News for April 13, 2001

99th Paris-Roubaix news

No course change

Despite flooding in the northern part of France, the organisers have not changed the parcours of the 99th Paris-Roubaix, which takes place this Sunda, April 8. According to a press release, "road works are being carried out by the various towns on the itinerary, as well as the Equipment authorities and the Conseil Général du Nord," to ensure the race goes ahead.

Some rain is forecast for Sunday, but this is not expected to put a dampener on things. For most fans (and some riders), the muddier the better. Who could forget Andrei Tchmil's triumph in 1994, a win that helped him along to become a formidable classics rider.

Because of the mud, the riders will have to stick to the cobbles, and not make use of the sides of the roads during the 47.3 kilometres of pavé. The well known Arenberg Forest sector is in "beautiful condition," according to race organiser Jean-François Pescheux. There were some concerns at the beginning of the week that it would be impassable due to flooding.

We are sure that the cyclingnews.com Mercedes will handle it, although there are seven sectors of cobbles prohibited to following vehicles.

Daniele Nardello
Photo: © Sabine Sunderland/CN

Mapei for Ballerini and Nardello

With Franco Ballerini featuring in his last race this Sunday, Mapei-Quick Step will be aiming to get him to the top of the podium, as they have done twice before. Daniele Nardello is also in good shape after his solid rides in the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Gent-Wevelgem.

Mapei for P-R: Franco Ballerini, Davide Bramati, Paolo Fornaciari, Daniele Nardello, Andrea Tafi Stefano Zanini, Laszlo Bodrogi and Bart Leysen.

Telekom will work for Zabel and Wesemann

Pevenage in control
Photo: © Jeff Jones/CN

The bright purple outfits of the Deutsche Telekom team will be seen in Paris-Roubaix, with Stefen Wesemann and Erik Zabel leading the charge. Both riders are in decent form - Wesemann coming off his 3rd place in Gent-Wevelgem, and solid ride in the Ronde van Vlaanderen; and Zabel (3rd last year) coming off his Milan-San Remo victory.

The Telekom team directed by former P-R winner, Walter Godefroot, is likely to be the following: Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag, Robert Bartko, Ralf Grabsch, Danilo Hondo, Andreas Klier, Jan Schaffrath and Steffen Wesemann.

Paris-Roubaix in numbers

1 cm: The smallest winning margin (Eddy Planckaert beating Steve Bauer in 1990)
2: Victories of Johan Museeuw (1996 and 2000) and Franco Ballerini (1995 and 1998), the only two riders in the race capable of the triple.
4: The record for wins held by Belgian Roger De Vlaeminck
5'21 : The maximum gap (post 1945) between the first and second place finishers (Merckx and De Vlaeminck in 1970)
8 kg: Average tire pressure at the beginning of the race. This tends to fluctuate...
9: The number of French teams in the race
11:00 : The departure time from the Palais à Compiègne 12'15 : The time taken by Henri Pélissier, (winner in 1919), on the roads devastated by the World War I
15: The number of seconds that Johan Museeuw won by in 2000
16: The most number of Paris-Roubaix finshes, by Belgian Raymond Impanis between 1947 and 1963 (one more than Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle)
24: The number of paved sectors
25: Teams entered
30: French victories
38 years, 8 months : The age of "Duclos", the oldest winner in 1993
40.098 km/h: The average speed of Johan Museeuw last year
45.129 km/h: The record average speed on a different parcours (Peter Post, 1964)
47.3: Kilometres of pavé in 2001
48: Belgian victories
79: Riders who were classified last year, from 176 starters
98: The number of Paris-Roubaix races held
99: The number of winners (Andre Mahé, initially declassified, and Serse Coppi were equal in 1949)
222 km: The distance of Belgian Dirk De Mol's successful breakaway in 1988.
254.5 km: The distance of this year's race between Compiegne and Roubaix velodrome
1000 francs: The prize given to the first ever winner, German Josef Fischer in 1896. This was equivalent to seven times the average monthly wage.
1968: The year that the parcours was changed, and the race started in Compiegne
2400 m: The length of the Arenberg trench.

Armstrong may race Vuelta España

Lance Armstrong has said that he may ride the Vuelta España (Tour of Spain) in support of teammate and last year's winner, Roberto Heras, if the Spaniard helps him win win three straight Tours de France.

Speaking to Darren Tulett of Bloomberg News at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Armstrong said "If Roberto does the job that we all think he will do, then I believe that should be paid back."

"I don't want to get myself in a corner here, where I'm fully committed to doing the Vuelta, but I believe in returning favors. "

Heras will more than fill the gap left by Kevin Livingston, who has crossed sides to Jan Ullrich's Telekom team. His main goal is the Vuelta, and it would be a big bonus for the US Postal team to win (or even be competitive in) two major tours in one season.

