First Edition Cycling News, Saturday, August 8, 2009

• Previous Edition
• Next Edition

Date published:

August 8, 2009, 01:00

• Dutch move ahead of Germans in women's world rankings

  

  Article published:

  August 7, 2009, 15:51

  By:

  Richard Tyler

  Sweden leapfrogs Italy to move into third

  The Netherlands have replaced Germany at the top of the International Cycling Union's (UCI) women's national world rankings, released this week.

  Germany dropped back into second spot in the ranking as a result of the strong performances of Dutch riders and a roll over of UCI points from results older than 12 months.

  Dutchwomen Marianne Vos (DSB Bank – LTO) and Kirsten Wild (Cervélo TestTeam) completed a one-two finish for their nation in Sunday's Swedish round of the women's World Cup at the Open de Suède Vargarda.

  The Netherlands now have 2942 points, 40 points ahead of Germany (2902).

  Sweden replaced Italy in third place on the ranking following the consistent performances of current World Cup leader Emma Johansson. The Red Sun Cycling Team rider hasn't finished outside the top five in any of this year's eight World Cup rounds.

  Below is the complete list of the UCI's latest national world rankings for women:
   

  UCI Womens Nation Rankings

  1	Netherlands	2942	pts
  2	Germany	2902
  3	Sweden	1633
  4	Italy	1553
  5	Great Britain	1377
  6	Australia	1258
  7	United States	1134
  8	Russia	727
  9	Lithuania	577
  10	Belgium	534
  11	France	534
  12	Denmark	527
  13	Switzerland	497
  14	Austria	451
  15	Canada	324
  16	New Zealand	253
  17	South Africa	199
  18	China	184
  19	Ukraine	163
  20	Spain	143
  21	Poland	136
  22	Brazil	120
  23	Kazakhstan	96
  24	El Salvador	93
  25	Mexico	91
  26	Morocco	81
  27	Costa Rica	70
  28	Estonia	65
  29	Czech Republic	59
  30	Chile	56
  31	Belarus	40
  32	Luxembourg	40
  33	Mauritius	38
  34	Finland	33
  35	Greece	30
  36	Hungary	30
  37	Serbia	30
  38	Slovakia	30
  39	Norway	30
  40	North Korea	27

• Back injury threatens remainder of Wegmann's season

  

  Article published:

  August 7, 2009, 16:24

  By:

  Susan Westemeyer

  Milram rider anxious to return in time for Vuelta and Worlds

  Fabian Wegmann of Team Milram had hoped to top off a mixed season by riding well in the season's final races, but the effects of an ongoing back injury suffered in June could threaten his late season race schedule. Wegmann will be assessed by physicians next week before a decision is made on when he can next race.

  The 29-year-old crashed in the fifth stage of the Dauphiné Libéré in June. At the time, he reported soreness in his neck and shoulders, but he was able to continue the race. Despite continued back problems, he raced the Tour de France and several post-Tour criteriums, but according to his team the injury could put a stop to things.

  “Things really don't look good for Wegmann right now,” Milram Sport Director Christian Henn told Cyclingnews. “His back has not gotten better at all, and he will have it more closely examined next week. If it doesn't get better and he can't train, then he won't be able to ride the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg on Sunday. It is up in the air at this point.”

  “It would be bitter for us if he is unable to ride, because Fabian is one of our options for success in Hamburg,” Henn added.

  Wegmann's season had a good start, with top ten finishes in several races before finishing second at the difficult Monte Paschi Eroica. Wegmann continued with third place finishes in the Brabantsje Pijl and the GP Manuel Indurain, and he topped the spring off by winning the Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop, formerly called Rund um den Henninger Turm.

  The German hoped to continue with his good form in the Dauphiné Libéré, but things went wrong on the fifth stage to Mont Ventoux. A crash early in the stage was responsible for his back injury, and that evening came down with an intestinal infection. Wegmann was able to finish the race, but finished only 70th. His next race was the German road national championships, where he was unable to defend the title he had won the two previous years.

  Wegmann went with Milram to the Tour de France, but his back continued to bother him and he wasn't able to approach the race with 100 percent condition. Though, unlike 2008 he was able to reach the finish in Paris this year.

