News for February 23
Boardman's Uneasy Knee
Chris Boardman (GB, GAN), whose first principal objective of the season is
Paris--Nice
next month, abandoned Monte Carlo--Alassio yesterday (Feb 21) with
knee pain. The problem may be caused by a changed position on a new
bike and Boardman is to have laser treatment. He is expected to ride
the one-day Tour du Haut-Var on Saturday.
De Las Cuevas Wagers on Casino
Former Banesto and Castorama rider Armand De Las Cuevas, whose name has
been linked with Lotto, Banesto, Collstrop, Aki and Agrigel-La Creuse,
is in negotiations with Casino--C'est votre equipe directeur-sportif
Vincent Lavenu. "We've been discussing things for a week," said Lavenu,
"but the final decision is down to the Casino [supermarket chain]
management. It is said De Las Cuevas would like a two-year contract.
Casagrande's Lucky Team Break
Yesterday's Monte Carlo--Alassio winner Filippo Casagrande, the
youngest of the the three Casagrande brothers in the "pro" peloton, was
lucky to be racing at all. A neo pro with Brescialat last season, he
was at the same time under contract to Bruno Leali and Flavio
Giupponi's Team 2000.
When Giupponi and Leali fell into disfavour with
the Brescialat boss, things looked bad for Casagrande. Casagrande was,
however, given a place in Giupponi's new team, Team 2000 San Marco, which is a
Division 1 team. But San Marco has not been yet allowed
affiliation with the Italian federation because money is still owed to
Brescialat riders. The federation has allowed Casagrande to cancel his
contract with San Marco and join Scrigno-Blue Storm, for whom he won
yesterday. Please change your team lists!...