Cycling News Roundup 3 June 2006
Davitamon/Lotto New Contracts, Breschel recovers, Ulle and Kloden for Tour de
Suisse, Mtn Bike news, Greg LeMond Tour de Cure, cycling made real.
Davitamon/Lotto chooses youth
New Contracts; no contract for Van Petegem
the direction of Davitamon-Lotto met this morning on subject of the composition
and the budget of the team for the seasons 2007 and 2008. As agreed with the
National Lottery from the beginning, the team must have an important base of
Belgian riders, with much of the attention for the youth and the future of
Belgian cycling. But moreover, this must be a team supplemented with some
important riders from abroad which must be capable in the larger tours, like Mc
Ewen, Evans and Horner.
To achieve this goal, we are integrated with the Belgian team Bodysol-Brustor,
created by Hermann Clippings with the new team ProTour Davitamon-Lotto. These
young cyclists like Dockx, De Vocht, Vansummeren and Van Hecke, supplemented
with the riders of other teams like Steegmans, Leukemans, Van Huffel and Kuyckx
had time to grow the 2 last years in the shade of the riders experiments of
Lotto like Van Petegem, Van Bon, Vansevenant, Brandt, Aerts, Mattan and Roesems.
There are already agreements and prolonged the contracts of some of these
riders.
At the beginning of this year, this renovation was continued by the promotion
of Nic Ingels the premiere rider of the continental team Bodysol-Win for Life to
the Pro-Tour team. Pieter Mertens also received a contract. For 2007, Dominique
Cornu and Greg Van Avermaet will follow. For 2008, there are already
conversations with Jurgen Roelandts.
It is thus within this framework, that decided not to answer the financial
exigencies of the management of Peter Van Petegem. On the contrary, the team
chooses to renovate the base and to give opportunity to rising generation of
Belgians, supplemented with some foreign runners for the large “Tours”. All the
directors would like to make the point of thanking Peter for pleasant
collaboration and successes together, during the last years. One still wishes
him much success in his future career
T-Mobile Tour de Suisse
Jan Ullrich and Kloden scheduled as Tour Prep.
Jan Ullrich is set to ride the Tour de Suisse as part of his build-up to the
Tour de France. Michael Rogers will also use the Swiss stage race, which starts
in Baden on June 10th, to fine-tune his form ahead of the Tour de France, which
starts July 1st in Strasbourg.
Ullrich had kept open his pre-Tour race program for as long as possible. In
the end, the sporting dimension caused him to opt for the Tour de Suisse (June
10 to 18) ahead of the Tour of Asturias. "It will be four more race days for Jan
and he will benefit from the tough Tour de Suisse parcours to sharpen his form,"
says an assured team manager Olaf Ludwig.
"The fact that I have enjoyed success in this race in the past and that I feel
at ease there also influenced my decision," says Jan Ullrich.
Michael Rogers had also originally penciled the Tour of Asturias into his
race program. The world time trial champion, who abandoned the Giro d’Italia on
stage 13 with severe toothache, has now altered his plans and is set to join
Ullrich in Switzerland. Following treatment at the University Clinic Freiburg,
Rogers has been given a clean bill of health and is looking forward to the
„challenge in the Swiss Alps. "Having opted for the Tour de Suisse, T-Mobile’s
Tour de France core team have now scratched their plans to scout the Tour’s
Alpine stages in June. The visit would have been purely for training purposes,
and that is no longer necessary." said Rudy Pevenage, the T-Mobile sporting
director masterminding the core team’s Tour preparations.
Meanwhile, Jan Ullrich will use the time between now and the start of the
Tour de Suisse, to do intensive physiotherapy sessions designed to build-up his
muscle strength. The Swiss race will be the first time he puts in race
kilometres alongside Andreas Klöden. "I am really looking forward to that," says
Ullrich, who was always confident that the 2004 Tour runner-up would recover in
time.