  “It was great to reach Paris,” he said on his personal website. “The problem with my back still isn't under control and I will have it looked at next week. I have been suffering from it since the Dauphine and that is just too long.”

  Despite the injury cloud hanging over him Wegmann said he hopes to return at the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg (August 16) and the GP Plouay a week later. After that he plans to take part in his first Vuelta a España. "At the Vuelta I want to get the right form, which I will need the end of September for the Worlds in Mendrisio to ride as good a race as last year.” He finished seventh in the road race in Varese in 2008.

  However, he has a personal highlight before the racing continues. As he put it, “While it is routine for me to ride races, on Friday I will do something brand new: I will marry my girlfriend Johanna.”

• Floyd Landis taking on NBA star Deron Williams

  

  Article published:

  August 7, 2009, 16:47

  By:

  Bike Radar

  Pro cyclist goes one-on-one in time trial and shoot out

  Professional cyclist Floyd Landis will take on professional basketball player Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz in a time trial and three-point shootout near Salt Lake City, Utah on Friday.

  The event is a precursor to the 2009 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, which Landis and seven OUCH Presented by Maxxis teammates will be contesting August 18-23.

  The last time Landis was even on a basketball court, let alone practicing three-point shots, was half a lifetime ago.

  "But," Landis added, perhaps with tongue planted in cheek, "cyclists are usually really good basketball players, so I’m not concerned."

  Landis and Williams will challenge one another in their respective sports at Miller Motorsports Park this Friday, August 7 at 6:30 p.m. local time.

  Landis and Williams will both don an OUCH Presented by Maxxis kit and take each other on in a time trial on the raceway. Williams will then challenge Landis to a three-point shoot out.

  "I’m always game for a good challenge" said Williams, who was a member of the gold medal-winning Team USA at the Beijing Olympics last year. "I’m the consummate competitor, and going up against Floyd will be a lot of fun."

  Landis intends to show Williams no mercy on the bike. "No, I won’t be taking it easy on Deron," he said. "I’m pretty sure he won’t show me any mercy either. And if he does, he'll probably make more shots accidentally than I will." For the record, in his 34-game playoff career, Williams has made over 40 percent of his three-point attempts.

  When asked whether he thought it would be easier to do a good time trial in the midst of an important race like the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, or bury a three-pointer with two seconds left in the game, down by one, and some guy in your face, Landis noted, "time trials are very intense, high-pressure situations. There’s nowhere to hide. I imagine it's very similar to taking a shot at the buzzer."

  Aside from taking part in the event to help promote the race, the contest will also serve a practical purpose for Landis. The time trial portion of the competition with Williams will take place on the same course that will be used for the Stage 3 individual time trial of the Tour of Utah.

  "It’ll be really good to get a look at the TT course," Landis said. "Last year the race came down to the TT, so you don’t want any surprises on race day. I’m really looking forward to checking it out."
  Event details

  -When: Friday, August 7; 6:30 p.m. MST
  -Where: Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah
  -What: time trial and three-point shootout between OUCH star Floyd Landis and Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams.

  The event is open to the public.
   

• Demaret, El Fares and Tarramäe extend contracts with Cofidis

  

  Article published:

  August 7, 2009, 16:57

  By:

  Richard Tyler

  Antomarchi to ride as stagiaire with Skil-Shimano

  Cofidis has extended the contracts of three riders until the end of 2010. Dutch website Wielerland.nl reports that Frenchmen Jean-Eudes Demaret, Julien El Fares and Estonian national champion Rein Tarramäe have agreed to stay with the team until the end of next season.

  All three riders have claimed victories this season. El Fares won the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico and also claimed the race's points classification. Last week he claimed the overall classification at the Tour de Wallonie in Belgium.

  Demaret won stage five of the Etoille de Besseges in February and then another stage win at the Circuit de la Sarthe in April.

  Tarramäe was the winner of the mountains classification at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco before he claimed both the road race and individual time trial titles at the Estonian national championships in June.

  The team's sponsor, Cofidis, announced in July that despite its earlier plan to withdraw from the sport this year it would continue to sponsor the squad until the end of 2010.

  Skil-Shimano select stagiaire

  Skil-Shimano announced on Friday that Julien Antomarchi will join the Pro Continental squad as stagiaire. The team said the 25-year-old, who races for Velo Club La Pomme Marseille, will join Skil-Shimano for a trial period that will begin this month.

