Max van Heeswijk signs another year at Postal

Max Heeswijk has extended his contract with US Postal for another year. He will be able to concentrate on the classics, and he says, "Hopefully next year I will compete in the Tour de France."

"Hopefully I will be in the Tour training camp with Armstrong. Johan Bruyneel has told me I have a more realistic chance of getting in the Tour team next season since Viatcheslav Ekimov and Pavel Padrenos will both be a year older." Thanks to Max's website and Marcel Koch for the great Max photos that Marcel took today!

Photo by Marcel Koch

Photo by Marcel Koch

George Hincapie Ready to Rumble in the Clasica San Sebastian

By Jaime Nichols --George Hincapie takes on the Clasica San Sebastian with high hopes this weekend. Says the American favorite: “I have something to prove after crashing out last year in the final.” Hincapie was on his way to a best ever finish on the tough, hilly course when he crashed out of the race on the descent of the Jaizkibel last year, and with his current climbing form and motivation, he should be on target for a strong ride. Hincapie was a little disappointed with his ride in last week’s World Cup race in Hamburg, finding his legs “not so special” in a race he has done well in in the past, but there’s always another race, and George says that the final in the Clasica suits his abilities well: “If I can come to the line in a small group, I’m confident I’ll be standing on top of the podium.”

US Postal/Berry Floor Assistant Director Sportif Lorenze Lapage says the Clasica will be “right up the alley of the riders who got through the Tour de France in one piece and are willing to continue doing so in the Spanish hill-country.” And adds that "obviously" Postals hopes will lie with Big Hink. “He’s in the pink of condition at this moment and has to be in a position to perform very well on Saturday.”

A strong team will back Hincapie. Benoit Joachim, Michale Barry, Guennadi Mikaihlov and Matt White will join recent Tour de France stalwarts Viatcheslav Ekimov and Pavel Padrnos. US Postal/Berry Floor Assistant Director Sportif Laurenzo Lapage looks forward to a strong race. “We already came forward last week in Hamburg and George and Matthew, among others, rode a solid race. Unfortunately we didn’t make it in the end, but we’re sure we’ll determine the race in San Sebastian. Of course we’ll have to watch the guys who also performed well last week. I’m thinking of Bettini, Rebellin (winner in 1997) and Jan Ullrich, just to name some of the favourites. Vinokourov and Tyler Hamilton will also be present again and I expect a lot of the Basques with their leader Iban Mayo. They surely are dying to make a good performance in their own region. There are also a number of more classic-oriented riders who did not participate in the Tour, but prepared themselves in silence to lash out in these summer top races.”

Meanwhile, Lance Armstrong who won the Clasica San Sebastian in 1995, is taking a break: “Lance has ridden a number of criteria after the exhausting Tour and is now taking it easy,” says Lapage. “He’s training a lot, but hasn’t decided yet which races he’s planning to ride this year. Maybe we’ll meet him in the Championship of Zurich, but that is certainly not a fact yet.”

USPS/Berry Floor for the Clasic San Sebastian:
Georgie Hincapie
Viatcheslav Ekimov
Pavel Padrnos
Benoit Joachim
Michael Barry
Guennadi Mikhailov
Matt White

Also see the Clasica San Sebastian Previews: Part One, Part Two

Thanks to George Hincapie’s Blog and US Postal Berry Floor for this report. 

Regio Tour International Cat. 2.3

Stage 3: Herbolzheim - Lahr 188.2 km

Saeco achieved their 27th victory of the season today when the Italian from Iseo, Nicola Gavazzi, surprised the breakaway to win his first pro race. The Bresciano had shown earlier signs of good form this season in the UNIQA Classic where he was pipped to second place on stage 2 by eventual winner Roger Hammond. Saeco are naturally delighted as this press release shows:

A lone win in the third stage of the Regio Tour--Nicola Gavazzi has confirmed the clear improvements he has made in recent months with his first win as a professional in the third stage of the Regio Tour in Germany, from Herbolzheim to Lahr over 188.2km. The Brescia born rider was part of a break which were away for 150km. Near the finish, Gavazzi realised he would have little chance of beating sprinter Danilo Hondo and so he launched an attack with two kilometres to go, surprising everybody and winning by a few seconds. Hondo won the sprint for second place.

"It was a well deserved win," directeur sportif Flavio Miozzo said after following Gavazzi’s perfect ride from the Saeco team car. "He’s worked hard to break through and this is the best possible reward that he could get."

