News and Reports for September 22 1995

Jean-Francois Bernard

Despite having told reporters that his abandonment during the tird stage of
the Vuelta a Espana marked the end of his pro cycling career, Jean-Francois
Bernard has now denied this is the case. The partial reversal --- Bernard
does not intend to ride beyond the end of the season except in exceptional
circumstances -- may well have been prompted by the anger of Chazal
directeur-sportif Vincent Lavenu, who had threatened that his salary would
dry up immediately if he persisted with his peremptory decision. Bernard
rode the GP d'Isbergues on Sunday and now says he will train for the final
races of the season. The exceptional circumstances that would take him into
a new season? -- that Marc Madiot might still be able to find a way of
getting a team on the road.

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GAN's House-Cleaning

Roger Legeay is undertaking a house-cleaning exercise at GAN. He has hired
Francois Simon, Frederic Moncassin and Laurent Desbien for a year, but it
is likely that Thierry Gouvenou and Pascal Lance will not retain their team
places, and it's probable that other riders are threatened with dismissal.

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Stephane Heulot will not be kept on for a fourth season by the Banesto
team. "From the moment that Marc Madiot told me that he wanted to take
Heulot on [for the La Francaise des Jeux team], I didn't count him among
us," said Banesto manager Jose Miguel Echavarri.

Dutch rider Gert de Vries, currently with Novell, is to join Luc
Leblanc's Polti team for 1996.

Laurent Davion is the latest former Le Groupement rider to find a new

team. He will ride with La Mutuelled de Seine-et-Marne next year.

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Tour Feminin 1996

The 1996 Tour Feminin will run from 13 to 25 August 96 and will finish in
Paris. The organizers of the race are also putting together another women's
stage race, the Trophee International des Championnes which will run
between 3 and 8 June 96 in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France.

Spanish team for Worlds

Miguel Indurain will represent Spain in the company of Abraham Olano in the
4 October 95 world championship time trial. The road race team will consist
of Miguel Indurain, Santiago Blanco, Aitor Garmendia, Jose Maria Jimenez,
Ramontxu Gonzalez Arrieta, Marino Alonso, David Garcia, Marcos Serrano,
Fernando Escartin, Javier Mauleon and Abraham Olano. Reserves are Jesus
Montoya and Prudencio Indurain.

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New route for Giro di Lombardia

Having started and finished in Monza for the last few years, the 1995 Giro
di Lombardia on 21 October 95 will start in Varese and finish in Bergamo,
252 kms in total. The new route takes in the classic climbs: the Ghisallo
(98km), the Colle Brianza (130km), the Colle Valpiana and the Colle del
Gallo (220km).

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Injuries

Paris--Roubaix winner Franco Ballerini was among those who fell in the
rainswept Giro di Lazio on Saturday. He suffered a fractured pelvis and
will not ride again this season.

Franck Vandenbroucke, Ballerini's Mapei-GB team-mate, is also hors de
combat for the rest of the season because of the recurrence of an old knee
injury.

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Rodrigues signed for Banesto

Portuguese rider Orlando Rodrigues, a member of the Spanish Artiach team,
the winner of the 1994 and 1995 Tour of Portugal and currently thirteenth
overall in the Vuelta a Espana, has signed with Banesto for next season.