First Edition Cycling News for December 18, 2004Edited by John Stevenson Moser criticises UCIItalian cycling legend Francesco Moser has written to the UCI criticising the organisation for its exclusion of rider representatives from discussions on the future of cycling. The UCI has set up a working party on the future development of the sport, which was supposed to include representatives from professional teams and the Association of Professional Cyclists (CPA) of which Moser is president. However, Moser writes, "We are not included because the professional riders association has not been invited to these discussions on the future of bicycle racing. We hope that the initial composition of the working party will be reconsidered and the CPA will be invited to participate. New talents for Rabobank's Continental team
The Dutch Rabobank Division III team will continue as a Continental Team next season and presented its team roster in Bladel, Netherlands, yesterday. After a very successful year including 103 victories, the team has passed on four riders to its "bigger brother", the Rabobank Pro Tour team, namely Thomas Dekker, Theo Eltink, Rory Sutherland and Jukka Vastaranta. New team members for 2005 will be the Dutch Thom and Frank van Dulmen, Tom Leezer, Tom Veelers and Remco van der Ven, Russian Dmitri Kozontchouk and Australian William Walker. Hans Dekkers has stepped down from the Division 1 team, where he had spent one year after riding for the Espoir squad in 2003. Tom Stamsnijder, Kai Reus, Marc de Maar, Stef Clement, Michiel Elijzen, Mathieu Heijboer as well as Belgian Serge Pauwels are all staying with the team, as are Cyclo-Crossers Richard Groenendaal, Lars Boom, Bart Aernouts and Sven Nys.
With Van der Ven (29), Frank van Dulmen (24) and Hans Dekkers (23), the Rabobank Continental team has signed more experienced riders to help the younger riders develop. The targeted racing programme next season will include U23 races as well as the German classic Rund um Köln and Paris-Bourges in France, which the Rabobank Pro Tour team will not ride. With the importance of races shifting according to the UCI's road racing reform, the Continental team may choose to participate in some races previously assigned to the Division I team. PhotographyImages by DCP/Bert Geerts
Giro route to be announced JanuaryThe route of the 2005 Giro d'Italia will be announced sometime between January 17 and 21 next year, according to datasport.com. However, some details of the first of the year's Grand Tours (and the last to have its details revealed, the routes of the Vuelta and the Tour having been announced in recent weeks) have been leaked. The 2005 Giro looks likely to start with a prologue time trial in Reggio Calabria and to have its second-last stage in Sestriere, followed by the traditional finish in Milan. A stage is also planned between Marostica and Palafavera, and one of the two rime trial stages will finish in Firenze (Florence). Daphny van den Brand signs with Team Ton van Bemmelen-AA DrinkCyclo-crosser Daphny van den Brand has signed a one-year deal with Team Ton van Bemmelen-AA Drink, the new joint venture of Team Farm Frites-Hartol and Espoir Team Ton van Bemmelen Sports managed by Michael Zijlaard under the direction of Ingrid Haringa, with Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel as team coach. Van den Brand won the Cyclo-Cross World Championships wearing the Team Ton van Bemmelen Sports jersey in 2003, then changed to Heindens-Ten Tusscher for this year and just recently beat Hanka Kupfernagel at the Vlaamse Industrieprijs Bosduin in Kalmthout, Belgium. The 26 year-old will join a versatile team, as Michael Zijlaard has signed specialists for every discipline of cycling in view of next year. Olympic Champion Sara Carrigan and German Angela Brodtka will lead the squad at road races; Australian Kathy Bates and Dutch Champion Adrie Visser will compete on track and Van den Brand at Cyclo-Cross and Mountainbike events, her debut in new team colours being the Dutch National Cyclo-Cross Championship on January 8, 2005. Nys targets two for the weekendCyclocross heartland Belgium hosts two more significant races this weekend and in both cases Rabobank's Sven Nys is expected to continue his winning streak. On Saturday, the tow of Essen hosts the third round of the Gazet van Antwerpen Trofee Veldrijden. Nys' team-mate Richard Groenendaal leads the series by eight points over Nys, but Nys has won here twice before and is expected to do so again. On Sunday, the Vlaamse Druivenveldrit in Overijse is also a race Nys is known to want to add to his palmares as he has never won here. Dutch roadies on