News for March 27, 2001Recent results and new features UCI Rankings - Casagrande, Millward on topTirreno-Adriatico winner, Davide Rebellin (Liquigas) has moved up into third position in the latest UCI rankings that were issued today. The injured Italian overtook Romans Vainsteins and Lance Armstrong for a temporary podium spot, but will now have to miss some racing while his wounds heal. But the World Numero Uno remains Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo), who actually increased his lead over MSR winner Erik Zabel (Telekom) over the past week. Why is it so? In relative terms, Casagrande performed better than he did this time last year, while Zabel simply equalled his win. Hence, it seems likely that Zabel will trail Casagrande until at least the Giro d'Italia, unless he wins a few more World Cups. In the team's rankings, Rabobank has usurped Mapei as number one for the time being. Michael Boogerd and Marcus Zberg have largely been responsible for that. Fassa Bortolo managed to muscle into second spot, with Mapei third and Lotto now fourth. Liquigas made a big advance from 14th to 9th (Rebellin), and Saeco and Festina continue to improve. In the division II team rankings, Cantina Tollo made a huge leap from 14th to 2nd, by virtue of Danilo di Luca and Gabriele Colombo's recent good performances. Saturn also made a lot of ground after the Redlands and Sea Otter races, moving from 13th to 5th. The women's rankings did see a change to the top position, with Australian Anna Millward (Saturn-Timex) moving ahead of Hanka Kupfernagel and Diana Ziliute. Millward's dominance of the Sea Otter Classic over the weekend helped, as did Ziliute's bronchitis which meant that she couldn't defend her Primavera Rosa win. The other big mover was the Primavera Rosa winner, Susanne Ljungskog of Sweden, who jumped from 13th to 8th after attacking on the Poggio on Saturday to win. In the teams rankings, nothing changed greatly, with Saturn moving up slightly on GAS Sport and Alfa Lum RSM. Rankings as of March 25, 2001 Men Individuals 1 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 2,503.00 pts 2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom 2,211.00 3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 2,000.00 4 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Domo-Farm Frites 1,921.00 5 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service 1,890.00 6 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) US Postal Service 1,782.00 7 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom 1,676.75 8 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,556.00 9 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,427.35 10 Andrei Tchmil (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 1,413.00 11 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 1,338.00 12 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 1,266.00 13 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Mercury-Viatel 1,182.00 14 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1,124.00 15 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,120.00 16 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1,111.00 17 Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) Fassa Bortolo 1,098.00 18 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-World Online 1,086.00 19 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 1,053.25 20 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Team Deutsche Telekom 944.75 Division I 1 Rabobank 1,561.00 pts 2 Fassa Bortolo 1,310.00 3 Mapei-Quick Step 1,272.00 4 Lotto-Adecco 1,230.00 5 Team Deutsche Telekom 1,069.00 6 Saeco Macchine Per Caffe' 1,007.00 7 Mercury-Viatel 909.00 8 O.N.C.E. 797.00 9 Liquigas-Pata 793.00 10 Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 768.00 Division II 1 Alessio 575.00 pts 2 Cantina Tollo Acqua & Sapone 568.00 3 Jean Delatour 410.00 4 Milaneza-MSS 335.00 5 Saturn Cycling Team 300.00 Division III 1 PSK Remerx 259.00 pts 2 Stabil Steiermark 251.00 3 Agro-Adler Mark Brandenburg 250.00 4 AXA-VVZ Professional Cycling Team 243.00 5 7Up-Colorado Cyclist 174.00Women Individuals 1 Anna Millward (Aus) Saturn-Timex 670.00 pts 2 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Farm Frites-Hartol 631.67 3 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 626.00 4 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 587.50 5 Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (Ned) Farm Frites-Hartol 510.00 6 Zinaida Stahurskaia (Blr) Gas Sport Team 467.00 7 Joane Somarriba Arrola (Spa) Alfa Lum R.S.M. 411.00 8 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Vlaanderen-T-Interim Ladies Team 355.00 8 Pia Sundstedt (Fin) Gas Sport Team 355.00 10 Chantal Beltman (Ned) 316.50 11 Svetlana Boubnenkova (Rus) Edilsavino 307.00 12 Mari Holden (USA) Alfa Lum R.S.M. 298.00 13 Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (Fra) 292.34 14 Fabiana Luperini (Ita) Edilsavino 276.00 15 Madeleine Lindberg (Swe) Farm Frites-Hartol 221.00 16 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 218.50 17 Tatiana Stiajkina (Ukr) Alfa Lum R.S.M. 216.50 18 Sara Felloni (Ita) Alfa Lum R.S.M. 