Team T-Mobile Presentation, Team Illes Balears – Banesto News, Saeco News, CSC Team for Challenge de Mallorca Michael Boogerd News, CC Rider Checks In, TdL The Blue Ride, TDU News

Music, lasers and smoke in ancient quarries on beautiful Mediterranean Islands? It can only be one thing – the 2004 T-Mobile presentation.

Certainly, on paper, the T-Mobile have brought together on of the strongest squads of recent times Ullrich should be able to draw on the talents of Mario Aerts, Cadel Evans, Santiago Botero, Giuseppe Guerini, Daniele Nardello, Paolo Savoldelli, Serguei Ivanov and Alexandre Vinokourov to boost his Tour squad that is to challenge Armstrong - "Yes I am pleased to be back with T-Mobile – this team is the strongest that I have ever ridden with, if all the riders are in top form in July then we should be one of Armstrongs biggest rivals. We saw last year that Armstrong becomes nervous if he does not have a lead of three or four minutes... We want to increase the pressure.”

"When I see my team mates, I realise that they are all very motivated – each team member knows his role, this team is on a mission” said a confident Ullrich.

So far, the backing of his team seems 100% - Alexandre Vinokourov, third of the Tour of 2003, was quick to point out - "The best rider will be the captain. And I am ready to take on my role".

However everything in the T-Mobile, er quarry, is not rosey – there is still the matter of Ullrich’s decision to keep his personal advisor Pevenage, clearly against the wishes of team boss Walter Godefroot. Ullrich, however, stands firm on this matter when asked by ARD whether this was a good decision Ullrich was adamant –

"I stand 1000 per cent behind the decision. Rudy is very important for me. Perhaps it is even an advantage in that he has only me to think about – maybe we will achieve even more.”

So a slick and professional unveiling of a super team on paper. However as Armstrong pointed out, “Races are won on roads not paper, the super strength of T-Mobile might be their weakness.”

T-Mobile 2004

Rolf Aldag, Eric Baumann, Torsten Hiekmann, Matthias Kessler, Andreas Klier, Andreas Kloeden, André Korff, Jan Schaffrath, Stephan Schreck, Tobias Steinhauser, Jan Ullrich, Christian Werner, Steffen Wesemann et Erik Zabel (ALL), Mario Aerts (BEL), Cadel Evans (AUS), Santiago Botero (COL), Giuseppe Guerini, Daniele Nardello et Paolo Savoldelli (ITA), Serguei Ivanov (RUS), Alexandre Vinokourov et Serguei Yakovlev (KZK), Tomas Konecny (TCH), Bram Schmitz (PBS).

Manageur général: Walter Godefroot.

Directeur sportif: Mario Kummer.

Departures

Ralf Grabsch, Danilo Hondo, Kai Hundertmarck, David Kopp, Dirk Reichl et Stefan Schumacher (ALL), Bobby Julich (USA), Gianmatteo Fagnini (ITA).

New Riders

Jan Ullrich, Eric Baumann, André Korff et Tobias Steinhauser (ALL), Serguei Ivanov (RUS), Tomas Konecny (TCH), Bram Schmitz (PBS).

Photos courtesy T-Mobile.

Official presentation Team Illes Balears – Banesto

Next Thursday 29th of January, 2004 at 11 am will take place in Madrid, Auditorium Sur de IFEMA Feria de Madrid (Campo de las Naciones) the official presentation of Team Illes Balears – Banesto 2004.

The presentation is included in the “Illes Balears’ Day,” traditionally included as an event inside the Tourism Trade Fair FITUR, where the Illes Balears will have a very significant presence, with their stand located in Pavilion 6.

The event will be presided by The Honourable President of the Illes Balears, Mr. Jaume Matas. All the riders and staff of Team Illes Balears – Banesto will participate in the presentation, together with the sponsors, providers, suppliers and friends of the big Team Illes Balears – Banesto’s family. The speaker will be Pedro Delgado, former Tour de France winner.

Team Illes Balears-Banesto Opens Season with Mallorca

Next Thursday 29th of January 2004, after the official presentation that will take place in Madrid, the Team Illes Balears – Banesto will travel to the Illes Balears to begin a pre-season stage. The stage will conclude on February 14, 2004, after participating in the Challenge Ciclista Internacional a Mallorca, the first official race of the Team Illes Balears – Banesto in season 2004.