  The news of the trial caps off a good week for Antomarchi. He won stage three of the Tour de Alsace in Huningue last week.

  He began his amateur career in 2004 and has previously won stages of the Tour of the Somme and Tour de Bretagne.
   

• Sayers signs two-year contract with BMC

  

  Article published:

  August 7, 2009, 17:36

  By:

  Cycling News

  Sayers hired as assistant directeur sportif

  Having spent much of the 2009 domestic racing season as de facto director for the BMC Racing Team, Mike Sayers has signed a contract which will keep him working with the team through 2011.

  "It is the position I have wanted for a long time and I think I can even say this is the culmination of my entire career," said Sayers who retired from professional racing last year after 14 seasons. "From maybe my first year as a professional, I have looked at the director's job as being what I really wanted to do."

  BMC has been ramping up its operations over the past two seasons, so taking on a full-time assistant director was something they planned on doing, but only at the right moment. "It wasn't possible for General Manager Gavin Chilcott to take me on immediately, but he kept me in the mix all season," said Sayers.

  "First and foremost Mike will be the assistant director in charge of the US side of racing which means he will be my eyes and ears in the US," said Directeur Sportif John Lelangue. "I'm really happy to be working with him since he has the necessary experience which means that I can have total confidence in whatever strategy he adopts for a particular race."

  BMC will also be including Sayers in larger European races where a second team car is required. "I can't say at which races in Europe he'll be yet, but I already know he will be an enormous help since we share the same philosophy and strategy," Lelangue said.

• Bruseghin signs two-year deal with Caisse d'Epargne

  

  Article published:

  August 7, 2009, 17:37

  By:

  Richard Tyler

  Return to career roots for Italian

  Marzio Bruseghin will move to Caisse d'Epargne at the end of the season, it was announced on Friday. It will be a return to familiar surroundings for Bruseghin, who rode for the squad's predecessor, Ibanesto, for three years until 2002.

  La Gazetta Dello Sport reports that the Italian has signed a two-year contract with the Spanish registered squad worth 370,000 euro per year.

  His move to Caisse d'Epargne will bring to an end six years of employment with Italian teams. Bruseghin rode for Fassa Bortolo for three seasons before he joined his current squad, Lampre-NGC, in 2006.

  Bruseghin has won two stages of the Giro d'Italia and became Italian national time trial champion in 2006. Last year he rode all three Grand Tours and finished third on general classification at the Giro d'Italia.
   

• FMC has to issue licence for Vinokourov to start Tour de l'Ain

  

  Article published:

  August 7, 2009, 17:57

  By:

  Richard Tyler

  Kazakh national team assembled for French Tour

  Alexander Vinokourov is scheduled to make his return to stage-race competition at the Tour de l'Ain in France after the last minute addition of a Kazakh national team to the race's startlist on Friday. However, the International Cycling Union (UCI) has told Cyclingnews that Vinokourov will need to have secured a licence with the Monegasque cycling federation before he will be allowed to start.

  Team Kazakhstan was added by race organisers to the startlist with Vinokourov named as team leader of the six-man squad. The entry of the national team into the four-day Tour came as the stalemate continues between Astana and the 35-year-old rider.

  Astana's Press Officer Phillipe Maertens confirmed on Friday that Vinokourov had hoped to compete with Astana at the race. "It is true that Vinokourov wanted to race with us [at the Tour de l'Ain], but no agreement has been reached," he said.

  The eleventh-hour tactic by Vinokourov to start the race could come unstuck if he is unable to gain a race licence prior to the race's start of Sunday. The International Cycling Union (UCI) told Cyclingnews on Friday that because he is a resident of Monaco it is the responsibility of the Fédération Monégasque de Cyclisme (FMC), rather than the Kazakh cycling federation, to issue a licence.

  "Vinokourov needs to be in possession of a licence delivered by the FMC," said UCI Press Officer Enrico Carpani. "He has two options. First as a rider with a contract where the team would request the licence or he can compete as a non-contracted rider with the national team of Kazakhstan, which he is doing at this stage. Both options will satisfy the UCI, but he must have a licence issued by the FMC."

