News for March 20, 2000Telekom get it rightErik Zabel's third victory in the Milan - San Remo, equal to Fausto Coppi and Roger de Vlaeminck, continued the highly successful early season that Team Telekom has had. First there was Steffen Wesemann and Erik Zabel's victories in the Tour Down Under in January, then Zabel continued to find form in the Spanish tours, while Wesemann was almost there in Het Volk. Andreas Klöden surprised all recently when he won Paris-Nice - "the new Ullrich" as he was quoted as being in the French press. Sports director, Walter Godefroot does not want to push Klöden too much, too soon "He is young (24 yrs), he should not burn out," he said. The "old" Ullrich is as we know, having his usual early season problems with his weight and also a little sickness. He will not start in today's Setmana Catalana because of influenza, and has definitely had to take a back seat while the rest of his team has been garnering the victories. However, in three months there is the Tour, and presumably we will see Jan in his usual shape. On Saturday, the Telekom team got everything right. They controlled the race and chased when it counted, slowly building up the momentum to keep Zabel in contention on the Poggio and beyond, with the final piece of work being done by Most Valued Player of 2000, lead out man Gian Matteo Fagnini. "Thank you Fagno!," said Zabel afterwards. "My first victory (1997) was perhaps more moving, but this one was a masterpiece of tactical work." 29 year old Fagnini is certainly Telekom's big gain of the year and presumably will aid Zabel to many more victories. He is an expert of course, being for the last few years associated with Mario Cipollini's "Red Guard", and winning a couple of Giro stages along the way. It cost Telekom more than a little cash, but Zabel wanted the best and it has paid off. Telekom has a few Italians in its ranks, including Alberto Elli, who showed good form in South Africa, Giovanni Lombardi, and Guiseppi Guerini. Along with Aldag, Bölts, Heppner, Hundertmark, and Vinokourov, the Telekom squad is looking quite formidable this year.
Baldato satisfiedFabio Baldato's second placing in the Milan San Remo sees something of a comeback from the 31 year old who has been a little quiet in recent years. He now rides for Fassa Bortolo, after being with the second division Ballan team last year, and has tasted success already with a stage in the Tirreno-Adriatico. He is back with his old teacher, Giancarlo Ferretti, and is clearly reaping the benefits. He has a notable run of second placings in major classics: Paris-Roubiax, Tour of Flanders and now Milan San Remo. "I lacked the breath for victory," he said to La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I found in my way Erik Zabel who used all his strength for the win." "Konyshev and Belli did a beautiful job for me, but Fagnini was the clever one, and got in the way of Konyshev and I. At that moment, I lost Zabel's bike and that was fatal. However, even to be in a position to contest the win I consider to be a personal triumph," said Baldato. He didn't have a smooth run either, being involved in two crashes en route, and almost slamming into George Hincapie when the American punctured at the bottom of the Poggio. He started the climb in last place, and worked his way up half way by the time he reached the top. On the descent, and the run in to the finish, he moved up further, eventually being in a position where he could be led out by Belli and Konyshev. At the end, Fagnini/Zabel were too quick but it was an admirable effort. He wants to recapture his form from earlier years when he was with the MG squad. He will participate in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix again with a view to winning, so he can retire with a little more satisfaction: "I will race Flanders and Roubaix and I will approach these races with good morale, because I've already obtained some form. We hope that I will be able to win after trying for so many years. They are the single things that lack in order for me to be satisfied with my career," he concludes.
Freire - still going strongSpanish World Champion, Oscar Freire almost made Mapei's day when he finished so close to Zabel in Milan - San Remo. His third place was quite significant, especially considering that he'd never ridden the classic before. Ascending the Poggio near the head of the pack requires more than just good fitness, and he seems to have benefitted from his unprecedented (in the Mapei ranks) helicopter inspection of the course a couple of days ago. In a post race interview in "El Diaro As", he said that he was satisfied with his result, but criticised his team for not being there to lead him out at the end. "It was not a question of strength, but Erik Zabel had the support of a teammate and he won. I needed that help as well," he said, envying Zabel's lead out man Fagnini. He said that he'd taken Zabel's wheel, but was forced off it and had to work by himself again. He commenced his sprint quite early, but realised he couldn't hold it for that long and had to stop and restart it. The momentum was not maintained and he lost to the faster man. The rest of the race had gone according to the Mapei plan, but they did not manage to attack on the Poggio forcing a change of tactics. Freire sees himself winning La Primavera in a few years, especially as this year's winner was 30. "I have many opportunities left to win here, which is good because I am annoyed