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Bayern Rundfahrt
Photo ©: Schaaf

Latest Cycling News for March 3, 2005

Edited by Hedwig Kröner

More team lineups for Paris-Nice

Spanish team Liberty Seguros has announced its line-up for the first ProTour race this season. Headed by Jörg Jaksche, who will be trying to defend his title from last year, the squad further includes Dariusz Baranowski, Alberto Contador, Koen De Kort, Igor Gonzalez De Galdeano, Aaron Kemps, Javier Ramírez and Luis Léon Sánchez.

Germany's T-Mobile Team will be led by two-time champion Alexander Vinokourov. He will be joined by classics specialists Danile Nardello and Sergey Ivanov, as well as Oscar Sevilla, Bram Schmitz and Torsten Hiekmann. Andre Korff will lead out the sprints of the first stages for newcomer Olaf Pollack.

French team Cofidis will have Sylvain Chavanel and David Moncoutié as team leaders, while Australian Stuart O'Grady will skip Paris-Nice and participate in Italian stage race Tirreno-Adriatico instead. Further included in the squad are: Frédéric Bessy, Jimmy Casper, Jimmy Engoulvent, Bingen Fernandez, Luis Perez and Dmitriy Fofonov.

The Française des Jeux team will have to do without Sandy Casar for Paris-Nice, as the 25 year-old still has not recovered from a cold. Casar placed second on the race's General Classification in 2002. "It would be too early to start in Paris-Nice, for sure," said directeur sportif Marc Madiot, who is not even sure about sending Casar to Tirreno-Adriatico starting Wednesday, March 9. Therefore, Philippe Gilbert, Christophe Detilloux, Freddy Bichot, Frédéric Finot, Fabien Sanchez, Benoît Vaugrenard, Thomas Lovkvist and Ian McLeod will compete for the French team at the "race to the sun".

Finally, AG2R has announced Jean-Patrick Nazon clear to take the start on Sunday. Mikel Astarloza, Ińigo Chaurreau, Cyril Dessel, Andy Flickinger, Stéphane Goubert, Nicolas Portal and Ludovic Turpin have also been announced to depart.

See also:

Preview
Stages & descriptions
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Past winners

Victor Kapitonov dies aged 71

By Sergey Kurdyukov

Russian cycling lost one of its all-time greats yesterday. Victor Kapitonov, the very first Soviet Olympic champion in the road race, who subsequently brought up several generations of winners as head coach of the Soviet national team, passed away in hospital in Moscow. For the last couple of years Kapitonov was courageously fighting serious diseases, but finally his body gave in.

His sensational victory in sun-melted Rome on August 29, 1960 earned him much more than fame and recognition in his home country and around the world. He became a person to look up to for millions of fans and a role model for young riders. It won't be an exaggeration to state that virtually everybody in the USSR knew the dramatic story of that victorious 175km-long race, the duel in a breakaway between a Russian youngster, born in a provincial town of Kalinin, and an Italian star, Livio Trape. Breaking through the wall of murderous 45-degrees heat, Victor sprinted for the line only to learn that he did it a lap too early. To pick oneself up and give one's all yet again, to win twice in a single race - that was what made him a living legend.

He has always been true to his name. When his career as a professional rider was over, he opened a new chapter in his victorious saga as a coach. He made four different riders from all corners of the country work as a single whole in TTT in 1972 (Boris Shukhov, Valery Yardy, Gennadi Komnatov, Valery Likhachev), 1976 (Anatoli Chukanov, Valeri Chaplygin, Vladinir Kaminski, Aavo Pikkuus) and in 1980 (Yuri Kashirin, Oleg logvin, Sergei Shelpakov, Anatoli Yarkin). Finally Sergey Sukhorutchenkov followed Kapitonov’s footsteps to the top of the podium of Olympic road race in Moscow. Also squads led by Kapitonov achieved tremendous success in individual and team classifications of the Peace Race, the most prestigious amateur tour of that epoch.

In 1988, Victor stepped down as head coach, but remained greatly involved in the activity of the Soviet and, later, the Russian cycling federation. For already 30 years on end, the very best of Russian young cycling hopes contends for the prize bearing the name of Olympic champion. This stage race, held in his native region of Tver, was an important step towards the pro ranks for well-known riders of today, like Sergey Ivanov and Denis Menchov. There is no doubt that this contest will live on, as well as our memory of Victor Kapitonov.

Tour of Denmark presented

The 15th edition of the "Post Danmark Rundt", the Tour of Denmark was presented to the public in Copenhagen on Wednesday, March 2. Race director Jesper Worre announced the following route for the UCI rated HC race:

Stage 1, August 3: Skive - Skive, 200 km
Stage 2, August 4: Viborg - Ĺrhus, 190 km
Stage 3, August 5: Ĺrhus - Vejle, 180 km
Stage 4, August 6: Assens - Odense, 90 km
Stage 5, August 6: Nyborg, Time Trial 13,8 km
Stage 6, August 7: Slagelse - Frederiksberg Allé, 160 km

Casagrande out of Tirreno-Adriatico

Swiss Pro Continental team Naturino-Sapore di Mare has decided on an alternative line-up for Italian stage race Tirreno-Adriatico from March 9-15, since the team's leader, Francesco Casagrande, has suffered a microfracture in his left knee. Casagrande will have to pause for a while, an exact time of recovery unknown. Naturino will therefore have the following riders in Italy next Wednesday: Valerio Agnoli, Alexander Bazhenov, Alessandro Bertuola, Francesco Failli, Alessio Galletti, Sergio Marinangeli, Massimiliano Mori, Andris Nauduzs and Filippo Simeoni.

