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Edited by Jeff Jones
By Jeff Jones
It's that time of year again as the world celebrates the end of the year and the start of new one. New Year's Eve is the biggest public party of the year, and many countries have already passed through midnight and into the next day...in some cases with an accompanying hangover.
2002 will see the formal introduction of the euro as the single currency for many European countries, encompassing some 300 million citizens. Australians have been asking the question "Why did they name it after a marsupial?" ever since the euro was thought up, but will probably be glad of having only one currency to deal with now on their travels to northern climes.
Continuing with an antipodean theme, the 2002 season starts with the Skilled Geelong Bay Classic in Australia. This five race series will be used as an important form gainer for the Australian Road Championships on January 13, followed by the Tour Down Under from January 15-20. Also kicking off on January 2 is the Trust House Tour of Wellington, which will be hotly contested by New Zealand's best as well as several international riders.
The Vuelta al Tachira in Venezuela and the Tour du Qatar are the two other UCI stage races scheduled for January, with the latter bound to attract a lot of interest in its inaugural year. The cycling circus moves to Malaysia in February with the popular Tour de Langkawi, the third richest stage race in the world, also notable for the fact that no stages will take place on the island of Langkawi this year.
As the riders are sweating it out in Malaysia, the European season commences in Spain on February 3 with the Trofeo de Palma, the first of five one day races in the "Mallorca Challenge". Meanwhile in France, the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise kicks off the season there on February 5, followed by the Etoile de Bessèges stage race from February 6-10.
Italy has to wait until February 19 for its season start, the Trofeo Laigueglia, while the Belgian season commences again with the Omloop Het Volk on March 2, the same day as the Swiss have their GP Chiasso. The Dutch season starts on March 15-17 with the inaugural GP Erik Breukink stage race.
March 1 also sees the first round of the UCI World Cup for women held in Canberra, Australia. The men's World Cup starts on March 23 with Milan-San Remo, and follows the traditional pattern of northern classics in April (Ronde Van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Amstel Gold Race).
The first of the three Grand Tours is the Giro d'Italia, from May 11-June 2, which will see the Italians battle for supremacy in their biggest race. The remainder of June features highly rated races such as the Dauphiné Libéré, Volta a Catalunya and Tour de Suisse, finishing with the national championships for most countries on June 30. Also on at this time is the First Union Series in the USA, the biggest week of racing in that country.
July is Tour time, as on July 6, 189 cyclists will head off on a three week jaunt around France to contest cycling's biggest event. Can LA make it four in a row, or will he succumb to the pressure from the rest? There's only one way to find out, and here's hoping for another exciting race in 2002.
Après le Tour, it's back to World Cup action, with the HEW-Cyclassics, Clasica San Sebastian and Meisterschaft von Zürich forming rounds 6, 7 and 8. Meanwhile, the women continue their World Cup battle in Plouay on August 24, one day before the men's GP Ouest France. The women's World Cup finishes in September with the Rotterdam Tour on September 15.
The last of the three Grand Tours is the Vuelta a España, which dominates the month of September. The Spanish will again be bidding for glory in their national tour, hopefully punctuated by a few foreign types with aspirations to the throne.
October is World Championships time, as this year's World's will be taking place in Zolder, Belgium. Will it be Erik Zabel's year finally? October also wraps up the men's World Cup with Paris-Tours and the Giro di Lombardia (October 19), after which the road season finally winds down for a few months while the track riders and cyclo-crossers come to the fore.
Here's wishing all Cyclingnews readers a safe and enjoyable 2002, at the same time thanking your for all your support in 2001. The site has grown considerably in 2001 and will continue doing so in 2002 with the aim of providing the best global coverage of the sport of cycling. Sit back and enjoy the action!
Slovenian bronze medallist in the World Road Championships Andrej Hauptmann has extended his contract with the Tacconi Sport team until 2003. The contract was finalised a few days ago after a meeting at the Tacconi headquarters in Mendrisio (Switzerland) between administrator Renzo Bordogna, Andrej Hauptmann and his proxy Alex Carera.
