News for June 17, 1997

EDS Track Cup - Sunday Morning Session

Olympic Sprint, Qualifying

Top two teams ride for first and second; next two teams ride for third and
fourth.

1. Mrs. Ts-Lexus (John Bairos, Redlands, Calif.; Sky Christopherson, Tucson,
Ariz.; Brian Sitcer, Fontana, Calif.), one minute, 5.406 secs (EDS Track Cup
record); 2. Team EDS (Chris Carlson, Dallas, Texas; Trey Gannon, Plano,
Texas; Mark Garrett, Los Angeles, Calif., 1:06.112; 3. Team Big (Stephen
Alfred, Soquel, Calif.; Scott Card, Morgan Hill, Calif.; Michael Phillips,
Port of Spain, Trinidad), 1:06.906; 4. Cox Atlanta Velo (Garth Blackburn,
Houston, Texas; Tommy Mulkey, Griffin, Ga.; Chad Rodekohr, Atlanta, Ga.,
1:07.281; 5. East Coast Trouble (Eric Swaidner, Palo Alto, Calif., Anthony
Van Dunk, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Kirk Whiteman, Brooklyn, N.Y.), 1:08.654; 6.
Tri-State 1 (Brian DeRouen, Lafayette, Calif.; Neil Fronheiser, Barto, Pa.;
Jon Nisbet, Chesapeake, Va.), 1:09.432; 7. Marion Bicycle Club (George Geier,
Marion, Ind.; Peter Selby, Jonesboro, Ind.; Ryan Zook, Swayzee, Ind.),
1:09.483; 8. Tri-State 2 (Jack Diemar, Lafayette, Calif.; Aaron Hubbell,
Indianapolis, Ind.; Kyle Wamsley, Chadds Ford, Pa.), 1:09.581.

Womens 3km Individual Pursuit, Qualifying

Top two riders ride for first and second; next two riders ride for third and
fourth.

1. Rebecca Twigg (Team EDS), Colorado Springs, Colo., three minutes, 55.055
secs (EDS Track Cup record); 2. Marisa Vande Velde (Blazing Bicycle Club),
Colorado Springs, Colo., 3:56.237; 3. Jen Evans (Team EDS), Austin, Texas,
3:58.314; 4. Ryan Kelly (Freewheel), Colorado Springs, Colo., 4:07.588; 5.
Karen Dunne (Chippers), Colorado Springs, Colo., 4:08.224; 6. Megan Troxell
(Indianapolis Womens Hospital), Indianapolis, Ind., 4:08.309; 7. Linda Kruse
(Team EDS), Irving, Texas, 4:10.614; 8. Katie Krall (Bank United), Colorado
Springs, Colo., 4:18.235.

Keirin -- Second Round Qualifiers

Mark Garrett (Team EDS), Los Angeles, Calif.; Ryan Watson (UCLA), Los
Angeles, Calif.; Trey Gannon (Team EDS), Plano, Texas; Garth Blackburn (Cox
Atlanta Velo), Houston, Texas; Danny Reid (Mrs. Ts-Lexus), Redlands, Calif.;
John Bairos (Mrs. Ts-Lexus), Redlands, Calif.; Aaron Hubbell (BGI),
Indianapolis, Ind.; Stephen Alfred (Cycle Craft), Soquel, Calif.; Peter Selby
(Marion Bicycle Club), Jonesboro, Ind.; Zac Copeland (San Diego Velodrome),
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Michael Phillips (Trinidad and Tobago), Port of
Spain, Trinidad; Eric Swaidner (n.a.), Palo Alto, Calif.; Jon Nisbet (Tri
State Velo), Chesapeake, Va.; Chris Carlson (Team EDS), Dallas, Texas.

And for something a bit different....

A typical manoeuvre for a bicycle courier might be to zip along the inside of a taxi before jumping across the path of a charging truck, then disappearing down a one-way street against oncoming traffic.

Cocky and aggressive, or a colourful adornment to street life? Why do these young people put their lives on the line to deliver our documents and packages?

For many cycle couriers the messenger's life means freedom from the grind of office life and the right to live their lives the way they want to. It also means frequent brushes with angry motorists and occasionally with the ``Grim Reaper''.

``When I'm riding along and the sun is out, I feel good. It's the best feeling in the world,'' said Dutch bike messenger Tijn, competing in the recent European Cycle Messengers championship, which drew 500 cycle couriers to Amsterdam.

``All the people in their cars and the secretaries we're delivering packages to, they're really bored and you feel really sorry for them because they have to be inside all the time. We deliver our packages and we're out of there, doing what we really love -- riding,'' he adds, running a hand through his shock of bright purple hair.

Amsterdam was a fitting venue for the championship.

The bicycle is king in the Netherlands, where 15 million bikes -- one per head of the population -- ply the country's streets and extensive network of cycle lanes.

