UCI announces Div III teams

The UCI has today published the list of Division III teams. In the list below, following the team name is the three-letter country of registration, followed by the three-letter team name abbreviation. To see the rosters for the teams, please visit the UCI Div III list here.

Elk Haus Radteam Sportunion Schrems   AUT ELK 
Quick Step - Davitamon - Latexco  BEL  QDL 
Miche BUL MIB  
Jet Fuel Coffee   CAN JET  
AC Sparta Praha    CZE  ASP  
Credit Agricole Espoirs   FRA  CAE 
Team Maestro    GBR MAE
Team Endurasport.Com - Principia GBR TEP  
Team Comnet - Senges  GER  COM
Marco Polo Cycling Team  HKG MPC 
Nippon Hodo JPN  NIP  
Team Ringerike   NOR RIN  
Legia  POL  LEG  
Servisco - Koop POL  SER  
Team HSBC   RSA  HSB 
Team Barloworld    RSA  TBA 
Perutnina PTUJ   SLO  PER  
Team Macandina - Kewa Rad - VC Gippingen SUI   MKV
Saeco - Romer's - Wetzikon    SUI   SRW 
Team Mälarenergi   SWE MAL
Giant Asia Racing Team   TPE  GNT 
7Up USA 7UP  
Colavita Bolla  USA COB 
Health Net Cycling Team USA HNC 
Jelly Belly    USA JEL  
Lemond Fitness - Blender    USA LFB  
Ofoto - Lombardi Sports USA OFO 
Prime Alliance Cycling Team   USA PRI   
Saturn Cycling Team    USA SAT  
Sportsbook.com Cycling Team    USA SCC  
Schroeder Iron Cycling Team   USA SCI   
Sierra Nevada - Clif Bar Cycling Team USA SIE   
Webcor Cycling Team  USA WEB
West Virginia Cycling Team  USA WVC

Cooke wins Stage 3 Tour de Med

Baden Cooke, first man to cross the line on stage three of the Tour Méditerranéen, had been classed as a rider who had abandoned the race the previous day because he had not been noticed crossing the line by the race or UCI officials.

The confusion as to who had won the stage and whether Cooke had indeed finished the previous day's stage was sorted out following careful study of the previous day's film footage which proved the young Australian was in the second group to finish. For full details click here.

Bettini in Yellow: Joachim's great escape

Benoit Joachim (US Postal) had a good race today in the Tour Méditerranéen - but Bettini is in yellow - for full details click here.

Kevin Hulsmans back on the bike

The Quickstep "infirmary" is less populated - Kevin Hulsmans, who fractured his femur in the Tour Down Under in January, is on his bike for one hour per day, and though his return is not yet known, he says he is on his bike, which is good for his morale. (Velo Club du Net)

Turchino back in Milan-San Remo

The Turchino pass, absent from the Milan-San Remo for two years because of landslides, will be included in this year's edition. The World Cup race (if not disqualified due to a television rebroadcast dispute) will cover 294 km on the 22nd of March. Read Daily Peloton articles related to the race's World Cup status here and here. (Kataweb)

 Navigators Training Camp Update

Press Release--The Navigators Cycling Team began their spring training and early  season racing campaign in the quiet town of Castegneto Carducci, near  Donoratico, Italy, this week. With the days filled with training,  tweaking bike positions, photo sessions and getting settled into the  routine with new teammates, there's been little time for fun and  games. However, the boys and Eva (Barabas), a new team mechanic, did  have the opportunity to celebrate the birthdays of Marty Nothstein, Oleg Grichkine and Sergey Davidenko, which all occur on the same date:  February 10th.

With most of the formalities now out of the way, the  team started to bond as a unit with the usual characters trying to one-up the "new" characters, and a brand new selection of nicknames, hairstyles, and cycling stories. By the end of today's photography session, which included rides through the beautiful hills, vineyards and olive groves of Northwestern Italy, the boys in blue had already conspired to overthrow management and hijack the team's van for a fun trip to Livorno. It must have been a good break as the guys were still celebrating their afternoon of freedom long after dinner had  finished. With a full squad of seasoned riders coming together this quickly, it is a favorable indicator for the racing action, which  begins next week, one day earlier than originally planned. The season-opener for the Navigators squad will now be the Tropheo Lagueglia on February, 18th, instead of the Giro Dellai Liguoria.

The Navigators Group, Inc. is an international insurance holding company with insurance company operations, underwriting management companies and operations at Lloyd's of  London. Navigators primarily underwrites marine insurance and related  lines of business, contractor's general liability, and professional liability insurance. Headquartered in New York City, Navigators has offices in major insurance centers in the United States and the United Kingdom. Navigators, one of the largest marine insurers in the world, is committed to the principles of underwriting excellence and to providing quality service to its clients. Navigators is rated 'A' (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company and 'A' (Strong) by Standard & Poors. The Navigators Group, Inc. is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol NAVG.

 Look for the Navigators Cycling Team in these upcoming events:
 www.navpro.com/schedule/
 www.navpro.com

Also watch for an interview with team manager Ed Beamon right here at the Daily Peloton.

