News for March 16, 2000

French teams angered

The recent reforms introduced by the UCI to reduce the number of first division teams in the peloton has angered the French teams, who claim they were not consulted about the matter. The UCI passed the rule two weeks ago to cut down the number of teams to 18 by 2002. It was proposed by the darling of French cycling, Manolo Saiz (head of the ONCE-Deutsche Bank team, and also a board member of the CCP) but there was purportedly "no dialogue" between him and the other (French) team directors.

The 16 best teams of this year will be retained as first division teams into 2001, with four others to make up the 20 (winner of division II and the next three strongest through transfers). These 20 would be automatically qualified for the three Grande Tours and the World Cup.

National president of the French league in the CCP, Yvon Sanquer claims that the French have been disadvantaged because they are "too big", and that anything that comes from them is rejected by the UCI and the other board members. The balance of cycling must be maintained, according to Sanquer. This means that the second division teams must be given a fair chance to compete in the big races, because what sponsor would invest so much money not to be seen?

"We can imagine cycling that is similar to the basketball-NBA championship, with all competition being made by the first division. What would the public think of a competition which has no element of sporting surprise? We all like the French football cup, because amateurs beat professionals. The bicycle of Manolo Saiz is the bicycle of accountants. Where is the part of the unforseen," said Sanquer.

Sanquer's words may gain the support of the Swiss, the Belgians and some of the Italians, who are not so highly placed on the division one ranks.

Tirreno-Adriatico snippets

Rebellin surprised

Yesterday's attack by Dutchman Michael Boogerd to win stage seven surprised Italian Davide Rebellin (Liquigas), who had dropped back for a little at the wrong time. "I was in 30th position, I had dropped behind because I did not expect Boogerd to attack at that point," he said after his eventual sixth place. The Liquigas rider had attacked a few times to try and gain some time on Olano, but was unsuccessful, despite having "good legs".

He will race next week in the Memorial Cecchi Gori (Settimana Ciclista Internazionale) after Milan San Remo on Saturday, then will aim for the Tour of Flanders and the Ardennes classics according to team directions.

Di Luca still suffering

Danilo di Luca (Cantina Tollo), who withdrew from the Tirreno-Adriatico is still suffering from intestinal problems. He could not ride yesterday, but is intending on taking a spin today. However, Gabriele Colombo, who withdrew for similar reasons is OK and has been training well in the last few days.

Filippo Baldo expelled

Filippo Baldo of the Mobilvetta-Rossin team, was excluded from starting today according to the official communique. The rider was penalised for taking a tow with another team car.

Cipo: can he do it?

Mario Cipollini will in two days time attempt to win a race that he dearly wants, but has never been able to acquire - Milan-San Remo. Already his chances have increased, with the withdrawal of sprint rivals Svorada and Quaranta. However he will have to be on form to beat Zabel and Kirsipuu, should the race be decided in a bunch sprint.

According to La Gazzetta, Cipollini is in good sprits two days out from the race: "I have improved my condition in the last week, and will be at San Remo in better shape than in the past years," said the Lion King. He considered abandoning in stage 7 of the Tirreno-Adriatico (eventually finishing 28 minutes down with Ballerini and Ullrich), but stuck it out and came second today.

He has trained hard during the winter, and ridden the main climbs of San Remo many times. The 32 year-old has his own plan and his own team for the race, and will not be worrying about what Telekom, ONCE, and Mapei are doing. He rates Jalabert, Freire and Zabel as his main rivals, but also places high regard in Johan Museeuw. " He is one of the most powerful riders in the bunch, and has been very impressive in the climbs these last few days," says Cipollini.

He thinks Freire might have a weakness because he has never raced the 294 km classic before. Rebellin and Bartoli are good ones to watch too, from the Lion King's perception.

O'Shannessy out for two years

Former member of the Australian pursuit team, Tim O'Shannessy has officially been suspended for two years for drug taking, after his appeal in the court of arbitration for sport was upheld today. He joins fellow team member, Tim Lyons in exile after they both tested for a high testosterone:epitestosterone ratio last year.

The bans will be backdated to May 1999, meaning that each will be eligible to compete in May 2001. Lyons may appeal his sentence, but the likelihood is that the two will have to wait another year. According to a statement from Trish Kavanagh, court arbiter: "There is an obligation of an elite athlete to take full responsibility for his or her own acts and reputation."

Danish union soigneur fired after amphetamine joke

By Tomas Nilsson, cyclingnews.com correspondent

According to the Danish newspaper, Ekstra Bladet the Danish Cycling Union (DCU) six months ago fired former elite rider Marc Jacobsen who was connected to the Union as soigneur. The reason was, according to Ekstra Bladet, that a couple of years ago Jacobsen together with a unnamed Danish rider (later a professional) put amphetamines in an ex-pro rider's drink. The consequence was that this rider drove his car off the road on the way home.

Rumours about who the now active pro rider is are spread amongst Danish newsgroups. The alleged rider's sports director says that he doesn't know anything about this and that it happened before contract was signed with the alleged rider, and that the event did not occur in connection with any cycling team or race.

However, there should be no doubt that whoever it might be, it is a deeply condemnable act.

Festina riders injured

Laurent Madouas, of the Festina team has suffered an elbow fracture that will put him out of cycling for at least a month. According to reports, he was involved in a car accident whilst out training near his home.

His team has had a number of riders going out with injury recently, including Crstophe Moreau (fell twice in Paris-Nice), Angel Casero (Achilles tendon operation - will be back in April), André Korff (knee operation in January), Fabian Jeker, Olivier Asmaker and espoir De la Masa who have all experienced knee troubles.

Festina is considering putting Moreau in for surgery, to "permanently affix his Team Issue Specialized King Cobra helmet to his battered head".

USA Cycling APC deal

The American Power Conversion Corporation (APC) has signed a one year deal with USA cycling, it was announced today. APC will be the "official power protection provider of USA cycling and the BMC Software Grand Prix." The BMC Grand Prix consists of races in Austin, Texas (April 8), Houston (May 14), San Jose, California (June 24) and Boston (September 17).

APC is a manufacturer of power protection and management systems applicable to computers and information networks. They are aiming to ensure that information such as racing times and results are distributed with maximum efficiency and manageability.

Bölts head of new team

A new German U23 team will be called the "Team 23 Udo Bölts" after the ex-Telekom rider is its patron. It will have 12 members and will be directed by ex-professional Reimund Dietzen and regional coach Josef Moster. The aim of the team is to be a development squad for promising German riders, and has support for the next three years from various sponsors.

The following riders will be on the team: Timo Brewi, Thomas Kaufmann, Karl Platt, Daniel Schlegel, Tobias Stumpf, Thomas Vollmer, Louis Benjamin, Michael Diether, Jan Hollitzer, Timo Reichert, Markus Zingen and Dirk Demann.

They aim to ride in national races mainly, and have their sights set on the U23 Rund um Henninger Turm (May 1), the Vuelta Lerida (Spain, June 12-17) and the German road championships on July 2. Also the German mountain bike championships will be a key goal for Karl Platt, the team's reigning German MTB champion.

Correction: Jim Nevin

Yesterday, it was reported that the Vice-President of finance within Cycling Australia, Jim Nevin had suffered a heart attack at his home in Tasmania. However, it has been since confirmed that this was not the case. The person in question was in fact Jim Evan, who is a commissaire in Tasmania.