News for May 8, 2000

Jack&Jones have the Tour in their sights

The Four Days of Dunkirk concluded today with two stages on the final day, resulting in a win for Memorycard Jack&Jones' Martin Rittsel (Swe). It was the team's second triumph in this event in two years, and they found extra motivation for keeping their man in the pink leader's jersey today. The Danish team wish to start in the Tour de France and need good results in the coming month to try and gain one of the remaining three spots.

Of course, it's not going to be easy as Kelme have a good chance to snare one, with last year's third placed Fernando Escartin the main drawcard. The French second division teams are also favoured, such as Bonjour, Jean-Delatour and Big Mat Auber 93 (Credit Agricole are already qualified). In addition, teams such as Lampre and Liquigas stand a good chance for the remaining two spots.

The Giro will be an important test for the Italian teams, while the French along with Memorycard Jack&Jones will look to the Midi Libre, the Tour de l'Oise and the Dauphine Libere to impress the Sociéte du Tour de France.

Syringes found at Dunkirk

It was not all flowers and celebration at the Four Days of Dunkirk today as French police once again were involved in another "syringe investigation".

According to Reuters, a bag containing used syringes and bottles of medication was found in a dustbin near the start of stage 5 (Cappelle la Grande) on Saturday. A witness said that they saw a "blond woman" deposit the bag in the dustbin. The bottles and labels were all in Italian and the bag was immediately sent to Dunkrik Hospital for further examination.

The labels indicated that the products were vitamin supplements and anti-inflammatories, however the local judiciary wish to know if they contained anything illegal.

The hematocrit test that was carried out on the riders on Saturday morning showed that all the riders were below the maximum allowable 50 percent.

Bartali remembered

Gino Bartali who passed away on Saturday, aged 85 will be remembered during a stage of this year's Giro d'Italia. There will be a special tribute to the Italian legend during the ninth stage, which passes through the neighbourhood of his birthplace (Ponte à Ema in Toscane).

Catalan Federation wants less traffic

The Catalan Cycling Federation has called for a "more sensible" approach to traffic to stop races being cancelled, according to European Press. Already, several races not been able to be held because of potential security risks. These inlcude the First Memorial Andreu Domenech de Veteranos, in Vilassar de Mar, the 4th Memorial Fidel Bagan de Cadetes, in Sabadell, the Copa de España and the Junior Campeonato de Tarrassa. Other events that have been suspended include the Volta Ciclista a la Selva, and the Palamós de Ciclosport, both in Girona.

The Federation say that serious damage is being done to the sport of cycling, and have been lobbying the Provincial Traffic Headquarters in Barcelona and the General Catalan Transit authority to ensure safety for their compeititons in future.

Heiko Salzwedel update

Heiko Salzwedel was the former coach of the Australian National men's road team and the manager of Australia's professional "dream team" a few years ago. Unfortunately, the professional team (AIS Giant-ZVVZ) did not last long enough for it to develop into a full-flight division I English speaking pro team. There were several reasons for this, money being the main problem and Salzwedel was forced to quit managing the team and was then sacked from the AIS. Since then, he has returned to Germany to coach but has recently become the manager of another professional team.

US team Saturn recently lost their manager, Rene Wenzel, who has taken on more of his personal coaching business with wife Kendra. However Saturn wasted no time in contracting another top coach in Salzwedel, who is currently managing their team in the women's Tour de l'Aude. Could his dream finally be coming true, albeit in a different country?

Foot amputation for Spanish cyclist

Spanish doctors have had to amputate the foot of the Spanish amateur cyclist Roberto Alcaide (22). This young talented rider was involed in a heavy fall in the last stage of the Tour of Extremadura. Alcaide planned to start a professional career in the near future.