May 28, 2004
Embattled cyclist faces bumpy road to Athens
Pat Hickey
Cyclist Genevieve Jeanson said it's difficult to focus on tomorrow's World Cup women's race on Mount Royal.
"I wish I could be like Kobe Bryant," the Lachine racer said yesterday at a news conference to launch a week of women's cycling in the Montreal area. "You look at him and he spends a day in court and then he can go out and score 40 points in a game. It's great the way he can focus."
Jeanson, 22, said her problems are minor compared with the sexual-assault charges Bryant faces in Colorado, but she must overcome a number of obstacles before she reaches her goal of competing for Canada in this summer's Olympic Games in Athens.
First, Jeanson must meet the Canadian Olympic standard, which means she needs a top-eight finish in tomorrow's race, next week's Tour du Grand Montreal or in a one-day road race next weekend in Philadelphia.
The second hurdle is avoiding a possible suspension for failing to report for a drug test at the Fleche Wallonne race in Belgium on April 21. The matter is in the hands of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency because Jeanson rides under an American licence. Possible sanctions range from a warning to a six-month suspension. Jeanson takes some heart from the fact the Americans gave her the OK to compete in the Montreal races.
If Jeanson meets the standard and avoids a suspension, she must still be selected to the team. Knowlton's Lyne Bessette, the top-ranked Canadian woman in the world rankings, is all but assured of one spot on the three-woman team, while Manon Jutras and Susan Palmer-Komar have also met the standard.
"It's not easy to focus, but I'm looking forward to this race," Jeanson said. "I've won it twice (in 2001 and again last year) so I know I can do it with some help from my team. It's good to be at home where I have friends and people who support me."
"I have mixed feelings," Jeanson said when asked about the Olympics. "It's the biggest competition in our sport and I want to go. But it won't be the end of my career if I don't go. I think there are some people who want me off my bike, but I'm going to keep riding."
Jeanson appeared fragile as she shared the head table at trendy Le Latini with Bessette and French legend Jeannie Longo. She used a tissue to daub some tears, but said the events of the past year have toughened her and exposed her to the politics of sport.
After placing fifth in the time trial, she was barred from competing in the road race at the world championships in Hamilton last October after a pre-race test showed a higher than allowable level of red blood cells.
She missed the start of the 2004 season when Quebec officials refused to renew her licence.
"I was angry because they said I didn't give them all the information they wanted, but I did," Jeanson said. "When I missed those early races, it meant I didn't have any way of measuring where I was in my training."
Jeanson eventually obtained a U.S. licence but found herself amid another controversy when she failed to report for a post-race drug test at the Belgian race.
"We were training in Italy when I received the e-mail telling me that I missed the test and I thought: 'Oh my God, we screwed up,' " Jeanson recalled.
Andre Aubut, Jeanson's coach and manager who was conspicuous by his absence from yesterday's gathering, failed to check the list of random tests but Jeanson let him off the hook by saying, "ultimately, it's the athlete's responsibility."
But Jeanson said the failure to show up for the test followed a trying day on which she thought her career might be over. Memories of Hamilton came flooding back when another pre-race blood test showed a high red blood cell count.
"I knew it had to be wrong because I had it tested a week before, but I thought that if I knew I was OK and the test said I wasn't, there was nothing I could do about it. Then, they tested the second sample and it was OK. I mean, how could there be a difference of five or six points from the same test?"
Jeanson said she also was required to provide a pre-race urine sample, which proved negative.
While most of the focus yesterday was on Jeanson, organizer Daniel Manibal has assembled another outstanding field. Former champs Dede Demet Barry of the U.S. (2002) and Diana Ziliute of Lithuania (1998) are on hand along with current World Cup leader Oenone Wood of Australia and Olympic gold medallist Longo and Petra Rossner of Germany.
Tomorrow's race will begin at 11:30 a.m. and will consist of 12 laps on an 8.3-kilometre course, over and around Mount Royal.
page mise en ligne le 28 mai 2004 par SVP
