First Edition Cycling News for December 9, 2006

Edited by Laura Weislo

Riis confident CSC can win big in 2007

By Shane Stokes

CSC boss Bjarne Riis
Photo ©: Gerry McManus

Although the introduction of approximately 800 anti-doping tests will see the team under far greater scrutiny than many of its rivals, CSC manager Bjarne Riis is confident that the Danish squad will have a big year in 2007.

"I have no doubt about that," said the former Tour de France winner in an interview with Cyclingnews. "If I had any question [about the riders being clean], I would never have come up with a programme like this. I hope it is sending out a good message. Everything that can be done for the sport is important, right now, and everybody who can do something about it should do so...it is their duty to do something. The only way forward is to clean up the sport. I think what we are doing will be a good solution."

In November, CSC announced details of the planned new anti-doping programme, which Riis says will cost them over €300,000 and see the riders undergo regular out of competition tests. Danish expert Rasmus Damsgaard will oversee the initiative, which along with that to be introduced by T-Mobile, will represent probably the most stringent anti-doping measures in sport.

The riders will also undergo the usual tests at events, meaning that they will be monitored throughout the year. "The idea came after the Tour," Riis said, referring to the period when Giro d’Italia winner and CSC’s team leader Ivan Basso was pulled from the race due to his implication in Operacion Puerto. "We were all thinking a lot about the future and what can be done in cycling. We came up with the idea that we should make contact with Ramus Damsgaard and that he would devise an anti-doping programme that was sufficient. He was very positive about it. Personally, I believe that it is actually the best anti-doping programme in history. I look forward to starting it with my team, and hope that many other teams will follow."

CSC had a very successful season in 2006. Apart from a triumphant showing at the Giro, the squad successfully defended their ProTour team title, took individual or team stage wins in each of the Grand Tours, won the world championship time trial and Paris-Roubaix, and triumphed in over 50 events. Riis expects more of the same in 2007.

"We have a very strong team, I think we have shown that this year. We have been able to perform during the whole season and that is what we want to do again. To be there from the start until the very end. We are going to be up there in the Classics, we are going to be up there in the big Tours... different levels, of course, but a factor in each.

"I think we are going to be competitive in the big Tours...it depends little bit on what we choose with Carlos [Sastre] and so on. But for sure, we will have a very strong team in both the Tour and the Vuelta. I am quite sure we will have a strong team in the Giro, as well, but I don't know if we will go there with overall ambitions.

"Apart from that, we want to win the ProTour ranking again and we also have ambitions of winning the individual ranking, perhaps with Frank Schleck or somebody else."

In Basso’s absence, Sastre stepped up to the plate and finished fourth in France. The Spaniard then took the same position in the Vuelta and Riis is confident he will be at a similar, or slightly higher, level in 2007. "Getting onto the podium in the Tour is, I think, realistic with Carlos," he says.

"I have no doubt that he will perform. He is always very stable. I have a lot of confidence in him and I am quite sure that he can go higher than this year, although we need to see what the competition is like. We will aim for the best, trying to make a big effort and see how far we can go with him. He will have the full support of the team."

A full interview with Bjarne Riis will appear soon on Cyclingnews

Detour possible for Tour of California

By Sue George

Hwy 1 runs along the Pacific Ocean
Photo ©: Beth Seliga

Although announced formally this week, the eight-day February's Tour of California's route is subject to further adjustment due to road construction at several sites along Highway 1. Stage 1 from Sausalito to Santa Rosa will be affected; the stage now runs through Marin along the Pacific Ocean.

The road construction issue was not mentioned during the announcement of the route, but organizers already knew of the road construction from California's Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

"It was last week that Caltrans brought to our attention that we should develop a contingency plan. We've been working with Caltran and CHP [California Highway Patrol] on that particular issue. We were fortunate to have resources out there at the time to look closer at options," Jim Birrell, Managing Partner of Medalist Sports, told Cyclingnews.

The Marin Independent Journal reported that road repairs on the affected sections would not be completed until mid-March, long after the race. They proposed several alternative routes and weighed pros and cons of each.

However, organizers aren't revealing any of their options. Birrell declined to comment on any alternatives for fear of jeopardizing the approval process. "Now that we have all the intelligence we need, we're going to the county to go through the permit process." He promised that fans would not be disappointed. "The options will provide great vistas for photo-journalists."

When asked about the process for route approval, Birrell said, "We started the route design [for 2007] before the 2006 edition even happened. We started out at state level because 90% of the roads are state-owned, and then we worked down, but it's a collaborative effort. We've been working through process to get sign-off from all involved jurisdictions so there would be no surprises for local jurisdictions. So as of yesterday, when we announced the route, we had 100% support from all localities."

