March 24/04 9:24 am - Redlands Report, Setmana, Canadian Budget, Canadians in Florida

Posted by Editor on 03/24/04
 

Redlands Bicycle Classic

Translation by Greg Descantes


Montreal (Sportcom) - Rona's Genevieve Jeanson has picked up where she left off at the Redlands Bicycle Classic in California on Tuesday by winning the 5.15 km prologue for the fourth year in a row.

The defending women's champion crossed the finish line inn 9 minutes and 58 seconds to take the yellow jersey in the 20th edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic. American Kristin Armstrong (T-Mobile) took second, 22 seconds behind Jeanson, with Canadian Sue Palmer-Komar (Genesis Scuba) taking the final podium spot with a time of 10 minutes and 23 seconds. Quark's Lyne Bessette finished sixth, 36 seconds behind the leader.

" I gave it everything I had and it worked out well as the times are quite close, " said Bessette. " I'm happy with my time as I couldn't go any harder. The upcoming stages are going to be pretty tough and the standings are definitely going to change. It's a great course for me. There's several climbs and I've got a good team behind me. We're looking forward to the race. "

In the men's race, Webcor's Chris Horner took the victory. The American, who finished with a time of 8 minutes and 25 seconds, beat out US Postal Service's Dave Zabriskie and Jurgen Van Den Broeck for the top spot.

Canada's Eric Wohlberg (Sierra Nevada) came in fourth while Charles Dionne (Webcor) took 65th, 1 minute 18 behind Horner.

" I went pretty hard at the start, maybe a little too hard, and I cracked near the end, " said Dionne. " My teammate Chris (Horner) took the yellow, like I figured he would, and we'll be ready to defend it tomorrow. "

On Wednesday, the men will ride a 138.3 km stage, with the women's stage measuring 85.5 km.


Montréal, 23 mars 2004 (Sportcom) - La cycliste Geneviève Jeanson a repris là où elle avait laissé à la Classique Redlands en Californie. Championne en titre de la compétition, la porte-couleur de l'équipe RONA a remporté, mardi, le prologue, un contre-la-montre de 5,15 kilomètres. Il s'agissait de la quatrième victoire de suite pour Jeanson lors de ce contre-la-montre. En fait, elle est la seule cycliste à avoir mérité la victoire sur ce tracé mis en place en 2001.

Jeanson a franchi la ligne d'arrivée en 9 minutes 58 secondes, pour s'emparer du maillot jaune de la 20e édition de la classique. L'Américaine Kristin Armstrong (T-Mobile) a pris le deuxième rang, terminant à 22 secondes de la gagnante, tandis que la Canadienne Sue Palmer-Komar (Genesis Scuba) a complété le podium, grâce à un chrono de 10 minutes 23 secondes.

De son côté, Lyne Bessette, de l'équipe Quark, a fini au sixième rang, à 36 secondes de sa compatriote.

" J'ai donné le maximum et je suis en excellente position, car les temps sont très rapprochés, a indiqué Bessette. Je suis vraiment satisfaite de mon chrono, je ne pouvais pas pousser plus. Les prochaines étapes seront pas mal difficiles et cela (le classement) va changer, c'est sûr!. C'est un bon tour pour moi: il y a plusieurs montées et j'ai une bonne équipe derrière moi. On a bien hâte de voir la suite ", a conclu la cycliste de Knowlton.

Chez les hommes, la victoire est allée à Chris Horner, de la formation Webcor. L'Américain, qui a réussi un temps de 8 minutes 25 secondes, a respectivement devancé Dave Zabriskie et Jurgen Van Den Broeck, deux coureurs de US Postal Service.

Le Canadien Eric Wohlberg (Sierra Nevada) a mérité le quatrième rang, alors que Charles Dionne (Webcor), de St-Rédempteur, a pris la 65e position, finissant à 1 min 18 s du meneur.

" Cela a été correct aujourd'hui, sans plus ", a tout d'abord indiqué Dionne. " Je suis parti à un rythme assez élevé, un peu trop élevé même, et j'ai cassé vers la fin. Mon coéquipier Chris (Horner) a pris le maillot jaune, comme je pensais qu'il allait le faire, et dès demain nous allons tenter de défendre son maillot ", a ajouté le Québécois.

