News for May 30, 200083rd Giro d'ItaliaStage commentsToday's stage 15 from Bormio to Brescia was nearly Angel Vicioso's first stage win of the Giro, but the Spaniard from Kelme was subsequently disqualified by the race jury for "irregular sprinting." He was relegated for pushing Polti's Silvio Martinello with 150 metres to go, and the win eventually went to Saeco's Biagio Conte. The latter team were also involved in an incident with another Colombian: Ruben Marin (Selle Italia) was grabbed by Mario Scirea during the lead out but nothing further resulted from this. Vicioso was shattered afterwards, having had the biggest result of his career taken away from him. "I did nothing wrong!" he said. His team director, Vincente Belde supported him saying that "it was an unfair decision. I saw the pictures on TV. Even if you look with a magnifying glass, you can't see a mistake. In 30 years of bike racing, I've never experienced a situation where a rider is disqualified after an hour! After the stage ceremonies, doping control etc. We will appeal to the UCI. I don't know if we'll be successful, but we will try any legal means available." Saeco's Biagio Conte saw it differently, saying that "even if I couldn't cross first, I am nevertheless content. When I was back in the hotel, I watched the sprint on TV. They [the jury] were correct - he [Vicioso] was in error...They also declassified Mario Cipollini in the first week," said the 32 year old.
Casagrande concernedThe only other incident in the stage was the concern with badly lit tunnels that the riders had to pass through. Francesco Casagrande spoke for the peloton saying that "these tunnels were very dangerous, many of them were badly lit. We asked that the motorcycles provide more light in the darkest tunnels, but that did not happen. At kilometre 126, there was a tunnel that wasn't lit at all. Something like that is irresponsible, therefore we decided to ride 'loosely', otherwise there could have been a pile up." He also questioned the finishing circuit in Brescia, where there were several crashes on the serpentine sections. "That was too dangerous as well. I didn't want to think what would have happened had it rained. We need more protection for the riders - it is hard enough for each of us to do their work."
Pantani down but not out
"It is bad for the morale," he said. "It is not even enjoyable for me to ride past the spectators because I am so far down. Even if I was OK mentally, it's still not much fun. Now, it's just training for me. It proves that you can't 'improvise' on a Grande Tour - I knew it before the start, and now I am sure." "The public also know that a miracle is impossible. They know that it was important for me to be here though. I hope that this experience will help me in future," he added. "I hope that I can race as much as possible in the coming months, but I don't promise anything. I only hope that another Pantani than this returns as fast as possible."
First Union Invitational, LancasterBy John Alsedek, cyclingnews.com correspondent The start of the biggest week in US cycling is the First Union Invitational in Lancaster, PA on May 30. With 6 events in the next seven days, including the Liberty Classic (Women's World Cup) and the men's USPRO championship on June 4, this week is going to be huge. Want to know more about Lancaster? Read on. Lancaster is a city of about 60,000 people, located 74 miles west of Philadelphia. Situated right in the middle of Pennsylvania's farm country, Lancaster is commonly - if incorrectly - referred to as 'Pennsylvania Dutch Country', owing to its centuries-old settlements of German Amish and Mennonites. The film 'Witness', starring Harrison Ford, was filmed in the area, and Amish horse-drawn buggies are a common sight on local roads. Cycling is fairly popular in the area: the local club, the Red Rose Rockets (so named because Lancaster is also known as 'the Red Rose City') has a junior developmental program that last year produced a national champion in Allie Warfel, who is now riding with the U.S. National Team. 2000 will be the ninth year that Lancaster has hosted the First Union Invitational. Race Day Forecast: mostly sunny with a 20% chance of late day showers; high temperature of 75 degrees F, with winds of 5-10 mph. What are the odds?....that the First Union Invitational will be decided by: A field sprint? Well, in nine years, there's barely ever been a group large enough to call a 'field' that's even finished, let alone contested the victory. This year doesn't look to be any different. The odds: 100:1 A large breakaway group (a half-dozen or more)? Possible, but not likely; the short, circuitous downtown course tends to favor smaller groups. The odds: 8:1 A trio in which two of the riders are teammates, but neither of whom end up winning? Not as long as you might think. It happened in both 1996 (when Chris Horner topped two U.S. Postal Service riders) and 1997 (when Chann McRae did the same to a Comptel duo). The odds: 4:1 A break of three or four? This is the best bet. Wile the winner may finish solo, he'll likely have been part of a small group right up until the final miles. The odds: even
