News for August 6, 1997

Tour de France MTB

The official name is Le Tour VTT = Velo Tout Terrain.

Stage 4 - Chambon-sur-Lignon - Queyrieres:

 1. Bonnand (Fra)   30 km in 1.17.38
 2. Dupouey (Fra)
 3. Martinez (Fra)
 4. Chiotti (Fra) 		1.15
 5. Cadel Evans (Australia) 	1.18
 6. Kristensen (Den) 		1.21
...
14. Brentjens 			3.44
16. Nijboer 			3.56

GC:

 1. Kristensen 		     8.11.40
 2. Cadel Evans (Australia) 	3.10
 3. Savignoni (Fra) 		4.09
 4. Chiotti 			8.50
 5. Lezaun (Spa) 	       13.58
 6. Dupouey 		       16.38

 8. Brentjens 		       18.47
34. Nijboer 		       51.04

August 5, 1997, Surhuisterveen Criterium, NL

 1. Blijlevens (Meerle)     80 km in 1.48.14
 2. De Vries (Steenwijk)
 3. Siboni (Ita)
 4. Boogerd (Den Haag) 			0.20
 5. Voskamp (Zetten)
 6. Luppes (Hoogeveen)
 7. Gommers (Kollumerzwaag)
 8. Talen (Spijkenisse)
 9. Teuben (Heerenveen)
10. De Bie (Bel)

Ullrich to finish early

Jan Ullrich, the Tour de France winner, has pulled out of the upcoming Tour of Spain and the cycling World Championship, his team announced Tuesday. Ullrich, 23, will also miss the remaining World Cup races, his team, Telekom, said in a statement.

The Tour of Spain is scheduled for September, followed by the street World Championship, Oct. 7-12, in San Sebastian, also in Spain.

Ullrich's withdrawal did not come unexpected. The first German to win the Tour de France, the greatest cycling race in the world, has said he wants to take a vacation with his girlfriend in early fall, probably in the Caribbean. Since the French tour ended July 27, Ullrich has been taking part in one-day races in Germany and elsewhere and and winning them. More than 75,000 people turned out Sunday to watch him race in Buehl, a town in the Black Forest not far from Merdingen, where he lives.

Since his Tour de France victory, Ullrich has become a national hero, drawing large crowds wherever he appears in Germany. Ullrich is racing Wednesday in the Netherlands, before returning home for a pair of races in Hamburg and Schwerin.

Ullrich to start early

In the German sports magazine 'SportBild' Jan Ullrich said: 'I will start training for the next season (and of course my highest target The Tour de France) in November. In the South of Spain or maybe in South Africa until the end of February. Than a few little tours in Spain, in the meantime Milan-San Remo (for riding with the peloton; not for winning this race). No cold classics for me in the north of Europe; only in the warmer south.

On May 1 I want to start in Henninger Turm in Frankfurt.' Again Ullrich wants to have 15,000 training kilometers in his legs before the Tour de France.

Walter Godefroot believes the Telekom-team will be nearly the same in next season. 'Bjarne Riis is still the captain; Jan Ullrich can't have a better helper than Riis.' Mario Kummer and Brian Holm will be ending their careers; two newcomers are Dirk Muller (Bad Hersfeld) and Jan Schaffrath (Berlin).

Cyclists still chasing the one hour record

Cyclist establishes state hour record; pedals 27 miles

Minneapolis bike racer Chris Smith set a state hour record at the National Sports Center in Blaine on Sunday night, pedaling 43.579 kilometers in 60 minutes.

That's just over 27 miles, beating the old record, set last year, by almost 2 kilometers.

The hour record is cycling's benchmark, the ultimate standard by which cyclists are measured. British cyclist Chris Boardman holds the world mark of 56.7 kilometers, or about 35 miles.

``It's the hour of pain,'' said Smith's coach, Larry Martin. ``It's something that every champion cyclist does at one point or another.''

Smith rode a custom-built Mark Zeh cycle outfitted specifically for the record-breaking attempt, and has been training since Feb. 1.

``I felt the whole time like things were going pretty well, and that I'd make it unless something happened. Like I crashed or lost a shoe,'' said Smith, who works as a publications manager for Quality Bicycle Products, a local cycling distributor.

Smith's attempt went smoothly, and he had about 100 cheering fans on hand.

Cycling supporters hope Smith's record will draw crowds to the velodrome, built for the Olympic Sports Festival in 1990.

Officials added lights to the velodrome this year, intending to expand events at the track, considered one of the fastest in the world.

Tim Nelson, Staff Writer, St. Paul Pioneer Press