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2002 Road World Championships - CM
Hasselt-Zolder, Belgium, October 8-13, 2002
World Championships news for October 13, 2002
Edited by Jeff Jones and Chris Henry
Day 5 wrap up
It was another exciting day of World Championship road racing as the Junior Men's and Elite Women's road races were decided. Each was raced over 10 laps of the Zolder course, each race was full of crashes, and each race finished with a small breakaway succeeding in the closing stages. The Junior Men's race was won by Frenchman Arnaud Gerard from Finn Jukka Vastaranta and Australian Nicholas Sanderson. The Elite Women's Race was taken by Swede Susanne Ljungskog from Swiss Nicole Brändli and Spaniard Joane Somarriba.
Elite Women's RR - Full results &
report, Live report
Junior Men's RR - Full results & report,
Live report
Photos from Day 5
Elite Men's RR Start
List
Comments from the course
Junior Men's Road Race
Nicholas Sanderson (Aus, 3rd)
"I would usually wait and try and come off someone else's wheel but I was really nervous in the final 300 metres and decided to go on the attack. Also I realised there was a tailwind and a slight downhill across the finish line which I thought would work in my favour."
"I wanted to try and be in a small break away so I went with a lap to go and French guy (Gerard) came with me. Then a few more came across as well."
Sanderson said he was surprised to be in the lead group because he had been suffering earlier in the race. "With four laps to go I was in all sorts of trouble but then with three to go I found my legs again and felt okay," he said.
Tyler Farrar (USA, 17th)
Farrar was involved in the 13 man breakaway that almost stayed clear. "I got in that group and we were working pretty well and I really thought that was the race right there. But the second group came up to us and guys just started sitting on, it was too big a group and people weren't willing to commit."
Páidi O'Brien (Irl, 52nd)
I was going well. I was well up in the bunch but got pushed off the wheel on the second last corner. It was a fast race but it was very dangerous. I stayed clear near the back for the first few laps. It was a very hard race to control especially for a nation who isn't particularly strong like Ireland to control all day."
Nicolas Roche (Irl, 89th)
"I thought when we had thirteen riders in the front with nearly every strong nation represented that we would keep going to the finish, especially with one lap to go. So I was disappointed to be back in the bunch. Then I got caught behind the first crash then when I got back up to the front of the bunch, I got caught behind a second crash. So I lost the wheels but came back to the bunch but there was no way I was going to get up in the sprint."
Elite Women's Road Race
Susanne Ljungskog (Swe, 1st)
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It's so amazing, I can't believe it! Today's race was so fast with a lot of attacking - I knew if I could get across (to the break) I had a good chance to win."
"The whole day it went very well and I had super help from my Swedish team today," she added, also thanking coach Glenn Magnusson for his help over the past year.
On the conditions at the end: "When it was raining it was quite slippery, but I'm quite good on that so it was perfect for me."
Asked about how hard it was to sprint after bridging up to the leaders so close to the end, Ljungskog replied, "When you know you can be the world champ it's no problem."
See: Profile on Susanne Ljungskog by Gabriella Ekström (August 18, 2002)
Nicole Brändli (Swi, 2nd)
"I'm really happy and surprised to the silver medal today. I was already surprised to have the silver from the TT, so I had no pressure. I am surprised the break even stayed away."
Sara Carrigan (Aus, 4th)
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"Disappointment, of course, but I've over the moon that I was with the winning break. It all just came down to the last 300 meters. Looking back now, I know Susanne was the strongest sprinter. If I had kept her wheel to the line, I would have at worst run second, which is what Brändli did. She had her wheel and followed it to the line and got second."
"I started to wind it up in the sprint, and then just went for it. Susanne came around me, then Brändli, and I'm tired, I just went as hard as I could, but Somarriba came around me and I ended up with 4th."
About the break she was in, Carrigan said "I knew I was in a good break because Brändli was second in the time trial, Somarriba was fourth and I was fifth so we were three strong riders in front. But I didn't feel so good and wasn't in a position to pull equal turns up front."
"Besides there wasn't pressure on me to work too hard as I knew we had Rochelle Gilmore back in the bunch and I wanted to be fresh in case the race regrouped and she needed a lead out for the sprint."
"The three of us were taking it really easy around those last corners. I actually thought the whole race would be wet, so I was prepared for a lot of crashes, but we had dry roads until the last lap. Luckily me for I was out front."
Overall she was happy: "It's the best World's I've ever had - fifth in the time trial, fourth in the road race. It's disappointing I couldn't end up with a medal, but it's a start of good things to come."
