Deutsche Telekom confirmed Tuesday that Australian Cadel Evans has signedwith the team for next season. The 25-year-old two-time winner of mountainbiking’s World Cup made a great first impression in his debut season asa road pro with Mapei-Quick Step.Evans and his teammates learned in July that long-time sponsor Mapeiis pulling out of the sport. However, on the heels of his impressive performanceat the Giro d’Italia, including a heroic day in the maglia rosa, Evanshas been a hot property.Evans’s signing, along with that of Flèche Wallone winner MarioAerts and 23-year-old Christian Werner, formerly of team Nürnberger,means the team is close to filling out its roster after the retirementof American Kevin Livingston and the expected departures of Udo Bölts,Jens Heppner and Ralf Grabsch. Team spokesman Olaf Ludwig confirmed thatthe team is also continuing negotiations with Paolo Savoldelli, thoughthe 29-year-old Giro d’ Italia winner still has contract issues to workout with his Alexia squad. Savoldelli’s signing, and the UCI points thatwould accompany him, would almost ensure that Telekom would have an automaticberth for the Tour de France next year.Of course, the biggest question mark hanging over the team is its continuingrelationship with one-time Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich. Ullrich,plagued by knee troubles all season, is now under a doping suspension aftertesting positive for amphetamines in an out-of-competition test this summer.Ullrich later confirmed that he had taken the drug ecstasy during a visitto a nightclub the evening prior to his test. Ullrich was also fined inconnection with a drunk driving incident earlier in the year.Ludwig said that Ullrich’s future role with Telekom would probably bedecided by September. Ullrich is also said to be in discussions with theCSC-Tiscali team, run by his old Telekom teammate and 1996 Tour winnerBjarne Riis.Bessette to ride for CyclocrossWorld.com
Last year’s cyclo-cross rookie sensation, Lyne Bessette, has with CyclocrossWorld.comfor the 2002/’03 season. Bessette will finish her road season as a memberof the Canadian national team at the world championships in Zolder, Belgium,on October 8-13th and take a short break before launching into the ‘crossseason.Bessette lit the ‘cross scene on fire last year winning the Verge NewEngland Championship Series, the Boston SuperCup and an elite event inNommay France. She was also voted the 2001 Canadian cyclo-cross rookieof the year and the VeloNews woman cyclo-crosser of the year.Bessette was unable to compete at the cyclo-cross world championshipsin Zolder last February, but vows that this year she’ll be in top shapefor the world’s in Monopoli, Italy.The cyclocrossworld.com team is new this season and will be managedby Stu Thorne. “The opportunity to work with Lyne is fantastic,” said Thorne.“For the past several years I have been helping my wife, Emily, and TimJohnson (Saturn) during the cross season. Then last year Lyne started doing some ‘cross and I had the pleasure of working with her as well. I’m really looking forward to doing it all over again this year.”