News for January 2, 2003

Edited by Jeff Jones

Cyclingnews awards: Best Rider, Moment & Legend

The final Cyclingnews Reader Poll results have been tallied and extracted, and your votes for Rider of the Year, Best Moment & Legend of Cycling can now be revealed. Also for an Irish slant, take a look at Tommy Campbell's Irish review of 2002, for the best and worst moments in Irish cycling last season.

But wait, there's more. Over the next few days, we'll be presenting some more Cyclingnews Top 10's, as selected by the various editors. We'll stop after that until next year, promise.

Cipollini honoured

World Champion Mario Cipollini has been honoured by the Italian president of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. Cipollini was named as a Commendatore after his efforts in winning the World Championships in Belgium, amongst other successes.

Lance Armstrong awarded at home

In addition to winning the Sports Illustrated Athlete of the Year and the Associated Press's Male Athlete of the Year, Lance Armstrong has been acknowledged by other media back home. He was named by both USA Today and CBS SportsLine as Male Athlete of the Year, as well as Austin's Athlete of the Year and the Star Telegram's Texas Sportsman of The Year.

Arvesen Norwegian rider of the year

Team fakta's Norwegian Kurt Asel Arvesen has been voted rider of the year in Norway ahead of World and European MTB Champion Gunn Rita Dahle. Arvesen won the Tour of Sweden, was second overall with a stage win in the Tour of Denmark and also won GP Schynberg and the Norwegian Championships. He starts the new year as number 37 on the UCI rankings, the highest ranked Scandinavian rider.

The top riders in Norwegian cycling:

1 Kurt Asle Arvesen             36.06 percent
2 Gunn-Rita Dahle               14.55
3 Thor Hushovd                  13.94
4 Sigbjørn Fønnebø              12.42
5 Anita Valen                   12.12
6 Mads Kaggestad                 4.24
7 Roy Sønsterud                  3.64
8 Rune Høydahl                   2.73
9 Steffen Kjærgaard              0.30

JaJa and PouPou honoured

Retired French cyclists Laurent Jalabert and Raymond Poulidor have been given high honours in France, both being awarded the Officier de la Légion d'Honneur. Jalabert, who retired at the end of 2002, won 139 races during his career, including the Vuelta España, World TT Championship, Paris-Nice, the Tour de France's Green and Polka Dot Jerseys, and several classics. Poulidor retired in 1977, and won 52 races during his career. He too won the Vuelta, as well as finishing on the podium an incredible eight times in the Tour de France, a race that he never won.

Peter Keen honoured

British Cycling's Performance Director Peter Keen has been awarded the an OBE for services to cycling in the UK. Keen (37) was appointed as the British Cycling Federation's Performance Director in 1997. Since that time he has played a major role in increasing Britain's status in the world of cycling, especially on the track.

Peter Keen is a sports scientist and coach, and has spent the last 19 years developing performance and excellence in cycle racing. His most famous protégé is undoubtedly Chris Boardman MBE, a multi World Champion, Gold Medallist in the Barcelona Olympics and holder of the World One Hour Record. Peter was formerly a Senior Lecturer in Sports Science at the University of Brighton.

Source: British Cycling

Bruylandts getting closer

Dave Bruylandts will likely know more about his future this Friday, when he meets with Marlux mover and shaker Noël Demeulenaere. Bruylandts will probably choose either Marlux or Palmans to ride with this season. Demeulenaere is also talking with US rider Fred Rodriguez, who still has yet to sign for a team.

"With him we are certain of promotion from second to first division," said Demeulenaere to Belgian Teletekst. "But there are still others, not lesser riders, who have offered themselves. If Marlux is promoted, there will also be more money. I have that promise from several candidate sponsors."

Xavier Tondo to Paternina-Costa de Almeria

Young Spanish cyclist Xavier Tondo has signed for the next two seasons for the Paternina-Costa de Almeria. The 24 year old finished second in the Spanish U23 championships, and won a number of races in 2002. He will be one of 16 riders in the team.

Burnie Carnival washed out for 2003

By Rod Morris

The 2003 Burnie Athletic Club's New Year's Day Carnival was officially abandoned at 10.30 a.m. - 15 minutes prior to the running of the first event. It is the first time since 1937 the Burnie Carnival has been completely washed out with one event being staged. Because of the tight travelling schedules of a majority of competitors, the BAC is not in a position to re-schedule any of its carnival events.

