First Edition News for March 27, 2003

Edited by John Stevenson

Tour considers increased security

Following Lance Armstrong's comments about safety earlier this week, the Tour de France organization has said that it is considering tightening security for the July 5-27 race, but has not yet made plans to do so.

Speaking at the launch of this year's centenary Tour, director Jean-Marie LeBlanc said that there was no need to panic as "Between now and July, the situation will not fail to change." He added that the organizers had already dealt with the question of the safety of American riders last year following the September 11 attacks, and that the question of the safety of these riders and in particular of Lance Armstrong went beyond the framework of the Tour de France as they were currently taking part in other races.

Tour spokesman Philippe Sudres told the Associated Press, "If we do take extra precautions, we will not decide this until one or two months before the race."

"The safety of all our riders, not just Lance, is of utmost concern," Sudres said. "We will do all we can with the forces of law and order and the interior minister to ensure the safety of riders and spectators alike."

2003 Tour: "celebration and reminiscence"

Jean-Marie Leblanc and the Amaury Sports Organisation launched this year's Tour de France yesterday in Montgeron, France, dedicating this centenary Tour to the twin themes of celebration and reminiscence.

Speaking at the Réveil-Matin, the inn on the site of the start of the first Tour back in 1903, Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc acknowledged the importance of the Tour in French national consciousness, acknowledging past Tour greats and saying, "To bring back these memories is a public service, but for there to be a Tour de France in the future we must also speak to the young people."

To that end, Leblanc announced a project to assist underprivileged kids in major French cities, under the patronage of recently retired French star Laurent Jalabert. The project will involve teaching workshops for 12-15 year olds between mid-May and the end of June and will run in the cities that hosted stages of the 1903 Tour: Lyon, Marseilles, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes and Montgeron.

Special events at the start of the 2003 Tour will include the presentation of the 22 teams in Paris on July 4, and in this procession to the Town Hall will be a special team of 25 young riders representing all 25 current and prospective members of the European Community.

The Tour's publicity caravan will commemorate the race's centenary with ten vehicles, each dedicated to a decade of the race's history. On July 27, the last day of the Tour, a free 27.5km ride will be organized in Paris for 10,000 people, starting and finishing in front of the Eiffel Tower. A Centenary Parade recognizing all the winners of the Tour will take place within an hour of the race finish on the Champs-Elysées.

Within the race itself there will be three new contests, along the lines of the existing sprint and mountains competitions. The 'Fair-Play' classification speaks for itself, while the European classification will go to the best rider from the ten future member states and the 'Centenaire' classification will be compiled from finish positions in the cities that held stage finishes in the 1903 Tour.

The 2003 edition of the Tour de France is the 90th time the race has been run since its inception in 1903, World Wars I and II having rather interfered cycle racing in Europe in the first half of the last century.

Tour wants more EPO controls

The Tour de France organization has requested increased EPO testing at this year's race, according to assistant Tour director Daniel Baal. Speaking at the launch of the Tour's centenary celebrations yesterday, Baal told AFP, "Last year, EPO tests concerned about half of the 139 anti-doping controls and five random tests. We've asked the Sports Ministry for the proportion to be increased to about three-quarters. It's what we hope for."

Baal also said that this year's Tour will have a panel of expert doctors from the UCI to provide advice on the prescription to riders of medicines that are allowed but only in restricted situations.

Museeuw injured

The immediate racing program of Johan Museeuw (Quick-Step Davitamon) is in doubt this morning after he suffered a nasty fall in yesterday's Dwars door Vlaanderen. The Belgian demi-god was tangled in a pile-up involving about 30 other riders and had to abandon the race after bruising his left knee and left shoulder and grazing his right arm.

According to Quick-Step spokesman Alessandro Tegner, Museeuw will undergo x-rays this morning to determine his condition.

Nun hospitalized after Castilla y Leon crash

Yesterday's first stage of the Vuelta Ciclista Castilla y Leon Feminas saw an accident between a cyclist and an elderly nun, who was standing beside the road. The incident occurred at kilometre 27, and the nun was taken by the Civil Guard to the Río Carrión de Palencia hospital. The extent of her injuries are unknown.

ONCE for Criterium International

Top Spanish team ONCE-Eroski has announced its team for this weekend's Criterium International. The line-up will be: René Andrle, Joseba Beloki, Alberto Contador, Allan Davis, Rafael Díaz, Alvaro Glez. De Galdeano, Jonathan González, and Mikel Pradera. Giampaolo Caruso will be reserve.

Team SA looks forward to World Cup

The third round of the track World Cup is just over two weeks away and already the war of words has kicked off between the national teams that will be represented in Cape Town, South Africa, April 11-13.

Today's salvo comes from South African team manager Dave Street, who is optimistic that his squad are ready to take on the world's best at the Belville Velodrome. Central to Street's plans is South Africa's most experienced track rider JP Van Zyl, veteran of several European Sixes and world championships. "JP is a world class cyclist, in fact I rate him as one of the top 10 riders in the world," said Street. Van Zyl will take part in the Scratch and Points events and will team up with Robbie Dale for the Madison.

The Cape Town round also sees the return of 2001 South African sprint champion Dean Edwards. Edwards holds the current national kilo record and will be concentrating on that event at Cape Town.

