Tag: emma pooley

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Laws and Pooley Take Bronze at Worlds

Brits Sharon Laws and Emma Pooley have helped their team, AA Drink-Leontien.nl, take bronze at the Women’s Team Time Trial at yesterday’s opener of the UCI World Championships in Limburg, Holland. It was a swansong for AA Drink, who are disbanding in an increasingly harsh financial climate, and possibly for Pooley too, who has suggested she may now concentrate on academic pursuits. The 34km event, new to the World Championships, was won by Team Specialised in a time of 46:31.63, with ORICA-AIS taking the silver. The Men’s Team Time Trial ended in disappointment for Sky, finishing back in ninth despite the presence of Olympic Gold Medallist Geraint Thomas; the 53.2km event was won by Omega Pharma-Quickstep, with BMC taking silver and ORICA GreenEDGE in bronze.

 

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GB Announces World Cycling Championships Squads

No great surprise to hear that Mark Cavendish is to defend his titles at the upcoming World Cycling Championships in Limburg, Holland (September 16-23), part of the nine-man Road Race team that is to comprise Tour de France and Olympic Gold Medallist Bradley Wiggins, Steve Cummings, Alex Dowsett, Chris Froome, Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Jonathan Tiernan-Locke. Froome will also represent GB in the Time Trials along with Alex Dowsett, something of a surprise double act which leaves out Geraint Thomas, who failed to make it beyond the long list.

 

The Elite Women’s Road Race squad will be Olympic Silver Medallist Lizzie Armitstead, Emma Pooley, Katie Colclough, Nicole Cooke, Nikki Harris and Sharon Laws, with Pooley also joining Wendy Houvenaghel in the Time Trial.

 

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Swan Song for Pooley?

Emma Pooley has told the BBC that she may quit professional cycling to concentrate on her academic studies. Pooley, who won silver in the Time Trial in Beijing but suffered a disappointing London Games (sixth in the TT and 40th in the Road Race), told BBC Radio Norfolk that she may well either take a year off or quit entirely after next week’s World Championships in order to complete work on her PhD in geo-technical engineering. ’I don’t want to race and race really badly, so it depends if I could find a time that would let me work around my PhD commitments… but I’m just not sure how I feel about it at the moment,’ she lamented.

 

Pooley has always been at the vanguard in pushing the International Cycling Union (UCI) to raise the profile of women’s racing and spoke today about the prize money disparity between the sexes, saying, ’If I was a male cyclist, I wouldn’t have to work after I finish cycling.’ her current situation is exacerbated by the announcement that her Dutch team, AA Drink-Leontien.nl, are to effectively disband for financial reasons, making one of GB’s greatest talents homeless.

 

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Evans Ducks Out of Wallonne

With the weather forecast for today’s Fleche Wallonne looking downright appalling, it should perhaps come as no surprise that Cadel Evans has withdrawn from competition as he continues to suffer from the sinus infection that forced his abandonment of last Sunday’s  Amstel Gold. In an official statement BMC Racing team doctor, the appropriately named Max Testa, said, ‘Cadel has the Tour of Romandie coming in one week and with this infection, we don’t want to take any risks… The weather won’t be helpful – it’s going to be rainy and cold.’ The decision leaves last year’s winner, Philippe Gilbert, without his team-mate but hopefully only metaphorically out in the cold.

 

Before the men take to the Belgium streets, Marianne Vos will be defending last year’s victory in La Fleche Wallonne Femmes, with Emma Pooley and Nicole Cooke chief British opponents, Pooley having won the event in 2010 and Cooke in 2003, 5 and 6.

 

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Boonen Takes Flanders

Omega Pharma-Quick Step’s Tom Boonen yesterday took his third win at the Ronde van Vlaanderen (popularly known as the Tour of Flanders). Following on from victories in both 2005 and 2006 and capitalising on an excellent year so far, the Belgium held off Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) and BMC’s Alessandro Ballan, by a bike-length to win the sprint finish.

 

Meanwhile in the women’s edition of the cobbled classic Lizzie Armistead’s pre-race optimism quickly evaporated after an ill-advised and ultimately disastrous attempt to attack resulted in a finishing place of 34, something the GB star was quick to admit was down to he inexperience on the course. Some consolation for Armistead in that she beat rival Brit Emma Pooley, all be it by a single spot. The women’s edition was won by Germany’s Judith Arndt.

 

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British Cycling Confirms Women’s RT Coach

British Cycling has announced that Chris Newton will take on responsibility for coaching the Women’s Road Team in the lead up to London 2012. As part of a restructuring within the GB coaching team, Newton will continue working with Great Britain’s Academy men on road and track (a position he has held over the past 12 months) but, with additional support from Keith Lambert, will now be able to commit time to oversee the six riders who are vying for the four (possible) Olympic places. Under his tutelage will now be Lizzie Armitstead, Emma Pooley, Lucy Martin, Sharon Laws, Nicole Cooke and Katie Colcough.

 

Commenting on the move Performance Director Dave Brailsford said: ‘We’re confident that Chris’ skills and capabilities will ensure that the Women’s Road Team arrive at the London 2012 Olympic Games ready to give their best possible performance.’ With Newton adding, ‘It’s a privilege to be working with such a talented group of riders and I am looking forward to this new challenge.’

 

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BigMat’s Big Switch

If reports in the Dutch magazine Wieler Revue are true then the future of British riders such as Lizzie Armitstead, Emma Pooley, Lucy Martin and Sharon Laws with Team Garmin-Cervélo could be in jeopardy with less than 9 months to go before the 2012 Olympics. According to the magazine the French firm BigMat were to have supported Garmin-Cervélo as a second tier sponsor but have now switched their wagons to join FDJ, the French cycling outfit, named for its title sponsor, the French national lottery. Whilst BigMat’s decision to back FDJ has seen their WorldTour licence returned for the 2012 season, the shortfall left at Garmin puts the future of their women’s team in doubt. The potentially dire news comes just weeks after former World Champion Emma Pooley publicly criticised the ongoing lack of a women’s team at Sky.

 

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Pooley Loses Crown

UCI Road World Championships Yesterday (September 20) was not the day for Emma Pooley. At the UCI World Road Cycling time trials in a rain soaked Denmark she failed to defend her time trial world champion position when her rival, Judith Arndt of Germany, raced her way to the win across the  27.8km course in 37:07.38 with Pooley 24.13seconds off position and New Zealand’s Linda Villumsen taking second-place. It was a reversal of fortunes for Pooley who had beaten Arndt by 15 seconds in 2010, making her the first British female time trial world champion.

 

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra Pooley refused to be despondent, saying, “I’m pleased with the result…I’m more of a climber. I would have liked there to have been some kind of seismic activity in Copenhagen, and a mountain to have appeared.”

 

The UCI Road World Championships continue in Copenhagen until Sunday September 15.