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De Ronde with Geraint Thomas

Geraint ThomasHere’s one for your diary: Thompson Sport have teamed up with Geraint Thomas to offer a cycling experience of a lifetime with the opportunity to spend time with the gold medallist – Beijing, Team Pursuit – on a three-day trip (August 17-20) along the cobbled lanes and country roads of Belgium. Following routes made famous by the Tour of Flanders (or the Ronde van Vlaanderen for the pedants out there) this is a chance to ride alongside the Welsh pro cyclist, learning from one of the world’s greatest exponents – or, perhaps, just wheeling along in the slip-steam and enjoying some vicarious glory. Freddy Maertens will also be on hand to give cyclists a guided tour through the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen (the spiritual home of Flandrian cycling) and Thomas will host a Q&A session following the second day in the saddle.

 

Thomas says, “I am really excited to announce the opportunity for you guys to join me at a special 3 day De Ronde experience in August. I love the Classics and I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge with you. Any cyclist can join me and the facilities available are top class. I look forward to seeing you there!”

 

With prices starting from £869 (including travel and 4-star accommodation) this isn’t going to be the cheapest short-break you’ve ever considered – but it does look like it could be one of the most memorable.

 

Full information available at www.thomsonsport.com

 

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And on, and on, and on…

Back in April Cyclo (rather optimistically) reported that it looked like an end could be in sight with regards to the on-going  Alberto Contador doping controversy when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced that it would be reviewing the case and that: “…written proceedings in this matter are likely to be concluded at the end of May and the CAS envisages to hold a hearing in June 2011, which would allow the settlement of the dispute before the end of June 2011.” This would of course have meant that everything would be neatly wrapped up before the start of this year’s Tour de France (July 2) at which the Saxo Bank-SunGard star will be defending his title. Well, no such luck…

 

CAS has now announced that the case involving the taking/accidental ingestion of clenbuterol levelled against the Spaniard will be heard after the Tour; a ridiculous state of affairs that does nothing for the ever-declining image of pro racing. Assuming Contador were to bag another win at the Tour this year (and he looks strong enough to) he could, if the Lausanne-based court finds against him, be stripped of his success, plus his 2010 title and even his recent standing at the Giro d’Italia. In other words a cloud of doubt will hang over more than a year’s worth of results whilst CAS edge painfully slowly towards making any kind of ruling.

 

Contador remains adamant that the traces of clenbuterol – which is similar to the asthma drug salbutamol and gives advantageous  aerobic capacity – found its way into his system via contaminated meat. He was initially cleared by The Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) before that decision was challenged by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Cyclo would be bored of this story if it didn’t have such wide-reaching ramifications and weren’t doing quite so much to damage the sport we love.

 

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Tour de Yorkshire?

Cyclo is delighted to hear that “advanced talks” have apparently taken place between the organisers of the Tour de France and the regional tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire about the possibility of holding the 2016 Grand Depart (the opening 2 days/stages) in the county. Traditionally the opening stages are held outside France every two years but haven’t landed on UK shores since 2007 when the Classic got underway in Kent, a move that proved massively popular with many thousands turning out to watch.

 

It is understood that the proposed Yorkshire stages would include Hull, Sheffield, Scarborough, the Dales, Leeds and York although the Tour organisers have yet to visit and review the possible course suggestions. Further dialogue is expected during June between all parties and before any commitment to view exactly what Yorkshire has to offer is made. Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, confirms “…in-depth discussions are ongoing but I can reveal Yorkshire’s bid has been positively received by the organising committee at this stage.”

 

With the potential of millions of tourist pounds at stake, the blessing of the Tour de France running a route through the English countryside is naturally attractive; but more than this it’s clear that a UK visit always does wonders to boost the sport’s domestic profile. Cyclo will keep our fingers crossed (and you posted…)

 

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Giro Victory for Contador

The 2011 Giro d’Italia has drawn to dramatic conclusion in Milan (Sunday, May 29) with Alberto Contador (Team Saxo Bank) pulling in a third place win on the final stage Individual Time Trial to secure overall victory with a time of  84:05:14. The Spaniard had, in all honesty, looked relatively unchallenged (even unchallengeable) since taking the lead way back on the ninth stage Mount Etna run.  Adding to his 2008 Giro title, the 2011 edition win now brings his Grand Tour victories to six. In a warm and sunny Milan it was Britain’s David Millar of Garmin who won the 26 kilometre ITT, taking a comfortable looking stage victory in just 30:13, seven seconds up on second place Alex Rasmussen (HTC-Highroad) and some 36 seconds ahead of Contador.

 

Although this year’s edition of the Italian classic delivered all of the expected action and some truly memorable stages of racing it will, of course, be most remembered for the tragic death of Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt of Leopard-Trek who died after crashing on the Giro’s third stage on May 9.

 

For full Giro d’Italia results see: www.uciprotour.com

 

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Life’s a Breeze

British Cycling has launched its Breeze network of social bike rides designed by and intended for women only. The scheme has been made possible by investment from the Active Women Campaign funded through the National Lottery and Sport England and despite a little grumbling from the likes of the Guardian, who seem to think such initiatives are potentially patronising, the move seems both timely (it has been suggested that the number “regular” female cyclist has fallen by 35,000 in three years) and widely welcomed.