Likewise, the Matthews Construction Devonport Wheelrace which was washed out on Monday (Dec. 30) ht and then re-scheduled for the following night, was also washed out and officially declared abandoned for the 2002-03 season. The Devonport Athletic Club is yet to formally announce what will happen with its Devonport Wheel prizemoney, given the fact it has 24 riders who qualified for the final but were unable to race.

The Tasmanian Carnivals action continues this Sunday (January 5) with the annual Bikes and Spikes meet at Hobart's Newtown Oval. The following Saturday (Jan. 11), the Mersey Valley - Devonport Cycling Club will host its multi-sport carnival at the Latrobe ground and on January 18, the popular St Helens Carnival will be staged.

Also see: Tasmanian Christmas Carnivals index

22 teams for Tour de Langkawi

The final team selection has been made for the Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi 2003, which takes place between January 31 and February 9. Twenty-two teams will contest the eighth edition of the event, with French team MBK-Oktos-St. Quentin being the final team to confirm their entry today.

Of the 22 teams, 15 are professional squads from France, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Colombia, Slovakia and the United States. Six national teams Iran, South Africa, Japan, Canada, Philippines, Malaysia and Team Telekom Malaysia are also slated to compete. With seven riders per team, there will be a total of 154 riders on the road.

"No doubt, the 2003 edition would be even more exciting. I reckon with five or six division one teams in the fray, the action should be interesting enough," said First Cartel Executive Chairman Datuk Wan Lokman Dato Paduka Wan Ibrahim today.

Tour du Qatar teams

A total of fifteen teams will contest the 2nd edition of the Tour du Qatar, which takes place between January 31-February 4. The 2.3 classified race will comprise mostly Division I teams, and will be the first race of the season for many of them. The teams are as follows:

Brioches la Boulangère, CSC, Crédit Agricole, FDJeux.com, Gerolsteiner , Lampre, Lotto-Domo, ONCE , Phonak, Quick Step-Davitamon, Rabobank , Saeco, Tacconi Sport, Team Coast, Vlaanderen-T Interim

Ceramiche Panaria Fiordo news

The Ceramiche Panaria Fiordo team will get together on January 3 for medical tests and UCI controls. The tests will be conducted by the team's new doctor, Dr. Auricchio Costantino. In addition, the riders will receive their equipment at this time.

The team to ride the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under (Jan. 21-26) has been selected, and will consist of the following riders: Graeme Brown, Brett Lancaster, Scott Davis, Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio, Sergey Matveyev, Paolo Lanfranchi, Filippo Perfetto, Ruben Bongiorno, Roberto Reverberi (DS). The same team will contest the Tour de Langkawi, with the exception of Perez Cuapio.

The other riders will take part in a training camp in Bellaria Igea Marina until February 9, when they will race in their first races of the season, Trofeo Laigueglia. The team is as follows: Giuliano Figueras, Paolo Tiralongo, Luca Mazzanti, Fabio Gilioli, Claudio Bartoli

The Panaria team will be presented on February 15. Its objectives are Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano San Remo with Figueras, and the final GC of the Giro D'Italia with Perez Cuapio.

Tacconi meets for first time in '03

The Tacconi Sport-Sidermec team, captained by Stefano Garzelli, will meet for the first time in 2003 in Mendrisio, Switzerland. Now managed by retired pro Mauro Gianetti, the team includes Gianluca Bortolami, Oscar Mason, Dario Andriotto, Mauro Radaelli, Eddy Mazzoleni, Giampaolo Cheula, Patrick Calcagni, Steve Zampieri, and Pietro Zucconi.

Pregnolato becomes a mother

Italian cyclist Gabriella Pregnolato has become a mother for the first time, giving birth to Andrea in the early hours of 2003. In addition to looking after her child, the 11 time Italian champion will direct the Prato Maraton Bike Aki women's team this year, which includes Svetlana Boubnenkova, Zulfia Zabirova, Olga Zabelinskaya, Rosalia Lapomarda and Silvia Parietti on its roster.

(All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2002)