Colin Lewis Cycle Chat August 2011

Cycle Chat 27.08.11

Must admit with so many things going on at this time of year I had almost forgotten that the Tour of Spain was taking place so have made an internet search for the results of the Brits.

Sky had a bad Team Time Trial on the first stage loosing 42 secs which will take Bradley Wiggins some catching up. So with a 68th, 13th, 18th, 20th, 24th, he holds 22nd spot 1.26 mins behind leader Sylvain Chavanel (Quickstep Cycling Team).

For the other Brits Chris Froome is 21st having a great ride in the same time as Bradley, Ian Stannard 145th 1 hour behind and Mark Cavendish has retired. Apparently the heat has been severe particularly with all the climbing there is built into the Tour.

As Great Britain is 6th in the UCI World Tour they could have had the "royal quota" of nine riders at the Road World Championships taking place in Copenhagen from 19 to 25 September.

The individual World Tour ranking includes "only" eight British though as only 8 are registered. These are :- Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, David Millar, Ben Swift, Peter Kennaugh, Stephen Cummings, Geraint Thomas and Adam Blythe.

That's much better than last year in Geelong, when Cavendish was supported by two team-mates, David Millar and Jeremy Hunt. (Sorry to see Jeremy not in the team this year.)

The Tour of Britain is coming shortly and these are the stages:-

Sunday September 11, Stage one, Peebles to Dumfries, 170km
Monday September 12, Stage two, Kendal to Blackpool, 130km
Tuesday September 13, Stage three, Stoke-on-Trent to Trentham Gardens, 150km
Wednesday September 14, Stage four, Welshpool to Caerphilly, 180km
Thursday September 15, Stage five, Exeter to Exmouth, 180km
Friday September 16, Stage six, Taunton to Wells, 150km
Saturday September 17, Stage seven, Bury St Edmunds to Sandringham, 200km
Sunday September 18, Stage eight A, London 10km individual time trial
Sunday September 19, Stage eight B, London 80km Critérium

For you Devonians Stage 5 looks a good one over Dartmoor but for us Somerset people it will be a day out at Cheddar to see them ride the Gorge. I can remember watching the PruTour must be about 10 years ago take on the Gorge and what a spectacle it was in the spectacular scenery.

Until next week,

Bob.

Cycle Chat 20.08.11

Jeremy Hunt (Sky Procycling) called in the shop this week after riding in the Great Britain Team with Mark Cavendish as leader in last weekend's London-Surrey Cycle Classic (2012 Olympic warm up in disguise).

Mark got the first whilst Jeremy a 13th putting him in a good position for selection next year and also for the soon coming World Championships.

It seems like all the Brits worked together not withstanding their team to get a total victory for Great Britain.

The one-off race began on The Mall and took in two ascents of the signature Box Hill climb in Surrey, as well as venturing through Hampton Court Palace, Walton-on-Thames, Guildford and Dorking.

Mark emerged from a tightly knit pack to take the win - back on The Mall once more - ahead of Italy's Sacha Modolo and France's Samuel Dumoulin.

They were swept into the sort of bunch sprint finish from which Mark, the world's best sprinter, so frequently manufactures Tour de France stage wins - and he once again proved the victor.

This year's route is shorter than the one the men will tackle at the London Olympics.

In 2012, seven more large loops will extend the men's race to a distance of 155 miles (250km), while the women's race distance will remain 87 miles (140km).

An announcement on Mark's new trade team, widely believed to be Team Sky - run by British Cycling chief Dave Brailsford - is due very shortly!!

Yanto Barker (Pendragon - Le Col - Colnago) rode to a win in the Paignton Carnival Critérium last week. It was a great race at a hectic pace which always gets faster and faster making sure that you keep in the pack. Get behind and you are out!!

The season's third grand tour clicks the Tour of Spain into gear Saturday with a team time trial in this seaside summer resort that's already packed with tourists but the Spanish tour will start with no shortage of contenders for overall victory when the race roars into Madrid on September 11 for the final sprint.

A climber's course favours a Spanish mountain goat for victory. The course, loaded with six mountaintop finishes, is ideal for climbers, a long, 47km individual time trial in Salamanca that favours the specialists in stage 10 could throw a wrench into their plans.

Brits in the start list include Mark Cavendish, Christopher Froome, Ian Stannard and Bradley Wiggins.

Bradley has made a quick recovery from his broken collar bone in the TdF and will be after a podium to make up for his disappointment.

Full coverage as usual on Eurosport!!

Until next week,
Bob.

