News for April 8, 2001

85th Ronde van Vlaanderen news

Tchmil's prognostics

By Jeff Jones in Zottegem - Belgium

Tchmil is ready
Photo: © Bert Geerts

The big favourite tomorrow, Andrei Tchmil, is going to give his utmost to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen for the second year in a row. Rain or shine, Tchmil's strength is such that he will be there in the finale. If he gets so much as a hair's breadth of a gap with less than 15 km to go, then the rest will probably be going for second.

The Russian born Moldavian turned Belgian, said to De Standaard today that the RVV win last year "was the most beautiful souvenir that I could have for my career. I don't think that I can top that."

Of course, there is the possibility of a second, but this doesn't motivate him as much. "Dré has never finished lower than seventh in the results," said Lotto director Jef Braeckevelt. Tchmil finished third in 1994, his first ever Ronde.

"It is a big prize. For an icon, you can not put aside money. The Ronde is not for sale. At the end, whoever is the strongest will make the break. The fact that I have won the Ronde does not make it easy. On the contrary, it is actually harder."

Museeuw cool
Photo: © Bert Geerts

"The most important thing is that the condition is right and you have good legs on the day of the Ronde. All the rest is secondary."

His favourites include Bartoli, Wesemann, Zabel and Dekker, and of course Johan Museeuw. "I think that he is clearly ready. I don't believe what he says. In the Driedaagse he was pulling in the echelons. It was terribly hard. Museeuw sat freewheeling. He is an athlete of the highest quality. An admirable person."

Saeco optimistic

Saeco directeur Sportif, Antonio Salutini, is confident that his team can do well in tomorrow's Ronde, especially if the weather holds good. "To tell you the truth, the bad weather at the Three Days of La Panne has ruined our build up but I'm still optimistic that we can do well," he said. "Cipollini is in form, he showed that at San Remo and then went well at the Criterium International. Biagio Conte also still has the form he showed at the Tirreno-Adriatico and San Remo. Things didn't go as expected for Mirko Celestino at San Remo because he was unable to attack as he had hoped and then he didn't go well at the Coppi and Bartali race but he is still on form and is determined to give it everything on Sunday."

"Fabio Sacchi is still suffering from an injury he sustained on the first stage of the Three Days of La Panne but he should be fully fit for Flanders. There's little to say about Dario Pieri: It's his race, he's in great shape and most importantly he believes he can do well..."

Mario Cipollini is back in Belgium after several years absence. "When we were planning the season I thought a bit about riding the classics. Then after seeing that my training had given me a lot of endurance and after Milan-San Remo went so well, we decided to ride the two Flemish races perhaps for a last time."

"I want to say goodbye to Belgium in style, in a way the Belgian cycling fans deserve. They've always supported me ever since I rode on the pave' for the first time ten years ago," he added.

"I always give it everything in every race I ride. The sensations I felt at San Remo after almost winning was incredible and fired up the passion to do well in the classics again. I want to do well in every race and so you can imagine how I feel about Flanders - one of the most important races in the world!

Cipollini's favourites? "I've followed the Three Days of La Panne in the newspapers and I got the idea that quite a few riders are trying to hide the fact that they are going well. I've shared room with lots of riders and I know them well. I'm sure that riders like Museeuw, Ballerini and Tchmil will be up there even if they haven't won many races so far this season."

Dario Pieri's second place last year was a turn up for the books, but this style of racing certainly suits the Italian. "Every time I saw one of the riders who did well in Flanders during the rest of the season, I got a flash back of the race and of what happened," he said. "We talked about the race and remembered every tiny detail. Especially my attack in the final kilometre....It hasn't become an obsession though."

"On Tuesday (in De Panne) I rediscovered the pave' and immediately felt comfortable. Things went well in the race up to a certain point but I'm not worried. From the very first time I rode on the pave' I realised that I was able to handle it without any real problem. I've since fine tuned this ability and this is the fifth season I've ridden the Flemish classics. I know every cobble now."

"If I had to write a word next to my name on the start sheet, I wouldn't write favourite but "present!' I'm ready to give it a go!"

