News for May 17, 2001Recent results and new features 84th Giro d'Italia newsThree more favourites are presented today, with the race just under three days away. Will Casagrande blow everyone away, or was Garzelli just toying with him in Trentino?...
Danilo Di Luca
At 25, Cantina Tollo's Danilo Di Luca is still maturing as a top stage race rider. A recent winner of the Giro d'Abruzzo on his home turf, Di Luca will be looking to repeat his success in last year's Giro, where he won a stage. The race starts in Abruzzo this year, which may give him extra incentive to perform well in the early stages, as well as putting him under pressure. He commenced his training for 2001 in Toluca, Mexico during winter, riding his first race - Trofeo Laigueglia - in Februrary. Since then he has raced a fairly solid program, and came into form during Tirreno-Adriatico and the Semana Catalana. He says that he will arrive at the Giro at "ninety to a hundred percent" of his top condition, and may turn out to be an overall contender.
Mario Cipollini
To mix a couple of cycling clichés, Mario Cipollini is the cherry on top of Saeco's 'treno rosso'. He has won 30 stages in the Giro (and 12 in the Tour de France), and is well on target to increase his stage win record. There are enough flat stages scattered throughout the race for him to do well, and he is often sufficiently motivated to suffer over the mountains to snatch a few late victories, or to help the Saeco GC riders. Of course, Cipollini's flamboyant personality is also appreciated by many Giro watchers. Last year on one occasion he appeared in a Julius Caesar outfit (and was of course fined by the UCI). What has the Lion King got in store this year?
Ivan QuarantaRiding for Alexia Alluminio this year, 27 year old sprinter Ivan Quaranta will be one of Cipollini's principal rivals in the sprint finishes. He won four stages in the Giro 2000 and is keen to repeat that this year. He is also a good track rider, and draws his formidable speed from there.
'Chepé' riding for MobilvettaJosé Jaime Gonzalez Pico a.k.a. 'Chepé', will be riding the Giro for his new Mobilvetta team. Chepé was fired from Selle Italia after he was found in possession of illegal substances. Mobilvetta offered to take him in, as he is an excellent climber, and he is now back on the road. Chepé won the climber's classification (green jersey) and one stage in the 1997 Giro and, as well as a Tour de France stage in 1996.
Bonjour goes in with rookie squadFrench team Bonjour is riding the Giro d'Italia with five of their nine riders never having ridden a Grand Tour before. Noan Lelarge, Frédéric Mainguenaud, Mickaël Pichon, Fabrice Salanson and Thomas Voeckler are all first-timers, but will have the aid of the experienced Jean Cyril Robin, Damien Nazon, Franck Bouyer and Pascal Déramé. Robin finished 9th in the 1996 Giro, and rode reasonably well in the Giro del Trentino (25th overall). According to team boss, Jean-Rene Bernaudeau, "for them [the five rookies] it is an occasion to acquire strength and experience." The Bonjour Giro team: Jean-Cyril Robin, Franck Bouyer, Pascal Déramé, Frédéric Mainguenaud, Damien Nazon, Mickaël Pichon, Fabrice Salanson and Thomas Voeckler (all Fra).
Giro dataThere will be 20 teams of 9 riders taking part in this year's Giro, made up of 13 Italian, 3 Spanish, 1 Belgian, Colombian, French, and German teams. As is customary, defending champion Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) will be given number 1, while other team captains will do likewise, e.g. Danilo Di Luca (41), Gilberto Simoni (91), Marco Pantani (121) and Mario Cipollini (151). An exception to this is Francesco Casagrande, who will be number 63. No rider will have a number ending in zero. The oldest riders in the race a Roberto Conti, Alberto Elli, Mario Scirea and Pascal Herve, all of whom were born in 1964. The youngest riders are Matteo Carrara and Matthias Kessler, who come from the 1979 vintage. The total distance of the 84th Giro is 3687 kilometres, in 21 stages and one prologue. The longest stage is stage 7 (Rieti-Montevarchi, 239 km) followed by stage 18 (Imperia-S.Anna di Vinadio, 230 km). The shortest are the two time trials: the prologue in Pescara (7.6 km) and stage 15 (Sirmione-Salò, 55.5 km). The shortest road stage is the final one, Arona-Milan, 121 km. The highest point in the Giro (Cima Coppi) is the 2511m Colle Fauniera.
Giro drug controlsThe organisers of the Giro d'Italia will blood test each rider before the start in Pescara on Saturday, May 19, in compliance with the new UCI regulations. Each rider will be monitored throughout the race for any signs of abnormalities in their blood profile. On the evening before the race, all of the riders' medical certificates will be submitted and examined. During the race, at least 5 riders per day will be required to give urine samples. Random hematocrit tests will also be carried out. All urinary analysis will be carried out at the University of Lausanne's medical laboratory, which has so far revealed two EPO-positive A samples, as a result of controls carried out after La Fleche Wallonne.