Tour UCI commissaires include woman

It's an absolute novelty: For the first time, a feamle commissaire will be included in the UCI commissaires' team at the Tour de France, which numbers four members each year. Dutchwoman Miriam Van Es has been attributed the honour. The 42 year-old has been a UCI commissaire since 1994, and is nick-named "the Iron Lady" in her home country - a characteristic she most certainly needs in a sport still dominated by men.

U.S. U23 National MTB team for second season

A second season of racing for the U23 National Mountain Bike Team begins this weekend at round one of the Shimano NORBA National Mountain Bike Series in Boerne, Texas. USA Cycling unveiled the team last year and enjoyed a successful first season with several podium finishes and a win in the U23 National Mountain Bike Championships.

John Devine (Dixon, Ill.), Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.), and Nick Waite (Davis, W.Va.) will return for a second year on the U23 National Team, while Sam Jurekovic (Jackson, Wy.) will make his debut against top level pro's this weekend as the newest member of the squad. 2004 team member and reigning U23 National Champion Alan Obye graduated from the U23 ranks at the end of last year, but will remain supported by the USA Cycling National Team program as he begins his elite-level career in 2005.

National Mountain Bike Team Director Matt Cramer is excited to capitalize on the many experiences the team faced in 2004. "The positive feedback we received from fans, the media, and other riders last year was unbelievable," commented Cramer, "and I think that will be an amazing tool we can use to further develop these riders in 2005 and beyond."

2004 saw each rider on the team either make the podium or have a top ten finish. "Even though they are very young, they are no longer strangers to finishing at the top," Cramer explained. John Devine is a powerful, smart rider who is able to place himself in the right spot at the right time. At only 18 years-old, he made quite the debut on the pro circuit last year as the only American to make the podium in the first NORBA National short track race. Nick Waite is the team’s climber who excels in the sloppy and muddy conditions typical of his home in West Virginia. He posted a top-ten cross-country finish on home turf last year in Snowshoe. Sam Schultz got faster and faster with each race in 2004 and is able to dig into reserves in a race’s final minutes to make up time and places. He ended the season for the team last year with fifth place in Durango’s short track.

The team’s newest and youngest member, Sam Jurekovic, was one of the top junior cross-country riders last year and represented the U.S. at the Junior World Mountain Bike Championships. "With the proper preparation and direction," explained Cramer, "I feel Sam can excel to a very high level."

A full schedule in 2005 will include the NORBA National Series and World Cups. The group will also join the U23 National Road Team in races such as the Redlands Bicycle Classic and the Tour de Georgia as well as select European events.

Route One Messenger race prepares for N.Y. World's

The Strangers, a Boston-based messenger race team, is hosting a pre-event for the 2005 Cycle Messenger World Championships in New York City: The Route One stage race, which will start on June 21 and finish on June 27. The Messenger World's are scheduled to take place from June 30-July 4.

The stages of Route One are as follows:

Stage 1 - June 21: Boston Alleycat
Stage 2 - June 22: Boston - Providence Road Stage
Stage 3 - June 23: Providence Alleycat
Stage 4 - June 24: Providence-New Haven Road Stage
Stage 5 - June 25, : New Haven Alleycat
Stage 6 - June 26: New Haven-NYC Road Stage
Stage 7 - June 27: NYC Team Time Trial

Leader's jerseys will be awarded daily, and the teams will also be competing for the team competition. For more information on Route One, go to www.strangersracing.com/r1 Further information on the Messenger's World's can be obtained at www.nybma.com/cmwc2005/

Inaugural coaches' workshop in NZ

Bike NZ, in association with the New Zealand Olympic Committee Solidarity Fund, is delivering its inaugural Elite Coaches Workshop in April 2005. Experienced regional and national coaches from Cycling New Zealand, Mountain Bike New Zealand and BMX New Zealand are invited to attend the workshop to up-skill and improve their coaching knowledge.

BikeNZ has furthermore announced that Dr Dave Martin and Martin Barras from Cycling Australia will be presenters on this course, providing their experience, knowledge and expertise on such areas as the role of the coach, the relationship between sports medicine, sports science and research, specificity of training plans and programming as well as the providing practical skills and knowledge that are required to plan, conduct and evaluate training programmes.

The course is supported by the New Zealand Olympic Solidarity Fund, the body responsible for managing and administering the share of the television rights of the Olympic Games that is allocated to the National Olympic Committees. The Elite Coaches Workshop will take place at the New Zealand Academy of Sport Central, Westpac Stadium, Wellington, from April 15-17,2005.

Canada introduces kids' cycling program

The Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) has announced the introduction of "Sprockids", Canada's first ever "grass roots" cycling program for kids. Designed by leading educators for instructors and recreational leaders to teach basic riding skills and safety while helping children develop self-esteem and self-confidence, Sprockids is a program to help kids improve their cycling abilities while having fun and meeting new friends. Intended for organizations providing sport and recreational programs to children aged 9-12, the OCA sponsors the first 15 members who register and complete the course by June 2005.

Further information on: www.sprockids.ca

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