| 07/31/2001 | Racing News 7/31/01+ NEWS
FDJ AND MERCURY MERGER: French cycling team La Francaise des Jeux is to merge with American outfit Mercury next season, according to Mercury team manager John Wordin. The new team, yet to be named, will have a budget estimated at $7 million, allowing both partners to retain their best riders. The deal will cover the 2002 and 2003 seasons. According to John Wordin, Mercury team manager, details still have to be finalized. “It’ll be some kind of a shared arrangement. Mercury will be the number one sponsor. FDJ
will be the second sponsor.”
La Francaise des Jeux and Mercury have some of cycling's brightest hopes under contract -- Australians Bradley McGee and Baden Cooke, Switzerland's Sven Montgomery, American Floyd Landis as well as experienced Belgian Leon Van Bon.
Peter Van Petegem, leader in this year's team will however leave the team at the end of the year. Van Petegem is leaving because his contract was with Viatel. Both teams had started talks a few weeks ago. The decisive discussion took place in the Concorde Lafayette hotel just after the final stage of the Tour.
Mercury and sponsor Viatel had merged at the beginning of this 2001 season with the obvious ambition to ride the Tour de France. A month before the beginning of the Tour de France, the American team was told that they would not be invited. Then Viatel withdrew their sponsorship because of financial woes. Now Team Mercury’s John Wordin must get final approval from Mercury to proceed with the deal. The goal for the next season remains the same: the Tour de France.
Meanwhile, the Mercury team has a season to finish and quite a few races to compete in. A few weeks ago the team had announced that they would not go to the Vuelta a España. Now, Wordin has announced that the Vuelta is a priority.
ARMSTRONG COMING TO AMERICA: The three-time winner of the Tour de France arrives Wednesday in New York for a celebration of his latest championship, completed Sunday in Paris. Armstrong will be a guest on CBS-TV's Late Show with David Letterman and will throw the first pitch at Yankee Stadium for the game between New York and Texas.
MOREAU TO BIG MAT: Team Festina’s leader, Frenchman Christophe Moreau, who won the Tour’s Prologue and wore the Yellow Jersey may join French Team BigMat Auber 93 next season.
VIRENQUE’S COMEBACK: After 10 months out of racing, due to a doping suspension, Frenchman Richard Virenque will return to competition on August 15 at the Criterium de Quillam. Virenque, who has signed with Belgian Team Domo to ride for them until the end of the season was trying to get permission to ride the Tour of Denmark. But the Danish race begins one day before the end of Virenque’s sanction. The Frenchman tried to get permission to end his suspension one day early, but the UCI has not answered him. Virenque’s objective for the season will be the Vuelta a España.
BALLERINI “IL PATRON”: Ex-Pro Franco Ballerini was presented today as the new technical director for the Italian National Team. Ballerini’s first challenge will be the Road World Champions to be held in October in Lisbon, Portugal. Ballerini rode with Mapei until April 15, when he rode his last Paris-Roubaix, a race where he placed highly many times and which he won in 1995 and 1998.
ULLRICH NOT GOING TO ESPAÑA: German Jan Ullrich, will not take part at the Vuelta a España. “I still have to decide if I will ride the Worlds in October. If I do, I will prepare by riding minor races. But I won’t race the Vuelta a España”.
TAFI’S COMEBACK: Andrea Tafi, the feisty 13 year-old Italian rider has been out injured since March, but is planning to return to competition on August 8th at the Regio Tour. Tafi is coming back after surgery and a slow and fastidious recuperation. Tafi’s big goal is to get selected for the World Championships.
KIRSIPUU TO CONTINUE: It looks like Estonian Jaan Kirsipuu has prolonged with contract for another two years with his team AG2R.
+ MY TOUR DIARY
Dear Friends,
This is my humble attempt to share with you some of my experiences at the Tour de France. I hope to be able to transmit a little bit of the special feeling of being able to witness such a grand event. Also, feel free to visit www.infociclismo.com to browse my Tour Photo Album. Special thanks go to Denis, Rob and Darren for making this an unforgettable experience.
