April 23/03 7:59 am - Georgia Stage 1 (Preliminary), Beauce, WADA, FlyGurlz

Posted by Editor on 04/23/03
 

Tour de Georgia - USA
Report courtesy Saturn

The first road stage of the Dodge Tour of Georgia brought the riders 136 miles through the hills of the beautiful Georgia countryside. The finish was held on a 1.8 mile circuit, with a sprint for mountain points each lap before the final sprint for the victory, and with it, as it turned out, the honor of donning the Yellow Leader's Jersey. The finish was a nail biter, and only with the assistance of the photo images were officials able to pick the winner, Navigator's Henk Vogels. Vogels' win also moved him into Yellow by one-second over Saturn's Nathan O'Neill.

The time bonuses early in the race were the focus for the 7-UP and Saturn Teams with only seconds separating race leader Nathan O'Neill, Chris Horner and 7-UP's Greg Henderson. The first time bonus was won by Horner, moving him behind O'Neill by only one-second, but Henderson also collected some time, and was certainly considered a factor in the final sprint by O'Neill's Saturn Team.

None of the teams were concerned when Sierra Nevada's Nieko Biskner escaped after the time bonuses. He spent the majority of the race solo, opening up a maximum lead of nearly five minutes in an impressive effort. However, by the 100 mile marker, the young rider's efforts finally wavered, and the field arrived whole into the finishing circuits.

Upon entering the circuit Prime Alliance's Matt DeCanio had a go and opened a 15 second gap, however, after his stage win in Sea Otter, he was clearly not a rider who the other teams were willing to give too much time to, and was quickly brought back to the fold. From there, the Mountain Sprints kept the field busy, with Saturn's Horner winning all three and claiming the King of the Mountain Jersey at the end of the day.

Coming into the downhill finish, the teams with their sprinters left waged a fast lead-out, with Vogels and Miguel Meza (Schroeder Iron) battling it out to the final millimeter. In the end, after studying the finishing tape, the officials decreed Vogels the winner over Meza, with Uros Mun finishing in third. Vogels' win moved him into Yellow, one second ahead of Saturn's O'Neill and three seconds ahead of Horner. His win also garnered him the lead in the Point's Jersey competition. However, with more long road races facing the peloton, and only mere seconds separating the top GC spots, the racing is far from over, and the battle for the Yellow Jersey promises to be a hard fought one indeed.

Stage 1 - Augusta to Macon 223 km

1 Henk Vogels (Aus) Navigators
2 Miguel Meza (Mex) Schroeder Iron
3 Uros Murn (Slo) Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave'

GC

1 Henk Vogels (Aus) Navigators
2 Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Saturn at 0:01
3 Chris Horner (USA) Saturn 0:03


Saturn To Miss GP de Beauce

Saint-Georges, April 22nd 2003 - The Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce's president, Mister Yvan Waddell, regrets to annonce that the American team Saturn has officially decided they won't participate to the 18th edition of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce (June 17 to 22, 2003).

Following a phone call Monday afternoon (April 21st), Saturn's team manager Mr Tom Schuler confirmed to Mr Waddell that they will not be able to make it. Mr Schuler indicated that the team would be in need of some recovery time following the USPRO championships and also that they will participate in another race in Minnesota.

Despite their decision, Mr Schuler said that Canadians Charles Dionne and Eric Wohlberg will race the event as part of a Canadian national team. This year is very important for the Canadians riders to accumulate points to assure a good representation for the Canada to the World Championships in Hamilton and also for the 2004 Olympics Games.


WADA Invites Research Applications
Courtesy CCES

Montreal, April 22, 2003 - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced that it is now accepting applications for research projects in the field of anti-doping for 2003. All researchers interested in applying for a grant from WADA can find the application form and accompanying information on WADA 's website at www.wada-ama.org.

WADA has defined five topics as relevant areas of research in anti-doping and encourages research projects focusing on the following priorities: compounds and/or methods enhancing oxygen delivery; exogenous and endogenous anabolic steroids; compounds and/or methods enhancing growth; gene and cellular technologies applied to doping; and miscellaneous projects relating to the List of Prohibited Substances.

More than US $5 million was committed by WADA's Foundation Board last year to be spent on research in 2003. Those funds represent approximately one quarter of WADA's overall budget. That expenditure is dependent on governments and the International Olympic Committee fulfilling their financial commitments to WADA this year, said Richard W. Pound, the Agency's president.

"There is no question of the importance of research to WADA's core mission," Pound said. "We have to pursue worthwhile research projects and further our understanding of how doping affects athletes and how we can better detect compounds. All this is contingent on us having the necessary funds, which means our stakeholders have to do their part and quickly pay their share of WADA's budget for 2003."

All research projects submitted for consideration will be peer-reviewed by external panels and WADA's Health, Medical and Research Committee will make a final proposal to the Agency's Executive Committee as to which applications should be funded. A final decision on all applications will be announced by December 2003.


FlyGurlz 2003
Courtesy Heather Pardon

Now into its second year, the FlyGurlz FreeRide Mountain Bike Club offers women the opportunity to meet for weekly and bi-weekly rides in the Toronto and Ottawa areas. The club is fully affiliated with the Ontario Cycling Association and offers female mountain bikers a fun, friendly and supportive environment in which to hit the trails. The mandate of the club is to support and encourage women of all ages and abilities in the sport of mountain biking. Rides are led by volunteer FlyGurlz Race Team members who are OMBI and CPR/First Aid certified. For information about the team, visit www.flygurlz.com

Women interested in the club can contact:

FlyGurlz Toronto, Tracy Ryder - tracy.ryder@jus.gov.on.ca

FlyGurlz Ottawa, Heather Pardon - heather@foodscents.ca

***Ottawa FreeRide Club Season KickOff Event Sunday, April 27, 1 pm at TJ Fit Studio, 338 Somerset Street West, Ottawa, 2nd Floor - ***

Come out and find out more about the club and meet other groovy female mountain bikers! Please email to rsvp or if you'd like more info.

Women's Learn to Mountain Bike Clinics - Dagmar Resort, Ontario 2003

Fly Gurlz are hosting two women's cross country mountain bike clinics at Dagmar Resort on May 17 & June 14, 2003. The courses are geared towards women all ages and ability levels who wish to improve their cross country mountain biking skills. The number one benefit of our courses is the instructor to rider ratio of 1 : 6 - the entire team comes out to coach at these events! Most of the team members are NCCP National coaches or Ontario Mountain Bike Instructors and this is one of the highlights of our year together as a team! We race from the beginner level all the way to elite - there will always be a Fly Gurl on hand who understands the many challenges women face when learning this exciting sport! Many of sponsors have donated loot galore and Modrobes have made sure that each attendant leaves with a custom Fly Gurlz/Modrobes t-shirt (ladies-fit of course!). Fly Gurlz is affiliated with both the Ontario Cycling Association and the Canadian Cycling Association. Money raised at our clinics fund the team making it win-win for everyone involved!

Women interested in the clinics can contact:

Michelle Ward - bananaseatproductions@hotmail.com