Mercredi, les hommes prendront le départ d'une course en ligne de 138,2 km, alors que les femmes s'attaqueront à un parcours de 85,5 km.


Setmana Catalana - Italy

Stage 2 - Lloret de Mar to Empuriabrava 161 km

1 Beat Zberg (Sui) Gerolsteiner 4:21:31
2 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Fassa Bortolo
3 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Esp) Saunier Duval-Prodir
4 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Kelme-Costa Blanca
5 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie
6 Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Fassa Bortolo
7 Josep Jufre (Esp) Relax-Bodysol
8 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears-Banesto
9 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Team CSC
10 Iban Mayo (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi

12 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank
20 Alex Zuelle (Sui) Phonak Hearing Systems all s.t.
35 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team at 1:09
42 Cadel Evans (Aus) T-Mobile Team 1:18
58 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 6:42
96 Roberto Heras (Esp) Liberty Seguros 17:55
104 Tom Danielson (USA) Fassa Bortolo s.t.

GC

1 Beat Zberg (Sui) Gerolsteiner 8:48:37
2 Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Fassa Bortolo
3 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Esp) Saunier Duval-Prodir
4 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Kelme-Costa Blanca
5 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Fassa Bortolo
6 Josep Jufre (Esp) Relax-Bodysol
7 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie
8 Koldo Gil (Esp) Liberty Seguros
9 Aitor Osa (Esp) Illes Balears-Banesto
10 Alberto Contador (Esp) Liberty Seguros

22 Alex Zuelle (Sui) Phonak Hearing Systems all s.t.
25 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank at 0:37
27 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1:09
36 Cadel Evans (Aus) T-Mobile Team 1:18
65 Roberto Heras (Esp) Liberty Seguros 18:32
73 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 23:17
96 Tom Danielson (USA) Fassa Bortolo 29:40

Team GC

1 Fassa Bortolo 26:25:51
2 Euskaltel - Euskadi
3 Saunier Duval - Prodir
4 Team CSC all s.t.
5 Rabobank at 1:09


Canadian Olympic Committee Disappointed with 2004 Federal Budget

From the Canadian Olympic Committee

TORONTO, March 23, 2004 - The Canadian Olympic Committee expressed disappointment today that the Martin government chose not to invest additional funding to support Canadian athletes in its 2004 Budget.

"With Canada hosting the Olympic Winter Games in 2010, the time is now to invest in Canadian athletes," said COC President Michael Chambers. "The current low level of government investment in sport will not achieve the Olympic results Canadians desire and our athletes deserve."

The COC has been advocating for increased government investment in sport to move Canada closer to the spending levels of our major international competitors. Most recently, representatives of the sport community, including the COC, Sport Matters, Athletes Can, National Sport Federations and Olympic athletes met with Members of Parliament, Senators and senior government officials in February to present their vision for amateur sport in Canada and advocate for increased government funding for sport and physical activity.

"Sport has always played an important role in the lives of Canadians," said Chambers. "It is an essential component of our culture not only in terms of the national pride that is fostered when Canadian athletes win Olympic gold but also in terms of the benefit to our health and well being from participating in sport and physical activity. There's also a significant return on investment in sport in terms of reduced health care costs."

The COC and other sport leaders have pledged to continue to advocate on behalf of the sport community for increased federal funding for sport and athletes.

The COC is a private, not-for-profit corporation and the largest private funder of high performance sport in Canada. It is responsible for all aspects of Canada's involvement in the Olympic movement, including Canada's participation in the Olympic and Pan American Games. In addition, the COC manages a wide variety of programs that promote the Olympic movement in Canada through cultural and educational means. For more information, visit the COC website at www.olympic.ca.


Canadians Win in Florida
Courtesy Terrance Grant

At the AMBC race in Gainesville, Florida last weekend, Canadians Matt Hadley and Jamie Lamb finished first and sixth respectively in the Pro-Semi Pro class.