News for January 13, 2000

Priem back(?) - without Frites

Courtesy of Reinier Meijer

Cees Priem, the recently departed TVM/Farm Frites team-manager, is going to announce a come back to the sport within two weeks. "I can't say what I'm going to do, but it will be a new start", said Priem to regional paper, PZC.

The rumour is that Cees Priem in negotiations with a new sponsor for a team, however he will not confirm them.

Further he has worries about the staff of the Farm Frites team. Many personnel that have held a contract with Priem are now in doubt about their future with the team. Some sponsors hold contracts with Cees Priem too, and they don't know yet if their contracts will be honoured.

Meanwhile, Jelle Nijdam has signed for one year with the amateur team Eyken Meulelen/Farm Frites (the 'training school' of Farm Frites). The former Netherlands professional who led the AGU team last year, will continue to devote his energies to helping younger riders - this time with the Farm Frites amateur outfit.

Farm Frites team for the Tour Down Under:

Robbie McEwen, Koos Moerenhout, Johan Capiot, Remco van der Ven, Gerben Löwik, Wim van Sevenant, Steven Kleynen and Martin van Steen.

Team managers: Hendrik Redant and Teun van Vliet

The Pantani case

The public prosecutor in Ferrara, Pierguido Soprani, told journalists on Wednesday that Pantani's 50% plus hematocrit during the 1999 Giro d'Italia was not a mistake. The cyclist himself has denied the charges repeatedly, claiming in a recent interview with Spanish sport paper, AS, "there was something in my blood that was not not normal. It appeared as if it was the blood of two different people and this leaves some questions open, which are not yet clarified."

Soprani, however stressed that "In our investigation we stated that the hematocrit (of Pantani) was at that time too high. There was no 'sabotage' involved.

It may be worth noting that no cyclist has actually been found to increase their hematocrit during a stage race, according to all available scientific evidence.

Rooks and co. no show

The drug taking revelations of the three Dutch former professionals, Steven Rooks, Martin Ducrot and Peter Winnen on the Dutch TV program, "Reporter", attracted the interest of Joop Atsma, president of the Dutch cycling federation (KNWU). The three riders had claimed that their teams (PDM, Kwantum, Panasonic, Buckler, and Raleigh) had engaged in an organised doping regime during the 80's when they were active.

Atsma thereupon invited the three to a quiet chat in order to discuss the allegations, and if necessary take action against those responsible. The discussion was scheduled for earlier this week, however the three chose not to show up. Their reason: they did not wish to dig up old affairs, but merely to educate today's riders about the topic of "team doping".

Wellens not professional

Current espoir cyclocross World Champion, Bart Wellens (Bel) will remain an amateur for this season. The under-23 rider had been in negotiations with the Palmans team for a professional contract, however they could not come to an agreement. Italian super team, Mapei-Quick Step were also interested in Wellens, however the rider has not signed with them either.

Phonak news

New Swiss GS II team, Phonak had their official presentation yesterday in Zurich. The team, led by Jean Jacques-Loup (formerly of Post Swiss) and Jacques Michaud is sponsored by a Swiss hearing aid manufacturer. Its main goals for this coming season are the tours of Romandy, Switzerland, and Germany, as well as the Championship of Zurich and the Criterium International. The Tour de l'Avenir is also in their sights in September.

Team roster:

Manager: Jean-Jacques Loup 
Director Sportif: Jacques Michaud
Secretaries: Evelyne Di Muccio, Elisabeth Jeckelmann
Masseurs: Laurent Perriard, Claude Chenal
Team Doctor: Patrick Vienne
Mechanics: Hermann Pacal, Marco Zingg

Riders:

Matthias Buxhofer
Lukas Zumsteg
Cédric Fragniere
René Stadelmann,
Dominique Perras
Jérôme Delbove
Christian Charriere
Nathalie Griggio 
Uwe Straumann
Stefan Richner
Jochen Summer 
Pierre Bourquenoud
David Derepas
Alexandre Usov

Mercury news

The Mercury Cycling Team will begin its season this Friday in Woodland Hills, CA at its annual Training camp followed by the Tour of Langkawi held in Malaysia.

Recently announced US Olympic Long Team member, Derek Bouchard-Hall is recovering from a blood clot/blockage condition and just recently underwent corrective surgery at Stanford Medical Center. He will be making an appearance at the team's Training camp.

The Team hopes to improve from its 83 win season of a year ago and has added several strong riders including Henk Vogels and Chris Horner.

Holland Ladies Tour change

The Holland Ladies Tour (Beneden Maas) has a new sponsor: Formido Bouwmaterialen, who are said to be interested in sponsoring the tour until 2002. This year's race is held from September 5-9.