- In one off his last races in Holland (Rond om Schokland), Australian rider Baden Burke crashed and broke his collarbone. He has promised he will be back next year to ride for the club team of de Peddelaars Hoogeveen.
The Italian Cycling Federation said it had revoked his racing licence for 30 days.
It was the second time that the 34-year-old rider had registered an excessive red blood cell count since the International Cycling Union (UCI) introduced the tests this year to "safeguard cyclists' health".
Chiappucci was excluded from the Tour of Romandie in May and, because he had to wait 15 days before a clearance test could be performed, also missed the Tour of Italy.
The Italian was first tested by the Italian Cycling Federation at the world championships on Thursday and again today.
From two tests on each day, eight analyses were made and all were over the 50 per cent limit imposed by the Federation.
"As a Federation we have to look after the health of our riders," said Giancarlo Cerutti, president of the Federation. Chiappucci was told of the results after returning from the junior road race championship where he had congratulated winning compatriot Crescenzo d'Amore.
The UCI limit is 51 per cent and earlier in the year 10 riders were excluded from competition along with Chiappucci. The last exclusions were in May after four riders, three from the same team, were tested on the Tour of Italy.
Andrea Ferrigato was named as Chiappucci's replacement in the Italian team for Sunday's race.
Derny 1a:
1. Jimmy Madsen (Den - Jens Weggerby (Den)
2. Phillipe Ermenault (Fra) - Lorenzo Lapage (Bel)
3. Danny Clark (Aus) - John Jaime González (Col)
Derny 2:
1. Silvio Martinello (Ita) - Marco Villa (Ita)
2. Etienne de Wilde (Bel) - Mathew Gilmore (Aus)
3. Juan Llaneras (Spa) - Miguel Alzamora (Spa)
500 metre
1. Silvio Martinello (Ita) - Marco Villa (Ita)
2. Juan Curuchet (Arg) - Gabriel Curuchet (Arg)
3. Danny Clark (Australia) - John González (Col)
Keirin final
1. Urs Freuler (Swi) - José J. Velásquez (Col)
2. Ettiene de Wilde (Bel) - Mathew Gilmore (Bel)
3. Danny Clark (Australia) - John González (Col)
American Points
1. Carsten Wolf (Ger) - Gerard Dorich (Ger)
2. Juan Llaneras (Spa) - Miguel Alzamora (Spa)
3. Philippe Ermenault (Fra) - Lorenzo Lapage (Fra)
Elimination for Points
1. Juan Llaneras (Spa) - Miguel Alzamora (Spa)
2. Danny Clark (Australia) - John González (Col)
3. Urs Freuler (Swi) - José J. Velásquez (Col)
Elimination
1. John Ramírez (Col) - Carlos Silva (Col)
2. Giovanni López (Col) - John Fredy García (Col)
3. Alexander Fedenko (Ucr) - Víctor Herrera (Col)
Current GC after Night 3:
1. Juan Curuchet (Arg) - Gabriel Curuchet (Arg) 116 points
2. Silvio Martinello (Ita) - Marco Villa (Ita) 129 (-1 laps)
3. Juan Llaneras (Spa) - Miguel Alzamora (Ita) 95 (-1)
4. Urs Freuler (Swi) - José J. Velásquez (Col) 138 (-2)
5. Carsten Wolf (Ger) - Gerard Dorich (Ger) 95 (-2)
The Worlds locations until the year 2000 have been decided already: Valkemburgh (Holland), 1999 Verona (Italy) and 2000 Plouy Lorient (France).
This report was before we had the news about Chiappucci.
But 24 hours later she was punished for having worn the name of a company who make vegetarian products as she went to the podium to receive her 'rainbow' jersey as a world champion. It is believed a small sticker, just a few centimetres square and bearing her sponsor's name, covered the logo of the Italian company who supply the official jerseys to the world championships.
In a communique issued on Thursday, the Union Cycliste International (UCI) stated: ``She has worn advertising matter of her personal sponsor during the medal ceremony. The world champion's jersey awarded at that ceremony may carry no advertising matter other than that determined by the UCI. ``A world champion can have advertising material on their champion's jersey 48 hours after the official ceremony and until the eve of the next world championships.'' A year ago, Belgian Johan Museeuw, who defends his world road race title on Sunday, was fined 20,000 Swiss francs ($13,800) after receiving his gold medal in Lugano. As he stepped from the podium he had put on a racing cap advertising his Italian sponsor.
