News for December 21



96 Road World/Track Championships

   The city of Lugano, in the south of Switzerland, has been chosen by
   the UCI as the venue for the 1996 Road World Championships from
   9-13 October. The Swiss capital of Berne, the only other city that
   bidded, is the bridesmaid.

   In the first time that the two major disciplines of the sport,
   track and road, have been held in separate locations. The track

Hinault says that Indurain will make it six.

   Bernard Hinault in Pamplona, Tuesday, 12/19/95 said: "Indurain is
   one of the best riders in the history of cycling and I'm sure that
   he will win his sixth Tour next year."

   "Even if the Tour '96 is very tough and competitive, nothing can
   make me think that he won't win one more time, Hinault added."
   Indurain replied: "It would be exceptional to come to my home as
   leader, but the most important is to be in yellow in Paris."


JALABERT UPDATE

Jalabert Operated On For Scaphoid Fracture

    After a crash while training near his home at Mazamet at the
    beginning of the month, Laurent Jalabert had X-rays which
    indicated that a hand injury was nothing more than a sprained
    finger. After medical consultations he therefore resumed training
    as if nothing was amiss.

    However, faced with pain that got worse and worse each day,
    especially when riding out of the saddle, Jalabert went to a
    specialist clinic last Monday (18 December 95) where fresh X-rays
    revealed a fractured scaphoid (navicular -- a bone in the wrist).

    Faced with the choice of several months in plaster or an immediate
    operation, he chose the latter, which was due to be carried out
    today (20 December 95) in Toulouse. He will be in plaster for
    three weeks, during which time he will be unable to ride, thus
    compromising his form for the start of the season.

    "It's best to take this seriously," he said. I don't want to spoil
    all my season for a few races in February. I'll doubtless get back=7F
    into competition in mid-February but not in the condition that I
    would have hoped to be in by then. The doctors have been very
    clear -- I have to be very prudent.".


VENICE BUYS A TICKET IN THE SWEEPSTAKES

Worlds Road Races 1999

   Venice has joined Turin as a contender for the worlds road races in
   1999, which are definitely to take place somewhere in Italy.


SUNDRY FROM THE IRISH TIMES

Lonergan Finally makes it...

Third time 'lucky' for determined Lonergan

        DECLAN LONERGAN launched a successful break on the finishing
        circuit in Carrick-on-Suir yesterday to take the honours in
        the Sean Kelly Classic, which had another huge turnout, with a
        total of 833 entries.

        After finishing second last year and the year before, Lonergan
        was determined to go one better and he did so in great style
        with 13 seconds to spare over Belgian Eric Vanderaerden, with
        Irish champion  Michael  Fitzgerald third.

        In the sprint for fourth place, 18 seconds behind Lonergan,
        Tony Rominger led the way from Englishman Glen Holmes, with
        Sean Kelly sixth, followed by Martin Earley and Paul Butler.

        There were not many stragglers after the first leisurely lap
        of 21 miles in an hour and 25 minutes, with Kelly and Stephen
        Roche well back towards the rear of the big group. The racing
        started at Kilsheelan on the second time around and Rominger
        led a group of about 100 on to the finishing circuit in
        Carrick for five laps of a mile in the town.

        However, next time around, Lonergan  surged  ahead  and
        quickly opened a gap. In the chase  several  small  groups
        formed behind.

        There were 17 in pursuit of Lonergan with three laps left,
        with Vanderaerden leading the way through, 14 seconds in
        arrears. Next time only 14 were involved in the chasing group,
        led by Rominger and Vanderaerden. Kelly tried to close the
        gap, but Vanderaerden broke away, and at the bell for the last=7F
        lap the Belgian was  15 seconds behind Lonergan, with the rest
        another three seconds down.

        On the finishing stretch on Main Street, as Lonergan eased
        down, Vanderaerden closed to 13 seconds and just held off
        FitzgeraId. Although Rominger has not raced since he was
        forced to pull out of the Tour de France in July because of
        illness, he still sprinted in ahead of the rest for fourth.

        Lonergan is off tomorrow with Philip Collins for the European
        Track Championships in Valencia, and after spending Christmas
        at home in Waterford he rejoins his American team, Saab, in
        California in January to prepare for the Olympic Games.

        Kelly was pleased with his placing yesterday, as he said he
        has not been able to get out on his bike much in recent weeks,
        but he is still much fitter than many others.

        Vanderaerden is with an Italian team, Brescia, and resumes
        racing in Italy in March.

Placings:
1 D Lonergan (Saab)
2 E Vanderaerden Brescia)
3 M Fitzgerald (Cidona)
4 T Rominger (Mapei).
5 G Holmes (Ambrosia, Great Yarmouth)
6 S Kelly
7 M Earley (Raleigh)
8 P Butter (Cidona).