Result Stage 3
1 Nicola Gavazzi (ITA/Saeco) 4 h.30:50 (41,69 km/h)
2. Danilo Hondo (ALL/Telekom) st
3. Anthona Morin (FRA/Credit Agricole) + 04.
4. Steffen Radochla (ALL/Bianchi) 06.
5. Michael Giebelmann (ALL/Wiesenhof) st.
6. Addy Engels (PBS/Rabobank) st.
7. David Kopp (ALL/Telekom) 43.
8. Marco Zanotti (ITA/Fassa Bortolo) st.
9. Erik Baumann (ALL/Wiesnehof) st.
10. Jose Ivan Gutierrez (ESP/Banesto) st.
...
19. Vlodymir Gustov (UKR/Fassa Bortolo) st.

General Classification
1. Vlodymir Gustov (UKR/Fassa Bortolo) 11 h 03:37.
2. Ronny Scholz (ALL/Gerolsteiner) + 2.
3. Christian Moreni (ITA/Alessio) 3.
4. Eladio Jimenez (ESP/Banesto) 15.
5. Jose Ivan Gutierrez (ESP/Banesto) 26.
6. Laurent Lefevre (FRA/Delatour) 33.
7. Christopher Jenner (NZL/Credit Agricole) 36.
8. Grischa Niermann (PBS/Rabobank) 37.
9. Gilles Bouvard (FRA/Delatour) 40.
10. Javier Pascual (ESP/Banesto) 46.

Grand Boucle Stage Six

Stage Six: Vif-Davezieux, 106 km

Rasa Pollikeviciute claimed today's sixth stage in the Grand Boucle Feminine, beating out Emma James and Margaret Hemsley, who both crossed the finish line 4 seconds later. Somarriba retains the leader's jersey and a 2:01 lead on Nicole Brandli in second place.

Yesterday Panda Software's Spanish darling Joane Somarriba gained two minutes on GC, but her director knows she has her work cut out for her, and Nicole Brandli is their main worry.

Jon Elorriaga, director of Panda Software, hopes Somarriba will maintain the yellow jersey during the next flat stages. “It is certain that we don't have a very powerful team, and  Brandli as well as Luperini want to control the race.”

For Elorriaga, stage 5 confirmed that there are three riders superior to the rest. “They have shown to be the best. We wanted to extend the gap in the last mountain stage, but Joane has not done well when attacked, she was suffering a lot and Luperini recovered to give chase at the end. At least, we have put some time to Brandli, who is the rival that we most worry about.”

The Basque director mentioned the necessity of finding alliances before potential incursion by the dangerous "corredoras" (women riders). “If there are breaks that gain a lot of distance, they should help us to pull because the it would be not only Joane who would lost the Tour. They would also.” (Mundo Deportivo, Velo Feminine, Velo Club)

Stage 6 Results

1 Rasa Polikeviciute Team 2002 Aurora RSM 3 42' 54 "
2 Emma James Les Pruneaux d'Agen 2' 04 "
3 Margaret Hemsley Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung mt
4 Anita Valen Bik-Powerplate 2' 11 "
5 Magalie Finot Laivier French National Team 2' 30 "
6 Tina Liebig S.C. Michela Fanini Record Rox 2' 43 "
7 Elisabeth Chevanne Brunel Les Pruneaux d'Agen 2' 45 "
8 Volha Hayeva Velodames-Colnago 3' 12 "
9 Sabrina Emmasi Prato Marathon Bike 4' 10 "
10 Sigrid Corneo Road Runner - Guerciotti Cycling Team 4' 31 "

General Classification after Stage 6

1 Joane Somarriba Arrola Bizkaia Panda Spiuk Sabeco 16 51' 07 "
2 Nicole Brändli Prato Marathon Bike 2' 01 "
3 Fabiana Luperini Team 2002 Aurora RSM 3' 29 "
4 Olga Zabelinskaia Velodames-Colnago 4' 07 "
5 Edita Pucinskaite S.C. Michela Fanini Record Rox 7' 00 "
6 Judith Arndt Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung 10' 57 "
7 Jolanta Polikeviciute Team 2002 Aurora RSM 11' 18 "
8 Susanne Ljungskog Bik-Powerplate 11' 40 "
9 Tina Liebig S.C. Michela Fanini Record Rox 15' 31 "
10 Rasa Polikeviciute Team 2002 Aurora RSM 16' 32 "

Hampsten Cycles Report - The Pork Rind

Ciao belle! Greetings again from Hampsten Towers! It seems like a year since we wrote our last missive, and of course much has happened. We’ve been pretty frantic around here at the Towers, with our various teams working almost non-stop to bring you new and improved bike models, graphics, clothing, and website. Some details are still being sorted out, but early versions of many of our models are being seen all over the country.

