First Edition News for February 7, 2003Edited by John Stevenson Top names line up for UK Good Friday meetHerne Hill's traditional Good Friday track meeting is already attracting a decent line-up of riders, according to British Cycling. FDJeux.com rider Bradley Wiggins has signed up for the April 18 event to take on reigning champion Chris Newton in the 10 minute pursuit. In the sprint events, the International Sprint is expected to attract a top field of World, Commonwealth and Olympic medalists, including stars of the UK track team and a select group from Europe and Australia. BMX champion-turned-sprint star Jamie Staff will be racing the International and also performing an exhibition BMX ride. The Good Friday Meet starts at 11.00 am at Herne Hill track, London, April 18, 2003. Reed Watson injuredRealitybikes.com racer Reed Watson sustained a broken wrist in a February 5 crash. Watson was training in Six Mile South Carolina with mountain bike racer Chris Eatough and friend Thad Dulin when Dulin and Watson were struck by a pickup truck. Dulin told Cyclingnews, "Reed suffered a broken wrist, a gash in his chin, and some banged up legs. Eatough did not go down, but Reed and myself both smacked the pavement. Somehow I got away with only a bruise to my left knee, not serious enough for attention. This all happened just before [Reed] got to show his new Realitybikes.com team what he was made of." Everyone at Cyclingnews wishes Reed a speedy recovery. Tracey Gaudry becomes a mumFormer Australian international and Cyclingnews diarist Tracey Gaudry became a mum on Wednesday, delivering Emily Cate Gaudry into the world at 5.42 am at John James Memorial hospital in Canberra, Australia. According to Tracey's husband Tony, Emily weighed in at 3.14kg (just under 7lb) and 49cm long, and Tracey and Emily are both well. Cascade Bicycle Club launches Lance Armstrong Junior Olympics Race SeriesSeattle's Cascade Bicycle Club has announced a series of criterium races for junior riders, aimed at providing age-group competition for young racers who might otherwise be put of racing by having to compete against older, stronger riders. Series director Dave Schilling said, "Junior bicycle racing in the Pacific Northwest needs a lift. There are very few opportunities for kids to safely race bikes on the road in a competitive atmosphere. Most juniors fields are 14 and under, with the 15 to 18 year olds racing with adults. The younger, 10 to 13 year olds, have a difficult, if not impossible task of trying to compete with kids much stronger and faster. Bicycle racing has not been an attractive sport for most kids recently." To address these problems, the Lance Armstrong Junior Olympics Race Series,
Seattle The categories are: A (17-8); B (15-15); C (13-14); and D (10-12). The series will be comprised of seven closed course criterium races providing a motor vehicle traffic free environment. All Lance Armstrong Junior Olympics Race Series, Seattle Criteriums races are part of established criterium races such as the Seward Park crit series, the Volunteer Park criteriums, the Joe Matava Memorial Criterium (State Junior Championships), and the Boat Street criterium. Series Races April 6: Boat Street Crit A series-long points system will run for male and female racers in each age group and all series participants will be recognized with awards at the end of the series. The series is sponsored by Cascade Bicycle Club, Bicycle Paper, Washington State Bicycle Association, and Schilling Sports Northwest. UK 24 hour racing kicks offCLIC 24 is the first 24 hour UK mountain biking event in the 2003 calendar and is happening on May 31 to June 1 just south of Bristol in the Gordano Valley. The organisers of CLIC24 2003 have now released the entry forms for this year's event.They are available for download from the event web site http://www.clic24.org.uk RAAM gets first corporate competitorsThe first two entrants have signed up for the Insight Race Across AMerica (RAAM) Corporate Team Challenge, according to RAAM organizer Jim Petrie. Title sponsor Insight Enterprises and Team Ride to Remember, representing Kaiser-Permanente, a California-based health maintenance organization, are in the process of winnowing their squads from 12 to 15 candidates to the maximum permitted eight riders. Team Insight's involvement is a logical development of the company's
sponsorship of RAAM, but Ride to Remember is a relative latecomer to the
trans-USA race which runs from San Diego to Atlantic City June 15-27.
"We were watching RAAM on Outdoor Life However, Paluch's team is not just riding in the cause of marital harmony. Ride to Remember will be raising funds for the San Diego Track Club's Mark Milford Memorial Scholarship. Milford, Paluch's best friend, died in an auto accident en route to the High Sierra Fall Century, and Paluch formed Ride to Remember (www.r-2-r.org) in 2000 after the High Sierra Fall Century dedicated that year's race to Milford. Scottish law sets offroad example to rest of UKCyclists' leaders have appealed to cyclists throughout Scotland for help in improving offroad route provision following legislation which could result in hundreds of trails being opened, signposted and maintained. The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill receives Royal Assent in early March when local authorities will be forced to form Local Access Forums on which CTC Scotland, the Scottish arm of national cyclists' organisation CTC, is determined that cyclists be represented. More than 100 cyclists will be needed for Forums set up by Scotland's 31 local authorities. John Taylor, Access Officer for CTC Scotland said: "We worked for three years to get this legislation through and it is obviously a huge relief. But now the hard work begins and we need the help of cyclists throughout Scotland to ensure that cycling gets as much as it can out of this legislation." The Bill gives countryside visitors such as cyclists, walkers, horse riders and climbers the right to use all land for recreation, bar areas such as railway sidings and curtilage which pose safety or access concerns. It will enshrine common law practices in statutory law and clear up widespread confusion as to where countryside users may go. CTC Scotland will be supporting the new Scottish Outdoor Access Code which will guide the behaviour of all stakeholders. The Code will be finalised in December after a period of consultation. Taylor said: "The greatest benefit to the majority of people, especially cyclists, is not the supposed 'right to roam', but the new signposts showing us the best routes and ensuring we do not get lost or turned away. "It is still early days because the enforcement date has not been decided but we are really looking forward to being able to cycle offroad in every suitable place with assurance." Passing through fields and through areas with livestock, and the responsibilities on those in charge of groups will be amongst issues dealt with by the Code. Signposts will mark new 'core path networks' - comprehensive routes around towns and villages - and longer distance links between them, within three years. It is unlikely that cyclists will be barred from footpaths as they are in England and Wales but Taylor hopes signposts will steer riders away from unsuitable tracks. Local authorities will be expected to erect the posts and will have a duty to keep paths open and maintained. Mathis Brothers Cycling TeamThe lineup for the Mathis Brothers Furniture Elite Cycling Team has been announced for 2003. The core group of the 2002 team, which racked up 29 victories and two national championships podium places, will be returning this season, along with some new riders. Steven Cate, Nick Kiernan and Jason Waddell return with new addition Aron Huerta (Mercy Fitness). For 2003 Mathis will have a development squad that will travel to selected NRC races and all local and mid-West events with the elite team. Development riders Danny Kaukola, Jason Pratt and Aaron Smathers have all enjoyed success as category 3 riders. Team RosterElite Steven Cate Development Danny Kaukola Management Lori Boren - Co-Team Manager/Board Member Sponsors Mathis Brothers Furniture (MathisBrothers.com) Equipment Guru Bicycles (Gurubikes.com) (All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2003) |
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