23/06/2004 Caccia aperta ai titoli nazionali Zugno terza nella crono tricolore, Cooke debutta sabato E’ la settimana dedicata all’assegnazione dei titoli nazionali, ed il team internazionale di Maurizio Fabretto ha spiegato quasi tutte le proprie forze per puntare a mantenere la tradizione vincete in più paesi. In Italia alla Settimana Tricolore in Terra di Pisa, sono impegnate Anna Zugno, Gessica Turato (oggi già in gara nella crono individuale di Marina di Pisa, rispettivamente piazzate al 3^ e 10^ posto) e Giorgia Bronzini, quest’ultima dopo l’intensa stagione disputata su pista e con già un bel grappolo di corse a tappe nelle gambe, correrà solamente la prova in linea in programma venerdì a Cascina. In Lituania saranno impegnate Diana Ziliute , Zita Urbonaite ed Erika Vilunaite: giovedì con la crono e sabato con a prova su strada. Nella stessa giornata la velocista Regina Schleicher, reduce dalla vittoria della 3^ tappa al Giro del Trentino (tris stagionale) dove Modesta Vzesniauskaite è risultata la migliore giovane, sarà in gara nella prova in linea che assegna il titolo tedesco. Sempre sabato la sfortunata Nicole Cooke tornerà alle corse andando a caccia del titolo britannico su strada. ATENE – Nell’ultimo weekend il team manager Maurizio Fabretto e l’ex iridata Diana Ziliute sono volati in Grecia per visionare il tracciato dei Giochi dove verrà assegnato il titolo olimpico 2004. ARRIVO CRONO Marina di Pisa 1. Troldi Giovanna (Bee On Byke) 29'48.47 km 22 media 44.295 km/h 2. Guderzo Tatiana (Top Girls) 30'10.79 3. Zugno Anna (Safi Pasta Zara Manhattan) 30'35.87 4. Ugolini Ombretta (Nobili Rubinetterie) 30'47.91 5. Fusar Poli Daniela (Nobili Rubinetterie) 30'48.09 6. Cappellotto Alessandra (Usc Chirio Forno D'Asolo) 30'51.49 7. Valsecchi Silvia (Nobili Rubinetterie) 31'19.73 8. Alessio Valentina (liverti Bianchi) 32'07.84 9. Chirio Marina (Usc Chirio Forno D'asolo) 32'19.96 10. Turato Gessica (Safi Pasta Zara Manhattan) 32'42.66. Partite e arrivate 11 atlete. Nicole underwent surgery last week to try and solve her knee problems once and for all. After spending a number of weeks based at the English Institute of Sport at Bath, working with the doctors and physiotherapists there just wasn’t the improvements that both the medics and Nicole were expecting and key-hole surgery was the next logical step. After 2 serious crashes mid-way through the 2003 season, Nicole was able to return to racing but by the end of the season the underlying problems caught up with her. Initial scans did not indicate any obvious problems which has made diagnosis very difficult. Nicole has addressed all possible causes of the pain, correcting a slight ‘mal-tracking’ of the knee-cap, working on muscle flexibility, strength and co-ordination, re-assessing her riding position on the bike, and also using “wedge” inserts between her cycling shoes and cleats but always the niggling pain was there, always stopping Nicole from training fully. “If I want to be a serious contender for a medal at Athens in August, last week was the final opportunity for having surgery and still being able to recover properly and to train at the level necessary to be a contender for that Olympic medal.” The surgeon - former England Rugby fullback Jon Webb - was very happy with how the operation went. He found an inflamed membrane that he was able to remove and Nicole should be riding within the next few days. More importantly he was happy that there was no long-term damage to the knee joint. “These next few weeks are very important, but I feel confident that the problem has been solved. This is not ideal preparation for such a demanding event like the road race but I can only look forward and try to make best use of the time available to me now. My ambitions are still as strong as ever and I am very fresh mentally. I have not been racing week after week since March so I have a huge amount of enthusiasm right now.” It is undecided when Nicole will make her racing debut for the 2004 season.