The Rutkiewitcz Affair

Following the arrest yesterday of Rutkiewitcz, fellow Pole Madejak, the Cofidis soigneur, was arrested as soon as he stepped off the plane at Orly airport today. Both are held under suspicion of trading illegal doping products. Madejak, had been ordered by Cofidis to return to France from a team training camp in Calpe, Spain.

Meanwhile the French police acting on information from telephone conversations made a swoop on the home of the former Madison world champion ex-Cofidis rider Robert Sassone (Fra). According the l’Equipe a search of his house in Hyères (Cote d’Azur) revealed large quantities of doping products that would imply he was involved in the trade of these products. However Catherine Briguet, a police spokeswoman said they found "a few pills, ampoules of testosterone, a little EPO but nothing of huge consequence and not in great quantities That is compatible with personal use and not with large-scale trafficking.

Robert Sassone had recently signed for the Oktos-Saint Quentin Division 3 team for the 2004 season.

Cofidis manager Alain Bondue defended his team in todays L'Equipe: "The raid surprised me but we have nothing to fear….I think that the Cofidis team will be able to prove throughout this enquiry that it’s doing everything in its power to combat doping – although that’s not to say that we have no black sheep."

Bondue confirmed that Rutkiewicz and Sassone did not have their contracts renewed last year only because "they lacked results."

Meanwhile the team website released a statement that backing the Cofidis commitment to eliminate dopage from the sport and backed both team doctor Jean Jacques Menuet and general manager, Alain Bondue saying they had “absolute confidence” in both men.

The site also pointed out “This incident should not at all call into question the current dynamics of the Cofidis team which hopes have a superb season, while totally respecting sporting ethics."

Three Cofidis World Champions – courtesy Cofidis.

Bodysol Soigneur injured

The new team Bodysol-Brustor had bad luck at their training camp in Spain at Calpe. Soigneur Hans Van Hout was the victim of a car accident. He was taken to the local hospital at Vinaroz where examinations revealed he had a broken leg. Following medical advice from the Spanish doctors, Hans Van Hout will terurn to Belgium for what is expected to be a long period of recouperation.

Ullrich back on track

Jan Ullrich, who has been bed ridden for the last few days with influenza, will join team-members of T-Mobile on Wednesday in Mallorca. The rest of the team have been training there since Saturday.

"I am better now. I look forward to joining my new team mates”, said Ullrich.

Breukink to lead Rabobank

Erik Breukink will be the new manager of the Rabobank team for the next two seasons. Breukink will take over from caretaker manager Theo de Rooij.

Breukink returns to the team having been a rider in the famous orange colours. Highly respected in the Netherlands by both cyclists and the public, he has recentlly been commentating on the NOS channel.

Stayer to Co-sponsor Bankgiroloterij?

Manager of Bankgiroloterij, Arend Schepping, has confirmed he has been in negotiations with the italian Stayer company in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

Stayer, who had a string of sporting sponsorships last season go astray, have been keen to enter cycling and have Giovanni Lombardi, Giampaolo Mondini, Gabriele Missaglia and Eddy Serri, as well as DS Marino Amadori under contract. Bankgiroloterij, are keen to expand their ambitions and hope to race in the major Tours this season which would require them getting futher financial backing and additional riders.

Credit Agricole Down Under

Talking to the Australian Daily the Advertiser, Credit Agricole manager Lionel Mari has admitted the team will be able to compete in this year's Tour Down Under without having the pressure of having Stuart O'Grady in their ranks. Double winner of the race, O’Grady, has signed for the Cofidis team for 2004.

Mari said, "There will be no pressure on us and to a degree that is not a bad thing. It is good for a European team not to have that pressure. There was a lot of pressure on us with Stuart in the team. But we have Kiwi Julian Dean in the team and this is a fairly local race for him so we know he will want to perform."

While Julian Dean will undoubtably be a rider to watch in the sprints it will be the Russian rider Alexandre Botcharov aho will carry the Credit Agricole’s hopes for the overall. The former AG2R rider who finished 2nd in 2002 and played his part in Mikel Astarloza victory last year is pleased to be back in the Australian sunshine.

"I'm really happy to be back here again," he said. "I'm pleased to be here because the race is so well organised. I always try to start the season off well and this is a great way to do it."

