News for April 20, 2001

Women's UCI Rankings

Women's FW podium
Photo: © Erik van Breugel

After round 4 of the Women's World Cup, the UCI has released its latest women's road rankings. Still on top is Anna Millward (Saturn), who actually increased her advantage over Hanka Kupfernagel (Farm Frites-Hartol) by finishing second in La Fleche Wallonne. The winner of that race, Fabiana Luperini (Edilsavino) jumped from 14th to 8th in the rankings as a result. Also, Dutchwoman Mirjam Melchers (Acca Due O) moved into third place at the expense of her teammate Diana Ziliute, who hasn't raced in the World Cups this season.

Acca Due O still have the best team, but are being challenged now by Farm Frites-Hartol and Saturn, with the latter moving up from 5th to 3rd place. The Netherlands are the number one nation, followed by Germany, which has displaced Lithuania for second place.

Rankings as of April 19, 2001

Individuals

1 Anna Millward (Aus) Saturn-Timex 734.00 pts 2 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Farm Frites-Hartol 631.67 3 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 601.50 4 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 542.00 5 Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (Ned) Farm Frites-Hartol 506.00 6 Zinaida Stahurskaia (Blr) Gas Sport Team 484.00 7 Joane Somarriba Arrola (Spa) Alfa Lum R.S.M. 391.00 8 Fabiana Luperini (Ita) Edilsavino 356.00 9 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Vlaanderen-T-Interim Ladies Team 335.00 10 Chantal Beltman (Ned) 317.50 11 Svetlana Boubnenkova (Rus) Edilsavino 304.00 12 Mari Holden (USA) Alfa Lum R.S.M. 298.00 13 Pia Sundstedt (Fin) Gas Sport Team 291.00 14 Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (Fra) 286.34 15 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu) Alfa Lum R.S.M. 230.50 16 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 218.50 17 Madeleine Lindberg (Swe) Farm Frites-Hartol 206.00 18 Sara Felloni (Ita) Alfa Lum R.S.M. 198.00 19 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 195.00 20 Heidi Van De Vijver (Bel) Vlaanderen-T-Interim Ladies Team 193.00 Teams 1 Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 1,557.00 pts 2 Farm Frites-Hartol 1,411.67 3 Saturn-Timex 1,167.00 4 Alfa Lum R.S.M. 1,117.50 5 Gas Sport Team 1,055.00 6 Edilsavino 878.00 7 Vlaanderen-T-Interim Ladies Team 605.00 8 Team Sponsorservice 385.00 9 Carpe Diem-Itera 252.00 10 Autotrader.com 244.00 Nations 1 Netherlands 1,568.67 pts 2 Germany 1,175.17 3 Lithuania 1,142.50 4 Australia 1,037.00 5 Italy 875.00 6 Russia 794.50 7 France 749.34 8 U.S.A. 624.00 9 Sweden 609.00 10 Belarus 518.00

La Grande Boucle Féminine

Also known as the women's Tour de France, La Grande Boucle Féminine takes place from August 5-19, starting in Bilbao (Spain) and finishing in Paris. The 14 stages will take the cyclists across the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the French Alps.

The first day will feature a 10 kilometre time trial in Bilbao, followed by a 107 kilometre road stage from Bilbao to Guernica. Stage 2 on August 6 will be in the Pyrenees, and will feature the mighty Tourmalet in the 34 kilometre leg. However, the hardest stage is likely to be the second last (Stage 13, August 18) which contains the Col d'Izoard, the Lautaret and the ski-station finish at Vaujany.

There are two individual time trials scheduled - stage 1 (10 km) and stage 10 (Saint-Galmier - Rive-de-Gier ITT, 42.8 km).

There are 20 teams definitely starting, with the final list announced on June 5: Acca Due O, Alfa Lum-RSM, Aliverti, Autotrader.com, CA Mantes-la-Ville, Carpe Diem-Itera, Edilsavino, GAS Sport, Inter Régions, Junkers, Equipe Nürnberger, Michela Fanini, Farm Frites-Hartol, Dutch & Slovakian National Teams

Principal riders: Svetlana Bubnenkova (Rus), Séverine Desbouys (Fra), Zinaida Stahurskaia (Blr), Pia Sundstedt (Fin), Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger), Fabiana Luperini (Ita), Mirjam Melchers (Ned), Tatiana Stiajkina (Ukr), Mari Holden (USA), Joane Somarriba (Spa), Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus).

The Stages

Stage 1a - August 5: Bilbao - Bilbao ITT, 10 km
Stage 1b - August 5: Bilbao - Guernica, 107 km
Stage 2 - August 6: Barèges - Campan, 34.4 km
Stage 3 - August 7: Barbotan-les-Thermes - Bergerac, 141.7 km
Stage 4 - August 8: Bergerac - La Rochefoucauld, 121 km
Stage 5 - August 9: Saint-Porchaire - La Roche-sur-Yon, 138.6 km
Stage 6 - August 10: La Roche-sur-Yon - Bressuire, 84.7 km
Stage 7 - August 11: Montmorillon - Bourges, 164 km
Rest Day - August 12
Stage 8 - August 13: Bourges - Domérat, 99.8 km
Stage 9 - August 14: Saint-Yorre - Saint-Galmier, 112.5 km
Stage 10 - August 15: Saint-Galmier - Rive-de-Gier ITT, 42.8 km
Stage 11 - August 16: Langogne - Vernoux-en-Vivarais, 125 km
Stage 12 - August 17: Valréas - Superdévoluy, 131 km
Stage 13 - August 18: Guillestre - Vaujany, 135.5 km
Stage 14 - August 19: Pierrelaye - Paris, 117.8 km

