First Edition Cycling News for March 27, 2005Edited by Anthony Tan Track World's: Euro nations dominate on Day 2Day 2 of the World Track Championships in Los Angeles saw four finals events contested that included the men's individual pursuit, keirin, kilometre TT and women's points race, as well the flying 200 metre qualifying session for the women's sprint. European nations dominated proceedings, with the Dutch taking two golds (men's IP and Kilo), and the Germans and Italy one apiece (men's keirin, women's points race respectively), while Natallia Tsylinskaya of Belarus was the fastest qualifier in the women's sprint. Australia: Kelly makes it 13, Bates finds form, Dajka crashes hard
'Cyclones' Captain, Shane Kelly, 33, added a keirin bronze medal to his impressive collection which now totals 13 medals (four gold, five silver and four bronze) amassed at 12 World Championships he has contested since his senior debut in 1991. But the veteran of the team and renowned kilometre time trial specialist says he had been aiming a little higher at this World Championships in Los Angeles after opting for a break from the 'kilo' to concentrate on the keirin in 2005. "[I'm] not really happy with the ride," said Kelly after the medal ceremony. "I was happy with the semi and the heat was good, but the final didn't unfold as I would have hoped. My preparation has been a bit patchy leading up to this and I suppose I've got to be happy with a medal, but I think I could have done a better." In the final, Kelly was forced into the lead position in the field behind the pace bike - not his preferred option - and jostled with Britain's Jamie Staff ruining his revised plan of jumping onto the wheel of eventual winner Teun Mulder of the Netherlands. "It would have been better if Mulder had come through cleanly on his own without Staff because then I would have had the perfect drop but that's not the way it worked out." In the women's 25km points race, Sydney's Kate Bates, 22, scored points in eight of the 10 sprints contested to amass a total of 21, but was unable to overhaul Italian Vera Carrara whose winning tally of 31 points included a 20 point bonus for lapping the field.
But Bates, who on senior debut at the 2001 World Championships in Belgium was the silver medallist in the points race, was encouraged by her return to form. "I can take a lot out of that because it's the best I've been for a couple of years," said Bates. "I figure I'm getting back up there and being competitive. "It's very clear the second half of my race needs a lot of work, because by the time I reach the tenth sprint I'm just not holding up but this year I'm a little bit stronger and every year hopefully I'll back it up better and keep my good form throughout the whole race," she explained. "I do have a lot of potential and after a couple of years of disappointment, I put too much pressure on myself to get back to this level. "Now the rebuilding is paying off and I've broken my dry patch," she said. "I've got two events to go [individual pursuit and scratch race] and now I'm feeling good going into them." 2002 keirin world champion, Jobie Dajka, 23, made an unscheduled exit from the keirin competition when he crashed heavily just metres from the finish line in the second round after a clash of wheels with Frenchman Arnaud Tournant. Dajka found himself boxed in with a lap and a half to go and opted for the shortest route through the traffic at the bottom of the track. However, German René Wolff blocked his way.
"Then Tournant [also coming through underneath] came onto my back wheel and put me down," said Dajka, admitting he shouldn't have been where he was. "I've got the gas at the moment, so I should have gone around the outside but it's a split second decision you make, and I probably made the wrong one." The Adelaide rider limped off the track while Tournant needed a stretcher but neither suffered serious injury. Dajka received treatment for a nasty friction burn down his right hip and thigh and will be bruised and sore for a few days but isn't letting the crash upset his focus for the sprint competition scheduled to begin tomorrow morning. "Tomorrow's another day and everything will be pretty good I reckon." he said. The only other Australian to contest a final on day two of competition was Wollongong's Ben Kersten, 23, who lined up for the one kilometre time trial. The reigning World Cup Series and Australian champion laid it all on the line for a time of 1min02.412sec on a sluggish track to finish in fourth place. In morning racing, Anna and Kerrie Meares made history as the first sisters to make it to the final four of the same event at a track cycling world championships. The pair will line up in the semi-finals with Anna, 21, the bronze medallist in the sprint in Athens, up against Victoria Pendleton (Great Britain). Commonwealth Games champion, Kerrie, 22, faces Russian Tamilia Abassova who was the runner up in the sprint at last year's Olympic Games.
