Second Edition News for March 28

More on that knee...

Ominously, Laurent Jalabert is only entered by ONCE as a reserve in the two-day Criterium International (March 30/31) which he won overall last year. The race runs in his home area, with a flattish stage Saturday (Gaillac--Gaillac 191km), a hilly stage Sunday morning (Mazamet--Pic de Nore 80km) and a time trial Sunday afternoon (6.5km at Castres).

Principal favourites for the race include Boardman, Heulot (GAN), Vandenbroucke (Mapei), Borchard, Virenque (Festina) and Leblanc (Polti).