News for September 29, 2000
Alvaro González de Galdeano to miss World'sThe Spanish team for the World Championships will be without breakaway specialist, Alvaro González de Galdeano, after he withdrew due to injury this week. A stage winner in the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España this year, González de Galdeano fell during the last stage of the Vuelta and did not complete the race. He injured his hip and back as a result and has not been able to recover in time. Several riders may replace him in the 13 man squad, including Santi Blanco (Vitalicio), Rafael Diaz Justo (ONCE), José Antonio Flecha (Relax Fuenlabrada), Eladio Jiménez (Banesto), Roberto Laiseka (Euskaltel) or Aitor Osa (Banesto). The remainder of the team is as follows:
Manuel Beltran (Mapei) Michaelsen's Plouay ride in jeopardyLars Michaelsen (FDJ) fears that his start in the World's might have to be cancelled after his fall in the Olympic Road Race. In addition to the ordinary bruises, he sustained a fairly deep cut in his leg. The next few days will determine whether he will be OK for the race in Plouay. The fall occurred on the second of the 14 laps while he was trying to catch the field behind a neutral service bike after he had broken his chain. The bike did not have pedals fitting Michaelsen's shoes and on a sharp bend on the descent into Bronte, he was unable to control the bike properly.
Bartko to start in Munich SixGermany's dual Olympic gold medallist, Robert Bartko will be one of the attractions at the Munich Six Day race, starting November 9, 2000. The 25 year old returned to Germany after his success and indicated that he would like to ride with Australian Scott McGrory, however the latter is unlikely to start in Munich. According to reports, Bartko is enjoying his post-Olympic glow, and intends on riding the six day season "for fun" and as preparation for the road. In addition, the month before November in Munich is filled with various beer drinking related activities, and Bartko doesn't want to miss out... Bartko has almost secured a two year contract with Team Coast for approximately DM 200,000 ($US 100,000) per year, with his signature expected within the week. Høj's price upMemorycard director Bjarne Riis will probably have to raise his bid on Frank Høj after his fine sixth place in the Olympic road race. "It will make it easier for me to get a contract for next year and I'm prepared to gamble," says the Danish spring classics specialist.
Rasmussen no. 1 in HorsensDennis Rasmussen who rode for team Chicky World in 1999 is coming back in the pro ranks as captain for Cycling Horsens. Morten Christiansen, Jacob Nielsen, Morten Pedersen, Hans Henrik Jørgensen and Thue Houlberg will also ride for the team next year. Brian Larsen has also been offered a contract while Michael Larsen won't decide until after the U23 World Championship. Stig Dam is also hesitating. The team will have ten or eleven riders next year, according to local news paper Horsens Folkeblad. Meinert hangs it up - and gets into the team carTeam Fakta's Peter Meinert will probably do his last race in Paris-Bourges Sunday according to Danish daily BT. Next year he will be assisting sports director in Team Fakta under Kim Andersen. The 34 year old Meinert came from US Postal this year to become captain in the Danish second division team but was stricken with mononucleosis for a period and hasn't been able to finish his career in top shape.
Chiotti to DijonFrench ex-World MTB Champ (in the full sense) Jerome Chiotti will ride on the road next year for the top amateur squad SCO Dijon while he isn't occupied off-road for Team Lapierre.
Giant growsThe bicycle factory Giant in Lelystad (Ned) will expand in the coming years. They will increase production from 200,000 machines to 600,000 by 2004 or 2005. In 2003 Giant will be capable of producing 300,000 bikes, but then they will reach their limit. Manager Willy Haagmans says, "But we have an option on the grounds beside our factory, so we can grow." At the moment, Giant produces 3.6 million bikes per year. Most of them are made in Taiwan.
Tigra for saleClassic Swiss cycle brand, Tigra is up for sale as its owner company Gretener is in bankruptcy. Gretener has tried to sell the plant in Sursee, Switzerland, with 30 people employed but only the name Tigra seems interesting for investors, according to Velomedia news agency.
Swiss vet fastest around LuxembourgThe five stage Senior Tour of Luxembourg was won by Swiss Gusti Zollinger who secured the victory by winning the third stage, six km TT climb by 45 seconds to Ewald Wolf of Liechtenstein. The race has been organized since 1956 and riders from seven nations participated. |