Interview with Abraham OlanoWith the 160 kilometers of the second stage of la Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia, which finished yesterday in Totana, Abraham Olano now has six days of competition in his legs, "seven if I count the Six Hours of Euskadi, which you are not counting". The Banesto riders is calmer than last year at this time. And he's calm not only at a personal level, but also in terms of kilometers: "Physically, I'm fine. I'm calm. This week before Murcia, I have done more quality training, but not too much. Mountain climbs? I'm doing some climbing, but no great climbs. That's why the Collado Bermejo seemed so long for me". Olano knew that he would loose many minutes on that ascent, which he climbed at the tempo that he can do it at now.He admits to the amount of kilometers on his legs, "some 6,000, which are a lot less than what I had done at this date last year. According to my calculations, close to 5,000 less. My idea for this Vuelta a Murcia is to continue to cover kilometers, while riding the racing calendar". We asked him if this calm starty of the season, to bet everything in a race like the Tour is not a lot of risk: "For me there are no risks, I have simply changed my plans. I know how it feels to reach a race with a lot of days of competition and now I want to try what other riders have done". Last year, he reached the Tour with close to 70 days of competition, after a pretty tough start of the season: "The plans then were other and things developed in a different way". He wants to start being competitive in the beginning of May, but doesn't seem obssesed with getting wins before the Tour de France. I will run my own tests and if I can win, I will, but that is not fundamental". At the Vuelta a Murcia he sees Team Kelme going very well. "Pantani also seems to be going well. I haven't coincided with too many riders, I have ridden little, but there are riders and teams that have begun the season strongly. That is normal, everyone sets their own objectives". He's not even thinking about Sunday's ITT, where he will try his new bike. "This is not the time to dispute anything yet". UCI Points to 3/3/971. Zabel, Erik GER TEL 359.00 2. Museeuw, Johan BEL MAP 200.00 3. Massi, Rodolfo ITA CSO 184.00 4. Van Petegem, Peter BEL TVM 180.00 5. Magnien, Emmanuel FRA FES 168.00 6. Jalabert, Laurent FRA ONC 138.00 7. Steels, Tom BEL MAP 134.00 8. Bartoli, Michele ITA MAG 130.00 9. Virenque, Richard FRA FES 116.00 10. Halgand, Patrice FRA FES 115.00 11. Svorada, Jan CZE MAP 102.00 12. Dominguez, Juan Carlos SPAKEL 100.00 13. Casagrande, Francesco ITA SAE 95.00 14. De las Cuevas, Armand FRA BAN 94.00 15. Boscardin, Bruno SCH FES 93.00 16. Strazzer, Massimo ITA ROS 90.00 17. Conte, Biagio ITA SCR 88.00 18. Scinto, Luca ITA MAG 85.00 19. Frattini, Francesco ITA BAT 84.00 20. Etxebarria, David SPA ONC 83.00 UCI Blood TestsStarting Sunday in Paris, the Uci will start to draw blood from riders as a precaution before the start. The Safety and Behavior Commission presided by Schrattenberg, who also has Italians Massimo Testa and Crespi Alvaro taking part, has defined the way the intervention will occur. It will be by collecting a small sample (2-3 milliliters) from a vein, to take place early in the morning, before breakfast, to about 20 riders per stage. Whoever comes out with an ematocrit count of more than 50 will have to stop racing for two weeks and will have to get an authorization from the University Institute of Legal Medicine of Lausanne, before being allowed to resume racing. The names of the examined riders and the result of the examinations will be made public.NelissenBelgian Wilfried Nelissen who was seriously hurt in the course of 1996 Ghent-Wevelgem (fracture of tibia and femur) still doesn't know when he will be back to competition. The fractured knee is swollen again and Nelissen has already had to delay his re- entering competiton for April.PantaniMarco Pantani will ride at Milano-Sanremo. Mercatone Uno, Aki-Safi and Brescialat are the three teams invited by the race organization, which will join the other 22 which are determined from the UCI World Team Rankings. The official fax arrived yesterday to Mercatone Uno. Riding with Pantani will be Beat Zberg, Della Santa, Traversoni, Siboni, Bottaro, Borgheresi and Artunghi. Massimo Podenzana will be first reserve. |