News for February 12, 2001Recent results and new features ONCE's secret weaponONCE is pinning its hopes of a Tour de France yellow jersey on new acquisition Joseba Beloki. ONCE directeur sportif Manolo Sáiz has come close before, with Alex Zülle's second place behind Miguel Indurain in 1995, but believes that Beloki is a more tenacious rider than Zülle and a more certain chance in the Tour.Sáiz is working to polish the Beloki rough diamond with a new training regime, training quantity and bike position, all aimed at a top podium spot in Paris. "I am a rider who likes to have things explained, to know what I must do to improve," says Beloki. "The first impression when I came to ONCE was superb. When I arrived at the team camp in El Bosque (Cadiz), they immediately measured me, lowered my saddle height and handlebars and changed the model of pedals. If you know a little of the psychology of cyclists you know we are very conservative, we resist change to avoid injuries. But I went to train after all these changes and I went better on the bike. Manolo also videoed me on the bike, showed me that my position was wrong, and of course we have also corrected that. He is very meticulous about all the details, and wants to control everything." It's surprising to hear this degree of docility from Beloki. "Yes, I was reluctant to change these things. But position on the bike is crucial for time trials, and that is where I have a chance of winning the Tour. After changing my position and finding I can train for six hours without problems, I have accepted the change." Another change in Beloki's preparation is an increase in training load: up to six hours a day, sometimes despite the rain. In the past Beloki has mixed road and roller training in the winter, but "I started this year working very hard, with six hour sessions, and sometimes in the rain. But in the past, I've trained in Vitoria and it's been cold. At least in Andalusia I have gotten drenched but it's been warm. I believe it has made me stronger." The Tour remains the objective of all this hard work. Beloki showed his class following Armstrong and Pantani up Ventoux in the 2000 Tour, and at that moment realised he had the potential to be a champion. "The Tour is special, complicated," Beloki says, trying to deflect the pressure. "I want a place on the podium, though if I make the top five that will be good, because it shows I can win the race one day. But it's complicated, the first eleven stages will be vital, especially the prologue, team time trial and Alpe d'Huez. If I come out of them well, I should arrive in Paris in a good position. But you can't forget Armstrong and Ullrich. I can't be in a team that will lose two to five minutes to them in the team time trial because it will be very difficult to make up that disadvantage in the mountains. We cannot waste time in the individual or uphill time trials and we must gain in the team time trial." Sáiz is conscious that for the first time he will be going into the Tour with an ace not just up his sleeve, but on the table. "I am not saying we will win the Tour," he says, "but we enter with serious possibilities. In fact I believe we will be one of few teams with a manager who thinks that the team leader can win. We peaked in last year's Tour by winning the team time trial, and our story finished there. Now with Beloki we have a double chance: to return to win the team time trial, and to stay in the lead till the end. Perhaps it is premature to raise Beloki as a Tour winner, but he did not reach the podium by accident. He is a good climber and a good time-trialist, but I believe he still has much potential for improvement. Spanish Federation lays out $3 million budgetManuel Perez, president of the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC), received unanimous endorsement at the federation's assembly on February 9. He also accepted the Federation's budget for 2001, said to be the largest of any national federation.Federation treasurer Roberto Coca announced that the intended budget for the year was 567,570,018 pesetas (about US$3.15 million), though that number was not definitive as the federation was waiting to hear the decision of the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), Spain's top sports body. Perez will receive an annual salary of 8.5 million pesetas, or just over US$47,188.16 Coca said that the RFEC expected a contribution of 366.6 million pesetas from the CSD, plus around 70 million from development body ADO. The president of the RFEC's technical commission, Josep d. Bochaca explained that changes to the competition structure for 2001 were intended to provide continuity for last year's new riders and to consolidate the Copas de Espańa and improve the Spanish championships. Bochaca conceded that there had been delays in event selections for this year, and that one of the commission's objectives was to have the 2002 calendar ready by November this year. Riders on scholarships from the RFEC, ADO or CSD will be obliged to ride in the Spanish championships. Bochaca also announced that anti-doping controls will increase, particularly in the Copas de Espańa and Spanish championships. TVM trial to start in MayThe investigation involving members of the former TVM team will take place from May 28-June 1 in Reims (Fra), three years after it commenced. The case, similar to the Festina affair, is examining whether there was systematic doping within the team after a cache of EPO was found in a TVM car at the beginning of 1998, before the Tour of Murcia. Later, during the Tour de France, more illegal substances were found by police that were considered to be masking substances. The then TVM team leader Cees Priem is implicated, along with Jan Moors (soigneur) and Andrei Mikhailov (team doctor). Mikhailov and Priem both were held by police in 1998, although Priem only for a few days. Mikhailov was imprisoned for illegal medicine practices until December 1998. The TVM company have so far declined to comment on the process.