Lorenzo Bernucci, Giuseppe Guerini (both Italy), Kim Kirchen (Luxembourg),
Sergey Ivanov (Russia), Linus Gerdemann and Patrik Sinkewitz (both Germany)
complete T-Mobile’s provisional roster at the nine day tour (1468 km) through
Switzerland. The definite roster will be announced by the middle of next week.
Breschel Taking One Day at a Time
Last week Matti Breschel had his comeback in Bayern Rundfahrt, but
unfortunately the young Danish rider had to abandon the race because of fresh
back problems – luckily the problems do not seem serious though.
Breschel broke his back in March and the race in Germany was his first since the
accident.
"My back started hurting and I had a talk with sports director Dan Frost about
it. We agreed that it wasn't worth risking it so I abandoned. But now I've been
taking it easy for a couple of days, and I actually think it's going quite well
again. I think maybe my back just needs to get used to being back in business
again and it will be ok," says Matti Breschel, whose next job is coming up soon.
"I'm going to the States on Wednesday and then I'll just take one day at a time
and see how it goes," continues the 21 year old Dane, who along with his team
mates is doing the CSC Invitational, Lancaster Classics, Reading Classics and
Philadelphia Int. Championship in the period between June third and eleventh.
The team going to the States also counts Kasper Klostergaard, Michael Blaudzun,
Lars Michaelsen, Martin Pedersen, Andrea Peron, Bobby Julich as well as Luke
Roberts, who arrives fresh from taking a third place in Bayern Rundfahrt.
Quick Step/Innergetic Race Rosters:
Criterium du Dauphine Libere
Riders: Francesco Chicchi, Ad Engels, Filippo Pozzato, Ivan
Santaromita, Guido Trenti, Kevin Van Impe, Cedric Vasseur, Remmert Wielinga.
D.S.: Serge Parsani, Rik Van Slycke
G.P. Grippengen Kanton Aargau. (Suisse)
04/06/2006
Riders: Serge Baguet, Wilfried Cretskens, Nick Nuyens, Sebastien Rosseler,
Hubert Schwab, Davide Viganò, Jurgen Van De Walle, Wouter Weylandt.
D.S. : Wilfried Peeters
CapTech Classic (NRC 1.2):
All Eyes On Philly Week: Navigators
The CapTech Classic, held in Richmond, Virginia, was the springboard
for the upcoming “Most Important Week in U.S. Cycling”, better known as Philly
Week. Two Criteriums plus a 3-Road Race series that culminates with the 22nd
running of the famed 156-Mi. race in the heart of Philadelphia next Sunday, June
11th, is undoubtedly a fine week of racing.
Last evening’s CapTech Classic and the CSC Invitational, being held in
Arlington, VA (Washington, DC) on Saturday, give way to the Commerce Bank Triple
Crown Of Cycling in Lancaster (June 4), Reading (June, 8) and Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. With all of the major U.S. squads already in the Philadelphia
area, and the daily arrival of the international teams, it truly is the “Week
That Defines American Racing.”
CapTech Report:
The Navigators Insurance team dominated the race tonight, with multiple
Navigators riders in every early break. Valeriy Kobzarenko fueled major attacks
that contributed to the annihilation of the field that included full team
rosters. 150 guys started, and in short order the field was down to half its
original size. The attacks by Kobzarenko, Sergey Lagutin, and Siro Camponogara
had the field cut to a little more than 1/3 well before the mid point of the
race.
Finally a 5-man group went clear and Navigators had Mark Walters and Lagutin
with Jacques Maynes (Kodak), Stevic (Toyota-United) & Frattini (Colavita). It
all looked good until Mark crashed with about 9 laps to go. Jacques Maynes came
off, making Stevic the danger man. Mark had to put in a big chase after the
crash, and Stevic keyed off Lagutin. Although Mark finally rejoined the
breakaway, he had lost a lot of his punch. In the end, Frattini took advantage
of the cat-and-mouse game and was able to escape on the last lap, with Lagutin
taking second and Mark finishing alone in 4th. For the Navigators Insurance
team, it was 5 guys in the top 8, and 7 in the top 15. A strong showing for the
team as the racing action starts to hit top speed.
