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British track cyclist Rob Hayles and his wife Olympic swimmer Vicky were involved in a car crash Thursday. The couple had to be cut from the wreckage of their car, and while details are currently sketchy, Cyclingnews understands that Hayles sustained pelvic fractures, broken ribs and internal injuries. This, of course, will end Hayles season, causing him to miss the world championships where he was expected to pick up a pursuit medal and possibly one in the Madison.
Cyclingnews wishes them both a speedy recovery.
When is a cyclist acquitted and not acquitted? When his name is Bo Hamburger and he falls under Danish Cycling Union rules. Despite being cleared of EPO use last month by the Danish Sports Federation on technical grounds, Hamburger will still be given the same treatment by the DCU as other convicted drug takers. The latest announcement from president Peder Pedersen is that Hamburger has been 'banned for life' from representing Denmark as part of any national team.
"The Federation's anti-doping committee acquitted Bo Hamburger on judicial grounds, but did not clear him of EPO abuse," said Pedersen. In addition, the UCI has not decided whether to appeal the Danish Sports Federation's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) - they have until September 9 to do so.
Hamburger told Danish TV that he was "disappointed and almost embarrassed to be Danish. This is the same as clearing someone and then putting him in prison."
The situation is a mess at the moment, and seems to have arisen from the different bodies within the Danish Federation. The anti-doping committee acquitted Hamburger, because "In this case the problem was that there were two analytical results on the B-sample (and one was below the described screening value of 80 percent)," anti-doping committee spokesman Finn Mikkelsen told Cyclingnews. "The lab has not given any indication of why there are two results - therefore there was doubt about the B-result and thus the result from the B-sample."
"I admit this is a strange case," added Mikkelsen. "The decision respected the EPO-test, but they did not accept the circumstances around the B-test."
Now the DCU has overruled the Danish Sports Federation's decision, and there are questions now whether this is actually legal under their own rules.
Juan Miguel Mercado and Jon Odriozola have been named in iBanesto.com's Vuelta squad, replacing Javier Pascual Rodriguez and Jose Luis Arrieta. They will accompany team captain Unai Osa and his brother Aitor, as well as Dariusz Baranowski, Santiago Blanco, Juan Carlos Dominguez, José Vicente García Acosta, and José María Jiménez.
Euskaltel-Euskadi and Mapei-Quick Step have confirmed their riders for the three week race, which starts this Saturday in Salamanca. Euskaltel-Euskadi will be represented by David Etxebarria, Bingen Fernandez, Igor Flores, Gorka Gerrikagoitia, Roberto Laiseka, Alberto López de Munain, Alberto Martínez, Iban Mayo and Haimar Zubeldia.
Mapei-Quick Step is headed by Oscar Freire and Manuel Beltrán, with support from David Cañada García, Pedro Horrillo Muñoz, Andrea Noé, Elio Aggiano, Dario Cioni, Luca Paolini and Eddy Ratti.
Walter Planckaert's Lotto-Adecco team has offered Dutchman Leon van Bon a contract for next season, looking to use him as a team leader in the classics. Van Bon recently won the Ronde van Nederland after a fine ride on the last day, and the interest in him is quite high. Planckaert said that if Van Bon signs, he will be a co-leader with Tchmil, who will be 39 in January next year.
Rabobank and Domo-Farm Frites have also expressed interest in signing Van Bon, who currently has a two year contract with Mercury. However, it's unlikely that Mercury will fulfil its contractual obligations to its riders this year.
Last year's winner of the Giro di Lombardia, Raimondas Rumsas, is leaving Fassa Bortolo to ride with Marco Pantani's Phoenix-like Mercatone Uno team next season. Despite finishing fifth in last year's Vuelta, Rumsas was strangely left out of Fassa Bortolo's Giro d'Italia and Tour de France teams, and will not get a chance to ride the Vuelta as his team is not taking part. He should be a valuable ally for Pantani due to his strength in stage races.
Thus Sunday, Belgian national coach José De Cauwer will make the first selection of 18 riders for the World Championships. Of these, 12 will ride in Lisbon, and those will be chosen three weeks prior to the race, on September 25, with an extra week after this to finalise the team.
Belgium is one of the strongest nations in cycling, and last year's battle between the Italians, the Spanish and the French was proof of that. The outcome was that on the fast parcours, other nations profited with Latvian Romans Vainsteins winning the sprint in front of Pole Zbigniew Spruch (the Poles were also quite strong last year).
