Contracts and Transfers- Leonardo Piepoli has found a home. After the sponsor for his team (Mobilvetta) pulled out, Piepoli has signed a contrat with Team Saeco, directed by Claudio Corti and which includes Mario Cipollini, Ivan Gotti and Roberto Petito. In three years as a professional, Piepoli has had 5 wins.PanAmerican and Mexican Hour RecordMy source in Mexico, Luis Felipe Trigo reports on the creation of a new hour record in Mexico and thereabouts.On Sunday December 14, 1997 Mexican cyclist Eduardo Uribe rode for 48.707 kms in one hour to break the previous Panamerican and Mexican hour records. The Panamerican (which includes Mexico, Caribbean, Central America and South America) record was 47.553 kms set by Colombian Martin Cochise Rodriguez 27 years ago! The Mexican record was 46.995 kms set by Radames Trevino 29 years ago !!! Following is a progress table of Eduarod Uribe's achievement with a reference to Boardman's world hour record.
Distance Uribe Boardman 5 km 5.27.0 10 12.18.9 15 18.25.4 20 24.32.8 21.23.9 25 30.42.2 30 36.50.4 32.00.5 35 43.02.4 40 49.13.4 42.41.3 45 55.29.6 47 57.59.4 48.707 60.00 50 53.21.7 56.375 60.00 Zaina has plansThirty year old Enrico Zaina prefers not to talk about 1997. To start with, the cyclist from Brescia has changed teams. With the permission from team manager Davide Boifava, he has left Asics a year early for Team Brescialat-Liquigas, where he will become team captain. Today at a meeting in Casalmoro, he will meet up with his new teammates. "Asics has decided to invest in Michele Bartoli, who is a strong rider for the one day races", explained Zaina. I have nothing against Bartoli - on the contrary. I could have gone with Pantani to Mercatone Uno or with Mapei, but have preferred Brescialat-Liquigas".Zaina is confident and he believes he has found a team that will allow him to win the Giro d'Italia. "I think that I still have three years left in my career and I think that I owe to myself to be able to see how far I can go. To win the Giro d'Italia will not be easy since a lot of champions will participate in the next edition. I think that the podium of the Giro '98 would be possible". Zaina comes from a dissapointing 1997. "I was very unlucky and was indirectly penalized for Chiappucci's suspension because of a high hematocrit level. During the second half of the season, the environment within the tean was not the best. During the Spring I was going pretty well, but a virus compromised my training for the Giro. I ended up retiring from the Giro because of a urinary problem. I skipped the Tour and that compromised the end of the season. Nevertheless, even with everything, I finished fourth at la Vuelta showing that I'm a first line rider in the Major Stage Races". Next year Zaina will start his 10th year as a professional. Since his debut in 1989 he has ridden for cyclists like Zimmermann, Leali, Chiappucci, Bartoli, Pantani, Berzin, Argentin, Furlan. "I learned so much while I rode with Argentin, the perfect example for any professinal. The year that I spent with Gewiss-Ballan was unforgettable. I experienced emotions that will never be repeated with Bombini's team. That group was incredibly strong: with Berzin, Argentin, Gotti, Furlan, Riis, Colombo, Ugrumov, Bobrik, Frattini. Only Mapei-GB has been almost as strong". But Zaina went to ride with Carrera, with Chiappucci and Pantani. "I don't regret anything, at Carrera I did very well, but I didn't learn much or anything from Chiappucci and Pantani". Zaina will be leading a young team which includes Sgambelluri, Mason, Serpellini and Milesi. Dunlap, Vande Velde named USA Cycling Athletes of the YearFor the first time, USA Cycling has named organization-wide Athletes of the Year, covering all of the associations that comprise USA Cycling -- road, track, cyclo-cross and the disciplines of mountain biking.The 1997 USA Cycling Athletes of the Year are Alison Dunlap and Christian Vande Velde. "We’re proud to honor these two outstanding athletes," said Lisa Voight, USA Cycling chief executive officer. "When you look at what they have achieved this year, it is truly staggering." Dunlap, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colo., capped her remarkable 1997 by winning her first senior national title at the National Cyclo-cross