Collins is eighth in Europe


   PHILIP COLLINS finished eighth overall in the four-event omnium at
   the European track championships in Valencia. He was third in his
   speciality race, the 4,O0O metres pursuit on Saturday morning but
   his total of 15 points left him well hehind the winner, Peter
   Pleters of Holland who accumulated 52 points.

   Collins was 11th in the opening elimination race on Thursday and
   was then 14th in Friday's points event when Ireland's other
   representative, Declan Lonergan, was forced to withdraw because of
   Illness.

   In the pursuit Collins was timed at four minutes 42.967
   seconds but Jerome Neuville of France won in 4:37.629 with Pieters
   second in 4:39.704. The final event on Saturday night over 15
   kilometres was controlled by Pieters and the Dutchman won from
   Neuville with Austrian Frans Stocher third.

   In the final standings Stocher was nearest to Pieters with 41
   points with Neuville third on 29.

Poor attendance at Christmas Event

   In contrast to last week's entry of 833 at Carrick on Suir only 15
   braved the cold and wet for the Bray Wheelers annual novelty two up
   time trial yesterday morning and the UCD duo of Louis Twomey and
   Helen Kervane emerged best. This was the smallest turnout in he
   25th year of the event that until recent years regularly attracted
   over 100 - the biggest field was In 1988 when a total of 176 took
   part. Teams of two had to submit a time they expected to do for the
   12 miles to Glen of the Downs and back. Twomey and Kerrane
   estimated 45 minutes and they were just eight seconds out with
   44:52.


Collins doing well in Valencia

From Sunday's 'Irish Independant': (Author Unknown)

   PHILIP COLLINS finished a magnificent third in the 4km  Pursuit at
   the Open Men's Omnium of the European Track Championships in the
   Spanish city of Valencia, yesterday. The Irishman's performance
   confirms his growing status among the specialists of track
   pursuiting at world level. The AMEV/IRC rider clocked a time of
   4;42;96 gaining him 10 points, thereby climbing to an overall 8th
   place behind leader Peter Pieters of Holland going into the final
   15km scratch race.

   Collins finished in 14th position in the 30km points event on
   Fnday. Declan Lonergan was forced to pull out of the event after
   stage two through illness.



'Split' revisited:

From Jim McArdle in Friday's Irish Times:

   The incoming FIC Board had an old familiar problem thrown their way
   over the weekend as the dreaded "split" reared its head. again in
   the North. At the annual national council meeting of the British
   Cycling Federation in Manchester where Tony Doyle ousted Ian
   Emmerson after a bitter struggle for the presidency, a motion was
   passed that the Northern Ireland Cycling Federation have the same
   status as the federations in Scotland and Wales.

   Since an agreement in 1992 the NICF and the FIC's Northern Region
   have been working quite well but the BCF decision to alter their
   area of control and give full recognition to the Northern Ireland
   'CF breaks that agreement.

   The new FIC president, Pat McQuaid, has written to the NICF seeking
   a meeting to discuss the situation. The relationship was going so
   well that it had been agreed that the annual NICF Easter promotion,
   the Tour of the North, would have the scene there to itself next
   April with the Tour of Ulster switching to the May holiday weekend.

   There have been conflicting figures about the NICF membership, with
   600 mentioned, but they are very weak on the competitive front.
   Although NICF members have been racing in some Ulster CF-FIC events
   they have not made an impression.


More of Coppi

1949
****

1 alla Milano-Sanremo
1 al giro di Romagna
1 al Giro del Veneto
1 al Giro d'Italia
1 al Tour de France
1 al campionato del mondo inseguimento (pursuit)
1 al Cmpionato d'Italia
1 al Circuito della Lauviere
1 al giro della Lombardia
2 al Giro del Piemonte
2 al Circuito di Treviglio
2 al Criterium degli Assi a Parigi (Parigi is Paris)
3 al Campionato del Mondo
3 alla Freccia Vallone (Fleche Wallon)
3 al Circuito di Vimercate
4 al Criterium di Prato
10 ex-aequo nella Parigi-Roubaix
11 al Gran Premio delle Nazioni
Vincitore dello Challenge Desgrange-Colombo
(classifica che tiene conto dei piazzamenti al Giro, al Tour,
alla Parigi-Roubaix, Parigi-Bruxelles, giro delle Flandre,
Giro di Lombardia e Milan-Sanremo)
(A GC deal taking account of the Giro, Tour, Pascale, Paris-Brussels, Ronde,
Lombardy, Primavera - sort of a primitive World Cup)