Alison Wright (Aus, 5th)
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"It got pretty dicey out there when the rain came down and I avoided a lot of crashes today with bikes sliding all around me," said Wright. "When Sara got away I tried to stay in the first two or three riders to block things for her and to be there in case it came back together and I could help Rochelle in the final sprint. Then as the finish line approached I couldn't find her so I went for it myself."
Dede Demet-Barry (USA, 16th)
"It was an interesting race. By the 9th lap, I didn't get the feeling that there was going to be a breakaway. There had been a couple of attacks, but it was easier to stay in the peloton. And then the rain started - and everything changed. The course became so slippery - there was a lot of paint on the course that made things really slick - and because we're racing on an auto racing track, there must be some oil mixed in the track, too. So a lot of riders started crashing."
"I feel really fortunate to have not crashed and finished the race. Once the rain started, I think about half of the peloton went down. In fact, at the very end of the race as we started our final descent, I actually rode over a bike - I just thank God that I was able to hang on. It took a little time to catch up again with the front group. I'm not particularly happy about finishing 16th, but I felt that I did the best I could under the conditions."
"It was really interesting because the girls who ended up in the breakaway at the end of the race are really strong climbers. We all thought that the strong sprinters would win this race. But the breakaway riders rode aggressively the whole race, and when the rain started, it was harder for the peloton to chase. It was good to see Susanne [Ljungskog] win because she's been strong all season - she's a worthy World Champion."
Rochelle Gilmore (Aus, 33rd)
"I was in a great position with a lap to go and I was feeling really confident that this would be my day and I could make it happen," said Gilmore. "I was waiting for someone to kick on after the leaders so I could get on a wheel when I heard bikes falling around me."
"I kept pedalling and thought I'd made it through but something was caught in my back wheel and I crashed sideways," she explained. Gilmore's bike was too damaged for her to continue riding it and her team mate Olivia Gollan came to the rescue handing over her machine so the Sydney rider could get back in the race.
"By then there was only four kilometres to go and it was too late to get in the action," said Gilmore who finished 27 seconds behind the winner.
Amber Neben (USA, DNF)
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"A little sore, a little heartbroken. I hate to finish a race any time something like that happens and you get taken out of it. People crashed in front of us... Mari stopped, I stopped, and three people slammed into me, and they just took me straight into the concrete and the barriers. By the time everybody was off of me (the race) was gone, and I had to get my bike fixed and make sure I could pedal. There's not a lot I could do about it, it was pretty much over. It happens. It's part of road racing."
"It was a fast race. There wasn't a lot I could do in a race like that, but I was hoping to last until the last couple of laps, because like you saw, anything can happen at that point. People start to get a little bit tired, the weather changes a little bit, and you get a break that goes up the road. That's what we were hoping for, for any of us. Unfortunately we missed it, but we did what we could today."
Jim Miller (USA coach)
"The weather was decent until the last lap - there was no wind and the temperatures were cold. This was not the weather we were hoping for, our girls race well in more challenging conditions. This course just isn't selective enough for all the riders to be competitive.
"There are some teams here that have really strong sprinters, but we didn't have that card to play. Although we have a couple of good sprinters, our team is relatively untested against the European sprinters. The girls raced hard, but when you have over 100 motivated girls and the course is this flat, it's hard to get the top result."
Ryan Sullivan injured in Junior Men's crash
17 year old Australian Ryan Sullivan was involved in a nasty crash right on the finish line of the Junior Men's race. More than a dozen riders slid and skidded in a tangle of bikes with Sullivan literally flying over the top to land face first on the finish line to claim 54th place nine seconds behind the winner.
He was transported to hospital in nearby Hasselt and has suffered a broken nose, bad facial cuts and a left knee injury. Belgian doctors have recommended he receive corrective surgery for his nose, reconstructive plastic surgery to repair expected facial scarring and that he will need dental treatment.
However, Sullivan, who was due for release tonight is expected to be well enough to return to Australia with his junior team mates on Monday. The finish line crash was one of many that occurred during the race as the riders struggled to stay upright on the roads made slippery by the names painted on the road by spectators in support of various riders competing in Zolder.
Wide open race for rainbow jersey on Sunday
By Tim Maloney in Zolder
The road circuit for the 2002 Men's World Professional Championship at Zolder, Belgium is in the classic mold of a Belgian kermesse, but bigger and better. It's kind of a mega-kermesse; a sinuous 12.8km circuit, on and around the Zolder race track, with three points that could classify as a difficulty.
