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1996 Results
The Stages
PreviewThe real news came last Tuesday a half hour after the official announcement. The news was circulated: Jan Ullrich would start in the Tour of Netherlands. The journalists who had gathered in the Amsterdam Arena had left and then came the answer - Ullrich would start in Tilburg next week as a rider in the only real Dutch stage race. Two days earlier he had also indicated he would start in the Championship of Zurich (GP Suisse), the 8th Round of the World Cup.The 23-year old German has taken a lot of very lucrative contracts in the Criteriums that followed the Tour de France. The Tour of the Netherlands is one of last races that the formidable German will ride before he stops for the year on September 14 at a paired-time trial in Karlsruhe. "Since the restday of the Tour we have been negotiating with him" said the secretary Herman Brinkhoff. "We have been in constant negotiations with him, his team and his business manager. It was not easy. And let nobody think that he is coming to rest. He will win." The organisation of the Tour of Netherlands was happy at the press conference. They have a starting list of 14 teams with 8 riders - with Zabel, Cipollini [Bill notes: now not riding], Minali and Blijlevens - who among them won 8 stages of the Tour de France. And they also had the fast men like Svorada, Steels and Wilfried Nelissen. Clearly, the first stage of the Tour would be a "sprinter's ball". During the press conference, press chief Hans Brian said they had no financial problems. He said the impact of Ullrich via the German television and the German press was going to be good for the main sponsor VISA. The 37th Tour is 895 km long and has 3 Dutch teams (TVM, Rabobank, Foreldorado), 6 Italian (AKI, Batik, Brescialat, Mapei, Polti and Saeco), 2 Belgian (Vlaanderen and Palmans), 1 American (US Postal), 1 Spanish (Banesto) and 1 German team (Telekom). There are no French teams. "That is one small "fleck" spot. We tried Casino, GAN, Française des Jeux and Festina. But they are all riding the GP Ouest France, a day before the Tour starts'' Herman Brinkhoff said "Before that they are riding the Tour of Limousin." The organisers of the Tour of the Netherlands have had their first blow. On Tuesday, top sprinter Mario Cipollini has withdrawn. On the other hand, the good news is that Johan Museeuw announced that he will be coming to replace the Mapei sprinter Jan Svorada. Cipollini, who won two stages in the Tour de France, is to ride another race. "There was a problem within the Saeco team about the program for Cipollini." said Gerrie van Gerwen who organises the starting list for the Tour of the Netherlands. The stage race, which begins next Tuesday, still has a very strong field, despite the withdrawal of Super Mario. Top riders include Jan Ullrich and the sprinters Erik Zabel, Nicola Minali, Jeroen Blijlevens and Wilfried Nelissen. |