An inside look at the Ronde

By Jeff Quenet

Welcome to Geraardsbergen, (Grammont in French) it's a nice town in the middle of the Flemish Ardennes. On the roads, you can follow the painted arrows, which will bring you to the "Muur" (the wall), also called the "Oude Steenweg" (the old stone street). This hill is about one kilometer long. At the end, there's a narrow and curvy road, 10-20% steep, where the paving stones have been beveled at the end of the 19th century in order to prevent the farmers' carts from racing down the street out-of-control. Instead of nice flat stones, the wall offers angular paves, which are usually muddy and slippery when the weather is bad.

In fact, the fanatical Belgian public loves this race even more when the weather is bad. The newspaper that organizes this event, Het Nieuwsblad, will complain if it's sunny! Joking aside, they asked the university of Leuven two years ago to conduct a study to determine what Flanders is known for. It reveals that this part of Europe is famous for his painters (Rembrandt) and this bike race, whose original name is Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Ronde means Tour, and Vlaanderen is the Dutch speaking half of Belgium, a tiny country divided in two, always devastated by the fights and controversies between Walloons (French speaking) and Flemish. These two territories have something in common though: they both love cycling. Walloons typically admire Johan Museeuw and Peter van Petegem, the Flemish cheered on Claude Criquielion and Frank Vandenbroucke in the recent past. No one has ever known if Eddy Merckx, the greatest cycling champion ever, was Flemish or Walloon. "I'm a Belgian," Merckx always answered. He's in fact from Brussels, the Belgian capital. Although the Flemish public never forgave him for having said "OUI" and not "JA" to his wife Claudine at their wedding ceremony. He later named his children Axel and Sabrina because this can be pronounced in a similar way in both languages.

Normally, cycling is kept away from the nationalist battles in Belgium. But for three years now, the crowd waves yellow flags with a black lion on the Grammont Wall, which is the emblem of Flanders. Can you guess why Johan Museeuw is nicknamed "the lion of Flanders"? He won the "Ronde" three times (1993, 95 and 98) and always competed in the front. He has finished the race ten times already and came 3rd in 1999 when Peter van Petegem won it. "Even after what I've done today, I'll always remain a small Museeuw," the now Mercury-Viatel leader declared that day.

Van Petegem
Photo: © Bert Geerts

"Naturally, the Tour of Flanders is still my main goal, even if I've won it already," PVP states. It is unfortunate that he was sick one week before the event. He couldn't finish the Three Days of De Panne but keeps being optimistic for Sunday's super classic. "He may race only at 80% of his potential," team director Alain Gallopin regrets.

Mercury-Viatel will also miss Fabrizio Guidi who crashed behind Mercatone Uno's Gianpaolo Mondini during stage 1 of Three Days of De Panne and hurt his back and hit his head against a parked truck. No luck for the Italian sprinter after he had no choice but to fall on Stefano Zanini in the final sprint of Milan-San Remo. Stop following your compatriots, Fabrizio!

Anyway, there'll be a great race on Sunday, starting from Brugge, the most fascinating Belgian town, called "the Venice of the North", because of its canals and traditional, beautiful architecture. Museeuw will still be one of the favourites despite his discreet showing since the beginning of the season under his new Domo-Farm Frites colours. Defending champion Andrei Tchmil, now 38 years old, will be another one. By the way, what kind of Belgian is this Soviet born hero who is originally Russian but had Moldavian and Ukrainian registration before he was naturalised in Belgium? Is he a Flemish or a Walloon? He speaks French but rides like a real lion of Flanders.

Mercury-Viatel for RVV

Team director: Alain Gallopin

Riders: Gordon Fraser, Jans Koerts, Michael Sayers, Plamen Stoianov, Leon van Bon, Geert van Bondt, Peter van Petegem, Wim Vansevenant.

*Jeff Quenet is a French journalist travelling with Mercury-Viatel this year.

Accident in the Wielertouriste RVV

There was an unfortunate incident in today's Wielertouriste Ronde van Vlaanderen, an event designed for cyclo-tourists to ride the parcours of the race (report to follow). Early in the morning near the start of the 140/70 km event in Ninove, a car plowed into a group of 11 cyclists, critically injuring one of them.

The group from Oostakker had a following car, and the driver tried to pass at approximately 9:30am on the Ninove Steenweg. However, he pulled in too early and drove into the riders. It was first thought that he was drunk, but this was later denied by the police.

The most seriously injured were taken to the hospital in Aalst, and the others to Geraardsbergen.

