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There are still rumours circulating about the whereabouts of TdF winner Lance Armstrong on September 8, when the Vuelta España starts in Salamanca. Will he ride another Grand Tour, or will he stick with a lighter schedule to finish the year?
Unipublic (the organisers of the Vuelta) have released a preliminary starting list which has Lance Armstrong as part of the US Postal line up, as well as Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno), Gilberto Simoni (Lampre) Danilo Di Luca (Cantina Tollo), Richard Virenque (Domo), Christophe Moreau (Festina), Abraham Olano (ONCE), Iban Mayo (Euskaltel), Fernando Escartin and Alex Zülle (Team Coast).
However, Armstrong is also scheduled to ride the San Francisco Grand Prix on September 9. Despite what some people might think, he can't be in two places at once. His schedule in the coming weeks includes San Sebastian (August 11), Vuelta a Burgos (August 20), Championship of Zurich (August 26) and the Ronde van Nederland (August 28-September 1).
It should be noted that Gilberto Simoni is another rider not yet confirmed to start in the Vuelta, saying recently that he may concentrate on the World Cup and the World Championships for the rest of the season. Preliminary starting lists, especially four and a half weeks from the start, are often inaccurate in terms of riders listed.
It has been confirmed that Mercury, who were previously scheduled to ride, will not start. The following are the 21 teams that will contest the Vuelta España:
US Postal Service
Alessio
iBanesto.com
Team Coast
Cofidis
Ceramiche Panaria-Fiordo
Domo Farm Frites
Euskaltel-Euskadi
Festina
Jazztel-Costa del Almeria
Kelme-Costa Blanca
Lampre-Daikin
Mapei-Quick Step
Mercatone Uno-Stream TV
Milaneza-MSS
ONCE-Eroski
Panaria
Rabobank
Relax Fuenlabrada
Saeco Macchine per Caffe
Telekom
The Mercury team has dismissed Alain Gallopin, its European Assistant Director. According to a press release from the team, "Gallopin's dismissal is a result of his violation of long-standing team policy and procedures. Various actions undertaken by Gallopin have been in direct conflict with specific directives mandated by senior team management. Gallopin's duties for the remainder of the 2001 season will be fulfilled by Assistant Director Eddie Borysewicz, who primarily assumed a domestic management role in the earlier part of the season. Borysewicz's duties will be aided by Assistant Director Whit Yost."
The statement goes on to list the races Mercury will take part in this season. The full schedule is:
Saturn Cycling Classic (USA) August 11 Classica San Sebastian (Spain) August 11 Manhattan Beach Grand Prix (USA) August 12 USPRO Criterium Championship (USA) August 18-19 HEW - Cyclassics Cup (Germany) August 19 Tistaert Prijs-Overijs (Belgium) August 21-22 Tour de Limousin (France) August 21-24 Tour of Holland August 28-September 1 Poitou Charentes (France) August 28-31 GP Plouay (France) September 2 Tour de l'Avenir (France) September 6-15 San Francisco GP (USA) September 9 Various Belgian Races September 2-23 BMC Tour of Houston (USA) September 16 Mercury Irvine Cycling Classic (USA) September 23 Paris - Tours (France) October 4-7 Tour of Lombardi (Italy) October 17-20
Lance Armstrong was a guest on 'Late Night With David Letterman' last week, and thanks to the delay between the show's US and Australian transmissions, Australian viewers get a chance to see the interview late tonight (or very early tomorrow morning, if you're a pedant.)
The show screens on Channel 9 at 2 am, Friday August 10. Thanks to Cyclingnews reader David Shade for spotting this and checking with Channel 9.
There appears to be some confusion in the reports that Richard Virenque will be riding in the Tour of Denmark, which starts on August 14. An item in yesterday's L'Equipe said that he had obtained a dispensation from the UCI to end his suspension 1 day early, allowing him to race in Denmark's national tour with the Domo Farm Frites team. In addition, the organisers of a criterium in Quillan on August 15 signed up Andrei Kivilev and Stuart O'Grady to ride in place of Virenque, after a phone call from his wife to them last Friday.