Rosters For Upcoming Races:
CSC INVITATIONAL:
Ben Brooks
Siro Camponogara
Hilton Clarke
Vassili Davidenko
Oleg Grichkine
Shawn Milne
David O'Loughlin
Ciaran Power
Mountain Bike News:
Rebecca Rusch wins first 24 hour Mtn Bike Race
Race Diary
The race was in Spokane and the course was mostly forested single track with
lots of curves, fast sections and not too much hard climbing. It was the perfect
sort of course for my first one. It was also the site of the 24 Hour Nationals
for the past few years.
The race starts out with a run to your bicycle. I was not feeling 100% recovered
from the 24 Hour Orienteering Nationals two weeks ago (a running event), so my
strategy was to just try to be consistent throughout the race and not slow down
too much as time went on. I was in the lead in the women's field from the start,
but the 2nd place woman was only a few minutes back for the first 5-6 laps.
Most solo racers dread the night laps, but I found them really fun. I used a
Light and Motion helmet and handle bar mount light and lit up the trail like
crazy. Multiple times, I had team riders behind me and when I'd ask them if they
wanted to pass, they said no, they were mooching off of my light system and
wanted to stay behind me so they could see better.
During the night I was getting reports from my mechanic that I was pulling
away from the lead woman and closing in on the lead man. I passed the male
leader during the night. There were a couple laps of rain during the night, some
forgotten glasses one lap, chain suck at one point, and one near crash, but
otherwise a smooth race with little drama.
It was light again by 5:00am and that's when the realization that I still had
7 more hours of riding set in. The morning seemed to drag on, and I spent alot
of time calculating how many more times I'd have to go around the course. I
started counting pedal strokes on the hills to keep me motivated to get up them.
After 17 hours of riding, those small hills were feeling quite large and
daunting. The last two laps seemed to take almost longer than the whole rest of
the race put together. I think I was just ready to stop sitting on a bike seat.
A day is a long time to ride your bike.
I finished my 18th lap 5 minutes before the noon cut off. Technically, I
could have gone out and ridden one more lap to really drive home the win.
However, I didn't need to, and I was more interested in changing clothes, having
a beer and hanging out with my friends than riding another 15 miles on my
blasted legs.
So the basic results: I was first overall for men and women! The closest male
was about 25 minutes back and the closest female 2 laps back. I compared my
times and laps splits with the Nationals results from last year and matched up
well with the top of the women's field.
So, the first test run on this 24 Hour mountain bike thing was a success and
the first prize money I've officially collected as a mountain bike racer! Not a
lot of prize money, but still the idea's pretty cool! Plans with the 24 Hour
racing is to compete in Nationals and World Champs. I believe my race in Spokane
will qualify me for Worlds.
National Mountain Bike Series
Showdown at Sugar Mountain
For the first time in series history, the National
Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) heads to the Sugar Mountain Resort outside of Banner
Elk, North Carolina on June 10-11, 2006, and the locals are all fired up.
“We’re super stoked to have the National Mountain Bike Series come to Sugar
Mountain. It brings a whole new level of competition to the region,” says local
bike store owner Shaw Brown of Boone Bike and Touring who will be on hand to
help run the Kid’s Rodeo and kid’s races.
Longtime USA Cycling official and local Sandy White is proud to see the Sugar
Mountain venue take the spotlight at the elite level -- and while remaining
neutral like a good official -- he references his experience at numerous
national events by saying, “there’s always somebody back in the woods ready to
come out and shine.”
To this end, Mr. White touches upon the story of Subaru-Gary Fisher pro female
XC rider Willow Koerber and her entire bicycle racing family – which includes
her expert XC racing mother and father, her sister and her two brothers – all of
whom are from nearby Asheville, N.C.
Despite now living in Whistler, B.C., Willow herself proclaims “Watch out for
the Koerbers!” when asked about “locals” to keep an eye on.
“Having the NMBS at Sugar Mountain brings the highest level of racing close to
the cities in the South. And riders, like myself, who are from the Southeast are
excited that we get to have a national race close to home this year,” says Pro
four-cross and downhill racer Chris Herndon of nearby Brevard, N.C., who
finished 1st in the Sugar Mountain event last year.
