News for June 27, 1997

Ronde van Luyksgestel, Women

Individual Time Trial:

 1. Van Moorsel (Rotterdam)   10 km in 14.21
 2. Mansveld (Gasselternijveen) 	0.14
 3. Troyckenz (Bel) 			0.32

Criterium:

 1. Van der Zee (Vleuten)   60 km in 1.29.14
 2. Beltman (Slagharen)
 3. Hillenga (Finsterwolde)

Virenque out of French National Road Race

Beveren, Belgium, Elite with Contract

1. G. Van Bondt (Bel) 175 km in 4.20
2. M. Cornelisse (Ned)
3. J. Den Braber (Ned)
4. J. Vanfrachem (Bel)
5. J. Hordijk (Ned)
6. E. De Wilde (Bel)
7. G. Omloop (Bel)

There were 43 starters and the race ended in a mass sprint.

Nelissen starts back

Frank's Form Guide for the Tour

1996:

05/06 - 05/12 Tour de Romandie: 1. Olano; 4. Rebellin;
6. Berzin; 21. Casagrande

05/18 - 06/09 Giro d'Italia: 1. Tonkov; 3. Olano; 
5. Gotti; 6. Rebellin; 10. Berzin; 31. Casagrande

05/21 - 05/26 Midi Libre: 1. Jalabert; 3. Virenque; 
4. Boardman; 5. Riis

05/22 - 05/26 Bicicleta Vasca: 1. Indurain; 2. Zulle;
4. Rominger; 6. Escartin; 7. Luttenberger 

06/02 - 06/09 Dauphine Libere: 1. Indurain; 
2. Rominger; 3. Virenque; 5. Boardman; 6. Escartin;
10. Dufaux; 12. Leblanc

06/11 - 06/20 Tour de Suisse: 1. Luttenberger; 
4. Berzin

06/13 - 06/20 Volta a Catalunya: 1. Zulle

1996 Tour de France: 1. Riis; 2. Ullrich; 3. Virenque;
4. Dufaux; 5. Luttenberger; 6. Leblanc; 7. Ugrumov; 
8. Escartin; 9. Olano; 10. Rominger; 11. Indurain; 
20. Berzin; 26. Zulle; 39. Boardman

1997:
05/06 - 05/11 Tour de Romandie: 1. Tonkov; 
2. Boardman; 7. Rebellin; 16. Gotti; 23. Dufaux; 
24. Virenque; 28. Rominger

05/17 - 06/08 Giro d'Italia: 1. Gotti; 2. Tonkov; 
20. Berzin (DNF: Leblanc & Pantani)

05/21 - 05/25 Bicicleta Vasca: 1. Olano; 2. Escartin;
5. Riis; 18. Ullrich

05/27 - 06/01 Midi Libre: 1. Elli; 20. Rebellin; 
32. Riis  

06/08 - 06/15 Dauphine Libere: 1. Bolts; 2. Olano; 
12. Rebellin; 17. Virenque

06/17 - 06/26 Tour de Suisse (One stage to go): 
1. Agnolutto; 3. Ullrich; 14. Casagrande (DNF: Zulle &
Riis)

06/19 - 06/26 Volta a Catalunya (One stage to go):
1. Escartin; 5. Tonkov; 13. Boardman

I will start with my take on each cyclist and the order that I will use is their placing at last year's Tour, which doesn't mean that this is my predicted order for the Tour '97. Any other cyclists will be discussed after that.

1. Bjarne Riis: In '96 he won the Tour as he had predicted that he would and placed 5th at the Midi Libre. This year he won the Amstel Gold on April in a very dominating manner and some minor races in Denmark. He placed 5th at the Bici Vasca, 32nd at the Midi Libre and didn't finish the Tour de Suisse, because of the flu. Is Riis bluffing? I feel that maybe he hit form too early on back on April when he won at the Amstel, but he said back then that he wasn't at peak. He should finish in the podium.

2. Jan Ullrich: In '96 Ullrich was pretty much invisible before the Tour, my memory fails me but he might have won a stage at the Tour de Suisse last year. This year he has placed 18th at Bici Vasca and 3rd at the Tour de Suisse. He has shown at the Tour de Suisse that he's time trialing and climbing fairly well. He doesn't seem to have peaked yet, which would be an asset for the Tour. My take on him is that he could finish in the podium if some of the other favorites fail and if he's lucky. I think that he may still lack the experience, although not the fitness.

3. Richard Virenque: In '96 Virenque finished 3rd in both the Midi Libre and the Dauphine Libere a year of thirds for him. In '97 he has been almost invisible. He won some early races in March/April and since then has placed 24th at Romandie, 17th at the Dauphine and that's about it. Unless he has undertaken a different type of preparation for this year's Tour, I think that Virenque is struggling to find form. He has been consistent at the Tour in the last few years, so with some effort maybe he will break Top 10. And win another Pyrenees stage.

4. Laurent Dufaux: Dufaux was quiet in '96 and in this year he was 23rd at Romandie. Maybe a top 25 position for him.

5. Luttenberger: In '96 Luttenberger obviously came out of the Tour de Suisse with excellent form after his overall win he also placed 7th at Bici Vasca. This year he has been invisible, I don't expect anything fantastic out of him.

6. Luc Leblanc: In '96 Lucho placed 12th at the Dauphine and won a stage at the Tour. In '97 Lucho won in late April the Giro del Trentino and rode great at the Giro d'Italia where until his crash on the time trial he had held on to 2nd place overall. He might have already peaked and might be good for one of his exciting stage wins.

