News for December 31, 1997

Contracts and Transfers

- Telekom will start an amateur team in 1998 with 10 or 12 talented Under-23 amateur riders. The team will be called the "Jan Ullrich Team" and will be led by former professional Olaf Ludwig and coached by Peter Becker. Becker is Ullrich's personal trainer. Telekom hopes that the better amateurs will move through to the professional Telekom team.

- Team Mobilvetta-Northwave has become the 15th Italian Professional Cycling team to be registered for 1998. It will be directed by Stefano Giuliana and Franco Vona. It's 16 road riders are: Mario Manzoni, Valerio Tebaldi, Andrea Chiurato, Andrea Paluan, Alessandro Pozzi, Maurizio Tomi, Paolo Alberati, Luigi Della Bianca, and the neo-pro's: Silvio Caviglia, Guglielmo De Nobile, Leonardo Fioroni, Marco Giroletti, Renzo Ragnetti, Graziano Recinella, Davide(?) Scalmana and Guido Trobetta. Fausto Scotti has been added to race cyclo-cross.

This team is more or less the same as that of Bottecchia-Northwave which was announced some time ago.

- Giampaolo Mondini (ex-Amore a Vita) will ride for Kross-Sella Italia next year.

- Team Asics has invited Norwegian Kurt-Asle Arvesen, who won the Under-23 Road World Championship at San Sebastian and Ivan Basso to their retreat in January. The team's star rider is Michele Bartoli, winner of the World Cup in 1997. The first retreat for Bartoli, Coppolillo and Malberti is planned for January 12-22 at Donoratico (Livorno) and then another will occur between February 1-10, probably in Toscana.

Zeddam, Belgium, Cyclo Cross, Cat 2

Elite:

 1. Adri van der Poel (Ned) Rabobank
 2. Richard Groenendaal (Ned) Rabobank
 3. Radomir Simunek (Cze) OLPE
 4. Ben Berden (Bel)
 5. Gretinus Gommers (Ned) VKS
 6. Gerben de Knegt (Ned) American Eagle
 7. Bram Schmitz (Ned) Tegeltoko
 8. Franz Jozef Nieberding (Ger)
 9. Luca Bramati (Ita) Sella Italia
10. Maarten Nijland (Ned) Giant-Löwik-P&O

Women:

 1. Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger)
 2. Regina Maranta (Ger)
 3. Reza Ravenstein (Ned)
 4. Inge Velthuis (Ned)
 5. Corinne Dorland (Ned)

Zeddam is a candidate for the World Cup race on December 22, 1998.

Spanish style manual

Point number one relates to self-criticism: or in other words a lack of a successor for Induráin. Without the security of having of the best athlete in Spanish history, Spanish cycling is looking at its own house and is discovering its limitations. The analysis, broken down by riders, organizers and teams shows great defects. The two main ones have to do with the visibility of the competition and the backwards character of the riders. It implicates the immobility by the media and the organizers of the races. And all this despite the fact that cycling is the Spanish sport which has shown more growth in terms of sponsor investment.

What does all this mean? Broadly, that cyclists have to copy Cipollini, the exemplar of public relations excellence. A rider capable of wearing yellow pants even if he is currently wearing the yellow leader's jersey at the Tour. The rider who does this even though he gets fined. The rider who can break his commitment to the Vuelta because he doesn't feel like riding it.

Create something to talk about, be it positive or negative. For a Spanish version, we are talking about getting close to the ways of José María Jiménez, the rider who was able to make his assault for a stage victory at la Vuelta 97 a matter of general interest. People that attract, so that the post-Indurain era is more bearable. None of this getting to the finish and running away from the press like they were the enemy. Or being content to talk to them in a timid fashion.

This initiative is deeply critical of the the parasitic race organizers. There is the feeling that nothing ever happens. For a long time now at the Spanish races, especially the Vuelta, they go through the same scenarios, converted in mini-legends which end up boring the fans. From now on, we advise change (other routes) that will induce more competition and aesthetics and that will provoke more emotion from the fans.

Lets not forget the players - the directors and riders - who must have a better relationship with the media. None of those declarations of the type that says: "there is still a lot of race left", "until the last moment there is nothing written" or "we will try to do the best possible". Along the same lines we should penalize some of the media's vices, who go after the first comment, even if it is empty. We also recommend looking into the life of the rider, the true performers in this circus. That is, we won't be happy anymore with titles such as "I'm going out to train" or "it just couldn't be". We need more color, analysis and amplitude in the themes. As the documents states, they are trying to "reinforce the athletic and emotional aspects which make cycling the sport that it is".

Some more Aussies discovered

"In addition to the list of amateurs posted on Dec 30th there seem to be 2 riders that I am aware of that are constantly being ignored by the media. Both Steven Williams and Nathan O'Neill rode as Elite riders in the Bedogni Anico Monsummanese team. They were in fact not far from Shayne Bannan's U23 group in Italy.

It frustrates me to see these two men pushed aside from time to time, for which there is no reason. Williams, has just won 2 bronze medals at the recent National Road Championships, while O'Neill is the only Australian rider I know of to have won 4 ITT National titles in his career - two of these were back to back as a junior.

Please give these guys some glory."