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89th Tour de France - Grand Tour
France, July 6-28, 2002
Tour de France news for June 27, 2002
Edited by Jeff Jones
Mapei-Quick Step for the Tour
The Mapei-Quick Step team for the Tour de France will be geared towards stage wins, built around its sprinters Tom Steels, Oscar Freire and Robert Hunter. Also riding are Andrea Tafi, Luca Paolini, David Canada, Pedro Horrillo, Laszlo Bodrogi and Miguel Martinez, the latter who will be in his first grand tour.
CSC-Tiscali for the Tour
Bjarne Riis has named the nine riders to compete in the Tour de France for CSC-Tiscali, which has just landed a new sponsor. The team will be led by Laurent Jalabert, Tyler Hamilton and Carlos Sastre with Nicki Sørensen, Jakob Piil, Michael Sandstød, Paul Van Hyfte, Andrea Peron and Arvis Piziks making up the rest of the squad.
"It's a good team and our ambitions are high," says Riis. "Some spots could have been filled by others but there are also some important tasks in the latter part of the season. Our aim is to have three captains; Laurent Jalabert, Tyler Hamilton and Carlos Sastre. The rest will be helpers but we expect them to get into breaks and try something on their own. It's a balanced squad, also selected with the team time trial in mind. We are going for the general classification but also the team classification. Jalabert is aiming for stage wins in the beginning while Hamilton and Sastre will be protected for the overall classification."
It was also announced that Italian saddle manufacturer, Selle Italia will fill the vacant space on the team's shorts from the beginning of the Tour de France. So far, the sponsorship will last from July 1st until the end of the season.
"We are proud to sponsor one of the most interesting teams in professional cycling," said Selle Italia vice president, Riccardo Bigolin.
Official Lotto-Adecco team for the Tour
The Lotto-Adecco team has been officially confirmed for the Tour de France, with no changes from two weeks ago. Robbie McEwen, Kurt Van De Wouwer and Rik Verbrugghe are the leaders, with Mario Aerts, Serge Baguet, Christophe Brandt, Hans De Clercq, Guennadi Mikhailov and Aart Vierhouten having options for stage wins as well as riding in support of the captains. VDB decision next week
The disciplinary commission of the Flemish government has announced that it will pass judgment on the Frank Vandenbroucke case next Thursday, July 4. Vandenbroucke and his lawyer were questioned today in Brussels in relation to his being found in possession of banned substances earlier this year. His defence pleaded for the whole case to be dropped due to incorrect procedure.
Moreau crashes before French TT championships
One of the favourites for the French time trial championships, Christophe Moreau, was involved in a serious crash on Wednesday during training. Moreau was pacing behind a car at 75 km/h when he fell, suffering serious abrasions but nothing broken. It is expected that he will recover in time for the Tour de France, however he could only finish 17th in today's French Time Trial championships won by Eddy Seigneur.
Kelme back on track for Tour
The Kelme-Costa Blanca team is looking a lot healthier in time for the Tour de France, having secured financial support from the Generalitat Valenciana. In the past week, the Generalitat came to an agreement with Kelme and the Delegation of Alicante to pay all the riders salaries that they are owed, as well as ensuring the future of the team until at least 2005, much to the relief of the riders and staff.
100th anniversary Tour de France to begin in Paris
Next year's 100th anniversary edition of the Tour de France will start in Paris, announced the organisers today. The Tour was first held in 1903, passing through Lyon, Marseilles, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Nantes before finishing in Paris. The 2428 km race had 60 starters, and was won by Frenchman Maurice Garin. The organisers plan to visit the same cities in the 2003 edition.
