Cycling Round Up

Archives: February 2001

PANTANI CONSIDERS MOVE TO MOUNTAINBIKING: (Feb 27) Controversial cyclist Marco Pantani may be on the verge of turning his back on road racing, with reports that he is considering a move to mountain bike competition. According to his Mercantone Uno team manager Felice Gimondi, the 1998 Tour de France winner is seriously considering gearing next season towards aiming for the 2002 world mountainbike championships.

Gimondi, who himself won the Tour in 1965, suggests that safety is the underlying reason for Pantani’s current change of heart, with the recent death of Spaniard Ricardo Ochoa underlining the vulnerability of road cyclists. However, the Italian climbing specialist is also known to be disenchanted with the racing scene after his recent prosecution for use of the banned performance booster EPO.

Pantani, who was expelled from the 1999 Tour of Italy while leading after he failed a blood test, is also embroiled in a number of other drug-related investigations at present. He nevertheless starts his 2001 season in today’s opening stage of the Tour of Valencia in Spain.

O’LOUGHLIN OUT OF TEAM IRELAND, SCANLON STILL UNDECIDED: (Feb 26) After accepting a place earlier this year with the new Team Ireland set-up, national under 23 champion David O’Loughlin has now withdrawn from the initiative. O’Loughlin was due to commence racing this month as part of the Irish Cycling Federation scheme, which funds elite riders to race in France for the year.

The news means that a vacancy has been created for another Irish rider to race alongside Morgan Fox in the ASPTT Montpellier club. The ICF are keen to secure the signature of former world junior champion Mark Scanlon for this slot, but it is as yet undecided if he will accept this offer or opt for another team.

OCHOA’S CONDITION WORSENS: (Feb 26) A fortnight after the training accident which killed his twin brother Richardo and left Javier Ochoa with life-threatening injuries, doctors treating the Tour de France stage winner have expressed concern about his worsening condition. Ochoa has remained in a deep coma since being hit by a car and, according to the latest medical reports from the Carlos Haya hospital, the 26 year old Spaniard has now developed pneumonia in both lungs.

Ochoa had held off defending champion Lance Armstrong to win the tenth stage to Lourdes- Hautacam in last year’s Tour de France. The two Kelme riders were knocked down on February 16th by a driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel.

UCI TO INTRODUCE ANTI-EPO MEASURES: (Feb 26) The International Cycling Union have announced plans for a radical new anti-doping measure to combat the use of EPO. The measures, which will be introduced in March and thus cover races from the spring classics onwards, feature a combined protocol of random blood testing, urine tests and a modification to the current rules governing hematocrit (red blood cell) levels.

Under the new regulation, riders whose hematocrit reading is above 47 percent will be required to provide a urine sample, which will in turn be analysed for traces of the banned blood booster EPO. In addition, the UCI will continue to enforce the current practice of suspending riders whose hematocrit levels are above 50 percent.

The measures rank amongst the strictest anti-doping measures introduced by an international sporting federation, and may go some way towards reducing criticisms that the UCI are not doing enough to combat drug abuse within cycling.

POWER TO MAKE TEAM DEBUT ON SATURDAY: (Feb 20) Irish professional cyclist Ciarán Power has confirmed that his debut with the St. Quentin Oktos team will take place this Saturday. Power will line out as the team’s strongest rider in the world-ranked Tour du Haut Var in France, and disputes the Classic Haribo one day later.

The 24 year old recently signed with the French outfit after the unexpected collapse of the Linda McCartney team last month. He had previously raced with St. Quentin in 1998 before they upgraded to the professional ranks.

Power has expressed satisfaction with his current level of fitness, but expects that it will take some weeks to find top form due to his recent lack of racing.

‘We had a training camp last weekend up in the St. Quentin region’, said the 1998 FBD Milk Rás winner. ‘The spins were pretty short, just 3-4 hours in length but they were run off at a pretty high intensity. I felt good, I was as strong as anybody there so that was encouraging. Okay, I have missed a bit of time now (due to the McCartney collapse) but once I get back racing I think I will settle in after a couple of weeks.’

Power is aiming to get involved in an early breakaway in the weekend’s races. ‘Getting into an early move might be a good way to jump back in there and get going again’, he said.

ICF DECLARES ALLEGIANCE TO BURROWS: (Feb 14) With just one day to go to the crucial election for presidency of the Olympic Council of Ireland, the Irish Cycling Federation have pledged their support for Richard Burrows. At a meeting held last night, the ICF board unanimously voted to support Burrow’s challenge to current president Pat Hickey.

The decision will come as a blow to the reigning president, who had been predicting a comfortable victory but now faces a much tougher contest as federations such as the Basketball Association and the ICF turn against him. In a press release issued today, the ICF said that their decision reflected a need for ‘change in the way the Olympic movement is perceived and run in this country.’

Stating that they believe Burrows is the right person to bring about this change, the ICF said that the OCI has to be brought onto a more professional footing and to concentrate on the athletes on the run up to the 2004 games in Athens.

