The Frenchman has been at odds with authority since his ONCE squad and other Spanish teams quit the Tour because of
The Frenchman has been at odds with authority since his ONCE squad and other Spanish teams quit the Tour because of police raids. “I don’t feel French any more,” he said, announcing that he would not seek Tour selection.Leblanc also has had to revoke the barring of Jalabert’s manager, Manolo Saiz, who had insulted the Tour, Leblanc claimed, with his criticism of their anti-doping policies and those of the police.Jeroen Blijlevens, the Dutch sprinter, and his TVM team were excluded for insulting behaviour. The Italian Pantani opted out because the course was not tough enough, while injuries have ruled out the German Ullrich and his Danish team-mate, Riis.A failed blood test cost Pantani his second victory in last month’s Giro d’Italia, and the Italian was consequently questioned by anti-drugs police and an Italian Olympic inquiry.The world No 1, Laurent Jalabert, quit in disgust Others, including the Dutch TVM team, were pushed. The bankers Credit Lyonnais will decide at the end of the Tour. “We will keep supporting a race which is attempting to restore its image, but if it can’t, then we will pull out,” said a spokesman, Nicolas Chaine.It was a further blow to the Tour director, Jean-Marie Leblanc, whose attempts to bar those he considered “undesirables” were partially foiled by the UCI, the international cycling union, backing Virenque.Already Leblanc had lost the services of the past three winners, Marco Pantani, Jan Ullrich and Bjarne Riis. Struggling to polish up their image tarnished by the on-going drugs scandal, the organisers have lost their fight to exclude the French favourite, Richard Virenque.
The race had already lost most of its star quality, and a major sponsor, among those weary of the controversy, could be next.
THE TOUR de France looks to be fighting a losing battle as it prepares for Saturday’s start at Europe’s biggest open-air theatre at Le Puy du Fou. He planned to attend Ohio State next season but was declared ineligible by the US National Collegiate Athletic Association because he once accepted $13,000 to play professionally in Yugoslavia.”I gave it to my family,” he said “It was only so my family could survive They spent it on food, mostly on groceries.”. With the Towers competing in both Europe and the Budweiser League this season it is important that we have players of their strength and calibre.”In the United States, the annual NBA draft was due to begin late last night, and Aleksander Radojevic, the 7ft 3in centre from Montenegro, was hoping to be picked in the middle of the first round.He has played the past two seasons at Barton County Community College in Kansas and did not to return home for fear of being drafted into the Yugoslav Army. Schultz played in Germany and Austria before switching to England in 1995.
The Towers managing director, Rick Taylor, said: “Both Martin and Ray made a great impact to the team last year and were an essential part of the championship-winning side. Henlan, who was named English player of the year in 1991, was part of the Towers’ treble-winning squad of the 1995-96 season. At 6ft 10in Henlan is not only the biggest, but one of the most successful players in the Budweiser League, having won League, Cup, Trophy and championship medals with the Kingston/Guildford franchise in the early 90s. MARTIN HENLAN and Ray Schultz have pledged to play on for London Towers in the coming season.
Super League’s managing director, Maurice Lindsay, said that they should all get their answers within two weeks.The Wakefield forward Shaun Richardson will be unavailable for tomorrow’s match against Bradford after being banned for one match for a head-butt in a reserve fixture.Castleford will have Adrian Vowles and Francis Maloney back for their match against Salford this weekend after absences through injury.. He was appointed last May, but Rochdale have won only six of their 18 matches this season and are three places from the bottom of the Northern Ford Premiership.”Deryck is a great lad, but results have gone against us and we felt a change was necessary,” said the club’s chairman, Ray Taylor.The assistant coaches, Ian MacCorquodale and Bob Eccles, have been placed in temporary charge, starting with tomorrow night’s match against Widnes, while applications are invited for the permanent post.Widnes, along with the proposed new clubs in Swansea, Cardiff and the West Midlands, will have to wait a little longer before learning whether their applications to join Super League have been successful.The organisation was discussing the bids yesterday, but is still processing further information being put forward in support of their applications. Despite Ritson’s fate, Elliott believes that high tackling is dealt with more severely in Australia.The former Bradford, Featherstone and Great Britain scrum-half, Deryck Fox, has been sacked as coach of Rochdale Hornets. But his concerns for the 19-year-old prop are long-term and evoke comparisons with the young Australian Adam Ritson, who was obliged to retire by injuries caused by high tackling and is still suffering from the after effects.”Adam was a similar type of player to Stuart – tough and uncompromising, but one who played totally within the rules,” he said, adding that he feared young players of Fielden’s potential would be lost to the game in this country unless they were better protected. It is something that has happened repeatedly.
