Bike World News

In today’s cycling news, Katie Compton leads the UCI ‘cross rankings, Marianne Vos makes her season debut, dopes continue to dope, transfers and more.

So, does more news about doping mean that more people are doping or that the same number of people are doping and we’re getting better at catching them?

The news:

• Katie Compton is seven for seven in UCI races this season and sits at the top of the UCI Cyclocross rankings. This is the first time that an American has led the UCI ‘cross standings.
• UCI Cyclocross World Champion Marianne Vos opened her 2009/2010 season at the Night of Woerden with a win. Sven Nys won on the men’s side.
• Lars Boom (Rabobank) is setting his sights on the spring classics next year. The Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race are expected to be his focus.
• The B-samples of Nuno Ribeiro, Isidro Nozal and Hector Guerra (all of Liberty Seguros) have all been shown to be positive for EPO. The riders first failed the test on the eve of the Tour of Portugal.
• Christian Moreni, who tested positive for testosterone at the 2007 Tour de France, is the first rider to contribute a year of salary to the UCI’s anti-doping foundation in addition to serving a two year suspension. Other riders who have received suspensions in the same time period have appealed the fine to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
• Fuji Servetto will be known as Footen Servetto in 2010. The team’s new sponsor is a Swiss manufacturer of orthopedic footbeds for shoes. Fuji, Servetto and Cantabria will continue to act as co-sponsors.
• Italy’s Giovanni Visconti of the ISD-Neri team snatched the top spot in the UCI’s Europe Tour standings thanks a successful close to the season.
• Alessandro Spezialetti and Lorenzo Bernucci are the two latest recruits from the LPR Brakes team to Lampre-NGC. This is a return to Lampre for Spezialetti, who rode with the team in 2005. In September 2007 he was fired by the T-Mobile team after being caught in the illegal substance sibutramine and served a one year suspension.
• 21-year-old Baptiste Planckaert signed a professional contract with  Landbouwkrediet-Colnago for 2010 and 2011.
• Jakob Fuglsang renewed with Saxo Bank through the end of 2011.
• Contrary to earlier reports, the mother of Frank Vandenbroucke has said that everyone is welcome at his funeral on Saturday in Ploegsteert.
• A little clarification on the new Spanish doping scandal. The doctor implicated apparently sent text messages to Luis Leon Sanchez, Dani Moreno (both Caisse d’Epargne), Francisco Mancebo (Rock Racing), Luis Mate (Serramenti PVC) and Alexander Kolobnev (Saxo Bank), but the messages were innocuous and no drugs changed hands.
• Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton are among 19 British riders who will take part in the Manchester round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics from 30 October – 1 November.
• The 2010 Tour of California is expected to do away with the Solvang time trial and is also likely to have an opening stage from Nevada City to Sacramento. Official race announcements will take place tomorrow in several California cities.

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