SA sprint champion Shawn Lynch joins Team SA as he rides the Sprint, Kierin and Olympic Sprint. Paarl's Garth Thomas is the reserve for Team SA.

Aussie MTB national series goes to the wire

This weekend sees the finals of the Australian National MTB Series at Fellcrag, Qld, March 29-30. At the new venue, Fellcrag, just outside Beaudesert, the finals look certain to be a nail biter. Several race classes are too close to call for the class leader to slack-off.

In Elite cross-country the first three places are only separated by 20 points. Any of the top three riders, Peter Hatton, Murray Spink and Aiden Lefman could take out the Series. In Elite Women's cross-country the gap to second place (Lynne Vaughan) from Niki Gudex is only 38 points, but Jaci Low is close behind on 192.5. Expert men will see a close battle with the top three places only separated by 8 points. Many of the other race categories have a similar story.

In the Downhill National Series Shane Wode (Elite Men) leads second place (Jarod Rando) by a healthy 61 points, but downhilling is anything but certain. Tai-Lee Muxlow has a stranglehold on the series in Elite Women, but in Expert Men only 10 points separate first and second (Jason Morrison and Karl Peel). A close (30 points) first and second place in Under 19 Men will also test David McLaughlin and Josh Boyd and only 14 points separate first and second in Under 17 Men, Amiel Cavalier and Darren Pokoj.

It looks like being an exciting weekend's racing!

Ulster Centre of Excellence launched

By Shane Stokes, Irishcycling.com

Cycling Ulster yesterday launched its new Centre of Excellence at the Craigavon Watersports centre in Armagh. The Centre is intended to promote the growth of the sport in the region through a number of initiatives, and is part of the sport's strategy plan launched in 2002.

"The Centre of Excellence is a new direction for Cycling Ireland and one which should have a very positive effect," said Barry Monaghan, the Development Officer for Cycling Ulster. "It is part of the three year development plan which began last year. The Craigavon Watersports centre has been involved in the development of cycling in the region for a number of years, and met all the criteria set down by Cycling Ulster when choosing a location for the Centre of Excellence. It is an ideal location for this base, due to the facilities there and also due to the fact that there is a strong club base in the area. Clann Eireann, Lurgan Apollo, Banbridge, Newry Wheelers and Orchard Wheelers are all within a 20 mile radius of the Centre, providing a depth of excellent cycling-related activities in the region."

The Centre has been used as a venue for a number of competitive events in recent years and this season will host both the start and finish of the Tour of Ulster. Yet a role more important than that of a race HQ will be the use of the Centre for the training and testing of those in the sport, exercises which could do much to improve the standard of racing in the area. "The Centre will be at the forefront of coach and rider development over the next three years as it will be the venue for all coaching workshops and courses," said Monaghan. "We are also applying to the Northern Ireland Sports Council to have a Kingcycle testing rig stationed at the centre, in order to provide the riders with an opportunity for physiological testing.

"For non-competitive riders, it is also a location which has a tremendous leisure cycling infrastructure. This too is something that we will hope to improve upon and develop with relevant organisations over the next 3 years."

One other important role for the Centre is as a location for Monaghan's youth development programme, a mechanism targeted by Cycling Ireland to increase participation in the sport while also increasing the safety of young road users. A total of 15 local schools will take part in this skills programme over the coming months, starting this Saturday.

Skip Gorey Three Day

By Tommy Campbell, Irish Independent/Evening Herald/Sunday Independent

Easter in Ireland has long been associated with the Dublin Skip Gorey Three Day race, an event geared to cater for up and coming participants. The April 18-20 race is now in its 37th year and intending participants are reminded that the closing date for entries (April 7) is close at hand.

Organiser Sam Darcy is like wine that has matured and so has this race, which has been part and parcel of his cycling life. He has now re-located to the Co. Wexford town of Gorey from his former Dublin home.

In conversation with him during the week, he was still as enthusiastic as he was when he first turned the wheels of this event, which has attracted competitors who went on to make names for themselves in the international arena. "You must keep your eye on the ball. It's a new game each year heading up such an event as the magnitude of the 'Gorey.' The logistics of getting everybody beds over a Bnk Holiday weekend in a bustling town causes me many headaches, but his year the Gorey Tourist Office have eased that little blip on the horizon. Traffic control is of the utmost importance. The cavalcade attached to the event could be over a half mile in length. It is important that the traveling public are not discommoded. God be with the days when we went down the main Wexford road, but that scenario is completely out of the question now," said Sam.

The event starts on Easter Saturday and finishes up on the Monday and sandwiched in between those three days, the participants will have competed in four stages.

Monroe leaves IMBA board

Mary Monroe, a former vice-president of IMBA and former marketing director at Trek Bicycle, resigned from the IMBA board on March 25. Monroe had been a board member since 1994 and helped guide IMBA through a period of dramatic growth, providing marketing and sponsorship advice as well as connections to the bike industry and racing community.

LeMond Fitness cleans up new sponsor

The US Division III LeMond Fitness team has picked up a new sponsor: Captain CRA-Z Soap, a "user and environmentally friendly" new product, according to the team. Existing co-sponsor Blender magazine becomes the team's presenting sponsor.

(All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2003)