Latest Cycling News for September 21, 2005Edited by Jeff Jones An interview with Sara CarriganOlympic champ motivated for Madrid
Olympic road race champion Sara Carrigan lines out in today's elite women's time trial fired up by the chance of doing well. She has by her own admission had a quiet time since taking gold in Athens in August, her return to form after a long break moving slower than she anticipated. Shane Stokes reports. "I guess I didn't really expect this," the chatty Australian told Cyclingnews on Tuesday evening. "I had a two and a half to a three-month break after the Olympics last year and it has taken a long time to build back up. But at the moment, this is actually the best form that I have felt all year, so I feel confident with that. It was also good to ride around the course today." Although Carrigan feels that her year has been somewhat quiet, she has nevertheless amassed some decent results. She finished as runner up in the Australian road race and time trial championships, while also taking silver in the pursuit champs on the track. Second places on stages of the Tour de L'Aude Feminin and the New Zealand women's Tour plus third on a stage and in the final overall classification of the Vuelta Ciclista Castilla y Leon Feminas are also very respectable results. The 25 year-old is hopeful that she can ride well in Wednesday's race against the clock. "I feel confident and I am hoping for a good result. The last time trial I did was in May, so it is a little bit difficult to be 100% certain. But as I said, I am feeling good so I definitely think a strong result is possible." Saturday's road race will also be a focus for her. The Australian team are yet to preview the course - "we will ride around the course together and then see what we think," she said - but she is similarly optimistic. "I would definitely count the Aussies in," she states. "We have certainly got good form and a result is forthcoming now. So hopefully it will go well." Click here for the full interview An interview with Scott MoningerLike a fine wine
At 38 years of age you'd expect most pro riders to have retired, and at least considered it. But after a strong 2005 NRC campaign with wins at the highest level, Health Net's Scott Moninger doesn't look like slowing down in a hurry. Cyclingnews' North American Editor, Mark Zalewski, took some time out with Moninger to see how things are at the moment. After winning the International Tour de Toona stage race this year, some of Scott Moninger's younger Health Net-Maxxis teammates took the liberty of adding a few captions on the picture of the 38-year-old rider in the local paper hanging in the men's room of the Altoona Don Pablo's - "Team AARP." Sure, Moninger is no spring chicken, but the leading winner among active American racers and current NRC leader is still showing guys fifteen years younger that age is merely a state of mind. "I don't know how much longer I can go," Moninger says. "I thought at this point I'd feel some drop-offs by now in my physical abilities, but it just hasn't happened. Maybe that's due to having a year off? Last year I felt like I was busting out some cobwebs - I had some good results, but this year has been a lot more solid and consistent - winning some big races like Altoona, Cascade, Joe Martin, San Dimas, and I'm currently leading the NRC." The year off Moninger refers to was a mandatory "vacation" handed down after the USADA declared a positive doping violation that just about everyone in North American cycling agrees was an unfortunate result of rule over-enforcement. However, Moninger was not ready to let his career end on a sour note, and he used his time off to rethink his approach to the sport, the first major training overhaul in fifteen years. "Being away from [cycling] made me realise that maybe I had been taking it for granted. I had been in the sport for so long and every year I would follow the same pattern - take a little time off, start training, go to the training camp - and that has been my regime for fifteen years or more. It gave me a chance to spend some time at home and rebuild my body physically - I spent a lot of time in the weight room rebuilding my core strength and some areas that tend to get neglected." Click here for the full interview Simoni signs with FerrettiGilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) has signed a one year deal with Giancarlo Ferretti's Silver Team management company, according to his agent. Although it's not yet known what shape Ferretti's new team will take, he is assured of one rider who can potentially win the Giro d'Italia. Simoni last rode for Ferretti in 1997. TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar Cyclo-Cross teamTIAA-CREF and Clif Bar have announced their continued support of the TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar Cyclo-Cross Team, a developmental 'cross program based in the USA. For the second year running, the team will contest the top cyclo-cross events around the country with an eye on developing the next generation of American cyclo- cross champions. After completing a hugely successful season last year which saw the team make 43 podium appearances and send two riders to the World Championships, TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar team manager Ben Turner got to work making sure the 2005/06 season would be an even bigger success. He has lined up 20 riders and a host of sponsors to achieve that end. This year's team will consist of a national-level program with four juniors, six under-23 riders, and ten elite/masters riders (including staff). The team will focus on the Crank Brothers US Grand Prix of Cyclocross, the premier national cyclo-cross series. Riders will wrap up their U.S. campaign with the National Championships in early December to be held in Providence, Rhode Island. The team's final goal will be to send as many members as possible to the World Championships in The Netherlands in late January 2006. The TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar Cyclo-Cross Team draws riders from the ranks of Jonathan Vaughters' development road cycling teams TIAA-CREF and 5280 Magazine. "These riders are some of the most talented young road racers in the country," said Turner. "We want to give them a chance to develop into world class cyclo-cross racers as well as offer them a way to support their winter training." Team roster Alex Howes (Junior) Staff Ben Turner - Team director, sponsorship coordinator, Sponsors TIAA-CREF (Fortune 80 financial services company) Jim Rossi passes onThe U.S. Bicycle Hall of Fame has lost one of its members, Jim Rossi, who died recently. Inducted into the USBHOF in 1992, Rossi was five time USA Senior Men's Omnium Champion from 1959 to 1963. He won a silver medal in the match sprint at the Pan American Game in 1953 and won a gold as a member of the pursuit team in the Pam-Am Games in 1959. He was also a member of the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Teams. He lived in the Chicago area. (All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2005) |
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