News for February 13, 2001Recent results and new features 2001 UCI Road RankingsBy Jeff Jones
The first set of the UCI's road rankings has been released for 2001 by cycling's international governing body. Although there appear to be a few gaps in the data (e.g. Anna Wilson appears to no longer be part of a team after changing to her married name...), the rankings are essentially complete. Erik Zabel has made an early season charge in the men's rankings after winning two stages of the Mallorca Challenge. He is now within 200 points of last year's number one, Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) who has yet to score a point this season. In third place is World Champion Romans Vainsteins (Domo-Farm Frites) followed by TdF winner, Lance Armstrong and his teammate, Roberto Heras. The latter's contractual 'hiccups' have not been resolved in time for him to be officially registered with U.S. Postal, as Kelme do not want to let him go. Also, Juan Carlos Dominguez (who signed for Banesto) and Inigo Cuesta (who signed for ONCE) have not yet been recognised as belonging to those teams, but this is expected to be finalised soon. After spending some time in division II, French team Credit Agricole can celebrate their return to the top echelon by becoming the first leaders in the team rankings for 2001. Their success in the Tour Down Under where they won the individual (O'Grady) and team classifications was the principal reason for this. However, team rankings will not mean a great deal yet until the season is well under way. In the women's rankings, there has been little or no change since October last year when the final rankings for 2000 were released. The Australian championships have been held, but the winner of that national championship (Katie Mactier) is only awarded 15 points according to UCI rules. Currently however she is listed as having 12 points, the same number as she finished with last year. According to the UCI: "The Australian Women Championships were not included in the UCI ranking, since the Nations ranking which is requisite for the allocation of points at National Championship, had been made yesterday. Therefore, the points gotten at the Australian Championships will be considered in the next UCI Elite Women Ranking." Bluffer's guide to UCI points The UCI points system is not overly complex in principle. Points are awarded on the basis of ranking s in stage races or one day races, with more points going to higher categorised events. For example, a World Championship road race win is worth 400 points, a GC win in one of the three 'Grand Tours' is worth 500 points, while a win in a 1.5 race e.g. Trophy Riviera is worth just 10 points. Some points are also awarded for spending time in the leader's jersey during a tour, as well as winning the points, teams or mountains classifications. Finally, extra points are handed out for the overall placings in the World Cup at the end of the year. The current UCI ranking system for individuals incorporates a 'rolling scale' i.e. points are kept for the previous 12 months, no matter what stage of the season. This means that a rider like Romans Vainsteins will lose 400 points in mid-October this year, unless he wins the World Championships again. Previously, a two year rolling system was maintained, meaning that there were less 'spikes' during the year. No system is perfect however, as anyone who misses six months due to injury will find themselves plummeting down the rankings. This can have a longer lasting impact on their future careers as points are used to bargain for contracts next season. A poor contract means fewer chances to ride higher ranked events, therefore fewer chances to earn big points. Of course, the bargaining system has been criticised as well - more points mean more money, because teams need points to maintain or increase their status and get invited to the best events. UCI president Hein Verbruggen wants to rearrange the team ranking system next year, splitting it into a top division of 10 teams (who can ride any event they want) and a second tier of 20 teams. The division will still remain, but there will be more opportunities in theory for lower ranked teams to gain access to the best events. Verbruggen has said that he also wants to 'reset' the individual rankings to zero at the beginning of the year to avoid unfair bargaining situations. Furthermore, there is the 'chicken and egg situation' that arises in team negotiations. Sponsors want their teams to be in the best events, so they may only put money on the table if they are guaranteed good riders. Of course, good riders can generally (but not solely) be attracted by good cash, but will often take a better offer if one is available. This can leave the negotiating team in a hole after they can't justify their budget to their sponsor, and the whole thing can collapse. This has already occurred this year and could quite possibly occur again, depending on (say) the outcome of Tour de France team selections. The Tour has so much momentum and media coverage that it is worth much more to sponsors, teams and riders than mere UCI points. At the end of it, there will always be a ranking system and it will always be manipulated, whatever its form. Rankings as of February 12, 2001 Men Individuals 1 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 2,467.00 pts 2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom 2,266.00 3 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Domo-Farm Frites 2,099.00 4 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service 1,895.00 5 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) 1,767.00 6 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom 1,671.75 7 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 1,612.00 8 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-World Online 1,493.75 9 Andrei Tchmil (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 1,457.00 10 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,377.00 11 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 1,266.00 12 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 1,247.00 13 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1,211.00 14 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,192.00 15 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,175.35 16 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom 1,128.00 17 Abraham Olano Manzano (Spa) O.N.C.E 1,124.75 18 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 1,103.00 19 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Mercury-Viatel 977.00 20 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Festina 940.00 Division I teams 1 Credit Agricole 247.00 pts 2 Team Deutsche Telekom 237.00 3 CSC-World Online 180.00 4 Festina 164.00 5 Lotto-Adecco 140.00 6 Mapei-Quick Step 115.00 7 Domo-Farm Frites 114.00 7 Saeco Macchine Per Caffe 114.00 7 Rabobank 114.00 10 Kelme-Costa Blanca 64.00 10 Lampre-Daikin 64.00 12 Euskaltel-Euskadi 20.00 13 Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 12.00 14 Mercury-Viatel 9.00 Nations 1 Italy 12,882.70 pts 2 Spain 9,501.75 3 Germany 8,235.75 4 Belgium 7,460.00 5 France 6,792.25 6 Netherlands 5,829.10 7 U.S.A. 5,183.55 8 Switzerland 4,630.75 9 Russia 4,013.00 10 Denmark 3,708.85Women Individuals 1 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Acca Due O-H.P. Lorena Camicie 706.00 pts 2 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Team Farm Frites-Hartol 631.67 3 Anna Wilson (Aus) 540.00 4 Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (Ned) Team Farm Frites-Hartol 510.00 5 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Acca Due O-H.P. Lorena Camicie 483.50 6 Joane Somarriba Arrola (Spa) Team Alfa Lum R.S.M. 417.00 7 Pia Sundstedt (Fin) Gas Sport Team 361.00 8 Mari Holden (USA) Team Alfa Lum R.S.M. 324.00 9 Chantal Beltman (Ned) 322.50 10 Zinaida Stahurskaia (Blr) Gas Sport Team 307.00 10 Svetlana Boubnenkova (Rus) Edilsavino 307.00 12 Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (Fra) 293.34 13 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Vlaanderen-T-Interim Ladies Team 281.00 14 Fabiana Luperini (Ita) Edilsavino 258.00 15 Tatiana Stiajkina (Ukr) Team Alfa Lum R.S.M. 218.50 15 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) Acca Due O-H.P. Lorena Camicie 218.50 17 Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team 210.00 18 Geneviève Jeanson (Can) Equipe Cycliste Rona 204.00 19 Petra Rossner (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team 202.00 20 Madeleine Lindberg (Swe) Team Farm Frites-Hartol 200.00 What's Lance up to?The Tour of Murcia will be Lance Armstrong's first race of 2001, taking place between March 7-11 in Spain. According to his web site (lancearmstrong.com) he is feeling "really, really good...my condition is actually a couple of months ahead of where I was last year...I'm at 76.5 kilos (168.7 pounds) right now, and that's only 2-3 kilos away from my Tour weight." "I've never done this race before," he said of the Tour of Murcia. "I know it's got all the ingredients of a good stage race - plenty of climbs, Time Trials, etc. We actually chose this race because of my anticipated fitness levels based on 2000 data. We'll see how things turn out." His prime goal for the season will once again be the Tour de France, where "these days there's just so much riding on the Tour that you simply have to focus and plan if you want to do well in it." He rates stage 10 of the Tour (Alpe d'Huez) as important, but "it can take so much out of you - in terms of time and energy, but if you come in flat into the MTT [Stage 11 mountain time trial] you could be set back significantly, too. And you can't discount the importance of the Team Time Trial, either." In future, he will probably maintain his Tour focus, although the occasional Classic is still a possibility. "I don't have a set number of Tours in my head - I'll leave when it's right," he says. He also commented on La Francaise des Jeux trainer, Frederic Grappe's 'supportive' statements in L'Equipe recently, who said that it is possible to win through hard training. "Well, obviously I agree with him! It's nice see someone supporting us - and from a French team and citizen as well. Let me say this clearly: we have nothing to hide and I am 100% confident we will be vindicated."
USA Cycling Development Foundation gets boostThe USA Cycling Development Foundation (USACDF) announced on Monday that it has accepted four-year pledges totaling $US 1.4 million dollars from two of its board members. Thomas Weisel pledged $1 million to the Foundation for the next quadrennial. Weisel serves as the board's president and is one of three Foundation representatives to the USA Cycling Board of Directors. Foundation board member Jeff Garvey of Austin, Texas, pledged support totaling $400,000 over the next four years. Garvey is also a Foundation representative to the USA Cycling Board of Directors and was recently added to the USA Cycling Finance Committee. USACDF is dedicated to raising money to support athlete development programs for all disciplines of junior and under-23 cycling athlete development, as well as the Junior Development Cycling Fund grants for travel and training costs and the John Stenner Collegiate Scholarship Fund. USACDF also announced that two-time Tour de France champion and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Lance Armstrong has joined the Foundation's Board of Directors. Armstrong, who attended the last USACDF board meeting in Tucson, Arizona, is the 13th member on the board. "This Foundation is a big step forward for the development of cycling in the U.S. I'm excited to be a part of it and associated with the great people involved," said Armstrong.
