Tour Notebook

Cycling Weekly magazine rounds up the stories surrounding this year's Tour de France.

TOUR CARAVAN KILLS CHILD: Faces were grim in the Pau press room as the Tour’s director Jean-Marie Leblanc confirmed that a seven year old, Melvin Pompelle, had been killed by a publicity vehicle.

The second child to die in three years after being run over by a publicity caravan vehicle in the Tour, Melvin was running to rejoin his grandmother when the tragedy occurred.

According to initial reports, the driver of the vehicle had no traces of alcohol in his body and had been driving slowly at the time, in an area where there was very few people.

Rushed to hospital by helicopter, doctors already feared the worst after attempts to resus-citate the child had proved futile.

A minute’s silence was held before the start the following day as a sign of mourning.

LANCE’S ARMY COMES VISITING: Reigning champion Lance Armstrong received two visits from close friends during his second-week rise to power in the Tour, one from film star Robin Williams, the other from Jeff Garvey, the president of the foundation founded by the Texan to fight cancer.

Williams met Armstrong at a team launch in San Francisco three years ago, and describes himself as a huge fan of cycling. “I’m part of Lance’s army,” Williams said.

The film star has a personal collection of 50 bikes, one of which was given him by former Tour winner Greg LeMond, and regularly takes part in Armstrong’s annual charity Ride for the Roses in Austin, Texas.

JAJA TO BOW OUT ON TOP: In the same year as the retirement of Andrei Tchmil, Abraham Olano and possibly Mario Cipollini and Johan Museeuw, France’s most successful international star, Laurent Jalabert, has also announced he will end his career this October.

The CSC rider's total number of wins in his 14-year career reaches more than 150, and includes two major Classics, a World Championship time trial, a Tour of Spain, and numerous stages in the three major tours.

Jalabert is one of two currently active riders -- the other is Alex Zulle -- to have led all three major stage races, and when we went to press he was also leading the King of the Mountains competition in the Tour for a second year running.

Jalabert’s style of racing -- aggressive, ambitious, and highly tactical -- made him a popular rider with the fans. Britain’s David Millar, who attacked with him on the day the Scot won at Beziers, described him as his “idol, a real gentleman”.

Jalabert explained during the Tour’s first rest day at Bordeaux that he wished to stop while he is a “respected and respectable rider”.

Even Lance Armstrong, who, before suffering cancer at least, was no friend of Jalabert’s, has said he is “deeply impressed” by the Frenchman’s professionalism.

“Most guys when they know they’re going to retire just turn up to races acting really laid-back,” Armstrong said. “The way Jalabert is riding, it doesn’t really seem like he’s going to quit.”

YOU CAN’T ARGUE WITH MANOLO: You could never accuse ONCE-Eroski directeur sportif Manolo Saiz of being a pessimist, not even after two consecutive defeats of his riders in the Pyrenees.

“We must be patient,” Saiz insisted at Plateau-de-Beille. “We are in exactly the same situation as we were when we started the Pyrenees, the only difference is Igor [Gonzalez de Galdeano] and Joseba [Beloki] have lost time on Armstrong.” That’s one way of looking at it.

DUFAUX LAMPED BY STANDARD: If you thought Swiss veteran and 1996 Tour stage winner Laurent Dufaux was being very cautious to avoid the spectators when he took part in the long break with Laurent Jalabert and Isidro Nozal on stage 12, you weren't mistaken. The day before Dufaux had come a cropper when a Basque fan’s flag went through his spokes, suffering injuries in his lower back.

However, he didn’t come off as badly as Danish national champion Michael Sanstöd, who broke eight ribs and damaged a lung when he crashed on the Aubisque.

Another Aubisque victim was Credit Agricole rider (and correspondent for CW’s sister magazine Cycle Sport) Jonathan Vaughters. The American climber suffered injuries in his back and right shoulder, knee and wrist and was forced to abandon the Tour for the fourth year running, three times because of crashes, once because UCI regulations prevented him from treating a wasp sting. He may now quit cycling altogether.

TV STAR DU-DU DUMPED OUT: One long break specialist who was spotted having an easy time of it during the Pyrenees was Frenchman Jacky Durand. Du-du was filmed by French TV early on stage 12 chomping away at a pizza somewhere close the back of the peloton.

However, later on in the same day, the former Tour of Flanders winner was ejected from the race for having held on too long to a team car.

Fdjeux.com directeur sportif Martial Gayant was thrown out for the same reason.

CLASH ON THE COL DE CORE: Punch-ups between riders in the Tour de France are few and far between, but French favourite Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) and CSC-Tiscali climber Carlos Sastre were spotted by a TV helicopter having a go at each other halfway through stage 12.

Moreau began the mobile battle of fists by lashing out against the Spaniard close to the summit of the Col de Core, who responded by holding onto the Frenchman’s arm.

Race commissaires acted relatively leniently, giving Moreau a two-minute penalty and 400 Swiss franc fine, and Sastre just a 20-second penalty.

According to the Spaniard, Moreau is unpopular in the peloton for his habit of slapping riders on the bottom as he overtakes them on climbs.

Moreau, for his part, said that Sastre was trying to get him off Armstrong’s wheel at a crucial moment.

RACE REMEMBERS CASARTELLI: Prior to stage 12 passing the Fabio Casartelli monument on the Portet d’Aspet pass, race organizers laid flowers there and held a short ceremony in memory of the 1992 Olympic champion, who was killed when he crashed on the descent of the Pyrenean climb in the 1995 Tour.

AERTS SIGNS FOR TELEKOM: For almost two weeks, no rumors about contracts or possible signings have emerged from the 2002 Tour de France -- a grim reflection on the lack of money and new sponsors within the sport.

Finally, though, during stage 13 it emerged that Telekom have signed a two-year deal with the winner of this year’s Flèche Wallonne, Belgian Mario Aerts. This is the first real indication that the team will continue beyond 2003.

BASQUE BOYS IN BOTHER: Things have gone from bad to worse for Euskaltel-Euskadi in this year’s Tour, with their best rider placed 23rd overall, and two of their team -- Gorka Gonzalez and Samuel Sanchez -- failing to make the time cut on stage 12.

Sanchez had had a rough stage 11 too, suffering from convulsions after the race as the team bus descended from La Mongie. Attended by the Tacconi Sport team doctor, he started the next day, but he was unable to finish within the time permitted.

As if that was not bad enough, memories of former Euskaltel rider Txema Del Olmo’s positive test for EPO in the 2001 race were revived when the Sports Arbitration Tribunal (TAS) announced that the rider would be banned from racing for three years, with a 12-month suspension.

Del Olmo is already banned in France, and now races for the Maia squad in Portugal.

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