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2002 Road World Championships - CM
Hasselt-Zolder, Belgium, October 8-13, 2002
World Championships news for October 8, 2002
Edited by Jeff Jones
Junior Women to open World Championships
The 2002 World Championships will open with the Junior Women's Time Trial on Tuesday, October 8 at 12:00 noon starting from Hasselt's Kolonel Dusartplein and finishing 15 km later on the Zolder Circuit. The Junior Women will ride around Hasselt's 'Kleine Ring', cutting across to the 'Grote Ring' before heading out to Zolder. At 14:00, the U23 Men will ride their time trial, which is 33.7 km long, following the same course as the Junior Women until they get to Zolder, then doing an extra loop towards Heusden, returning to finish on the circuit.
Hasselt has been gearing up for a months for these World Championships, the biggest event of the year for the Limburg city located close to the Dutch and German borders. There are bikes everywhere on display in shop windows, and many of the local businesses will benefit from the influx of riders, team staff, fans, officials and media this week. The maze-like centre of town is packed with restaurants and cafés, all of which are bound to be popular this week.
Dutch selection complete
Jan Boven (Rabobank), Max Van Heeswijk and Servais Knaven (Domo-Farm Frites) will complete the Dutch team for the World Championships Road Race on Sunday. National coach Gerrie Kneteman made the final selection today (Monday). The full Dutch team is:
Michael Boogerd (Rabobank)
Jan Boven (Rabobank)
Steven de Jongh (Rabobank)
Karsten Kroon (Rabobank)
Bobbie Traksel (Rabobank)
Bart Voskamp (Bankgiroloterij)
Bram Schmitz (Bankgiroloterij)
Servais Knaven (Domo-Farm Frites)
Jans Koerts (Domo-Farm Frites)
Max Van Heeswijk (Domo-Farm Frites)
Stefan van Dijk (Lotto-Adecco)
Aart Vierhouten (Lotto-Adecco)
Belgian selection complete
Belgian coach Jose De Cauwer has finalised his selection for the men's road race, following Paris-Tours. Additions to the team include Lotto's Serge Baguet and Domo's Jurgen Van Goolen. However, Glenn d'Hollander, who was part of the eventual race winning break in Paris-Tours, was overlooked. "If Glenn had won, then maybe I would have thought differently," said De Cauwer in reaction to the annoyed d'Hollander. The full Belgian team is:
Johan Museeuw (Domo-Farm Frites)
Jurgen Van Goolen (Domo-Farm Frites)
Peter Van Petegem (Lotto-Adecco)
Nico Eeckhout (Lotto-Adecco)
Serge Baguet (Lotto-Adecco)
Ludo Dierckxsens (Lampre-Daikin)
Marc Wauters (Rabobank)
Tom Boonen (US Postal Service)
Tom Steels (Mapei-Quick Step)
Kevin Hulsmans (Mapei-Quick Step)
Jo Planckaert (Cofidis)
Ludovic Capelle (Ag2r)
Polish team for the World's
Road Race
Tomasz Brozyna (iBanesto.com)
Slawomir Kohut (Amore e Vita)
Marcin Lewandowski (Mikomax Browar Staropolski)
Zbigniew Piatek (Mroz)
Robert Radosz (Servisco Koop)
Marek Rutkiewicz (Cofidis)
Piotr Wadecki (Domo)
Zbigniew Spruch (Lampre)
Time Trial
Tomasz Brozyna (iBanesto.com)
Slawomir Kohut (Amore e Vita)
Notes: Cezary Zamana and Piotr Chmielewski are out with illness and injury due to crash.
Live coverage on Cyclingnews
Cyclingnews will be covering the World's live on each day of the championships, starting with tomorrow's Junior Women's time trial at 12:00 noon local time (03:00 PDT/06:00 EDT/20:00 Aust. EST). Wednesday's coverage of the Junior Men's time trial will start at the same time, while Thursday's Elite Men's time trial will start two hours later. i.e. 14:00 local time (05:00 PDT/08:00 EDT/22:00 Aust. EST).
Weather report
The all important weather forecast has been watched closely this week, as adverse weather conditions could be a big factor in the road races. However despite some drops of rain this afternoon, the weather for the World's looks to be quite good. Temperatures will be chillier than they have been in previous weeks, between 12 and 15 degrees, although there should be clear skies and dry weather for the remainder of the week. The wind will be from the east but not too strong, meaning that the riders will have a crosswind for their journey between Hasselt and Zolder.
It's too early to predict what will happen on Saturday and Sunday, as Belgian weather is notoriously fickle. So far it looks as though (caveat emptor) neither the wind nor the rain will play a big role in determining the outcome of the races on the weekend.
How to get from Hasselt to Circuit Zolder
By train/bus: At Hasselt railway station, you can take the normal bus connection that will take you to the start or finish zone. More information is available from: De Lijn: www.delijn.be (+32 (0) 11 85 03 03), or the Nationale Maatschappij voor de Belgische Spoorwegen: www.nmbs.be.
By bike: There are three free cycle sheds: grasslands at Boekt next to the highway bridge (314 - Brussels- Aachen), Westlaan (industrial zone Zolder-Lummen, just before the canal bridge), parking lot of the football field next to the Bolderberg primary school.
By the supporters' bus: during the Time Trial World Championships, there is no parking lot reserved for buses. Every bus can park in the immediate vicinity of the track.
By car to the start area Kolonel Dusartplein at Hasselt: you can get to Hasselt via the E313 highway (Antwerp-Luik). You can choose between 3 successive exits, i.e. 27, 28 and 29. Then, follow the signs in the direction of the 'centre'. Apart from the Kolonel Dusartplein, all existing Hasselt parking lots are open to the World Championships' public.
By car to the finish area at the Zolder Circuit: Caution: exit 27 (Terlaemen) E314 (Brussels-Aachen) is closed in both directions as of Monday, October 7 until Sunday, October 13. During the Time Trial World Championships, you can reach the Zolder Circuit by means of the E314 highway (Brussels-Aachen) exit 28 (Zonhoven - Heusden-Zolder).
2005 World's in Madrid
The UCI has decided that the 2005 World Road Championships will be held in Madrid, Spain, with the parcours running through the city. The decision was made today in Zolder on the eve of the 2002 World Championships, and Madrid was chosen over the Swiss city of Lucern.
The UCI also voted that the 2005 World Track Championships will be held in Los Angeles, the city that hosted the 1984 Olympics. That city will host the Junior World Track Championships in 2004. The 2005 MTB World's will be in Livigno, Italy and the 2005 BMX World's in Paris, France.
