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Photo:[email protected], Yuzuru Sunada
Stephens: lured
by SunwebMaking a moveAnother coach departs
British Cycling
British Cycling Endurance coach Brian
Stephens is the latest to leave the
organisation as a major shift in staff
turnover continues.
Stephens joined the organisation in
2015, making the switch from Cycling
Australia before going on to work with
under-23 riders in Manchester.
Stephens will take up a new position
at Team Sunweb next season; he is the
latest high-profi le fi gure to leave BC in
recent months after fellow endurance
coach Heiko Salzwedel and chair of
British Cycling Jonathan Browning.New signingOne Pro Cycling inks deal
with Aston Martin
British team One Pro Cycling has
partnered with car manufacturer Aston
Martin for 2018 and 2019.
As part of the deal, Aston Martin will
design the UCI Continental-level squad’s
clothing and will host the outfi t’s offi cial
launch at its Dover Street showroom in
London during February.
Former England cricketer and One
Pro Cycling founder Matt Prior said that
the team and Aston Martin “share a lot
of values”.“Our riders, just like the AMR drivers,
engage with the fans whether they are at
the races or on social media and that is
one of the main reasons we both enjoy
such loyal fan bases,” he said.Still rolling46-year-old Davide
Rebellin signs new
professional contract
Davide Rebellin will remain part of
professional cycling for at least one more
season after the 46-year-old signed a
new professional contract for 2018.
The Italian rider will race for
Natura4Ever-Sovac, a team with
Belgian roots that will be registered
as a Continental-level team in
Algeria next season.
Rebellin was given
a two-year doping
ban after testing
positive for EPO
CERA at the 2008
Beijing Olympics
where he had
his silver
medal
from the
road race
stripped
from him.Legal leg upLance Armstrong handed
legal lifeline
Ahead of the trial in his long-running
$100m lawsuit in May, Lance Armstrong
has been given a boost by a ruling that
he will be allowed to use the widespread
use of performance-enhancing drugs
in professional cycling in the 1990s
and 2000s as evidence in his defence.
However, USA Today reported that
Greg LeMond and Betsy Andreu would
both be able to testify in the case and
offer fi rst-hand accounts of Armstrong’s
doping. Armstrong had sought to prevent
this, arguing that they had no relevant
testimony to offer and had been vocal
critics in the past.DroppedUS rider banned after
ex-boyfriend reports her
A former US national champion has been
handed a four-year doping ban after her
ex-boyfriend reported her to authorities.
Jenna Blandford won the Masters
National Marathon Mountain Bike
Championship in 2016, but was found to
have used testosterone, human growth
hormone (HGH) and oxandrolone.
Jeff Miller, Blandford’s ex-boyfriend,
had reported her to the US Anti-
Doping Agency (USADA) and provided
evidence of text messages, receipts
for the purchase of the drugs, and
a supply of the drugs themselves,
to convince the American
Arbitration Association to
side with USADA and issue
Blandford with a ban.18 | December 7, 2017 | Cycling Weekly