News for September 21, 2000Bruyneel on Heras"Normally we don't want to be involved with riders who are under contract from other teams. But this is another case. Heras is a present from heaven. He has a buyout clause in his contract. He has to arrange that with Kelme on his own. He is, the same as his teammate Rubiera, a perfect draftee for the future, because Lance Armstrong won't ride five Tours de France," says US Postal's team director Johan Bruyneel about his new signing. The contract of Heras is reportedly worth $US 780,000 per year for the next three years, which is five times what he was getting at Kelme. In addition, there is the responsibility of riding for Lance Armstrong. "Roberto can learn a lot in our team about preparing for the Tour from Lance. And he can give a lot of support to Lance. Heras is realistic. He thinks too he is still too young for a Tour de France victory. But - for example - he can get a free job in the Vuelta," added Bruyneel. Armstrong had already asked for Heras at the beginning of August. He called Heras the best climber in the last Tour. Bruyneel is also happy with the verbal agreement of Armstrong with manager Mark Gorski regarding a contract with US Postal till the end of 2004. His contract was until the end of next year, but US Postal decided after the Tour to stay in the cycling sponsorship business for at least the next four years. After Heras and Rubiera (Kelme), Pena (Vitalicio), White (Vini Caldirola) and Barthe (Ag2r), Bruyneel wants to sign David Zabriskie (USA) as well. This talented rider (7UP-Colorado Cyclist) won the Espoirs Grand Prix des Nations in Yvetot last Saturday. The loss of Livingston to Linda McCartney will be forgotten.
48th Coppa SabatiniJust two days after the GP Prato, won by Sergio Barbero, the Tuscan-Emilia week of cycling will continue with the 48th edition of the Coppa Sabatini (1.2) that will take place today, in Peccoli (Pisa). It is 198 kilometres long, with 28 teams on the start list, 16 of which are Italian. Although the Italian Olympic squad will not be there, riders such as Andrea Tafi, Gianni Faresin, Romans Vainsteins, Sergio Barbero, Gabriele Missaglia, Dario Frigo, Mirko Celestino and Ivan Gotti.
More World Championships teams - France and DenmarkThe World Championships in Plouay commence in two and a half weeks, culminating in the men's road race on October 15. Traditionally, this race is considered the single most important one day race of the season, although this year the Olympics have taken a slight lead in the priority stakes. FranceMen Road Race Christophe Agnolutto (Ag2r Prévoyance) Time Trial Gilles Maignan (Ag2r Prévoyance) Women Road Race Marion Clignet (Acca Due O Lorena) Time Trial Marion Clignet (Acca Due O Lorena) DenmarkRoad Race Rolf Sørensen (Rabobank) Time Trial Michael Sandstød (MemoryCard) Reserves Tayeb Braikia (Linda McCartney) RTTC and BCF for British NationalsThe British Cycling Federation (BCF) and the Road Time Trials Council (RTTC) will be working together to run a number of joint National Time Trial Championships in 2001. This will be the first time the two bodies have run a joint championship. Five national championships are to be brought together on a circuit based near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, on 8th September 2001. Titles will be decided in the following categories: Men, Women, Espoir Men (Under 23), Junior Men and Women (Under 18), and over 40 Men. The event will be open to all riders who would normally qualify to ride in either the BCF or RTTC Championships. For many of the competitors, the event will be essential preparation for the World Championships, due to be held in Lisbon, Portugal in early October. Spokesmen for both organisations expressed their satisfaction with the cooperative project, and hope that it will not be the last.
Credit Agricole to launch youth teamRoger Legeay's team Credit Agricole are to start an Espoirs (19-23 yrs) squad next season. The team will be designed to nurture young riders into the professional ranks, and compete in the third division. Christophe Mevel, Sebastien Fournier and Franck Havidic are three of the riders who will form part of the team.
New Zealand Oceania MTB teamThe Oceania Games will be held in Sydney, 16-20 January 2000. The three Olympic disciplines of cycling to be included are, track, mountain bike and road for men and women with athletes from the Oceania countries of Australia, Fiji, Guam, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and Samoa. The mountain bike race is being held on the Olympic course situated at Fairfield City Farm, 31 Darling St, Abbotsbury, Sydney. Featuring a mass-start, the event is held over a number of laps of an undulating circuit. Men race over a total of 40-50 km (6-7 laps), while the women must cover 30-40km (5-6 laps). Event time is as per UCI regulations, 2 hours for women, 2 hours 15 minutes for men. Prior to the Oceania Games The Friendship Games or the Olympic Youth Festival, will also be held in Sydney 10-14 January 2001. A young team of under 19 year olds has been selected, with the event representing excellent exposure to international racing for developing athletes. The following are the riders selected by the NZ Mountain Bike Association for the games: Oceania Games Men 1 Jeremy Houltham (Pro-Elite) Reserves 1 Mike Northcott (Expert U23) Women 1 Suzy Pride (Pro-Elite) Reserves 1 Rebecca Cullen (Pro-Elite) Friendship Games (U19 on race day) Men (Senior) 1 Kurt Lancaster Men (Intermediate) 9 Mark Light Women (Senior) 1 Myra Moller Women (Intermediate) 5 Karina Wilkinson Reserves Roller record broken44 year old Manfred Nüscheler has set a new speed record for riding on stationary rollers, clocking 164.1 km/h in Berne, Switzerland on September 16, 2000. The record was set using a 54x11 (10.49 m) gear on a standard bike (Moser frame with Campagnolo gear) on Minoura rollers. The old record was 160.4 km/h. During the attempt, Nüscheler rode at between 269 and 284 rpm, demonstrating that leg speed is not necessarily lost as one gets older. |