at what happened here. I could have won with a little more help from my companions," he said. "I was so close..." Freire is only 24 and has so far managed to avoid the supposed "curse of the rainbow jersey", which is more than likely a statistical probability rather than a superstition. He is reportedly earning Big Cash, earning as much as veteran Andrea Tafi according to team boss Patrick Lefévčre. In spite of the above comments, he has fitted in well to a team of stars who are used to success. He is ambitious, but has a great personality according to Lefévčre "Oscar is simple, direct, and gets on well with everyone. His integration is facilitated by the existence in the team of a Spanish group with Fernandez-Gines and Beltran, but also a sporting director (Suarez-Cueva), mechanics and soigneurs. And on the bicycle, he is fantastic!," Lefévčre is quoted in the French press. He hasn't even bought a flash car yet, preferring to stick with his Opel Corse for at least a few years. He has however just bought a computer, where he will presumably spend a great deal of time. His team director will stick to the maximum "80 days of racing" plan, so as not to burn young Oscar out. To this end, the only major tour he will race this year is the Tour of Spain in August. He will however, ride in the Ardennes classics (Fleche Wallone, Liege-Bastogne-Liege) and the Amstel Gold, with a view to learning about them and of course to win - a feat that no Spaniard has managed. AIS drug riddled?The Australian Institute of Sport has been hit by allegations that some its members are drug cheats, after claims were made on Channel Nine's Sunday program. It was alleged by one former unnamed athlete that they were taking IGF-1 (Insulin like Growth Factor 1), a growth hormone that is undetectable by conventional drug testing methods. The athlete, a former Australian sprint champion, who made these claims on the program, stated that 40 out of 58 members of the Atlanta Olympic track and field team were taking it, and obtained the drug from a US clinical trial. He was supported by sports consultant and admitted steroid user, Grant Ellison, who advises 20 Olympic athletes from cycling, weightlifting, track and field, and rowing about drugs. The director of the AIS, John Boultbee denied the claims, saying that "athletes in Australia are very interested in competing fairly and don't think about these drugs. Until this is investigated I will take this (the doping allegations) with a large grain of salt." As the allegations have been made by admitted drug users, there is the question that they are only doing so in order to "drag others into the mire" and provide Channel Nine, which does not have Australian broadcast rights to the 2000 Olympics, with a sensational story. However, Federal police are reported to be investigating the affair, but there is no hard evidence to date.
Setmana Catalana beginsToday will see the start of the Spanish stage race, Setmana Catalana, running from March 20-24. The five stage race begins with a 144 km circuit around Lloret de Mar, and finishes with a 12 km hill time trial up Barcelona's famous Montjuic climb. The route is quite challenging, containing a total of four category one climbs and five category two. Altogether, the race is 730 kilometers. Although Jan Ullrich will not be racing, due to having the 'flu, the race has no shortage of stars: Lance Armstrong, Juan Carlos Dominguez, Laurent Jalabert, Alex Zülle, Oscar Freire, Jose Maria Jiménez, Fernando Escartín and Melchor Mauri. 160 riders in total will start, with 20 teams participating, including: Banesto, Costa Almeria, Euskaltel-Euskadi, Kelme, ONCE, Relax Fuenlabrada, Vitalicio, Mobilvetta-Rossin, Fassa Bortolo, Amica Chips, Mapei, Mercatone-Uno, Festina, Ag2R, Rabobank, Farm Frites, US Postal Service, Deutsche Telekom, Benfica and Memorycard Jack & Jones. Stage list
Stage 1 - March 20: Lloret de Mar - Lloret de Mar, 144 km
Climbs:
Alt de Lloret (Cat 3 - km 4)
Alt de Sant Grau (Cat 1 - km 106)
Stage 2 - March 21: Lloret de Mar - Empuriabrava, 170.7 km
Climbs:
Alt de Pedrafita (Cat 2 - km 126)
Alt de Sant Pere de Rodes (Cat 1 - km 145)
Stage 3 - March 22: Castelló d'Empúries - Vic (171 kms.)
Climbs:
Coll de Bracons (Cat 1 - km 77)
Alt de la Trona (Cat 1 - km 117)
Alt d'Oristŕ (Cat 2 - km 155)
Stage 4 - March 23. Vic - Cerdanyola del Vallés (156 kms.)
Climbs:
Alt de La Pollosa (Cat 2 - km 20)
Alt de Castellbisbal (Cat 3 - km 99)
Alt del Tibidabo (Cat 2 - km 129)
Stage 5a - March 24: Cerdanyola del Vallés - Cerdanyola del Vallés, 76 km
Stage 5b - March 24: Barcelona, Montjuďc ITT, 12 km
Climb:
Alt de Montjuďc (Cat 2 - km 7.9)
Catalan Federation gains new presidentOn Saturday March 18, the Catalanese Cycling Federation elected a new president for the next four years. Jordi Marine was the clear winner with 182 votes compared with 82 of Lluis Giral.
Young Spaniard killed15 year old cyclist, Daniel Tenorio has become another victim of the Spanish roads after being killed by a van on the road between Humanes and Grińón, near Madrid. He was to have made his racing debut yesterday in Zaragoza but instead will be buried today in Fuensalida. Tenorio, a member of the Cycling School of Cedena, Fuenlabrada was riding with five other companions on the road. He was wearing a helmet, but that did not help when a van lost control on the other side of the road, and struck him in the head and chest, killing him immediately.
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