PART I: BON VOYAGE!
I usually don't remember what I dream about while I sleep. But those dreams that I have while I'm awake are forever circling my mind, I guess they are what one would call daydreaming. Once in a while one of those dreams comes true.
When I began InfoCiclismo some 8 years ago (back then it was called Reporte Ciclismo Europeo) I could not comprehend how much this little report would impact my life. Throughout the years, not only have I've been honored to be able to provide fans with their daily dose of cycling, but I have also made friendships and experienced generosity beyond what I deserve.
By now some of you may be wondering: what is Frank babbling about? As I write this I'm on an Air France 747 headed for Paris, on my way to rendezvous with cycling's Mecca. For the first time in my life, I will experience the Tour de France in all its wonder. Even though I had been planning this trip for a few months, I really didn't really hit me that I was truly going until I was standing in line at the Air France ticket counter at Miami International Airport. There, I was surrounded by French folk speaking in their native tongue and for a moment, even while still in Miami, I was already in France.
I hope to share a little bit of what I will experience through this diary and the photos that I will bring back. I ask you to bear with my rudimentary writing skills and sentimentality, while I go through this adventure.
Today is the first rest day for the Tour de France; the riders will transfer by air from the pain of the Alps to more pain in the Pyrenees. I'm on my way to meet the Tour in Perpignan, where tomorrow's mountain stage will begin. I have to admit that my diminutive knowledge of the French language, which is mostly in matters regarding cycling, has not been very helpful. As much as I try to explain myself, I always end up asking if they understand English or Spanish. Luckily they have so far! How I wish that I had taken those French classes in High School! In any case, I made it to Paris OK, found my connecting flight to Toulouse, caught a Taxi and made it to the “garde”
(train station).
Since this is my first time in France, I keep looking for the landmarks and those views that I see every year when I watch the Tour through my TV set. One of those views, which immediately made me smile, was a sea of Sun Flowers right on the outskirts of Toulouse. How many times have we stared in wonder to photos taken by Graham Watson of the peloton, surrounded by the happy flowers. It turns out that the French plant the sun flowers for the sunflower oil.
My destination is Perpignan, which is where the riders will spend the rest day, after their air transfer. Although the rest of the Tour personnel will have to make the transfer by car. At arriving at the Perpignan Train Station, it is difficult to ignore a plaque proclaiming it the "Center of the Universe". It seems that famous artist Salvador Dali once proclaimed the Perpignan Garde (Train Station) the “Center of the Universe”. And although on this day the train station didn’t seem particularly special, Dali's comments rang true for me. Today Perpignan is the center of attention for the cycling universe and the streets are filled with the vehicles belonging to the Tour de France caravan, the press and the tourists of course. My good friend Rob shows up as promised and I'm whisked away to the center of the
town, where thanks to the kindness of Denis, I'm given press credential to follow the race. I spend the afternoon, in a daze, walking around the central park in Perpignan, watching the families, the people… The parking and every single available spot is full of Tour vehicles. The Tour organization is setting up the Tour Village, where the fans will be able to see the riders up close before the start of the stage, while they drink their coffee, read their newspapers or get a hair cut.
It has already been a long day for me, but I find the strength to go to a party hosted by one of Le Tour's newest sponsors: Aquarel Mineral Water, a Nestlé product. One thing that starts to become evident is that the Tour personnel, which works very hard every day to put together one of the largest events in the world, also knows how to have a good time. By 2AM I make it to the house where I'm sleeping tonight on fumes and adrenaline. Tomorrow the Tour begins for me.
Tomorrow: PART II Aix Les Thermes
+ RACING
31.07.2001 A Travers de Lausanne, SWI
Australian Mountain Biker, Cadel Evans, won today the race “Through Lausanne”, coming in with a better time than José Luis Rubiera (US Postal). Swiss Laurent Dufaux came in third and recent Tour winner, Lance Armstrong was eighth. The race is an individual time trial, which is held on some very steep streets in Laussane.
