News for October 14, 2000World's news - some gossip
Bye Bye BoardmanBy Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent In the dramatic finish of yesterdays Elite Men's TT, we forgot to mention the penultimate race of one of our favourite riders, Chris Boardman. The current hour record holder, multiple time Maillot Jaune in Le Tour, world champ and Olympic Gold Medal winner, Boardman has had an excellent career. His 4th place ride was called by some "respectable" but we are sad that the likeable Brit didn't snag another medal. Oh well... Boardman is training for his last race; an attempt to establish the "conventional" hour record during the upcoming Worlds Track Championships in Manchester, UK. Plus for all you big-time Boardman fans, a new commemorative book on Chris's career will be coming out soon. With pix by Phil "Philly Dog" O'Connor and the venerable Graham Watson, a forward by Mike Price and contributions by Miguel Indurain, Jean-Marie Le Blanc and Roger Legeay, the volume will be a fitting tribute to Boardman's career. Adieu Chris!
Frankie's fateRumors are circulating at the World's about the fate of Frank Vandenbroucke With his impending nuptials next week, no contract for 2001 and all his other "issues", VDB has a lot on his plate. Although he's been id'ed with a number of teams, a reliable source tells cyclingnews that Frankie may be headed south to Spain. After all, he's ridden for Belgian, French and Italians, so why not screw up with Banesto? But VDB still has his loyalists; after all, his sports tests have always put the Walloon Whirlwind up with the very, very best riders.
LeMond's new projectInside sources tell cyclingnews that Greg LeMond is involved with an ambitious team project for 2002. Although Le Greg wanted to launch the new team for '01, the funding simply arrived too late from the US based telecommunications sponsor to hire enough talent for a competitive team. Greg will be involved from the organizational side, while his old ADR team director, the personable Jose De Cauwer may be driving the car if the new team actually gets off the ground.
Freire the Spanish favouriteThe Spanish are the defending champions in the Elite men's road race on Sunday, but they seem to be losing strength as the week progresses. They had entered with a full compliment of 13 riders, but may be reduced to 9 if things do not sort themselves out. First to leave was Abraham Olano, who was disappointed with his 5th place in the men's TT yesterday. He claimed that he was given the wrong information about time splits from his DS, Manolo Saiz and national selector Francesco Antequera. After 20 kilometres, he was told that he was two seconds up on German Michael Rich and eight seconds faster than Gontchar. This was clearly not the case, as readers of cyclingnews who were following it live can attest. He was actually closer to a minute down and things did not improve for the former world champ in this discipline. Later than evening, Olano decided to quit Plouay with one of the Spanish doctors, and his season is effectively finished. The Spanish woes did not stop there, as three riders managed to leave their licences at home, and will have difficulty getting accreditation. There's always a way though... Oscar Freire will still go into the race on Sunday as a favourite, but he will have to play his cards correctly against the other squads and the Italians in particular who seem less affected by the end of season blues than most.
Kate Bates' commentsHailing from Sydney's west, Katherine Bates has been Australia's most successful rider at the World Championships to date, with a silver medal in the junior women's TT and a sixth in the road race. The following is an account of the time trial in her own words: Well, what can I say, today was a good day! With a silver and a bronze, The Aussies are the only nation to have two medals after day one of time trials, despite the gold not coming....yet! The junior women started off Australia's strong campaign in this year's road World's, with a 2nd and an 11th. The course was an absolute burner, with a 3km climb up to the finish that was nasty to say the least. We go down it in the road course. For the first 5km or so of the race, it poured with rain, and winds that made me query my wheel selection. But, this soon turned to beautiful sunshine, and a bit of nice weather. The crowds were awesome, six deep in some areas, and really knew how to make a bit of noise! I had a good ride, and felt good out there. I went into it a bit unsure of how I would pull up 16km later, but after collapsing and nearly passing out at the finish, I was sure I had put all into the race and the result that followed was just a bonus! It was certainly an experience we call "character building", and I learnt a lot about the sort of person I am! I also discovered how satisfying second can be, and by all means, I am now hungrier for that gold than ever! Jessica Amy, Aussies other rider was happy with her ride, in 11th, and came out of it saying she is eagerly anticipating her future and what it holds. Always a good thing. Courtesy of Parramatta CC Medal table after day 4:
Gold Silver Bronze Total
Russia 2 1 - 3
Poland 1 1 1 3
Pantani no showItalian Marco Pantani chose not to attend his scheduled court appearance in Forli, Italy today. The Pirate is on trial for sporting fraud, for allegedly falsifying his results via EPO use in the past. However, he chose to be represented by his lawyers and two hematologists at the court hearing today. One of his lawyers, Gaetano Insolera, requested that Pantani be acquitted as there was no precedent set for a case such as this involving a sportsman. However, this was rejected by Judge Luisa del Bianco after a brief consideration and the case will continue.
