| 11/19/2001 | + NEWS
CASERO IN TALK WITH NEW ITALIAN SPONSOR
There will be a new sponsor taking over Team Liquigas called Maglieria Cage, which will maintain the same structure as the previous team, with the exception of the departure of their three bets riders: Davide Rebellin, Serguei Gontchar & Denis Zanette. Until Casero's signing is confirmed, the team's new leader is Colombian Hernan Buenahora. Team Manager, Fabio Bordonali told La Gazzetta dello Sport yesterday that: "There have been contacts with Casero and we are not far from reaching an agreement". Casero himself spoke on the radio and said that he had "very interesting offers from Italy".
The question with Maglieria Cage is if they will be able to hold on to the UCI points corresponding to Liquigas in 2001, which would place the team in 12th place. This would allow the team to be automatically qualified to ride the three Grand Tours and would allow Casero to ride the Tour. Otherwise, the team would have to ride as a Division 2 team. This offer from Italy is the only one left for Casero, after Team ONCE decided not to sign him.
CADEL EVANS: 2002 WITH MAPEI - QUICK STEP
The Australian rider will ride exclusively on road. Cadel Evans has signed a contract which will hold him to the Professional Cycling Team MAPEI - Quick Step for the next 2 seasons. The 24 years old Australian, winner of the Cross Country World Cup in 1998 and in 1999, has decided to definitely leave the Mountain Bike to dedicate himself exclusively to the activity on road, also because of the performances and good results obtained during his first year among professionals.
PERRY WILL RIDE FOR AMORE E VITA
South African James Perry, Bronze medallist at the Lisbon World Championships in the Under 23 Time Trial event, has reached an agreement to ride with Amore e Vita – Beretta for two seasons.
THE NEW EPO
It looks like EPO has found a substitute in endurance sports, including cycling, in a product known at Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa), which is being produced by American laboratory Amgen. The effects are almost identical to EPO, but the main difference is that its effects
last three times longer. Aranesp is a drug that is prescribed for the treatment of anemia, usually associated with patients being treated
for cancer.
The advantages in terms of doping for "darbepoetin" is that while it achieves similar results to EPO, a person needs to receive two to three weekly injections, while with Aranesp only two to four injections a month will do. The International Olympic Committee is concerned that the use of "darbepoetin" is spreading to endurance sports: athletics, cycling, Nordic skiing, swimming, rowing…
The earliest suspicions of the use of Arasnep have been generated in Italy and were revealed by TV channel TG5 and La Gazzetta dello Sport. This substance is being investigated after the process that continued the searches that occurred at the last Giro d'Italia, where another two doping products came to light: RSR13 and Hemassit.
The medical commission of the International Olympic Committee has stated that "darbepoetin" is not detectable by the current urine tests, but they are convinced that the urine test created by the French laboratory of Chatenay will have no problems focusing the test used for EPO detection towards the detection of Aranesp. Plus it is probably detectable with the blood test used in Sydney.
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+ INTERVIEW
MATHEW HAYMAN
Courtesy of www.syklingensverden.com
You are from Australia (Canberra) but you have been riding in Europe some years already. If I am not mistaken you started your European campaign with U23 Rabobank development team. What made you move to Europe at such a young age, and how did you get into the U 23 Rabobank-team?
- I went overseas with the Australian National team in '96 for the world championships, I rode some lead up races in Italy and then the junior world championships in Slovenia. I got a few wins in Italy and then rode well in the worlds so when I returned home it was time to make some big decisions. I knew I wanted to go to the next level so I put school on hold and went looking for a team in Europe. My older brother (Michael) was living in the Netherlands at the time so I asked him to scout around for me. I looked at the possibility of going to Italy, or riding for the Australian National program but then when talks started with Rabobank I told Michael "if Nico Verhoeven should ring just say yes". He rang and next year will be my 6th with a Rabobank jersey.
1999 was a good year for you. Tell us about it.
- In '99 I won 7 races I think, and had a few months at the start of the year where I was getting good results in a lot of races. I was leading the under 23 World Cup for a few months. I also pulled off the unexpected by winning the Dutch national title. The Dutch federation has now changed their rules meaning that you have to be Dutch and not just a Dutch resident to ride this race.
