First Edition Cycling News for May 8, 2005Edited by Jeff Jones & Hedwig Kröner Madrid World Cup previewBy Rob Jones in Madrid The cross country World Cup continues Sunday with round two in Madrid. Conditions couldn't be more opposite than the first round, in Spa, Belgium two weeks ago. Where Spa was cool, verging on cold with the strong damp breeze, Madrid is hot and dry, with an expected temperature of 30 C by tomorrow. Where that course was slow and muddy, this one is fast, with loose, dusty corners and stutter bumps on the downhills. A number of top riders will be making their first appearance of the season in the cross-country series, having skipped the first round. Bart Brentjens (Giant) and Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) both missed Spa, and both have the problem of starting well back in the field. This circuit is usually very fast, so it can be tough to move up, particularly in the huge men's field. Brentjens estimates that he will be on the start line in the seventies, putting him six or seven rows back. In the past, riders ranked in the top 50 in UCI standings are automatically called up but "They told me they don't do that this year." said Brentjens. "I guess I will have to do something at the start, but it will be hard." A UCI official confirmed that call up will be based on World Cup rankings from Spa. Currently, it appears the men will do 7 laps and the women 5. The officials have not made a final decision between 4 laps/6 laps and 5 laps/7 laps, but the teams are saying that 4 laps will be too short for the women. There is no plan to do a start loop, but the riders will start in the opposite direction from a regular lap, since there is a U-turn about 150 metres after the start. From here, they will make a left and join up to the regular course. Given the hard, fast conditions, many riders are planning to use hardtails, and those that will use full suspension will be stiffening the back end right up. A potential bottleneck will occur about a kilometre into the circuit, where there is a short, steep section that only the first 10-15 riders will get a chance to ride. Random Notes and News - One aspect of the new rule allowing technical assistance is beginning to have disturbing implications. This year the UCI allows technical assistance, for the first time. Pits are set up on the course, where the riders can receive assistance. Also, the rules allow riders from the same team (and racing in the same category) to assist each other during the race, so, for example they can pass each other tools, bottles, or even one rider could give another a wheel. However (and it is a BIG however) only UCI registered trade teams (and national squads) are allowed to pass items between members. Many teams (particularly North American ones) have not registered with the UCI as a trade team (it costs 1500 Euros to do so - almost $2500 Canadian). Besides the team mate rule, registration also means that team affiliation appears on the results, team support staff receive rainbow passes for venue access and teams get space in the exhibition grounds at the race. The rule change is significantly different from other perks, in that it could affect the outcome of a race. Here is a scenario: Gunn-Rita Dahle (Merida, a UCI registered team) and Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects, not UCI registered) are battling it out at the front of the race, with their team mates Irina Kalentieva (Merida) and Alison Sydor (RMB-BO) close behind. Dahle or Premont suffers a mechanical, halfway between pits. If it is Dahle, Kalentieva can give Dahle a wheel and she is back in the race right away. If it is Premont, Sydor cannot do the same thing (or if she does, and an official sees it or Merida protests, Premont is out). This is disturbing, because it means that preferential treatment, based on payment of a fee, has, for the first time, entered the sport of cycling. - Nicole Cooke (Great Britain) confirmed that she is once again entering mountain biking seriously, by showing up here in Madrid for her second successive World Cup. Cooke said that she does hope to qualify for next year's Commonwealth Games in mountain biking, as well as road. "When I was a Junior I could do everything, but as a senior rider I had to focus on the road to establish myself there. Now, I have a chance to come back to mountain biking." Cooke was in the top-5 for the first half of the Spa round, before fading to finish 13th. - The circuit, at the Casa de Campos park, is the designated venue for the 2012 Olympics, if Madrid wins the rights later this year. The Madrid 2012 campaign is everywhere at the race, and is one of the title sponsors.
Huge crowd turns out to commemorate Ian HumphreyBy John Stevenson
More than 3000 people attended the Wheels of Justice rally in Adelaide, South Australia yesterday to commemorate the 2003 death of rider Ian Humphrey and protest against an Australian legal system that takes the deaths of riders on our roads far too lightly. Angered by the $3,100 fine and 12-month loss of driving license awarded against driver Eugene McGee - who admitted he had been drinking before hitting and killing Ian Humphrey - riders filled the streets of Adelaide from Parliament House to Victoria Square. At Parliament House, event organizer Rob Lewis gave a short speech, pointing out that the Motor Accidents Commission "maintains that there is no such thing as an accident - there are crashes." Lewis continued, "If an airliner crashed, and people were killed because the pilot had a couple of drinks and wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing, there would be an outcry. If he survived the crash, he would be locked up, he would lose his job, and he would never be allowed to fly again. So why do we have a different attitude to driving cars?" In a statement, Ian Humphrey's brother Graham thanked riders for turning out and said, " It is important to remember that today is for everyone who has lost a loved one and has felt left down by the system."
South Australian premier Mike Rann has launched a Royal Commission into the Humphrey case - an inquiry with extremely wide-ranging powers to call witnesses and set its own terms of reference - as a result of widespread community anger over the lenient judgment against McGee. Meanwhile in Melbourne, some 500 cyclists rode from Federation Square to Parliament House and, as in Adelaide, left water bottles with messages for MPs on the steps of the building. Small but passionate show of support in Sydney
About 150 riders turned out on a grey and chilly Saturday morning for the Sydney Wheels of Justice ride yesterday. Riders donned black armbands provided by organizers and rode through the city to Parliament house, where Green state MP Lee Rhiannon spoke to the crowd and organizers relayed via mobile phone a message of thanks from Graham Humphrey brother in Adelaide. Cyclists' rights protest rides in Sydney - such as the monthly Critical Mass event - have occasionally seen confrontations between riders and motorists, but there were no such scenes here, as every non-cyclist who heard the explanation of our presence was sympathetic. A hearty "Good on ya!" was the common response when pedestrians heard why we briefly blocking the streets that morning. It was a hastily-organised show of support for the much larger ride in Adelaide. Given the relatively short notice, 150 or so riders was a reasonable turn-out, but there was a common feeling that more time to plan - as the much, much larger Adelaide rally had - would have led to a bigger turn-out. (Riding in from the suburbs I got chatting to a couple of other riders who would have joined us but for previous commitments with work and family that were hard to break at short notice.)
