News for February 24, 2001Recent results and new features Double French weekend: Tour du Haut-Var and Classic HariboTwo races on the French calendar this weekend will open the Coupe de France, a season-long points series open to French riders and riders on French teams. The 180 kilometre Tour du Haut-Var will be followed by the 203 kilometre Classic Haribo, each race attracting 25 teams. 1999 winner of the Tour du Haut-Var, Davide Rebellin, will be present for team Liquigas, fresh off his success in the Tour Méditerranéen and third in the Trofeo Laigueglia. He will face stiff competition from the other Italian squads, including Mapei with last year's victor Daniele Nardello, and Domo with Axel Merckx and Robbie McEwen There will be eight French teams: Bonjour, Credit Agricole, Big Mat, Cofidis (Moncoutié), Ag2r (Kirsipuu), Festina, La Francaise des Jeux and Jean Delatour (Brochard) contesting Haut-Var and Classic Haribo, with the latter race being more suited to sprinters like Kirsipuu. Unfortunately for La Francaise des Jeux, their winning Méditerranéen sprinter Jimmy Casper is out for six weeks following a fall in the final stage, and will not be able to contest either the Haut-Var or Classic Haribo. Casper, the 'little ghost' is still able to ride in order to maintain his fitness, but he cannot race after he tore a ligament near his collarbone. It could have been worse for Marc Madiot's after his other sprinter, Jean Patrick Nazon, fell in the Giro Riviera Ligure Ponente earlier this week. However, Nazon was OK and managed to finish the stage.
92nd Milan-San Remo: no TurchinoThe Turchino Pass will not be present in the route of Milan-San Remo for the first time in ninety-four years, due to a landslide near the locality of Fado. The 532 metre climb has been a key point throughout La Primavera's history, but the riders will have to take an alternative route this year via Bric Berton (773 m). The summit of this climb comes at 140 kilometres, approximately halfway through the 287 kilometre classic. It is followed by a small rise at kilometre 158.5 (Colle del Giovo) before descending to Varazze for the race to the finish along the Liguran coast. The total distance has been reduced from 294 kilometres to 287, as the organisers have tried to keep as much as possible to the original Milan-San Remo parcours. Of course, the small climbs that punctuate the final 50 kilometres are still there: Capo Mele (65 m), Capo Servo (77 m), Capo Berta (130 m), Cipressa (240 m) and Poggio (162 m), setting things up for the traditional finish in San Remo. With the extra altitude at halfway, it is possible that the race will not end in a bunch sprint as it has done for the past four years. Although the Bric Berton climb is quite a long way from the finish, its effects may be felt on the Cipressa and Il Poggio.
Cecconi: no commentMarco Pantani's lawyer, Federico Cecconi, has declined to comment on the seizure of his client's pre-Olympic medical dossier, which was carried out by Italian police on Thursday. Cecconi said that he would have to read professor Cazzola's letter, which advised CONI about Pantani's health, before he could comment. Cecconi is assisting Pantani in his appeal against the Forli decision (Milan-Turin '95) and Trento enquiry (Giro '99).
Marichal fears broken wrist, Tchmil sickThe Ruta del Sol that finished yesterday took its toll on Belgian team Lotto. Thierry Marichal is back home after falling during one of the stages, and he fears that he may have broken his wrist. Andrei Tchmil, who finished 4th in the final classification, is sick and will not start in this Sunday's Classic Haribo. He believes that he will be back to full fitness in time for next weekend's Omloop Het Volk and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.
Final Amstel wild card given outThe last wild card for the Amstel Gold Race (April 28) has been given to the German Team Cologne, which contains Dutch riders Raymond Meys, Berry Hoedemakers, Paul van Schalen, Jos Lucassen and Pelle Kil. The other wild cards were given to Bankgiroloterij, Collstrop-Palmans and Fakta. The division I Euskaltel-Euskadi team were not interested in starting, leaving a space that was filled by Cologne.
Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e BartaliThe first edition of the Settimana internazionale di Coppi e Bartali (Coppi and Bartali's international week), is taking the place of the Cecchi Gori Memorial in the UCI calendar and was presented yesterday in the Este Castle of Ferrara. The short stage race will take place from March 27-31 and will follow the roads of some Italian provinces very sensitive to the charm of cycling. Starting in Ferrara on Tuesday March 27, three days after Milan-San Remo, stage one will consist of 158 kilometres of flat racing that will likely award a sprinter the leader's light blue jersey. On Wednesday 28th the riders will cover 214 km from Cento to Montese. There are two mountain sprints and it is predicted that there will be many attacks near the end. The 153 km third stage from Montese to Cantagrillo is shorter but just as exciting as the first one: two mountains and two passages of Gran Baronto; the last of which will be the stepping-stone for the decisive attack. On Friday, March 30, the peloton will leave from Cantagrillo to arrive in Chianciano Terme after 182 km. The last 10 kilometres will be characterised by the GPM of Montepulciano and the finish is on a small climb. The final stage is on Saturday March 31, with a big finish: three laps of a circuit around Chianciano. 172 "nervous" kilometres will embrace the wonderful hills of Siena on this stage. Taking part will be 162 riders from 18 teams, each of which will have 9 members. The participation of all the best Italian teams and five foreign teams is expected, resulting in quite a strong peloton. The "Coppi and Bartali" has attracted a UCI 2.4 category ranking in its first year, but is destined to become more important over time. In the next edition, the race organisers want to reach the two champions' birth places, Castellania and Ponte a Ema. Pasta Montegrappa-De Nardi official reserve for Fassa BortoloFollowing the agreement between Fassa Bortolo and Zalf Fior, a new agreement has been reached between the Fassa Bortolo and Pasta Montegrappa-De Nardi cycling teams. The division II Pasta Montegrappa-De Nardi squad, who have a number of young foreign riders, will act as a reserve for the Fassa Bortolo cycling team. Kim Kirchen, a Fassa Bortolo neo-pro, is a former De Nardi rider. Fassa Bortolo team manager, Giancarlo Ferretti, commented on the depth of foreign riders in Pasta Montegrappe-De Nardi. "It could be an important reserve for us because these East European riders are showing that they are very strong," he said. Dimitri Konychev, Serguei Ivanov, Volodymir Gustov, Raimondas Rumsas and Tadej Valjavec are examples of Eastern European riders in Fassa Bortolo, most of whom are proven top performers.
Relax-Fuenlabrada presentationSpanish division II squad, Colchón Relax-Fuenlabrada has held its team presentation today in the presence of Rafael Torres (RFEC general secretary), Augusto de Castañeda (sporting group president) and Felipe Sáez de Trápaga (Unipublic president). The event started with one minute's silence for deceased Spanish riders (three of whom rode for Fuenlabrada), Ricardo Ochoa, José Antonio Espinosa, Manuel Sanroma and Saúl Morales. Under the direction of the Montero brothers, Máximinio and José, the team's main goal this year is to gain a stage of the Vuelta a España, the most important race for Spanish teams. With a budget of 170 million pesetas ($US 940,000), the 18 rider squad is not geared for a lot of travel, and most of its racing will be done in Spain. They did however start the season in Malaysia where Juan Antonio Flecha finished 12th overall. Team Roster Manager: Máximinio Pérez Montero Riders Imanol Ayestaran Odriozola (Spa) Vitamin Cottage-Morgul Bismark RacingCaptained by veterans Alan McCormack and Mason Rickard, the Vitamin Cottage-Morgul Bismark US Elite amateur squad hits the road for its 12th season. The team is focused on strong Pro 1/2 and Masters Elite programs and also includes full category 3 and category 4 teams. Vitamin Cottage-Morgul Bismark heads into the 2001 season with strong team goals, including continuing an 8-year run of National Championship titles. Team Roster Team Director: Darryl Hogeback Pro 1/2 Elite Team Alan McCormack Masters Elite Team Rob Balgley Sponsors Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets
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