 

The free rides, generally small groups, will be led by specially trained, local, Breeze “champions” And the scheme will also encompass a degree or training, support and networking opportunities. With only around one in four who cycle once a week being women, Cyclo certainly loves the idea of Breeze and can’t wait to hear from any readers who have become involved in this excellent scheme.

 

For more information, including details of how to get involved with Breeze rides in your local area, visit: www.goskyride.com

 

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Tour de France: Sneaky-Peak

Tour de FranceOkay so the Giro d’Italia isn’t quite over yet and is still serving up the expected thrills and we have plenty of other two wheeled action on the horizon (including the Tour of Luxembourg June 1-5) but here at Cyclo we can never contain our excitement about the Tour de France. So, without apology, and ahead of next month’s main feature on the event, here is a little taster of what to expect. From Saturday July 2 the 98th Tour runs over 21 stages with just two rest days – July 11 and 18 – covering approximately 3,470k of action but, this year, including only two Team Time Trial sections (totaling just 64k) made up of Stage 2 (23k) on July 3 at Les Essarts and Stage 23 (41km) at Grenoble. There are also three Medium and six High Mountain stages to be tackled before glory at the classic Champs-Élysées finish.

 

The full stages break down like this:

 

Stage 1 (July 2) Passage du Gois-Mont des Alouettes – 191km
Stage 2 (July 3)  Les Essarts-Les Essarts, TTT – 23km
Stage 3 (July 4)  Olonne-sur-Mer-Redon – 198km
Stage 4 (July 5)  Lorient-Mûr-de-Bretagne – 172km
Stage 5 (July 6) Carhaix-Cap Fréhel – 158km
Stage 6 (July 7)  Dinan-Lisieux – 226km
Stage 7 (July 8 ) Le Mans-Châteauroux – 215km
Stage 8 (July 9)  Aigurande-Super Besse Sancy – 190km
Stage 9 (July 10): Issoire-St-Flour – 208km
Rest Day (July 11)
Stage 10 (July 12)  Aurillac-Carmaux – 161km
Stage 11 (July 13)  Blaye-les-Mines-Lavaur – 168km
Stage 12 (July 14): Cugnaux-Luz Ardiden – 209km
Stage 13 (July 15): Pau-Lourdes – 156km
Stage 14: (July 16) Saint-Gaudens-Plateau de Beille – 168km
Stage 15 (July 17)  Limous-Montpellier – 187km
Rest Day (July 18)
Stage 16 (July 19): Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux-Gap – 163km
Stage 17 (July 20): Gap-Pinerolo – 179km
Stage 18 (July 21)  Pinerolo-Galibier/Serre-Chevalier – 189km
Stage 19 (July 22)  Modane-Alpe d’Huez – 109km
Stage 20 (July 24)  Grenoble-Grenoble, ITT – 41km
Stage 21 (July 25)  Créteil-Paris/Champs-Elysées – 160km

 

See the 2011 Tour route video below – we really can’t wait…

 

 

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Rapha Condor Sharp: Two for Two

Rapha Condor SharpRapha Condor Sharp now lead Endura racing by two clear points for overall classification at the Halfords Tour Series with last year’s winners, Motorpoint, dropped back into third spot. A shrewd tactical line-up change saw them take their second Tour Series win in two rounds for a clean sweep, with National Criterium Champion Ed Clancy taking his first win of this year’s series in a noticeably cold and windy Aberystwyth, the inaugural visit of the Tour to Wales. Clancy, probably helped out by fresh legs having sat out round one (Tuesday May 24) in Durham, was the strongest of a six-man break that dominated the closing stages of the race, ultimately snatching victory from the wheels of Pendragon’s Chris Opie who had similarly passed on round one.

 

Rapha Condor Sharp team manager John Herety commented: “We were happy to have Ed in the break, as it was a small move with no teams managing to get two riders there. While we were pretty confident then of the win on the night, the boys behind really had to concentrate to make sure they made the most of the result to make sure we took home the team prize. Andy & Kristian did the business there, just like they had done on Tuesday”.

 

Television coverage of the Tour continues on ITV4.

 

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Paralympics Brands Hatch a Plan

Here at Cyclo we’re busy filling up our jotter book as and when venues for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic are announced so we were delighted to be able to get out our sharpie and make a note that Brands Hatch has been unveiled as the site for the Paralympic cycling road races. More than 200 of the world’s elite will fight it out for 32 road race titles (17 male, 12 female, 3 mixed) on a course that will begin and end at the world famous venue which began life in 1928 as a grass track cycle circuit before establishing itself in motor sports including a long tenure as the British F1 venue.

 

With regards to the decision to stage the races at an out of Capital site, Lord Coe commented: “This will help us extend the Games outside London and will give spectators and athletes the chance to discover yet another stunning part of our country.”

 

The announcement was the final piece in the puzzle with all of the 2012 Game’s venues now confirmed. So I guess Cyclo can put away the jotter…