News for September 4, 2002 Edited by Jeff Jones Telekom to ride for Zabel in the Vuelta The Telekom team will once again be built around top rider Erik Zabel in the Vuelta España, with management naming the following additional riders: Rolf Aldag, Gian Matteo Fagnini, Sergei Yakovlev, Matthias Kessler, Andreas Klier, Andreas Klöden, Jan Schaffrath and Alexander Vinokourov. Last year, Zabel won three stages in the Vuelta, and is using it as preparation for the World's in Zolder. Team Coast for the Vuelta There will be no Alex Zülle for Team Coast in this year's Vuelta, with the Swiss deciding to ride the Hessen Rundfahrt instead. Team Coast will be led by defending champion Angel Casero (Spa), and he will be backed by a strong Spanish line up including Fernando Escartin, Manuel Beltran, Aitor Garmendia Jaime Hernandez, Luis Perez, and David Plaza. German Daniel Becke and Italian sprinter Fabrizio Guidi complete the line up. Domo-Farm Frites for the Vuelta Domo-Farm Frites will not be taking Jans Koerts to the Vuelta, much to the disappointment of the Dutch sprinter. Koerts has not ridden a grand tour this year, and said that he has done "6000 km training for the Vuelta." However, team management have opted to go with Jeroen Blijlevens as the fast main, with Dave Bruylandts for the mountains. Team director Marc Sergeant told ANP newsagency that it was a "painful decision" to make between the two sprinters, opting for Blijlevens "...who in the past has a good record in stage races, while Jans is more of a rider for the one day classics." Koerts did not agree: "He has not followed my career that well." The 33 year old added that it could be his last chance to ride a grand tour, as he has not yet got an offer from a division I team for next season. "I can sign for BankGiroLoterij, but there are maybe still a few other options," he said. The full Domo-Farm Frites team is as follows: Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned), Bram Tankink (Ned), Koos Moerenhout (Ned), Steven Kleynen (Bel), Leif Hoste (Bel), Steve de Wolf (Bel), Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel), Andrej Kashechkin (Kaz), Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Index Alexia for the Vuelta Index Alexia has named Giro d'Italia winner Paolo Savoldelli as part of its line up in the Vuelta España. The team will also feature sprinter Ivan Quaranta, who is looking for some good results after a fairly ordinary year. The full team is as follows: Dario Andriotto (Ita), Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita), Daniele Galli (Ita), Alessandro Guerra (Ita), Marco Magnani (Ita), Ivan Quaranta (Ita), Andris Reiss (Lat), Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) and Corrado Serina (Ita). DS: Giovanni Fidanza. Also see: Vuelta start list (All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2002)

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