News for February 4, 2000

Cyclocross team named

Dutch Cyclocrosser, Wim de Vos has signed for 2 years with the new cyclocross team that will also contain espoir world champion, Bart Wellens (Bel). The new cyclocross team will be sponsored by SpaarSelect (they are involved in speedskating at the moment with the Dutch rider Gianni Romme). SpaarSelect spokesman Orlando van den Bosch confirmed that they are interested in this part of cycling. Other riders on the team include Peter van Santvliet and Gerben de Knegt.

In addition, Elite world champion, Richard Groenendaal (Ned) talked with his Rabobank team boss, Jan Raas about his contract for the coming year. He was also rumoured to be considering joining the new cyclocross team of Wellens et al, however he ended up signing for Rabobank for a further two years.

"I didn't want to leave, because I find it good here [in Rabobank]. I was interested in other teams, but I did not talk with anyone," said the rider who has ridden since 1996 with Rabobank.

Banesto presentation

One of the top four Spanish squads, Banesto, have presented their team for 2000. The team, headed by Jose Miguel Echávarri and Eusebio Unzúe has as its star riders, Jose Maria Jiménez, Alex Zülle and Leonardo Piepoli. Jiménez' main aim will be the Tour, along with Zülle, while Piepoli will target the Giro. Three neo's, Alberto Benito, Denis Menchov, and Thomas Brozyna (Pol), will provide youth to the squad as well as helping its future development.

After Jiménez' poor performance in the Giro last year, Unzúe has decided to target him for the Tour. "It [the Tour] has been our fundamental objective because it has given so much to us, and is always the reference point for our sport. We are attracted by the meaning of the Tour," said Unzúe by way of clarification of Jiménez' main aim.

Jiménez' will not participate in the Criterium International or Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as he hopes to put all his racing energies into the Tour. In Zülle's case, the Swiss rider believes that he will have a much better season without the "heavy ballast" of a six month drug suspension. "This will allow me to aim for the Tour still more, as this is where I have my head," he said.

The Italian rider, Leonardo Piepoli said that he was proud of being Banesto's team leader for the Giro. He is also convinced that his compatriot, Marco Pantani's return to the peloton will be strongly felt in this race.

Banesto's racing program for the year involves 225 days of competition, including all the national calendar races, with 115 days abroad (Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland and France).

Large demand for neo-pros

In Europe, and North America, there are at least 90 teams in three divisions, and the number is growing. This has created a large demand for new professional riders - 69 in Italy, and 35 in Spain for example. This is close to the record acheived in 1998 before the "Festina affair" broke halfway through the year.

In Switzerland, there are a total of 41 professionals in the top two divisions, and the sport is clearly very popular there. However, 25 of these will ride for foreign sponsored teams. 1998 World Champion, Oscar Camenzind will be aiming for one day classics, after a couple of several less-than-satisfactory attempts in the major Tours, while Laurent Dufaux and Alex Zülle will stick with their Big Tour plans. Olympic Champion, Pascal Richard (Linda McCartney) still holds some hope for retaining his title this year in Sydney.

Australia on top in trans-Tasman event

The first night of the trans-Tasman challenge was held yesterday in the city of Wanganui, New Zealand. The Olympic sprint, keirin, and sprint were the main events on the program, and Australia won two out of three of these events. The sprinting trio of Gary Neiwand, Danny Day and Darryn Hill won the Olympic sprint and keirin, while 'kiwi' Peden triumphed over Neiwand in the sprint contest.

Portuguese team presentations

The new Portuguese team, Maia held their presentation today in Lisbon. The team has as its main stars, Angel Edi and Joan Horrach (Spa, ex-Kelme), and Dane Claus Mřller. They have as their major goals the Tours of Portugal, Asturias, and Aragón.

Another Portuguese team, Cantanhesde, had their presentation yesterday. Their team includes Spaniards Oscar Serrano, Miguel Martinez, and Frederic Ivars, as well as Renzo Ragnetti and Stefano Panetta (Ita), and Colombian Alexis Rojas.

French cyclist dies at 50

Former amateur rider, Christian Ossowski (Fra) was found dead in his caravan yesterday as a result of a heart attack. The cyclist, aged 50, had some 80 victories to his credit, including several placings in the French national championships.

According to a report in French press, the rider was implicated in the "Belgian pot" affair, where 31 athletes have been investigated. The drug cocktail is made up of cocaine, morphine, caffeine, analgesics and amphetamines, although the doctor did not attribute his death directly to this. The French press were scathing however, calling it "yet another victim of Belgian pot," and "how many others have sacrificed their health towards a passion for a sport that doesn't carry them to glory."

Special announcement

Many of you may have noticed the extra news item that we have been running for the last few days, asking race organisers and club officials to submit their race details via our race listing form. So far, we have received a great deal of interest in this and have spent some time in addressing user suggestions before we officially launch it. We feel that it is ready in its current form, however we plan to introduce an enhanced listing soon. There are nearly 40 races listed already, from Australia, to Finland to the United States.

The service, which is free to both organisers and riders, is aimed at all races without UCI status i.e. club, state, or even national events. All of the major disciplines are covered - road, track, mountain bike and cyclocross racing. The races are indexed by country, and then in chronological order as a brief listing. Each of the brief titles is hyperlinked to obtain the full race details. The idea is that wherever you are, or wherever you're going, you can find a race on in your area via this online calendar.

This listing service is not intended as a primary race promotion tool, and we have other options if you are interested in promoting your race on cyclingnews. Please try out the service, and tell your club secretary or friendly race organiser about it as we feel it will become an invaluable tool for cyclists around the globe.