News for March 12, 2001Recent results and new features Ullrich in good shape, says Godefroot
Telekom manager Walter Godefroot says Jan Ullrich is in "altogether better" shape than at this time in previous years, which bodes well for Ullrich's assault on the Tour de France, dubbed 'Project Yellow Jersey'. Neither Ullrich nor Tour rival Lance Armstrong are showing sparkling form in the mountains at the moment, but they finished together on the hilliest stage of the Tour of Murcia on Saturday, albeit 12 minutes down on stage winner Francisco Cabello of Kelme. Godefroot said that Ullrich's basic condition was OK after training sessions in Mallorca and South Africa over the winter. "It's altogether better than in previous years and of course that makes us very hopeful for the Tour."
Armstrong currently looks stronger than Ullrich in the time trials, as their respective fifth and 37th places in the final day time trial at Murcia attest. However, Ullrich said afterward that the time trial had not been a priority, and he'd done a two and half hour training ride before it. He added the race had been excellent and he was happy to have avoided the stage one crash. Godefroot agreed that the time trial was not a concern. "It wasn't yet an Armstrong versus Ullrich race". Nevertheless, Armstrong has called Ullrich his greatest competition for the Tour. Roux to DelatourFrench professional Laurent Roux has signed a two-year deal with Division II team Jean Delatour, Delatour Directeur sportif Michel Gros confirmed Sunday. Roux and Gros had been talking for a long time, but "now it is definite" said Gros before yesterday's Paris-Nice prologue . "Laurent has a lot of potential. With us he will get another chance after the last two years, which have been hard for him." "Laurent needs a little time," said Gros. "He will start his season with the Tour de Lac Leman in Switzerland at the end of March. I hope he will be in form for the tour de France. To me, he is one of the best French riders." Roux was suspended for six months in 1999 for testing positive to amphetamine. He was riding for Casino at the time. Last year he returned to racing in the Mobilvetta colours. Roux began his professional career with Castorama in 1993, and rode for TVM from 1996 to 1998. He was once considered one of the most promising and talented French pros. Roux won the Tour de l'Avenir, the 1997 Alpine Classic, a stage of the 1998 Giro, and the 1999 Trophée de Grimpeurs. Scanlon on his way to Mercury-Viatel via Nantes1998 junior World Champion, Mark Scanlon (Irl) will ride for Mercury-Viatel as a stagiaire at the end of this season, beginning with the Tour de l'Avenir in September. In the meantime, he will ride in the amateur ranks for Nantes 44 in France. 20 year old Scanlon rode for Rabobank in the year after he won the World's, but suffered from physical problems at that time. Last year he won 10 races riding for another French team, CC Etupes, including a stage in Boucles de l'Essonne, two stages in the Tour de Hokkaido and Belfast-Dublin-Belfast. He hopes for a successful season in 2001 and a good build-up for the Tour de l'Avenir. Mark Scanlon is one of the biggest potentials in the world of cycling. He was Jean-Marie Leblanc's special guest in the 1999 Tour de France official presentation in Paris after the doping scandal. The young Irishman was introduced as the symbol of a renewed cycling.
Women's pro cycling laggingBy Jeff Jones Despite the garish outfits, streamlined, wind-tunnel tested bikes, and the utilisation of advanced nutritional, medical and sports science techniques, professional cycling is still an extremely conservative sport. It has its roots in working class Europe, where men are men and women are...well...women. There is no doubt that pro cycling is an extremely hard sport. The season is packed with races, and there is considerable pressure to perform under any conditions. A 200 kilometre mountain stage in the Tour de France is hard enough to ride, let alone race. Few people would even think of doing it again the next day. Is this perhaps the reason that prejudice against women's racing is still strong in Europe? Women have been riding bikes as long as men have, and it was even considered an expression of freedom when they were first introduced over 100 years ago. In terms of racing, Brit Beryl Burton was one of the sport's pioneers from the 1950's to the 1970's, regularly besting men in time trials, and was the unbeaten British champion for 25 years. Then along came Jeannie Longo in the early 80's, the feisty Frenchwoman breaking just about every record possible and winning several Tours de France. She is still in top condition, breaking the World Hour record (again) at altitude in Mexico late last year. Despite this history, women's pro cycling is still in its infancy, with a UCI trade team structure only being introduced in 1998. This setup allows women to work as professional cyclists, supposedly with equal rights to the men. Unfortunately, this is nowhere near the case and the UCI is well aware of this. President Hein Verbruggen was recently quoted in Belgian newspaper 'La Dernière Heure' as wishing "to arrive at total equality with respect to prizemoney awarded to men and women," over the next 4 years. Prize money is (relatively) far more important to women than it is to men, as a glance at women's salaries shows. A top female cyclist, such as Anna Millward or Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, earns approximately $US50-100,000 as a base salary, with