|
|
|
With just 20 teams from a theoretical maximum of 25 starting in the HEW Cyclassics Cup on Sunday, a few might be surprised that the 7th World Cup race has a huge budget of DM4.5 million (US$2.1 million), most of it provided by the HEW electricity company, which also sponsors the German national team. There will be no Spanish teams, no US Postal Service, and only Gerolsteiner, Cologne and Nürnberger making up the second division invitations, for a total of 20 teams.
The 251 kilometre race favours the sprinters, although a few riders can still escape on the final climb of the day, the Wasenberg, with 15 kilometres to go. It's being billed as an Erik Zabel - Stuart O'Grady rematch after their famous battle for the green in the Tour, but there are plenty of other sprinters who could win tomorrow.
Another big drawcard is Jan Ullrich, second in the Tour and very dangerous in a one day classic. The course may be a little flat for him, but if he can get away in a small group near the finish, then the peloton will be sprinting for the minor placings.
World Cup leader Erik Dekker says that he is losing "millions" by refusing start money for criteriums, "but I absolutely want to win the World Cup."
"*Note: Cyclingnews will provide live coverage of the race tomorrow
There are still 13 days to go until the official rider transfer season opens on September 1, but there have already been a number of deals done for 2002 and beyond, and plenty of rumours about who is leaving which team and going where. This period is a delicate and stressful juggling act for all parties - team managers, riders, and sponsors. Rider's UCI points are taken into account, as well as their experience, ability to ride in a certain role, number of wins and so on. Current and potential sponsors are informed of the desired team structure and races that they want to ride and what they can expect for their money.
It is a very tense period, especially as the final UCI points for the year will not be known until after the season finishes. Good early seasons are important in securing a good contract, but those who missed out are certainly racing hard at the moment.
The latest 'strong rumour' on the French scene is that Bonjour want to sign Francaise des Jeux' Emmanuel Magnien. Bonjour's director Jean-René Bernaudeau wanted an extra rider for Damien Nazon in the sprints, and Magnien would fit the bill. Damien's brother Jean-Patrick was also considered for the role.
Bonjour will probably keep its team very similar to the one that achieved success in the Tour de France, losing Jean-Cyril Robin and Frederic Gabriel, but signing Jérôme Pineau, Jimmy Engoulvent and Anthony Geslin as neo-pro's.
Crédit Agricole's Frederic Finot is another who will probably be changing teams next season, to Michel Gros' Jean Delatour squad, after receiving three offers from French teams. Jean Delatour previously signed neo-pro's Christophe Laurent (Super Sport 23 La Creuse) and Youri Krivtsov (Nantes 44), and is also considering signing former Finnish pro Joona Laukka, who is riding for Bressuire at the moment.
Jean Delatour's Olivier Trastour will ride for Vincent Lavenu's Ag2r-Prevoyance team next season, according to the directeur sportif of that squad. He will sign a contract for two years.
Portuguese rider Pedro Cardoso (Milaneza-MSS) is being courted by top Spanish team ONCE-Eroski, who have just one Portuguese rider on their roster - Jose Azevedo. Cardoso and his teammate Paulo Barroso finished 61st and 62nd respectively in the Volta a Portugal that finished on Wednesday, and were present in several important breakaways during the race, both riders attracting the attention of ONCE.
Cardoso indicated to a local newspaper that he wanted to ride with his friend Azevedo, however his current club president Marcelino Santos is on holidays at the moment, and wants to discuss things with his rider first.
"Cycling is the first sport to be booked out at the Games and I am pleased Australia has chosen such a strong line-up which should make for great competition," said Mike Plant, Goodwill Games and USA Cycling president at the press launch of the cycling events at the Goodwill Games, which kick off in Brisbane, Australia, on August 29 and will run until September 9, 2001.
"We look forward to seeing the teams vie for US$90,000 in prize money over two days of competition," he said.
There will only be track cycling at the Goodwill Games and within that category, there will be none of the classic timed events, such as the kilo or individual pursuit. There will only be races which pit the riders against each other, such as sprints, points races, where the potential for spills and crashes is much higher. The track cycling will take place at the concrete outdoor velodrome built for the 1982 Commonwealth Games. Known as the Chandler Velodrome, it has been spruced up to the tune of $90,000, jointly funded by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council. The refurbishments included cleaning, repairing, coating and painting the track, upgrading seats as well as landscaping around the venue. It is now being called the "best outdoor velodrome in Australia".
