News for February 25, 2001Recent results and new features Nürnburger quits Tour of CubaGerman division II team Nurnbürger has pulled all its riders from the Tour of Cuba in protest against unsporting behaviour by Cuban riders and the reluctance of race officials to properly punish them.A group of about 20 Cuban riders is alleged to have pushed race leader Pedro Pablo Perez on a climb in Thursday's stage. Perez and one member of his team were punished with 30 second time penalties, but no sanction was taken against most of the riders accused of assisting Perez. Nurnbürger Directeur sportif Bert Dietz withdrew his team before Friday's stage, saying the punishments were not sufficiently severe for such a major act of upsporting behaviour. Colombian race commissaire Orlando Guerrero said "the Germans wanted us to exclude almost 20 Cubans from riding. Guerrero said he had rejected this demand for "lack of proof." Nurnbürger's best placed rider at the time of the team's withdrawal was Artur Babaizew, in third on GC. Ochoa death inspires massive protest
The protest ride was headed by 1988 Tour de France winner Pedro Delgado, alongside last year's Vuelta winner Roberto Heras and Ochoa's Kelme team-mates. Under a banner saying 'For Safer Cycling' the protest rode from the Santiago Bernabeu stadium of soccer team Real Madrid, to the official residence of Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. Delgado and Association of Professional Cyclists president Jose Rodriguez led a small delegation that met with Spain's Undersecretary of State for Sport Antonio Gomez Angulo and presented a letter calling for urgent government action to improve safety for cyclists. The suggested measures include the creation of bike paths and the teaching of traffic skills in schools. Statistics from the Spanish Cycling Federation show that over 100 riders were killed and 2,500 injured in accidents on Spanish roads last year. Ricardo and Javier Ochoa were hit by a car February 15. Ricardo was killed and Javier remains in a deep coma. His doctors report no improvement in his condition as of Saturday. Würth bolts on to ONCEONCE has announced the addition of German company Würth to its sponsor roster. Würth makes assmbly products and fasteners. Santa Cruz/Dlowracing.org Cycling TeamSanta Cruz/Dlowracing.org Cycling Team is a small cat. 1 team that will concentrate on large regional and select national events, including Visalia, Tucson Classic Stage Race, Tour of the Gila, Superweek, Road and T.T Nationals, The American Cup Series, and the Killington Stage Race. The roster includes ex-Tokyo Joes pro Tim Erwin, Texas rider Phillip Booth, New Mexico rider Schatzman and Husen, a new import from Honduras. Managers Mike Schatzman Riders Tim Erwin Sponsors Zoneperfect.com
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