Jalabert, ranked world number one in road racing, was recruited for the 42.6 kms championship by team manager Charly Mottet ``because there was no one else.'' With his first world gold around his neck, Jalabert said: ``It was an incredible surprise. I had nothing to lose so I just gave everything I could. ``I was very relaxed and I had a feeling that I could make it to the podium.
``Charly asked me during the Tour of Spain if I would contest the world time trial because he had no other candidates. I am not a time-trial specialist but I was in good shape after the Spanish tour.'' Zuelle, his team mate in the ONCE squad, won that Tour and was seeking to repeat his Tour of Spain and world time trial title double of last year. His title defense ran into trouble after 200 metres when he had a front-wheel puncture and had to change wheels.
A second puncture before the 19th kilometre time check pushed him down to ninth slowest at that point. ``I wasted too much energy trying to recoup time from the first stoppage and then in the final kilometres my legs gave out. It was probably the worst day of my career.'' Gontchar, a second-year professional, was fastest of the 47 riders through three timed points but lost ground to Jalabert in the final kilometres.
Jalabert was only one second slower after almost 37 kilometres and Gontchar was destined for the silver medal after a season in which he built a time-trialling reputation in the Tours of Italy and Spain. He won the Cavalese time trial in the Italian tour, beating Russian Yevgeny Berzin by more than a minute with a 50 kph ride. He finished fifth overall.
In the Spanish tour the Ukrainian was second in the Cordoba time test to Spain's Melchor Mauri and lost to Zuelle by 31 seconds in the final time trial at Alcobendas. Boardman's bronze completed a world time trial set. Last year he was silver medallist behind Zuelle in Lugano and in 1993 took the title in Sicily.
His last four months have been plagued by injury. He displaced two vertebrae in July's Tour de France and the following month in the British round of the World Cup he badly bruised the base of his spine in another fall. Then two weeks before Wednesday's championship he cracked a rib against a wooden rail while making a bed at his home.
The achilles tendon problem forced Gates to miss part of his overseas campaign this year, but the former Taree rider, who now lives on the Gold Coast, said he was confident of being in top form for the classic which starts in Sydney on October 18.
"I've stayed away from dealings with the team to try to focus on getting my achilles right," Gates said.
Gates said he hoped to be firing by the time the race started. But he said even if he was unable to achieve his aim of back to back classic wins there were other riders in the Giant team who were capable of victory.
Gates had a strong start to the season, but after racing in the Tour of Langkawi where he got the flu, problems with his ankle started while racing in Europe and Canada.
"I have taken the second part of the season a lot easier and have been training well on the Gold Coast," Gates said.
Joining Gates on the AIS team are sprint sensation Jay Sweet, Matt White, Marcel Gono and Peter Rogers.
White was confident the team could reproduce their dominance of last year when they snatched the lead away from German Sven Teutenberg on a steep climb near Nowra.
"You can never really plan what's going to happen in a road race," White said. "But I reckon we'll be a part of every break which goes up the road.
"And the way Jay is sprinting now, we'll be winning a few more criteriums."
The Classic starts at Hurstville in Sydney on October 18 and covers the coastal areas north and south of Sydney before heading inland through Goulburn to finish in Canberra 1100kms and nine days later on October 26.
Teutenberg won't be in the German team for the classic this year, but its five members, Thomas Liese, Mike Weissman, Stefan Gottschling, Joern Reuss and Jens Zemke have raced the classic before.
Until last year the Germans had enjoyed five classic wins in six years, including victory by Jan Ullrich, who went on to win this year's Tour de France - in 1993.
Dutch team manager Bob Rasenberg, who raced the classic ten times before hanging up his bike, is confident his team will make a serious challenge this year for the first time since Ed Schurer's victory in 1985.
"The team has been built around taking the overall win this year," Rasenberg said.
Former East German star Uwe Ampler, who has just turned 33, will race with the Polish MROZ team, baacking up Polish national champion Piotr Wadecki.
Ampler, a gold medallist at the Seoul Olympics, last rode the classic in 1989 in the last East German cycling team to compete anywhere in the world - two days before the Berlin Wall came down.
Also confident of victory is the English team, after two of its members, Chris Lillywhite and John Tanner, dead-headed for overall honours in 1995.