The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 39

SPORT 7 THE AGE FRIDAY 1 7 JULY 1998 BRIEFS Festima chief suspended. Impatient runner will miss Games 3 Cycling CHOLET. FRANCE. THURSDAY Festina team director Bruno Koussel has been suspended by the International Cycling Union. He is now being held by police for questioning, following the arrest last week of a team masseur charged with smuggling doping substances.

The union announced the suspension here today before the start of the fifth stage of the Tour de France. Tour director Jean-Marie I.eblanc said Uoussel's suspension was provisional and that it would not affect the riders. Festina's assistant team director, Miguel Moreno, would look after the team while Koussel was detained. "We have nothing against the riders. Hut we feel the team's management has responsibilities in what's happening," I.eblanc said.

Koussel was held by police along with the team doctor, Eric Kijckaert, and an unidentified team member at the end of the fourth stage of the Tour yesterday. French law allows them to he held for up to 48 hours. Eight police later searched the team's hotel. Festina, which has denied involvement, said Koussel wanted to be heard as quickly as possible by the police to set the record straight. Team leader Kichard Virenque, second in the our last year and king of the mountains for the past three years, said the team would go on.

"It is out of the question to quit. The team go on and we're here to win the Tour," he said. "It is normal for Koussel to be heard since he was the masseur's employer. This is what we had been asking for for days." Team masseur Willy Voet was charged last week with smuggling doping substances into France after 400 bottles of products, including steroids and synthetic EPO, were found in his car at the French-Belgian border. Veteran Australian road cyclist Neil Stephens, a key member of the Festina team and a stage winner in last year's Tour, said last Sunday he was "99 per cent sure" no one in the team had been taking banned substances.

He said Voet was highly regarded, but thought he had been acting on his own. I.eblanc had earlier reiterated that it was out of the question to expel the All is not rosy in the Tour de France garden, but the roadside sunflowers are as striking as ever as the riders pass by. Picture reuters Athletics By LEN JOHNSON Mizan Mehari, the young Ethiopian who wants to represent Australia, has put himself out of the reckoning for the Commonwealth Games hy leaving the country to compete in Europe. Impatient with his rate of improvement, Mehari told his coach at the Australian Institute of Sport, Dick Telford, he needed to train and race with better athletes to fulfil his potential. Telford said that Mehari was in regular contact with Ethiopian athletes, including the world record-holder for 5000 and 10,000 metres, Haile Gebrselassie.

Another contact is Assefa Mezgebu, who won the 5000 and 10,000 metres double at the world junior championships in Sydney in 1996. Mehari ran the 1500 at those titles and remained in Australia when the Ethiopian team left. He applied for resident status soon afterwards. "He got a call from Europe, with promises to get him into races," a disappointed Telford said yesterday. "He's impatient to improve." Mehari has apparently joined a group of Kenyan athletes in Europe.

Telford said he was provided with his ticket by the manager of the group. Mehari, 18, ran the fastest 5000 metres by an Australian resident this year at the Melbourne Track Tour meeting in February, although he was decisively defeated by Shaun Creighton in the national title the following month. He also won the national try title in Adelaide last year. Telford, in Noosa with a group of athletes preparing for the Games selection meeting, said yesterday that under the rules applying to applicants with exceptional talent, he believed Mehari would have been granted Australian citizenship on 29 August, two years after applying for permanent residence. But now that Mehari has left the country, albeit temporarily, Telford believes he will not be eligible for citizenship until March 1999.

It had been planned that Mehari would run at the Commonwealth Games selection meeting in Sydney from 8-10 August. If he had qualified, which seemed certain, he would have been named for Kuala Lumpur, subject to his citizenship coming through. Telford said that Mehari was happy in Australia and had undertaken to return. Yellow robes make a king for a day Fourth stag 252 kilometres from Plouay to Cholet: 1. Jeroen Blijievens (Netherlands) TVM five hours 48 minutes 32 seconds 2.

Nicola Mmak (Italy) Riso Scotti 3. Jan Svorada (Czech Republic) Mapet. 4. Frederic Moncassin (France) GAN 5. Andrei Tchmtl (Belgium) Lotto.

6. Erik Zaoel (Germany) Telekom. 7. Tom Steels (Belgium Mapei 8. Lars Michaelsen (Denmark) TVM.

9. Max Sciandri (Bntam) F0J. 10. Fabio BakJato (Italy) Riso Scotti. 11.

Aart vnrtiouten (Netherlands) Rabobank all same time 12. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Italy) Saeco tour seconds behind. 13. Silvio Martinello (Italy) Polti six sees. 14.

Biame Rits (Denmark) Telekom 15. Stephane HeukX (France) FDJ. 16. ROBBIE McEWEN (Australia) Rabobank. 17.

Ban Voskamp (Netherlands) TVM, an same time 18. Fredenc Guesdon (France) FDJ eight sees 19. Angel Casero (Spam) Vrlalicio. 20. Meichor Maun (Spaml ONCE, both same time Other Australians: 39.