After 2km on the Zolder circuit, there is a 100m rise at 3%, just after Villeneuve curve, where Canadian F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve died in a crash 20 years ago. The course heads out into the pine woods of Viversel, with the second relief (400m @ 4%) coming after 7 km on the long straight of the N729 in Terlamenlaan.
After a sharp right hander, the World's circuit heads back towards the Zolder motor track and the final challenge. After 10km, it's the Pitsberg, a 450m long hill with an average of 6% and some sections as steep as 9%. After the descent, the circuit re-enters the Zolder track, makes a tight 120% left hand turn and then enters the final kilometre. It's no straight shot at the finish line; instead, there is a left hand bend at 350m to go, then a slight uphill to the 250 m point, where the road heads downhill to the line. The sprint at Zolder is difficult from a tactical point of view, with the curves and changes of gradient forcing pure sprinters to ride with more smarts than usual.
Weather will certainly be crucial to the outcome of Sunday's world championship. If the weather is good, this should increase the chances of a mass sprint, but if it rains, the race could blow wide open. As of Saturday, the weather forecast is for cloudy to partly cloudy skies, highs in the upper 50's and most importantly, no rain. However, Belgian weather is notoriously changeable and should the front that passed through on Saturday stall over Zolder, Sunday could soak the peloton with a classic Belgian day.
Prognostically speaking, it will the sprinters squads vs the breakaway artists, on Sunday. Like the classic struggle between Apollo and Dionysis, and based on the patterns of the previous races this week at Zolder, there seems to be a very good chance of a mass sprint in the pro world championships on Sunday. Should that be the case, the favourite must be Mario Cipollini. The 35 year old Italian from Lucca is looking for the crowning moment of his career and if the squadra azzura can keep the race together, Cipo is very hard to beat in a mass sprint after 250+ km.
But Cipo is no shoe-in. Australia has brought a powerful 12 man team to Zolder to support their national champion Robbie McEwen, winner of the Maillot Vert for best sprinter at this year's Tour De France and perhaps Cipo's biggest rival in a sprint for the rainbow jersey. Don't count out last year's winner, two time World Champ Oscar Freire either; the speedy Spanish sprinter from Torrelavega is a rider with pure class and if his powerful Spanish team rides as well as they did last year in Lisbon, Freire could be a factor again in the World Championship sprint. German Erik Zabel is also a rider to fear in this years World's as the powerful Telekom has a solid squad to ride hard tempo and keep the race together for a mass sprint.
Other key sprinters to watch are Baltic bad boys 2000 World Champ Roman Vainsteins (Lat) and powerful, experienced Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), last year's Bronze medallist Andrej Hauptman (Slo), Belgian Tom Steels, Dutchman Steven De Jongh and Americans Fred Rodriguez and Tony Cruz.
But many expert observers don't see the Zolder World's ending in a sprint, but expect a breakaway to make the difference, especially if a hard rain falls in Limburg. Show time for birthday boy Johan Museeuw, who is still the most popular sportsman in Belgium and will have the almost total support of the huge crowds expected at Zolder tomorrow. And if Museeuw has his legs on Sunday, the entire Belgian team will certainly be mobilized to support him.
World Cup leader Paolo Bettini (Ita) is in great shape and with his smart, opportunistic riding the Tuscan rider from La California, nicknamed "Grillo" (Cricket) could hop onto the top step of the podium after his World's runner-up spot in Lisbon last year. Another man to watch in a breakaway tomorrow will be Laurent Jalabert (Fra). Riding his last race before retirement, Jaja is a rider who has proven that he knows how to perform under pressure throughout his 13 year pro career and his swan song could be Zolder. But even if he wins the maillot arc-en-ciel, Jaja says he will retire at the end of this season.
Dark horse breakaway artists abound at this year's World's. Local lad Marc Wauters (Bel) could make an impact, as well as Swiss postman Oscar Camenzind, who won his first world title four years ago not far from Zolder in Valkenberg. Paris-Tours winner Jacob Piil (Den) is clearly in good form now and the daring Dane has a good turn of speed to win from a break. Italian Daniele Nardello will be riding in the service of his teammates, but that may open up opportunities for him. Spaniard Pedro Horillo, German Radel Schweda, Swiss Niki Aebersold and the only Canadian in the race, Charles Dionne, can also be considered real dark horses.
No matter what the weather, this year's World Pro Road Championships, with 20 laps of the super-fast Zolder circuit will be a hard-fought battle for the right to wear a rainbow jersey until next October 12th in Hamilton, Canada.
