News and Reports for October 7

Time to Mark Your Calendars

As is the custom, the UCI has been deliberating during the World
Championships, one of the items on the agenda being the international
calendar. Despite French hopes that the GP Ouest-France at Plouay would be
included among the alternate World Cup events this has been rejected,
because it was felt that a third French race in the series would unbalance
it. The alternates are for the moment the Japan Cup (being run off this
year) and the Frankfurt GP which will be in the series next year.

With the combining of the professional and amateur categories, now
transformed into age categories: the elite and the "hopefuls" or "hopes"
(les espoirs) what was formerly the pro calendar has been greatly expanded.
Many races formerly reserved for amateurs will join it, for example, the
Ruban Granitier, the Circuit des Mines (already open this year),
Paris-Troyes, Bordeaux-Saintes and Paris-Barentin ... and less notable
events like the circuit of the Port of Dunkirk and the Ronde du Chasselas.
Subject to final UCI approval, the following are the dates of the major
events on the calendar for 1996.

February
  6		      GP d'Ouverture
  7-11    	Etoile de Besseges
  14-18	   Tour Mediterraneen
  24	     	Tour du Haut-Var

March
  2	      	Het Volk
  10-17	   Paris--Nice
  13-20	   Tirreno--Adriatico
  23	     	Milan--San Remo (World Cup race)
  30-31   	Criterium International

April
  7	  	    Tour of Flanders (WC race)
  8-12	    Tour of the Basque Country
  10		     Gent--Wevelgem
  14		     Paris--Roubaix (WC)
  17 	    	Fleche Wallonne
  21	     	Liege--Bastogne--Liege
  27	     	Amstel Gold (WC)

May
  6-12	    Tour of Romandy
  7-12	    Four Days of Dunkirk
  18-7/9	 	TOUR OF ITALY (Giro)
  21-26   	Midi Libre

June
  1	  	    Classique des Alpes
  2-9	    	Criterium du Dauphine Libere
  11-20	   Tour of Switzerland
  13-20	   Tour of Catalonia
  23	     	National Championships
  29-7/21 	TOUR DE FRANCE (TIOOYK)
  31	  	   Olympic road race

August
  3		      Olympic time trial
  10	     	San Sebastian Classic (WC)
  18		     Leeds International Classic (WC)
  25	     	Championship of Zurich (WC)

September
  1	   	   GP Ouest-France at Plouay
  3-14	    Tour de l'Avenir
  7-29	 	  TOUR OF SPAIN (Vuelta)

October
  3	      	Worlds time trial (Switzerland)
  6	 	     Worlds road race (Switzerland)
  13		     Paris--Tours (WC)
  19		     Tour of Lombardy (WC)
  27		     Japan Cup (WC)

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New Selection Process for Worlds Road Race

With next year's cycling system running on the basis of "elite" and
"espoirs" (see above) the UCI has devised a new system of selection for the
1996 and subsequent World Championships road races. The old pro/amateur
system will be replaced with a race for the elite and a race for espoirs,
who may be no older than 23 years. The system for the elite race rests on
national classifications of the 10 best riders in each nation according to
their UCI ranking. The 10 top-ranked nations on this basis will be entitled
to enter 12 riders in the elite race and the five next-ranked nations eight
riders only. The rest of a maximum field of 200 riders will be filled with
riders according to their individual UCI rankings.

A simulation of the present situation gives the following result: 12 riders
-- Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, Russia, Belgium, Germany,
Netherlands, Denmark, US; eight riders -- Ukraine, Colombia, Great Britain,
Australia, Poland. The 40 places left over would be filled by individuals
of the calibre of Abdujaparov (Uzbekistan).

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Thierry Gouvenou

Thierry Gouvenou, one of the riders not re-signed by GAN, is to join
Aubervilliers 93-Peugeot.

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Eric Boyer Retires

Eric Boyer, 31, the French Polti rider has decided to retire. A pro since
1985, successively for Renault, Systeme U, Z, GAN and Polti Boyer finsihed
fifth in the 1988 Tour de France, and won three stages and wore the maglia
rosa in the 1991 Giro d'Italia.

The Ironman

   * (Hawaii, 5 Oct 95) The 1995 Ironman Triathlon World Championship, a
140.6-mile race -- a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a
26.2-mile run -- will be contested tomorrow (Saturday). Contestants have 17
hours to finish the race. Male and female winners each will receive
$25,000.