Stuart O'Grady GAN 48. Neil Stephens Festina. 155. Patnck Jonker Rabobank, all same time Cycling and drugs The three drugs seized in the Festina team car and what they do Synthetic hormone that stimulates production of red blood cells, thus increasing oxygenization of muscles enhances performance and endurance Praise for new subsidies RACING: Racehorse owners and trainers have applauded yesterday's announcement that the starters' subsidy for unplaced horses at country meetings will be increased from $110 to $150 from 1 August. The Victorian Country Racing Council said about $3.8 million would be distributed to owners through the subsidy in the new season, an increase of $1.1 million on last year.

The VCRC will also provide an additional $1.3 million funding for paying riders' fees and WorkCover costs for placed horses, which will put another $100 directly into owners' pockets. Australians in Phoenix win BASKETBALL: Phoenix Mercury has made it 2-0 in the Women's National Basketball Association's "battle of the Aussies" with a 73-60 home win over Detroit Shock. There are seven Australians in the league, and six were on court fur Phoenix, Michelle Griffiths had 12 points and six rebounds, Michele Timms (eight points, Ave assists), Kristi narrower (three points, three assists). Rachael Sporn had 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for Detroit, Sandy Brondello (seven points, four assists) and Carla Porter (two points, two rebounds). Hiddink for Real Madrid SOCCER: Dutch World Cup coach Guus Hiddink has signed a two-year contract with Kuropean Cup winner Heal Madrid, replacing Jose Antonio Camacho who left last week.

Ex-boss urges Charger talks RUGBY LEAGUE: Former (iold Coast chief executive Paul Broughton has urged the Chargers to kick off merger talks with struggling National Rugby I-eague Sydney clubs, starting with one of the oldest. South Sydney. Though club stalwart and president George Piggins has declared he'd rather see the Rabbitohs fold than be part of any merger, Broughton believes such an arrangement could rescue both clubs from extinction. Carroll back for surfsnow SURFING: Tom Carroll is a likely starter in the seventh annual surfing-snowboarding competition being held at Ulladulla, south of Sydney, and Thredbo ski resort from 28 August. Bosnich and rebels to sign SOCCER: Aston Villa manager John Gregory is confident that his Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich and the Premier League club's other contract rebels will sign new deals within the next 72 hours.

Aintree falls unrelated RACING: A Jockey Club report into the deaths of three horses at this year's Grand National has concluded that the fatalities were "the result of unfortunate It found that "no causal link was established between any of the fatalities and the heavy going, the condition of the course, the height of the fences, the speed to the first fence or the number of Hopes alive after win BASEBALL: Australia kept alive its finals hopes in the Haarlem invitational baseball tournament in the Netherlands with a crushing 13-3 victory over world No. 1 Japan. The win was a huge psychological boost for the Australians, who face the Asian heavyweight again in the world championships, beginning In Italy next week. Australia now has a 2-2 win-loss ratio in the tournament. Brief charged over cup drive SOCCER A London-based barrister was formally charged yesterday with causing wilful harm in an alleged drink' driving Incident in which 10 people were injured on Paris' Champs Elyseet during Sunday's celebratfons after France's World Cup victory over Brazil.

artificially rases fatigue threshold lAEuwII i'i i 9 Synthetic testosterone derivative that enhances protein production increases muscular mass increases energy output and decreases recovery time uil i il' I 'I TT! i 3f i -i -it1'! i Synthetically produced growth hormone same effects as male-hormone steroids burns fatty tissue sMiiK. Festina team from the Tour. But CAN team director Roger l.egeay. who chairs the association of professional cycling teams, said sanctions should be taken quickly. "It is not possible to go on like this for three weeks," he said.

The race has been spoilt. We hope for legal or sports sanctions to be taken as quickly as possible. We appeal to the conscience of the Festina team." Festina, a watch manufacturer, is reported to be ready to withdraw its sponsorship if drugs use by team members is proved. Health risks: (T) Disrupts normal bodily secretions, can lead to heart failure i (D Increased libido. aggressiveness i(3) Impotence, sterility, atrophied tesodes, abnormal growths, deterioration of musde tissue, cancer, heart '0 failure Im i In the knowledge that Victoria has a complex contract with Sky, and is eventually likely to succumb to Sky's demands if it is to be involved in any form of pay TV in the future.

The contract means that Racing Victoria cannot sign a deal with another pay-TV provider without first offering the same deal to Sky. But Racing Victoria executives intimated this week they were willing to sit it out for as long as It took RACING: SPECIAL REPORT Victoria plays waiting game over pay TV From PAGE I leg of the our with an 1 1 -second lead over Dane Bo Hamburger and his CAN tram controlling the race. He looks forward to wearing the jersey as long as he can. The celebrations in his family's Adelaide home have not stopped since they learnt of his victory via the Internet at 1.30 am. "We're just rapt.

He's been so dedicated to it," said sister Lesley, who celebrated her brother's fortune with father Brian, breaking open the Irish whiskey and phoning everyone they knew. O'Grady has won two world team pursuit championships, one silver and two bronze Olympic medals. Commonwealth medals and this year's British I'rotour. Last year, he placed second in the fifth stage of his first Tour de France. But claiming the yellow jersey Is perhaps the greatest display of his extraordinary cycling ability.