198.00 19 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 195.00 20 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu) Alfa Lum R.S.M. 189.50 Teams 1 Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie 1,627.00 pts 2 Farm Frites-Hartol 1,430.67 3 Alfa Lum R.S.M. 1,123.50 4 Gas Sport Team 1,120.00 5 Saturn-Timex 1,103.00 6 Edilsavino 790.00 7 Vlaanderen-T-Interim Ladies Team 642.00 8 Team Sponsorservice 404.00 9 Carpe Diem-Itera 252.00 10 Autotrader.com 244.00 Nations 1 Netherlands 1,557.67 pts 2 Lithuania 1,186.50 3 Germany 1,165.17 4 Australia 973.00 5 Italy 811.00 Settimana Coppi-Bartali: Casagrande in, Rebellin outThe five day 'Settimana Coppi-Bartali' (March 27-31) is the first time that this Italian race has been held under this name. Last year it was known as the Memorial Cecchi Gori, but it has been renamed in honour of the two Italian cycling greats, one of whom passed away last year. The world number one cyclist, Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo), will be one of several top riders to start. After riding strongly in Milan-San Remo, Casagrande will be looking for a good result in this race. His teammate and Paris-Nice winner, Dario Frigo will also be one to watch. Paolo Savoldelli and Gabriele Colombo are also down to start, as are Ivan Gotti, Gilberto Simoni, Wladimir Belli, Andrea Tafi, Giuliano Figueras and Raimondas Rumsas. One rider who will not be present is Davide Rebellin (Liquigas). The in-form Italian star was caught up in the finishing straight crash in Milan-San Remo, that put a large hole in the peloton (and probably in some of the riders). However, there is good news for Fassa Bortolo's Alessandro Petacchi, who will make his return to racing after breaking his collarbone in the Tour of the Mediterranean. The Stages Stage 1 - March 27: Ferrara-Ferrara, 158.5 km The Teams Alessio FBD Milk Ras hit by foot and mouth crisisBy Shane Stokes, www.ireland.com The foot and mouth crisis today claimed another sporting casualty with the news that teams from affected countries will not be allowed to field entries in this year's FBD Milk Rás. The announcement is a considerable blow to the international event, which this year had been awarded a place on the UCI calendar for the first time in its 49 year history. A total of eleven previously-entered teams are affected, with squads from England, Scotland, Wales and the Netherlands now excluded from the 8 day Irish Tour, which takes place from May 20-27th. The 55 riders concerned include last year's winner, Julian Winn of Wales. Race organizer Dermot Dignam made the difficult decision following a meeting on Friday with race sponsors the National Dairy Council and FBD Insurances, both of which are heavily involved in the Agricultural industry. Dignam does however expect that teams from other countries may fill some of the vacant slots, with squads from Germany and Belgium amongst those keen to be granted a late call-up. Several foreign trade teams are also expected to take part this year, and with world ranking points on offer the task facing Dignam has been made easier. "Excluding eleven teams was a hard decision to make," he said, "but the recommendations which have been put in place relating to foot-and-mouth mean that events should not bring in competitors from affected countries. I was in touch with the teams over the weekend, they seemed to understand the decision but were all disappointed to miss the race this year. One team manager went as far as to describe himself as 'gutted'. Julian Winn will be particularly disappointed as he was coming back to try to win the race for a second year in a row. But I am hopeful that we can attract good teams from elsewhere, and that the riders affected will be able to return in 2002." Ireland a candidate for 2004 World'sBut there is a dim light at the end of the tunnel for Ireland, with the news that it is an official candidate for the 2004 World Championships. The UCI will decide who will host the 2004 World's in October at this year's Championships in Lisbon. Should Ireland be awarded the honour, the road races will be in the popular tourist town of Killarny.
Pronk Sr diesSuccessful Dutch amateur cyclist, Matthé Pronk, has died on Sunday aged 53. He commenced his career in 1971, but in from 1975 onwards he changed to the track and was world motorpace champion twice (Amsterdam 1979 and Brno 1981). Two years ago, his son Matthé junior made his debut as a cyclist in the Rabobank team. He left the GP Portugal last Thursday because of the situation with his father.
Cipollini's new website
Mario Cipollini has created a space for himself on the internet, with his new website, www.mariocipollini.it being unveiled today. The colour red is in evidence for the Lion King's domain, and in it you will find all sorts of interesting material about Mario. News, calendar, bike, career, fan club, sponsors, photos and shop are some of the features. The site is entirely in Italian at the moment, easy to navigate but was a little slow to load on my connection, but this may be a function of the ste's "newness".
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