In the flying 200m qualifying, Kerrie had posted the eighth fastest time (12.650) and Anna the tenth fastest (11.686) but that meant little when the match sprinting began. Both cruised through the first round before drawing the top two seeds in the quarter finals. Kerrie's race was decided by the officials who relegated Belarus' Natallia Tsylinskaya for a dangerous manouevre in the final 200 metres, while Anna outsprinted Yvonne Hijgenaar of the Netherlands. If all goes to plan, the sisters will meet in the final for gold in what would be only their third head-to-head battle at a major competition. Tasmanian Mark Jamieson, 20, finished eighth in the men's 4km individual pursuit based on his qualifying time of 4min32.146sec. USA: Lucky (and unlucky) 13 for Reed and MirabellaThe US squad endured a tough day at the office that began on the morning session on Day 2, with American Jennie Reed (Kirkland, Wash.) clocking a time of 11.775 seconds in the 200m qualifying round of the women's sprint to seed 13th, while Becky Conzelman posted an 11.985 for 18th. With only the fastest 16 riders advancing to round one, Conzelman did not make the cut. Other action seen by the U.S. team this morning was in the qualifying rounds of the men's keirin, where neither Giddeon Massie (Colorado Springs, Colo.) nor Christian Stahl (Bethany, Conn.) advanced to the second round. Stahl suffered some bad luck this morning when he broke his left collarbone in a crash with Michael Rodriguez (Puerto Rico) in the first heat. He was later taken to a local hospital and released with no other significant injuries. "The keirin is a lottery," said the 23 year-old Massie afterwards. "Sometimes you get a lucky break and other times you can get the worst breaks possible. I definitely made mistakes but I know what I did and it's something I can learn from for the future."
A self-admitted disappointing performance for Erin Mirabella (La Habra, Calif.) in the women's points race marked the only action for the U.S. National Team in the evening session. Throughout the race, Mirabella seemed unable to make any serious attempts at the sprints or breakaway opportunities. "I think I definitely rode the wrong gear," she explained after the race. "I needed a bigger gear. I was too spun out so when the sprints came and the moves went, I was already at my maximum cadence and had nothing to react with." The gear selection prevented Mirabella from racing with her standard approach, "During the first part of the race, it became clear to me that my normal race strategies weren't going to work," she commented. "I also hesitated a few times when I should have jumped on things." Mirabella has another chance to make a good showing on her home turf of southern California tomorrow in the 3km individual pursuit. "It's definitely not the better of my two races," she noted, "but I'm hoping for a good ride." More Track World's coverageDay 2 wrap &
photos Tour of California to debut early 2006At an official press conference at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. on Friday, March 25, an eight-day, 700-mile UCI-sanctioned stage race, to be known as the Tour of California, was unveiled. With a possible start date of February 2006, presenter and promoter AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) signalled a US$35 million commitment over the next five years, with the intention of making the race America's premier cycling event. Hein Verbruggen, president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), was in attendance, and said that although he did not yet know what UCI ranking the event would have, "it would be a good one" he told Cyclingnews. "The creation of the Tour of California race is very important for the continued worldwide development of our sport on both a fan and athlete level. It is clear that the Continental Calendar will be richer with the addition of this new event," continued Verbruggen, who has made his intentions very clear on his plans to 'globalise' the sport of cycling.. Details about the actual race route and confirmed participants will be released at a later date, however, the San Francisco Bay Area, along with Los Angeles, Monterey and Santa Barbara have been mentioned as likely sites, and organisers envisage up to 18 professional cycling teams from around the world taking part in the event. According to the press release, the Tour of California will see the race visit "the northern California redwoods and wine country along the Pacific Ocean coastline, before concluding amid a true southern California setting". Said President and CEO of the Los Angeles-based event production group AEG, Timothy J. Leiweke: "the time is clearly right for AEG to develop this exciting property which we believe will become the premier American cycling event. It will take some years to reach the level we want, to be one of the two or three best cycling events in the world, [and] we see making a $35M commitment over five years because we know it will take time," he said to Cyclingnews. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has designated the state's Secretary of Education, Richard Riordan, to act as his liaison to the event, while AEG has named Robert Colarossi managing director of the Tour of California, who shall be responsible for overseeing all race-related details, including marketing, sponsorship sales and broadcast contracts. Negotiations are currently underway with several broadcast networks to produce a nightly highlight show and weekend programming of live race coverage, in addition to international distribution. "The birth of another great event here in the US demonstrates the popularity and growth of the sport nationwide," commented CEO of USA Cycling, Gerard Bisceglia, his first words referring to the Dodge Tour of Georgia. "Surely the Tour of California would attract top international and domestic teams." Negotiations are currently underway with several broadcast networks to produce a nightly highlight show and weekend programming of live race coverage in addition to international distribution. The event's title sponsor, as well as other marketing and promotional partners, will be announced at a future date. More information: www.tourofcalifornia.com Vande Velde to make comeback at Brabantse PijlToday's Brabantse Pijl will be CSC rider Christian Vande Velde's first serious race after injuring his back at the start of the season, followed by Paris-Camembert next Tuesday. "My plan was to race Setmana Catalana, but now I can't cause we were not invited. I was pretty bummed about that, cause it starts about 40 k's from my house," said the 28 year-old American on team CSC's website, www.team-csc.com. "Now I'll do the other races instead. They are all good races, even though they're not ProTour races, but it's really hard for me to get going for the one day races, to be one the road for a week and then race only 2-3 times." Speaking about his back injury, Vande Velde said the problem occurred when his seat slipped a few centimetres, which caused him to become more fatigued than normal. "It's an old injury, it happened in 2003. Actually, after the Vuelta in 2002, I had a bad crash in Paris-Tours, and when I started the 2003 season, my back really gave me some problems," he recalled. Team CSC's therapist Ole Kaare Føli has been treating him since the injury happened, but Vande Velde now knows its important to take the necessary time required before getting back into the swing of things. "After a treatment, it's good for a couple of days and then you're back. It's getting better, it's a little bit of a muscle imbalance, that's all, but it takes a lot of time to reboot the system." "My main goal is still the Giro," said Vande Velde about his season's goals, "even though Bjarne is trying to keep the pressure off me, which I totally appreciate, more than he knows. I know that as long as I'm healthy, I'll be a great asset to the team, but I don't want to go there if I'm not a 100 percent for Ivan [Basso], 'cause I know he's going for the win." So far, the American is content in his new surroundings after a one-year stint at Liberty Seguros, and before that, six years with US Postal. Vande Velde also acknowledged Bjarne Riis' innovative though logical approach to training, where more is not always better, and appreciated being able to use his time trial bike so early on in the season. "Manolo [Saiz] wouldn't let us ride our time trial bikes, not even at the race. We'd get down and we'd warm up on them, and then we'd race. Not even if we had some time left the day before, he wouldn't let us ride them," he said. Lampre-Caffita and Cunego at Reggio CalabriaDamiano Cunego, who began his build-up to the Giro d'Italia with the Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi-Bartali this week, has indicated his intention to be present for Monday's Giro della Provincia Reggio-Calabria, which was originally scheduled for March 5. "I think that for a rider such as myself, who has the attention of the public as well as the press, it is important to be always present," said Cunego. "That is why on Easter Monday, I will be at the start of the race that has its finish line along the stretch of coast where 40 days later I will begin the Giro d'Italia." Directtore sportivo Giuseppe Martinelli echoed Cunego's remarks, emphasising the importance of 'the Kid's' presence at the UCI 1.1 race to the people of Calabria and the race organisers, RCS Sport, who also organise the Giro, among other events. "The people want to see that his fame and his work as a rider is demonstrated to the full level of his potential. The presence of Cunego in the race is a gift for Calabria and her people on this Easter Monday: a celebration within a celebration," said Martinelli. Team roster: Damiano Cunego Directtore sportivo: Bruno Vicino New members added to UCI Road CommissionAfter a two-day meeting of the UCI Road Commission held in La Haye, Netherlands from March 24-25, three new members have been added to the board with the approval of the management committee: Vincent Lavenu (Fra, AIGCP representative), Eddy Buchette (Lux, AIOCC representative) and Rocco Taminelli (Swi, CPA representative). The UCI Road Commission is therefore composed of the following members: President: Pat McQuaid (Irl) The composition of the following working groups was also agreed upon: Working group: UCI Continental Calendar Joop Atsma (Ned) Working group: UCI Continental Teams Roland Hofer (Swi) Working group: Riders of the Continental Circuits Artur Lopes (Por) Working group: Women Elite Pat McQuaid (Irl) Working group: New technology Jean Wauthier (Bel)
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