Cali World CupOver last weekend, the second round of the track World Cup was held in Cali, Colombia. The Track World Cup, apart from being an important competition in its own right, will be used by many countries this year for Olympic selection and preparation purposes. The results of the latest round were interesting, especially for the antipodean nations. New Zealand showed some excellent form at altitude, with good riders in the individual and team pursuits. Sarah Ulmer's 3.33.412 for the women's 3000 m was the fastest time in the world this year, and she went on to win the gold. Gary Anderson managed a silver in the men's individual pursuit riding 4.29.735 in qualifying. He lost to USA's Dylan Casey in the final, who is taking some time out of his road commitments. The kiwi men's team pursuit surprised many, especially the Australians, as they blazed around in 4.05.861 to smash the Aussie B team in the final. Finally, Glen Thompson rode to a bronze medal in the men's points race. As far as Australia was concerned, Alayna Burns managed to win a gold medal in the points race and a bronze in the pursuit. In the latter event, she rode a 3.36.233 to qualify, three seconds off Ulmer's time. Kathy Watt was still off form, having been sick for over a week and could only manage 3.41.847. Lyndelle Higginson showed some excellent form in winning the women's sprint and 500 metre time trial. Close rival, Michelle Ferris did not perform in her first meet outside Australia this year, but she may not be overly concerned with her place in the final Olympic team, as there is space for two sprinters. Darryn Hill who was absent from the National Championships, managed to win a silver in the Keirin (gold to Ivan Vrba of the Czech Republic), while he was a little off the pace in the men's sprint, qualifying 7th (10.588) and eventually finishing 6th. Sean Eadie was better, clocking 10.539 to qualify and riding to 4th overall. The event was won by Marty Nothstein who beat Hill in the quarter finals. Second was Vincent de Quellec from France, who rode 10.361 to qualify fastest. Shane Kelly added some more silver to his collection in the kilo time trial, riding a 1.03.040, two tenths of a second slower than Frenchman, Arnaud Duble. Finally, the team of Graham Brown and Ashley Hutchinson won the men's madison. Australian coach, Mike Flynn described the result as "positive" for this time of year, while the New Zealand coach, Ron Cheatley, was happy with his team's work. He attributed the success to "years of hard work."
New pro for Luxembourg?A small country nestled between the cycling giants of Belgium, France, and Germany, Luxembourg is not enormously endowed with professional cyclists. Tom Flammang, Christian Poos, Kim Kirchen, Benoît Joachim and Frank Schleck make up the Luxembourg five. Only Flammang, Poos, Joachim are with first or second division teams, while Schleck and Kirchen ride for Team De Nardi Pasta-Montegrappa. However, it could well be that Kirchen will be promoted to the division I ranks, as he has been contacted by Giancarlo Ferretti's Fassa Bortolo team. The team will make their decision after the Baby Giro next month.
Koersen with new teamEgbert Koersen (former team leader of AGU) is starting a new top level amateur team next season. He has organised financial support for 5 years. "But at the moment I'm planning a team for the coming three seasons. We can grow to be a professional team." He will announce the names in his team in June. The appropriately named Koersen brought amateurs like Blijlevens, Voskamp and Knaven to the professional ranks.
MTB World's squadsFrance The French have named their squad to contest the World Mountain Bike Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain June 7-11. Elite men: L. Dubau, D. Arnould, C. Dupouey, C. Herisset, G.Vollet and M. Martinez Elite women: H.Marcouyre, S.Temporelli (Look-La Poste) et S.Villeneuve (Egobike) Espoir men: J.Absalon, P.Lebreton and C.Ravanel Junior men: F.Bourly, R.De Waele, M.Jouty and B.Sevessand Junior women: C.Barelli and J.Pesenti Italy Elite men: Acquaroli, Bui, Bramati, Cioni, Fruet, Pallhuber and Pirazzoli Espoir men: Balducci, Paoli, Steiner and Zanotti Elite women: Pezzo, Stropparo and Tovaglieri Junior men: Farnisi, Gilardo and Lanteri Junior women: Bronzini and Vienna Downhill: Anselmo, Bonanomi, Herin and Zanchi |