Ron Bonham, national coaching director of the Australian Cycling Federation, is not at all surprised hy O'Gradys victory. "HeS won the world championships over four kilometres and now he's winning In something over 21 days and 4000 kilometres. That's like someone who runs the 800 metres and can compete with until a better deal could be struck. To add more fuel to the dispute, Racing Victoria this week issued a press release detailing why Victoria was not rushing in to a deal. Rat ing Victoria claimed that: The penetration of pay TV into Australian homes is 10.8 per cent.

Two years ago, it was 1 0.1 per cent, which shows a poor growth rate. While no figure exists on how many of those subscribers are punt 4 Jk mw a. mm Overall 1. STW OGW GAN 19hrs J3mn 23se: 2. Bo Hamtjjrge' Oeniria'ki Casiro 11 sees behind 3.

George Hincap-e i'-JS, LS Postal same time 4. Jens Heppner iGe'manyi Telekom 14 sees 5. Xavier Jan (France) FDJ 32 6. Pascal Herve (France) Festina 33 7. Vicente Garcia-Acosta (Spain) Banesto 34 8.

Pascal Oanteur fFrance) Casino .39 9. Francisco Cabeiio (Spam) Keime 58 10. Zabel 1:01 Other Australians: 19. McEnren 1 22 37. Jonker 1 34 55.

Stephens 1 39 Points 1. Svorada 99pts 2. ZaDei 91 3. Steels 87 King of Mountains 1. Herve 34pts 2.

Stetano Zan.ni (Italy) Mapet 16 3. Jens vo.gl (Germany) GAN 10 By 16, he had gone from the South Australian Institute of Sport to the Australian Institute of Sport track cycling program under Walsh's guidance. O'Grady was one of "Charlie's first young says the institute's Michael Flynn. "He was an exceptional athlete and an exceptional person. This is a fantastic reward for him." The reason behind showing racing on pay TV is to increase the level of awareness of horse racing and to educate a new audience a concept that has total support within the Victorian Industry.

The stumbling block is how Sky goes( about implementing the service. No amount of pressure from the government or Sky Channel, or from racing fans, is litl'ly to change Victorian racing's tough stance. mr. jw tmtmm iswrnni m'nMnrVmm1mitlmmwmWKmmr XN- the world best in a marathon. Stuart is extremely versatile." Even though O'Grady comes from a cycling pedigree his father cycled and met his mother through cycling, and his uncle came fourth in the track team pursuit at the Tokyo Olympics he first began competitive cycling when he was 13.

ers, the most optimistic estimate would be 20 per cent. Only two per cent of homes are likely to be initial customers of a racing channel. There is clear evidence In the experience of Galaxy and the Sports AFL channel that pay TV as a commercial enterprise in the domestic market is a huge gamble. Like most astute punters, the racing industry Is looking for the value runner rather than a lucky longshot. vi -v si mm h.t 'hih.

ill 1 especially between New South Wales and Victoria, continues to divide Australian racing. It had been hoped that Premier Jeff Kennctt's involvement last week in the Sky Channel row would force the issue to a head. Yet, despite his influence around the VRC corridors, the dispute is no closer to an end. Kennett blasted racing officials for not being able to come to agreement with Sky. But he seems unlikely to be able to shift Victoria's stance that the present deal seriously undervalues racing in this state.

In fact, Kennett's intervention last week is being blamed, in some circles, for the withdrawal of Victorian greyhound powerbrokers from discussions with Sky. The greyhounds had planned to break away from the other codes, but now appear set to stick with thoroughbred and harness racing as they fight for a better deal with Sky. The chief sticking point nationally appears to be Victoria's reluctance for pictures from its prized spring carnival to be given up meekly to Sky. Before signing an agreement, the VRC wants to discuss a different deal for feature races, and to ensure the free-to-air rights for the main spring carnival meetings. It also seeks to secure a long-term deal with Sky Channel to provide normal operations through TABs and clubs.

Sky Channel can be comfortable By ANDREW EDDY and PATRICK BARTLEY It is only about six weeks until Sky Channel begins beaming races into the lounge rooms of Australia via pay TV, and it is increasingly unlikely Victorian racing will be involved, at least in the initial stages. But this stand-off is hardly a first in a country where racing has never got its act together nationally. With a relatively small population, Australian racing would be much better served with a national TAB service, even a national racing radio service, but such ideas have never been implemented because of the inability of the main states to agree on anything. The Sky Channel dispute is no different. It was only this year that the states formed the Australian Racing Board, which replaced the ineffectual Principal Clubs Conference.

Now, almost 190 years since Australia's first race meeting, racing in this country has a captain that can make decisions for the entire team. The ARB is expected to meet up to six times a year to form national policies and decide on the direction of racing. The principal clubs met just twice a year and were so hamstrung they rarely dealt with major national issues. But while the formation of the ARB is a step in the right direction, the traditional interstate rivalry,.