Australia's cycling team for the 2001 Goodwill Games was also announced on Saturday as the country's top cyclists, including Olympic Gold medallist Brett Aitken, took their bikes for a spin at the newly revamped velodrome. Aitken joined Brisbane cyclists Chloe Jack and Danny Day to try out the new track, giving a scorching preview of what spectators can expect to see at the Games on September 1 and 2.
Aitken, Jack and Day will join Rosealee Hubbard, Mark Renshaw, Katherine Bates, Darren Young, Sean Eadie, and Ashley Hutchinson in the Australian team at the 2001 Goodwill Games. As yet, no other nations have announced their teams. Apart from medals, finalists will also win cash prizes.
The events on at the Games are as follows: Sprint, 10 km Scratch, Keirin, Elimination, 30 km Madison, as well as a 20 km men's points race and 15 km women's points race.
 |
The Marco Polo Cycling Club, organised by World Wide Cycling, has a unique place in cycling. World Wide Cycling's broad aim is to promote cycling off all kinds around the world, and the Marco Polo Cycling Club grew out of the desire to send teams to compete in races in countries as diverse as Morocco, Bolivia, Malaysia, Japan, China, Uruguay, and Pakistan.
It's not been without success either, although the Kazakhs seem to have got the better of them in the Tour of China. New Zealander Nathan Dahlberg managed to win the Tour of Morocco, while Hong Kong's Kam Po Wong won the first stage of Paths of King Nicola. These races don't count particularly highly in terms of UCI points, but they are quite popular in their respective countries. The club also races in Europe (Netherlands, Belgium and Germany primarily).
It's free to join the Marco Polo CC via their website, but the club wants also to get serious about becoming a UCI division II or III team next season. Some sponsors have already shown interest, because they can gain real global exposure by featuring on the club's rather distinctive blue jersey.
 |
National federations who want to give their up and coming riders a chance to participate in an international program may also be interested in the Marco Polo CC.
The program for the remainder of this year includes the Tour de Hokkaido, Malaysian races, Tour de Okinawa, Doble Copacabana (Bolivia), and the Tour of South China Sea.
Interested ? Send an email to info@worldwidecycling.com or go to their website at www.worldwidecycling.com
Cyclingnews will also be featuring a diary from Marco Polo riders, entitled "Tales of the Travellers" with the first edition due soon.
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
Recently on Cyclingnews
Latest Photos - Olympic
Armstrong, Boulder & California 'cross, More Pan-Am, Canberra, Boston & REI
'cross (December 13)
Cyclingnews survey -
Reader Poll 2001 - Vote for your favourite riders
Letters
- VDB, Lance, Boring Tour, Coastal Post, Respect (December 13)
Cyclingnews Interview
- Ryan Bayley - the KFC-fuelled world champ (December 13)
Cyclingnews Interview
- David McKenzie - Macca's back (December 12)
Cyclingnews Interview
- Laurent Jalabert - Jalabert looks ahead (December 11)
Cyclingnews Interview
- Charly Wegelius - A coffee stop with Charly (December 8)
Cyclingnews
Interview - Sven Montgomery - Moving up in the world (December 6)
Cyclingnews Interview
- Rochelle Gilmore - Road scholar (December 6)
Tales from the Peloton
- 12 Hours of Oleta - MTB endurance race in Miami (December 6)
Tales from the Peloton
- Tony Cruz - back to his roots (December 7)
Marco Polo
Diary - Tour du Faso - Part II - Nathan Dahlberg's report (December 3)
Tech
maintenance - Wheels - how to keep them true and tight
Tech letters
- Headsets, Pegoretti, Carbon cage, gloves & tubes (December 10)
Tech news - Navigators
power-tap, Headsets, Carbon cages (December 7)
Tech- Recycling
- How to protect your chainstay for free
Tech Reviews:
Egg Beater pedals; Park
Tool belt; Shimano shoes;
Speedplay
Breaking
the Chain - Dope planning and testing - From Willy Voet's book
| Home Search Survey Contact us |