News for March 30, 2001Recent results and new features Museeuw doubtfulJohan Museeuw has intestinal flu, making his participation in the GP E3-Harelbeke and the Flèche Brabançonne doubtful. The Domo Classics specialist pulled out of Wednesday's Dwars door Vlaanderen, and was still too ill and feverish to train properly on Thursday, limiting himself to a roller session at home. Museeuw will decide today whether to ride the GP E3-Harelbeke and the Flèche Brabançonne. "If I can't ride these two races I can write off the start of my season," said Museeuw. "However, my morale is still good. I think I am about 85 per cent fit." Magne searches for record venueTriple world keirin champion Frédéric Magné left for South America on Tuesday in search of the best track for an attempt on the world kilometer record. However, he's not looking for a venue for his own attempt, rather he's scouting for Cofidis team-mate Arnaud Tournant, the triple world kilo champ. Tournant has already said that he has two objectives for this season: beat his own kilo record of 1 min 00.148s, set in Mexico City in 2000, and win a fourth world championships. The world championships in Antwerp on September 26 is the main objective, however. Tournant said "I will practically be racing at home and in any case all my friends and family will be there to support me. These world championships are very close to my heart. That's my principal objective this season." That said, Tournant is known to have been disappointed with his performance at Sydney, where he came fifth, and a world record would go a long way to alleviating that disappointment. That's why Cofidis has dispatched Frédéric Magné with a bike and a meter, to test tracks in Bogota, Colombia and La Paz and Cochabamba, both in Bolivia. A date for the attempthas not yet been set, but it's expected to be either in the late May-early June period, or in October after the worlds. Durand dooredJackie Durand (La Française des Jeux) suffered multiple bruises Wednesday when a motorist opened a car door as he rode past. Ochoa improvingThe condition of Kelme rider Javier Ochoa continues to slowly improve, according to a release issued yesterday by the Hospital de Cruces Malaga, where Ochoa has been in intensive care since February 16. The statement said, "Ochoa's condition has improved progressively in the last few days. Given this very important improvement, and the fact that he will need prolonged hospitalisation, a transfer to the Hospital de Cruces de Bilbao is being planned so he is in more familiar surroundings." Ochoa has been able to breathe without assistance for the last 12 days, and the pneumonia he suffered previously has cleared up, with no further need for antibiotics. On the vital neurological level, Ochoa is able to spontaneously open his eyes, make small movements of his arms and legs and sometimes responds to simple instructions. Ochoa's doctors say his improvement has not ended and they are hopeful he will continue to recover. UCI presents anti-EPO measures todayThe UCI will officially present its new EPO testing regime today. From comments already made by UCI president Hein Verbruggen, the new system is expected to be a combination of a blood test to asses haematocrit and haemoglobin levels and the French urine test to detect artificial EPO. Driedaagse DePanne detailsNext week sees the three-day KBC Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde, which carries a UCI rating of 2.2 and is therefore the most significant Belgian stage race of the season so far. Stages
Teams Domo - Farm Frites, Lotto - Adecco, Collstrop - Palmans, Landbouwkrediet, Ville de Charleroi, Flanders - Prefetex, Vlaanderen - T-Interim, Cantina Tollo, Fassa Bortolo, Lampre, Liquigas, Mapei , Mercatone Uno, Saeco, Tacconi Sport, Bonjour, Cofidis, La Française des Jeux, Telekom, Gerolsteiner, Bankgiroloterij - Batavus, Rabobank, Mercury - Viatel, US Postal, CSC - World Online. Dunc Gray Velodrome TrainingSydney's Dunc Gray Velodrome will be available for training from 9:30 - 12:00 Monday, Tuesday and Thursday until the weekend of April 7-8. The NSWCF will then review the numbers and decide on whether to keep the track open for training during the winter season. Sea Otter breaks recordsAccording to the organisers last weekend's Sea Otter Classic was the best-attended ever, with more than 50,000 spectators, and a record 8,232 event entries. These figures compare to a spectator turnout of 40,000 and 7,000 entries in 2000. UK Women's programUK National Women's Endurance Team Manager Ken Matheson has announced the 2001 racing programme of the BCF-WCPP Women's endurance riders, though attendance at several events will be dependant on rider availability. As with the majority of the WCPP riders, their season is geared to preparation and conditioning for the World Championships in October. This year, for the first time, the Track and Road women will share a common programme, reflecting the fact that the majority of the world's leading female riders perform with equal facility on track and road.
UK Foot and mouth NewsThe following list of Foot and Mouth cancellations, postponements and changes contains details from race organisers who contacted the BCF's Competition department before 9am Thursday March 29. For the latest on Time Trials affected visit www.rttc.org.uk - also worth a visit is the official MAFF site www.maff.gov.uk which has physical descriptions and maps of restricted areas.
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