August 14/97 18:57 pm - Again, UCI Sanction

Posted by Editor on 08/14/97
 

Kokanee 24 Hours of Adrenalin  Last weekend, Hardwood Hills Mountain Bike Centre (About 90 minutes north of Toronto) was the site of the Mountain Nationals. This weekend (August 16/17) it is the turn of the hardcore crazies who like to do 24 hour races. That‚s right, for 24 hours straight, both solo riders and relay teams will race around an 18 kilometre circuit, trying to cover more ground than anyone else. The organizers, Trilife Sports International, reports that nearly 1700 riders will hit the trail at noon on Saturday, cheered on by 5000 spectators each day. Teams like Attila and the Huns, Skinny Legs and All, Wicket Chicks Racing, plus many more (over 300) will fight sleep deprivation to take part in this event. If you want to participate in this madness, head north on the 400, past Barrie, and continue north on Highway 11 to the exit for Hardwood Hills (posted). Some of the activities to watch include: a Celebrity Race on Friday evening (with Curt Harnett and Steve Bauer participating), the official Le Mans type mass start on Saturday at noon, live music and other activities on Saturday night, and the finish on Sunday. If you can‚t make it, well, check back here - the organizers have promised regular updates on the race and activities. (also check the official website at www. trilife.com)   Tour de l'Ain, France  Stage 1, Bourg-en-Bresse to Pont-de-Vaux - 198.5 km  1. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Agro Adler 4:51:05 2. Damien Nazon (Fra) FDJ 3. Sandro Giacomelli (Ita) Amore e Vita 4. Gordon Fraser (Canada) Mutuelle 5. Zoran Klemencic (Slo) all s.t.  GC (after bonuses)  1. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Agro Adler 4:50:55 2. Rick Reinerink (Ned) at 0:02 3. Damien Nazon (Fra) FDJ 0:04 4. Sandro Giacomelli (Ita) Amore e Vita 0:06 5. Bernard Rocian (Fra) s.t.   Tour Feminin  Stage 2, Strasbourg to La Bresse - 120 km  Results   1.V.Cappellotto (ITA) 2.A.Cappellotto (ITA) 3.R.Polikiavichute (LIT) all s.t.  GC  1.A.Cappellotto (ITA)   Questor Buys Schwinn  Questor Partners Fund, L.P., announced on August 13 that it will acquire Schwinn Cycling and Fitness under an agreement with Scott Sports Group, Inc. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Scott Sports Group, with Zell-Chilmark Fund as its primary equity holder, purchased Schwinn for $43 million in bankruptcy court in January, 1993.  Questor Partners Fund of Michigan was established in 1995 as a private equity fund to acquire companies. Questor purchased the Ryder truck rental business in September, 1996, for $575 million in cash. Other holdings include Tube Products Corporation and an insurance company the London. The company is rumoured to have invested nearly $100 million U.S. in their takeover of Schwinn.  (This information provided from a newletter by the Coffrin Group)   UCI Sanctions Shaun Palmer  At the banquet following the Grundig World Cup event in Mont Ste Anne, Quebec there was an altercation involving U.S. downhiller Shaun Palmer and some other riders. There have been many rumours and much finger pointing after the fact, but what did happen was that glasses and furniture were thrown. The UCI has been investigating and has issued a statement:  The following statement was issued July 14th by the UCI  Following the recent incident at the Mont Sainte Anne rider's banquet, part of the Grunding/UCI World Cup, and other recent events, the UCI has reviewed a large volume of evidence with the aim of identifying, conclusively, any of the persons involved.  Following this extensive review the UCI is in the position of only being able to penalize one person.  As a result, the UCI has mandated that Shaun Palmer (USA) cover the costs of damage done to the property and items belonging to the owners of the banquet venue, plus the costs of the clean up, as well as write a letter of apology to the promoters of the event, GESTEV. Further, Shaun Palmer will be subject to a probation period of 6 months commencing from the date of this statement, and concluding January 15, 1998, a breach of which will result in automatic suspension.  Unfortunately the UCI has not been able to identify any of the persons responsible for the throwing of glass projectiles at the banquet or the throwing of furniture from the second floor of the banquet venue. Therefore, the UCI has also decided that Shaun Palmer cannot be implicated in these actions either.  Further, the UCI wishes to state that it has cleared Myles Rockwell (USA) of any wrongdoing, and cites press articles, naming Myles Rockwell as perpetrator, as factually incorrect.  Shaun Palmer has at all times expressed regret for his actions to the UCI and his National Federation, and has confirmed his commitment to working with the UCI to ensure that there is no repeat of this involvement in such behaviour in the future.  The UCI wishes to advise that under UCI regulations, Shaun Palmer has the opportunity to appeal against this penalty.  The UCI regrets that this incident has occurred, and hopes that the penalty issued further underlines the UCI's stand on such behaviour, and reinforce that in the interests of the sport of Mountain Biking.   Results of the August 13th The League weekly racing series event:  DISTANCE: 50 km Australian Pursuit AVERAGE SPEED: 44.57 kph (Wohlberg)  WEATHER: sunny, 22 deg C., strong NW wind.  # No. NAME CLUB CAT TIME PTS  1 97 Eric Wohlberg Shaklee S1 1-07-19 12 2 39a Lucas Curran Neworld S1 @ 32" 11 3 19a Tim Hadfield Kissena S1 s.t. 10 4 98 Jeff Hansen Silent Sports S1 s.t. 9 5 41 Heath Cockburn Optiped S1 @ 47" 8 6 26 Dave McIsaac Woodbridge Italia S1 s.t. 7 7 100 Andrew Pinfold Neworld S1 s.t. 6 8 49 Josh Lajeunesse Polonus CAD @ 1í 03" 5 9 15a Mike Segat Woodbridge S1 @ 1í 07" 4 10 47 Keith Thororiensen Hummingbirds S2 @ 1í 32" 3 11 42 Kevin Lehman Jet Fuel S2 s.t. 2  55 starters 48 finishers.