Zberg out for Sunday
Swiss rider Markus Zberg will not start on Sunday in Zolder after a fall during training on Saturday. He has a jaw injury and lost some teeth. His replacement is Roger Beuchat.
Sunderland and Peiper guest commentators for Cyclingnews on Sunday
Cyclingnews readers are in for a treat as two of the best known "Belgian Aussies", Scott Sunderland and Allan Peiper, will be online tomorrow as guest commentators for Cyclingnews for the Elite Men's Road Race in Zolder. Join us at 10:30 CEST (01:30 PDT/04:30 EDT/18:30 Aust. EST) for our complete live coverage of race and their insightful comments during the race.
Belgians keen to win on their home ground
The hype and pressure surrounding the Belgian riders who are racing on home territory has been apparent all week, and tomorrow it will come to a head in the Elite Men's Road Race. So far the Belgians have been out of medal contention, with Marc Wauters' 12th place in the Men's Time Trial and Evy Van Damme's 11th in the Women's Road Race the best results. All would be forgiven of course if a Belgian won tomorrow, but that's not going to be easy. The interviews with the Belgian press today reveal that nearly each Belgian has his own ambitions of being World Champion. Tomorrow we will find out how true these comments are.
Johan Museeuw was the last Belgian World Champion, 6 years ago in Lugano, Switzerland on his birthday. Tomorrow he turns 37, and the Lion of Flanders could realise an incredible dream if he wins.
"I will decide on Sunday Morning what tactics I'm going for. Like I did before the last twelve World Championships. I did the same in Paris-Tours: attack on the second hill. In retrospect that was a wrong move and I should have waited for the sprint, like Bettini. I'm not looking at anybody. Sometimes it turns out well, sometimes it doesn't. I'm ready for it."
If it does come to a bunch sprint, then Museeuw says that "I really hope, from the bottom of my heart, that Tom [Steels] takes the Gold then, but I'm afraid it will be for Cipollini. Steels would make a nice World Champion, after what he had to go through physically himself the last few years, and the misery he has known privately (meaning his daughter Lobke who has serious health problems) It would be so good for him and for Belgian cycling."
"It will be a hard, unpredictable race. It could be that the race has been decided already when we go into the lap I picked. In Lugano I started after 130,140 km. When 200 riders start, there's 199 that can become World Champion on this type of course. Without luck one won't succeed. That's one of the laws of cycling"
Peter Van Petegem's comments to the press were interesting too. "I'm a rider who will give away a victory to another team-mate no problem. But on Sunday, that's different. A jersey like that you don't give to anybody just like that. For years I've been hunting for the National Jersey and for World Championship's gold. I'm riding my own race on Sunday."
"It's said that McEwen will be getting help from Lotto, but on Sunday, McEwen is an adversary for me. I'm disappointed Glen D'Hollander isn't selected. Mattan and Peers aren't happy either. I know I can count 100 percent on Baguet though. It used to be easier to make the selection for the World's. It was only needed to select a helper for Museeuw, then Van Petegem, Tchmil and Vandenbroucke. Now, in Zolder, Johan and myself are the only ones who can really make the difference for Belgium."
Van Petegem says that a bunch sprint will be 20 percent likely, meaning "If Steels has a good day, we have got a chance. There will be need for a lot of conversation, before and during the race."
"My wife reminded me that our son Axandre will be nine months on Sunday. Angelique has seen me win in the Omloop Het Volk this year, but she hasn't shared a real top moment with me. As a cyclist, nothing can be nicer than becoming World Champion for the first time in your own country"
The two Belgian Lotto riders Serge Baguet and Niko Eeckhout know what they have to do. "Johan and Peter have given proof before that they can handle a race on this level," said Baguet. "I haven't yet. I will happily ride in their service. We have to pay attention not to let a gap grow to two minutes, that could be lethal."
Eeckhout will be one of the riders with a free role. "We've five to six guys who could slip into a break. I will help, where needed. If I feel good and the circumstances are right I can win myself. Whoever is in the right escape needs protection. To race alert, that is my mission."
Ludovic Capelle believes it will be an open race. "I'd like to become World Champion myself; how is of no importance: alone or in a small group, or in a bunch sprint. If Steels feels good enough to do the sprint, I'll be his locomotive."
Jo Planckaert echoed the comments of his teammates. "I can't imagine anyone starting with the ambition to finish second. Then it's better to stay at home. Everybody wants that jersey, even someone who isn't a winner. If I will put money on the table for the group for me to win? That's not up to me, if I don't win, they can pay me though!" he laughed.