“We are working on his technique to help him, but we are cautious, bearing in mind that he had a player sent from the field for having a high forearm earlier in the season.”Elliott said that Fielden will miss tomorrow’s match at Wakefield and could be out for three more weeks because of the tackle. Fielden was the victim of a high tackle from Vila Matautia that saw the St Helens player banned for two matches this week, but Elliott said: “This is not an isolated incident.
MATTHEW ELLIOTT, the Bradford coach, has called for more protection for his young forward, Stuart Fielden, warning that he could be forced out of the game by persistent head-high tackles. He said he will decide in about four weeks whether to give up the captaincy to play.DRUIDS GLEN CARDHole Yards Par Hole Yards Par1 433 4 10 440 42 190 3 11 522 53 339 4 12 174 34 432 4 13 471 45 517 5 14 399 46 476 4 15 456 47 405 4 16 535 58 166 3 17 203 39 389 4 18 465 4Out 3,347 35 In 3,665 36Total 7,012 yards, par 71. Not even Spain’s impressive Sergio Garcia, who plays here, could manage that.Mark James confirmed yesterday that he will not be a playing captain of Europe’s Ryder Cup team in September. Then the Welshman lost a six-hole play-off to Miguel Angel Martin in the Moroccan Open before winning only his second full tour event. The Englishman was pipped himself only last Sunday at Slaley Hall by the tour’s new wonderkid, 25-year-old David Park.Only three weeks ago, Park won pounds 600 for finishing 20th in Austria on the Challenge Tour.
Indeed, as Monty puts it, he has not been beaten over 72 holes here as last year he only lost in a play-off to David Carter. It is not often that a player ranked 193rd in the world gets the star billing but the publicity fee will presumably more than cover the $40,000 the `Wild Thing’ needs a month to pay off gambling debts.However, it is ironic, and possibly distasteful, that a recovering alcoholic should front the poster campaign for a tournament sponsored by an Irish stout company with the legend: “One good round deserves another”.Then there is the Druids Glen course, which has been set up much like a US Open venue with thick rough, which is why Colin Montgomerie finds himself going for his third title in four years. “You don’t have to keep score, you can have a 12 and as long as two guys tie you’re still in the game.”So it was a bleary-eyed Daly who flew in overnight to arrive at Druids Glen for the pro-am of the Murphy’s Irish Open. I’ve talked to David Duval and I don’t know how he does it, he’s phenomenal.”On Monday and Tuesday Daly played with Duval, Fred Couples and winner Mike Weir in the Canadian Skins game, earning $55,000 (pounds 34,161) “I would sooner play a skins game every day,” he said. When I’m not, it’s awful.”I just have to buckle up and play good golf. I’m working hard with (sports psychologist) Bob Rotella on stopping my mind wandering I can’t hide my emotions. The course was just so hard and some of the pin placements were pretty unfair but you know that going into it.”Part of Daly’s appeal rests with the fact that he is capable of such brilliant shots and big hitting but also falls into the same mental traps as the worst hacker “I don’t think I’ve ever doubted my golf,” Daly said “It’s a mind thing When I’m confident, my mental attitude is good.