First Edition Cycling News for March 18, 2005Edited by Jeff Jones and Hedwig Kröner ProTour jersey tops rainbow stripes
World champion Oscar Freire will be starting at this year's Milano-Sanremo wearing the white jersey of the leading ProTour rider instead of his rainbow colours, the UCI announced on Thursday. According to the current regulations, the ProTour jersey has the priority over the rainbow jersey, but this is about to change. Adopted before the Cyclo-Cross World Championships in St.Wendel, Germany, at the end of January, a new guideline giving the World Champion the right to wear the jersey even if he's leading the ProTour is scheduled to become official before the Tour of Flanders on April 3. "The director's committee has asked us to find a quick solution to protect the rainbow jersey's symbol," said Vittorio Adorni, chairman of the professional cycling council CCP. "The rule will change, but Freire will have to wear the UCI ProTour jersey at Milano-Sanremo." Adorni also said the CCP will a meeting in Brussels on April 11 to discuss the ProTour calendar of 2006. The World Champion himself, meanwhile, is reported to have preferred the rainbow jersey. "The rainbow jersey is more important and has a great tradition," Oscar Freire said. "The ProTour jersey is new and a lot of people don't even know it." Ullrich training hardT-Mobile's Jan Ullrich has fully recovered from his recent bout of 'flu in the beginning of February and will start his racing season at the Grand Prix de la Sarthe on April 5, 2005. The German Tour winner will leave his home in Switzerland for a training camp in Tuscany, Italy, on Friday. His personal trainer Rudy Pevenage told German Sport1, "Jan is training four to five hours a day, about 160 km." Ullrich is reportedly following a training plan consisting of 75 percent endurance and 25 percent speed work. "Slowly but steadily, that ratio will be turned around," Pevenage explained further. "Until it will be 75 percent speed, and 25 percent endurance training." Ullrich will not be participating at any Spring classics, although his form is building up at the right time. "Jan's fighting weight is good," Pevenage continued. "He's in much better shape than last year at the same time. At this point in time, a few excessive pounds don't do any harm." Ullrich's teammates Tobias Steinhauser and Giuseppe Guerini will join him at the training camp in Italy. Discovery to Paris-CamembertThe Discovery Channel team roster for the 66th Paris-Camembert on March 29 has been announced. The American team will line up Lance Armstrong, José Azevedo, Jose-Luis Rubiera, Fumiyuki Beppu, Jason McCartney, Tom Danielson and Jurgen Van Den Broeck at the French one-day race, rated 1.2 by the UCI and totaling 208 km. Bianchi-Aliverti for Primavera RosaThe Bianchi-Aliverti women's team will race in La Primavera Rosa (Varazze-Sanremo) this Saturday, March 19, and in the GP Città di Castenaso on Sunday, March 20. The team led by team manager Stefano Della Santa is focused upon Luisa Tamanini and features Swedish Veronica Andreasson together with four other riders making their 2005 season debut: Indre Januleviciute, Ramune Lipinskaite, Svetlana Pauliukaite and Hayley Rutherford. Bianchi-Aliverti will field the same team in both weekend races. "Some of the girls are opening their race season and are not ready yet to aim decidedly at the victory," said Della Santa. "Anyway, Luisa Tamanini's form is already quite good and I believe we can see her in front at La Primavera Rosa. As for the GP Città di Castenaso, the flat route would have been perfect for Susanne Jolidon. Unfortunately, we can't count on the Swiss rider, stopped by the effects of 'flu. "The upcoming races will give us the chance to prepare for the Belgian campaign in April, when we race the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, the GP de Wallonie and Flèche Wallonne. Be sure: we will be ready." Bizkaia-Panda for Primavera RosaThe Spanish women's team Bizkaia-Panda Software-Durango has named its line up for this Saturday's Primavera Rosa, the third round of the women's World Cup. It will be the team's first participation in a World Cup this year. Riders: Agurtzane Elorriaga, Naiara Telletxea, Maitane Telletxea, Cristina Alcalde, Iosune Murillo, Maria Mercedes Cagigas. Director: Jon Elorriaga, Assistant director: Ramon Gonzalez Arrieta. Pezzo to race Primavera RosaTwo time Olympic MTB champion Paola Pezzo will race in this Saturday's Primavera Rosa, the third round of the women's World Cup. It will be her first race since the MTB World's in Les Gets last September, but one that she is looking forward to. "I reflected for a long time before deciding, but the desire to ride is still