Even Kevin Hulsmans has designs on the rainbow jersey. "Anyone can win these World's. Why not me or another Belgian rider? I've still got plenty of reserves. In front of my own people; I live in Lommel, I want to shine. Johan Museeuw and Bettini are my absolute favourites. The Flemish Lion wants to claw again; and Paolo remains the most sly and most explosive in the peloton. I hope the dangerous radar fence doesn't endanger things."
On the foreign side, Italian top rider Paolo Bettini said that "If it comes to a sprint, Cipollini can count on me. But Mario won't be upset if I go my own chance in a break beforehand. Last year I was beaten by Freire but then mistakes were made, nothing was organized, that can not happen again."
Frenchman Richard Virenque believes that "The French, Belgians and Dutch are allies. We have to make the race hard; I think that we will succeed then to avoid a bunch sprint. I am still strongly motivated, until after Lombardy. In our team, everyone can make their own race. To put everything on Jalabert is too risky. The national jersey is giving me extra strength."
Swiss rider Oscar Camenzind knows he has to attack, as "Our sprinter Aurélien Clerc is too limited against those big guns. We will try to avoid a bunch sprint and will form a coalition against the countries with sprinters."
Dutchman Michael Boogerd is also in favour of an attackers race. "It's not because I live in Essen that this is something special for me. I do this because I love the Orange shirt. We have to race in an opportunistic manner. It will be every man to himself. Valkenburg was the last time that we raced as a team. Van Heeswijk and Koerts will have to attack if they want to get a prize."
Finally Danish rider Jakob Piil said that "My win in Paris-Tours has liberated me. If you spoke to me before that about the World Championships, I would have shrugged my shoulders. Now I'm very enthusiastic about it. I don't regard myself one of the favourites; at the best as outsider, but one with a lot of hunger."
McEwen v Cipo
"The World Championships are a strange race, with unnatural selections," said Australian Robbie McEwen in an interview with the Belgian Newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. McEwen knows he won't be able to count on the support of his Lotto teammates this time, something he hasn't gone without all year.
Robbie knows, for him "It would be better if the World's were ridden with the trade teams. Cooke, O'Grady and myself are the fast guys for Australia. I will talk to them once more and tell them how much they can earn here. The complete amount I have earned in the criteriums I'm putting on the table!" Knowing McEwen earned on average 10,000 Euro per crit, this adds up to an impressive amount! "And I could use some help from across the borders," he added.
"This is the season that everything has worked out for the best. Zolder could be the cherry on the cake. It would be something; to become World Champion in my very first race for the Rainbow Jersey."
"I will try to keep in the front and not fall out of the first fifteen in that last lap, because that Pits-hill is treacherous. And I will be in Cipollini's wheel. That way I will see who controls the sprint."
"Cipollini does congratulate me after a win; but I've got the impression it's not honest. He addressed me when he heard I was going home during the Giro, because of my wife and child. 'Something you need to do' he said, but on a very flat tone."
Belgian journo controversy and Squadra Azzuro follies
By Tim Maloney in Zolder
The Royal Belgian Cycling Federation was peeved enough at Gent newspaper Het Laatste Niuews to issue a press release that refuted the paper's allegations of a split in the Belgian team calling this "totally false and untrue."
There is an official RVWB version of the team status, but when Cyclingnews spoke to Phillip Van Holle of Le Derniere Heure who explained that "in an article I just wrote, the official version of the Belgian team is that they are riding together, but Johan Museeuw is already going around and talking to riders about making an early break."
Van Holle also spoke to Paolo Bettini, who has already heard from Museeuw on this subject and the Italian likes this scenario.
Meanwhile, the Squadra Azzuro of Italy is already reportedly in three distinct factions; Cipo and his sprint supporters, Bettini and his breakaway blues and opportunity knockers Danilo Di Luca and Gianluca Bortolami, who are looking to maximize their own chances. La plus ça change le plus ç'est la même chose.
Worlds Spectators
According to the organizing committee at the 2002 World's in Zolder, 31,000 paying spectators were present at the circuit today for the Junior Men's and Women's Road races.
Medals table after Day 5
Gold Silver Bronze Total Italy 2 1 1 4 Russia 2 1 - 3 Sweden 1 - 1 2 France 1 - - 1 Netherlands 1 - - 1 Colombia 1 - - 1 Lithuania 1 - - 1 Switzerland - 2 2 4 Germany - 2 1 3 Spain - 1 2 3 Australia - 1 1 2 Finland - 1 - 1 Portugal - - 1 1