Ermenault gives up the 'dromeFrench track endurance specialist, Philippe Ermenault, will retire from the track at the end of this season. Ermenault's palmares are excellent in the team and individual pursuit, and he is a former Olympic and World Champion in both respectively. Next season, he will ride on the road for DC Nogent-On-Oise and will retire for good after that. After a fairly unsuccessful Olympic campaign, he will not ride the World Championships, instead racing in the Japan Cup at the end of the month.
More LottoAfter Jeroen Blijlevens has the jump from Italy to Belgium recently, Lotto have also gained the services of Frenchman Laurent Desbiens (Cofidis). He may play a similar role to the estranged Jacky Durand, who it seems has finally had enough of the racy Belgian squad. Swiss team Phonak have signed the promising Jean Nuttli, who rode quite well in the men's elite TT. Nuttli placed 11th in a time of 59 minutes, but might have been higher had he not taken the wrong route in the final few hundred metres. Perhaps his directeur sportif was urging him too hard?
Mapei 2001Departures aside, Italian number one squad Mapei looks stronger than ever in 2001. SpaniardsDavid Caņada and Pedro Horrillo will join, doubling the Spanish contingent in the team. So far, the team is as follows:
Adriano Baffi (Ita) New transfers: Elio Aggiano (Ita) Neo Pros: Fabian Cancellara (Swi) New track in ApeldoornThe Netherlands may be able to host a World Track Championships by the year 2003. The town of Apeldoorn has decided to build a velodrome as part of a new sports centre. At the moment there is only covered track: Amsterdam - Sloten. However, the track in Amsterdam is only 200 metres. Apeldoorn will get a 250 metre track, and that is the minimum length of a track for hosting a World Championship. The sports hall will cost 89 million Dutch guilders (40 million Euro) and will be ready at the end of 2002.
NORBA 2001There will be four favorites and a new venue for the 2001 National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) National Championship Series in the US. This is the premier MTB racing series in the country and offers good quality racing to world-class professionals and amateur racers. The 2001 season marks the 12th year for the series, which includes cross-country (XC), short-track cross-country (STXC), downhill (DH) and dual slalom (DS) events. This year was a very successful year, with an increase of 14 percent in rider participation. The 2001 series starts on May 31-June 3 at Snow Summit Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake, California. Snow Summit has hosted 12 National Championship Series event prior to 2001. The next stop will be Snowshoe, West Virginia, June 21-24. This marks the first time a National Championship Series event will take place at the resort. In the past, it hosted NORBA's American Mountain Bike Challenge (AMBC), a national grassroots mountain bike series. The area boasts more than 100 miles of off-road trails, including single track and 1,800-foot vertical gain. The series moves to Deer Valley, Utah, June 28-July 1, which has played host to the national championship series five times prior to 2001. The site of the 2000 series finals, Mammoth Mountain Resort, in Mammoth Lakes, California, will host the fourth round of the 2001 series, July 19-22. Although the official NORBA National Championship Series started in 1989, Mammoth has been hosting national mountain bike events for 16 years. The series finals have been held at Mammoth three times (1990, 1996 and 2000). The series culminates on August 16-19 at Mount Snow, Vermont, known as the Mountain Bike Capital of the East. Mount Snow has hosted the finals in 1991, 1998 and 1999. 2001 NORBA National Championship Schedule May 31-June 3 Snow Summit, California
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