De Cauwer will make the first selection after Sunday's GP Eddy Merckx, and will take into account the nature of the course in Lisbon. "It begins with a climb of just 500 metres but at an average gradient of 10 percent. After a descent of two kilometres, there is a 1,200 metre hill that is between eight and nine percent. Then follows a couple of kilometres of false flat. Not so hard that a climber will necessarily win, but after 21 laps in the legs, it will be more difficult than Plouay last year."
He added that riders like Ludovic Capelle (national champion) and Nico Eeckhout may not even be selected, due to the difficulty of the course. "With all respect for Eeckhout, but Lisbon is not to be compared with the GP Jef Scherens or the Schaal Sels."
On the other hand, Rik Verbrugghe and Serge Baguet will probably be certain selections, as will Nico Mattan.
By Gerard Cromwell, Irishcycling.com
It's been an up and down year for Ciaran Power, one of Ireland's only two professional cyclists. After an impressive first year in the colours of the Linda McCartney team saw the Waterford man gain plenty of top class results, including two 5th places in stages of the Giro d'Italia, Power seemed destined for greatness in 2001.
Things started off on a good note with a fine 3rd place on a stage of the Tour Down Under in Australia. Alas, this was to be one of the few high points of Power's season so far. On returning to the McCartney team base in London, Power and the rest of the multi-national squad, which also was to include Sligoman Mark Scanlon this year, were told of the financial collapse of the team and with the season already well underway, were left to search for other employment.
A complete loss of motivation saw the 25 year old former FBD Milk Ras winner take two weeks off the bike, before signing with the low budget French third division team Saint Quentin-Oktos.
A new lease of life saw Power claim fourth place in the Grand Prix De Lillers in his new pink and blue colours. He even rode the infamous Paris-Roubaix classic for the first time. Ridden over farm roads and cobbled sections, it was a new experience for the youngster. "Paris-Roubaix wasn't for me," he smiles "It was a bit dangerous. The chances of crashing were just unbelievable and we were doing Paris-Camembert two days later, so I wanted to try and do a ride there."
Power finished 20th in Paris-Camembert, just 20" behind the winner and was coming back to form. "That was one of my good rides, so far this year. I was there or thereabouts, in with a shout for the whole race."
All was going well, the form was coming back, until a crash in the sprint in the Four Days of Dunkirk saw the Waterford man carted off to hospital with a broken collarbone. "I was two weeks completely off the bike again and then two weeks just on the rollers, building it up slowly."
Power's comeback ride was the Irish national road race championships, won by CCC-Mat professional David McCann, and a race had he been on form Power would have been favourite to win. Despite his lack of racing Power found himself in the all-important 15-man break on the opening lap, before being relegated to the chasers after about 65 miles eventually finishing seventh on the day. "The championships were my longest ride since the crash, hence the reason I blew up," he says "I was going grand, happy enough. Seventh is actually my best place in a senior championships."
This week sees the Sydney Olympian tackle the Tour De L'Avenir in France from the 6th to the 15th. Translated into English the races name means the Tour of the Future and is billed as the under 25 Tour De France. In the past the race has unearthed some of the sport's future Tour De France stars such as Miguel Indurain who won the race before going on to win the actual Tour De France five times and becoming a legend in the cycling world.
The race is a chance for Power to get himself noticed as many of the top teams will be present, with directeur sportifs brandishing cheque books for any promising young stars they might find. "The Tour De l'Avenir is a big, big target for me." says Power "I want to win a stage or the green points jersey and get another contract. I need to move on to a bigger and better team if I am to progress further. If you win a stage of L'Avenir you are virtually guaranteed a contract with a top French team."
For Ireland's Ciaran Power it really is a tour of the future. His future depends on it.
Former Dutch national women's coach, Jean-Paul van Poppel, will stop at the end of this season as team director of Acca Due O-HP-Lorena Camicie. He said that the "communication is a big problem. They have done things for six years in one way. It is difficult to change. I can not do much more. It was an instructive year, but it is not for me."
At the beginning of the season, Van Poppel joined the team along with national team members Mirjam Melchers and Arenda Grimberg. Those two riders are looking for another team, but Van Poppel has no plans for his future yet.
The Wellington Cycle Classic is to become the Trust House Cycle Classic after a major sponsorship deal announced today. The 2002 Trust House Cycle Classic will be held in Wellington and Wairarapa area over the period January 2 - 6. The race will attract a top flight international field to Wellington and the region is expected to benefit significantly.
Trust House has already been involved with the cycle classic for two years, and is "delighted" to increase its sponsorship and level of exposure.