an extra $US10-20,000 in prizemoney. As for endorsements and advertising, this is nothing like as lucrative for women as it is for men. Unless they're willing to pose in Playboy, as Leontien was asked to do for 100,000 Dutch guilders ($US 42,000). She declined... At the end of it all, the best women earn approximately 5 percent of the salary that the top men do, and some do not even get paid at all, other than equipment, accommodation, travel and a meagre living allowance. Why do they do it? The same as most competitive cyclists do, because they love racing. Unfortunately, this makes it easier to be exploited by teams that are not prepared to go the extra step to find sufficient funds to pay their riders. The minimum wage is the same for women as it is for trade team III's i.e. not stipulated in the UCI's model contract. Given the relative newness of women's professional cycling, none of this comes as a real surprise, as it is still developing. It is perhaps more popular in the USA than anywhere else, and the country boasts a solid racing season highlighted by the BMC Software Series, First Union World Cup in Philadelphia, and the Hewlett-Packard Women's Challenge. These races are all well organised, have excellent prize money and are fiercely contested. Is women's cycling that interesting? The speeds will never be as high as the men, and sometimes the racing can be a little negative. However, there are plenty of instances in men's racing where the peloton does nothing for 2 hours, before picking the pace up and reeling in the breakaways. A lack of depth in the elite level women is a prime reason for a slow, negative race, but this is certainly improving as evidenced by the recent battle in the Tour de Snowy in Australia. On the upside, many women cyclists are well educated and have realistic career options outside cycling, something that men often struggle with after retiring. There are a surprisingly large number of lawyers in the female peloton!
Ballanger appointed FFC VPThe new general committee of France's governing body the Fédération française de cyclisme (FFC) met at the weekend and elected Félicia Ballanger as one of the organisation's vice-president and president of its track commission. Patrick Cluzaud (DTN), Armand Mégret (federal doctor), Charly Bérard (selector) retained their roles, while Dr Gerard Nicollet will replace Dr. Alain Calvez as president of the sports medicine commission. Albine Caillie will be president of the commission in charge of development of women's cycling. Clarence St Cup hits 20This weekend sees the 20th edition of one of Sydney's premier track events, the Clarence Street Cup. The event kicks off at 6pm, Saturday March 17 at the Dunc Grey Velodrome, Sydney, Australia. More details from Clarence Street Cyclery's website. Cycling Tasmania Super MadisonBy Rod Morris Tasmania's best cyclists will be out to put on a St Patricks Day special this Saturday March 17when they contest the Launceston Super Madison. Although teams are yet to be confirmed, it is highly like the same match-ups from the recent Tasmanian Madison Championships, will compete in the 185 lap race at the Silverdome this Saturday night. Jointly sponsored by the Tasmanian Institute of Sport and the Prince Albert Inn - owned by veteran cyclist Lindsay Bourke) - the Madison is expected to include up to 10 two-man teams, including star Tassie riders Nathan Clarke, Gareth Atkins, Daniel Cutting, Luc Gilmore, Caleb Manion, Stephen Rossendell and Bernard Sulzberger. And the icing on the cake for organisers of the madison will be the extra treat for spectators - admission is free! The Madison will be preceded by the Tasmanian Open and Tasmanian Under 19 Scratch Championships, starting at 6 p.m., while support events will cater for the Tasmanian Under 17 and Under 15 State teams, who - next Monday - fly to Brisbane to compete in the Australian Junior Track Cycling Championships at the Chandler Velodrome. The State junior teams, along with the Tasmanian Open and Under 19 State teams will be officially presented to the crowd and awarded their official racing tops on Saturday night. Gates will open at 5 pm Launceston Super Madison possible teams 1. Nathan Clarke & Gareth Atkins Programme 6 pm 7.30 - 8.10 pm 8.10 pm 8.45 - 9.20 pm 9.20 pm MTBA Nationals this weekendEntries are still open for the 2001 Mountain Bike Australia National Championships at Blue range, Canberra. The organisers claim pre-entries are running at a higher level than last year, so it should be a well-attended event. Official downhill practice begins in the afternoon of Wednesday March 15,and not the morning as stated in some publications. The post-event party will be held at Bobby McGees, Rydget Hotel, Canberra from 7.30 pm on Sunday, and on a more sober note the MTBA AGM will also be at Rydges, on Thursday at 7.30pm. Full details from the MTBA website here. Round Australia for OCDIn an effort to raise funds and awareness for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder sufferers, Justin Sacr is planning an epic solo ride around and across Australia. 24-year-old Sacr, who suffers from the condition, will start from Brisbane on April 2, and head for Cape York then Darwin. He expects the trip to take between 12 and 15 months. Sacr was bitten by the long-distance touring bug after taking part in an organised tour and finding that the physical exertion helped reduce his anxiety and improve his sleep. You can read about his progress here. Recent results and new features on cyclingnews |