"I'm not in the super condition I had two years ago but I feel good. You never know what can happen, however."

Botcharov very strong in the mountains in the Tour de France , will make his debut for the Credit Agricole team in the Tour Down Under and is looking forward to 2004 with fresh motivation and ambitions

Credit Agricole
11 Julian Dean (Nzl)
12 Cedric Herve (Fra)
13 Eric Leblacher (Fra)
14 Mads Kaggestad (Nor)
15 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus)
16 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra)
17 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra)
18 Benoit Poilvet (Fra)
Manager: Lionel Mari (Fra)

Tyler Hamilton Racing Schedule

http://www.tylerhamilton.com/

The Tyler Hamilton website has released the rider's schedule for the 2004 season. Hamilton will defend his victories in Liege Bastogne Liege and also the Tour de Romandie. Tour fans will note that his last race before the “Grand Boucle” will be the Tour of Germany, an event not usually chosen by major Tour contenders in preparation for the race.

March
3/5-3/9 Paris-Nice (FRA)
3/27-3/28 Criterium International (FRA)

April
4/3 GP Miguel Indurain (SPA)
4/5-4/9 Tour of the Basque Country (SPA)
4/21 Fleche Wallonne (BEL)
4/25 Liege-Bastogne-Liege WC (BEL)
4/27-5/2 Tour of Romandie (SWI)

May
4/27-5/2 Tour of Romandie (SWI)
5/27-6/2 Tour of Germany (GER)

June
5/27-6/2 Tour of Germany (GER)

July
7/3-7/25 Tour de France (FRA)

August
8/7 San Sebestian WC (SPA)
8/14-8/18 Olympic Games (GRE)

Ballerini Hearing Postponed

The sporting fraud trial of Italian national selector Franco Ballerini, scheduled for today, has been postponed until 23 April.

As previously reported, the charges date from 1998 and 2000, relating to Ballerini, former U23 director Antonio Fusi and nine riders, relating to his involvement in the use of performance enhancing substances, including anabolic steroids and hormones.

Ballerini said at the beginning of this month that he looks forward to the trial to close out this long-standing affair, and that he is unconcerned about the outcome because there are no facts upon which to base the charges.

Professional Bike Racing Comes to Red Wing in June '04

City Will Host Stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix

The City of Red Wing is set to host the fourth stop of Minnesota's five-day Great River Energy Bicycle Festival and Nature Valley Grand Prix on Saturday, June 12, 2004. This event marks the first ever professional bicycle race in Red Wing. Working in partnership with race management, the Red Wing Visitors and Convention Bureau expects the race to draw major crowds to this historic city.

"We are extremely pleased to have landed this event," said Bob Musil, executive director of the Red Wing, Minnesota Visitors and Convention Bureau. "This world class event highlights Red Wing as a premier Midwest bicycling destination. We are fortunate to be at the hub of several paved and off-road systems including the renowned Cannon Valley Trail, and in a central location less than an hour from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul."

"The Great River Energy Bicycle Festival and Nature Valley Grand Prix get dramatically bigger and better each year," said David LaPorte, director of the event. "They've taken on lives of their own, growing from local events in 1999 to some of the most important racing in the country. We're particularly excited about the 2004 event, since it'll be a chance for the people of Minnesota to see athletes who will compete in the Athens Olympics."

Now in its sixth year, the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival is a five- day celebration of bicycling that includes amateur and professional racing as well as several community events. The centerpiece of the festival is the Nature Valley Grand Prix, a five-day professional stage race, which has become one of the premier professional races in the United States, attracting top American racing teams and top riders from around the world. The Nature Valley Grand Prix has recently been upgraded to a ranking of 2.2 on USA Cycling's National Racing Calendar, making it one of the top four stage races in the country.

Cyclists from all over the world plan to use the Nature Valley Grand Prix to prepare for the 2004 Olympic Games, held in Athens in August. Past Olympic athletes who competed in the Nature Valley Grand Prix in 2003 include Australian National Champion Margaret Hemsley, Swedish National Champion Madeleine Lindberg, Nicole Freedman (USA), Olympic Gold Medalist Marty Nothstein (USA), Ciaran Power (Ireland), Glen Mitchell (New Zealand), and Henk Vogels (Australia). The Nature Valley Grand Prix will be the final tune-up for U.S. hopefuls, as they prepare for the U.S. Olympic Trials the following weekend.