The Vuelta España is scheduled for September 8-30, six weeks after the Tour de France. Armstrong rode it in 1998, two years after being given a 50 percent chance of surviving testicular cancer, and went on to finish 4th in the race.

"The 1998 Vuelta changed everything for me," Armstrong said. "It is the reason I said, yeah, maybe I can win the Tour de France."

Over two years down the track, he commented on his motivation to win a third Tour de France. "Because I like it, I really do. And I don't have to do it. I like racing, I like training, I like being in a team, I like this group of guys, I like the travel, my family likes it. There will come a time, and I hope I recognize it, when it's time to stop but for now I enjoy it."

For Armstrong, the daily grind of getting out of bed to train for anywhere up to 7 hours is not a problem, "And if I just didn't want to train, I wouldn't. I'd take the day off. I think that's important to recognize, too. But those days are rare. I don't remember the last day I woke up and didn't want to go training."

"Some of the training camps we do, it's crazy hard training. It's repetitive five-hour days just one after the other, regardless of the weather. It's a lot of riding. We've had guys come along to these camps and they don't ever come back."

Part two of the interview will be published tomorrow

Lampre-Daikin news

Frank Vandenbroucke on his abandonment of the Vuelta a Pais Vasco: "I have always said that no miracles were to be expected. I can manage a flat track but I am not yet strong enough to face the mountains. I am glad to have started the 'Vuelta al pais Vasco' after all. I know I still have a long way to go but at least I feel like a racer again and that is what counts."

VDB will continue training in Belgium and will participate in the Settimana Lombarda starting next Friday, April 20.

HEW Cyclassics winner, Gabriele Missaglia added his name to the DNF list, after he was forced to abandon the Vuelta a Pais Vasco with Achilles tendonitis. "We have to be cautious in order to prevent from this getting worse," said team manager Piovani. He is still aiming to ride well in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Amstel Gold Race.

Marco Serpellini returned to Italy on Wednesday morning for an examination of his knee. His crashes during the second stage of the Driedaagse De Panne and the Ronde van Vlaanderen caused one of his meniscuses to be agitated. It is likely that a few days rest will solve the problem, and he is in doubt for Paris-Roubaix.

The Lampre-Daikin team will prepare for the Queen of the Classics beginning tomorrow (Friday). The team will ride the cobbled sections of the finale of Paris-Roubaix, as well as the 'Bois du Wallers.'

Ludo Dierckxsens and Max Sciandri will spearhead the team on Sunday, supported by Mariano Piccoli, Raivis Belohvosicks, Rubens Bertogliati, Johan Verstrepen, Jan Svorada and possibly Marco Serpellini.

Pantani to ride Settimana Lombarda

Marco Pantani will race in the Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda, scheduled for April 20-24 next week. The insert preferred nickname here abandoned Semana Catalana last month with bronchitis, and has not raced since. His team director Giuseppe Martinelli, confirmed that Pantani will miss the Ardennes classics Flèche Wallonne (April 18) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 22) in favour of the Italian stage race.

Pantani met with Martinelli and Felice Gimondi on Wednesday to discuss the team's plans for the year, which are aimed at winning the Giro d'Itali (May 19-June 10). His team situation for the Tour de France has been "complicated" by Fabiano Fontanelli's exclusion from the Ronde van Vlaanderen with a high hematocrit. The final four Tour de France teams are due to be announced on May 2.

Mercatone Uno get new sponsors

Mercatone Uno no longer has telecommunications company Albacom on its jerseys. The new co-sponsors are Stream TV (a TV Channel) and Bialetti (Coffee machines), and their logos now appear on the Mercatone Uno jerseys.

Courtesy of Daniel Schamps

Foreign teams OK for FBD Milk Ras

Despite a previous ruling banning teams from foot-and-mouth affected countries from participating in this year's FBD Milk Rás, race organiser Dermot Dignam has announced that British teams will now be allowed enter this year's race. This means that defending champion Julian Winn may race, if they undertake precautionary methods including disinfection of equipment, clothing and vehicles.

2000 champion Winn will lead the Welsh team, and "a limited number of other British teams may also be allowed to participate, again subject to the strict protocol," according to Dingam.

The announcement follows discussions this week with the Department of Agriculture's Expert group, which also allayed fears that the FBD Milk Rás would not go ahead in its normal May timeslot. This year's race, which has been given UCI status for the first time, will run from May 20-27, and is expected have the largest field ever.

Courtesy of Shane Stokes/www.ireland.com

FBD Milk Ras official site: http://www.fbdmilkras.com/