Championships. The week before, she won a Cyclo-cross Super Cup, her third Super Cup win in calendar 1997, including January’s 1996-97 Super Cup Final. She then turned her attention to her new career, cross-country mountain biking, stunning her new foes by winning the UCI World Cup in Budapest, Hungary in only her fourth career World Cup event. She added the overall title at the inaugural Tour of the Rockies event, coming from behind in the final stage to win her third stage of the event. At season’s end, she was ranked in the top 10 of both the National Championship Series and the World Cup. Dunlap finished her mountain bike season by placing seventh at the UCI World Championships. Dunlap was also a threat to win during any of the few times she raced on the road. Against the toughest competition North America has to offer, she defended her title at the Stanley to Ketchum stage of the Hewlett-Packard International Women’s Challenge. She was the top American overall at the event, as she was at the season-opening Redlands Bicycle Classic. Dunlap also finished 34th overall at the Tour Feminin, considered the world’s toughest race for women. For her unprecedented success in three separate disciplines, Dunlap is the first USA Cycling Female Athlete of the Year. Vande Velde, 21, of Lemont, Ill., had an equally remarkable season, combining road and track success. On the velodromes, he became the first American to win a UCI World Cup overall title in individual pursuit, including a victory at the Adelaide, Australia World Cup and a pair of second place finishes at World Cups in Cali, Colombia, and Trexlertown, Pa. His international success began with a strong January performance at a six-day in Copenhagen, Denmark, making him one of few Americans to ever compete in one of those grueling events. He also dominated against American competition, winning national titles in the individual pursuit, team pursuit and Madison. He had already posted that same triple victory at the initial EDS Track Cup. On the road, Vande Velde showed why he is considered to be at the forefront of the next generation of American road pros. During his spring road season, competing against the top amateurs in Europe, he won a stage of the Ruban Granitier Breton race in France, winning the mountain jersey as well. Vande Velde also placed in top 10 at the Trois Jours de Rennes (France) and Wien- Rabenstein-Gresten-Wien (Austria). Capping his season, he became one of the very few athletes to represent the U.S. in two disciplines at the World Championships. On the track, he placed 10th in the individual pursuit and helped the U.S. team pursuit squad to a surprising fourth-place finish. On the road, he placed 10th in the individual time trial. For his world-level excellence on the road and the track, Vande Velde is the first USA Cycling Male Athlete of the Year. USA Cycling is the national governing body of competitive cycling in the United States and includes the National Off-Road Bicycle Association, U.S. Cycling Federation and U.S. Professional Racing Organization. Banesto MeetThe components of Spanish Team Banesto have met to take care of the medical exams, publicity photos and to plan the 1998 program. Josè Miguel Echavarri met in Pamplona, very close to where Miguel Indurain lives.Cipollini turns his hand to journalismAppearing at the newstands in Great Britain, the United States, Australia and Scandinavia, the number one publication "Cycle Sport" will have a column written by Mario Cipollini, which amongst things will talk about the fairwell to Tony Rominger.I haven't seen the latest edition yet. But has he replaced Claudio? Weekend Cyclo CrossIgorre, Spain, Cat A: 1. Jiri Pospisil (Cze) 2. Lukasj (Cze) 3. Olsburg (Cze) 4. Morel (Fra) 5. Peter Van den Abeele (Bel) Proflex Sleidinge, Belgium, Cat B, December 13, 1997: 1. Geert Van Daele (Bel) Varsenare, Belgium, Cat B, December 13, 1997: 1. Nico Clarysse (Bel) Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Cat B, December 14, 1997: 1. A. Moonen (Bel) 2. M. Jörgensen (Den) 3. P. van Riet (Bel) 4. A. Mudroch (Cze) 5. T. Nestle (Ger) 20. Kai Hundertmark (Ger) Overijse, Belgium, Cat B, December 14, 1997: 1. Jan Van Donink (Bel) Maldegem-Vossenhol, Belgium, Cat B, December 14, 1997: 1. Gianni David (Bel) |