Latest Cycling News for March 22, 2005Edited by Hedwig Kröner McEwen out of spring competition
Davitamon-Lotto sprinter Robbie McEwen has to stop racing for a few weeks. The Australian is suffering the revival of the 'flu that forced him to pause last month and was the reason for him not starting at Milano-Sanremo last Saturday. McEwen's primary goal is now recovering completely from his illness, and not to jeopardize his health by taking up training or racing too soon. He has therefore decided not to participate in any Spring races at all and focus on the Giro d'Italia instead. "It's my second dose of 'flu in two months time," McEwen told Belgian newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen. "I'm tired of it. To get healthy again is now my top priority, cycling only comes second. I'll forget about my early season completely and concentrate on the Giro now. "It's a real shame, but in my current condition I can't do anything against guys whose main objectives are the Spring classics," the Australian rider, who is currently on antibiotics, added. "I feel bad, real bad," "I can't think of training at all, let alone of competing. I might wait until mid-May to race again. After the first 'flu, I gambled and lost. I won't do that again, I've learned from it." On VRT Teletekst, Davitamon-Lotto team manager Marc Sergeant played down the statements made by McEwen: "Robbie underwent some blood tests on Monday, because we want to know if it's just a cold or something else," said Sergeant. "McEwen was going to take a break after Waregem anyway, so he's only missing one race, it's not worse than that." The results of the tests will be known in a few days. Simeoni speaksBy Tim Maloney, European Editor Cyclingnews saw Filippo Simeoni of the Naturino-Sapore di Mare team at the start of Milano-Sanremo and asked the rider from the Lazio region of Italy if he would speak about his ongoing lawsuit against six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Simeoni's squad was at Milano-Sanremo as a wild card team and he was clearly focused on trying to get in an early break, but he took some time out to tell Cyclingnews, "As far as I know, everything in this case is still going forward. My lawyers tell me that some progress can be expected soon, so the case might be in court shortly." Less than an hour later, Simeoni had infiltrated a five man escape near Pavia that turned out to be "the" break of the day, lasting over 200 km before being reabsorbed with 50 km to go. Full results, report and lots of photos of this year's Milan-Sanremo can be found here.
Jakob Piil rides GiroAfter having his spring season more or less spoiled by a crash in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Danish rider Jakob Piil has now been selected for Team CSC's line-up in this year's Giro d'Italia. Piil will play an important role in the Italian stage race, assisting team leader Ivan Basso, who is aiming for the overall victory. At the same time Jakob Piil is hoping for a stage win in the race, which begins in Reggio Calabria on Sunday May 8 and ends three weeks later in Milan. "Jakob will be a key asset to the team during the Giro. He has lots of experience, and will be able to go for stage victories as well, should the opportunity arise. His spring season didn't turn out the way he wanted it to, but with the Giro coming up on his schedule, he now has a big goal ahead of him," said Bjarne Riis on the team's website, team-csc.com. "I've had the thought for a while, and as it turned out, both Basso and Bjarne were keen on the idea of me riding the Giro, so it wasn't a difficult decision for me," Piil said. "I spoke to Ivan during Tirreno-Adriatico and I sensed that he really wanted me in the Giro line-up, so I'm of course very motivated to help him win the race. I think this is the perfect solution for me, since I haven't been able to focus 100 percent on the April classics. According to my race schedule, I'll still do some of the classics, but then I'll take a short break after that. I'm usually in very good shape during May, and I'm very much looking forward to riding the Giro d'Italia." Gerolsteiner's Haussler at Settimana InternazionaleAustralian-German neo-pro Heinrich Haussler is having his season debut at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali. Joined by another newcomer in the pro ranks, Matthias Russ, and team leader Sven Montgomery as well as Georg Totschnig, Michael Rich, Uwe Peschel, Ronny Scholz and Marco Serpellini, the 21 year-old now has to prove his worth. "We'll see how Heinrich will present himself," sports director Raimund Dietzen said. Haussler, who remained realistic about his first season as a pro, will be able to show his climbing capabilities in the UCI rated 2.1 race that will total 820 km. Results and reports of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali can be found here. Fractured collar bone for BoubnenkovaWhile competing at the Primavera Rosa, Svetlana Boubnenkova (PMB Fenixs) crashed at the foot of the Cipressa and broke her collar bone. The Russian rider was leading the race with Nicole Brändli and Luisa Tamanini when the accident happened. Boubnenkova will have to renounce to competition for at least one month. For full results and report of the race, click here. Tour de l'Aude Féminin 2005The stages of this year's Tour de l'Aude Féminin have been finalised. The organisers of the traditional French women's cycling stage race taking place form May 13-22, 2005, have announced the following route:
Prologue - May 13: Gruissan - Gruissan, 3900 m ITT Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung (Ger), Vlaanderen -T-Interim Ladies Team (Bel), Basis Aude (Can), Team S.A.T.S (Den), T-Mobile Professional Cycling Team (USA), Team 24 - Pruneaux D'agen (Fra), S.C Michela Fanini Record Rox (Ita), Nobili Rubinetterie - Guerciotti (Ita), Therme Skin Care (Ned), Ondernemers Van Nature (Ned) and Team@Home Cycling (Ned) have all been announced to participate. Tour de Nez Century RideThe 13th Annual Tour de Nez, scheduled for June 16-18, 2005, in Reno, Nevada, USA, is bringing biking to the mainstream this year with the Tour de Nez Century Ride on June 18. Offering three different rides complementing every level of fitness and experience, the Tour de Nez Century ride gives families and beginning cyclists as well as seasoned amateurs, the chance to participate on every level. This year's Tour de Nez Century Ride starts and finishes at Reno's Wingfield Park, home of the three-day Tour de Nez Celebration of Cycling, and travels along the scenic routes of Old Highway 40, the Truckee River, Verdi and Lake Tahoe. Participants will be among the first group to travel along the newly completed first leg of the Tahoe Pyramid Bikeway. "With three different options everyone has the chance to take part in the century," said promoter and race Supreme Commander, Tim Healion. "We've made it so families can do the 25 mile ride together, stop and enjoy lunch at Crystal Peak Park in Verdi and ride leisurely back along the scenic old Highway and the Truckee River. The Metric Century and 100 Mile Ride offers the more competitive cyclists the challenge of varying terrain and elevation levels." The Tour de Nez Century Ride will benefit Project GO, a non-profit organization providing affordable adventure programming for the disadvantaged and underserved youth population of Northern Nevada and Northern California. For more information contact 775-287-3599 or visit www.tourdenez.com Major Taylor's bike displayed at Track World'sMajor Taylor's bicycle is on display at the ADT Event Center velodrome for the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, taking place March 24-27, 2005, at the Home Depot Center outside Los Angeles, U.S. The vintage Peugeot bicycle is on loan to The Home Depot Center from the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in Bridgewater, N.J. The bike belonged to 1899 world cycling champion Marshall W. "Major" Taylor (1878-1932), who was the first African-American athlete to become an international sports superstar. A decade before boxer Jack Johnson and half a century before baseball player Jackie Robinson, Taylor challenged society's attitudes about race and won competitions, fans and respect. He was the second black world champion in any sport, after bantamweight boxer George Dixon. The Peugeot on display at The Home Depot Center is one of several bikes that Taylor brought home from his seasons racing in Paris in 1901-03 and 1907-09. The bicycle was made at a factory run by the brothers Armand and Eugene Peugeot in Valentigney, France. Taylor likely raced on the Peugeot on outdoor tracks such as the Buffalo Velodrome in the Paris suburb of Neuilly and Parc des Princes in western Paris. In the United States, Taylor raced under contract for Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works of Fitchburg, Mass., in 1900 and 1901. Iver Johnson bikes were distinguished by an added underslung top tube for extra stiffness. With assistance from the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame and the Major Taylor Association, Inc., in Taylor's adopted hometown of Worcester, Mass., The Home Depot Center has created a display showcasing the bike along with pictures and text about the life and legacy of Indiana native Major Taylor, also known as "the Worcester Whirlwind." The Major Taylor Association is raising money for a permanent monument to Taylor in Worcester. For more information about Major Taylor, his bike, or the work of the Major Taylor Association, got to www.majortaylorassociation.org/news.htm IMBA to rebuild Southern California MTB trailsThe International Mountain Bicycling Association IMBA is getting help from its partner Granny Gear Productions to rebuild California mountain bike trails badly damaged by heavy rains. More than 47 inches of rain fell throughout southern California causing dramatic trail erosion and in some instances, collapsing major sections of trail. Granny Gear Productions recently brought in Joey Kline of IMBA’s new Trail Solutions program to survey the area and explore the potential for a mountain bike park at Vail Lake Resort. Kline was also able to consult on the redesign and repair of the 24 Hours of Temecula race course. With three year’s experience on the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew and two years with Trail Solutions, Kline has helped build or restore more than 750 miles of trails in all 50 states and several foreign countries. The new 24-hour race course takes advantage of Vail Lake's many ridge-top trails, which were unaffected by the substantial rains. Major repairs have been made to main access roads on the course and repairs to several single-track sections are nearing completion. This spring's 24 Hours of Temecula, taking place April 23-24, will give mountain bikers their first opportunity to sample Vail Lake's trails. New bikes for Scottish CyclingScottish Cycling has announced that Litespeed, manufacturers of titanium road, track and mountain bicycles, are to become the official supplier to the Scottish National Squad. The team will be using the titanium Teramo bike as being ridden by the X-Power/Recycling/Litespeed professional road team. The bikes will also be equipped with the latest carbon technology wheels from Real Design.
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