News for April 25


What's Their Programme?

With the Tour of the Mining Valleys (scheduled for May 2-5) cancelled, Miguel Indurain will be riding the Tour d'Alentejo on the same dates, greatly boosting the Portuguese race's standing this year. Indurain is also said to be considering riding the coming weekend's Amstel Gold World Cup race in the Netherlands.

Apart from the Criterium de Calais (May 3), Laurent Jalabert will not ride competitively again until the GP du Midi Libre (May 21-26) and then the Criterium du Dauphine Libere (June 2-9) which will also be contested by Miguel Indurain, Tony Rominger, Bjarne Riis, Chris Boardman, Luc Leblanc and Richard Virenque. Jalabert's last races before the Tour de France starts on June 29 will be the Route du Sud (June 17-20) and the French Championships (at Castres) on June 23. During his five-week absence from racing, Jalabert expects to spend much of the time training in the Montagne Noir, in his home are ain the Tarn. "I'm waiting for the traditional fax from Manolo [Saiz -- ONCE directeur-sportif]," Jalabert said, "listing the distance to ride, the gear ratios I should use, the heart rates I should respect."

Chris Boardman, who scratched from Fleche Wallonne and Liege- Bastogne-Liege because of tendinitis in his ankle following a crash in the Circuit de la Sarthe, is planning to return to racing in the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque (May 7-12).

Hernandez-Ubeda Dies

Jesus Hernandez-Ubeda, a faithful team-mate of Pedro Delgado from the beginning of the formation of the Reynolds team into the 1980s, has died of a cardiac infarction. The former Spanish pro was 37.