RESULTS:
1. Cadel Evans AUS 26:32
2. José Luis Rubiera ESP 26:38
3. Laurent Dufaux SUI 27:07
4. Daniel Schnider SUI 27:16
5. Wladimir Belli ITA 27:27
6. Steve Zampieri ITA 27:42
7. Daniel Atienza ESP 27:57
8. Lance Armstrong USA 28:03
9. Alexandre Moos SUI 28:19
0. Aurelien Clerc SUI 28:25
31.07.2001 Circuito de Getxo ESP 1.4 MEL
This 56th edition of the Circuito de Getxo, has been renamed the First edition of the Memorial Ricardo Otxoa, in honor of the deceased Kelme rider. The 103 participating riders raced 12 circuits of 14.6 kms until completing 175 kms.
RESULTS:
1. Alessandro Bertolini (ITA/Alessio) 3.58:59
2. Francisco Cabello (Kelme-Costa Blanca) s.t.
3. Koos Moerenhout (HOL/Domo Farm Frites) at 0:08
4. Joseba Beloki (ONCE-Eroski) at 0:09
5. Vladislav Borissov (RUS/Itera) s.t.
6. Iñigo Landaluce (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 0:22
7. Juan Carlos Domínguez (iBanesto. com) at 1:57
8. Miguel Angel Peña (ONCE-Eroski) at 3:37
9. Germán Nieto (Relax-Fuenlabrada) at 4:03
10. Michael Rogers (AUS/Mapei) s.t.
31.07.2001 31.07.2001 Trophée Féminin Méditerranéen FRA 1.9.1 WEL
After the disillusion at the Women’s Giro d’Italia, Fabiana Luperini has taken today the win at the second Feminine Trophy of the Mediterranean, which was raced from Le Broc to Peone, over 110.3 Km. She was followed in at the finish line by Spaniard rider Moreno at 2'34” and Finish rider Saarelainen at 3’30”.
+ RANKINGS
ELITE MEN INDIVIDUAL UCI RANKINGS AFTER THE TOUR Courtesy of the UCI’s Official Website: http://www.uci.ch
1 1 USA19710918 ARMSTRONG Lance USP USA 30 2,154.00
2 2 ITA19710809 REBELLIN Davide LIQ ITA 30 2,090.00
3 8 GER19731202 ULLRICH Jan TEL GER 28 1,869.00
4 4 ITA19710825 SIMONI Gilberto LAM ITA 30 1,816.00
5 3 GER19700707 ZABEL Erik TEL GER 31 1,793.00
6 5 ITA19700914 CASAGRANDE Francesco FAS ITA 31 1,733.00
7 9 LTU19720114 RUMSAS Raimondas FAS LTU 29 1,716.00
8 6 LAT19730303 VAINSTEINS Romans DFF LAT 28 1,650.00
9 11 ITA19700527 BARTOLI Michele MAP ITA 31 1,556.20
10 7 NED19700821 DEKKER Erik RAB NED 31 1,545.00
11 13 NED19720528 BOOGERD Michael RAB NED 29 1,483.00
12 12 ITA19730918 FRIGO Dario FAS ITA 28 1,478.00
13 10 ESP19740221 HERAS HERNANDEZ Roberto USP ESP 27 1,390.00
14 14 BEL19630122 TCHMIL Andrei LOT BEL 38 1,268.00
15 15 KAZ19730916 VINOKOUROV Alexandre TEL KAZ 28 1,166.00
16 16 ITA19740401 BETTINI Paolo MAP ITA 27 1,142.20
17 17 ESP19700122 OLANO MANZANO Abraham ONC ESP 31 1,063.00
18 56 ESP19731101 GONZALEZ DE GALDEANO ARANZABAL Igor ONC ESP 28 993.00