Belgian cyclist Marc Streel will not be retiring from professional cycling (as reported yesterday) after receiving an offer he couldn't refuse from Belgian team Landbouwkrediet-Colnago. He signed a one year contract with Gerard Bulens' team, and he is hoping to have a good 2002 season.
By Renae Woodhams
Hilton Clarke Jnr went into the Perth Criterium Series with the aim to take out the yellow jersey. The determination of the Victorian Champ was not a force to be reckoned with. Clarke was in top form coming into the Series and in both race 1 and 2 of the "Be Active Cycle Instead Criterium Series, his form shone though. He dominated the points score and held the yellow jersey for two nights running and went into the third race as the favourite.
But the rivalry held between Clarke Jnr and NSW rider Graham Brown caused a few upsets in the Series. In Race 3, Clarke looked set to take the race title once more, but a last minute dash by Brown saw Clarke walk away with second place.
That meant in the overall standings, Clarke was still ahead, but in the Sprint King tally there were only two points separating the two.
The Series Final held on December 30 was always set to be an exciting one to see who was the best of the best. Clarke Jnr was riding against international riders such as Henk Vogels Jnr and Jans Koerts but even with a race win by Vogels, Clarke was too strong in the first three races, and ultimately declared the Series winner for the 2001 Be Active Cycle Instead Criterium Series.
A strong performance by Graham Brown saw him take the final points needed to secure his position as Sprint King for the fourth race and ultimately the Series Final. He overtook Clarke in the points score for the Green Jersey but Clarke was happy to walk away from the Series with the overall yellow jersey.
Hilton Clarke Jnr heads home from Perth today but will look to defend his title in the Australian Criterium Championships, to be held in Perth in 2003.
CZ Velo Cycling, a Waukesha, Wisconsin-based USCF elite/amateur cycling team has announced its 2002 roster and sponsors. The team's roster includes four Elite Level Category 1/2 riders, seven Category 3 riders, one Category 4 rider and two Juniors. The team includes Denny Yunk, who won both the overall 2001 Wisconsin Cup Series championship the Wisconsin Cup Sprint Series championship for Category 1 & 2 riders. Denny is also a past Wisconsin State Time Trial Champion. Other up-and-coming riders on the team include Ben Lund, the 2001 Category 3 Wisconsin State Criterium Champion and Scott Hempel, the 2001 Junior Boys 12 to 14 Wisconsin Cup Series champion.
In 2002, the team will again focus on the Wisconsin Cup Series, the International Cycling Classic - the United States' oldest multi-day race also known as "Super Week" and held every July in Wisconsin - as well as several stage races throughout the Midwest. In addition, some of the team's Elite riders will contest various U.S. National Calendar races and the US Elite National Road Race, Criterium and Time Trial Championships.
The team's primary sponsor is Level Valley Creamery, a West Bend, Wisconsin based business that produces a diverse line of dairy products.
Denny Yunk (Cat. 1)
Steve Flurry (Cat. 2)
Ben Lund (Cat. 2)
Dan Mitchell (Cat. 2)
Mark Hughes (Cat. 3)
Jeff Kramer (Cat. 3)
Scott Latell (Cat. 3)
Mike Mercer (Cat. 3)
Mike Peterson (Cat. 3)
Tige Prickett (Cat. 3)
Gene Tolli (Cat. 3)
T.J. Brooks (Cat. 4)
Scott Hempel (Junior)
Bill Bowler (Junior)
Tom Driscoll (Coach)
Equipment
Bicycles: DEAN Bicycles
Group Sets: Shimano
Helmets: Giro
Clothing: Voler Team Apparel
Team Sponsors
Level Valley Creamery
Alliance Partners, LLC
cuttingedj.com
GTP Active Wear
Neighbors Bistro & Pub
North Track Funds
Point Beach Outdoors
Radish Appraisal Service
Spring City Cycle
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