WADA home to be determined in AugustThe base for the World Anti Doping Agency will be decided on in August, after the list of 10 candidate cities has been narrowed down to a shortlist of 5. Lausanne, Stockholm, Vienna, Montréal and Bonn are the remaining cities, one of which will be chosen at the WADA meeting in Tallinn, Estonia on August 21. WADA president Dick Pound also announced that over one third of the WADA's US$14.7 million dollar budget will be allocated to research into the detection and consequences of doping. 40 research proposals have already been received, broadly divided into growth hormone, erythropoeitin (EPO) and steroids. Next year (2002), it is expected that the number of drug tests conducted by WADA will increase from 3500 to 4500, including the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Riis' sponsor speaks upAsger Jensby, managing director for CSC has told tabloid BT that the company will re-evaluate their engagement if anyone else on the team is caught for doping, after the Hamburger affair. "A second time would be one to many. Then you lose credibility and we would have to make a new decision about our sponsorship. The 21 riders left know that if any one of them is caught he is not only jeopardizing his own career but also the whole team. If they don't understand that, they might as well race without a salary which probably isn't that exciting. If another affair like that of Hamburger shows up, well then we are dealing with people of an intellectual level that we don't wish to be associated with," Jensby told BT.
Lefevere denies rumours about 'Merckx doping case'Patrick Lefevere, manager of Domo-Farm Frites, has denied all rumours about a doping case involving Axel Merckx and EPO (erythropoietin). "I don't know where the rumour started, but it's false. And there is a good reason for it: Axel wasn't controlled in the Waalse Pijl or Liege-Bastogne-Liege or in between these two races. The first time I heard about the rumour was a fortnight ago. I don't know why people are starting these campaigns."
Merckx family addsSome more positive news: The Merckx dynasty has now added another generation, and Eddy is a grandfather. On May 5, Axel Merckx's wife Jodi gave birth to a baby daughter, Axana. Baby pics can be seen at his official website, http://www.axelmerckx.com/photos3.html.
Braikia under the knifeDanish sprinter Tayeb Braikia will have his shoulder operated Saturday according to cyclingworld.dk. It is still uncertain when he will come back after his severe crash in the Tour of Murcia in March, just a couple of days after his finest victory so far, the Clasica de Almeria. Braikia started his career as a track rider an won the six days in Grenoble with Jacob Piil in 1998 and in Copenhagen with Jimmy Madsen in 1999. From 2000 he focused more on the road with Linda McCartney and had four top ten placings in the Giro. After the team disintegrated early this year he managed to get a contract with Lotto.
Ochoa making good progressAlthough many thought that he would never come out of a coma after he was hit by a car earlier this year, Spanish cyclist Javier Ochoa is now making good progress in his recovery at a rehabilitation centre at Aita Menni de Mondragón. However, there is still a long way to go. "Doctors are talking about a year or a year and a half before we see real results, but we believe it could be earlier because we know Javi and his capacity to recover," said manager and friend Juanjo Rementeria to Spanish daily Marca today. He is now able to move around in a wheelchair, and is able to cope with more challenging tasks. His family are quite excited about his recovery, and it has raised their morale considerably. "His progress has been a miraculous because the doctors said at the start that there was nothing that could be done, but I have never lost my faith," said his mother Maria Palacios. However, Juanjo Rementeria is still cautious. "Until now luck has been on our side and we hope it will continue to remain that way," he said. Javier transferred last Thursday from the Cruces Hospital in Bilbao to the Aita Menni specialist rehabilitation centre in Mondragon, near where his family lives.