The Dutch virtually grow up on their bikes, perching on child seats in their infancy and throwing away their stabilisers almost as soon as they can walk, in a culture hooked on the convenience of cycling in a flat country.

Government statistics show the Dutch clock up almost 1,000 km (620 miles) each year on their bikes, with millions of people every day shunning the car and public transport to take part in a favourite Dutch pastime -- saving money.

Bike couriers may not be part of polite Dutch cycling society, yet, but they have found their own niche.

Couriers tend to smile inwardly when sniffed at in elevators by the suit-wearing classes, revelling in their own lycra-tinged chic and relishing their brand of rebel glamour with no boss to frown on an orange goatee beard, windswept dreadlocks or wrap-around sunglasses.

``They can look the way they want to look and it's OK, they can still pay the rent,'' said Kyle Shepherd of San Francisco, another competitor, looking up as a group of green-haired couriers from Copenhagen cheered on a colleague.

The championship, held in docklands close to Amsterdam's Central Station, brought together couriers from around the world in a show of sprints, package deliveries and stunt riding.

Riders themselves say the competition, won by road race licence holder Lars Urban of Germany, was not as important as the companionship and culture of couriering.

``Why do people jump out of planes, or go snowboarding? It's particularly high risk but there's a lot more involved than just the risk or thrill -- it allows people to be very indidualistic but be bound by a community,'' said David Fenton, spokesman for the Timbukt2 courier bag firm sponsoring the event.

``It's quite an ordeal to work as a courier and earn very little money, eight or 10 hours a day working in London, or San Francisco or Berlin, but you also eventually get this membership in a very select group.

``It's a community of very, very individualistic people.''

Cycling along with the sun on your back and the asphalt singing under your tyres with the freedom to wave hello to your cycle courier friends are all mentioned by messengers as the joys of the job. But what about the danger?

``Is it frightening? Yes, of course it is.'' says Tijn, musing over an incident five weeks earlier when he ran head on into a police tow truck.

``There are moments when you have to pull over, have a coffee or a cigarette and get it back together again. There are times when you get close to death and it shakes you up, but you always have the feeling that you're going to be OK.

``When you're bike couriering you're in control of everything. It's your fate you've got in your hands. It depends on your bike skills. Concentration, guts -- that's what counts.''

Road racer Urban of Germany takes a slightly different view of the risk-to-reward ratio.

``For me being a courier is paid training, because I'm still racing. The company I work for has around 40 guys and a lot of them are my friends so it's a very close community,'' he says, spelling out why he plies the streets.

Urban says the most valuable asset for a courier is being cool under pressure and having strong nerves, rather than being gung-ho about danger.

``Car drivers and cyclists make mistakes. It's a question of how you use your eyes and anticipate danger,'' he says, adding that he has never had an accident in his five-year messengering career.

A recent father, Urban sees a time soon when he will hang up his courier bag, although he says he is never going to stop cycling for fun.

``For me it's a question of health. At the level I ride I have warning signals from my body and I have to listen to those. I want to get to 80 and be in quite good condition, if I go on cycling like this it won't be possible,'' he says.

Tijn doesn't see it that way. ``I love to ride, I love to ride through town, I love the tension and adrenaline.

``I'm 21. I plan to be doing this when I'm 31. In America there are bike messengers of around 55, 60. They don't go as fast as we do but they ride around town all day and they have a good time.''

Omloop Wijdenes

1 Van der Tang
2 Slippens
3 Bruin

Omloop der Groene Gemeenten

1 Veen
2 Van Velzen
3 Van der Reep

Omloop van de Margraten

1 Akkermans
2 Coolen
3 Gijsbertse

Omloop van Borsele

1 Vereeken
2 Peemen
3 Keller

Criterium Hattum

1 Alma
2 Hoffmann
3 Van der Vosse

Criterium Sloten

1 Terschuren
2 Oudshoorn
3 De Boer

Criterium Weerdingen

1 Tettelaar
2 Van Egmond
3 Freije

Criterium Vreeland

1 Van Rooyen
2 Beuker
3 Pont

Criterium Kapelle

1 Van Straten
2 Loos
3 Jansen

Criterium Twijzelerheide

1 Teuben
2 Terschuren
3 Mos

Criterium Oldemarkt

1 Aalderts
2 Boogaard
3 Dijkstra

Criterium Brakel

1 Ammerlaan
2 Kuiper
3 Van der Hoeven

Criterium Badhoevedorp

1 Van der Reep
2 Rasch
3 Vroom

Criterium Enschede

1 Schootman
2 Wolsink
3 Cent

Criterium Haarlem

1 Suurendonk
2 Zwart
3 Van der Meulen

Criterium Riethoven

1 Van Grotel
2 Regeling
3 Van Brussel

13th Mediterranean Games

Final Men's Individual time trial, 43.7 kilometers (27 miles)

1, Fabio Malberti, Italy, 53 minutes, 10 seconds. 2, Martial Locatelli, France, 39 seconds behind. 3, Maurizio Semprini, Italy, 50 seconds behind.

