by Graham Watson
Posted on 07/28/2004 8:33:49 AM PDT by nutmeg
Tuesday's EuroFile: Armstrong, Simeoni flap enters new phase; Ullrich not happy with boss
By Agence France Presse
This report filed July 27, 2004
Filippo Simeoni was questioned by investigators from the Italian drug squad on Tuesday over an incident between him and six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong during the race last Friday.
by Graham Watson
The investigators grilled Simeoni for three hours about what happened when Armstrong chased down an early attack by the Italian on the 18th stage of the Tour last week.
In an unusual move for a race leader confronted with a rider who is no threat to his overall lead, Armstrong had chased after the Domina Vacanze team rider who had made a breakaway and the pair exchanged words before Simeoni later dropped back into the peloton, leaving his fellow escapees to carry on in the lead.
Simeoni, 32, is a key witness in the trial of controversial Italian sports doctor Michele Ferrari, with whom Armstrong has admitted working in the past. Earlier in the race Simeoni had confirmed his intention to take Armstrong to court for defamation.
by AFP
Aggressive, maybe, but is it intimidation?
Simeoni wants to sue the U.S. Postal leader over comments made in the French newspaper Le Monde in July 2003 in which Armstrong said Simeoni had "lied" when he gave evidence to investigators saying it was Ferrari who had showed him how to use the banned blood booster EPO effectively.
Ferrari has been quoted as saying that EPO was no more harmful for one than a glass of orange juice.
Italian authorities are now considering whether to open legal proceedings against Armstrong "for sporting fraud, violence and intimidation of a witness."
Armstrong wins in Netherlands
Lance Armstrong fresh from winning a record sixth successive Tour de France won the Stiphout Criterium in Holland on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old American came home ahead of Australia's Robbie McEwen, who won a second green jersey title in the Tour de France which finished on Sunday, while Marc Lotz of the Netherlands was third.
Ullrich not happy with Godefroot
T-Mobile's Jan Ullrich said he has to speak with his team manager about comments questioning his commitment.
T-Mobile manager Walter Godefroot had criticized Ullrich, saying the 1997 Tour de France winner "cycled to live", while six-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong "lives for cycling" after the German failed to gain a top-two finish at the Tour for the first time in his career.
"I cannot let that go," Ullrich said late on Monday on a television talk show. "You should ask the people who I work with and not someone like Walter Godefroot who I speak to on the telephone twice a year -- if at all."
Ullrich said he was extremely angry about Godefroot's comments but would try to talk to him at the HEW Cyclassics event in Hamburg next week.
"I will clear up what he said. If he says it to my face I will take the appropriate steps," Ullrich said, without specifying what those might be.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my Tour de France 2004 list. *Warning: This may be a high-volume ping list at times during July 2004.
sourgrapes over Lance winning?
They're questioning the commitment of the second-best rider in the world? Are these people absolutely nuts?
...I'm talking about Ulrich there, if that wasn't clear...
Sore loser ping.
kloden is second, basso third.
The ride to live comment has a ring of truth since ulrich engages in the euro drinking to get too overweight vice.
He wins 6 tours de france in a row, then goes and wins a criterium! Amazing!
Maybe he plans to quiet his euro detractors who complain that the tdf is the only race he rides to win. It would put to rest the argument that Merckx won other classic euro-races in addition to the tour. With the largest lung relative lung capacity ever measured, and a 30% larger, also relative, heart, I think Lance has as many winning races in him as he wants!
www.wearyellow.com the yellow bands became backorderded on Sunday the 25th!
Go Lance!
What's a "Criterium"? Got a website I can go to for a good description?
I thought this guy McEwen was supposed to be the better sprinter, but Armstrong beat him in the criterium?
You know, there were a few riders that indicated they would be happy if Lance skipped the Tour next year, so they would have a chance to win. I don't understand that mentality, because if I was able to win because the best rider was not there, I would always think my win was not quite legitimate, due to not having competed against the best.
I honestly think it would be a travesty if Lance did not compete next year, because no matter who won, there would always be a question mark about their win.
A Criterium is a race over a course with several laps. It might be an eight mile course but a fourty mile race. They do not race as teams.
"You know, there were a few riders that indicated they would be happy if Lance skipped the Tour next year, so they would have a chance to win. I don't understand that mentality, because if I was able to win because the best rider was not there, I would always think my win was not quite legitimate, due to not having competed against the best."
Very good point. I agree that no one at that level would want an asterisk win. Especially if Lance went out and started stomping the other classic races too. With his talent, profound work ethic, and fantastic team support, Lance could likely win a 7th or maybe an 8th tour.
That would be fantastic.
Thanks;
a co-worker just stopped by and also told me a "criterium" is a race for a fixed time, like 45 minutes, not a fixed distance(?)
Criterium - A criterium is a short road race on a circuit – usually city streets – closed to traffic. The distance per lap may vary from 1/2km to 3km (1/3 mile to 2 miles). Races are of varying numbers of laps. The mass start, high-speed cornering and sprinting make criterium exciting for participants and spectators alike. Because criterium pass the same point each lap they are better spectator events than road races.
Not all that amazing, really. These post-Tour criteriums are more in the nature of exhibitions. That is, they aren't UCI "sanctioned" races; that is the results don't count in the UCI's rider ranking system. Top riders, particularly popular performers from the recently-completely Tour, are paid up-front appearance money to take part.
Typically, the final outcome of these races is arranged in advance, as these criteriums are often held in conjunction with town festivals and the like, and the locals have come out to see the top stars shine. In this regard, the result of such races rarely disappoints. Not that there's anything "unethical" about these "fixed" races. Again, these are exhibitions, professional cycling's foray into "sports entertainment," as it were.
I recall reading about the results of one post-Tour criterium from the early-1990s, in which the then-popular Italian climber Claudio Chiappucci "won" in a field sprint in front of some of the top sprinters in the professional peleton. It was rather amusing.
Do you use Google? I didn't know what a criterium was either, but went to Google, entered "bicyle racing criterium" and, voila!
Just a further indication of what I was saying previously: these post-Tour criterium are more-or-less "exhibition" races, with the results often determined in advance.
what is amazing is how our athletes are actually getting stronger, faster, bigger as they age....wow....
I mean, Barry Bonds is unbelievable....
*sigh*
the last crit i did i went down at 40 mph cracked 2 ribs and chipped my elboes.
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