7. Ugrumov: Piotr has been injured and I'm not certain if he will even ride the Tour.

8. Escartin: In '96 Fernando was 6th at the Dauphine and Bici Vasca and was the highest placed Spaniard at the Tour. This year he is obviously in form, with a 2nd at Bici Vasca and (almost assured) 1st at Catalunya. Fernando can't time trial, so it is doubtful that he will break into the podium, but I think that he will better last year's 8th place at the Tour. Top 5.

9. Olano: Abe has been steadily growing up as a rider. The ex-World Champion in '96 was 3rd at the Giro, 1st at Romandie and rode support for Rominger after the Giro. This year, he's Banesto's team leader, big shoes to fill and although he is his own man, he's not made of ice, so the pressure is bigger. In '97 he skipped the Giro to concentrate on the Tour. Won Bici Vasca, 2nd at the Dauphine (which I believe he lost because of a crash). He can certainly time trial and he can finish a Major Tour as he has shown with his placings at the Giro and Vuelta. He can climb when in form, he won the World Championship at Duitama at a heck of a mountain course after his 2nd at La Vuelta. He's shown that he's in form and has lost a lot of weight. If he can climb with the best, he could take the Tour. He's my favorite for the Yellow Jersey.

10. Rominger: In '96 Tony was pretty quiet an focused on the Tour, 4th at Bici Vasca, 2nd at Dauphine and we all know what happened. He seems to have a mental block when it comes to the Big One. This is his last year as a Pro and it has been quiet, concentrating mostly on the Hour Record attempt. He finished 28th at Romandie and that's about it. He says that he won't dispute the overall at the Tour, that he's going for a stage win. Is he bluffing? He has shown no form. He's my emotional favorite, just because he's my favorite rider, a very classy one and he hasn't won one yet. I would be thrilled by a podium by him, but it won't happen. Maybe he'll win a stage, maybe he'll finish the Tour.

11. Indurain: Miguelon will be missed! It's interesting that in '96 he won the Dauphine and Bici Vasca and then came in 11th at the Tour.

20. Berzin: Eugeni has been living under the shadow of his Giro win all these years. He can certainly time trial, but can he climb? In '96 he finished the Giro in 10th, 6th at Romandie, 4th at Switzerland, but couldn't climb. In '97 he prepared for the Giro by winning a couple of Portuguese stage races and finished the Giro in 20th, he couldn't climb. He may break the top 25 and maybe win a time trial, although even that is doubtful with Riis, Ullrich, Boardman and Olano as competition.

26. Zulle: Alex was my favorite to win this year, until he crashed and broke his clavicle. ONCE is saying that they are 99% certain that he will start the Tour, but can he finish it? I don't think so in this conditions. It's a shame because I though that this would be his turn. In '96 he was 2nd at Bici Vasca, won Catalunya, La Vuelta a Espaqa and the time trial World Championships. In '97 he won a few early Spanish Stage races and was showing form at Switzerland until he fell.

39. Boardman: Please don't get me wrong, I like Chris, but not his chances. In '96 he was 4th at Midi Libre, 5th at the Dauphine but he couldn't climb, although he did finish he first Tour de France. This year he has done good with 2nd at Romandie and holding the leader's jersey (now 13th) at Catalunya until the penultimate tough mountain stage. Chris is climbing better, but he still can't stay with the best climbers. Chris will probably win the Prologue, again and maybe another ITT at the Tour and he should break into the top 20.

Who else? (In no particular order)

A. Tonkov: Pavel is not riding the Tour, I believe that he will ride La Vuelta. Even not winning the Giro he's year has been more than decent with a 2nd and three stages at the Giro and a win at Romandie. He's presently 5th at Catalunya.

B. Gotti: Ivan will ride the Tour, probably more to please the sponsor and to help Casagrande than anything else. I don't think that he will finish the Tour.

C. Rebellin: I like Davide, I just don't think that he's aggressive enough. In '96 he finished 6th at the Giro and held the Maglia Rosa for about a week. 4th at Romandie. This year he didn't ride the Giro and is focusing on the Tour, since he's in a French team. He placed 7th in Romandie, 20th at Midi Libre and 12th at the Dauphine. Davide is good for a Top 10 finish, he's consistent, but lacks aggressiveness to win stages. He could get the Yellow jersey and hold it for a few days.

D. Casagrande: My namesake Francesco is a solid rider with several stage race wins in the last 3 years. This is the first year that he's concentrating in the Tour. He can time trial and he can climb when in form. What he seems to be lacking is the extra umphh to finish strongly on a Major Stage Race (3 weeks). That might be the reason why his results have been more sedate this year with 14th at Switzerland. If he could beat the 3 week curse he could place on the podium, but I doubt it. He should break the top 25 and win a stage if he's aggressive. He always places well in stage races and Classics but seems to lack that last bit of effort.

E. Pantani: Marco has had it rough, another person would have quit already, he sure is a fighter. I don't think that Pantani will do anything major at the Tour, maybe a good placing in a mountain stage. I hope I'm wrong though.

F. Jalabert: How can I forget Jaja, he's number 1? I leave the best for last. There was a 'weird' interview with him where he pretty much said that he may never win the Tour. It is weird because when he's in form we all know what he can do. Is he bluffing a la Musseuw? He could be the Jack in the Box, specially if Zulle falters, I believe that Jaja can win the Tour.