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Italian super sprinter Mario Cipollini has been almost invisible since the Giro d'Italia finished on June 10. The man with over 150 career victories in 13 years as a pro has hardly raced in the latter part of the year, and the split with Saeco-Macchine per Caffe for Acqua e Sapone next season has been the biggest Cipollini news in the last few months.
He broke his silence on his online diary at www.mariocipollini.net, where he officially announced his transfer: "For the next two years I'll race with the Acqua e Sapone-Cantina Tollo. Time for a change has finally come, after 8 years and 107 wins..."
He makes no secret of his big ambition for next season: "Next season, my 14th one among professionals, will be very important for me. First of all I wish I can get that target that I missed last year... You know I' m just talking about the Milano-Sanremo. I always dream about that race, that's my first aim!"
Mario finishes his entry with the tantalizing tidbit, "Many other engagements are waiting for me and a big surprise is waiting for you!!!"
Next year's edition of the Giro d'Italia will not include the Dutch town of Valkenburg, the host of the 1998 World Championships. Although the Giro will start in the Netherlands (Groeningen), it is now highly unlikely that the second stage from Köln to Luik (Liege) will pass through Valkenburg.
The local council had planned a parcours featuring the famous Cauberg and the Bemelerberg, about 30 kilometres in total. But according to a detailed (but unofficial) route revealed on German website Radsport, the second stage will start in Köln and pass through Eifel, Düren, Monschau and Aachen. "The last 110 kilometres will be on Belgian soil. The race will finish after approximately 200 kilometres with a finale in Ans like the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic."
the full Giro route will be revealed on November 17.
Crédit Agricole and AG2R-Prévoyance have confirmed the riders they will be sending to contest the 2002 Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under.
The former will be led by local hero and two time winner of the TDU, Stuart O'Grady. Stuart will be bringing a strong team with him, including several members of the team time trial squad that won stage 5 of this year's Tour de France. Jonathan Vaughters, Frederic Bessy, Sebastien Hinault and Anthony Morin were all part of that winning combination and will be in Adelaide to help O'Grady try and win his third Tour Down Under. New Zealander Chris Jenner and Frenchmen Pierrick Fedrigo and Anthony Langella will complete the Credit Agricole line up.
Estonian time trial champion Jaan Kirsipuu is better known for his sprinting prowess, being second only to Erik Zabel in race wins in 2001. Kirsipuu heads a good looking Ag2r-Prevoyance team, and he will be aided by lead out man Ludovic Cappelle (Belgian road champion). Estonians Lauri Aus and Innar Mandoja, Frenchman Thierry Loder, Spaniards Inigo Chaureau and Mikel Astarloza, and Russian Alexandre Botcharov make up the rest of the team. Both Chaureau (12th) and Botcharov (17th) were solid performers in the overall classification of the 2001 Tour de France.
The Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under takes place from January 15-20, 2002. For more information, please visit the official website at: www.tourdownunder.com.au
Former Euskaltel-Euskadi rider, Txema Del Olmo has signed for the Portuguese Maia-Milaneza team. Del Olmo was sacked from Euskaltel after he returned a non-negative EPO test from the prologue of this year's Tour de France. Euskaltel wanted to keep him, but the organisers of the Tour made it clear that it would affect their selection chances next year. Del Olmo is currently suspended until February 2002.
For its part, the Maia-Milaneza team is confident that Txema Del Olmo, like exiled Dane Claus Michael Møller, will take advantage of this opportunity to clear his image.
The publicity officer of the Welsh Cycling Union, Vic Gregory, has resigned from his position, effective immediately. In his letter of resignation forwarded to Cyclingnews, Gregory cited a "recent drugs hearing and the BCF's complicity and attempted coercion of the WCU executive into following their line on this matter."
Gregory's action started with a case involving Welsh cyclist Julian Winn, who tested positive for Ephedrine (twice) at the Tour of Guadeloupe. His level was recorded at 15mcg/mL, well above the UCI limit of 10mcg/mL. Winn also tested positive for Ephedrine at a WCU sanctioned event on September 9, 2001. Other cyclists in the Tour of Guadeloupe also tested positive, but they came under the jurisdiction of the BCF and their names have not been revealed.
