First Edition Cycling News for November 2, 2004Edited by Jeff Jones Vanthourenhout tops rankingsAfter his consistent start to the 2004/2005 cyclo-cross season, Belgian Sven Vanthourenhout (Quick.Step-Davitamon) has reached the number one spot in the UCI rankings. With 695 points to his name, Vanthourenhout leads Zdenek Mlynár (AC Sparta Praha) by 140 points and Sven Nys (Rabobank) by 170 points, with another Czech, Kamil Ausbuher (Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor) in fourth place. The top 10 is almost entirely Belgian and Czech riders, with Dutchman Richard Groenendaal (Rabobank) the only exception in 9th place. UCI cyclo-cross rankings as of October 31, 20041 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Quickstep - Davitamon 695 pts 2 Zdenek Mlynár (Cze) AC Sparta Praha 555 3 Sven Nys (Bel) Rabobank 525 4 Kamil Ausbuher (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor 493 5 Ben Berden (Bel) Saey-Deschacht 484 6 Tom Vannoppen (Bel) MrBookmaker.com - Palmans 460 7 Erwin Vervecken (Bel) Fidea Cyclocrossteam 271 8 Mario de Clercq (Bel) MrBookmaker.com - Palmans 259 9 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) Rabobank 241 10 Petr Dlask (Cze) Author Praha 230 McCauley makes the most of last minute opportunityBy Alan Messenger
New Zealand's most flamboyant cyclist Gordon McCauley only decided to ride the Tour of Southland a few days ago but he was one of the stars of the tough Stage 2 ride from Invercargill to the summit of Bluff Hill. The 1996 Southland Tour winner became disillusioned with the sport after missing Olympic selection earlier this year and had not raced since. "Paul (Clark) from Zookeepers Café gave me a call because Logan Hutchings was injured and asked me whether I'd ride and I just said OK," McCauley said. Over the last few months McCauley has done almost no racing .His training has consisted of about 200 km a week on the bike and 30 km running. He put in a brave ride on the afternoon stage, going with a break after 40 km and at the end of the day he held the Sprint Ace and KOM Jerseys. " I felt alright until we hit the hill, in fact I felt good until then," he said. Is this the last Tour of Southland for McCauley? "Every year I say that I'm not coming back but I'm still here," he quipped. Van Moorsel finishes career in CuraçaoLeontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel rode her last official road race in Curaçao last Saturday, where she was given a rare opportunity to race with the men. Zijlaard-Van Moorsel, the top Dutch women's cyclist ever, finished 11th in the race behind World Champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank). "I have really enjoyed my time on the bike," she told De Telegraaf. "Although I was dying in the finale. When Oscar Freire attacked on the climb of the Julianabrug, I had to let them go." Zijlaard-Van Moorsel explained that it was a dream come true to ride in a men's race. "In a second life I would absolutely want to be a man," she said. "Racing with men is so much nicer. When they attack, the whole peloton is in a line riding at sixty kilometres per hour. It's really remarkable and I find that super." Prince Albert of Monaco paid tribute to the queen of cycling at the post-race party on Mambo Beach. "I have an enormous amount of respect for you," he said. "You'll go down as one of the best athletes in history." Cunego and Garzelli remember PantaniItalian cyclists Damiano Cunego and Stefano Garzelli have paid tribute to Marco Pantani, the immensely popular climber who died of a cocaine overdose earlier this year. The pair were guests at the Festival of Cinema and TV Programs of World Sports, where some initiatives dedicated to Pantani were presented. Cunego commented that Pantani was, "A simple guy, just like any other," while Garzelli, who rode in Pantani's team, described the Pirate as, "A unique individual in modern cycling." Capiot still lookingFormer team director of Chocolade Jacques, Johan Capiot, is still searching for a new team for him and his riders. He was hoping to join new Dutch team Moser-Trentino together with Bart Voskamp, Jan van Velzen and Bert Hiemstra, but has given up hope of that offer coming to fruition. "I think that I myself will be out of work," Capiot told ANP. "I have nothing to offer the guys." Langella stays amateurFrench rider Anthony Langella, formerly with Crédit Agricole, has opted to ride another season for his local club CC Marmande. The 30 year old also works for the Axel Vega Society, which manages the Bordeaux velodrome. Courtesy of cyclismag.com Dave Rayner Fund 2005 selectionsThe British-based Dave Rayner Fund has announced the 24 riders that will receive financial assistance from the Fund in 2005. Among the group, which includes two women, seven riders will be funded for three months during the summer and the remaining 17 will be funded for the full season. The 24 riders were selected from a total of 42 applications. A total of 128 riders from Great Britain and Ireland have now received financial assistance from the Fund since it was founded in 1995, following the death of promising young British pro Dave Rayner in November, 1994. The riders selected for 2005 are:Full Season Ryan Bonser (Ashton-u-lyne) (age 19) 3 Months Kim Blyth (Sheffield) (age 17) 2004 Colorado Cyclocross ChampionshipsThis year's Colorado State Cyclo-cross Championships will take place on December 4-5, a week before the USA Cyclo-cross National Championships. The event, which will be held in Lakewood near the Red Rocks Community College Campus, is the first time the State Championship will be held over two days and on a completely new venue. The goal is to provide more of a National Championship format with races spread out throughout the day with time for the racers to preview the course and fine-tune their race preparations between events. The course has over 80 feet of elevation gain per lap with several power hills, the "Wall-O-Rama" and a 1/3 mile uphill road section. The riders who can develop the most power will find themselves at home at this venue. In addition to a great course, there will be Food, Coffee Bar, Music and Announcing, Equipment Expo, lots of Prizes ($2,000) , Hand Made Trophies, Race Tee Shirts by Northwest Designs, Commemorative 2004 Cross Bells, on site Race Photography by roadbikephotos.com and of course, the famous Great Divide Brewery Case Beer Prime to the first and last rider on the first lap. The race is sponsored by Schwab Cycles, Moots, Great Divide Brewery, Mavic, Bell/Giro, Honey Stinger, Sidi, Easton, Look, Enervit and Continental and is promoted by the Schwab Cycles Torelli/LRT and Green Mtn Sports cycling teams through the American Cycling Association. The schedule Saturday, December 4: Senior & Master Women and all Senior Men Events
Entry forms can be found on the American Cycling Association Web site under Entry Forms\December2004 at www.americancycling.org.
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