August 28/03 9:28 am - Mississauga Midweek, Mountain Bike Worlds, Sponsorship Opportunity

Posted by Editor on 08/28/03
 

La Bicicletta Handicap Criterium - Hershey Centre, Mississauga
Courtesy Peter McCaffery

August 27, 2003
Strong SE wind, 22 deg. C.
50 km Av. Sp. (scratch group) 41.5 kph

Darko Ficko (La Bicicletta) Cat. 1 1:12:20
Jeff Hansen (Ital Pasta/Atlas Cold Storage) Cat. 1 at 0:02
Thorben Wieditz (Thornhill SAAB/BICI) Cat. 1 0:38
Heath Cockburn (La Bicicletta) Cat. 1 s.t.
Dave Fry (Midweek Elite) Cat. 1 s.t.
Dan Lefebvre (Gears Racing) Cat. 1 s.t.
Al Worozbyt (St. Catharines C.C.) Cat. 2 s.t.
Joe Giuliano (Ital Pasta/Atlas Cold Storage) Cat. 1 s.t.
Roy Zuccetto (Pavan) Cat. 1 s.t.
??? (St Catharines C.C.) ? s.t.

Series has been won by Heath Cockburn, with Peter Morse in second place. Thanks to Andrew Wilson & Duncan Jackson for course set-up, to Ann Wilson for Registration. Next week we start at 6.30pm.


UCI Marathon Worlds
Courtesy organizers

Paola Pezzo and Gunn-Rita Dahle will not participate at the World Marathon of Lugano.

The Italian rider, twice Olympic champion, communicated during the press conference held today in Rivera: "I really regret it because the appointment of Lugano is really appetizing. But I always affirmed that I would have taken part at the marathon only if I felt myself really very competitive. The recognition made on the route on July made me discover a very nice and challenging race, just what my wishes were. It was necessary to get a five hours autonomy and I couldn't train properly in order to achieve this target. Actually I am able to hold out for three hours, and then I am out of energy. To run without having the possibility to fight for the success is not part of my mentality. That's why, half-heartedly and with a lot of regret, I have decided to renounce".

Gunn-Rita Dahle, on the other hand, is not in her best physical conditions: "I am not able to make up for the energies into a short time, and I have the fear that challenging myself in the hard marathon route could jeopardize the Cross Country competition scheduled seven days later. This is an eventuality that I can't allow myself, therefore I prefer to renounce to the marathon".

Paola Pezzo will be back in Lugano Friday 29th August and she will be at the disposal of the Italian Swiss Network as technical commentator.

Editor's Note: I was also surprised to receive from the organization, confirmation of my entry in the Marathon! It appears that in addition to being registered for press credentials, I was registered for the Marathon. Unfortunately, as with Pezzo and Dahle, I have had to "renounce" my participation...


Worlds Coverage

We begin our Worlds coverage in Bromont this Saturday with the Masters Mountain Bike Worlds. On Tuesday we will be on site in Lugano, Switzerland for the Mountain Bike Worlds, culminating with the elite cross-country races on Sunday, September 7th. The following Friday-Sunday we will finish off the World Cup series in Kaprun, Austria. Of course, at all events we will be providing live, lap-by-lap coverage, interviews and photos; lots and lots of photos.

We still have one sponsorship opportunity available for our Worlds coverage. If you want to reach the largest possible audience of cycling enthusiasts, contact us at rjones@canadiancyclist.com.