Second Edition Cycling News for September 9, 2004Edited by John Stevenson UCI adds four Pro Tour teamsThe UCI has announced the nomination of four more teams to the roster of the top-level Pro Tour series which will be introduced next year. With the 13 teams already announced, this brings the Pro Tour almost up to the target of 18 teams that will contest all of the grand tours and other major races. The four team organizations and their teams added to the roster are: Omega Pharma (Davitamon-Lotto), Fundacion Ciclista Euskadi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Liquigas Sport Spa (probably Liquigas) and Silver Team Srl (Fassa Bortolo) The UCI's Professional Cycling Council has been studying the possibility of increasing the number of ProTour team licenses from 18 to 20, at the request of the AIGCP, the body that represents trade teams, but has decided to keep the number at 18 for 2005. The 13 previously announced Pro Tour teams are: Abarca Sports S.L. (Illes Balears-Banesto) Possible Pro Tour scheduleIn other Pro Tour news, Cyclingnews has obtained a provisional list of the races that will comprise the series. Listed by the Tour of Poland as part of its announcement of its Pro Tour status, the schedule includes obvious monuments of the sport such as the current World Cup one-day races and the tours of Italy, France and Spain, plus a new tour of the Benelux and what appears to be a new team time trial event in the Netherlands. Asked to confirm the schedule, UCI press officer Enrico Carpani told Cyclingnews, "The final version of the calendar will be approved in Verona. So, we have to wait few weeks more." Possible Pro Tour 2005 scheduleMarch 13-?: Paris-Nice Webcor announces T-Mobile lineupThe Webcor Builders cycling team, which boasts two of the three riders who have won the men's edition of the T-Mobile International, has announced its rosters for this year's version of the hugely popular San Francisco race, to be run on September 12. Not surprisingly defending champion Chris Horner and 2002 winner Charles Dionne and top the men's team, with 2004 Olympian Christine Thorburn leading the women's. "I've done everything I can to prepare and I think it will be enough," said Horner. "There are a lot of great riders coming over from Europe and I know I can perform at that level." Horner will be supported by Dionne, Justin England, Ted Huang, James Mattis, John Kelly, Bernard van Ulden and Ben Haldeman. On the women's side, Christine Thorburn will be joined by 2000 Olympian and 1994 World Time Trial Champion Karen Brems and 1996 U.S. National Criterium Champion Carmen D'Aluisio. Said Brems, a rider and manager for the Webcor Builders squad, "Christine has proven to everyone that she can race with the best in the world, but Webcor is also a strong team and I think we can help her improve on her 6th place from last year's T-Mobile International. We have all been training hard on the course for a month." Thorburn, Brems and D'Aluisio will be supported by Stefanie Graeter, Felicia Greer, Catherine Malone, Lisa Norris, and Betina Hold. UCI convenes in IrelandBy Tommy Campbell, Irish Independent, Evening Herald, Sunday Independent A delegation of cycling's top administrators will be in Dublin, Ireland for the next couple of days. The UCI group, led by incoming UCI president Pat McQuaid will be hosted by Ireland's governing body, the Federation of Irish Cyclists. The delegation will have quite an amount of work to get through. "The decisions taken at this meeting will have a big impact on International Cycling in the years to come," said McQuaid. "Also it is opportunity to showcase Ireland to our visitors and to get through the workload. Items that will top the agenda will be the reform of International Cycling which begins next year with the launch of UCI Pro Tour and the new Continental Calendars. Approval of the 2005 Women's World Cup and also the approval of the 2005 International calendar for U23 and Juniors. "They are all very important issues and particularly the new Pro Tour which has been a topic of conversation because it is a major undertaking and will have far reaching positives for the development of cycling all over the world. This is a natural progression and will have the guaranteed effect to give everybody associated with the sport something to savour next year. I have no doubt that it will be a major plus," said Pat. Members of the delegation will include: Joop Aastma, president Dutch Cycling Federation; Roland Hofer, general secretary, European Cycling Confederation; Brian Jolly, president Canadian Cycling Association; Philippe Chevallier, UCI road coordinator; and Theresa Van Zyl, UCI road coordinator. Club president calls for better driver behaviour after deathAfter a member of his club was killed in a collision with a motor vehicle at the weekend, East Carolina Velo Club president Peter Hollis has called for drivers show more respect for cyclists on the road. Larissa Molles a 22-year-old student at East Carolina University was riding with her boyfriend and room-mate on Sunday when she was hit by a Ford F250, according to a report from The Daily Reflector. Investigators believe that the driver, James Russell Farmer Jr, crossed the center line as he rounded a curve and hit Molles head-on. Molles, who was riding beside he boyfriend and the closest of the three to the center of the road, was the only one hit. Despite wearing a helmet, Molles suffered severe injuries and died the following morning in hospital. "I think as a club we need to do more advocacy in educating the driving public," East Carolina Velo Club president Peter Hollis said. "A cyclist is a vehicle that has all the rights and obligations as everyone else on the road. (Cyclists) have a right to be there and you have an obligation to behave yourself. Don't honk your horn - they know you're there - and don't play chicken. The cyclist has no ability to go up against your car. They lose that one every time." Charges have been laid against farmer, whom police believe may have been distracted at the time of the crash, as he was transporting a recently deceased pet dog for burial. Club members have been discussing ways to commemorate Molles, who was a popular rider, and hoped the judicial system would send a message that drivers need to be careful around cyclists. "You could kill somebody with your car because you're negligent. Don't get me wrong, accidents happen. In a circumstance like this though, the guy crossed the yellow line. If all you get out of killing somebody is a rise in your insurance and that's the only punishment, that doesn't make sense to me," Hollis said. Second Iron Cross claims world's hardest cyclo-crossThe second edition of the Iron Cross cyclo-cross will take place this year on October 17 in Pennsylvania's Michaux State Forest. Claimed by organizers to be the world's hardest 'cross race, the Iron Cross involves a 60+ mile single-loop course, "made up of all that makes 'cross great, but in an "extended play" format," according to course co-designer Dr. David Albright. For more information see www.highspeedcycling.com IMBA opens Canadian officeThe International Mountain Bike Association has traditionally been most active in campaigning for trail access for mountain biking in the US, while offering advice and support to access campaigns in other nations. As of this summer, though, IMBA becomes more truly international with the opening of an office in Ontario, Canada, staffed by Ontario natives Mark Schmidt and Lora Woolner. IMBA has previously supported Canadian access efforts with visits from the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew. For more information contact IMBA Canadian Office, PO Box 404, Collingwood, ON L9Y 3Z7 Canada; email: canada@imba.com; phone: 705-441-6901.
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