Cycling pics win first and third prizesTwo cycling photographs have taken first and third prizes in the World Press Photo Competition. Dutch photographer, Chris de Bode won third prize in the sports photo section with a picture taken during the 2000 Tour de France showing the 'fight' between Armstrong and Pantani on Mont Ventoux. In the 'sports stories' section, another Dutchman Chris Keulen (for Trouw) took the winning photo of a rider putting on sunscreen during the Tour du Faso in Burkina Faso. To view the sports photo winners, go here or start from www.worldpressphoto.com and navigate from there.
Sunderland awarded, Fakta to start in AmstelScott Sunderland has been named Zottegem's 'Sportsman of the Year' for 2000 by the Sports Council of Zottegem (Belgium). The award encompasses all athletes living within Zottegem and its neighbouring towns. Sunderland's Australian nationality made him particularly pleased with with the award, as it meant that he was being accepted as a local. He and his Danish Fakta team are currently competing in Langkawi with 24 other squads, after being given a last minute call up when Linda McCartney went AWOL. It has been confirmed that the team has also been given a start in the Amstel Gold Race, the fifth World Cup race of the spring.
Jacques Durand diesJacques Durand, organiser of the Four Days of Dunquerque, passed away Saturday. He was 65.Wabel to Focus Eltop GonsoSwiss off-road specialist, Beat Wabel, has signed a contract for 2001 with new MTB team Focus Eltop Gonso. The reigning Swiss Champion who also finished 4th in the St Wendel World Cup last year will acquire his new Focus bike soon. There is the possibility for him to extend his contract through 2002, but that will only be decided in May. Source: velopages Floyd Landis and Amber tie the knotWhile his teammates were sweating it out in Langkawi, Mercury's Floyd Landis celebrated his marriage to Amber Basile in San Diego last Friday. Here are some post-wedding photos, courtesy of Richard Bryne (Speedplay). The key question is whether he was really going training or were the jersey and bike just for show? Landis is heading off for Nice, France today to join teammate Mike Sayers.
Tasmanian finish to Tattersall's CupBy Rod Morris The field for one of Australia's premier road cycling races will be partly determined by a selection event held in Tasmania later this year. The $115,000 Herald Sun Tour will be raced in Victoria from October 18-28, but to help select the final field, cyclists will have to contest the lucrative Tattersall's Cup. The five race series will be held on five Wednesdays in August with the final race, in the Launceston region on August 29. The 150.3 km Tour of the Tamar will start in the city of Launceston and will race through Riverside, Rosevears, Exeter, Beaconsfield, Beauty Point, cross the Batman Bridge, Bell Bay, George Town, Pipers Rivers, Turners Marsh, Mt Direction, Dislton and will finish in Rocherlea. With prior Tattersall's Cup races in Victoria - Tour of the Goldfields (Ballarat), Tour of the Strathbogie Ranges (Nagambie), Colac Otway Classic (Colac) and Tour of Wellington Shire (Sale) - points will be offered for each of the top 10 riders. At the end of the series, the top 10 aggregate riders will earn automatic selection in the Herald Sun Tour. Latrobe cyclist Nathan Clarke is one of only two Tasmanian riders to have won a leg of the Tattersall's Cup. Clarke won Ararat's Tour of the Wineries in 1999 and former Sheffield rider Matthew Atkins won the Tour of the Grampians in 1997. The Tasmanian leg of this year's Tattersall's Cup will attract at least 60 of the nations best riders, while tour director/promoter John Craven expects many international riders to compete as well. "The course is magnificent and is one of the most spectacular in Tattersall's Cup history," Mr Craven said. "It will take a rider with top-level sprinting, hill climbing and endurance skills to win this race." The Tattersall's Cup started in 1996 and this year offers total prizemoney of $25,500, including $6000 for the Tasmanian leg. As an added incentive for Tasmanian riders, a pool of $500 for the first three placegetters. Prizemoney in each leg of the Tattersall's Cup is paid down to 20th place. A confirmed "big name" rider for the series is newly crowned Australian Road Championship winner Steve Williams of New South Wales, who is no stranger to Tasmanian cycling. Williams has ridden here in the Tour of Tasmania. The Tour of the Tamar is expected to bring up to 300 cyclists, officials, crews, media and supporters to Tasmania for the event. The race will start at 10 a.m. on August 29. Tattersall's Cup Races
