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Edited by Jeff Jones
According to several sources, Vuelta Espana winner Angel Casero will sign for Team Coast next season, although the official announcement has not yet been made. German site Radsport-news.com reports that Casero will fax his contract to team manager Wolfram Lindner shortly.
Casero has left his contract signing quite late, presumably to try and get the best possible price from a team hungry to ride in major tour. In Team Coast, he will find several of his former Festina teammates, including director Juan Fernandez, Marcel Wüst, Luis Perez, Jaime Hernandez, Francisco Lara, David Plaza, Steffen Radochla, and Andre Korff.
Other new riders for Coast are Fabrizio Guidi (ex-Mercury), Manuel Beltran (ex-Mapei) and Thorsten Wilhelms (Nürnberger). Former Mercury assistant director Alain Gallopin will come on board as one of the sporting directors.
The team will aim at defending Casero's title in the Vuelta, but has ambitions at riding the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.
The number one Dutch pro team, Rabobank, has its future assured until at least 2005 after a contract was signed yesterday by team boss Jan Raas. The previous contract was due to run out at the end of 2003, but there was an option for another two years. Due to the team's success in the past few years, the option became a reality. The value of the deal over the next three years is reportedly NLG40 million (US$16 million).
Rabobank started in 1996 and has gone from strength to strength each year. This year's highlights included Erik Dekker's win in the overall classification of the World Cup, and Marc Wauters gaining the yellow jersey in the Tour de France for one day. The team finished third in the UCI rankings, just behind Deutsche Telekom and Fassa Bortolo.
In 2002, the team will place a strong emphasis on the Tour de France, trying to win stages and finish with a high place in the general classification. For this reason, they signed US Postal's Levi Leipheimer after his third place in the 2001 Vuelta.
In addition to sponsoring the professional team, Rabobank also sponsors U23 and Junior development teams, and is the main sponsor of the Dutch national women's team.
Belgian track great, Etienne De Wilde will race his last race on February 23, 2002, bringing to a close a very successful career in Six Day racing. The 43 year old is currently racing in the Zesdaagse van Vlaanderen-Gent, where he is in second place (with Andreas Kappes) after two nights of racing. He readily admits that he doesn't have the explosiveness for many track events, and will wrap up his career "with a pain in my heart."
Belgian cyclist Luc De Duytsche was forced to abandon the Zesdaagse van Vlaanderen-Gent on Wednesday night after contracting an infection in his airways. His partner Gerd Dorich could continue riding, but only in the individual races. If a rider from another team abandons, he may partner with him.
De Duytsche and Dorich were lying in last position after the first night of racing, having lost 10 laps.
The scheduled meeting between Dr Michele Ferrari and the anti-doping commission of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) has been canceled. The meeting was due to take place on Wednesday in Rome, but Ferrari is no longer an employee of CONI, and his lawyer didn't see any reason why he should be there. Anti-doping commission president Aiello said that he will try and convene Dr Ferrari at a later date.
Dr Ferrari still has to appear in court in Bologna on December 12 to answer charges of sporting fraud.
There will be an interesting addition to the UCI calendar next season, with the inaugural Tour du Qatar to run from January 21-25, 2002. According to several sources, the race will be organised by the Sociètè du Tour de France (but not owned by it) and feature the top 15 teams from division I, invited by the emir of the country. The race has not been given a UCI classification yet, but it will presumably be at least 2.3. In addition, it's expected that Lance Armstrong will not take part in the Tour du Qatar, although his US Postal team will.
New US Postal signing, Tom Boonen, was voted the "Vlaamse Ster for 2001" yesterday evening. The competition is reserved for U23 riders and is held annually. Each week, jury members cast their votes depending on who did what in cycling that week. The winner gets a special prize: a place in the Vlaanderen-T-Interim team for the following season.
Boonen finished first with 68 votes, followed by Jurgen Van Goolen with 39 votes and Stijn Devolder with 34 votes.
However in July, Boonen signed for two years with the US Postal team and will leave on December 4 for a training camp in Texas. Similarly, second placed Jurgen Van Goolen has a contract with Domo-Farm Frites. Stijn Devolder (third) may be a candidate for the contract with Vlaanderen-T-Interim.
French division II team BigMat-Auber 93 may have been saved from short term extinction by a Tour de France ticket this year, but next year is already looking grim for them. It is one of many second division teams looking for a berth in division I, but finding UCI points hard to come by at this stage, with a number of other division II teams overtaking them already. Team manager Stéphane Javalet said it would be a "catastrophe" if they didn't make it into the first division.