At the top of the list is our announcement that the poster many been clamoring for, “Racer in Snowstorm” (also known as "Il Grande Ciclismo"), is finally available directly from us. It’s the great shot by Sergio Penazzo of Andy climbing the Gavia Pass, back in June, fifteen years ago. See www.hampsten.com for details.

Our new website is up and running great – bravo John Stebbins. Michael Matisse as usual shot our pix – we think they look, well, simply fabulous!

Style Section --The new-style t-shirts are selling briskly. Choose from the light blue version commemorating the 1988 Giro d’Italia, or our latest “surfer style” in all-new colors - Sand or Tangerine.

Jerseys with both long and short sleeves are flying out the door – when they’re gone, they’re gone.

For those of you who appreciate the Good Old Days while riding your titanium bike, Moots now has the jersey for you. Italian, all-wool, long sleeved, slightly baggy fit, embroidered logo on chest and back – these rock! $125 from Dan or Jon at Moots.

Frame o’ the Month --This month’s cool frame has to be Keith Doyle’s sloping SuperTuscan with s/l fillets, lime green paint and blue decals. We had our doubts, but Keith and our razor-sharp Art Department all assured us that it would work. It did, and kudos to Keith for his gutsy choice! We will be adding this dynamite, “Kelme”-like combination to our lineup.

Report from Boulder --Andy writes: “The tours are still going gangbusters; three good ones this last spring, and two more in the fall. I plan to revise thee olde “Ask Andy™” column from the cyclegossip.com days (remember the 90’s?).

"It looks like the new version may be co-hosted by Australian-based RIDE Cycling Review magazine along with Seattle-grown BikeCafe. Start sharpening those wits, and feel free to send questions to AskAndy@BikeCafe.net.” Inquiring minds want to know…

2004 Paralympic Games - Cycling

Two weeks after the completion of the Olympic Games, the best Paralympic athletes will come to Athens to compete in the Paralympic Games. The general philosophy of the Paralympic Games is to follow the rules of the Olympic sports as much as possible.

Such a philosophy is already implied in the name of the event. The term “Paralympic” derives from the word “Olympic” and the prefix “Para,” a Greek preposition which means “close to”. The Paralympic Games is an elite sports event in terms of both the organisation and the actual competition.

Former professional rider Javier Otxoa intends to compete in these games, and he will be up against some stiff competition - a look at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic cycling results shows how many world records and paralympic records were set in that edition.

You can download the video presentation (30Kbps 3mb or 90 Kbps 5mb) of the Paralympic Games (Click here to download if your computer does not have the required Windows Media Player installed). 

What is the difference between the Paralympic Games and the Special Olympics? --The Paralympic Games are the world's most important sporting event for athletes with a disability. Paralympic athletes strive to achieve excellence in performance within the highest level of competition. Special Olympics are an international programme of year-round sports training and athletic competition for people with mental retardation. Emphasis is placed on offering the opportunity and the joy to participate in the competition and not on the athletic performance itself.

Attendance and Schedule--From the 17th to the 28th of September 2004 Athens will welcome 4,000 Paralympic athletes from about 130 countries, as well as over 2,000 team officials. All will be accommodated at the Paralympic Village.

The Paralympic Games will be held at the same Olympic Venues which are provided with the necessary facilities to accommodate the athletes and spectators. At the same time, infrastructure is being upgraded in all cities so as to ensure their accessibility to all.

Equality among Paralympic and Olympic Athletes--In order to establish equitable practices, athletes competing in the Paralympic Games will, for the first time in the history of the events, not have to pay any participation fees. By abolishing the participation fees, ATHENS 2004 wishes to eliminate any discrimination between the athletes taking part in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Paralympic Cycling --The Paralympic Games Cycling programme includes two disciplines: Road Cycling and Track Cycling. Road Cycling races take place on public highways, while the Track Cycling races take place on tracks, or in other words, a velodrome. Although the rules and regulations governing the sport are the same as those for the Olympic Cycling, in certain cases modifications to the bicycles are allowed in order to facilitate athletes with specific disabilities.

Athletes with partial or total vision impairment, celebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, amputees or any other permanent physical deficiency can participate in Cycling. The athletes are classified into categories based on their functional abilities together with the skills required for the sport. The athletes’ bicycles are modified, whenever considered necessary, according to the athletes’ needs.

Cycling at the 2004 Paralympic Games--Track Cycling events will be held in the Olympic Velodrome at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (OCO), within five competition days (18-22 September 2004). Road Cycling events will be held in Vouliagmeni, within the span of three competition days, from 24-26 September 2004. (Courtesy Athens 2004 Olympic Games)