Cannondale Continues Sponsorship Of Surging 7UP Cycling Team

Press Release: Cannondale will once again serve as the official bicycle and apparel sponsor for the rapidly up-and-coming 7UP men's professional road racing team.The 7UP squad had its best year ever in 2002, with victories at the Redlands Classic, US Pro Criterium, and the San Francisco Grand Prix.The 2003 season marks the fifth year of 7UP's involvement in professional cycling.

The 7UP riders will be competing aboard Cannondale's highly-acclaimed 2.5-pound CAAD7 frames, which are crafted from the company's proprietary Optimo aluminum alloy.Because Optimo has 15% greater tensile strength than conventional aluminum alloys, Cannondale's engineers are able to use thinner, lighter tube walls without sacrificing frame strength. 

The 7UP team is the perfect complement to Cannondale's Saeco and T-Mobile road squads, according to Scott Montgomery, Cannondale's vice president of marketing."Saeco gives us a strong presence at the very highest level of European racing, and theT-Mobile team is one the top women's teams," said Montgomery."The 7UP team is the last piece of the puzzle for us, giving us great representation in men's professional domestic road racing."

Most of last year's 7UP team will be returning for 2003, along with some fresh talent. Leading the team again will be seasoned veteran John Lieswyn. John had a great 2002 notching up wins in the Great River Energy Classic in Minneapolis and New Zealand's Southland Tour to finish the season ranked 7th on the National Racing Calendar. Also taking more of a leadership role will be US Pro Criterium Champion Kevin Monahan who ended 2002 on a high note by winning the Mercy Classic in Arkansas. Track World Cup medallists Greg Henderson and Hayden Godfrey of New Zealand are back for another year with 7UP and looking to tear up the US criterium scene. Also returning for his 4th year with 7UP is Oscar Pineda hot off his victory in the final NRC race of the year- the Michelin Classic. Doug Ziewacz and Dan Schmatz also return for 2003 with something to prove. Doug returns after an injury plagued year following a broken collarbone at Solano and Dan looks for that breakthrough ride that he narrowly missed last season on way to a 4th overall at the Wendy's International Cycling Classic.

New blood for 2003 comes via Brice Jones, Jason McCartney, and Chris Pic. Brice is a former U23 National Champion looking to make a name for himself on the US Pro scene after a year apprenticing at Mercury. His 2nd place at the Pro Tour event in Miami and 28th in the U23 Tour of Flanders are testament to what's under the hood of this future star. After a fine stage win at the 2002 International, Jason McCartney steps up to the plate at 7UP to lend a hand with the climbing duties in everything from stage races to hilly crits. Chris Pic spent 2002 in semi-retirement, racing while working a 40 hour-a-week job. For 2003 Chris is back full time and looking to return to the form that saw him to top 20 finishes at Redlands, Philly, and Downers Grove.

"This is the most complete lineup" in the 5-year history of Team 7UP, said Jeff Corbett of Sports Group Eleven. "Everyone on this roster has podiumed at an NRC event".

The sponsorship side of the 7UP team looks familiar as well with a host of returning sponsors and a splash of new names. Besides Cannondale, returning sponsors include industry leaders like Ritchey, Time, Bell, Smith, Serfas, and Cytosport. New for 2003 are Mavic as official wheel and brake sponsor, Maxxis who will be providing all the rubber, and SRAM comes on board with their new line of road chains and cassettes. Two newer companies stepping up to the pro ranks for the first time are HoneyStinger with their new energy bars and Dogfish with casual clothing.

The 7UP Pro Cycling Team is planning a full NRC schedule for 2003 including the new Tour of Georgia. They will also have a strong focus on the Wachovia Series and defending their titles at Downers Grove and San Francisco.

The team will kick off the season with a two week training camp in central Florida and the NRC season opener - the new Gainesville Grand Prix.

USA Cycling athletic funding program

USA Cycling Press Release - The USA Cycling Development Foundation has announced an increase of $100,000 to its annual grant for USA Cycling's athletic programs in 2003. This commitment to increase funding was made at the Foundation Board's bi-annual meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. earlier this month.

The Foundation Board has increased its annual grant total from $500,000 to $600,000, increasing its overall contribution for 2003 by 20%. The USAC Development Foundation has supported USA Cycling athletic development programs for the past three years, with grants totaling more than $1.5 million.

"This is a very significant enhancement to our athletic operating budget," said USA Cycling's Director of Athletics Steve Johnson. "These additional resources have made it possible to launch a mountain bike development program in 2003, including the hiring of a national mountain bike development manager.

"Through the financial support of the USA Cycling Development Foundation, we have been able to support some truly world-class programs, like the European Espoir program," said Johnson. "The T-Mobile Women's road team was also launched with Foundation support. The Foundation has played, and will continue to play a major role in these and future programs."

The USA Cycling Development Foundation is currently the second-largest cash sponsor of American development cycling programs. It additionally awards more than $60,000 annually to collegiate riders, outstanding clubs/teams through the Centers of Excellence awards and travel/training grants to junior riders through the Edmund R. Burke Fund for Cycling Development.

For more information or to pledge support for America's young athletes, please contact the USA Cycling Development Foundation at (719) 866-4856, or visit the website at www.usacdf.org.