News for April 30, 2001

De Cauwer defends himself

Belgian national selector José De Cauwer has defended himself against accusations of being involved in doping, telling Belgian VRT television and the Belga news service he is "clean as a whistle".

Questioned by several journalists in Maastricht at the end of Amstel Gold, De Cauwer declared that he "had never played with prohibited products." He said the ampoule seized by the Belgian police contained a product that did not appear on the prohibited list and dated back to 1993.

De Cauwer's was questioned and his house searched last week as part of an investigation by the Antwerp judiciary that had already detained six people on suspicion of trafficking in narcotics. The investigation involves former middle-ranked Belgian amateurs and soigneurs.

The affair began in October 2000 with the arrest of Ronny Vansweevelt, a little-known former racer. Searches of the residences of the six accused turned up amphetamines and syringes as well as bottles, empty prescriptions 100 ecstasy pills, LSD and various other drugs.

De Cauwer's name was given to police by Vansweevelt under interrogation. Vansweevelt claimed De Cauwer gave him the name of a soigneur who could provide help and information about the purchase of prohibited substances.

De Cauwer admits giving this information, several years ago. "He asked me if I knew the address of someone who could provide him with prohibited products. I gave him a telephone number because I had the impression Ronny Vansweevelt could not take any more. However, I warned him very strongly."

"I have told the police everything I have to say. These are riders I haven't seen for five or six years. This business has come back like a boomerang, years after the fact."

USPS gets three more years

Tailwind Sports, owner of the US Postal Service team, is to announce today that the USPS is extending its sponsorship of Lance Armstrong's Tour de France powerhouse to the end of the 2004 season, according to a report in today's USA Today newspaper. The paper estimates the sponsorship as being worth $25 million over three years.

Leblanc wants Jalabert

According to a report in French newspaper l'Equipe, Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc would like to see Laurent Jalabert — and therefore his CSC-World Online team — in this year's Tour. "I am not ignoring the fact that Laurent Jalabert could ride a good Tour de France," said Leblanc. "It's not a matter of him winning the Tour, but it's Jalabert, he is moving in a whole new direction, and perhaps he could make a fine contribution to the Tour de France. It's not excluded."

Allocation of the four remaining wildcard places in the Tour will be announced on Thursday, but strong rumours in European racing circles say CSC, Lotto and Francaise des Jeux will be the first three, with the remaining place still between Mercury and Euskatel. Mercatone-Uno and Saeco have already been eliminated from consideration, according to the rumour mill.

World Cup round-up

No one rider or team has dominated the Classics and the World Cups so far this season. Five World Cup races have been won by five riders from four nations:

Milan-San Remo: Erik Zabel (Germany/Telekom)
Tour of Flanders: Gianluca Bortolami (Italy/Tacconi)
Paris-Roubaix: Servais Knaven (Netherlands/Domo)
Liege-Bastogne-Liege: Oscar Camenzind (Switzerland/Lampre)
Amstel Gold Race: Erik Dekker (Netherlands/Rabobank)

The other Classics show a similar spread of talent:

Het Volk: Michele Bartoli (Italy/Mapei)
Ghent-Wevelgem: George Hincapie (USA/US Postal)
Flèche Wallonne: Rik Verbrugghe (Belgium/Lotto)

Amstel Gold tests negative

26 riders, from Saeco, Tacconi Sport, Coast, Cologne and Bankgiroloterij were blood-tested before the Amstel gold. All the tests returned negative results.

Tour of Algeria off, on again

The Irish High Performance team won't be travelling to North Africa for the Tour of Algeria (May 1-12, UCI cat 2.5) because of a bizarre admin mix-up. Team staff received a fax from the Algerian cycling federation telling them the race was cancelled, so they made other arrangements.

Shortly afterwards, a phone call confirmed the race was in fact still on. Dark mutterings on the Emerald Isle include speculation that someone cooked this tale up deliberately to stop valuable UCI points from being taken away from local riders…

Giro del Trentino: "Pantani is ready"

The UCI Cat 2.2 Giro del Trentino, which runs from today to May 3, is expected to see the return to serious form of marco Pantani, who needs to ride well here in preparation for the Giro d'Italia next month.

Pantani's team manager Giuseppe Martinelli says the climber has recovered from the early season problems with bronchitis that caused him to drop out of the Tour of Murcia, Tour of the Basque Country and the Settimana Lombardi. Of the giro del Trentino, Martinelli said, "We are sure we will be well involved, but we have no particular ambitions. I have spoken with Pantani. He is motivated and ready to face this test. He has had a week of intense, hard training on his local roads."

"After all that work it is hard to imagine that he will not be strong for this race. We are sure that the course of the Giro del Trentino will reveal a Marco in much better condition after the four stages."

Pantani will find himself among many of his rivals for the Giro d'Italia maglia rosa. Notable among the competition are Ivan Gotti (Alessio), who took over Pantani's lead in the 1999 Giro when Pantani was eliminated because of a too-high haematocrit, and last year's winner Stefano Garzelli (Mapei). Both riders will be trying to establish psychological superiority in the run-up to the Giro.

The Stages:

Stage 1 - April 30: Tione - Passo Daone (161 km)
Stage 2 - May 1: Tione - Romeno (175 km)
Stage 3 - May 2: Fondo - Malcesine (178 km)
Stage 4 - May 3: Malcesine - Arco (165 km)

GP Frankfurt: serious competition for Ullrich

Tuesday's Rund um den Henninger Turm (GP Frankfurt) will be one of the first serious outings for German national hero Jan Ullrich. Ullrich has treated most races so far this year as training exercises, but his Telekom Directeur sportif Walter Godefroot says he "will not ride to the far limits of his capacity, but he'll have it in the red zone more often than in previous races."

Ullrich doesn't consider himself a favourite for the 40th edition of the German semi-classic. "I have to be in form to support Erik Zabel," he said. Zabel was the race winner in 1999.

The German team faces competition from the in-form Domo squad, led by Romans Vainsteins, and other Classics specialists such as Michele Bartoli, Davide Rebellin and Andrei Tchmil as well as former world champions Laurent Brochard and Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner Oscar Camenzind.

No Giro for Spanish TV

Spanish cycling fans will not be able to follow this year's Giro d'Italia after the channel that usually broadcasts the race decided the increased cost of the rights (over US$I million) was too high.

Cannondale Homecoming adds musical Bicycle

Pedal-powered band Bicycle, who ride from show to show, are booked to perform a free concert at Cannondale's 30th Anniversary 'Homecoming' celebration. Cannondale's Homecoming Weekend runs June 1-3 and bicycle will perform on Saturday June 2.

Bicycle recently issued their first major label CD, inevitably also called 'Bicycle', to significant acclaim. Their folk.rock/rap fusion has been favorably compared to the music of Beck.

Cannondale's Homecoming is open to owners and non-owners of Cannondale bikes and will be held at Seven Springs Resort in southwestern Pennsylvania. The weekend features road and mountain bike ride,slots of swag and door prizes, and tours of Cannondale’s Bedford, Pennsylvania factory. Cannondale-sponsored riders will also be on hand, including three-time US cross country MTB champion Tinker Juarez and members of the Saeco road team.

For more details contact Cannondale on 1 800 BIKE USA (814/623-2626 outside of the US) or visit the company’s web site at www.cannondale.com