Danish rider Nicolai Bo Larsen (CSC-Tiscali) has found a home next season with the German team Gerolsteiner, after his current contract was not renewed. The 27 year old has ridden with the Danish squad for the past three years, but now will be a helper for top Italian Davide Rebellin in the classics.
The comparatively modest Belgian team Colnago-Landbouwkrediet has signed some of this season's top U23 riders for the squad next year. The latest addition is 22 year old Ukrainian Volodymyr Bileka, who rode for Palazzago AB Isolanti Zoccorinese this year. He joins compatriots Yaroslav Popovych (U23 World Road Champion), Yuri Metlushenko, Lorenzo Bernucci, Salvatore Scamardella and Claudio Lucchini.
The professional team Amore e Vita-Beretta will feature a US flag on its jerseys in 2002 and the words "To cycle all together" in a gesture of support for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The decision was taken by the directing board of the team, "in memory of the tragic events recently" according to an official notice. The new jerseys will be made by former cyclist, Simone Fraccaro, who is the supplier to the squad.
There will be a new Spanish elite/U23 team born out of the old Costa Del Almeria Amateur squad, to be directed by Obrador Don Gonzalo. The team will be based in León and will compete in all the Spanish Cup races. It will have a budget of 25 million pesetas (US$130,000) and will have up to 30 riders, including several from the former Costa del Almeria and Alsi Fascinante teams. Russian veteran, Romes Gainetdinov will be one of the top riders, while the technical staff include Joaquín Fernández Rivera, Javier Fernández, and Francisco Castro.
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The Cyclists International $95,000 five-event 2001-02 international track cycling season will officially be launched at Melbourne's Federation Square next Tuesday , November 27. The season gets under way at Vodafone Arena on December 1 with the Melbourne Cup on Wheels, to be followed by a further four events in December, February, March and April, including the Austral Wheel Race and the Australian Madison Championship.
The interest in the events has already been high, with riders such as World Keirin Champion Ryan Bayley, former world champion and Olympic medallist Shane Kelly, international class sprinter, Jobie Dajka and 2001 Junior World champions, Mark French and Jason Niblett.
The Melbourne Cup on Wheels is looking like a great season opener, with approximately 30 events to be raced over a four hour period by both men and women. On the program is a match race between Ryan Bayley and Jobie Dajka and of course, the 65th running of the 2000m handicapped main event. Racing starts at 7pm at the Swan St venue in the Olympic Park precinct. Tickets start from $20.
www.cyclistsinternational.com.au.
The tech desk at Cyclingnews is pleased to announce a new regular section, a bike repair and maintenance slot generously supported by the folks at Park Tool. We've started with a extensive set of maintenance instructions and demystification of wheels, and over the next months we'll cover a range of topics from gears and brakes to bearings and forks.
Go here for the lowdown on wheels. Future installments will appear on the fourth Fix-It Friday of each month.
Also new in tech, letters on cyclo-cross brakes, Pegoretti frames, and Speedplay & other pedals; news about Full Speed Ahead, Eggbeater pedals, Chris King and Tool companies at play; and a review of Shimano's R150 road shoes.
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
Recently on Cyclingnews
Latest Photos - Olympic
Armstrong, Boulder & California 'cross, More Pan-Am, Canberra, Boston & REI
'cross (December 13)
Cyclingnews survey -
Reader Poll 2001 - Vote for your favourite riders
Letters
- VDB, Lance, Boring Tour, Coastal Post, Respect (December 13)
Cyclingnews Interview
- Ryan Bayley - the KFC-fuelled world champ (December 13)
Cyclingnews Interview
- David McKenzie - Macca's back (December 12)
Cyclingnews Interview
- Laurent Jalabert - Jalabert looks ahead (December 11)
Cyclingnews Interview
- Charly Wegelius - A coffee stop with Charly (December 8)
Cyclingnews
Interview - Sven Montgomery - Moving up in the world (December 6)
Cyclingnews Interview
- Rochelle Gilmore - Road scholar (December 6)
Tales from the Peloton
- 12 Hours of Oleta - MTB endurance race in Miami (December 6)
Tales from the Peloton
- Tony Cruz - back to his roots (December 7)
Marco Polo
Diary - Tour du Faso - Part II - Nathan Dahlberg's report (December 3)
Tech
maintenance - Wheels - how to keep them true and tight
Tech letters
- Headsets, Pegoretti, Carbon cage, gloves & tubes (December 10)
Tech news - Navigators
power-tap, Headsets, Carbon cages (December 7)
Tech- Recycling
- How to protect your chainstay for free
Tech Reviews:
Egg Beater pedals; Park
Tool belt; Shimano shoes;
Speedplay
Breaking
the Chain - Dope planning and testing - From Willy Voet's book
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