Samaranch lashes out at those who don't fight doping

In a rare plea for help in monitoring world-class athletes, IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch said too many officials ignore the issue.

``There are two different worlds. The one that is fighting doping and the one that is not fighting doping. Some sports organizations do a lot, some do very little, and some do nothing,'' he said.

``That is unacceptable. We can't allow doping in sports.''

Samaranch spoke at a press conference in the southern Italian port city of Bari, where he is attending the 13th Mediterranean Games.

``We began the fight against doping completely alone at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Some governments are helping, others aren't,'' he added.

The Olympic chief declined to cite specific sports or nations that are negligent.

He noted that ``track and field, swimming and maybe also cycling are better than many others.'' Those three sports tend to be most criticized for lax controls of top athletes.

Primo Nebiolo, president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation and was also at the press conference, echoed Samaranch's sentiments. The head of track and field's world governing body called anti-doping efforts ``a difficult challenge that must be faced together.''

But he criticized the IOC for not properly leading the way.

``The IOC says it wants to fight doping but takes action only every few years, when there are Olympics,'' Nebiolo told The Associated Press.

According to Nebiolo, the heads of some international sports federations met ahead of the Atlanta Olympics and decided to ban from those Games any sport that failed to meet certain doping control standards.

``By those standards, there were three sports that the IOC should have been banned from the Games, but it didn't happen. I can't tell you which sports, though,'' Nebiolo said.

His federation has found its hands tied by laws in some countries which don't allow the IAAF to impose four-year bans on athletes caught using performance-enhancing drugs.

In March, the IAAF Council voted to accept two-year penalties where longer ones aren't applicable, creating a situation whereby the length of a ban depends on an athlete's nationality.

Oss. Mountainbike, Benelux Cup

Men:

 1. Brentjens (Ned) 66 km in 2.33.35
 2. Djernis (Den) 2.58
 3. Henk Dekker (Ned) 4.09
 4. Heylen (Bel) 4.41
 5. Van Dooren (Ned) 7.45
 6. Krieckemans (Bel) 8.27.

Women:

 1. Ravensteijn (Ned) 33 km in 1.16.25
 2. Vink (Ned)
 3. Van Wersch (Ned)
 4. Dorland (Ned)
 5. Coppoolse (Ned)
 6. Nachbar (Ned)

Hoogeveen. Ronde van Drenthe. Top Competition

 1 Theus (Bergeijk) 200 km in 4.41.10
 2. Van der Steen (Amersfoort)
 3. De Koning (Zwartewaal)
 4. Zanoli (Amsterdam)
 5. Legtenberg (Markelo)
 6. Michailov (Rus)
 7. Zuijderwijk (Poeldijk)
 8. Van Elphen (Rucphen)
 9. Verdonck (Bel)
10. De Groot (Zevenhoven)

Omloop van Margraten, Club Competition Elite/Neo-amateurs

 1. Akkermans (Maastricht) 155 km in 3.48.25
 2. Coolen (Tilburg)
 3. Gijsbertse (Oss)
 4. Van Hest (Tilburg)
 5. Lucassen (Heerlen) 			0.21
 6. Lotz (Stein)
 7. Van Passel (Goes) 			0.24
 8. Van der Wal (Valkenburg) 		0.46
 9. Fontaine (Westdorpe)
10. Strijbosch (Breda)

Zoeterwoude, Waterschapsronde, Club Competition Elite/Neo-amateurs

 1. Van Schalen (Delft)    160 km in 3.47.58
 2. Eykelenboom (Zevenhuizen) 		0.10
 3. Stenger (Berkel)
 4. Lagerwey (Woubrugge)
 5. Casteyn (Meerkerk)
 6. Duinmeijer (Den Haag)
 7. Van de Berg (Nijkerk)
 8. Gieskens (Voorburg)
 9. Bos (Rotterdam)
10. Mouris (Nes a/d Amstel).

Vlijmen. Omloop van de Groene Gemeenten

 1. Veen (Houten) 160 km in 3.40.48
 2. Van Velzen (St. Maartensdijk)
 3. Van der Reep (Hillegom)
 4. Smeenk (Hoogland)
 5. Jonker (Oldebroek)
 6. Schilperoort (Dordrecht)

Oosterleek

 1. Van der Tang (Voorhout) 105 km in 2.25.10
 2. Slippens (Opmeer)
 3. Bruin (Waarland)

's-Heerenhoek

 1. Fransen (Kwadendamme) 100 km in 2.17.20
 2. Akkermans (Woensdrecht)
 3. Van Vlimmeren (Hoeven)

Hilvarenbeek, Women

 1. Dauwe (Bel) 70 km in 1.41.10
 2. Van der Giessen (Hoogblokland)
 3. Kramp (Klaaswaal)

Swiss Rider Dies