First Edition News for March 29, 2003

Edited by Chris Henry

Critérium International preview

Defending champ
Photo: © AFP

It's a big weekend all around, as April and the height of the classics season sits around the corner. While the weekend's racing in Belgium- the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen on Saturday and Sunday's Brabantse Pijl- will provide a last tune up for the protagonists of the Flemish classics, the Critérium International in France will give a similar warm up for the races of the Ardennes hills. The Critérium International also gives an early hint at the form of a number of riders with grand tour ambitions in the coming months.

The race opens with a 187.5 km road race, beginning and ending around Charleville-Mézières. The stage is designed for the sprinters with a relatively flat parcours and time bonuses on offer. Three intermediate sprints will provide the fast men with crucial seconds (3, 2, and 1), while the first three riders over the finish line will receive bonuses of 10, 6, and 4 seconds, respectively.

In stage 2 the advantage swings to the climbers, with nine climbs over a short but challenging 98.5 km circuit. The stage includes an uphill finish to Monthermé, won last year by Cofidis' David Moncoutié. Time gaps aren't always significant, however, and in the same afternoon the peloton will face the final test: an 8.3 km time trial through the streets of Charleville-Mézières. Last year's race came down to the wire in the time trial, as Euskaltel's Alberto Martinez edged out Lance Armstrong by less than one second.

The Critérium International is designed as a race to suit an all-rounder, a mini stage race compressed into one weekend. For several teams, the race will be particularly important as it provides another opportunity to impress the organisers, the Société du Tour de France.

Phonak is one such team, eager to earn its first ever invite to the Tour. Having just signed Swiss Alex Zülle, the team will be looking for a strong performance. "Alex hasn't raced for nearly a month, but he's been training hard," Phonak directeur sportif Jacques Michaud told AFP. "He's competitive."

Principal contenders include Paris-Nice winner Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom), Crédit Agricole's Jens Voigt, a former winner (1999) and winner of last year's time trial stage, defending champion Martinez, and another former winner, Rik Verbrugghe (2001), who will be looking to give his Lotto-Domo team some much-needed spring success. Team CSC leader Tyler Hamilton, who returned to competition with some strong results at Paris-Nice, is another rider capable of shining both in the hills and against the clock. The list of contenders is long entering this intense weekend of racing.

Previous winners:

2002 Alberto Martinez
2001 Rik Verbrugghe
2000 Abraham Olano
1999 Jens Voigt
1998 Bobby Julich

Rebellin, Nazon out of Critérium International

On the eve of this weekend's racing, Italian Davide Rebellin has decided not to take the start in Charleville-Mézières. Rebellin was hit with the 'flu, and despite a return to training on Thursday, he has decided not to contest the three stage race.

Also out of the Critérium is the winner of stage 1 in last year's event, Jean-Patrick Nazon of Jean Delatour. Nazon is suffering from a gastrointestinal ailment, and was even hospitalised briefly due to a strong fever. Nazon will be looking to return to racing next weekend at the GP de la Ville de Rennes (April 6).

Cooke out of E3 Prijs Vlaanderen

Australian Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com), runner up in Wednesday's Dwars door Vlaanderen, will not take part in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. Cooke is also suffering from gastrointestinal woes. According to Cooke's web site, a mexican restaurant in Nice may be to blame, but he hopes to be back in competition next week.

Pantani comes out swinging

Marco Pantani may be "starting from zero," as he told l'Equipe in his latest comeback interview, but his new outlook on racing hasn't settled a few old scores. Pantani acknowledges he may never regain the level he had before his world fell apart in 1999, but he's eager to achieve a certain personal satisfaction.

"I can win races again, but what I want more than anything is to establish a new rapport with my profession," Pantani explained, adding that he's looking for his own personal revenge. "Something deserving of everything I've endured," he said.

Following Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc's comments that Pantani would not take part in the 2003 Tour, simply because he does not ride for a Division I team, the Italian seems to have kept the information in perspective. "Two years ago, Leblanc deprived me of the right [to ride the Tour], unfairly I believe, since I was always a protagonist in the Tour," Pantani said. "This time, it's different. I want to begin again from a stable base, racing where our team deserves to race."

Nonetheless, there is one grudge that continues to get the Pirate fired up. Speaking of his old Tour rival Miguel Indurain, Pantani evoked a dissatisfaction with the current patron of the Tour, Lance Armstrong. "It's not me who's arrogant," Pantani insisted, "it's competition that's arrogant and without compromise. Indurain avoided direct confrontation with me. He preferred to race his own race, with his own rhythm."

"On the other hand, there is one person in the peloton now who always accepts confrontation," Pantani continued, "because he's not capable of doing otherwise. And this person, I would like to see him lose."

Speaking frankly about Armstrong, Pantani claimed also that he was threatened by Johan Bruyneel after comparing Armstrong to a comic book character, a fictional superhero. "But how else do you look at someone who wins the Tour after having beaten cancer?" Pantani asked.

The heart of the matter appears to be Pantani's belief that Armstrong forgot who stood by him while at his lowest point in the professional peloton. "I was one of the few to extend a hand to him after his cancer," said Pantani. "I also supported him publicly. He had been let go by Cofidis, and US Postal had not yet entered the picture."

As Pantani focuses on the Giro d'Italia, and Armstrong aims for his fifth consecutive Tour de France victory, the two will not square off in grand fashion anytime soon. Nonetheless, Pantani's back, and perhaps so too is the war of words.

One invitation to Paris Pantani will receive

Although his team won't be among those invited to race this year's Tour de France, Marco Pantani will nevertheless receive one special invitation to ride in Paris this summer. As part of the many celebrations planned to commemorate the centennial of the first Tour, organisers envision a special lap of honour on the Champs Elysées by the twenty two living winners of the race, according to a report from Darren Tullet of the Bloomberg news agency.

The ride would follow in the same vein as a dinner held on the eve of last October's presentation for the 2003 Tour, which Pantani did attend. "We had all the champions together for a special dinner last year and it was very moving for everybody involved," said race director Jean-Marie Leblanc. "Pantani will be getting an invitation, and we sincerely hope he will be with us."

Hallam named Cycling Ireland CEO

By Shane Stokes, Irishcycling.com

Cycling Ireland (CI) announced that Stuart Hallam has accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer, which was advertised after the former CEO Eamon Duffy announced his intention last November to shift to the role of Commercial Director. Hallam has considerable experience in the business and cycling worlds, having worked in roles such as Managing Director of Philips Business Systems and also as a board member of British Cycling.

Hallam is a former first category racing cyclist in the UK and comes from a background of competition in the sport, with his brother Ian a previous Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games medallist.

The President of Cycling Ireland, PJ Nolan welcomed the appointment, saying that Hallam will bring a wealth of experience to the role. "The knowledge of cycling and business that Stuart will bring to the organisation will be immense and his track record as an organiser, team manager and national executive member will be a huge boost to Cycling Ireland," said Nolan. "The combination of Stuart Hallam's experience and Eamon Duffy's commercial expertise is very exciting for the organisation."

The decision to appoint Stuart Hallam to the position of CI CEO may have been heralded as a big plus by president PJ Nolan, but it has proved to be a controversial one in other quarters. Both the CI board member Ciaran McKenna and the Chairman of the High Performance Commission, Paul Butler, have resigned over the matter, causing shockwaves within the Federation. McKenna had himself applied for the position but insists that the disappointment in finishing second in the running is not behind his decision to end his role within CI.

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