News for May 15, 2001Recent results and new features 84th Giro d'Italia newsWith just five days remaining before the 84th edition of the Giro d'Italia, teams are finalising their rosters and there is a lot of speculation about the favourites. Currently, the top guns look similar to last year: Francesco Casagrande, Stefano Garzelli and Gilberto Simoni with the irrepressible Marco Pantani and Abraham Olano as strong candidates as well.
Stefano Garzelli
The Garzelli-Pantani synergy has been broken this year, after Garzelli transferred to Mapei-Quick Step. This will probably hurt both of them, especially as Casagrande now has the backing of Dario Frigo, Wladimir Belli and Raimondas Rumsas in his Fassa Bortolo squad. Garzelli does have the benefit of one of the best teams in the world behind him, including Davide Bramati, Paolo Lanfranchi, Rinaldo Nocentini, Andrea Noè and Stefano Zanini. Today in Castellanza, Garzelli and co. were subjected to pre-race medical tests in the Mapei clinic, and all passed with flying colours. "Garzelli's condition is in line with what we expected," said Mapei's Aldo Sassi. "The remainder of the team is in good shape, in particular the group of men who will have to support Garzelli in the most important mountain stages."
Gilberto Simoni
Twice third overall in the past two editions of the Giro, Lampre's Gilberto Simoni is attempting to reach the top this year. He is noted for his climbing strength, and put that to good use when he won the Angliru stage of the Vuelta last year. Recently he won the toughest stage of the Tour de Romandie, proving that he at least has the legs to contest the Giro. He will be supported by Swiss Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner, Oscar Camenzind, and the main team effort will be to ride for the GC. The Lampre team for the Giro is as follows: Gilberto Simoni (Ita), Sergio Barbero (Ita), Simone Bertoletti (Ita), Massimo Codol (Ita), Gabriele Missaglia (Ita), Mariano Piccoli (Ita), Oscar Camenzind (Swi), Juan Manuel Garate (Spa), Maximilian Sciandri (GBr).
Abraham OlanoFresh from his first win of the season, the two day/three stage Clasica Alcobendas in Spain, ONCE's Abraham Olano said that he hasn't ruled out a podium place in the Giro. "This season I have changed my preparation to be good in the Giro and later in the Vuelta," he said. The last time he was in contention for the Giro was in 1996, when he battled it out with Pavel Tonkov before he cracked on the dreaded Mortirolo pass, and Tonkov rode away with the race. "The victory in Alcobendas was a huge morale boost for me to start the Giro with good legs, but that does not mean that I am at 100 percent," he said. "It is a tough race in that you have to be with the best on the flat stages as well as the mountains, and in the race against the clock which is my territory." "I am not ruling out anything in the Giro. I am going in with the intention to give it everything, to try and be on the final podium, but this is a similar situation to many riders. Dreaming is free and for that reason I am taken with the Giro." "I have many possibilities to obtain the first "maglia rosa" but I must repeat that I am not 100 percent. At the moment, my favourite for the first leader's jersey is my teammate Jan Hruska. He beat me in Alcobendas and was the best rider in the prologue of the previous edition of the Giro." "I have trained very hard in the last few weeks, especially on my weak point that is in the mountains. I believe that the training camp in the Sierra Nevada was good for me." ONCE will take Abraham Olano, Jan Hruska, Rene Andrle, Jose Azevedo, Joaquím Rodriguez, Miguel Angel Pena, Isidro Nozal, Alvaro González de Galdeano and Francisco García.
iBanesto.comItalian Leonardo Piepoli will lead the iBanesto.com Giro squad, supported by Marzio Bruseghin, José Luis Arrieta, Pablo Lastras, David Latasa, David Navas, Unai Osa, Jon Odriozola and César Solaun.
Kelme-Costa BlancaWinner of the Mountains classification in the 2000 Tour de France, Santiago Botero will lead the Kelme-Costa Blanca team in the Giro. Kelme have lost Jose Enrique Gutiérrez (wearer of the maglia rosa last year) and Angel Vicioso (who won a stage but was controversially disqualified for dangerous sprinting). The team consists of: Santiago Botero, Laurent Desbiens, Juan Miguel Cuenca, José Javier Gómez, Juan José de los Angeles, Francisco León, Joaquín López, Carlos García Quesada and Jesús María Manzano.
