Second Edition News for January 16, 2001Recent results and new features JCTDU: Pre race press conference
Three cyclists were in attendance for this afternoon's pre-race press conference in the Hilton Hotel: Last year's first and second place getters, Gilles Maignan (Ag2r) and Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole), and German dual Olympic gold medallist, Robert Bartko. Want to know what the German word for 'tonsilitis' is? Read on... How do you feel about coming back to the race this year? Gilles Maignan: "I'm not as in good shape as last year. I haven't trained as much as I had some health problems (gastro) before coming here, but now I am starting to feel better. I will see how I go in the race but I can't promise anything but I am here to try, and hope for the best." Did you find it was a good foundation for your whole season? Gilles Maignan: "I came last year to do more kilometres and start in better condition. I went extremely well last year so I thought, why not do it this year. But when I went back to France after the race last year I took a long time to recuperate, so I don't know how to take it this year." Will you change your strategy with that in mind? Gilles Maignan: "If I feel good and I can be in the first break then I'll do it. It just depends how I go tomorrow. Alexandre Botcharov and Ludovic Turpin (who had a good race last year) have good form as well." How prominent is the publicity back home in France?
Gilles Maignan: "There have been articles in L'Equipe and on Eurosport, but even though it's more important than a lot of European races [in points], it is not as important as some of them [in stature]." There are three French teams here in the race though... Gilles Maignan: "It is always good for a team to start a season with a victory so it's very important for us and the other three French teams. Also it's good for the sponsors as well." Stuart O'Grady's case is somewhat different, however: Stuart O'Grady: "Obviously, for Australian cycling and myself being from Adelaide it's very important to me. To come out and win the first one and get pretty close to Gilles last year showed that it wasn't a fluke to have it in your own city and win it. It does mean a lot to me personally, and I'm a long way from my best form because the season's so long. But just being here with the motivation from the city lifts you up a few steps on the ladder." How important is the race internationally? Stuart O'Grady: "The higher ranking than last year means that there's more points on offer. Every team over here will have the hope of at least a stage win...or the whole race." Are you feeling the pressure with 50,000 people screaming your name? "No pressure, no," said O'Grady before getting serious. "Of course as soon as I get to Adelaide I feel the pressure - the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under is everywhere you go. I like it, it's a good feeling to come back and have your sport appreciated by the public." Have you deliberately kept a low profile over the past week? Stuart O'Grady: "No, I have just been hanging out in Geelong. We have been over there for the last few years. We did the Skilled Bay Series there and it's an important part of the preparation for the early season in Europe. It's a pretty quiet spot and there's no distractions, just racing and training. So it's important for the Tour Down Under." What are your first races in Europe? Stuart O'Grady: "This year I'll be going straight over and doing the Grand Prix Marseilles on February 6, and then the next day I'll start the Etoile Besseges, then straight into the Tour of the Mediterranean." How hard do you think the heat will be? Stuart O'Grady: "If it gets into the 40's it will be. A lot of teams have been trying to acclimatise by going out and doing 5 hour rides when it's 43 degrees. Under racing conditions it's a lot different to doing 150 kilometres training in that kind of heat. It will hit a lot of guys hard if it does get hot." [note that while the past couple of days have been quite cool at 25-30, it is predicted to reach 40 by the end of the week] Turning to Robert Bartko, how did you prepare for your first season as a professional?
Robert Bartko: "I didn't have so much time to train because after the Olympic Games I went back to Germany and had health problems. I started training in South Africa in preparation for this race, but most of the time has been spent in Australia." Although he called his health problems, Angina, the word has a different meaning in German than it does in English. In English, it is a heart condition, but in Bartko's case it was definitely tonsilitis. The nuances of language... O'Grady comments: "It's part of our sport - there's always injury and health problems. You come from mid-30 degree temperatures into maybe 5 degrees and it's a big change [and vice versa, for the Europeans]. So your body is going to have to adapt suddenly. It's then that you're vulnerable to get sick." How have you prepared your first professional season? "It's my first season as a professional and I'm not sure what part I will play. We will decide which stage is the best to go for." "Steffen Wesemann is definitely the leader of the team, but I don't want to say too much about the team strategy." We will find out soon enough, possibly before the race hits the hills outside of Adelaide. Recent results and new features on cyclingnews |
