L'Open des Nations - IM

France, November 17-19, 2000

Day 1 - November 17
Day 2 - November 18
Day 3 - November 19

Preview

The velodrome of Bordeaux will host the 10th edition of the Open des Nations, running from November 17-19. The three day meet will see 64 of the world's best track cyclists in action, with a four hour program each day consisting of sprints, keirins, madisons, eliminations, points races, and flying laps. There is also a junior support race program, featuring madison action from the country's young stars.

There will be a total of four French teams, (Red, White, Blue and Espoirs) competing against 12 other international teams. The madisons will be of top quality, as the field contains World madison Champions Stephan Steinweg and Erik Weisspfennig along with Olympic Champions Scott McGrory and Brett Aitken. Also, Swiss pair Bruno Risi and Kurt Betschart, Italians Silvio Martinello and Marco Villa, Belgians Matthew Gilmore and Nicky Vermeersch, Spaniards Isaac Galvez and Juan Llaneras, Danes Jimmi Madsen and Tayeb Braikia, and Frenchmen Damien Pommereau and Robert Sassone.

They will be equalled by the sprinters, containing the likes of keirin champions Florian Rousseau and Frederic Magné, kilo master Arnaud Tournant, and sprint specialist Laurent Gané from France. Germans Jens Fiedler and Jan Van Eijden, Britons Jason Queally and Craig Maclean, and the "Internationals" Pavel Buran and Ainars Kiksis are just some of the riders who will be aiming to dethrone the French on their home turf.

An overall general classification will be awarded to each nation on the basis of points. Also Félicia Ballanger and Frederic Magné will be honoured on Friday evening before the final races of their careers.

The racing begins at 19:00 on Friday and Saturday, and 13:00 on Sunday, running for approximately 5 hours per day.

Start List

France Blue                     Germany

1 Florian Rousseau (Fra)        5 Jens Fiedler (Ger)
2 Damien Pommereau (Fra)        6 Stefan Steinweg (Ger)
3 Frédéric Magne (Fra)          7 Jan Van Eijden (Ger)
4 Robert Sassone (Fra)          8 Erik Weispfennig (Ger)

Italy                           France White

11 Domenico Mei (Ita)           15 Laurent Gane (Fra)
12 Silvio Martinello (Ita)      16 Jean Michel Tessier (Fra)
13 Gabriele Gentile (Ita)       17 Arnaud Tournant (Fra)
14 Marco Villa (Ita)            18 Jérôme Neuville (Fra)

Belgium                         Netherlands

21 Luc De Duytsche (Bel)        25 Teun Mulder (Ned)
22 Matthew Gilmore (Bel)        26 Robert Slippens (Ned)
23 Bjorn Nachtergaele (Bel)     27 Sebastiaan Baanders (Ned)
24 Nicky Vermeersch (Bel)       28 Danny Stam (Ned)

France Red                      Denmark

31 Hervé Thuet (Fra)            35 Lars Brian Nielsen (Den)
32 Franck Perque (Fra)          36 Jimmi Madsen (Den)
33 Jérôme Hubschwerlin (Fra)    37 Dion Akerstrom (Den)
34 David Hubschwerlin (Fra)     38 Tayeb Braikia (Den)

Great Britain                   Slovakia

41 Jason Queally (GBr)          45 Jaroslav Jerabek (Svk)
42 Phil West (GBr)              46 Martin Liska (Svk)
43 Craig Maclean (GBr)          47 Jan Lepka (Svk)
44 Tony Gibb (GBr)              48 Jozef Zabka (Svk)

Canada                          Switzerland

51 Jim Fisher (Can)             55 Michael Lato (Swi)
52 Glen Rendall (Can)           56 Bruno Risi (Swi)
53 Kyle Hudson (Can)            57 Patrik Merk (Swi)
54 Alex Cloutier (Can)          58 Kurt Betschart (Swi)

France Espoirs                  German Espoirs

61 Mickaël Bourgain (Fra)       65 Sören Lausberg (Ger)
62 Julien Tejada (Fra)          66 Andreas Muller (Ger)
63 Arnaud Duble (Fra)           67 Matthias John (Ger)
64 Benoît Genauzeau (Fra)       68 Bernhard Wachter (Ger)

Europe                          Internationals

71 Martin Polak (Cze)           75 Pavel Buran (Cze)
72 Isaac Galvez Lopez (Spa)     76 Brett Aitken (Aus)
73 Ivan Vrba (Cze)              77 Ainars Kiksis (Lat)
74 Juan Llaneras Rosello (Spa)  78 Scott McGrory (Aus)