Nevertheless, large swathes of Sydney's 'serious' cycling community were missing. One cyclist told Cyclingnews he was unsure of the organisers' politics, and he might have a point: as well as plenty of Lycra-clad club riders, there were also riders on MTBs and recumbents. However, it's fair to say that reserve was ill-deserved, as the assembled crowd rode in quiet respect, and also paid a minute's silence - in front of the State Parliament - for stricken riders such as Adelaide's Humphrey, and the much-admired former Sydney cyclist, Bryan Martin, who died in February this year. Previous storiesMelbourne Wheels of
Justice rolling on Saturday
PhotographyFor a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by John Stevenson/Cyclingnews.com
Rasmussen recons Tour stage nineShortly after Flèche Wallonne, Michael Rasmussen travelled to the French Vosges region to reconnoitre stage nine of this year's Tour de France. Although the stage parcours does not (yet) take the riders into high mountain ranges, July 10 could be a treacherous day as several climbs, including the Grand Ballon and the Ballon d'Alsace, have to be mastered before the bunch will ride on the final flat kilometres to Mulhouse. "It will be a pretty hard stage," Rasmussen wrote in his diary at Feltet.dk. "It is right out of the school yard and up hill. On the first 60 km there are four climbs, so it is definitely a stage in which 40 riders can easily fail to meet the time limit. You are certainly not allowed to have a bad day." He also thinks that this stage might be a good opportunity for a stage win. "It suits me - the harder the better. That will be the first day of separation within the overall classification," he added. Nobili Rubinetterie for GP CastillaItalian women's cycling team Nobili Rubinetterie Menikini Cogeas has announced its roster for the upcoming World Cup race in Spain tomorrow, Sunday, May 8. At the GP Castilla y Leon, the squad will line up Sigrid Corneo, Anna Gusmini, Joanne Kiesanowski, Daniela Fusar Poli, Silvia Valsecchi and Milena Pirola. However, Anna Gusmini is slightly injured as she crashed in the last stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon and hurt her left knee. Popham gets some fundingNo joy for other Irish MTB ridersBy Shane Stokes Promising Irish downhill rider Jamie Popham is facing a curtailed international programme this year after his funding appeal to the Irish Sports Council was only partially successful this week. Popham had applied for an International class grant of €11,500 earlier this year but was overlooked when the carding grants were awarded in March. He, like Robin Seymour, Tarja Owens and Michelle McCartney, appealed the omission. In all 38 athletes from different sports had protested, but on Tuesday it was announced that only nine of these had successfully effected a change in the ISC's decision. However, while Popham was one of these few, his new ‘Special Case' grant of €4,600 is far short of what he felt he was entitled to. He says that as a result, his programme this year is going to be severely curtailed. "I am disappointed with the result of the appeal as I had applied for an international grant of €11,500, which has been refused," he said. "While the grant of €4600 will help, the cost of my race season including the eight races of the World Cup Series in 2005 is approximately €20,000. This figure excludes all equipment. Some of the races are in Canada, Brazil and the USA and so, without some private sponsorship, my full race programme for 2005 is now in doubt." Popham has sympathy for those left in a worse position this week. "I feel very sorry for the other 28 athletes who got nothing," he added. Amongst this number are Seymour, Owens and McCartney, three riders who are now forced to consider their future participation in international competition. While they may elect to continue at a reduced level, they will certainly run up considerable expenses doing so. Seymour and Owens will certainly feel aggrieved; they are multiple national champions who have been at the top of Irish XC competition for many, many years, representing Ireland in World Cups, World championships and Olympic Games. Seymour competed in Athens 2004, while Owen's points gathering the year previous to that was essential in ensuring that the country gained a place in the women's XC competition at the Games. Yet while the eventual Olympic participant Jenny McCauley has been granted €11,500 this year, Owens will get nothing. So too downhill rider McCartney. Popham is in a better position than this but does nevertheless seem to have a legitimate reason to feel unhappy. Another downhiller in the same age group, Ben Reid, was awarded €11,500 in March. Popham is generally regarded as a similarly exciting prospect, the two having been very close in standard for much of their young careers but, because of some bad luck last year, he will get nearly 7,000 less. The origin of Popham's problem stems from an injury suffered midway through last season. He started 2004 as highest ranked junior in the world, finished fifth in the European junior championships (where Reid was seventh), but then had the misfortune to break his ankle. The lingering effects of the injury cost him his chance of a good result at the world downhill championships, Popham finishing 23rd to Reid's fourth place. While Reid fully deserves his grant, the fact that Ireland's other big downhill prospect stands to get so much less this season illustrates the clear flaws within the assessment criteria. Popham has now succeeded in getting some carding funding for the season, but with estimated costs far and above what he has been awarded, it is clear that his world ranking and development is, unfortunately, going to suffer in the sort term. As for Seymour, Owens and McCartney, they will feel even more aggrieved by what was announced by the Irish Sports Council on Tuesday. The ISC has decided to be tougher in allocating funding after what they feel is a less than satisfactory performance by Irish athletes in the Olympics last year; however, suddenly cutting funding from so many Irish sportspeople has not been well received at all.
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