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Mt Hood Classic
Photo ©: Swift

News for January 25, 2003

Edited by Jeff Jones

Italian World's riders to be honoured

By João Cravo

In 1992 Gianni Bugno became World champion in Benidorm, beating Laurent Jalabert in the final sprint of the road race. After nine failed attempts, the amazing teamwork of the Italian squad resulted in Mario Cipollini's win in his first professional World Road Championships. That was three months ago in Zolder, Belgium on October 13, 2002.

This coming January 30, the President of the Italian republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, will honour Cipollini and all the men who supported him on that glorious Sunday for Italian cycling, hosting all the riders, officials and the national coach Franco Ballerini at the Palazzo del Quirinale.

For Mario Cipollini, Paolo Bettini, Gianluca Bortolami, Davide Bramati, Danilo Di Luca, Giovanni Lombardi, Daniele Nardello, Alessandro Petacchi, Fabio Sacchi, Luca Scinto, Mario Scirea and Matteo Tosatto, that ceremony will surely bring back the emotions they felt and shared in Zolder.

With them at the President's palace will be the other medallists from the last World Championships. Francesco Chicci (winner of the U23 road race), Junior Women's time trial gold and silver medal winners Anna Zugno and Tatiana Guderzo, and Vincenzo Nibali, who finished third in the Junior Men's TT.

Deeply shaken by several doping affairs in the last few years, Italian cycling might have rediscovered itself in Zolder. The day when 12 men became one, in order to try and bring victory to the Italian camp. It was indeed an unusual approach to the race by Italian standards.

Tankink to return to Europe

Quick Step-Davitamon's Bram Tankink was forced to pull out of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under during stage 4, due to a hip muscle problem that was causing pain in his left leg. The 24 year old suffered from this problem last season, and will return to Europe today. The retirement of Tankink follows the unlucky accident involving Kevin Hulsmans on January 14, which forced him to return home before the race began.

Saeco completes training camp in Terracina

The Saeco training in Terracina near Rome will finish today after 10 days of solid training. The team has enjoyed good weather, and directors Giuseppe Martinelli, Bruno Vicino and Flavio Miozzo have been able to work the riders hard and build some solid team spirit. Of course, the news of the success of Fabio Sacchi at the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under in Australia has also helped.

New signing Ivan Quaranta commented that "I've realised I'm part of a great team. Everybody at Saeco is very professional and believe in team unity. The atmosphere in the team is just right and perfect for finding the motivation to do well right from the start of the season."

"The signing of Quaranta was a great move," said Gilberto Simoni. "And now we've really got great riders for every kind of race. Ivan has really surprised me. Even in training he never gives up and is much more determined than most sprinters I've ever known."

Danilo Di Luca explained that he will start of the season a little bit more carefully so that he can be in form for the major spring classics.

"I'm going to start off a bit more slowly this season so that I can peak in the spring in time Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Amstel Gold Race. The Saeco team is stronger than ever. We've signed some important riders and we've already created a great team spirit. Dario Pieri will be our leader for the Tour of Flanders but I can't wait to ride alongside him. It'll be the first time I ride the Belgian classic and so I'll have to try and learn as much as I can from him about the race."

On his way home from the training camp, Gilberto Simoni will continue his preparation for the Giro d'Italia by checking out the Terminillo climb near Rome. He'll leave the camp a few hours before the other riders and ride the final part of what will be stage seven of the Giro, from Avezzano to the summit of Terminillo.

Somarriba will continue racing, team or no

Basque cyclist Joane Somarriba will be able to race this season, despite not having a trade team to do so. After her bronze medal in the World's Road Race last year, Somarriba was awarded a 36,000 euro scholarship from the ADO, which would be enough to support her this year. She would have to ride with the Spanish national team, but she could still compete in the major women's races.

At the moment, Somarriba is negotiating with Sabeco, where she hopes to ride with her Deia-Pragma-Colnago teammates Maribel Moreno, Aranzazu Azpiroz and Argurtzane Elorriaga. However, Sabeco may be dissuaded by the recent cancellation of the proposed women's Vuelta. "I expect that it will not hurt us, but it's obvious that its running would have been an incentive for the sponsors," said Somarriba to AS.

Somarriba wants to remain in cycling until at least the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Source: AS

Teams for Etoile de Bessèges

Sixteen teams will contest the season openers in southern France, beginning February 4 at the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, and followed the next day by the Etoile de Bessèges.