Explaining their stance, ICF PRO Ciaran McKenna said that the board had initially opted to support Hickey at a meeting last Saturday, but that ‘myself and several others weren’t totally happy with the decision. We sat down again yesterday and discussed the matter in detail with the board, and at the end we were all unanimously in favour of backing Burrows.’

‘It has been clear that Hickey has had a lot of arguments and disputes while in office. Burrows, on the other hand, seems a better person for the job. He is determined to bring about change within the OCI, and we feel that he will have a better working relationship with the NCTC and the Irish Sports Council if he gets in.’

OWENS LANDS SLOT WITH PROFESSIONAL TEAM: (Feb 8) Olympic mountain bike rider Tarja Owens has become the latest Irish cyclist to secure a place with a professional cycling team, signing for one year with the Italian SC Michela Fanini set up. Having decided to concentrate on road racing for two years in order to better prepare for the Athens games in 2004, she will travel next Tuesday to the team base in Tuscany to begin life with the elite squad.

'I don't really have much experience of road racing', she confesses, 'but decided that it would be good preparation for the next Olympics if I was to spend two years doing it. I got in touch with all the squads and landed a slot with the Michela Fanini team - they are a really good set-up and it should be very good to help me develop.'

The Italian team are one of the biggest in women's cycling - current world champion Zinaida Stahurskaia rode with them last season, and they are expected to participate in the women's Tour of Italy and Tour de France this year. While Owen begins as a road novice, the squad have said that they will give her ample time to settle in and find her feet.

The 23 year old is aiming for a top ten placing in the next Olympic games.

Meanwhile, fellow Olympian and partner Robin Seymour looks to be heading further afield with a season based around the American NORBA and AMBC series of events. The 29 year old as yet is without a team, but is confident that good results will secure a backer. He will begin his campaign with a ride in the Sea Otter Classic from March 23rd-25th and is likely to be based in the New York area for the year.

HIGH FOREIGN ENTRY IN THIS YEAR’S FBD MILK RAS: (Feb 7) FBD Milk Rás organiser Dermot Dignam today reported a high degree of interest from foreign teams in this year’s race, which carries world ranking points for the first time after being elevated to a 2.5-graded international event last Autumn.

According to Dignam a large number of squads, including several small professional trade teams have applied to line out in the 8 day round-Ireland race, which runs from May 20-27th.

‘There has been a much greater number of foreign teams trying to come over for the race’, he said. ‘The world ranking points have made a huge difference, even though this is only the first year that they have been introduced. I would expect that the next few years will see an even bigger degree of interest, but as it is, it is already going to be case of limiting the field so that we don't exceed the maximum permitted of 200 riders.’

Fortunately, Dignam has repeated earlier assurances that there will be no sudden jump in the level of foreign teams, which could suffocate the chances of Irish competitors. ‘I think that it is important to gradually raise the quality of the field to bring on the home riders. There will be no huge changes this year, but over the next few editions of the race I would expect that the standard will rise.’

Because of the high subscription rate, Dignam has been forced to impose an earlier-than-usual closing date of March 18th for county teams. The route, which he has described as ‘difficult’, will be announced next week with the identities of foreign teams to be revealed from March onwards.

POWER SECURES PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT: (Feb 6) As the continental racing season gets under way, Irish cyclist Ciaran Power has been handed the lifeline of a professional contract with the St. Quentin-Oktos team for 2001.

Power’s career had been plunged into uncertainty thirteen days ago with the unexpected collapse of the Linda McCartney team, but the 24 year old has been able to secure a last-minute slot with the small, second division French squad and thus quash fears that he may be forced to retire.

Power will begin racing with the team on February 24th in the 1.2 ranked Tour de Haut Var, with the 1.3 Haribo Classic one day later. Today’s news marks a curious turn of the wheel; the Waterford cyclist raced with the St. Quentin team when it was an amateur set-up in 1998, but was dropped by them when they graduated to the professional ranks. Now, two years later, the fast improving rider returns as the highest-ranked in the squad.

‘I am over the moon having got a contract. It was a stressful couple of weeks (since the McCartney team folded) but now it is great to get something and still be in the game’, said a delighted Power. ‘My plan for the year is to work really hard and try to get some good results, which in turn will give me a few options for 2002.’

‘The team have said that they will be riding the Paris Roubaix and Paris Tours classics, along with the Coupe de France series of races and events in Spain and Italy. There will be world ranking points going for all these, so that should be a good incentive’.

After an encouraging series of results last year, including 5th and 6th places on stages of the Tour of Italy, the second year professional has shown he should be stronger again in 2001. He recorded three top ten placings plus a good 23rd overall in the season-opening Tour Down Under last month, and despite the demoralizing McCartney fiasco has continued training well in the South of France.

Today’s news means that this mode of preparation will continue, with Power now set to retain his apartment in Toulouse. ‘The team are based in St. Quentin, north of Paris, but it should be possible for me to stay down here and train in the warm weather. They will be racing all over France so there might be a bit of traveling, but that’s fine.’

