ready for the Olympics in September. The $AUS 1.5 million in funding support from the IOC was handed to the AIS yesterday, to enable "stage 2" to progress.

The model developed to test for EPO has five parameters at the moment, although a sixth may be added, according to Hahn. Abnormalities in one (or a combination) of these will clearly point to EPO use, and a reliability of 1 in 100,000 is an order of magnitude greater than the IOC specification for the human growth hormone test (1 in 10,000).

Graham Trout, of the Australian Government testing laboratories said that the decision announced this week by the IOC for out-of-competition testing to be held two weeks prior to the Games would be a significant plus for EPO test. According to research conducted by the AIS, the benefit of taking EPO is gone within four weeks, reducing the athlete's window of opportunity to take the drug.