News for January 27, 2000

Sporting seminar in Madrid

The current status of health and sport is being discussed by the Spanish over the next two days in a seminar in Madrid, entitled "The future of Professional Cycling".

The Spanish minister of Education and Culture, Mariano Rajoy, announced that this commission is represented by several different sporting groups and intends on setting rules destined to preserve the health of the sportsman. "Its justification is to establish a general frame of reflection and analysis between all the relevant people regarding the general problems of health and sport in all its phases and stages," said Rajoy in his inauguration speech.

"It is necessary to establish clear norms in this matter (doping controls) that are consistent with all of the countries of the European Union. The situation has improved due to the flexibility of France because they were on the verge of disaster with the Tour of France," he declared.

Cycling must be a spectacle

The director of ONCE, Manolo Sáiz, said that cycling must take a definitive step towards being a "sporting spectacle," to modernize its structure and do away with the archaic "repressive and regressive regulations", during the seminar "The future of professional cycling," in Madrid.

"We are in a period of analysis, of adjustment to the contingencies of the future. The world of cycling is like a river that we have, provided by the forces of nature, but that it has changed of volume. Cycling must stop being a sport for its own sake to be a sport of spectacle," said Sáiz on the opening day of the seminar.

The president of the Association Internacional of Grupos Deportivos (AIGCP) was critical of the current regulations of the UCI, saying "The statutes have been suffocating for cycling. We have been politically useful, but inadequate. The regulation is regressive and repressive. We are triangular and obtuse like the frames of bicycles," he said. Cycling, according to Sáiz, must be elevated in a world-wide sense to serve as a vehicle to other multinationals, where the money comes from.

In that market research, the cyclists play a fundamental role "It is profitable to invest in cycling. I think that it is excellent publicity. There have been teams that had great riders, who have become very well known," said the minister of Education and Culture, Mariano Rajoy.

According to Rajoy, it was also necessary to reduce the amount of kilometers and stages in races. "What is lost in quantity will be gained in quality and emotion. The direction that Unipublic has taken with the route the Vuelta a Espańa is the correct one and it's possible that they have shown a way which will be followed by many more," he declared. Rajoy emphasized that a balance between the demand without limits on the spectacle. "To the spectators, they would like it if the Tours lasted 30 days, and that all of these culminated in special category climbs. That, nevertheless, is not the most sensible. To the sportsmen, the demands must be within a reasonable limit. It is necessary to marry the spectacle with the health of the cyclist, which we must preserve and not consume," said the minister, who dedicated his speech to Pedro González, the recently deceased Spanish television journalist.

Buenahora hit by a bus

Columbian rider Hernan Buenahora of the Néctar Selle de Italia team, was hit by a bus while he was training in his home city of Bucaramanga. He was hit from behind in the knee and hip, however was not seriously injured. He is expected to recover within two to three days, according to a spokesman at the clinic where he was taken care of.

"Luckily, it was not too serious, and I hope to recover soon," indicated Buenahora, who had intended to travel next Monday to Spain to participate in the Mallorca Challenge, starting on February 6. This is now in doubt, because in spite of the lightness of the injury, the cyclist still needs to rest, preventing him from training.

Pantani's lawyers ask for transfer

The inquiry into Marco Pantani's allegedly super-high blood values after the 1995 Milan-Turin has been proceeding in Turin so far. The case against Pantani is accusing him of "sporting fraud" - falsifying results from taking illegal substances. However, Pantani's lawyers believe that the attorney in Turin is not in a position to judge where the original alleged "doping substances" came from, and are asking for his case to be transferred to Pantani's home locality in Forli.

However, prosecutor Guariniello believes that the doping was aimed at the race in Turin, hence it falls within his jurisdiction.

Team news

Lotto surviving

Lotto-Adecco is (finally) the name of the only major Belgian team with 37 year-old World Cup winner, Andrei Tchmil as its undisputed leader. The co-sponsor is new, the management partly new and so is the budget. Lower than last season.

