News for February 28, 2000

Scott Sunderland's Vlaamse weekend

Courtesy of Sabine Sunderland

I am afraid it is far from good - Scott was involved in a serious crash again. About 80 kms from the finish of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, doing close to 65 km/h, Nico Mattan from the Cofidis team was riding in front of Scott, as he and Scott were trying to get to the front to position themselves for the coming climbs. Then suddenly, Nico had to hit the brakes as some guys in front of him were doing so. Scott, sitting directly in his wheel had nowhere to go so he went straight into the steel road guard rails!!

The ambulance took Scott to the hospital in Ronse where the doctor put 20(!) stitches in his right knee. Scott did not take much skin off due to the hardness of the surface but he suffered some deep cuts. His right leg was put in a plaster shell to avoid movement of his knee. The wound on his knee cap was very deep and the doctors took their time cleaning it out to rule out any major infections.

His left leg received stitches underneath the knee so this one is not too bad, but, as he can´t put any weight on his painful left foot, he is confined to the couch for the following days. I have to take him back to the hospital on Wednesday, when most of the swelling will be gone to examine the tendons and tissues underneath the knee cap further. They couldn't do those examinations right away because of the bad state of the skin and flesh.

The doctors have put Scott on antibiotics to suppress any infections. Underneath his armpit he has heavy bruising from hitting the road guard rail, so that will be mega sore in the coming days. He has got heavy duty painkillers to take though, so we'll make sure he doesn't have to suffer too much. The coming week will show how much damage was really done, we hope it will just be the flesh that took the heat and not the knee cap itself...wait and see.

So, that was that for the first weekend of Flemish races. The doctors told Scott to have full rest for the coming week, then another rehab program will start. Scott was very upset and sooo angry immediately after the crash. While he was trying to sit up, the colourful language was echoing down the road. He couldn't get up, as his knee was hurting too much and while he was taken to hospital he was telling the nurse he'd never get on the bike again ... we've been home now for a couple of hours. I helped him freshen up (wash all the dirt, grit and oil off his shaken body) and guess what - he is calculating what classics he could be ready for...bike riders, they are a special breed if you ask me!

Zabel getting fitter

With only a few weeks to go before his first big goal of the season, Milan - San Remo, Telekom's Erik Zabel says that he is hoping to make it three wins in the event. He will have good support from teammate Steffen Wesemann, after his good showing in Saturday's Omloop Het Volk where he finished second to Museeuw.

Zabel's new lead out man, Gianmatteo Fagnini is doing his job, as evidenced by his role in Zabel's victory in stage 4 of the Tour of the Valencian Community. The rest of the team seemed to have sorted out their leadout strategy, but the question remains as to what use it will be in Milan-San Remo when there is often a selection on the Poggio. Position will be critical.

Zabel is training in Mallorca now after the Valencian race, saying that his form is coming slowly. "At least this time I have not had to deal with stomach problems like I did in the lead up to 'La Primavera' last year," he said. He is aiming to become the first person since Roger de Vlaeminck to win M-SR three times.

Cyclists killed - driver charged

The tragic death on the weekend of four cyclists in France has seen the motorist responsible charged with manslaughter and inability to control his vehicle. He drove into a group of 100 cyclotourists at over 120 km/h, injuring 17 and killing four near Vauvert (Gard).

The accident occurred when he was rounding a blind corner at high speed on a secondary road between Vauvert and Aimargues. He claimed at the hearing that he was unable to move out of the way, being blocked by a white car on the other side of the road. However, many witnesses in the bunch affirmed that the white car had already passed them before the charged motorist hit them.

According to the police, the motorist had a negative blood alcohol level and had no prior record of reckless driving. However, they pointed out the extreme danger of overtaking a group that large without sufficient road vision.

The French League against road violence, of whom 95% of the 3.500 members are families of victims of road accidents, stressed that "practically nothing" had been done since an accident similar to Niort (Deux-Sevres) had occurred in July 1998 (five died and four were wounded). They called for an overall policy and specific measures to be taken so that cyclists can ride safely.

Daniel Baal, president of the French Federation of cycling (FFC), emphasised that "this tragedy recalls once more how vulnerable the security cyclists is outside of competition".

FFC meeting

Two proposed reforms to the French Cycling Federation's (FFC) code of rules have been rejected by cyclists at the annual general meeting in Draguignan today. The FFC wished to change how their constituents voted for the 43 members of the council by allowing the 2,700 clubs to elect them directly. The existing method involves 66 representatives voting for the 43 member council. This reform was rejected by a two-thirds majority at the meeting.

In addition, Armand Megret, federation doctor, expressed his satisfaction one year after the initiation of the medical follow-up program intended to combat doping. "The harmonization between the medical follow-up recommended by the UCI and that practised in France supports the feeling that the restoration of cycling is on target," said Yvon Sanquer, the new vice-president of the FFC.

The secretary-general of the FFC, Jean Pitallier, pointed out the excellent results of the French at last year's World Championships, saying that "Seven of the sixteen gold medals obtained in the championships of the world were in Olympic disciplines."

Finally, this year's FFC budget has increased markedly to FF 99.3 million ($US 17 million), up from FF 84.7 million last year. This is in part to deal with the hosting of the World Road Championships in Plouay.

Zülle to Portgual

Courtesy of Carlos Flórido

After he participates in the Tour of Murcia, Banesto's Alex Zülle will travel to Portugal, to race the cat. 2.4 Volta ao Algarve, March 8-12. His teammates Piepoli, Rodrigues, Barbosa, Benito, Garcia Acosta, Mancebo and Bruseghin will accompany him there. Banesto will also race in the Grande Prémio Portugal Telecom (2.4, March 15-18), with Jimenez on the team, to test his legs on the Serra da Estrela, a stage ending with a 1,900 m high, 18 km climb.

In Algarve, Festina (Casero and Wüst), Kelme, Gerolsteiner, Phonak and ten Portuguese teams will race. The GP Portugal Telecom will also have Mapei and ONCE.