UCI ProTour license decision delayed

By Susan Westemeyer

The UCI's License Commission has delayed its decision on who will obtain the ProTour spot left by the withdrawal of Team Phonak. Barloworld, Unibet and Astana are all vying for the spot. "The UCI keeps pushing the deadline away. Now they have put it off until next week. If we don't get a ProTour license, we'll ride as a Professional Continental team," Astana director sportif Walter Godefroot told the German press agency dpa. "I don't think that the organizers of the big races will exclude us."

Godefroot further denied reports that Paolo Savoldelli was looking to leave Astana because of the license problems. "Those reports are made only to bother us. We are a strong team. With Alexander Vinokourov, Andreas Klöden, Savoldelli and Andrei Kashetchikin we have riders who can win the big races like the Giro, Vuelta or Tour de France."

Organisers and riders preparing for Stuttgart Worlds

By Susan Westemeyer

Plans are moving along for the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, with both organisers and riders starting to make preparations. But cycling is only one of the sports which will hold its world championships in the 'European Sports City' next year - it will be joined by handball, artistic gymnastics and formation dancing.

Stephan Schumacher (Germany)
Photo ©: Sirotti

Preparations for the road races are hard at work. "Twenty people are presently involved with organiziing the road world championships, and that figure will gradually increase," said Rolf Schneider, general secretary of the organizing committee. He also assured local residents and businesses that the week of racing wouldn't cause major traffic problems. "Short term measures are involved here, and were making the city's inhabitants aware of the unique chance they have to see the world championships heroes live on their own doorsteps," Schneider said.

Not far from Stuttgart is Herrenberg, Germany, better known as the home of Team Gerolsteiner. "A coup in Stuttgart would be comparable to a stroke of genius during the Tour de France," said Hans-Michael Holczer, team manager. Also not far away is the town of Nürtingen, the hometown of Stefan Schumacher, who "will base his schedule around the competition in September." The town only an hour's bike ride to the starting line, and he has already inspected the course.

Verge NECCS wraps up

Mark McCormack (Clif Bar)
Photo ©: Paul Weiss

The 2006 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-cross Series, wraps up this weekend, and the race for elite championships are still wide open. Both races of the Rhode Island double header, Saturday’s W.E. Stedman Grand Prix in South Kingston and Sunday’s Caster’s cyclo-cross in Warwick, offer their own challenges to riders vying for the championship.

The W.E. Stedman course is a fast, open, and often blustery tour around the grounds at the Curtis Corner Middle School, which favors sheer power. Promoter Chris Milliman told Cyclingnews that the courses are expected to remain dry throughout the weekend, and the weather is predicted to be sunny and unusually warm.

"Saturday's race is in a field that is never very wet... I wouldn't describe it as a technical course - it's definitely is a power course, but there are a couple of sections where you have to watch yourself, or you could get into trouble coming into something too hot". The race on Sunday will be a different affair, offering up a long section of sand that will have the riders running more than they're accustomed to.

Last year's US national champion Todd Wells will get to wear the stars and stripes one last time at the W.E. Stedman GP, which will serve as a last chance tuning race for the GT rider before next week's national championships, but Wells will not compete in Sunday's race in Warwick.

Mark McCormack (Clif Bar) will have to be on top of his game to take his fifth series title, as he's coming into the final weekend just ten points over former jersey holder Matt White (FiordiFrutta) and a 60-point margin over defending Verge series champion Tim Johnson (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com).

In the women's races, Mackenzie Dickey (Verge) holds a tenuous 8-point lead over triple event winner Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) going into the Rhode Island showdown. Bessette needs to beat Dickey on both days to take the overall Verge NECCS Elite Women’s title, but Dickey will surely put in a challenge, having won on the South Kingston in 2005.

The series has been a testament to cyclo-cross' popularity in the US, extending the record breaking entries from the Pacific Northwest to the New England region. "The numbers have been huge this year", said Milliman, "we've broken all of our attendance records. It's definitely been a great series so far".

New North American UCI women's stage race unveiled

The North American women's UCI calendar has received a much needed boost by the announcement of a new stage race in Canada. Event promoter Daniel Manibal presented the 'Tour de PEI' which will be held in the maritime province of Prince Edward Island from June 10-14, 2007. Manibal also promotes the other Canadian UCI races, the Montreal world cup which will be held on June 2nd, and the Tour du Grand Montreal which is scheduled for June 4-7.

"It's a testament to our commitment to women's racing that we can expand our offering to this new event", Manibal told Cyclingnews. "The countryside is just beautiful, and the government became engaged as a way to promote the area to cycle-tourists". This local commitment allowed the organisers to include an individual time trial on the Confederation Bridge, which, at 12.9 kilometers, is the longest bridge over ice covered waters in the world. "The wind will surely provide difficulty for the time trial - there is very little elevation, so it could be a factor", said Manibal.

By having one team promoting all three events, riders get the luxury of having race-provided transport between the stage races in Montreal and the new Tour de PEI, easing travel issues for visiting European teams.