LaGrange/Bristol Farms Cycling TeamContinuing on what has become a daily news feature, today's U.S. Elite team is the LaGrange/Bristol Farms Cycling Team. Based in Los Angeles, CA, Velo Club LaGrange is fielding a team of 27 Men (Cat. I through IV) and 7 Women (Cat.I through III), under the team name LaGrange/Bristol Farms for the 2001 season. The majority of the team's members are in their 20s and 30s. The team has largely been developed from talent within the club, and has grown from primarily a beginner racers club two years ago into one of the top amateur racing programs in Southern California. LaGrange/Bristol Farms will focus on local and regional races, including major Stage Races and National Calendar events throughout the Pacific Southwest and Northwest. Team Roster Team Director: Bryan McMahon Colin Stuffman Team Lardbutt powers to almost-podium finishBy Gregory Taylor, Cyclingnews Lardbutt correspondent[Editor's note - the following item contains Actual Jokes and may cause offence to those who believe cycling should always be undertaken in a haze of serious attitude and a bath of lactic acid.] FREDERICKSBURG VA. In a stunning display of cycling virtuosity and athleticism, Team Lardbutt "Dirt Dudes" took to the tight single-track of Lodi Farm outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and administered a major league mountain bike "smack down" in round two of the Atlantic Mountain Bike Series (http://www.bikeracing.com) Winter Training Races. Riding in the Beginner Class, Lardbutts Chris Kinsey, Greg Taylor, and Mark Earley used well-honed team tactics to catapult Kinsey into a 5th place (unofficial) finish. "The Team played a big part in my near-podium finish," recounts Kinsey, who did not break a sweat during the race. "Taylor jumped out early and managed to mow down about three or four guys that were ahead of me before the first lap was over. He was going insanely fast and it really looked like an accident, but we had that move mapped out in advance. After that, the guys [Earley and Taylor] hurled themselves at the more stubborn obstacles on the trail, stuff like tree stumps and thorn bushes, knocking most of them down for me. It looked painful, but they were doing it for the team." Mark Earley was especially effective in this role, distracting other riders with his aerial antics as he bored bike-sized holes through the brush. Once his team-mates cleared the trail of its natural obstacles and other competitors, Kinsey's swift pace allowed him to ride an extra "bonus" lap at the conclusion of the race. "Yeah, the race was 60 minutes, and I came through the start/finish line at almost 59 minutes, so I did another lap. I considered it my victory lap - I rode no hands, waving to the crowd. They love me here... these are my people." Taylor, in a canny ride for Team Lardbutt, came in very shortly after the 60 minute cut off, excusing him from the extra lap and allowing immediate access to the hot cider and cookies being served at the timing table. "I totally bogarted the cookies," grinned Taylor, crumbs mixing with dirt on a sweaty but happy visage. "Screw another lap, my duty is here, protecting these fine snack foods and making sure that my faster team-mates will get their share when they wise up and climb off of their bikes. We're called Lardbutts for a reason..." Taylor dedicated his performance (unofficially 17th in class) to the Team: "This one is for the other Lardbutts who couldn't make it here today. Vines, Jack, The Doc - they were out training early this morning, and damn they sure looked cold." Earley showed his strength in a vicious rear-guard action against a feisty local field. "I was inspired by the presence of my loving wife, Peg, here at the race," Earley related to this reporter. "She basically told me to kick ass or not come home." Earley ran into difficulty early in the race when he was spotted by race officials hurling his mini-pump into the spokes of passing Elite-class racers and yelling "Take that you skinny, leg-shaving geek! I'm Mark Earley, and I'm an Army of One!" Earley was not penalized, but officials have declined to release his preliminary placing pending the resolution of several protests submitted by competitors. Race officials also denied Earley access to any cookies after the race. Recent results and new features on cyclingnews |