Though he’s been racing at Sugar Mountain for about 10 years, Herndon points out
that the various courses for the 2006 NMBS will be almost completely new from
previous races.
“I know the downhill won’t be the traditional course. There will be new trail
sections and a lot different terrain than on the West Coast,” says Herndon.
Mr. White lights up when he talks about the new downhill and cross-country
courses.
“For the first time in the event’s history, the downhill starts all the way at
the top of the mountain and it goes down past the parking lots, past where the
skiers stop. The cross country course will have a big grind to the top,
technical zig zags down the ski slope, and the famous local slick, sloppy, black
bog that lies on the ground under the perennial canopy. There are some awesome
spectator spots and the woods just come alive out there,” says White.
“The climbers will enjoy the opening run up Little Nell and Main Street Trail
but the better descenders will get their revenge later through the technical
Cakewalk and Tunnel sections on the harrowing front side descent. The full loop
is 6.6 miles of exciting terrain,” reads race director Kim Jochl’s cross-country
course description.
Kim Jochl, who is also the marketing director for Sugar Mountain Resort,
literally helped build the ‘Showdown’ starting in 1994 by blazing trails with
help from the local bike community.
The ‘Showdown’ and the local series which the race is part of have survived with
the help of Mr. White who was instrumental in bringing Cane Creek on board a few
years ago as the title sponsor for the series which is now called the Cane Creek
Cup.
While there will be a lot of new faces thanks to the NMBS designation, the
‘Showdown at Sugar Mountain’ heads into its 13th year as a NORBA sanctioned
event which usually draws racers from up and down the east coast and as far west
as Texas.
Sugar Mountain Resort is located only a few minutes from Banner Elk, North
Carolina, a small town nestled in the Appalachian range which has an array of
lodging, food and supplies.
In close proximity to the event site, The Village of Sugar Mountain has numerous
lodging and shopping opportunities as well as grocery stores and dining.
Elite and amateur athletes will compete for the top spots in the following
disciplines: Cross Country (XC), Downhill (DH), Short Track (ST), Dual Slalom
(DS), and Super D (SD).
Registration info for the NMBS can be found at:
www.sportsbaseonline.com
Fort William WC - Voted Top MTB Event
Sea Otter Second
At last Friday's IMTTO meeting in Fort William, Scotland, IMTTO Vice President
Martin Whiteley surprised Mike Jardine and Lesley Beck of Rare Management, when
they were awarded a huge crystal trophy for their 2005 World Cup Event, voted by
62 IMTTO Members as the event of the year. The two were at the meeting to brief
the membership on plans for the 2007 Worlds.
Unlike other event awards, IMTTO members vote on all MTB events, not just
World Cups. This means every event on the 2005 calendar, regardless of their
affiliations, or event style, are considered by the members.
Lesley Beck said "Wow, this is a huge surprise and real honour. We try and do
all we can to assist the IMTTO membership and we appreciate all of your
feedback. We'll take this trophy to the volunteers meeting tonight and show them
that all their hard work has paid off!"
Martin Whiteley said "Fort William was a clear winner in the voting and it's
no secret why. They go out of their way to assist our members and put on a
consistently impressive bike event. It's the model that all other major events
should try to emulate. If you are serious about running a great event, visit
Fort William first."
IMTTO membership is made up of international mountain bike teams, technical
support companies, and top level organisers. More than 30 events received votes.