Stage 1: June 10 - Summerside circuit race - 96 km
Stage 2: June 11 - Confederation Bridge time trial - 26 km
Stage 3: June 12 - Cavendish national park - western region
Stage 4: June 13 - Cavendish national park - Charlottetown (eastern region)
Stage 5: June 14 - Charlottetown criterium - 50 km

Specialized-Menikini women's team

A new women’s cycling team, team Specialized-Menikini, has been formed in Quebec. Made up of the best up-and-coming Quebec athletes, this team have the unique position of being closely tied to a 'sister team' of UCI professionals, the Menikini team (formerly Nobili Rubinetterie Menikini Cogeas), based in Italy. The seasoned professionals from Europe will travel to Canada to compete with the new developmental team, and then eventually, the plan is for the Europeans to host their Québécoise sister squad for select races in Europe in order to ease the young riders into international racing.

Specialized-Menikini has a three year plan to develop their program, starting with a 'training school' to develop local talent and focus on North American races. The team will expand their racing to Europe in the second year, with the goal of establishing a full UCI team by year three.

Manager Walter Ricci Petitoni, who has been with the Menikini team since 2003, said “We are very pleased and enthusiastic about being involved in forming the new regional Specialized-Menikini team. As an international team, we want to share our experience in order to offer these emerging athletes an opportunity to become international champions.”

Expresscopy sponsors women's team

Expresscopy.com and Biovail have teamed up to launch the only UCI licensed women's team in Canada. The team will race across twelve different countries with the goal of developing talent for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Biovail will be supporting the team for a fourth consecutive year, while Argon 18, a Montreal based company, will provide the riders with the new Gallium, Krypton and Mercury bikes. By May, the riders will be able to perform on the brand new Element 114, a carbon monoshell time trial bike.

Elite team
Gina Grain (Can)
Anne Samplonius (Can)
Jessica Phillips (USA)
Meshy Holt (NZ)
Erinne Willock (Can)
Audrey Lemieux (Can)

Development team consists of -
Joelle Numainville (Can)
Stephanie Bourbeau (Can)
Jennifer Stephenson (Can)
Amanda Shaw (Can)
Jennifer Magur (USA)
Alison Testroete (Can)

Management and support
Scott Gerrie, Team Manager
Claudine Labelle, PR coordinator
Justin Olson, Head mechanic
Chris Cavacuiti, Team Doctor
Jeff Alexander, Head soigneur

New sprint series for Tasmanian carnivals

A full house last year in Launceston
Photo ©: Anthony Tan

B&E Ltd. have provided additional sponsorship to run a sprint series during the National Grid Christmas Carnival Series. The sprint series will be held over the four major carnivals, starting in Latrobe and finishing in Burnie on New Years day. Only the elite riders will get a chance to compete for the additional $1000 on offer for the winner of the series.

Points will be allocated to riders for each sprint race, with the overall winner being announced at the conclusion of Burnie. Ben Kersten, Jame Carney, Joel Leonard and Scott Sunderland are all expected to fight it out for the B&E sprint series. Grant Atkins, president of SCAT, believes that the sprint series will add a lot to the carnivals, saying “B&E Ltd are great supporters of the carnivals and this is a real boost to the series. The action should be fast and furious, as it gives some of the elite guys the chance to really show off their ability to the crowds”.

In other carnival news, Darren Young (Dash) has been confirmed as a starter for the National Grid Christmas Carnival Series. Young was unsure whether he would be ready in time for the series due to a re-occcuring back injury that has forced him off the bike for part of 2006. Young who lives in Melbourne is keen to be back on the bike and is ready to get some miles back in the legs. “I’ll admit my preparation hasn’t been ideal but our family has a strong tradition at the Carnivals and I’ll be ready to give it my best come Boxing Day”.

The Youngs have been racing at the Carnivals since 1953 with Viv and Darrel Young, and now their sons Grant, Jason and Darren will continued the tradition by lining up for the 2006/2007 series. Atkins said, “Dash is the first person to ever have won the Austral Wheelrace back to back from scratch and he is a well known local Devonport boy who has grown up with the carnivals in his blood... it is great to see him back for another year. He will be a great addition to the back markers for the series.”

USA Cycling announces team for Moscow

USA Cycling has revealed the seven-member team that will head to Moscow to represent the USA at the second round of the track world cup series from December 15-17. USAC will once again send a young team to the world cup to help them gain more experience against the world's best riders.

Women
Sima Trapp (Boise, Idaho) – Points Race, Scratch Race

Kori Seehafer (Louisville, Colo.) – Points Race, Scratch Race

Men
Tom Zirbel (Boulder, Colo.) – Madison, Points Race, Scratch Race
Cody O’Reilly (Santa Barbara, Calif.) – Madison, Points Race, Scratch Race
Michael Blatchford (Cypress, Calif.) – Team Sprint, Sprint, Keirin
Ben Barczewski (Breinigsville, Pa.) – Team Sprint, Sprint, Keirin
Kevin Selker (Boulder, Colo.) – Team Sprint, Sprint, Keirin

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