However, according to AFP, the organisers of the Tour of Denmark haven't heard from Virenque yet about whether he'll be at the start. "We hope to have a favourable response from the UCI so that Richard Virenque can be at the start," said race director Jesper Worre.
The UCI said to AFP that they have not decided whether to allow Virenque to start one day early. "The decision will not be made today, and I am unaware of when it will be," said spokesman Enrico Carpani.
Italians Daniele De Paoli (Mercatone Uno) and Gabriele Missaglia (Lampre-Daikin) have been asked to present themselves in front of the Italian cycling federation's disciplinary commission, at the recommendation of the anti-doping commission of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).
CONI have requested that De Paoli receive a six month suspension, and Missaglia an eight month suspension, after the two were found to be in possession of prohibited substances following the Giro d'Italia raids in San Remo on June 6.
So far, Fassa Bortolo's Dario Frigo, Colpack's Renzo Mazzoleni and Colpack team doctor Claudio Sprenger have been recommended for similar suspensions, as a result of the investigations carried out in Florence and Padova stemming from the Giro raids.
Italian Champion Daniele Nardello will not be riding in this weekend's Clasica San Sebastian, after he submitted to a magnetic resonance scan of his left elbow (injured during the Tour de France). The examination showed a partial detachment of the olecran bone, not seen in the x-rays made soon after the accident, and a small interstitial injury of the triceps muscle tendon.
The Mapei rider will undergo treatment which will prevent him from taking part in the Clasica San Sebastian. Nardello will come back to competition on August 14, for the Tour of Denmark; and will continue with the HEW Cyclassics Cup in Hamburg and the Trittico Lombardo, ending with the G.P.Suisse on August 26.
Oscar Freire did not start the third stage of the Vuelta a Castilla-Leon, because of a slight tendonitis in his left knee, revealed at the end of stage 2. Considering the first diagnosis, the problem shouldn't be too serious. The Mapei Quick Step medical staff decided, as a precaution, to suspend all activity, in order not to compromise his preparation for the Vuelta España, meaning that he'll miss San Sebastian as well.
The recent competition on Cyclingnews offering a new pair of Shimano wheels was a record-breaker for the site, with some 6000 entries received from readers in some 78 countries.
The prize - kindly provided by Shimano - were a pair of new WH-6500 wheels, which are 16-spoke models that are said to eliminate the shortcomings of conventional spoked wheels, while offering most of their advantages. The winner of the competition was an Australian, Raymond Jarratt, who lives in Cobram, Victoria. Raymond is a road and track rider with a Masters 2 licence who rides for Brentwood Cobram club in Victoria. He correctly identified Kelme's Santiago Botero as the rider using the new style Shimano wheels in last year's Tour de France.
After receiving the new wheels last week, Raymond quickly put them on his Merida (aluminium frame/Ultegra groupset) and on his first ride, he took second place in his local club race. He plans to keep using the wheels for future races. "They're quite fast and felt good," he said after his first outing on the new wheels.
Congratulations to Raymond and Cyclingnews would like to thank all our readers for entering the competition, as well as the folks at Shimano for providing the wheels.
September 25-October 7 will see the 38th edition of the Vuelta a Venezuela, a UCI 2.5 class stage race. The event will pass through the states of Monagas, Sucre, Anzoategui, Guarico, Carabobo, Cojedes, Portuguesa, Lara, Yaracuy, Aragua, Miranda culminating in Caracas with the circuit race on Av. Bolìvar, after a total of 1954 km of racing.
Courtesy of Jose Manuel Zabala Cardenas
The 11th annual Tualatin Crawfish Festival Criterium presented by Lakeside Bicycles is gearing up to be a great day of racing on Saturday, August 11 in Tualatin, Oregon. In his second year as race organiser, Jim Anderson is hoping for an increase in racers to this year's event. In 2000 the race drew 130, and it is hoped that 180 riders will compete in 2001.