Race director, Jorge Sandoval said the Trust House sponsorship package is significant because it has guaranteed the future of the event and provided the support necessary for the management team to focus on event details.
With just over a week to the 41st Print Anything Grafton to Inverell on September 15, final preparations are being made. Nominations have closed with 180 confirmed entries over 5 divisions. Thirty two riders will line up for A grade, B grade will have forty riders, forty seven in C grade, Masters over 45 will see twenty nine starters. The women's division will have nine riders with twenty one riders yet to be graded.
The Dejon Sapphire Centre will sponsor the newly introduced women's category with winner to receive a sapphire ring. All finishers in the women's grade will receive a prize. Trek Bicycles will sponsor the Masters over 45. Another new division to the race, the over 45's will be hotly contested with many strong riders.
The Inverell Shire Council B grade should also be a closely contested race. Riders to watch will be Coffs Harbour's Brendan Howard who finished second in B grade last year. Third place getter in C grade last year Liam Kelly from Sydney should put in a good performance as well. Inverell's Michael Hoynes should also give the B grade title a shake after finishing second in C grade last year.
Grafton rider Tony Brindle will be the one to watch for the Grafton City Council C grade. Former winner Joe Grasso from Dulwich Hill will also make his presence felt in C grade.
This year's race will receive world wide coverage via cyclingnews.com, with live updates and photo's posted throughout the day. The race can also be followed on local radio station 2NZ.
The 228 kilometre race is considered one of the toughest in Australia, although Melbourne to Warrnambool at 270 km is longer. The following profile gives some idea of how hard it is, with a 17 kilometre, 900 metre climb coming after just 70 kilometres. A long steady crawl up to Glen Innes follows, and this is often the toughest part of the race with headwinds and 'dead' roads greeting the cyclists. The final 50 kilometres is downhill, but a couple of pinches with 20 kilometres to go including the notorious Wire Gully often cause the decisive break. At least two Cyclingnews staff members have raced in and finished the event, and it is every bit as hard as it looks!
Image: © David C Jones Pty. Ltd. Consulting Engineers
The final selections for the 2001 Univest Grand Prix bicycle race taking place on September 15 were announced today, and, while the foreign contingent is stronger than ever, this might be the year that a U.S. rider finally wins the epic 169 km Elite Men's road race. Among the teams headed to Souderton are the top three amateur teams in the country:
Mercy Cycling Team, which includes 2000 U.S. Elite National Road Champion
Steven Cate
Boise Stars, featuring 2001 U.S. Elite National Road Champion Remi McManus
Broadmark Capital, with New Zealand climbing star Geoffrey Burndred
Other top teams from around the country coming to Souderton include Gomart (with brand-new U.S. Elite Criterium Champion Benjamin Sharp), Kissena (with 1999 Univest winner Alex Lavallee), Saturn Developmental (with 1997 Junior World Champion Viktor Repinski), UPMC/Pittsburgh Cycling (with 2001 U.S. Espoirs National Road Champion Mike Friedman), and Wheelworks/Cannondale (with 2001 Housatonic Valley Classic Points winner Curt Davis).
However, even these elite riders are sure to have their hands full, as the six foreign teams headed to the Univest Grand Prix are the strongest in race history. CATS/Belgium returns with 2000 winner Bert Dewaele and 2001 Belgian Espoirs Champion Tom Boonen leading the way. Alderfer's Auction House/France is sending a squad similar to the one that emerged victorious in the first Univest Grand Prix in 1998. And then there's Yum Yum Bake Shops/Netherlands, an all-star lineup drawn from the top Dutch amateur teams. Add in top Canadian squads Atlas Cold Storage/Ital Pasta and Isotec/TTE, as well as Embassy International/Grange Insurance, an Australian squad that has been lighting it up all along the East Coast this season, and the 2001 Univest Grand Prix men's race looks to be a real battle royal.
And the Elite Women's event is shaping up to be every bit as exciting, as a record 26 teams are going to be competing in the 53 km Women's circuit race. The top regional teams such as VeriZon Wireless (with 2000 U.S. National Criterium Champion Laura Van Gilder), Talgoamerica.com, Tri-State Velo/Amoroso's, and Wheelworks/Independent Fabrication will pit themselves against such national powers as 800.com, Goldy's/Grove Street Place, Procter & Gamble, and Gatorade/Olbas, whose Dede Demet-Barry recently won the Saturn Cycling Classic. For the first time, there will also be several powerful foreign entries: Intersports (including former World Champion Catherine Marsal), and the Canadian Junior Worlds squad.
