News for May 15

EPO Blood Tests -- More News

Further to my earlier report on the offer by Team Polti to allow a new blood test for EPO to be tried out on it the Tour de Romandie, it appears that these tests weren't in fact carried out in this race, but will be begun with general application in the Dauphine Libere and the Giro d'Italia. The vice-president of the pro riders' body, the Association international des coureurs professionels, Mauro Battaglin, said: "It wasn't appropriate that the tests were carried out in Romandie, where inthe end there weren't that many riders. Why start at Romandie when Rominger, Jalabert, Indurain, Bugno and others were preparing elsewhere?" Battaglin went on to discount opposition to the tests among riders. "The riders are all agreeable to submit to these tests but they all want to be in the same boat. We have noticed that the Dauphine and the Giro bring together almost all the riders, so we've prepared to postpone the tests."

San Marco Group Expires

The Italian national cycling federation formally dissolved the San Marco Group cycling team last Saturday. The team has suffered continuing financial difficulties and riders have not received salaries since the begining of the season. The sponsorship money promised by a group of separate businesses has not been forthcoming. The team, a breakaway from Brescialat engineered by Bruno Leali and Flavio Giupponi consisting of 10 riders, later supplemented by six neo-pros, was sufficiently distinguished (with such riders as Podenzana, Lanfranchi, Missaglia and Vanderaerden) to have been ranked 19th in Division 1 at the beginning of the season. Its place in the Giro d'Italia, which starts Saturday, is being taken by Amore e Vita, with Riccardo Forconi as team leader.

US Postal Aspirations

The US Postal Service team will be bringing Greg Lemond with it for the Tour of Switzerland (June 11-20) in a PR role. The team's directeur-sportif, Eddy Borysewicz, says the sponsor is aiming to build for 1997 a team that is in the top 15 of the First Division and so can take part in the Tour de France. To this end several European riders, including three Frenchmen, have been approached.