UCI rankings: Casagrande still in command
World Number One Francesco Casagrande remains on top with the latest issue of the UCI rankings, calculated up until the end of the Tour de Romandie and Four Days of Dunkirk. Casagrande maintains his 500 point lead over the opposition, with Davide Rebellin moving into second place courtesy of some fine performances in one day races. Lance Armstrong and Erik Dekker slipped down to third and fourth respectively, but otherwise there were few changes to the top 10. Tour de Romandie winner Dario Frigo jumped from 15th to 11th, and he will be an invaluable ally to Casagrande in the upcoming Giro. Also Didier Rous rose from 95th to 43rd position, after winning a couple of stages and the overall of the Four Days of Dunkirk. Rankings as of May 14, 2001 Individuals 1 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 2,550.00 pts 2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 2,048.00 3 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service 1,997.00 4 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 1,907.00 5 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) US Postal Service 1,804.00 6 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom 1,676.75 7 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Deutsche Telekom 1,669.00 8 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Domo-Farm Frites 1,646.00 9 Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) Fassa Bortolo 1,581.00 10 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,555.35 11 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1,492.00 12 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 1,432.25 13 Andrei Tchmil (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 1,262.00 14 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 1,250.00 15 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,212.00 16 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Lampre-Daikin 1,116.00 17 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,082.00 18 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1,072.00 19 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1,036.35 20 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Mercury-Viatel 974.00 Teams Division I 1 Rabobank 4,076.00 pts 2 Fassa Bortolo 3,470.00 3 Lotto-Adecco 3,159.00 4 Mapei-Quick Step 2,542.00 5 Domo-Farm Frites 2,310.00 6 Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 2,285.00 7 Team Deutsche Telekom 2,064.00 8 Liquigas-Pata 1,910.00 9 O.N.C.E. 1,859.00 10 Lampre-Daikin 1,695.00 Division II 1 Alessio 1,738.00 pts 2 Cantina Tollo Acqua & Sapone 1,084.00 3 Ag2R Prevoyance 984.00 4 Jean Delatour 892.00 5 Bonjour 859.00 Buffet wants more help in combating dopingFrench Minister for Youth and Sports, Marie George Buffet has called for greater international cooperation amongst sports ministers in the fight against doping. Speaking at the inauguration of an anti-doping medical centre in Nancy (France) today, Mrs Buffet spoke about the "overloaded calendar" in sports, and the "economic pressure" to perform. If specific commercial rules are not to be applied to sport, then greater international cooperation is required. She added that this international cooperation would go further than the question of doping, but also to the practice of poaching young sportsman from other countries such as Africa or the East. She also wished a great level of "European police cooperation. The Festina affair stopped at our borders," she said by way of example. The aim of the anti-doping medical centres (this is the first of several) is to "provide for sportspeople or former sportspeople who have had recourse to doping, a place of welcome, of listening, and for medical tests." The centres must "contribute to the improvement of the epidemiological data to make it possible to carry out a correct evaluation of the doping phenomenon," added Mrs Buffet. They are one of the final stages of the health protection policy that started with the anti-doping law 23 of March 1999. The next two centres will be inaugurated in Poitiers and la Réunion.
Vuelta AsturiasThe 45th edition of the Vuelta Asturias starts on Tuesday, May 15 with a 154 kilometre stage from Oviedo to Aviles. The key feature of this 2.3 category race is the hilly terrain, and several stages are well suited to climbers. Stage 4 finishes atop the Alto del Viso, a second category climb; while stage 5 takes the riders 170 km from Pravia to El Acebo, a special category mountain. The race finishes with a 5.8 kilometre time trial from Oviedo up to the Alto del Naranco. 160 cyclists form 19 teams will take the start. Prominent riders include Joseba Beloki and Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (ONCE), Jose Maria Jiminez (iBanesto.com), Igor Astarloa (Mercatone Uno) and Fernando Escartín (Coast). Stages
ONCE, Euskaltel-Euskadi, Maia-MSS, Kelme Costa Blanca, iBanesto.com, La Pecol, Carvalhelhos, Relax, Mobilvetta, Costa Almeria-Jazztel, Team Coast, Mercatone Uno, Cofidis, Cantina Tollo, Collstrop-Palmans, Nurnberger, Gerolsteiner, Atlas, De Nardi, Itera.
Death of Fritz PfenningerFormer Swiss cyclist Fritz Pfenninger (67) died in Zürich last Saturday. He won 33 Six Day races in the period 1954-1970, mostly as the partner of Peter Post. In 1956 he broke the world record for the kilometre time trial.
Power breaks collarboneIrishman Ciaran Power (St. Quentin Oktos) broke his collarbone in a crash during the Four Days of Dunkirk that finished on Sunday, and will be out of racing for approximately 6 weeks.
Wegelius sufferingMapei up and comer, Charley Wegelius, has been sidelined with the same virus that has plagued Tom Steels for the past 6 months. The virus is similar to glandular fever/mononucleosis, and has been contracted by several Mapei members. Wegelius is taking a complete break from racing in order to recover.
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