October 27/02 1:40 am - Bessette & Jutras to Saturn, Midweek Banquet

Posted by Editor on 10/27/02
 

Bessette Returns to Saturn

We've been hearing rumours that this was going to happen, but now it is official - Lyne Bessette will be returning to Saturn, the world number one ranked women's team she abruptly left last spring.

Saturn had to do something, with the departure of Petra Rossner and Judith Arndt to Nurnberger, and who better to court then one of their top performers over the years. Although she would not admit it, Bessette had been chaffing under the control Rossner had been exerting on the team, said to extend as far as dictating who was the designated winner for specific races. Now Bessette moves back to the fore.

Also going to Saturn will be Genevieve Jeanson's Rona lieutenant, Manon Jutras. Jutras had a very strong 2002 season, attracting a lot of notice for her performances; both supporting Jeanson and winning a few races on her own when Jeanson was injured.

Saturn has also lost Kim Bruckner to T-Mobile, where she will join Dede Demet-Barry. Joining Bessette and Jutras on Saturn will be Ina Teutenberg, Laura Van Gilder, Jessica Phillips and Sarah Uhl.

Rona's losses extend further then Jutras, with Amy Jarvis, Nicole Freedman and Gail Longnecker all not in the team's plans for next season.


Midweek Club Dinner

We had the opportunity to join the Midweek Club for their end of season banquet last night. It gave us a chance to catch up with a number of old friends, such as Peter and Kit McCaffery, Geoff Gadd and Tim Porter. The highlight of the evening was an inspiring talk by Jim Elzinga, a member of two Canadian Everest expeditions (the leader of the second, in 1986). Besides providing an education on the rigours of Himalayan climbing, Jim's talk was an excellent insight into the importance of teamwork, under life and death conditions.