About the 2004 Nature Valley Grand Prix

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is a five-day professional bicycle stage race in Minnesota held from June 9-13. The race takes cyclists to communities around the state and includes a time trial on the Mesabi Trail on the Iron Range, a road race in and around Virginia, an evening race through downtown Minneapolis, a road race in Red Wing and a road race in Stillwater, home of the Chilkoot Hill which has long been considered one of the most difficult hills in North America because of its 24 percent incline.

About the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival

In addition to professional racing, the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival offers a variety of other entertainment options. The Festival will also include a free concert in Minneapolis. Amateur racing opportunities and many family activities will be offered in Virginia, Red Wing and Stillwater.

Proceeds from the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival will benefit programs at Children's Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the largest children's health care organization in the upper Midwest. In 2003, the Festival donated more than $17,000 to their Children's Hospice.

The event is sponsored by Great River Energy, Nature Valley and USA Cycling.

About Great River Energy

Great River Energy is a non-profit electric cooperative providing wholesale electric energy and related services to 28 distribution cooperatives serving nearly 1.5 million people in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Headquartered in Elk River, MN, Great River Energy is the second largest utility in Minnesota and the fifth largest utility of its type in the country.

About Nature Valley

Nature Valley, the brand that created the granola bar category in 1975, brings variety to healthy, active consumers looking for wholesome and great-tasting snacks. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Nature Valley is part of General Mills, a leading global manufacturer and marketer of consumer foods products.

About USA Cycling

USA Cycling is the national governing body of the sport of bicycle racing, and lists the Nature Valley Grand Prix among the country's top ten stage races on its National Racing Calendar.

Top teams to give Tour of Langkawi the miss

The Star, 14 January, 2004

BUKIT JALIL: The Tour of Langkawi is one of the biggest road races outside Europe but many of the top Trade One cycling teams will not feature in the championship from Feb 6-15.

The 10-stage Tour clashes with the Doha International GP on Jan 31 and Tour of Qatar from Feb 2-6.

The executive chairman of the organisers, First Cartel Sdn Bhd, Datuk Wan Lokman Wan Ibrahim, said: "The organisers of the Qatar race are the same people who stage the Tour de France.

"The Trade One teams are heading to Qatar to enhance their chances of getting selected to compete in the Tour de France."

The top 10 Trade One teams in the UCI world rankings qualify automatically for the prestigious Tour de France. The other six teams are given wild cards by the organisers.

"Another race is also being held in Australia in late January. We also have to compete with the Australians to get good teams to come here," said Wan Lokman at a press conference yesterday to announce Milo's partnership as the official fortified drink for the Tour of Langkawi.

The Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under will be held from Jan 20-25.

"Another external factor affecting our Tour is the disbandment of some of the top trade teams who competed in previous years. Among them are former world champions Mapei-Quick Step and Saturn," he said.

Mapei competed in 1999 and 2000. Saturn finished second in the team classification last year and their rider, Tom Danielson, was the individual winner.

Meanwhile, a promotional event for the Tour known as Blue Ride will be held on Jan 18. The event covering a distance of 47km is open to members of the public. It will start and end at the Menara Telekom in Kuala Lumpur.

Kappa sponsors Team Saeco

Kappa and Team Saeco have reached an agreement for sponsorship of the race and off-bike clothing. The agreement will last two seasons, marks the entrance of Kappa in the world of cycling and is the company's first step towards the creation of a line of cycling clothing which will be developed with the help of Cannondale another Team Saeco technical sponsor.

The collaboration between Kappa and Saeco is not limited to supplying the team clothing and developing a range of merchandising but also includes co-marketing and promotional activity. For this reason Team Saeco will hold their official team presentation at the Basic Village in Turin where Kappa have their headquarters and offices.

Kappa is one of the most widely known sports brands and includes the Robe di Kappa, Jesus Jeans, K-Way and Superga labels as part of the Turin based group BasicNet S.p.A a stock market listed company since 1999.

The company's two man log is well known in the world of sport with the sponsoring of the Italian Rugby Federation and over 40 international soccer teams including Brescia Calcio, Auxerre, Feyenoord FC, Werder Bremen, Real Betis, Grêmio, K.R.C. Genk and Tottenham Hotspur. Kappa also sponsors and creates innovative designed sports clothing for skiing, golf, tennis, volleyball, basketball, motorbike racing and cycling.

