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LATEST NEWS: ULLRICH VISITED FUENTES 24 TIMES
Road Bike Action & AFP
October 17, 2009
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(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Ullrich Visited Fuentes 24 Times
Germany's retired former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich consulted Eufemiano Fuentes, the Spanish doctor at the center of the Puerto drugs affair, 24 times between 2003 and 2006, Der Spiegel said in a report to appear on Monday. Der Spiegel's report was based on a 2,219-page investigation into Ullrich by German police which concluded that the rider "used Dr Fuentes doping system to improve his performances." Ullrich visited Madrid on 24 occasions for consultations with Fuentes, it said.
German police uncovered a wealth of information on the hard disk of the home computer of Belgian Rudy Pevenage, former sporting director of the Telekom and then T-Mobile cycling teams. The police established that Pevenage had himself visited Madrid 15 times between December 2003 and April 2006, very often just before training camps and staying only a few hours.
According to the report, Ullrich paid Fuentes 80,000 euros and stepped up his visits (eight between February 2005-May 2006) ahead of the 2006 Tour de France. The German was however unable to take part in that edition of the Tour because his T-Mobile team were suspended on the eve of the race after links were established between it and Fuentes.
Pevenage acknowledged that Ullrich had consulted Fuentes "around four to six times a year between 2004 and 2006" but not, as far as he was aware, for blood transfusions. "It was to receive treatment for carrying too much weight, to drop from 84 to 76 kilograms in four weeks," explained Pevenage.
Ullrich won the 1997 Tour de France and was a multiple runner-up behind American seven-time winner Lance Armstrong before retiring from cycling after being sacked by his T-Mobile team in 2006. According to Der Spiegel, the Rostock-born Ullrich earned 8.5 million euros between 2003-6.
The 35-year-old now lives in Switzerland with his wife and two children and takes part in charity cycling races and car racing, his new passion.
 Vandenbroucke died of a double pulmonary embolism (Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke died of a double pulmonary embolism combined with an existing heart problem, newspapers here reported his autopsy in Senegal as saying. Vandenbroucke, 34, was found dead earlier this week in his hotel room in the Senegalese resort of Saly where he had been on holiday with cyclist friend Fabio Polazzi.
According to the Het Laatste Nieuws and Het Nieuwsblad papers, investigators concluded that Vandenbroucke died a natural death and his body had now been released for a return to Belgium. The rider suffered a "double pulmonary embolism as well as having an existing heart problem", Salobe Ngingie, the public prosecutor for the Thies region overseeing the probe, told Het Nieuwsblad. "The autopsy showed that deceased had several injection marks on his left arm," Ngingie said, adding that a syringe, alcohol and medicines were found in Vandenbroucke's hotel room.
Vandenbroucke made his professional debut in 1994 and recorded 51 victories, including the 1999 Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic, his career highlight. In 2002, Vandenbroucke was twice stopped by police under the influence of alcohol at the wheel of a car. Later that year, a police search at his home uncovered a large quantity of doping substances. Vandenbroucke had suffered from depression and two years ago tried to commit suicide after his wife said she was divorcing him.
In 2003, when he rode for the Quick Step team, Vandenbroucke appeared to be on the way back after a second-place finish in the prestigious Tour of Flanders classic, but he sank into depression the following year.
 Wiggins suffers during stage 15 of the 2009 Tour de France (Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Wiggins Wins Herald Sun Tour
Bradley Wiggins of the Garmin-Slipstream team took overall victory in the Herald Sun Tour (2.1) on Saturday. The sixth and final stage of the race, a 61.5 kilometer criterium in Melbourne, was won by Australian Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V-Australia). Cantwell took the win in a sprint from his countrymen Michael Matthews and David Tanner. In the final overall standings Wiggins was 11-seconds ahead of Australian Chris Sutton and 20-seconds ahead of Cantwell.