1 Colorado Altitude Training Systems/Belgium
2 ABC/Tonissteiner
3 Alderfer's Auction House/France
4 Alderfer's Pennsylvania All-Stars
5 Aquafina Cycling Team
6 Atlas Cold Storage/Ital Pasta
7 Beans/Reinhardt Racing Team
8 Bicycle Therapy
9 BiKyle/Main Line Cycling
10 Boise Stars Elite Cycling Team
11 Broadmark Capital Cycling Team
12 Cane Creek/Subaru
13 CCB/Volkswagen
14 CityScape/Higher Gear
15 CRCA/G.S. Mengoni USA
16 Embassy International/Grange Insurance
17 Gomart Cycling Team
18 Grand Performance/Bianchi
19 Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery
20 Isotec/TTE
21 Jamba Juice Cycling Team
22 Kissena Cycling Team
23 Lombardi/OFOTO.com
24 Mercy Cycling Team
25 Nature Valley Cycling Team
26 Ready Pac/Knapp's
27 Saturn Developmental Cycling Team
28 Schroeder Iron/InCycle
29 Snow Valley Cycling Team
30 Trek/VW/Goodale's
31 UPMC/Pittsburgh Cycling
32 Webcor/Alto Velo
33 Wheelworks/Cannondale
34 Yum Yum Bake Shops/Netherlands
35 Zaxby's Espoirs Team
1 800.com Women's Cycling Team
2 ABRT/Snow Valley
3 Canadian National Team
4 CCB/Volkswagen
5 CRCA Composite Team
6 CRCA/RLX Polo Sport
7 Gatorade/Olbas
8 Genesis Scuba/FFCC
10 Goldy's/Grove Street Place
11 Intersports Cycling Team
13 jane Cosmetics
14 Lateral Stress Velo/Trek/VW
16 North East Bicycle Club/Cycle Loft
18 Procter & Gamble/Women's Health
19 Talgoamerica Cycling Team
20 Team Fuji
21 tomacrossamerica.com
22 Trek/Volkswagen Midwest
22 TREK Women's Cycling Team
23 Tri-State Velo/Amoroso's
24 VeriZon Wireless Cycling Team
25 Webevent.com
26 Wheelworks/Independent Fabrication
By John Alsedek
The Pro/Elite Women's event at the BMC Software Tour of Houston, set to take place on September 16th, has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict with a Women's World Cup event in the Netherlands, it was announced today.
"It was a hard decision, and one that we would have rather not had to make," said Ravi Rajcoomar, BMC Software Series Event Director. "However, we take great pride in presenting only the highest-caliber competition, and the scheduling issue would have prevented that. We were putting some of the world's top riders in the awkward position of choosing between a Women's World Cup event and our race, and, no matter how it had worked out, it wouldn't have been a good situation for anyone involved, and would have devalued both races."
Saturn's Anna Millward, the current BMC Software Series and Pro Cycling Tour Women's leader, is also at the top of the standings in the Women's World Cup. There are at least four other riders well-placed in both series.
The Women's portion of the BMC Software Series will conclude with the San Rafael Cycling Classic, September 8th in San Rafael, California.
By Gerry McManus
The penultimate round of the Premier Calendar takes place in Derbyshire on September 16, with John Tanner (Pro Vision-Ribble-Kairfree) leading the series from his team-mate Mark Lovatt and Antony Malarcyk (Atom Elite) in third.
The safe bet would be on Lovatt winning this event for the fourth year in succession. Teams of six have failed to stop the Pro-Vision pair from taking the honours so far this year and teams of four here will almost certainly struggle too.
The 85-mile UCI ranked event has attracted teams from Australia and Belgium and with the season concluded in Ireland, no less than four teams are crossing the water. With senior riders over in Japan for the tour of Hokkaido, the Irish team features a run-out for the under-23's who are looking to keep form for the world championships in Lisbon in October where they will support former world junior champion Mark Scanlon. Other Irish squad regulars have formed a team for the province of Munster, with Ritchie Cahill and Timmy Barry showing their form in the recent Surrey League 5-day race.
Matt Stephens (Sigma RT), Danny Axford (Prestige VC), Julian Winn (GS Strada) and Kevin Dawson (Pete Read RT) are the GB riders that are likely to challenge for the victory. The multi-prime course around Buxton should suit the 2001 Manx international winner Stephens, who may be anxious to improve on his fourth place in the series.
With 141 entries, there is a little space left for last minute surprises in the 150 field limit.
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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Tales from the Peloton
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Tales from the Peloton
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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
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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;
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the Chain - Dope planning and testing - From Willy Voet's book
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