Many top players absent in European team championship

ANKARA - The number one of the world, Frédéric Caudron, the number two, Dick Jaspers, the world champion Filipos Kasidokostas and also players like Torbjörn Blomdahl, Martin Horn, Marco Zanetti and Jef Philipoom for some reason will not play the European championship for teams. The tournament will be held in Ankara, Turkey from 23-26 of september. The Turkish team with Tayfun Tasdemir and Cenet Lüfti is the title holder, the Netherlands last year took the silver medal with Dick Jaspers and Jean Paul de Bruijn.

The championship will be played in the Atatürk Spor Salonu with six groups of three countries, each of them with two players. The most known participants are Tayfun Tasdemir (Turkey), Daniel Sánchez (Spain), Eddy Merckx (Belgium), Jeremy Bury (France) and Dion Nelin (Danmark), Jean Paul de Bruijn (Netherlands), Eddy Leppens (Belgium) and Murat Naci Coklu (Turkey).

Dick Jaspers does not play because he planned a lucrative invitation tournament and demonstrations in Chicago, but they are cancelled two weeks before the European championship. Frédéric Caudron is the substitute for Belgium. Eddy Merckx and Eddy Leppens are playing for that country.

The prize money: 6000 euros for the winner, 4000 for the runner up, 2000 for the numbers 3 and 4.

The composition of the groups"

Group A: Turkey A (Tayfun Tasdemir, Cenet Lütfi), Egypt (Sameh Sidhom, Ihab El Messery), Italy (Emilio Sciacca).

Group B: Spain (Daniel Sánchez, Javier Palazón), Sweden (Nalle Olsson, Peter Lohmander), Czech Republic (Martin Bohak, Radek Novak).

Group C: Belgium (Eddy Merckx, Eddy Leppens), Switzerland (Torsten Danielson, René Hendriksen), Montenegro (Vuk Brajovic, Danilo Brajovic).

Group D: Denmark (Brian Zola Hansen, Dion Nelin), Netherlands (Raimond Burgman, Jean Paul de Bruijn), Finland (Jussi Tyrkkö, Ari Fagenström).

Group E: Austria A (Andreas Efler, Gerhard Kostistansky), Portugal (Rui Manuel Costa, Paulo Andrade), Turkey B (Adnan Yüksel, Murat Naci Coklu).

Group F: France (Jeremy Bury, Jerome Barbeillon), Germany (Christian Rudolph, Jens Eggers), Austria B (Andreas Horvath, Andreas Kronlachner).