19 29 FRA19681130 JALABERT Laurent CST FRA 33 987.00
20 20 RUS19690209 TONKOV Pavel MCY RUS 32 976.00
21 24 ESP19730812 BELOKI DORRONSORO Joseba ONC ESP 28 966.00
22 21 SUI19710912 CAMENZIND Oscar LAM SUI 30 957.00
23 22 UKR19700703 HONCHAR Serhiy LIQ UKR 31 937.00
24 25 BEL19740723 VERBRUGGHE Rik LOT BEL 27 936.00
25 45 ESP19760929 SEVILLA RIBERA Oscar KEL ESP 25 928.00
26 31 EST19690717 KIRSIPUU Jaan A2R EST 32 875.00
26 35 FRA19700918 ROUS Didier BJR FRA 31 875.00
28 18 FRA19710412 MOREAU Christophe FES FRA 30 857.00
29 33 FRA19680326 BROCHARD Laurent DEL FRA 33 852.00
30 19 ITA19720802 NARDELLO Daniele MAP ITA 29 849.20
31 40 ITA19700725 BELLI Wladimir FAS ITA 31 839.00
32 58 KAZ19730921 KIVILEV Andrei COF KAZ 28 837.60
33 27 ESP19710413 DOMINGUEZ DOMINGUEZ Juan Carlos BAN ESP 30 822.00
34 46 GER19710917 VOIGT Jens C.A GER 30 811.00
35 58 ESP19690617 LAISEKA JAIO Roberto EUS ESP 32 805.00
36 30 POR19730919 AZEVEDO José ONC POR 28 794.00
37 26 SUI19740627 ZBERG Marcus RAB SUI 27 793.00
38 32 ESP19760215 FREIRE GOMEZ Oscar MAP ESP 25 791.00
39 39 ESP19730723 ETXEBARRIA ALKORTA David EUS ESP 28 787.00
40 34 BEL19700118 VAN PETEGEM Peter MCY BEL 31 783.00
41 28 BEL19710717 MATTAN Nico COF BEL 30 772.00
42 98 AUS19730806 O'GRADY Stuart C.A AUS 28 746.00
43 36 FRA19740302 HALGAND Patrice DEL FRA 27 740.00
44 37 ITA19670322 CIPOLLINI Mario SAE ITA 34 737.00
45 38 USA19730629 HINCAPIE George USP USA 28 727.00
46 42 SUI19710510 ZBERG Beat RAB SUI 30 710.00
47 43 NED19710306 KNAVEN Servais DFF NED 30 708.00
48 41 BEL19700303 PEERS Chris COF BEL 31 701.00
49 23 ESP19680124 ESCARTIN COTI Fernando COA ESP 33 699.00
50 44 GER19740104 HONDO Danilo TEL GER 27 689.00
51 73 ITA19740103 PETACCHI Alessandro FAS ITA 27 667.00
52 60 BEL19720808 MERCKX Axel DFF BEL 29 660.00
52 47 SUI19680705 ZUELLE Alex COA SUI 33 660.00
54 77 ITA19650716 FARESIN Gianni LIQ ITA 36 648.00
55 74 ESP19750422 SASTRE CANDIL Carlos ONC ESP 26 629.00
56 63 ESP19750227 GONZALEZ JIMENEZ Aitor KEL ESP 26 624.00
57 51 ESP19731217 GONZALEZ CAPILLA Santos ONC ESP 28 623.00
58 53 ESP19720927 CASERO MORENO Angel Luis FES ESP 29 621.00
59 80 HUN19761211 BODROGI Laszlo MAP HUN 25 611.50
60 56 ITA19700724 MISSAGLIA Gabriele LAM ITA 31 609.00
61 52 RUS19660204 EKIMOV Vjatceslav USP RUS 35 603.00
62 61 FRA19750430 MONCOUTIE David COF FRA 26 596.60
63 53 BEL19760712 BRUYLANDTS Dave DFF BEL 25 596.00
63 49 ESP19681229 GARCIA CASAS Felix M. FES ESP 33 596.00
65 64 ITA19710929 PIEPOLI Leonardo BAN ITA 30 592.00