Here are the top 20:
1. Fort William, Scotland WC
2. Sea Otter Classic, USA
3. Mont-Ste-Anne, Canada WC
4. World Championships, Livigno, Italy
5. Houffalize, Belgium WC
6. Spa Francorchamps, Belgium WC
7. Camboriu Beach, Brazil WC
8. Schladming, Austria WC
9. Crankworx, Canada
10. Swisspower Cup, Bern
11. Mount Snow, USA NORBA
12. Vigo, Spain WC
13. Angel Fire, USA WC
14. Lisbon Downtown, Portugal
15. Madrid, Spain WC
16. Willingen, Germany WC
17. Roc d'Azur, France
18. Marathon Worlds, Lillehammer
19. La Bresse, French Cup Finals
20. Swisspower Cup, Reinach
Greg LeMond To Ride in Tour de Cure
3-time Champ Will Ride in the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure on
Sunday, June 4, 2006
The roads and trails of northern Virginia will be blazing on Sunday, June 4,
2006 as cyclists of every age and fitness level will be participating in the
American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure. Joining them will be three-time
Tour de France winner and cycling legend, Greg LeMond.
The event will raise money for diabetes research, information and advocacy for
the 423,000 people in the Washington, DC, market who have diabetes. Whether they
are riding 100 miles or 12, Tour de Cure participants will be pedaling for a
good cause: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people
affected by diabetes.
LeMond will also address the crowd at a post-ride program beginning at 1 PM. All
events take place at Reston Town Center.
The riders will be assisted by support and gear (SAG) wagons and mechanics along
the route courtesy of The Bike Lane, Bikes of Vienna, Bicycle Outfitters and
Pedal Shop. Post-ride massages will be available free of charge to participants
at the event start/finish line. A pre-event warm-up will be provided by Gold's
Gym, the national sponsor of the Tour de Cure.
WHEN: Sunday, June 4, 2006
100 Mile - Century Ride - Check-in 7:00 AM/Start 8:15 AM
63 Mile - Fitness Challenge - Check-in 7:00 AM/Start 8:30 AM
32 Mile - Fitness Test - Check-in 8:30 AM/Start 9:30 AM
12 Mile - Family Fun Ride - Check-in 10:00 AM/Start 11:00 AM
WHERE: Reston Town Center, Reston, VA
Cycling event to benefit Parkinson’s research
A Cycle for Parkinson’s fundraising event this weekend will benefit the Georgia
chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association.
The cycling race weekend features three cycling races Friday through Sunday.
The
weekend kicks off with a track cycling race Friday evening at the
Dick Lane Velodrome at East Point.
On Saturday, the Georgia Gwinnett College Criterium
will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Georgia Gwinnett College campus. The
speed racing event will also feature food, entertainment and kid-friendly
activities. The weekend wraps up Sunday with the River Green Cycling Classic at
River Green Office Park in Duluth.
Proceeds will be used to increase public awareness, fund research and support
local programs for Parkinson’s patients. For more information, visit
www.apdaatlanta.org.
Cycling Made Real & Fuji Bicycles Partnership
Fuji frame for women cyclists
Cycling Made Real and Fuji have created
a participation program to increase women’s interest in track bike racing. The
program is aimed toward category 4 women racers. Racers accumulate points by
participating in track bike races and clinics held at the Ed Rudolph Velodrome.
There is no cost to enroll in the program as category 4 women racers will be
tracked and points standings will be announced weekly via the Ed Rudolph
Velodrome website.
The woman with the most accumulated points from June 1, 2006 to September 3,
2006 wins the Fuji Pro track frame. The frame is valued at $900.00
A full program offering can be found by visiting
www.northbrookvelodrome.org
About the Ed Rudolph Northbrook Velodrome: The newly resurfaced velodrome,
located just north of Chicago suburban Village of Northbrook. Several
fundraising efforts helped save the facility. The velodrome attracts cyclist
from multiple states. (www.northbrookvelodrome.org)
About Fuji Bicycles: Fuji has been making bicycles since 1899 and has evolved
into the international arena by selling products worldwide in over 36 countries.
The company is recognized for quality, performance and value. The company is
committed to developing cyclists with its support of a number of cycling teams
worldwide. (www.fujibikes.com)
About Cycling Made Real: A grassroots program founded in the early 1990s with
the goal of increasing women participation in cycling races. The organization is
the most successful program for recruiting novice women to bicycle racing. CMR
helps make cycling more welcoming to women by organizing entry-level racing
series using existing events. www.cyclingmadereal.com
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