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First Edition Cycling News for March 30, 2005

Edited by John Stevenson

Armstrong focused at Paris-Camembert

Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel)
Photo ©: AFP

Yesterday's Paris-Camembert Lepetit saw a focused and determined Lance Armstrong use the race as an extended training and testing exercise for some of the newer recruits in his Discovery Channel team. Writing on the Discovery Channel team website thepaceline.com, photographer Graham Watson reports, "All day long it looked like Lance was testing this inexperienced team, using them as his means to an end - another high-level training ride - while seeing which of them might be of use to him later in the season. Benjamin Noval was on the 2004 Tour team, but riders like Jurgen Van Den Broek, Ryder Hesjedal, Jason McCartney, Fumiyuki Beppu, and [Tom] Danielson - all had a lot to learn from the master of six Tour wins."

On the steeper climbs, Danielson - who has repeatedly said in his Cyclingnews diary that riding for Discovery is like a new beginning for him - was the only member of the team able to stay with Armstrong, hinting at a possible role for Danielson as a climbing lieutenant when Armstrong goes for his seventh Tour de France win later this year.

Armstrong finished 24th in Paris-Camembert, rolling in with the main peloton seven seconds behind solo winner Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom). Armstrong will ride this weekend's Tour of Flanders in support of Discovery Channel Classics specialists George Hincapie and Stijn Devolder. He will then return to the US for a training camp before the Tour de Georgia.

Schmitz & Wesemann injuries not serious

T-Mobile riders Bram Schmitz and Steffen Wesemann, victims of a crash in yesterday's first stage of Driedaagse van De Panne, did not sustain serious injuries, according to a report from the ANP news agency. Wesemann was able to finish the race, but Schmitz was taken to hospital for x-rays on a suspected broken finger. However, the examination revealed that the digit was intact, and Schmitz had just sustained severe bruising and cuts, particularly to his knee.

Van Heeswijk back for Ghent-Wevelgem

Discovery Channel classics specialist Max Van Heeswijk plans to return to racing for next week's semi-Classic Ghent-Wevelgem (April 6). Van Heeswijk started last week's Dwars door Vlaanderen, but failed to finish, complaining of a throat and jaw inflammation.

"Dwars door Vlaanderen went against him, so we are letting him rest," Discovery Channel directeur sportif Dirk Demol told ANP/Belga. "If he's back to normal for Ghent Wevelgem, then he will be at the start."

Rabobank for Flanders & Pais Vasco

The Rabobank team has announced the riders who will line up for Sunday's Tour of Flanders and the Vuelta al Pais Vasco (April 4-8).

For Flanders, the team will field Maarten den Bakker, Jan Boven, Erik Dekker, Oscar Freire, Steven de Jongh, Karsten Kroon, Gerben Löwik and Marc Wauters. These eight can count no less than 46 Tour of Flanders between them, with Maarten den Bakker topping the team's league table: Sunday will be his twelfth Ronde. Marc Wauters will ride for the tenth time. Australian Mathew Hayman and Belgian Roy Sentjens are reserves.

For the Vuelta al Pais Vasco (Tour of the Basque Country) the team will line up Michael Boogerd, Denis Menchov, Michael Rasmussen, Pieter Weening, Alexandr Kolobnev, Thorwald Veneberg, Grischa Niermann and Theo Eltink.

Track champions back on the road

After a long weekend of turning left in at the world track championships Los Angeles, top endurance track riders are planning to return to road racing as the season warms up. New Zealand's Greg Henderson, silver medalist in the scratch race and 2004 world champion in that discipline, will rejoin his Health Net team to prepare for next month's Tour of Georgia. According to the New Zealand Herald, Henderson says going from the shorter races on the track to the long stages of Georgia could be a tough - especially early in the race.

Meanwhile in the UK, two of Britain's very successful track world's team will return to their usual road duties this weekend. Mark Cavendish - half of Britain's Madison world champion pairing - and Ed Clancy - a member of the team pursuit squad that landed gold in LA - will be riding in the 100 strong field for the Archer International GP at Hazlemere, in the Chiltern Hills, Sunday, April 3.

Organisers describe the presence of Cavendish and Clancy as "a real coup" for the Archer GP, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. It's the first of only three UCI Europe Tour races in the UK and this will be the first appearance on home soil of these representatives of the British track world's team which won four golds, a silver, and a bronze medal in LA.

To expect 19-year old Cavendish and 20-year old Clancy to go direct from specialist comparatively short distance track racing to the 116-mile road racing Chiltern challenge is asking a lot. However, the British management and coaching team appears confident that they can now build up to top placings in the under 23 world road championships later in the year.

The field of 100 starts from Hazlemere, Bucks, at 11am and covers two circuits in the Chiltern hills, to finish at about 3.30pm in Winchmore Hill village, near Amersham.

In addition to the Great Britain and Welsh national teams, there are teams from Belgium, Holland and three from Ireland, plus all the top trade and club teams in Britain.