66 64 ITA19771126 BASSO Ivan FAS ITA 24 588.00
67 71 ITA19680828 BORTOLAMI Gianluca TAC ITA 33 584.00
68 50 ESP19760309 MANCEBO PEREZ Francisco BAN ESP 25 577.00
69 120 ESP19720908 SERRANO RODRIGUEZ Marcos A. ONC ESP 29 571.00
70 90 BEL19690818 BAGUET Serge LOT BEL 32 569.00
71 67 ITA19700323 ZANETTE Denis LIQ ITA 31 568.00
72 64 AUS19661128 SUNDERLAND Scott FAK AUS 35 563.00
73 68 SLO19730127 STANGELJ Gorazd LIQ SLO 28 562.00
74 69 BEL19701216 EECKHOUT Nico LOT BEL 31 561.00
75 76 ITA19690117 BARBERO Sergio LAM ITA 32 540.00
76 72 ESP19750612 OSA EIZAGUIRRE Unai BAN ESP 26 539.00
77 84 FRA19710320 HEULOT Stéphane BIG FRA 30 535.40
78 85 FRA19740509 SALMON Benoît A2R FRA 27 532.00
79 78 ITA19710916 GENTILI Massimiliano CTA ITA 30 526.00
80 81 ITA19680822 LEONI Endrio ALS ITA 33 516.00
80 69 LAT19690912 PIZIKS Arvis CST LAT 32 516.00
80 81 KAZ19670920 TETERIOUK Andrei MCY KAZ 34 516.00
83 83 SUI19690520 DUFAUX Laurent SAE SUI 32 515.00
84 102 DEN19730309 PIIL Jakob Storm CST DEN 28 514.00
85 92 DEN19650420 SORENSEN Rolf CST DEN 36 505.00
86 97 NOR19780118 HUSHOVD Thor C.A NOR 23 501.00
86 115 BEL19690223 WAUTERS Marc RAB BEL 32 501.00
88 104 GER19750622 KLÖDEN Andreas TEL GER 26 500.00
89 48 GBR19770104 MILLAR David COF GBR 24 499.00
90 91 ITA19760102 DI LUCA Danilo CTA ITA 25 492.00
91 62 ESP19710528 BELTRAN MARTINEZ Manuel MAP ESP 30 490.00
92 93 RUS19660218 KONYSHEV Dmitri FAS RUS 35 489.00
93 86 NED19690824 KOERTS Jans MCY NED 32 487.00
94 94 SLO19750505 HAUPTMAN Andrej TAC SLO 26 486.00
95 157 ITA19730716 GARZELLI Stefano MAP ITA 28 477.20
96 95 ITA19720413 GUIDI Fabrizio MCY ITA 29 469.00
96 75 ITA19730507 SAVOLDELLI Paolo SAE ITA 28 469.00
98 96 ITA19740319 CELESTINO Mirko SAE ITA 27 468.00
99 99 ITA19690901 FERRIGATO Andrea ALS ITA 32 464.00
99 111 KAZ19710820 SHEFFR Aleksandr ALS KAZ 30 464.00
For the TOP 200 please go to
http://www.uci.ch/english/road/rankings/rank_2001a/index_20010729.htm
or
http://www.infociclismo.com
+ PRESS RELEASES
TEAM MERCURY
Wendy's Cycling Classic: Stage 3 Criterium - Worthington, OH Mt. Evans's Hill Climb: July 28, 2001 - Idaho Springs, CO
Lookout Mt. Hill Climb: July 29, 2001 - Golden, CO HP WOMEN’S CHALLENGE ON TV: 2001 HP Women's Challenge Cycling Race Featured
in Two-Hour Special Telecast on Oxygen Sports.
TEAM NAVIGATORS
Walters Wins Canadian National Championship (plus other results) MT Evans Hill Climb (Saturday).www.infociclismo.com
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