The stage will take place in the Hotel Es Figueral Nou de Montuïri that belongs to Grup Drac Hotels, technical sponsor of the Team Illes Balears – Banesto.

In next days the Team Illes Balears – Banesto will participate in many public activities. The following activities are already confirmed:

- January 20 at 12 am, the Team Illes Balears – Banesto will participate in the cycling party of Saint Sebastian’s day, protector of Palma de Mallorca, sharing such an important day with all the supporters.

- It is also scheduled during the stage a visit to the headquarters of Kollflex shoes, technical sponsor of the Team Illes Balears – Banesto, where there will be a photo session and a press conference.

- The Team Illes Balears – Banesto will develop its activities in every island: Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.

Team Saeco continues working with Diadora The official race shoe supplier for 2004

After two successful years together Team Saeco has renewed its agreement with the Diadora-Invicta group for 2004, the official supplier of race shoes for the team managed by Claudio Corti.

Diadora has helped improve cycling footwear since the early 1980s thanks to its experience in many other sports and has worked with numerous great riders including Giovanni Battaglin, Francesco Moser, Moreno Argentin, Marino Lejarreta, Maurizio Fondriest, Gianni Bugno, Tony Rominger, Alex Zulle, Johan Museeuw, Rolf Sorensen, Mario Cipollini, Eugeni Berzin, Andrei Tchmil, Danilo Di Luca and most recently the 2003 world champion Igor Astarloa

Millar Speaks Out

World Time trial Champion David Millar has spoken out against the Press associating the “Rutkiewicz Affair” with the name of Cofidis -

Millar commented last week: "It's sad. The whole reputation of Cofidis has been dirtied and it's not even a Cofidis affair. It's all because of one isolated case within the team. It's a Madejak affair, not a team plot." Talking to the UK Guardian today he commented:

It's sad and annoying," said the world time-trial champion, who will be among the favourites for an Olympic gold in Athens. "This is not a Cofidis scandal but an isolated incident among one of the team."

Referring to the Polish masseur at the centre of the case, which is alleged to involve drugs being smuggled from Eastern Europe to France, Millar added, "This is a scandal involving [Bogdan] Madejak, not a collective conspiracy.

"We are not cheats. I'm confident in the team, and I hope Cofidis remain in cycling for a long time." The team are currently training in Calpe, Spain, and Cofidis's team manager Francois van Londersele said he expected that French police would be waiting to question members of the team on Tuesday when they return to France. "That's pretty much normal in this situation."

Meanwhile the RAGT Semences-MG Rover team has met with Marek Rutkiewicz, and could dismiss him if he is not cleared in the current doping investigation being conducted in France. The team will wait for the investigation to develop, however, before taking any action.

CSC Team for Challenge de Mallorca

Sports directors Sean Yates and Kim Andersen have pre-selected 12 riders for the traditional start of the Spanish cycling season, the Chellenge de Mallorca. It includes a total of five races: Trofeo Mallorca, Trofeo Calla Millor, Trofeo Manacor, Trofeo Alcudia and Trofeo Calvia.

All races are category 1.3, and it's not yet decided which Team CSC riders will start in each of the races.

Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Michael Blaudzun, Manuel Calvente, Vladimir Gusev, Bobby Julich, Peter Luttenberger, Jakob Piil, Fränk Schleck, Maximilian Sciandri, Nicki Sørensenm, Brian Vandborg, Jens Voigt.

CC Rider Checks In

The DP's own CC Rider, Chuck Coyle, checks in with this photo of how training in Boulder, Colorado (at 10,000 feet of elevation) looks this time of year. Yes, all the guys froze on the down hill...

Chuck says he's training hard and plans to race at Valley of the Sun, which might be a bit warmer than this venue!

Chuck Coyle, Scott Moninger, Christian Vande Velde, Chris Wherry, Travis Brown, Jerry Horgan-Kobelski, mid a 100 mile ride.
Photo courtesy Beth Seliga. Click for larger image.

Boogerd Fans Chat

On Monday, 26 January at 19.30 CET you can join other Michael Boogerd fans for their first chat get-together, courtesy of michaelboogerd.nl and the Daily Peloton.

Time: 19.30 CET, 18.30 GMT, 3:30 EDT, 12:30 PST.

Place: http://www.dailypeloton.com/chat.asp Hope to see you there!

Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi 2004 Hundreds of City Folks Take Part in Blue Ride

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 18 – The Blue Ride 2004, an activity organised in conjunction with this year’s edition of the prestigious Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi,received an overwhelming response and was participated in by more than 500 cyclists of all ages here today.

The ride is jointly organised by First Cartel (M) Sdn Bhd and title sponsor, Telekom Malaysia.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Women and Family Development Minister, flagged off the Blue Ride from the Menara Telekom, Jalan Pantai at 8.30am this morning. Hundreds of cyclists, escorted by police outriders, made their way around the city and also to Petaling Jaya before finishing at the Menara Telekom at around noon.

Apart from the Blue Ride, the Treasure Hunt, another pre-event activity staged in conjunction with Asia’s most renowned cycling event, was also flagged off this morning at the same venue.

The Treasure Hunt was flagged off by Shahrizat. Also present were Telekom Malaysia Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Ir. Md Radzi Mansor, Telekom Malaysia’s Chief Executive, Dato’ Dr. Md Khir Abdul Rahman, Telekom Malaysia’s Deputy Chief Executive Dr. Abdul Rahim Haji Daud and First Cartel (M) Sdn Bhd Executive Director Encik Abdullah Kamal Shafii.

At today’s Blue Ride, participants started arriving as early as 7am. Despite the time, there was an air of excitement as the riders prepared for the start of the unique event. All participants were provided with a blue coloured T-shirt along with other goodies. The ride covered a distance of 47 kilometres and took the riders through the heart of the nation’s capital and on to Petaling Jaya. The riders had a brief stop at the PJ Civic Centre before resuming the ride back towards the finish line.

The turnout this year was far more than the previous year. Last year’s inaugural Blue Ride attracted more than 420 participants from all walks of life.

“It was great to see so many Malaysians of all ages taking the time to participate in this ride. The response has been overwhelming. I would like to thank all of those who supported the ride today,” said Abdullah Kamal.

The Blue Ride was organised with the main objective of promoting a healthy way of life. There are no winners for this ride. “We hope to see more people taking the sportof cycling,” he added.

The Blue Ride is also part of First Cartel and Telekom Malaysia’s efforts to create more awareness and promote the Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi.

This year’s Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi will be held from Feb 6 to 15. A total of 20 teams will take part in the Tour which traverses the states of Penang, Perak, Selangor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur. The Tour is organised by First Cartel under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Telekom Malaysia is the event’s tittle sponsor.

The Blue ride 2003 – courtesy TdL

Premier urges SA to give a warm welcome to tourists

(Monday, January 19, 2004) Premier, Mike Rann, has called on South Australians to give a warm welcome to the thousands of interstate and overseas tourists who are arriving in SA for this week's Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under.

"We are all ambassadors for our wonderful state and very often it is the people of a city or a state that can make a visitor's experience and really provide lasting memories," Mr Rann said. "The Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under has grown in stature each year, not just in terms of being one of the world's biggest bike races, but in terms of its ability to attract tourists to SA. "The Government has actively marketed SA and the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under interstate and overseas with one promotional trip to the Tour De France lead by Minister for Tourism Jane Lomax-Smith already seeing the benefits.

"Last year research showed that there were 10,200 (75 percent) interstate and 600 (10 percent) overseas visitors who stated that the main reason for their visit to South Australia was to attend the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under.

"Visitors spent an average of 5.6 nights in Adelaide and 1.4 nights elsewhere in the State.

"The event generated a total net economic benefit of $12.5 million generating the equivalent of 207 full time jobs. We are expecting that figure will further grow for this week's race.

"Last year's Be Active Tour, where amateur cycling fans can ride the race route of a stage, attracted 600 riders. This year 1400 people have registered for the ride from Goolwa on Thursday and 300 of them are from overseas and interstate.

"While I'm sure they'll love the magnificent natural beauty of our regions we should all make sure we make them feel at home with some of our famous SA hospitality. First impressions really count and I'm sure our taxi drivers and tourism workers will be going out of their way to welcome visitors to our state.

"South Australians have really embraced the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under and each year the regional centres dress up their towns and tens of thousands of people line the route to see one of Australia's greatest sporting spectacles.

"We are all looking forward to another big opening night crowd in the East End tomorrow night and it will also be great to have the race back in Norwood the next day."