Indurain on BanestoMiguel Indurain will always be remembered as the undisputed king of Banesto. Between 1991 and 1995, he rode to five Tour de France victories, all the time supported by his team of completely loyal workers. After his retirement in 1997, Banesto have searched for someone to fill Miguel's huge shoes, but have not been as successful of course. Olano and Zülle could never quite get to the top in the Tour, although Olano at least won the Vuelta. Nowadays, Indurain says that "Banesto has totally changed". It has a new name, iBanesto.com, and significantly fewer top riders. "We always had one or two leaders," said Indurain. "Now they have bet on younger riders who they hope will do well in one or two years. They can stay or leave, there is no guarantee." He also commented on the team's top two riders: "Because [Francesco] Mancebo was best young rider last year, it does not mean that he can win the Tour de France. He is a rider who has to go step by step...The case of Jiménez is different. He rides freely and if they pay him what they pay him, it is because it is profitable. If they take away that freedom, he will not do anything. It is impossible to change him." As for the Tour, Indurain thinks that Armstrong is the man this year because "he is very strong, has a lot of experience and a good team." Jan Ullrich "has to know himself and design his own training," he added.
28th Tour MéditerranéenThe 28th edition of the Tour Méditerranéen (2.3) will run from Wednesday, February 14 to Sunday, February 18. The six stage race will feature 23 teams of 8 riders, and is considered an important part of many team's early season build up. Last year's winner, Laurent Jalabert will again be present in his new CSC-World Online colours, and he will be looking to add to the team's 2001 palmares. Saeco Macchine per Caffe will be without Mario Cipollini, but will bring the in-form Fabio Sacchi who has already won three races this year. In addition, Salvatore Commesso, Mirko Celestino, Biagio Conte, Nicola Gavazzi, Armin Meier, Torsten Nitsche and Justin Spinelli will fly the flag for Saeco. DOMO-Farm Frites also have one win under their belts, and will take Belgians Steve De Wolf, Leif Hoste, Steven Kleynen, Axel Merckx, as well as Tomas Konecny (Cze), Servais Knaven (Ned), Robbie McEwen (Aus) and Piotr Wadecki (Pol). The other teams registered for the race are Crédit Agricole, Liquigas-Pata, Lampre-Daikin, Mapei-Quick Step, Fassa Bortolo, Team Deutsche Telekom, Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola, Rabobank, Ag2r Prévoyance, Vlaanderen-T Interim, Festina, iBanesto.com, Cofidis, Bonjour, Big Mat-Auber 93, Lotto-Adecco, La Française des Jeux, Jean Delatour, Team Colpack, and Ville de Charleroi-Newsystems. The Stages Stage 1 - February 14: Antibes - Toulon-Mont Faron, 140 km ACP wants Vuelta samples destroyedThe Association of Professional Cyclists (ACP) has asked the UCI to validate the results of the 2000 Vuelta a España, as well as the destruction of the urine samples taken from the riders during the race. The samples are currently being kept in the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) in Madrid. According to the ACP, the extended delay in analysing the samples (nearly five months so far) using the yet to be validated EPO urine test will give unreliable results, although a similar argument was previously dismissed with regard to the frozen Tour de France samples. In a letter to the UCI, the ACP stated that they thought the UCI had been "pressured by external organisations to the sport of cycling" to keep the samples, "which has only managed to throw doubts on the performances of our sportsmen, who have been punished enough by public opinion as a result of those suspicions."
Ferrari accusedItalian doctor Michele Ferrari has been formally accused of doping sportspeople, and will go on trial in September this year. Three more defendants, chemist Massimo Guandalini and doctors Alberto Maria Bargossi and Roberto Corsetti will face judicial processes beginning on March 15. Judge Pierguido Soprani in Ferrara is presiding over the Ferrari trial, which involves up to twenty cyclists (Paolo Savoldelli, Mario Cipollini, Ivan Gotti, Abraham Olano), all of whom are considered victims of the methods used by the Italian doctor.
Luxembourg gets a new proLuxembourg is a country not blessed by great size, but cycling is nevertheless quite popular. Professional riders from Luxembourg are quite rare - Benoit Joachim, Kim Kirchen, Marc Vanacker, Christian Poos and Tom Flammang comprise Luxembourg's division I and II peloton. However according to the Luxembourg Federation, there has been a recent addition of Max Becker who will sign shortly with Collstrop-Palmans, a Belgian division II team. Team EarthLink Women's Cycling TeamTeam EarthLink Women's Cycling Team, based in Southern California, will be expanding it season and its roster this year. The team will be racing at the Hewlett Packard Women's Challenge, Redlands, and select NRC races. EarthLink, a Pasadena based internet service provider, will be stepping up their involvement in order to enable the team to travel and race on a National level. Team Roster Managers: Jim Safford and Haldane Morris Riders Dotsie Cowden Sponsors EarthLink Recent results and new features on cyclingnews |