Racing gets under way at 9:30am for the Beginners (Category 4 and 5), Women (all categories) start at 10:30, Masters 35+ are racing at 11:20, the intermediate racers (Category 3) start at 12:20 then there is a kids race at 1:30. The kids race is set up near the start/finish line and is for kids 10 and under and 10-13 year olds. The final race of the day is the Cat 1/2/Pro race at 2:10.
The parcours is a challenging circuit with a short hill and long straight finishing stretch. The start is at Mohawk St. and the course runs Northbound on Martinazzi Ave, right on Warm Springs and the right onto Mohawk to complete a lap. Racers will be doing laps based on time.
Entry fees for category racing: $15.00 (must be Oregon Bicycle Racing Association members). New members can join at race site. The kids race is free and all kids get a free water bottle and ribbon for participating.
Directions: From I-5, take the Tualatin exit (exit 289), go west/straight on Nyberg road (Do not veer left onto Tualatin / Sherwood Highway - go straight) and then turn left at the traffic signal /Martinazzi Street. Head west/left up SW Martinazzi Street (through 3 lights). Follow Martinazzi to the top of the course and turn left. Be very careful of bicycles when entering from the top of the course/business park.
Additional Caution, The Crawfish Festival Parade may be going on when you are trying to get to the course along with Festival Traffic.
Questions: Contact Race Director Jim Anderson, sparky@teleport.com, 503-975-8229
Major Races and Events
September 7-29, 2002: Vuelta
a España (GT) - Preview, stage list
May 11-June 2, 2002: Giro
d'Italia (GT) - Preview, stage list, photos
July 6-28, 2002: Tour
de France (GT) - Full preview & official route details
December 8: Superprestige
Rd 5 (Cat. 1) - Erwin Vervecken
November 29-December 4: Six
Days of Noumea (6D) - Sassone/Neuville victorious
November 26-December 1: Six
Days of Zurich (6D) - Day
6 - McGrory/Gilmore/Schnider win
December 1: Melbourne
Cup on Wheels (IM) - Scott Moller, Keirin,
Sprint, Support
races
December 2: Cyclo-cross
World Cup #2 (CDM) - Sven Nijs again
November 24-December 3: Juegos
Deportivos Centroamericanos (JR) - Final results
December 8-9: Frankfurter
Rad-Cross (Cat. 2) - Alex Mudroch, UK
National Trophy Series #4 (Cat. 3) - Roger Hammond, Grote
Prijs Industrie Bosduin - Kalmthout (Cat. 1) - Bart Wellens, Int.
Radquer Obergösgen (Cat. 2) - Björn Rondelez, Trofeo
Mamma e Papa Guerciotti (Cat. 3) - Enrico Franzoi, Premio
Egondo (Cat 3) - David Seco, Irish
cyclo-cross championships - Robin Seymour
Results: local racing
Australia - CycleWest
Promotions Omnium Series #2, Eastern
Suburbs Summer Criterium Series, Carnegie
Caulfield Tuesday criterium, Southern
Cross Junior Track Open & Madison Cup, Manly
Warringah CC, George
Town Track Carnival, Carnegie
Caulfield CC, Randwick
Botany CC, Gold
Coast CATS CC, Caesar's
Illawarra CC, Caesar's
Illawarra (track)
Denmark - Danish
cyclo-cross Post Cup #3
Italy - Gran
Premio Città di Bassano
Luxembourg - GP
De Kopstal
New Zealand - Cyco
Criterium series
Spain - Elorrio
cyclo-cross
USA - Georgia
Cross Series Championship, Chimborazo
Grand Prix cyclo-cross, Boulder
Cross Rd 6, New
Mexico State Cyclo-x Champs, Sorrento
Cyclo-x & California State Champ's, Boulder
Cross Rd 5, Verge
New England series, Northampton
CC Cyclo-cross Championships, Chris
Cross International CycloCross
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