Ag2R-Prévoyance
Alessio
BigMat
Brioches La Boulangère
Cofidis
Crédit Agricole
EDS-fakta
FDJeux.com
Flanders-iteamNova
Jean Delatour
Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
Lotto-Domo
Marlux-Nixdorf
MBK-Oktos
Palmans-Collstrop
Vlaanderen-T Interim

2004 World's news

The 2004 World Championships will be held in Verona, Italy, and there have already been events held in conjunction with the World's. This week, a contest was launched for students entitled "Imagine your Mascot", which invites students living in Verona to create a mascot for the 2004 World's. The best submission will be chosen at the end of the competition, with the winners receiving prizes ranging from Francesco Moser bikes to sets of cycling clothes.

UCI sets Grand Tour dates until 2010

The UCI has set down the dates that the three major tours: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España, will be held for the next seven years. Set your holiday plans as follows:

Giro d'Italia

2003: May 10 - June 1
2004: May 8 - 30
2005; May 7 - 29
2006: May 6 - 28
2007: May 12 - June 3
2008: May 10 - June 1
2009: May 9 - 31
2010: May 8 - 30

Tour de France

2003: July 5 - 27
2004: July 3 - 25
2005: July 2 - 24
2006: July 1 - 23
2007: July 7 - 29
2008: July 5 - 27
2009: July 4 - 26
2010: July 3 - 25

Vuelta a Espaņa

2003: September 6 - 28
2004: September 4 - 26
2005: August 27 - September 18
2006: August 26 - September 18
2007: September 1 - 23
2008: August 30 - September 21
2009: August 29 - September 20
2010: August 28 - September 19

Iranian team for Tour de Langkawi

In the absence of top rider and former Asian champion Ghader Mizbani, Ahad Kazemi Sarai will take up the leading role as Iran makes its debut in the Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi which begins in Langkawi next week.

Coach Albert Soloyan is clearly not worried about the absence of Mizbani, and believes that the Iranian team has enough talent to mount a strong challenge in the Tour, and stake a strong claim for the Asian title.

Mizbani, the top Iranian climber who won the gold medal in the 1998 Asian Games, has been picked to ride for Team Telekom Malaysia for the third straight year. Kazemi, also noted for his climbing skills, will go head to head with Mizbani and it will be interesting to see how both will fare in the demanding climb to Genting on February 8.

The 28 year-old Kazemi, who has signed a professional contract with the Giant ART division III team this season, leads the seven man team. Last year, Kazemi rode for Team Telekom Malaysia but could only manage 90th overall. The Iranian did put up a creditable performance in last year's Asian Championship, where he won the silver medal. He was also 15th overall in the Eagle Tour of Malaysia.

Mehdi Sahrabi, 28, is another danger man in the team and could be Iran's trump card in the sprint competition, along with youngster Alirezha Hagi. Mehdi, who won the Elimination Race in 1999 Asian Championships, produced a string of encouraging results in the Eagle Tour, finishing 19th overall out of the 110 finishers.

Hagi's capabilities in the sprint and time trial races could pose some threats to the other Asian sprinters including Malaysia's Musairi Musa and Mahazir Hammad, Tommy Evans (Telekom), Shinri Suzuki of Japan and Arnel Quirimit of the Philippines. Hagi was one of the members in the Iranian track team that won the silver medal in the Asian Championships 4km race last year.

Coach Albert Soloyan has also included Hossein Askari and Hassan Maleki Mikzan in his roster. Rasoul Akbari and Sirous Hashemzadeh complete the line up.

Sea Otter to begin with Bay Area Circuit Race

The 2003 Sea Otter Classic, powered by SRAM will start on April 9 with a professional road race in Redwood City, located just 25 miles south of San Francisco. This new stage will feature a 60 mile men's race and 40 mile women's event, contested on a 9 mile circuit. The riders will start in downtown Redwood City and then take to this challenging course with nearly 900 feet of climbing per lap. The men will complete six loops before returning to the downtown start/finish; the women will race for four laps.

The Redwood City circuit race will be held on a Wednesday, expanding Sea Otter to a new five day format. Sea Otter's traditional events start the following day at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey.