‘I have a contract now and that is all that matters’, concludes Power, who is upbeat despite ending up with a smaller salary than had been promised by his previous team.

His agent Frank Quinn has welcomed the involvement of any sponsors who wish to support the Sydney Olympian.

IRELAND LODGES BID FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS:  (Feb 4) Prospects of Ireland staging the 2004 world cycling championships have moved a step closer with the lodging of the bid document with the International Cycling Union (UCI) this weekend.

Under the proposal submitted by former Nissan Classic race director Pat McQuaid and business partner Alan Rushton, Killarney would host the series in October of 2004, bringing an influx of the world’s best cyclists and thousands of spectators to the Kerry region.

Ireland faces stiff international competition to its bid, but Pat McQuaid’s reappointment to the UCI Executive council this weekend has boosted his chances of securing vital votes before the result is announced at this year’s championships in Portugal in October.

‘We have worked on the bid since the Tour de France was here, and if we succeed it would be a huge boost to both cycling and the south west’, said McQuaid. ‘Over the next few months we will be working with the government to try to secure their support for the project.’

McQuaid and Rushton’s last Irish venture saw the Tour de France come to Ireland in 1998. However, although the race was marred by a series of drug scandals, McQuaid is convinced that things have improved since. ‘Cycling has done more lately than any other sport to clean up its act, and I am convinced that over the next year or two it will become one of the cleanest out there.’

The UCI recently pledged to introduce combined blood and urine screening this year to guarantee that the banned stamina-booster EPO is no longer in use within the peloton.

HOPE FADING FOR POWER AND SCANLON: (Feb 3) Just over one week after the unexpected collapse of the Linda McCartney team, two of Irish cycling’s most promising young riders remain in limbo. 24 year old Ciaran Power and 20 year old former world junior champion Mark Scanlon had traveled to London last week for Friday’s scheduled team launch; now, the two are back at their respective bases in Toulouse and Sligo contemplating the bleak probability that they will have to return to the amateur ranks this season.

For Power, the prospect is an especially heartbreaking one. A fifth and a sixth place finish on stages of last year’s Giro marked an encouraging debut for the tactically astute, fast finishing rider from Waterford, but if anything his three top ten placings and 23rd place overall in the season-opening Tour Down Under suggested that better things lay in store in 2001. At the time, Power was frank that his best form was still months away; if he doesn’t secure a contract soon, he may never make the most of all the winter's hard work.

1998 junior world champion Mark Scanlon is similarly disappointed, but he has the small consolation that his 20 years give him greater room for manoeuvre. Two stage wins and the points jersey in the Tour of Hokkaido last year showed that he had reclaimed his speed after an injury-affected 1999, yet now the rider regarded as the most promising since Roche and Kelly is also left picking up the pieces of the McCartney debacle.

Time drags on. Their agent Frank Quinn continues to woo professional teams on their behalf, but each passing day casts a further shadow on their hopes. ‘We are still trying to get Ciaran and Mark a slot with a team, but time is certainly running out’, the Dubliner admits. ‘We just have to keep plugging away – the next few days will be crucial’.

POWER AND SCANLON DESPERATELY SEEKING SOLUTION: (Feb 2) One week after the Linda McCartney team imploded into a mess of broken promises and shattered dreams, Ciaran Power and Mark Scanlon remain in limbo with regard to their plans for this season. While agent Frank Quinn is still chasing replacement contracts for the two Irish cyclists, time is running out in the search for professional teams able and willing to accommodate the riders.

Both are promising talents, as evidenced by Power’s Tour of Italy placings and Scanlon’s 1998 world title, but with the continental season fast approaching the brutal truth is that most teams have finalised their 2001 line-up. It is, according to Quinn, simply a matter of waiting and hoping. 

‘All the faxes have gone out, I have talked to a few team managers but there has been nothing yet. We just have to hope that slots become available – otherwise, the guys will have to race as amateurs for this year.’ Should this come to pass, Power is under the greater pressure. 24 years of age and due to get married next autumn; realistically speaking, a contract must be secured either this year or next. Scanlon, on the other hand, has time and history on his side. Combine his 20 years with his world junior title and it is clear that his long-term prospects are rosier; the tragedy, though, would be if either were to fail to fulfil their potential due to the McCartney debacle.

In contrast to the unlucky duo, the prospects of Ireland’s top amateurs have received a boost with last week’s confirmation of an increase in Sports Council funding. The jump from £143, 243 to £206,700 guarantees that the ICF can pursue its three biggest projects for this season; namely the Team Ireland initiative in France, plus the late spring appointment of a Chief Executive and a Development Officer who should facilitate the federation’s development.

Under the Team Ireland scheme, the sextet of Brian Kenneally, Tommy Evans, David O’Loughlin, Morgan Fox, Michael McNena and Stephen O’Sullivan leave for Marseilles on February 15th. They will start racing with their French teams shortly afterwards.