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Erik Zabel (Telekom, 1st)
"I set myself fully on the sprint today. It was fantastic. The risk for Dekker was that he had to ride for World Cup points. That has practically no value for me."
"Above all this is my first win at home [in a World Cup]. This means a lot to me. It is a moment I will never forget."
Jan Ullrich (Telekom, 37th)
"You saw again that bike racing is a team sport. In particular Andreas Klöden and I rode to the end for Erik. It finished fantastically for us."
Erik Dekker (Rabobank, 3rd & World Cup leader)
"I am very satisfied with the result."
Joane Somarriba (Alfa Lum, 1st GC)
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"I am very happy to have finally finished La Grande Boucle because of so many days of competition and the great pressure on me. More than last year. In five years, the level of the women's peloton has improved a lot and the riders are better and better prepared. Now, my next objective is the World Championships in Portugal".
Jeannie Longo (Vitall/Swam, 9th GC)
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"I thought of not riding this Tour because there are so many stages, and I did not think I would recover well. In particular in the final week I caught an intestinal bug and I did not have much energy. Throughout the 15 days, I mainly thought of sleeping and eating well."
"Within the peloton, there were certain teams which were not independent of each other. I noted certain abuses and irregularities. Some of the girls did not use all their physical possibilities. It seems to me that in the peloton there needs to be respect. The Italians do not have this practice. It was a war. And as I have expressed myself at the top, I was a little bit like the black sheep."
"Sometimes they make zigzags during the race, with this kind of behaviour, one takes useless risks. The girls were perhaps not happy to hear 'Allez Jeannie' along the roads. This behaviour is not fair play and that was difficult to cope with during these 15 days."
"As for Joane, she is a very good rider, she rode a beautiful race and deserves the victory."
By Jeff Jones
Telekom management believe that they have come up with a cunning plan to beat Lance Armstrong in next year's Tour de France, according to manager Walter Godefroot. Much depends on training and eating correctly, and Godefroot swears by the 'Italian method' which has put that country as the number one cycling nation for quite some time.
Given the overwhelming number of Italians and Italian teams amongst the names under investigation from the Giro raids, perhaps Godefroot's comments were poorly timed. However, his comments did not allude to that. Furthermore, no-one has yet been found guilty in that case, although Dario Frigo admitted carrying illegal substances quite early in the piece.
"If you do not train, you must arise hungry from the table; if you train a little, then you must eat a little; and if you train well, then you can eat well," said Godefroot. He believes that since 1997, Jan Ullrich has suffered from weight problems over winter, which has prevented him from reaching his best form in July.
It's an old argument, and few could honestly call Ullrich fat when he reached Dunkirk this year. However, there might be a difference (see letters for an admittedly light dependent closer look) between the Jan That Ate Virenque, and the Jan That Lost 2 Minutes to Lance on Alpe d'Huez.
"Ullrich must train like Armstrong, then he can beat him," says Godefroot, who has planned a couple of changes to Ullrich's program next season. To begin with, Ullrich's coach Peter Becker will be absolved of his duties to the young Telekom team, and will devote his entire energy to coaching Ullrich.
Ullrich will start the season again in South Africa and Mallorca, or possibly Cyprus for some sunshine during the cold European winter. Ullrich's preparation this year was actually quite good - he stuck to his plan, didn't suffer from too many early season illnesses or injuries, rode the Giro purely for conditioning, and arrived at the Tour ready to do battle. Last year he only started racing in the Midi Libre, and was definitely a little underdone come Tour time.
But Lance Armstrong this year had also improved, and he was able to take time out of Ullrich on every stage that counted. Ullrich can only hope that as he reaches his late 20's, his strength will improve as it does in many good Tour riders.
Ullrich is still looking for a big win this year, although he has notched up two criteriums and a 1.4 race in Dortmund, which for all intents and purposes was still a criterium. The obvious target is the World's in Lisbon "provided he holds form" commented team doctor Lothar Heinrich.
His next goal will be the Meisterschaft von Zürich World Cup race next weekend, followed by some Italian races and perhaps the Rheinland-Pfalz-Rundfahrt (September 19-23) before the World's.
Team Telekom will probably lose Italians Alberto Elli, Roberto Sgambelluri, Giovanni Lombardi and Austrian Gerhard Trampusch, Kazakh Alexander Mizurov and possibly Ralf Grabsch, with no replacements named yet.
Starting on Monday, August 20 is the 23rd edition of the Vuelta a Burgos, a Spanish class 2.1 race that boasts a field comparable to a grand tour. Lance Armstrong (US Postal) will be making one of his final European appearances for the year, and together with teammate Roberto Heras he will be up against tour specialists Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno), Alex Zülle and Fernando Escartin (Team Coast), Oscar Sevilla (Kelme) and the reconstructed Richard Virenque (Domo-Farm Frites).
Many of these riders won't be in top form, but some will be using it as a tester for the Vuelta España, which starts in three weeks. Others to watch for include Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom), Axel Merckx (Domo), Jon Odriozola and Jose Maria Jimenez (iBanesto), Santiago Botero (Kelme), Jose Azevedo (ONCE), Iban Mayo and Roberto Laiseka (Euskaltel), Manuel Beltran (Mapei) and Jose Luis Rubiera (US Postal)
The following Italian transfers were mentioned on RAI TV today during the broadcast of HEW Cyclassics. Ukrainian World TT Champ Serguei Gontchar and will join Mercatone Uno's Marco Velo in Fassa Bortolo next season; Michele Bartoli is almost there but is still considering other offers and will decide soon.
South African Robert Hunter will leave Lampre for Mapei-Quick Step.
Davide Rebellin (Liquigas) has signed for Gerolsteiner.
Stuart O'Grady will remain with his teammate Jens Voigt at Crédit Agricole for the next two seasons, with Roger Legeay also signing French TT champion Florent Brard (Festina). Since the Tour de France, Brard has combined with Christophe Moreau in winning two paired time trial events, and will be a valuable addition to Credit Agricole's strong TT squad.
Christophe Moreau is also a possibility for Credit Agricole, but is also considering offers from other teams, in particular German Team Coast.
The Credit Agricole team also revealed that Norwegian Thor Hushovd, Frenchman Anthony Morin (both signed for two years) and American Jonathan Vaughters (one year) will continue with the team.
Former professional rider Willy Vannitsen died in hospital on Saturday night, following a cycling accident. The 66 year old from Limburg was one of the best sprinters of his time, winning 70 races in two years as an amateur. In 1954 he turned pro, and had a 12 year career. He won the Waalse Pijl in 1961, Grote Scheldeprijs in 1965, two Tour stages and a Giro stage. He will be buried in his birthplace of Jeuk next Saturday.
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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