Bike racing circuit coming to Infineon

By RALPH LEEF

While it may seem sacrilegious to the beer-guzzling, Winston-smoking motorsports fans who have claimed ownership of the property for the past 36 years, Infineon Raceway is about to slow the pace. The new showcase event at the track, which features NASCAR's premier sedans, 300-mph NHRA dragsters and high-powered motorcycles, won't even feature engines. The California Outdoor Sports Championships, May15-16, will be the first national cycling event in the facility's history.

"There is quite a buzz going on around the country about this event," said Chris Horner of Bend, Ore., a dominating U.S. professional road racer for the Webcor Cycling Team, who won September's T-Mobile International road race in San Francisco. "This is going to be a cool place to race and for people to watch the racing." The event, envisioned by organizers as eventually becoming the largest multi-day event of its kind, is expected to attract more than 3,000 amateur and professional competitors for road racing and a variety of off-road mountain biking events.

"We're very excited because this is something we've tried to add to our schedule for a long time," said Steve Page, president of Infineon. "For one weekend out of the year we're going to say, 'Gentlemen, turn off your engines' and turn things over to human-powered vehicles." Infineon has joined with Sea Otter Classic, a Monterey County firm that stages a similar event at Laguna Seca Raceway, to produce the Sonoma County event. Last year's competition at Laguna Seca attracted 10,000 entries and 50,000 spectators. The 14-year-old Sea Otter Festival, a four-day event, also drew 200 journalists from 15 countries. Infineon's initial event will feature 80 categories for competitors. Glen Mitchell, a road racer from New Zealand who has called Santa Rosa his home the past four years, joined Horner and several other top-caliber racers to take some laps around Infineon on Tuesday. "This is a great racing venue," said Mitchell, who is a pro rider for the Sierra Nevada team. "The dates are perfect because there is a lull in the national (racing) program and the best racers in the country will be here."

As thrilled as the pro road racers are about coming to Infineon -- particularly since the Santa Rosa Cycling Club no longer hosts a Sonoma County road race in the spring -- they also are excited about sharing the stage with the mountain bikers.

"A lot of us (road racers) will stay to watch them race," Horner said of the off-road racing that some equate to roller derby on dirt.

Especially popular are the gut-wrenching gravity disciplines, featuring BMX Pros (motocross without engines), dual slalom and mountain cross. The mountain bike races are part of the 2004 National Off-Road Bicycle Assocation's national championship series. Infineon will be the second of eight races leading to the national championships at Mammoth Mountain Resort in September.

The promoters who have built the Sea Otter Classic into a major event are banking on huge growth for the Infineon festival and trade show.

"Venues like this, with major cities to draw from in the Bay Area and Sacramento (valley) are difficult to get permits for," said Rick Sutton, chief operations officer for Sea Otter Classic LLC. "Places like this are few and far between." Sutton said athletes, who pay fees to compete, are the main focus of his group, but that the cluster of activities squeezed into the four days are becoming popular with spectators. Sutton said his group hasn't decided if it will charge admission for spectators, although he said a nominal fee may be imposed.

Some of the events at the California Outdoor Sports Championships at Infineon Raceway on May 12-16:

ROAD CIRCUIT RACING

Cyclists will compete on the same 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course used for motorsports events. Most of the top U.S. cyclists, many hopeful of making the Olympic team, are expected for the 80-mile race.

MOUNTAIN BIKE

CROSS COUNTRY

A 4-5-mile loop will be constructed using various parts of the property, including terraced hillsides, the terrain around the go-kart track and ridge lines heading toward Novato. Top riders from around the world are expected for this endurance race, which they will use as Olympic qualifying tuneups.

MOUNTAIN BIKE

SHORT TRACK

A half-mile off-road circuit

will feature 50 to 60 riders at a time in a wild battle that is spectator friendly but leaves riders with plenty of bruises.

MOUNTAIN CROSS

A thrilling 30 to 45-second steep downhill ride -- four riders at a time -- complete with big jumps.

DUAL SLALOM

Two bikers are in a timed race between flags, in an event much like a ski slalom.