Gregory claims that in Winn's case, "If this had been a BCF sanctioned event the BCF were going to treat the three doping offences as one and only given a verbal warning." Winn was given a 2 year suspended sentence and must undertake work in conjunction with the WCU to educate riders to the perils of taking doping substances.
Gregory continued: "There is no room in Anti-doping for supposed soft substances, a substance that exerts a pharmacological action on the body causing the release of performance enhancing organic compounds and hormones, as such the levels of organic compound and hormones are known both in the general population and the athletic population. Anything above the normal range and not explained by variables in an individual has to be considered as being from a elicit/banned source."
"The actions of the BCF in not only the WCU case, but that of two World track riders and others causes me great concern as to the genuine and concerted effort to stamp out drug taking in sport, those that seek to soften any penalty are both guilty in condoning drugs in sport."
By Gerard Knapp
Further to our report in Sunday's news about the special Litespeed-Ducati bicycle, it seems that the new owner of the one-off special plans to put the machine to good use - as a serious cyclist.
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It was purchased by Troy Bayliss, who won the 2001 World Superbike championship riding a Ducati. The Australian motorcycle racer was determined to secure the one-off and paid US$6000 for the "awesome" bike at a charity auction in Las Vegas. "At the auction I was getting a sweat on, the adrenaline was flowing, just like being on the start line, honestly!" Bayliss wrote in his official web site. The bike is a Litespeed titanium built up with Campagnolo components and the made in close co-operation with the Ducati Motorcycle company, a company synonomous with Italian motorcycling but now owned by American investors. Bayliss, meanwhile, travels everywhere with his "pushie" in a hard-shell road-case. Full story on Cyclingnews.
Major Races and Events
September 7-29, 2002: Vuelta
a España (GT) - Preview, stage list
May 11-June 2, 2002: Giro
d'Italia (GT) - Preview, stage list, photos
July 6-28, 2002: Tour
de France (GT) - Full preview & official route details
December 8: Superprestige
Rd 5 (Cat. 1) - Erwin Vervecken
November 29-December 4: Six
Days of Noumea (6D) - Sassone/Neuville victorious
November 26-December 1: Six
Days of Zurich (6D) - Day
6 - McGrory/Gilmore/Schnider win
December 1: Melbourne
Cup on Wheels (IM) - Scott Moller, Keirin,
Sprint, Support
races
December 2: Cyclo-cross
World Cup #2 (CDM) - Sven Nijs again
November 24-December 3: Juegos
Deportivos Centroamericanos (JR) - Final results
December 8-9: Frankfurter
Rad-Cross (Cat. 2) - Alex Mudroch, UK
National Trophy Series #4 (Cat. 3) - Roger Hammond, Grote
Prijs Industrie Bosduin - Kalmthout (Cat. 1) - Bart Wellens, Int.
Radquer Obergösgen (Cat. 2) - Björn Rondelez, Trofeo
Mamma e Papa Guerciotti (Cat. 3) - Enrico Franzoi, Premio
Egondo (Cat 3) - David Seco, Irish
cyclo-cross championships - Robin Seymour
Results: local racing
Australia - CycleWest
Promotions Omnium Series #2, Eastern
Suburbs Summer Criterium Series, Carnegie
Caulfield Tuesday criterium, Southern
Cross Junior Track Open & Madison Cup, Manly
Warringah CC, George
Town Track Carnival, Carnegie
Caulfield CC, Randwick
Botany CC, Gold
Coast CATS CC, Caesar's
Illawarra CC, Caesar's
Illawarra (track)
Denmark - Danish
cyclo-cross Post Cup #3
Italy - Gran
Premio Città di Bassano
Luxembourg - GP
De Kopstal
New Zealand - Cyco
Criterium series
Spain - Elorrio
cyclo-cross
USA - Georgia
Cross Series Championship, Chimborazo
Grand Prix cyclo-cross, Boulder
Cross Rd 6, New
Mexico State Cyclo-x Champs, Sorrento
Cyclo-x & California State Champ's, Boulder
Cross Rd 5, Verge
New England series, Northampton
CC Cyclo-cross Championships, Chris
Cross International CycloCross
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