The contract with Sergej Ivanov and TVM was rolled over and Ivanov will stay till 2001.
SERGEI OUTSCHAKOV, currently riding for Team Polti, has signed a contract with TVM for 1998.
Cofidis rider LANCE ARMSTRONG was reportedly going to sign a contract with US Postal on September 24. His compatriot and Cofidis team-mate FRANKIE ANDREU is to join him at US Postal and Belgian MARC WAUTERS (Lotto) is also joining the US team. Cycling Weekly reports Armstrong as being extremely disappointed with the offers made him by European teams, describing them as "almost insulting" since he feels that his return to good health and past record deserved a better response.
EDDY SEIGNEUR is to rejoin GAN (which will be sponsored by Credit Agricole after the 1998 Tour de France) from La Francaise des Jeux next season. GAN now has 13 riders under contract: Seigneur plus Boardman, Moncassin, Vasseur, Simon, Pretot, Bos, Hinault, Langella, O'Grady, Vogels, Poli and Jenner. Vuelta stage winner YVON LEDANOIS is quite likely to leave the team in view of better offers elsewhere and his name is currently being associated with Cofidis and Rabobank. Directeur sportif Roger Legeay is said to be still undecided as to whether he will re-sign SCOTT SUNDERLAND and FRANCISQUE TEYSSIER, and GERARD RUE is expected to seek a contract elsewhere.
Cofidis has signed two new French riders: JEROME DELBOVE (AC Bourg-en-Bresse) and SAMUEL PLOUHINEC (Vendee U).
War continues be waged between Spanish teams. SANTIAGO BLANCO, who has two seasons to run on his contract with Banesto has nonetheless signed a contract for three years with new team Vitalicio for 300 million pesetas (approx 1,200,000 pounds sterling). He is able to do this only by buying his way out of the contract with Banesto, which will cost him 65 million pesetas (approx 300,000 sterling).
English rider ROGER HAMMOND, the 1992 world junior cyclo-cross champion, who has ridden with French team Vendee U this season, will ride as a stagiaire (appprentice) with Belgian team Palmans for the remainder of the season.
Pathologist Michael Hardt-Madsen, from the Fionia Hospital, who prescribed the specific treatment for Riis' problem said that this could be the reason why many cyclists might not be able to maintain a high rhytm for a long time. "The only way to stop the bacteria from spreading is to reduce the training and efforts", said Hardt-Madsen. Riis had been examined by the team doctors at the end of the Tour, where it showed that he must have caught the bacteria in the period between the Tour of Switzerland and the Tour de France.
About la Vuelta a Espaņa, he thinks that the last 5km of the climb of Sierra Nevada changed everything. He confesses that sometimes he feels like leaving it all. "It is tough to be riding in the back, when I know what I'm worth. In the last few years the Frenchman admits that that he has felt like leaving it all 2 or 3 times. But I haven't given up on the ztour yet". Jalabert, who will stay with ONCE until 1999, although he could extend it one more year, also said: "My objective is to race for another 5 seasons, since I plan to retire at 34...".
1. Tim Lenaers (Bel) Collstrop 2. Vadim Volar (Rus) 3. Danny Daelman 4. Jan Poppe 5. Johan Verstrepen 6. Geert Omloop 7. Tom De Smet 8. Gert Vanderaerden 9. Koen Beeckman 10. Hans De Clercq 0.20