"We have about half of the money of our adversaries but we proved last season that it is possible to achieve great results on a modest budget," said Michel Ansiaux, general manager of the main sponsor, the state owned lottery at the presentation in Brussels Wednesday.

Long time sports director Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke is followed by a troika: Claude Criquelion is new sports director in parity with last years deputy Jef Braeckevelt. Christophe Sercu is new administrative and financial leader.

Andrei Tchmil won the Milan San Remo last year but he also dreams of the Tour of Flanders for this year. Or maybe the next. The team lost Jo Planckaert and Chris Peers to Cofidis (or maybe to Frank Vandenbroucke) and will rely on climber Kurt van de Wouver, Mario Aerts, Geert Verheyen and Rik Verbrugghe in the northern classics and the Tour while, Jacky Durand, only 33 years old, will have a go at the Paris-Roubaix.

The line up: Mario Aerts, Serge Baguet, Koen Beeckman, Sébastien Demarbaix, Christophe Detilloux, Fabien De Waele, Glenn D'Hollander, Wim Heselmans, Manu Lhoir, Thierry Marichal, Andrej Tchmil, Kurt Van de Wouwer, Paul Van Hyfte, Kurt Van Lancker, Rik Verbrugghe, Geert Verheyen, Peter Wuyts, Jacky Durand (Fra).

New sponsor for Memory Card Jack & Jones

An insurance broker, Willis, will fill some of the financial gap in Memory Card Jack & Jones, after the telecom store-chain BlueTel decided not to "sign" the oral agreement with the team. An oral agreement is, after all, not worth the paper it's printed on.

The contract is for one year and will give exposure on the jersey. "This is our second step to fill the gap, the first was our contract with Belgian Vosschemie," said Torben Křlbaek, managing director for the company "Professional Cycling Denmark" that owns the team. But still an amount of two million Danish kroner, half a million in US dollars, is missing in the budget, according to Danish website Alt om sykling.

Danes Kvickly amateurized

Danish former division III team Kvickly Odder will race as an amateur team this year. The team will have 12 riders and mostly stay in Denmark. Last year the team collected five UCI points.

Sports stores back Boifava

Davide Boifava's team Amaica Chips has got otself a co-sponsor, the Italian sports store chain Tacconi Sport, that will have it's name included in the team name. The team is based on last year's Riso Scotti and will have at least 14 riders. Lithuanian Arnoldas Saprykinas, who rode for the team last year, is yet to sign.

Swiss top amateur team

Courtesy of Ernst Bretscher

The cycling club in Wetzikon, Switzerland, will put up an amateur team with international ambitions this year under the name of GS Saeco Wetzikon. 15 riders, seven elite and eight espoirs, are on the team under themanagement of Ernst Rüegg, Gustav Mosimann and Arthur Kerker. The elite riders are: Christian Eminger, Jan Ramsauer, Daniel Senn, Marc Kerker, Marc Müller, Paolo Manzoni and Daniel Strassmann and the espoirs are Thomas Kaufmann (Ger), Daniel Flühmann, Reto Frey, Christoph Girschweiler, Andy Wepf, Marco Von Känel, Beat Obrist and Patric Wiedmer. The season will start with the Vuelta a Argentina on January 21st.

The team will also have a junior team with eight riders: Raphael Alder, Roman Andres, Jonas Blum, Emanuele Giandon, Daniel Gysling, Reto Heusser, Benjamin Rüegg und Pascal Steingruber. The club also have Swiss women's junior champion Andrea Knecht in the ranks.

Ladies team in Bern

The cycle store Shaller in Bern will sponsor a women's team next year comprising Irene Hostettler, Iris Gertsch, Salome Reist, Nathalie Ritter and Fabienne Heinzmann under themanagement of Hans Gertsch, according to Swiss velopages.