Cycle Chat 13.08.11

Jon Locke (Rapha Condor) had his biggest result of his career with a second spot in the Vuelta Ciclista a León which also included a win in the King of the Mountains and also a stage win.

Jon was just 2secs behind eventual winner Marc Goos (Rabobank Continental Team) and was many points in the lead in the Mountain Competition.

A great result for Jon which has come at just the right time with Team Managers looking at new talent to strengthen their teams for 2012.

Jon has benefited from a period of concentrated training at home, and has taken his first international win for the team and said afterwards (with thanks to www.raphacondor.cc)

"I've been living like a monk at home for three weeks so I hoped I would be in form here. Once Dan Craven weakened it was up to me to take my chance, I knew I would be the fastest in the break, and obviously I was the freshest as with a guy in yellow I didn't contribute. It would have been nice to get the overall win, but I think we can be pretty satisfied with two stage wins for now".

Other local rider Yanto barker (Pendragon-Le Col-Colnago) will be looking for another team next year after the team has decided to pull out at the end of the season.

The team has been a good outlet for Yanto with some great results and also able to promote his brand (Le-Col) of cycling clothing. (We have a large selection of Le-Col in our shop in Paignton!!)

It is the warm up for the Olympics this coming Sunday to assess the course, also the organisation as well as looking for any pit falls as the preparations are made for 2012.

Disguised as the London-Surrey Cycle Classic the route takes cyclists from The Mall, through west London and then out to Surrey and back.

In total, the men's race will be 240km (150 miles) and the women's 130km (80 miles).

The route includes two circuits of Box Hill which although not quite an Alpine climb will be a place for the climbers to split the field.

A number of the best riders in the world will be present as well as British Tour de France star Mark Cavendish plus a host of Britain's top teams including Cyclepremier - Mataltek, Endura, Motorpoint, Rapha-Condor-Sharp (which will include Jon Locke), Sigma Sport, Team Raleigh, Twenty3c-Orbea, Team Corley.

The event is a dress rehearsal for next year's Olympic Road Race, which will take place on 28 and 29 July 2012.

Until next week,

Bob.

Cycle Chat 06.08.11

It was 2 firsts for the Mid Devon CC "On Tour" section of the club in the East Yorkshire Classic in Beverley last Sunday!!

Jeremy Hunt (Sky Procycling) won the overall and Jon Locke (Rapha Condor) the King of the Mountains with an 8th overall 1 sec behind Jeremy.

A great ride for them both with Jeremy (who was using the race as a training ride) not having a team around him, no service car and being a marked man as not being able to break away without being chased down by an opposing team.

After the race, Jeremy said: (with thanks to www.britishcycling.org.uk)

"It's always difficult being a continental pro coming to ride in domestic races because you become a marked man. Some of these guys have the ability to ride at the top level like McEvoy and Bibby. They are top class domestic riders but could also make it abroad".

"I expected to be a marked man today and I was, nobody was going to give me a tow to the finish and I had to chase down attacks on my own."

"This has been great training for me, you can only dig so deep on your own, but in a race when you are going for the win you put in a lot more effort."

Jon needed to be near the front all the time in order to snip past to take the KOM points. A terrific achievement!! This leaves Jon in 8th position in the Premier Calendar overall competition.

Jon is at present riding in the 5 stage Vuelta Ciclista a León with so far a 42nd, 5th, 10th and a 24th leaving him 3rd overall 2 mins behind his teammate Dan Craven.

Bradley Wiggins is looking to bounce back from a crushing early exit at the Tour de France as he sets his sights on the Vuelta a Espana.

Entering the Tour in the form of his life, the Brit was forced to abandon the race after breaking a collarbone following a mass pile-up on a nervous stage seven.

Bradley was immediately taken to hospital before flying home to England for an operation and to recuperate. Yet while many athletes would have dwelled on what could have been, the 31-year-old immediately set his sights onto the next target.

After a swift reassessment the decision was taken not to let such good form go to waste, with Bradley relishing the chance to jump back onto the bike at the earliest opportunity as he returned to training.

The HTC-Highroad team will end its association with professional cycling at the end of the season, drawing to an end its five-year spell in the sport. This leaves mark Cavendish needing a team for next year!!??

Mark Cavendish says he has decided which team he will be within 2012 - but is refusing to reveal their identity for a few weeks.

There is speculation that it is Sky Procycling. Whether that is wishful thinking on the part of the media or truth watch this space!!

Until next week,

Bob.

Colin Lewis Cycles Limited, 17 Dartmouth Road, Paignton, TQ4 5AD. Telephone: 01803 553095. Registered company number: 4095543.