News for October 22, 1997

Contracts and Transfers

- GAN rider FRANCISQUE TEYSSIER (28), whose contract was not renewed by GAN directeur sportif Roger Legeay, has signed a one-year contract with La Mutuelle de Seine-et-Marne.

- New Spanish team Vitalicio Seguros has announced further signings. These include JUAN-CARLOS DOMINGUEZ (Kelme), the winner of the 1997 Tour of Valencia, Tour of Murcia and Setmana Catalana, and Roslotto rider ANDREA FERRIGATO. Other signings include four riders from Banesto -- SANTIAGO BLANCO, PRUDENCIO INDURAIN, ANGEL-LUIS CASERO and VICENTE APARICIO. Three Colombians are also to join the squad -- OLIVEIRO RINCON (formerly of ONCE but coming back after a year's retirement); and two Kelme riders, HERNAN BUENAHORA and CHEPE GONZALEZ.

- Norwegian rider KURT-AISLE ARVESEN, who took the gold medal in the espoirs road race at San Sebastian, has been signed by TVM. The Dutch team has also signed Dane CLAUS MOLLER, who was high up in the general classification in the Vuelta a Espana wearing Estepona colours, Belgian GEERT VAN BONDT (Vlaanderen 2002) and a neo-pro, Dutch rider PIETER VRIES.

- New Danish team Jack and Jones (sponsored by the jeans maker of that name) has been formally launched with a budget of approximately sterling 1.2 million. With former RMO rider Alex Pedersen as directeur sportif, the team will focus on JESPER SKIBBY, nine years with TVM, with BRIAN HOLM (Telekom) as road captain. Other riders will include another Dane, MICHAEL KYNEB (PSV Koln), LIthuanians ARVIS PIZIKS (Rabobank) and JURIS SILOVS (Schauff), and five Danish neo-pros.

- OLIVIER ASMAKER (US Montauban) joins fellow Frenchman Laurent Roux at TVM next season.

- I'll have a Scott Sunderland announcement early next week. It will be interesting.

Final Night at Bordeaux 6 Day Race

 1. Silvio Martinello-Marco Villa (Ita)        	374 points
 2. Bruno Risi-Kurt Betschart (Swi)          	361

At 1 Lap:

 3. Etienne De Wilde-Matthew Gilmore (Bel-Aus) 	257

New Start for Fleche Wallonne

The Fleche Wallonne will next year have a new start, in Charleroi. The town will host the Ardennais semi- classic until at least 2001. The race, to be run in 1998 on April 15, has started at Spa since 1986 but had a Charleroi start from 1948 to 1959 and in 1982. The traditional finish of recent years, at the summit of the tough Mur de Huy, will be retained. Another innovation in 1998 will be a women's race preceding the men's elite event that finishes after one circuit of the Huy circuit.

Breukink's Valedictory Race

Thirty-three-year-old Dutch rider Erik Breukink bows out of bike racing on October 26 in a mountain bike race, the Brinta Beach Classic. The field for the race, which takes place at Scheveningen on the Dutch North Sea coast, is expected to include most of Breukink's Rabobank team-mates. Breukink turned pro in 1985 for Skala and then rode with Panasonic (1986--89), PDM (1990--92), ONCE (1993--95) and Rabobank (1996--97).

Breukink's palmares include five Tour de France stage wins (he took part in the race 11 times): at Pau in 1987, the Luxembourg prologue in 1989, the Villard-de-Lans time trial in 1989,and the Lac-de-Vassiviere time trial in 1990. His best position overall in the Tour de France was 3rd in 1990 and he was a consistently high finisher overall in the Giro d'Italia in the late 1980s (3rd in 1987, 2nd in 1988, 4th in 1989).

Other high points in his palmares include 1st overall in the Nissan Classic 1990 (one stage win), 1st overall Tour DuPont 1991 (prologue and one stage win), 1st GP Eddy Merckx 1991, 1st Tour of Piedmont 1992, 1st overall in the Criterium International de la Route 1993 (one stage win), 1st overall Tour of Asturias 1993 (one stage win), 1st overall Tour of Holland 1993 (one stage win).

Quote of the Week

Max Sciandri quoted in the Guardian (London) on Saturday (October 18) before the Giro di Lombardia explaining his psychological hang-ups when in a winning move: "I can get close but, when I do, I shit my pants."