trackDutch road riders Michael Boogerd, Erik Dekker, Servais Knaven, Max van Heeswijk and Bart Voskamp have confirmed their participation in the second edition of Derny Kerstprijs GP Doeland at the Amsterdam Velodrome on December 22. They will be competing against a strong track lineup including Six Day pair Danny Stam and Robert Slippens in an evening of Derny and other track competitions. Nuttli hour attempt failsSwiss track specialist Jean Nuttli tried to crack the track hour record on Wednesday, December 15, but failed. In the Vienna Velodrome, Nuttli only completed 46.642 km against Chris Boardman's world record of 49.441 km established in 2000. Two years ago, the Swiss rider made an attempt at the record, which ended after 47,093 km. Nuttli has nevertheless announced he would be trying again soon. Transfer newsBelgian neo-pro Steven Thys has signed for the new Jartazi continental team. Austrian Gerhard Trampusch, who rode for the Acqua & Sapone - Caffè Mokambo team in 2004 will join the German AKUD team for 2005. US elite nationals move to Park CityThe 2005 Park City Cycling Festival (June 20-July 1) will include the men's and women's elite road and time trial championships for the first time, USA Cycling has announced. The 2004 event hosted national championships in other categories and saw 1,866 competitors and roughly 2,400 race entries. With the addition of elite races, the 2005 event brings together all categories except professionals and should be even bigger. The weekend before the nationals, nearby Deer valley Resort will host the fourth round of the NORBA national mountain bike series over the weekend of June 17-19. Sea Otter adds MTB epicThe 2005 Sea Otter Classic - one of the US' most popular road and mountain bike festivals - will have an extra attraction when its 15th edition comes to the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California, April 14-17. The opening event of this year's festival will be a 50-mile mountain bike ride, on the trails of the Fort Ord Bureau of Land Management property. The ride will be followed over the next few days by Sea Otter's traditional mixture of road and mountain bike races, and a 250-vendor expo area. TV coverage for Captech Classic 2005Organisers of the Richmond, Virginia Captech Classic (May 26, 2005) have announced that the Fox Sports Network will televise next year's edition. Veteran producer and director Kent Gordis will be responsible for the event's television coverage in 2005. Gordis has received six Emmy Awards, and has been involved as a producer and director in nine Olympic Games, and six Tours de France. Cycling Tasmania Rider of the SeasonBy Rod Morris Previous Rosebery Wheel winner Daniel Cutting will carry his half-share of the lead in the fourth annual Cycling Tasmania Rider-of-the-Season award into today's Rosebery Carnival (Saturday, December 18). Cutting and comeback rider Jamie Perry both earned 8 points in the recent George Town Carnival and will be out to extend their advantage when they hit the West Coast this weekend. Cycling Tasmania instigated the award three years ago and previous winners include Jame Carney, Matt Goss and Ben Price. Cycling Tasmania has also announced that last weekend's Devonport Carnival would not carry points in the senior male or female section, as it was not originally classed as an open carnival. Points earned by juniors will stand however. Launceston's Laura McCaughey is the early leader in the female section, holding an 8-point advantage over a group of three riders, Tarrisha Jones, Grace Sulzberger and Sarah Eaves. In the junior category Devonport's Andrew Smith, leads by just 1 point from Under 17 rider Daniel Jamieson, with the trio of Ed Robinson, Bradley Ryan and Jake Laskey equal third a further three points away. Points for all riders are earned in handicap finals and scratch races. Speciality events such as keirins, derby's and eliminations do not count towards the prestigious title. Standings
Men 1 Jamie Perry 8 pts 1 Daniel Cutting 8 3 Ben Laskey 6 4 Gareth Atkins 5 4 Will Robinson 5 6 Wes Sulzberger 4 7 John Rayner 3 8 Aaron Jones 2 8 Mark Jamieson 2 10 Jarrod Harman 1 Women 1 Laura MacCaughey 15 pts 2 Sarah Eaves 7 2 Grace Sulzberger 7 2 Tarrisha Jones 7 5 Lauralee Sharman 3 6 Alitta Laskey 2 7 Carrie Price 1 7 Bethany Coleman 1 7 Melissa Barnes 1 Junior 1 Andrew Smith 16 pts 2 Daniel Jamieson 15 3 Jake Laskey 12 3 Bradley Ryan 12 3 Ed Robinson 12 6 Luke Ockerby 11 7 Nathan Hinkley 10 7 Madison Catlin 10 9 Mitch Stewart 8 9 Matthew Kent 8 11 Karissa Ling 7 11 Peter Loft 7 11 Tom Robinson 7 11 David Stride 7
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