After a time trial at Laguna Seca on Thursday, the pros will head to Santa Cruz for an afternoon of criterium racing on a tight downtown circuit. The pro road stage race finishes with Saturday's tough 100 mile road race that starts at Laguna Seca and then takes riders onto the hilly roads of the Carmel and Salinas valleys. They finish on the Laguna Seca racecourse.

Sunday will feature a 60 mile fun ride for riders of all skill levels featuring the stars of the pro race on beautiful roads surrounding the Laguna Seca Recreation Area.

As expected, the Sea Otter will still draw the world's best mountain bike racers. They will compete in cross-country, short track, a time trial, and the Fat Boy criterium in Santa Cruz. Gravity racers will also compete in dual slalom, downhill, and mountain cross. The peak of the weekend will remain Sunday's amateur cross-country race, when thousands of racers take to the scenic hills surrounding Monterey Bay.

Miche announces professional team

A team sponsored by Miche Cycling Components has just registered itself in the UCI's division III (see earlier story). Managed by Marco Tozzi, the 19 man team contains a large proportion of Eastern European riders, including Igor Bonciucov (Mda), Vaselin Stoyanov (Bul), Vadim Russu (Ukr), as well as Italian Alberto Tacconi and two New Zealanders, Geoffrey Burndred and Jason Allen. Team roster

Honorary President: Italo and Luigi Michelin
President: Mauro Tognaccini
Team Manager: Marco Tozzi
Directeur sportifs: Giuseppe Tognaccini, Todor Kolev
Team doctor: Dr. Maurizio Colica
Masseurs/physiotherapists: Mariusz Semkowski, Patrizio Pratesi, Silvano Arnetoli
Mechanics: Bruno Dall'Anese, Marcello Gori
Secretary: Studio Commerciale Tozzi - Michelini
Media officers: Mario Magini, Stefano Galli
Bicycles: Sageborn

Riders

Igor Bonciucov (Mda)
Roger Lucia Ibarra (Spa)
Ivaylo Marinov (Bul)
Vaselin Stoyanov (Bul)
Leonid Baciu (Mda)
Tomasz Blaszczyk (Pol)
Alberto Tacconi (Ita)
Sergiy Yavorskyy (Ukr)
Pawel Kavetski (Bel)
Glen Zelderloo (Bel)
Vadim Russu (Ukr)
Sergiy Grechyn (Ukr)
Stanislav Stoev (Bul)
Pavlin Petrov (Bul)
Rasmus Dyring (Den)
Jason Allen (NZl)
Denis Tishchenko (Rus)
Samuel Faruhn (Ger)
Geoffrey Burndred (NZl)

Phil's Bar B Q stays on

Phil's Bar B Q of San Diego will continue for one more year as the title sponsor of the Velo La Jolla Cycling team. With additional financial backing and new riders, the Phil's Bar B Q team is looking to make a big impact on the Southern California road and track scene, beginning February 2 in San Diego.

Team roster

Jason Charlebois (USA)
Josué Estrada (Mex)
Ben Flores (USA)
Mario Garcia (Mex)
David Jackson (USA)
Todd Perry (USA)
Jim Rellas (USA)
Derek Wiback (USA)

Sponsors

Phil's Bar B Q
Apexengineering.com
Erin's Escentials
Hi-TechBikes.com
Sockguy Socks
Grindz Coffee Shop
Destinationscoffee.com
Amy Lindroth Professional Financial Services
Dr. Michael J. McHaffey, D.D.S., Inc.
Gargoyle Café
Rudy Project Glasses
GPush
Clothing by Squadra-Castelli

Joseph Sunde Memorial criteriums

The Joseph Sunde Memorial Criteriums will be held on Monday, January 27 at the popular Heffron Park criterium circuit in Sydney. They are dedicated to the memory of Joseph Sunde, who passed away in 1993 after an 18 month battle with leukaemia.

The 45km elite event has been won by four Australian Champions including current US Postal rider Matt White, who won the race in 1998. International riders have dominated the event in recent years with English time trial specialist, Stuart Dangerfield and Dutch strongman, Jens Mouris winning in 2000 and 2001. Last year, the race was taken out by U.S. based pro Jeff Hopkins.

More information

Wangaratta carnival postponed

The Wangaratta Track Carnival in Victoria, scheduled for Sunday, January 26, has been postponed due to the severe bushfires in the northeast of the state. It might be held on Saturday, March 22, but that has yet to be confirmed.

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