very strong and I don't see myself letting it go: I will return to racing," she announced. "In the last few months I have trained with the same enthusiasm I had when I started, but I know that on Saturday that I will not be able to contest the victory. I want to return to the top on familiar terrain: the off-road races of the Marathon World Cup. La Primavera Rosa will therefore be aimed at perfecting my preparation. Starting this year, the Marathon MTB has been introduced to the official UCI calendar, and boasts a complete program that includes 10 rounds of the World Cup and a World Championship. These will be my real objectives." Pezzo rides for Specialized off-road, but for her road debut on Saturday she will line up in Saccarelli colours. No Escobar in Los AngelesSpain's Sergi Escobar, the 2004 World Champion in the 4000m individual pursuit, will not be able to defend his title at this year's World's in Los Angeles (March 24-27). After failing to comply with UCI regulations, Spain was not granted any additional wildcards for the meet, which means it can only compete with three riders: José Antonio Escuredo (keirin), José Antonio Villanueva (sprint, keirin), and Joan Llaneras (points race). Originally, it was planned to send 13 riders, but the UCI decided several weeks ago that only three had completed the necessary requirements, which included competing in the World Cup. Spain still sent eight riders to Los Angeles, but five of these will have to return home without racing: Escobar, Aitor Alonso, Asier Maeztu, Gema Pascual and Salvador Meliá. Source: todociclismo.com adidas sponsors British CyclingBritish Cycling, the governing body for cycling in the UK, has negotiated a deal with adidas to become the official outfitters of the Great Britain Cycling Team through to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The deal confirms the increasing investment that adidas is making in cycling, having recently signed an endorsement contract with Athens Gold, Silver and Bronze medallist Bradley Wiggins. adidas is the official outfitter of both the French and German cycling federations, and the specialist cycle manufacturer Mavic is also part of the adidas-Salomon group. The Great Britain Cycling Team will wear their new adidas gear for the first time during the World Track Championships in Los Angeles on March 24-27. Red Rose races 2005 scheduleRed Rose Races.com has announced its 2005 schedule of bicycle races held in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. The series features two stage races and assortment of road races, criteriums and time trials held in the heart of Amish Country. March 26 an April 9: Lancaster County Time Trial Series For more information got to: www.redroseraces.com Fantasy Spring Classics: rider list confirmed
The first official rider list for the first of the Spring Classics, Milan-San Remo, is now online at fantasy.cyclingnews.com. Once you have registered (unless you are an existing player), it's easy to play the game: 1. go to the "CREATE/EDIT" menu.
You have 4000 points to spend so select your riders carefully. Remember that riders like Zabel cost plenty. Less seeded riders might perform in points just as well, enabling you to select two or three top 15 finishing riders instead of just one. We recommend that you do not PAY RACE FEES until nearer to the start of the race as some riders may be dropped from the race before then. We recommend waiting until Friday evening 8pm GMT, giving you plenty of time before the final lock down of the game engine at 8am GMT on Saturday 19th March. No changes can be made after this final lock down.
More information on the rules of the game can be found in the rules section. New prizes announcedSpecialized has upped its prize sponsorship and have added 6 Decibel helmets worth US$169 each as well as the Grand prize of Specialized's bump-eating carbon fiber Roubaix Pro worth US$4400! The highest scoring team per classic race will win one of these top of the range Decibel helmets. The first runner-up prize will also satisfy your need for speed: a pair of Zipp 404 wheels. Now with dimples for even better aerodynamics, the US$1,600 404 is the slippery workhorse of Zipp's aero wheel range. These are Zipp's most popular wheels, and for good reason. If you are second overall in the seven classics, you could be riding these wheels very soon. Find out more in the prizes section of the Fantasy site. The Cyclingnews Spring Classics 2005 Fantasy Game covers the following races: Milan - San Remo - March 19 For more details and to enter your team go to fantasy.cyclingnews.com. (All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2005) |
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