De Jongh Joins Sky
Steven De Jongh will join Team Sky in 2010 as Sports Director. The 35-year-old retired from professional racing after the Giro del Piemonte on Thursday of this week. "I feel perfectly at ease about retiring now as a rider, because I'm really excited about joining Team Sky," said De Jongh. "It's a fantastic project and I think that they have given me the chance of a lifetime to become part of it."
The Sky Team is off to a strong start, signing several top riders and securing a ProTour license. Riders already committed to the team include Edvald Boasson Hagen, Thomas Lovkvist, Simon Gerrans, Kurt Arvesen, Juan Antonio Flecha, John Lee Augustyn, Kjell Carlstrom, Greg Henderson, Lars Petter Nordhaug and Morris Possoni. These riders will be backed up by six of the best British riders on the international circuit; Geraint Thomas, Steve Cummings, Pete Kennaugh, Ian Stannard, Chris Froome, and Russell Downing.
 Tom Zirbel of the Bissell team won the 2009 NRC title (Photo: Mitchell Clinton)
2010 NRC Schedule Released
The 2010 NRC will include 27 events covering 22 states and feature 15 criteriums, eight stage races, two one-day races, one circuit race and one omnium. The 2010 NRC will include three new events, the Basking Ridge Twilight Grand Prix in New Jersey, the Richmond Twilight Grand Prix in Virginia, and the Meijer Grand Cycling Classic in Michigan.
2010 NRC Schedule:
March 25-28: Redlands Bicycle Classic - Redlands, CA www.redlandsclassic.com
April 11: Dana Point Grand Prix - Dana Point, CA www.danapointgrandprix.com
April 17: Sunny King Criterium - Anniston, AL www.sunnykingcriterium.com
April 28-May 5: SRAM Tour of the Gila - Silver City, NM www.tourofthegila.com
May 6-10: Joe Martin Stage Race - Fayetteville, AR www.joemartinstagerace.com
May 22: Wilmington Grand Prix - Wilmington, DE www.wilmgrandprix.com
May 23: Kelly Cup - Baltimore, MD www.bikejam.org
May 26: Basking Ridge Twilight Grand Prix - Basking Ridge, NJ www.libertycycleinc.com
May 31: Tour of Somerville - Somerville, NJ www.tourofsomerville.org
June 3: Richmond Twilight Grand Prix - Richmond, VA www.288sportsgroup.com
June 4-6: Tulsa Tough - Tulsa, OK www.tulsatough.com
June 6: Liberty Classic - Philadelphia, PA www.procyclingtour.com
June 12: Clarendon Cup - Arlington, VA www.arlingtonsports.org
June 13: Tour de Winghaven - St. Louis, MO www.tourdewinghaven.com
June 16-20: Nature Valley Grand Prix - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN www.naturevalleygrandprix.com
June 27: Manhattan Beach Grand Prix - Manhattan Beach, CA www.mbgp.com
July 2-5: Fitchburg Longsjo Classic - Fitchburg, MA www.longsjo.com?
July 3: Two Bridges Criterium (Marion Classic) - Marion, IN www.marionclassic.com
July 10: Meijer Grand Cycling Classic - Grand Rapids, MI www.grcyclingclassic.com
July 17: Boise Twilight Criterium - Boise, ID www.boisetwilightcriterium.com
July 20-25: Cascade Classic - Bend, OR www.breakawaypromotions.com
July 25: Chicago Criterium - Chicago, IL www.chicagocriterium.us
July 30-Aug. 1: Tour of Elk Grove - Elk Grove, IL www.tourofelkgrove.com
Aug. 7: Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium - Charlotte, NC www.charlottecriterium.org
Aug. 18-22: Tour of Utah - Salt Lake City, UT www.breakawaypromotions.com
Aug. 28-29: 1.2 Chris Thater Memorial - Binghamton, NY www.bcstopdwi.com
Sept. 6: US 10K - Atlanta, GA www.us10k.org |
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