Pope meets Dutch cyclistsThe pope has met with a delegation of the 'Gironingen' cycling organisation on Wednesday. The 15 members of the group (three of them were allowed to shake hands with the pope) posed for a photo with the pope. The group from Groningen (Netherlands) have travelled to Italy for the start of the Giro d'Italia in Pescara this Saturday. It includes businessmen, journalists and politicians, and arranged the start of the Giro 2002 to be in Groningen. Marsal and Reftoin help out NorwegiansTwo French riders, Catherine Marsal and Laurence Reftoin will ride for Norwegian Team Sponsorservice in the Tour de l'Aude starting May 18. The experienced Marsal, and her somewhat lesser known Reftoin, will substitute for the sick Solrun Flatås and Ragnhild Kostøl
Two soigneurs finedTwo cycling soigneurs, Michel Decock (49, Bel) and Guy Bentabou (52, Fra), have lost a court case in Lausanne where they were charged with illegal pharmaceutical practices. They have been fined between FF8,0000-10000 (US$1100-1300) after an incident during the Six Days of Grenoble in 1997. Decock has been a professional soigneur for the Vélo Club since 1983, while Bentabou is an amateur soigneur who drives a bus for a living. Although no doping substances were found in their possession at the Six Day Race, and no rider tested positive, the two behaved in an illegal manner by selling medicine to 7 cyclists, which were paid with 'black money' i.e. under the counter. "Even while I was on my own in Grenoble, I always worked together with a doctor," said Decock in his defence. "I didn't give injections, I wasn't there as a soigneur for the riders, only to help them sleep when they asked for it." Saturn do community eventsIn the lead up to this Sunday's Housatonic Valley Classic in Conneticut, members of the Saturn Cycling Team will visit various locations to discuss bicycle safety, answer questions and hand out Saturn Cycling giveaways. On Thursday, May 17 at 8:45 a.m., Tim Johnson, Erin Hartwell, Kristy Scrymgeour and Ashley Kimmet will visit the Whisconier Middle School, 17 West Whisconier Road, Brookfield, CT. On Friday, May 18 at 1:15 p.m. Trent Klasna, Eric Wohlberg, Ivan Dominguez and Suzanne Sonye will visit Bethel Middle School, 600 Whittlesley Dr., Bethel, CT. On Friday, May 18 between 4:00-6:00 p.m. Kim Davidge, Tim Johnson, Ina Teutenberg, Kristy Scrymgeour, Suzanne Sonye and Matt DeCanio will be at Saturn of Danbury, 102C Federal Road, Danbury, CT as part of a public function that includes hors d'oeuvres, refreshments and live music. Finally on Saturday, May 19 between 10:00-11:00 a.m., Kim Davidge, Eric Wohlberg, Kim Bruckner, Suzanne Sonye and Matt DeCanio will be present at Bethel Cycles, 120 Greenwood Ave., Bethel, CT to sign autographs.
Athens velodrome needs workThe velodrome to be used for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens is a long way behind schedule, according to the UCI. A three member delegation of cycling's international governing body inspected the site on Tuesday, accompanied by an Athens Olympic Organising Committee (ATHOC) member and the Greek general secretary for sports. In an official statement released by ATHOC today, it was pointed that "a significant amount of work needed to be undertaken on the velodrome," including completely covering it and allowing for seating of at least 5000 people.
Cyclosportive event pays homage to André DarrigadeA cyclosportive event in Biarritz will be held on May 26 in honour of legendary French sprinter, André Darrigade. Titled the "Biarritz Andre Darrigade", riders can choose between a 165 or and 81 kilometre parcours. Past legends such as Federico Bahamontès, Julio Jimenez, Jean Stablinski, Henri Anglade, Robert Cazala and Jean Bobet will be present at the event.
IMG gets Tour de Romandie for 10 yearsTour de Suisse organisers IMG-Suisse have obtained the hosting rights for the Tour de Romandie for the next 10 years until 2011. The company directed by Marc Biver, was in competition with Daniel Perroud's DPO and Italian RCS Sport for the rights, and the UCI chose the former today. "We give a full guarantee that we will preserve the identity of the Tour de Romandie, and there will of course be some synergy between the two national tours," said Biver. Daniel Perroud was disappointed, after he was informed 10 days ago by Marc Biver that he had lost the bid. "The UCI didn't study our dossier, and did not take into account the success of the last Tour de Romandie," he said.
Six Days calendar 2001-2002Copenhagen is back in the six-days calendar when the new indoor 250 metres velodrome opens this winter. There are far more races on the calendar than in previous years. In July there will also be two Italian warm up events before the traditional six days in Fiorenzuola. 12.07 - 17.07.2001: Torino/San Francesco Del Campa (Ita) Other major races 18.05.2001: Freitag Nacht, Cologne (Ger) 2001 Tour of the HilltownsThe Northampton Cycling Club will sponsor the 2001 Tour of the Hilltowns on July 14. This year's race has been designated the Massachusetts Road Racing Championship and will be part of the Smart Fuel/Spinergy Cat 3 Series and the Cycle Loft New England Women's Challenge, also cat 3. The prize pool for the women's pro/1/2 race has been increased this year to $1,000, matching the men's payoff, and there will be eight different categories. The fourth running of the Tour of the Hilltowns will follow the same route as last year's race won by Robbie Dapice (Wheelworks/Cannondale) and Heather Peck (Independent Fabrications) but the start/finish will be relocated to Notchview Reservation on route 9 in Windsor. The course is a hilly 100 km loop through rural western Massachusetts and features two major climbs. Proceeds from this race will benefit the NCC, the Pioneer Valley Velodrome Fund and Notchview Reservation. The race flyer is online at the club's website: http://www.noho.com/ncc/.
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