Likely favourites will be Julian Winn (Wales) and John Tanner (Planet X) who were first and second last year, plus Malcolm Elliott (Pinarello RT) winner of the Premier Series last year. Tanner is the leader of the 2005 Premier Series after the first event at Easter, the Girvan Three-day, in which he was second overall, but with more Premier points from the three stages.

Track world's judged a success

The weekend's world track championships at the ADT Event Center velodrome in Carson, Los Angeles attracted a total of 15,086 fans over the four days of racing, organizers have announced. This was the third major track event at the facility, which opened June 10 last year, and it's no surprise that the world's set attendance records as it was the most important event yet held there. Nevertheless, the high numbers bode well for the ADT Event Center's future.

UCI vice-president Ray Godkin was pleased with the turnout and the whole event. "This was a fantastic event at a truly first-class facility," said Godkin. "I've never seen a more enthusiastic crowd at a world championships. They witnessed racing history and responded by cheering on every rider that competed."

Joe Martin Stage Race

The 2005 edition of the Joe Martin Stage Race (May 13-15) once again features on the US National Racing Calendar and offers a total of $30,000 in prize money for the men's and women's pro categories. In addition, the race hosts 14 other categories catering for junior, senior and master-level riders.

The pros will open the event with a road race on Friday before tackling a second road race and a time trial on Saturday. Competition then concludes on Sunday with a spectator friendly criterium. The Joe Martin Stage Race's mid-May slot bridges NRC events in Georgia and Russelville, Arkansas and this year's edition is set to attract a top-class field, including the Health Net presented by Maxxis squad, which has already confirmed it will field Gord Fraser, sprinter Ivan Dominguez, and seasoned veteran John Lieswyn.

"The Joe Martin Stage Race is easily one of the most challenging events on the calendar," said Health Net team director Jeff Corbett. "This year the race is an extremely important component in our preparation for the USPRO Championships in June. Last season, we relied on the Joe Martin Stage Race to help prepare us for the Olympic trials and Jason McCartney, who actually won two stages in Fayetteville, ended up with a trip to Athens."

The Jelly Belly-PoolGel team also plans on fielding a strong team that will include last year's third-place finisher Ben Brooks, 2001 U23 world time trial champion Danny Pate, and Brice Jones. Like Corbett, Jelly Belly-PoolGel team director Danny Van Haute feels the Joe Martin Stage Race offers the best scenario leading up to the USPRO Championships. "This race is very important to us for a couple of different reasons," Van Haute said. "Joe Martin offers us the perfect preparation for the Wachovia series and the terrain and courses are exactly what every pro team in the U.S. covets that time of year."

Several of the country's most notable women's teams have also confirmed including Ford-Basis, DeFeet and Velo Bella. Colavita-Cooking Light is sending a four-woman squad that includes Dotsie Cowden and Canadian Olympic team member Sue Palmer-Komar. "This was one of the first races I put on our schedule when the NRC was announced," said Colavita-Cooking Light team director John Alsedek. "It's well run, the courses are fantastic and it has a great spot on the calendar, not to mention the Fayetteville area is a beautiful place to spend a long weekend."

For more information see www.joemartinstagerace.com.

Fantasy Spring Classics'05 game - first prize-winner announced

Specialized's Decibel
Photo ©: Specialized

Specialized Roubaix Pro

Manager "Fietser" from Bolingbrook, Illinois USA has won the first of the six "prizes per classic" - a Specialized Decibel helmet worth US$169. Remember there are five more helmets up for grabs. Here's how he chose his team:

"My strategy for the Milan - San Remo was based on two assumptions, the race would end in a sprint and Italians perform very well in their home classic. I picked two sprinters that would not use up all my points and added Italians who had shown good form in the previous Tirreno-Adriatico or Paris-Nice. Having all this information available on the Cyclingnews website was invaluable. It is my daily source of cycling news and results. The addition of the fantasy games during the best few years has added an extra dimension to watching the races online."

It's not too late to join in, you have every chance of winning one of the "prizes per classic" and are still eligible for the Grand prize of a Specialized Roubaix bicycle equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace 10-speed groupset worth US$4400, and runner up prizes.

All you need to do to take part in this, the latest of the Fantasy Games at Cyclingnews, is register and once the race list has been announced, select 8 riders for just a few, or all of the following races:

Ronde van Vlaanderen - April 3
Gent-Wevelgem - April 6
Paris - Roubaix - April 10
Amstel Gold Race - April 17
La Flèche Wallonne - April 20
Liège - Bastogne - Liège - April 24

As a manager you will have 4000 UCI points to purchase your riders for each race. There are 200-250 riders in each official start list to choose from. Make your choice wisely as expensive riders don't always score the highest points for the team. The first 15 riders to finish each race will score points for your team. Have a look at the rules for more information.

Joining

Remember you don't need to enter all seven races to win prizes. You can enter teams for individual races and still win prizes. For more details go to rules section of the site for more info.

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