Armstrong and senior lawyer to give press conference in France

Lance Armstrong, winner of the past two editions of the Tour de France, will travel to France next week to answer charges that he and his US Postal team took drugs in last year's Tour. He will be accompanied by senior French lawyer, Georges Kiejman, a former French justice minister (1990-91). Kiejman has also represented Mohamed Al-Fayed - the Egyptian-born owner of London's Harrods department store.

The pair will give a press conference on Monday after Armstrong flies to Paris from Texas, where he is participating in the Ride for the Roses charity event. Judge Sophie-Helene Chateau, who is presiding over the case, will not be at the press conference, and has so far not commented on how the investigation is proceeding. No results of any blood or urine tests have been reported so far.

For the past five months, the US Postal Service team has been the subject of an investigation into whether they used illegal drugs in the 2000 Tour. So far, the only substance that has been named is Actovegin, a potential blood boosting substance that was not on the UCI banned list last year. The team claims it has been kept in the dark about the investigation, and has not been asked to participate.

"It's not easy to prepare for big races with so much uncertainty," said Roger Legeay (Credit Agricole DS) to Bloomberg's Daren Tulett. "It's bound to affect the riders' concentration in the end."

It may be that Armstrong and his team will appear as witnesses if the judge wants to question them.

VDB's return

Frank Vandenbroucke will make his re-entry to competition in the Vuelta Ciclistica al Pais Vasco, according to a statement released by his Lampre-Daikin team today. The five day race (April 9-13) is ranked HC, meaning it is just one step below the Vuelta España or the Tour de France.

Results of physical tests showed that VDB was in good enough shape to compete, and he wanted to return into competition as soon as possible. His new aim is the Tour de France and he may ride the Vuelta España as well. The World Championships are another important goal.

At a press conference announcing his return, he said that it hurts to see his friend Nico Mattan as a favourite for the Ronde van Vlaanderen. "Knowing I could be there also, that hurts I have to admit that. I spent yesterday afternoon with Nico, talking about the Ronde...but it's my own fault," he said.

Promising French junior killed in training

The French Cycling Federation has reported the death of Audrey Lardon, a young French cyclist who was killed whilst training on roads near Seine-et-Marne last week. She was part of a group of 14 juniors, who were hit by a car despite the fact that they were accompanied by two support vehicles. The FFC did not report on the condition of her training partners.

NZ-Australian team to race in Chile

New Zealand promoter, Jorge Sandoval, has put together a team consisting of New Zealand and Australian riders to race this month's Tour of Chile. Stephen Elden, Andrew Ward, Chris Boerson, and Brad McFarlane will join Australians Stephen Cunningham and Baden Burke for the 2.5 category tour, which is scheduled for April 19-29.

Sandoval, who is a political refugee from Chile, believes his team will be competitive despite an entry from Festina, a division I professional team.

CBS Sports to show HP Women's Challenge

The world's richest women's race, the HP Women's Challenge, will be able to be seen by American viewers on CBS Sports, as the network will broadcast a one hour highlights package on July 14 at 4pm. "The telecast of the HP Women's Challenge on CBS Sports will certainly bring excitement and attention to the sport of women's cycling," said Annie Tucher, Director of Marketing and Development for Women's Challenge, Inc.

The 2001 race will be held from June 13-24, covering over 1000 km of terrain in Idaho.

De Hel van het Mergelland cancelled

De Hel van het Mergelland, a 1.5 race scheduled for April 21, has been cancelled. The reason given is the Foot and Mouth outbreak in the Netherlands. Many borders have been barricaded by farmers, as more than 80 kilometers for the race are in Belgium. Belgian farmers want to stop the Foot and Mouth virus.

Courtesy of Patrick Janssen

Killington Stage Race cancelled

One of the final races on the US National Calendar, the Killington Stage Race, has been cancelled. The race has been held since 1986, and has seen many of the country's top professionals win, including Davis Phinney, Mike Engleman, Tyler Hamilton, Frank McCormack, Trent Klasna and George Hincapie. The costs in running the event meant that it had to be cut from five to three stages in 1999, but even this wasn't enough to save it this year.

New photography

As our attention is focused on racing in Belgium this weekend, cyclingnews.com has an excellent group of photos from Bert Geerts in Europe, featuring riders and roads from the Brabantse Pijl and GP E3-Haralbeke, including a picture of Servais Knaven with bidon in mouth disease.