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News for February 18, 2001Recent results and new features Ricardo Ochoa's funeral
Several thousand neighbors, fans and cyclists turned out to farewell deceased Kelme cyclist, Ricardo Ochoa in Berango (Vizcaya)at his funeral today. Starting from 10 am, many people paid their respects to Ochoa in the Berango City Hall, while flags were flown at half mast and three days of mourning were declared for the town. The funeral began in the evening at the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, and the crowds were lined along the route between the City Hall and the Church. Unfortunately they were not cheering him on to victory but his final resting place. State Sports Secretary, Juan Antonio Gómez-Angulo was there as well as the entire Kelme Costa-Blanca team and the Sociedad Ciclista Punta Galea where the Ochoa brothers commenced their cycling careers. In addition, many others outside cycling came to pay their respects and offer support to the Ochoa family. Ricardo Ochoa will be buried in the cemetery of San Vicente de Barakaldo on Monday.
Tiredness possible cause of death Preliminary investigations as to the cause of the accident that killed Ricardo Ochoa and severely injured his brother Javier, point to driver fatigue as a possibility. According to Spanish newspaper Marca Sebastián Fernandez, vice-director of sport at the University of Malaga, could have been asleep at the wheel when he hit Javier, before his Volvo then struck Ricardo. Alcohol was also suspected, but breath and blood tests revealed no traces of it in Fernandez.
Ceruti back in power for 4 yearsGiancarlo Ceruti has retained his position as the head of the Federciclismo, the Italian Cycling Federation. At the general meeting yesterday Ceruti was voted in ahead of Francesco Moser with 210 votes to 193. The third candidate, Angelo Francini, withdrew at the last minute leaving the way open for a head to head battle between Moser and Ceruti. Although Moser's campaign had a lot of momentum, Ceruti's experience and mandate, "we have a courageous task which above all is the campaign for the fight against doping and for the protection of the health of the athletes" won the day.
Van Petegem and Van Bondt can leaveThe sports arbitration commission of the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF) has ruled that both Peter van Petegem and Geert van Bondt can leave Farm Frites without a buy-out. Although Farm Frites asked for money after the pair broke their contracts, there is a Dutch law stating that riders can leave a team after three years without paying anything.
Dekker wants ride the trackTriple Tour de France stage winner Erik Dekker wants to start in the World Track Championships in Antwerp this September. Dekker said that he was inspired by Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel in Sydney and wants to ride the 4000 metre individual pursuit. He is said to be considering the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Contaminated food supplements and NandroloneAlthough the UCI limits for the steroid Nandrolone are more lenient (5 ng/mL) than the oft criticised IOC limits (2 ng/ml for men and 5 ng/ml for women), there is still considerable debate about the substance after positive tests continue to surface. Contaminated food supplements seem to be high on the agenda of cyclists' (and other athletes') excuses as to why their Nandrolone levels higher than the norm. Given the inconsistent nature of contaminators, it is often extremely hard to prove one way or the other how the Nandrolone got into the athlete. Given the nature of court cases, it can be quite costly for sports federations to pursue an athlete who has returned a positive result for Nandrolone. With supplements, it is possible that only one batch could be contaminated. If the athlete can prove this then they may have their sanction reduced, depending on the sporting body. The IOC (along with the many other sports federations) has adopted a code of "strict liability" whereby the athlete is responsible for what they take, even if inadvertently. Given the plethora of supplements available and the lack of regulation (especially in the U.S.) of the supplement industry, taking anything that is not manufactured by a well-known, reputable company is potentially risky. In fact, several independent drug testing laboratories in Germany and the US have started to analyse a wide range of supplements, discovering that a number have been contaminated with banned substances. In cases of contamination, an athlete's main hope is that they can prove that what they used was indeed contaminated. Of course they need to have evidence of the contaminated batch, but this is often likely to have been consumed, therefore it would be hard to obtain damages from the supplement company. The take home message is that an athlete needs to be careful.
Canadian gets UCI awardThe Canadian Cycling Federation has announced that Marc Lemay of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec h has been awarded the UCI Merit by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The UCI merit recognizes an individual's contribution to the development of cycling at the international level. Marc Lemay has been involved in organized cycling for over 26 years during which time he has delved in many areas from being a race organizer, Quebec Cycling Federation President, Canadian Cycling Association President to President of International Mountain bike commission. He has presided over the UCI Mountain Bike Commission since 1990, during which period mountain biking has grown enormously and been included in the Olympic Games.
YMCA/Sun & Ski Sports Cycling TeamBased in Nashville, TN, the YMCA/Sun & Ski Sports CT is another new US Elite team on the scene this year. A total of 35 riders from all senior categories comprise the team, which developed from a club team competing in regional races last year. The team will focus mainly on Southeast Regional Races and several National Calendar events such as the BMC Tour in Texas, Xcelerate Twilight Crit in Georgia, and the Michelin Classic in South Carolina with the Cat 1 Squad scheduled for the National Championships. Team Roster Cat 1 Kenny Baker Cat 2 Mark Beck Cat 3 Mark Miller Cat 3 Women Sue Beck Junior Dustin Greer Sponsors and Equipment YMCA of Middle Tennessee
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