Were you surprised when you got your first pro-contract (with Rabobank) after the 99-season?
- Not surprised, I had a really good year and had learned a lot over the last three years and I think that both Nico Verhoeven and Jan Raas thought that it was time. Sure I was still young and I am not sure that turning pro young is a good thing but I had finished my apprenticeship with the amateurs and it was time to try out with the big boys.
Is it true to say that your role in the team has been as 'domestique'?
- There are not many riders who turn pro and don't end up getting bidons. It is the same as starting anything new (and turning pro is starting over again - what happened as an amateur doesn't count for much) you have to start at the bottom. So the last two years have seen me fill a role as a domestique. When riders like Dekker, Boogerd, Wauters and the Zbergs are winning races there is a lot of work for the domestique. But, then, every now and again we get a chance to ride for ourselves.
When you signed for Rabobank you said: "It is going to be a lot of hard work, but it is what I have been working for the last few years. It is nice to make this step, and I hope that it is the start of a few years with the pros". Has it been harder than you expected?
- I think that it has been mentally harder than I ever thought it would be. I have also had two operations in the last two years and that was sometimes very hard to get through. It was not just the operations but the time while we were trying to find out what was wrong. I was not racing as well as I knew that I could, it is frustrating to race and know that you are coming up short because of something outside of your control.
I am sure you will always remember February 5th 2001 at the Spanish island of Mallorca. That day you did something few riders ever do. Please tell the story once more.
- Nobody can ever take that one from me; I have won a race as a pro. It feels like it was years ago now but I do remember that I suffered like a dog all day long, towards the end I had to really watch it on the small climbs because I was so close to cramping. I attacked after about 2 km as a bit of a joke with Dekker. Before I knew it I had three minutes. After 30 km of head wind I had about 10 min, the lead kept growing and I started to believe in it more and more. I finished with 4 mins lead after a solo of more than 180 km.
You have had an operation this year, and last year also. What has been the problem, and how did the operation and recovery go?
- This is a problem that has only been operated on for the last 5 years or so. The research is quite new, but it seems that the artery (the external iliac artery) that runs through the hip and into the leg can get a kink in it, they believe this comes from the position that cyclist are in for so many hours. It is rather like a garden hose that when you kink it off the pressure drops and not enough blood gets to the leg. The operation in 2000 did not fix the problem enough and after a pile of tests we decided to try again, I was operated on again in July this year, 5 weeks of no sport and then another 5 weeks of low heart rates before I could really train. But I was racing again by the end of the year and came back well and the
leg feels a lot better.
What is you main goal as a cyclist?
- I don't have a special race that I dream of winning. I have not ridden The Tour yet, and that has to be something that every pro wants to do. There are Classics that I would love to perform well in, but I am young and just want to see how I develop over the next few years.
You describe yourself as more of a one-day rider. Does this mean that you think your future is in the Classics?
- That is what I will be targeting next year, I have always ridden well in the Classics as an amateur and as a pro, so next year I am hoping to be going really well from Het Volk until Paris Roubaix.
Today we could read the sad story about the Swedish rider Nicklas Axelsson who has admitted using EPO at the Worlds this year. Don't you get depressed when you read/hear about all the doping in cycling? What motivates you to keep going on?
- It is never nice to hear or read about these things that happen in the sport that you love. It is good to see that the UCI is trying to stop doping in cycling and is testing for EPO when other sports are willing to turn a blind eye. I think as a young rider that I am coming into the pro peloton at a good time.
Have you prolonged your contract with Rabobank?
- I have, I am to be at Rabobank for two more years, it is a really good team for young riders we are taken care of very well. There is good structure in the team. I am happy here so another two years in the Rabobank jersey for me.
One final question: Do you have some words of wisdom for young Norwegian riders?
- Enjoy your riding, whether it is training or racing make sure that you enjoy what you do, because there is not many pros who do this sport for the money, when it is raining and cold and you have to go training the money doesn't matter. Enjoy.www.infociclismo.com
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