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Edited by John Stevenson
Jan Ullrich is confident that he can win the Tour de France, according to an interview in yesterday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Ullrich, who is currently deep in preparation for the 2002 Tour, told the newspaper, "I can still improve so I am not giving up. I will never say 'as long as Lance rides he will win the Tour de France.' I want to win the Tour again."
"That's my motivation for next year. I simply have to plan my season more accurately," said Ullrich. On December 23 he will fly to South Africa for a training camp that marks the start of this year's incarnation of 'Operation Yellow Jersey'. His objectives are simple: "to weigh two kilos less than the same time this year and to have two or three thousand more kilometres in my legs."
Ullrich attempted a similar program last year, removing himself from the temptation to over-indulge in the traditional German Christmas food frenzy, and started the season in somewhat better shape than in previous years.
His determination to add another Tour victory to his 1997 win does not seem to be affected by the shadow of the 2001 Giro d'Italia. Ullrich was one of many riders found to have controlled substances in his possession during the dramatic police raid before stage 18. However, "I have done nothing wrong," he said.
"As far as I am concerned this issue is already closed. Either I am using a permitted substance or I'm not. If not, I am positive and broke the rules. But [the medication] is there in my health book. They say: 'the health book doesn't interest us, we have told the newspapers what we found.' They are trying to justify using 400 policemen but I have never been worried about it."
Ullrich suffers from asthma and has a medical permit to use corticoids to treat it.
The folks behind the original two-day MTB orienteering competitions, the UK's Polaris Challenge, have announced the dates of the 2002 events. There are three events – Spring, Summer and Fall – starting in the Welsh Borders, March 23-24, 2002, then moving to the Peak District for the summer event on July 6-7. The location for the Fall event (don't Brits call it Autumn? - Ed) has yet to be decided but the dates are October 12-13.
Exact venues for Polaris Challenge events are not announced until two weeks beforehand to reduce opportunities for scoping out the area.
Click here for more details from the Polaris UK website
The early history of seminal US stage race the Coors Classic (originally the Red Zinger Classic) is to be preserved at Denver Public Library after the library recently acquired 14 years of race memorabilia for permanent installation in its Special Collections Archives.
Michael Aisner and Kay Groeneveld, owners and promoters of the race and the National Cycling Tour, donated the collection. The multi-day race through California, Nevada and Colorado was the first world-class stage race in the US, attracting top pros and amateurs, Tour de France, World and Olympic champions. The race is credited as being instrumental in the careers of three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, pro Andy Hampsten, Olympic gold medallist Connie Carpenter and America's most winning racer, Davis Phinney, among many others.
The yearlong cataloging of the collection has been concluded by specially trained Library staff, and includes printed material such as the annual race magazines and yearbooks, spectator guides, wall calendars, race manuals, contracts, correspondence and sponsorship proposals. The collection also includes such ephemera as the commemorative merchandise sold by the Classic, which in its last two years topped $1 million in sales worldwide annually.
In addition, videos are available for viewing that document historical moments in cycling dating back to rare footage of the first race in 1975, all the national network and local race TV specials, and even footage from the making of the film "American Flyers" with Kevin Costner shot at the race.
Organisers the Kiron Group have announced the call up order and start grid for this weekend's US cyclo-cross nationals in Baltimore, December 14 and 15.
In a release claiming the company had "consulted every known ranking system in existence", Kiron group president Lyle Fulkerson said, "For SuperCups the fight for a call-ups are almost as tough as the fight for the first turn."
"In Chicago it got out of hand; we had almost 25 on the call-up list and riders had their agents bugging us right up to the start. For the nationals we had to make some tough decisions to keep it short."
The nationals team has spent the last two weeks sifting through the UCI and US Cross Rankings systems. For Saturday's elite men, the call-ups will be made based strictly on UCI points, with the exception of the newly crowned national espoir, collegiate, and masters champions will also receive the final honorary call-ups.
For the elite women's race, the call-up list was developed with a heavy emphasis on SuperCup points, backed up by the US Cross Rankings system and, as in the men's race newly-crowned national champions from Friday's races will get an honorary call-up on Saturday.
For all other categories for which jerseys are awarded, the eligibility for criteria is as follows: A top three finish at the 2000 National Cyclocross Championships, former national champions, a top three finish in the 2000 SuperCup series; or top three in the current SuperCup standings. It is incumbent on these riders to notify the promoters of eligibility for a call-up. "We also will allow the host club, Lateral Stress Velo, to have one rider given an honorary call-up," said Fries.
The listed call-ups for the National Cyclocross Championships are:
1 Tim Johnson
2 Marc Gullikson
3 Jonathan Page
4 Johnny Sundt
5 Mark Mccormack
6 Dale Knapp
7 Ben Jacques-Maynes
8 Todd Wells
9 Steve Tilford
10 Frank Mapel
11 Alex Candelario
12 Andy Jacques-Maynes
1 Alison Dunlap
2 Ann Grande
3 Carmen d'Aluisio
4 Rachel Lloyd
5 Gina Hall
6 Melissa Thomas
7 Mary McConneloug
8 Jen Dial
9 Christine Vardaros
10 Emily Thorne
11 Heather Szabo
12 Katie Compton
13 Jeannette Nussbaum
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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