  The FMC was unavailable for comment on Friday.

  The Tour de l'Ain is scheduled to start the race in Bourg-en-Bresse on Sunday. If Vinokourov is able to secure a licence in time to start the race he will be joined by compatriots Valentin Iglinskiy, Dimitry Gruzdev, Dimitry Fofonov, Alexandr Shushemoin and Yevgeniv Sladkov.
   

• UCI grants Canada's ProTour five years

  

  Article published:

  August 7, 2009, 23:43

  By:

  Kirsten Frattini

  Non-ProTour wild cards invited to compete in Quebec

  The International Cycling Union (UCI) has secured five years for the two Canadian ProTour races set to start in 2010 on September 10 in Quebec City and September 12 in Montreal. Race promoter Serge Arsenault confirmed that the pair of races will be eligible for a further extension after the completion of the second year, taking them through to 2018.

  Discussions between Arsenault's organizing committee, Grand Prix Cyclists UCI ProTour, and the UCI about the possibility of the Canadian province of Quebec hosting two ProTour races began one year ago. The event location fell in line with the UCI's recent efforts to bring cycling to a world-wide platform. Arsenault admitted that the UCI granted him a five-year confirmation almost immediately, despite that fact that some promoters in Europe have been waiting for years to be eligible to organize a ProTour level event.

  "We have the license for one reason," said Arsenault. "It was the UCI's decision a year ago to make it possible for people like me to obtain a ProTour license for internationally developing the sport. We got special recognition for complying with the new philosophy of the UCI to help develop cycling around the world. This is the main reason we bypassed so many people obtain in these two races. To have success in this big operation, to bring back cycling on a real world wide level, we have to have something outside of the Tour de France."

  The UCI confirmed a five-year term for the pair of one-day races beginning in 2010 through to 2014. However, in 2012 the UCI will re-examine the progress of the races and determine their eligibility for an additional four-year extension into 2018. "We believe that we are bringing the best product of cycling to North America," said Arsenault. "We have been working in collaboration with the UCI and we are all very happy with our agreement."

  All ProTour teams are obliged to send a seven-rider team to the races and there will be the addition of four wild card spots available. According to Arsenault the wild card teams will include one Canadian national team, Canadian-based Continental team Planet Energy, one US national team and one Continental or Pro Continental team based in the USA, to be decided at a later date.

  "We wanted the best and if we want to succeed we have to bring the best product - the best courses and the best cyclists," said Arsenault. "We have an agreement that they [ProTour teams] have to bring seven riders. For us, from an international point, seven riders is enough for a one-day race. Then we will also have four wild card spots."

  On August 31 the UCI will pay a visit to the two cities to examine and review the selected courses in Quebec City and Montreal. "The courses are 99 percent selected," said Arsenault. "We actually just switched the days of each race to make Quebec City the first race. It will cover 290 kilometres and go through old Quebec. The second race will be between 225 and 240 kilometres and we will use the Mont Royal in Montreal. We need to have the parcours certified by the UCI ProTour guys and it has to be done one year before the event date."

  The ProTour events are receiving funding and full support from the Quebec government including Quebec city mayor, Regis Labeaume, and Montreal city mayor, Gerald Tremblay. According to Arsenault it cost upwards of four million dollars to run the high-caliber events and while there is no title sponsor at the moment the search has begun.

  Arsenault is no stranger to promoting bike races. He is best known for organizing the men's Montreal World Cup and the Tour Trans-Canada in the 1990s. He believes that the sport is just now ready to handle high-level cycling outside of Europe. "The peloton, 10 to 15 years ago has changed a lot, it is a really international field now, guys are younger and they have no fear to travel," said Arsenault. "If cycling wants to survive and grow to be a major world-wide sport than it has to get out of Europe - France, Italy and Spain. Otherwise, it can only be called a Euro sport."

  Arsenault is working toward the possibility of expanding the ProTour weekend to include a third event held in Boston and a future stage race is also a possibility. "I didn't want to jump into it with something bigger, I wanted to secure our date and maintain a long term relationship with the UCI," he said. "If you want to have the 20 best teams, you have to think of a calendar that suites everyone. We already have the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia that are 21 days long. September is the end of the season, just before the world championships."