Past winners

1992 Leontien van Moorsel (Ned)
1993 Leontien van Moorsel (Ned)
1994 Valentina Polkhanova (Rus)
1995 Fabiana Luperini (Ita)
1996 Fabiana Luperini (Ita)
1997 Fabiana Luperini (Ita)
1998 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu)
1999 Diana Ziliute (Ltu)
2000 Joane Somarriba (Spa)

Verbrugghe prepares for the second Ardennes classic

Rik Verbrugghe
Photo: © AFP

Yesterday's winner of La Fleche Wallonne/Waalse Pijl, Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) wants to put in a good showing in this Sunday's fourth round of the World Cup, Liege-Bastogne-Liege/Luik-Bastenaken-Luik. Verbrugghe, 26, is one of Lotto's best climbers, and will be one of their top men for the Tour de France, should Lotto make the selection.

If this is the case, Verbrugghe said that he will aim to "win a stage or two" but is unsure of how he will go overall in the three week marathon.

La Fleche Wallonne and LBL make up the now mistitled "Ardennes Weekend", named when the two races were in fact held on consecutive days. LBL is actually the oldest of the classics, being first held in 1892 - hence its nickname "La Doyenne".

Verbrugghe feels that he is in form. "I have the conviction now that I can win Liege-Bastogne-Liege," he said after his powerful performance over the last 15 kilometres of the race yesterday. His main rivals are likely to be Dutchman Michael Boogerd (Rabobank), who is in excellent form and has targetted LBL and Amstel Gold as the classics he'd like to win. His team is strong as well, although they failed to catch the Belgian steam train yesterday.

Others tipped to do well include Italians Michele Bartoli (Mapei) and Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo), but they have the disadvantage that they will be heavily marked.

No matter what happens on Sunday, Verbrugghe will take two weeks break before building up again for the Tour of Romandie, the Giro d'Italia, and hopefully the Tour de France.

Tchmil uncertain

Andrei Tchmil (Lotto) is not sure whether he will be fit to ride this weekend's fourth round of the World Cup, Leige-Bastogne-Liege. Tchmil had an accident on Monday whilst training at home in Italy, where he was hit by a mobile home. He injured his elbow, but has recuperated well in the last couple of days, and if the pain is reduced enough, he will start on Sunday.

Pantani struggling

Marco Pantani's early season has been plagued by bronchitis and court cases, and he is afraid that his preparation for the Giro d'Italia will be compromised. For nearly two weeks he has had breathing problems and a cough, although he is back racing now in the Settimana Lombarda.

"I don't think it will be a problem to finish this stage race," he said of the Settimana. "I want to get in some quality training for the race that counts."

Pantani claims that he has been suffering from illness all year, and has not been able to completely recover while racing. "I had influenza since my debut in February in the Vuelta Valenciana," he added. The current poor weather in the Settimana Lombarda may see him abandon the race before it finishes on Sunday.

Flèche Wallonne controls negative

The UCI's Sporting Safety and Conditions Commission carried out 44 blood tests before La Flèche Wallonne yesterday (0645-0800). The teams tested were: Kelme-Costa Blanca, Festina, Lotto-Adecco, Team Coast, Collstrop-Palmans, and Vlaanderen-T-Interim. No riders were declared unfit.

First out of competition EPO controls carried out

On the day following La Fleche Wallonne, the UCI carried out its first out of competition urinary testing for EPO. Five riders, whose identities were not revealed, were tested using the UCI's recently validated urine test, three days before Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the next round of the World Cup.

The French developed test will detect artificial EPO for up to three days in an athlete's urine, and is therefore most useful as a preventative measure out of competition. The first such controls took place during the Tour of Flanders on April 8, where no rider was declared EPO-positive.

Despite the documented use of EPO in endurance sport over the last 10 years, the UCI is the first major federation to employ this urine test. Other endurance sport federations e.g. Speed skating, have increased the sophistication of their blood testing to encompass more than hematocrit testing.

The controls are for the most part random, but the UCI can, at its discretion, test a rider who they think might be taking EPO.

World's to be moved forward

The World Road Championships will be moved forward to September in future, according to the Conseil du Cyclisme Professionnel (CCP), which met today in Liege. The professional cycling calendar will undergo some changes, which include the moving of the 2005 the World's to the last week of September, after pressure by riders, and the media. In addition, the Vuelta España will be moved forward by a week.

The dates of the 2003 Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Amstel Gold Race will be reversed, meaning that LBL will be the last of the five spring classics. The Amstel Gold Race well be one week after Paris-Roubaix (round 3), and will be followed by La Fleche Wallonne during the week. Other changes to the calendar include moving the Giro and the Tour so that the end of the Giro is 5 weeks before the start of the Tour (it is four weeks this year).

The CCP is also aiming to increase revenues, in order to "reinforce the underlying structure," according to UCI and CCP president Hein Verbruggen.

The CCP was set up by the UCI last year to manage the cycling calendar, regulations, disputes and administration. It does not have any say in anti-doping or equipment policy.