Tag: Marianne Vos

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Trott and Voss Sign for the Revolution Series

Revolution Series

Revolution SeriesLaura Trott and Marianne Vos are the latest cycling stars to confirm their places at the Revolution Series, going head-to-head at Round 1, which takes place at the Lee Valley VeloPark in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on October 24-25.

 

Vos said, ‘Having competed in at the Revolution Series in Manchester a couple of years ago I know first-hand how electrifying the racing is, and coming back to London to compete in the Olympic Velodrome against the best British riders is an exciting challenge.’ Whilst GB’s Trott adds: ‘The atmosphere and support from the fans at each Revolution event is always unbelievable, especially when we are back in the Lee Valley VeloPark. Add the UCI points into the mix and there is a lot to cycle for in this year’s Series.’

 

Following the opening races at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London, the event travels to Manchester and Glasgow, before coming back to London ahead of the final round in Manchester in March of next year. Managing Director of FACE Partnership and promoter of Revolution Series, James Pope, comments: ‘The Revolution Series is all about giving the UK a chance to see the world’s best cyclists competing – to have the world’s best track rider line up against the world’s best road rider on the track is a scintillating prospect.’

 

The full schedule for the Revolution Series is:

Round 1: October 24-25 – London

Round 2: November 22 – Manchester

Round 3: January 3 – Manchester

Round 4: January 31 – Glasgow

Round 5: February 27-28 – London

Round 6: March 14 – Manchester

 

Tickets for Round 1 of the Revolution Series start from £15 and are available at cyclingrevolution.com

 

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A Great British Weekend at RideLondon

RideLondon

RideLondonThe Prudential RideLondon weekend, despite some dramatic weather, saw not only in excess of 20,000 amateur cyclists take on the Surrey 100 (making it the biggest sportive ever staged in the UK) but also incredible success for the British contingent in the professional events.

 

On Saturday Italy’s Giorgia Bronzini hit a turn of speed in the closing metres to beat Marianne Vos in the RideLondon Grand Prix – the 1.3mile lap race around St James’ Park – with Olympic silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead in third. An extraordinary seven of the top ten places in the event went to British riders with Eileen Roe and Olympic gold medallist Laura Trott finishing in fourth and fifth respectively.

 

British success continued on Sunday with the RideLondon Classic 100-mile Surrey to London race, which saw Adam Blythe win in a sprint finish ahead of Ben Swift. The final 30km witnessed the lead pack reduced from a dozen riders to just 5 in a highly tactical game that former road world champion Philippe Gilbert looked to already have in the bag on a number of occasions; but with the final turn into The Mall it was relative unknown Blythe who still had the legs to get to the line. Bradley Wiggins, making only his second competitive appearance in London since the 2012 Olympics, finished down in 30th place.

 

Further details and full results for Prudential RideLondon at prudentialridelondon.co.uk

 

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Armitstead Heads for RideLondon

RideLondon

RideLondonLizzie Armitstead, who took gold at the Commonwealth Games road race in Glasgow, is set for an appearance at this weekend’s Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix (Saturday August 9). She joins her Team England colleagues Laura Trott and Hannah Barnes on the start list for the race, which will be broadcast live on BBC2, and will also be competing against reigning world and Olympic champion Marianne Vos.

 

The domestic contingent will also be strongly represented, with British Circuit Race champion and Matrix Fitness GP Series winner Eileen Roe and Women’s Road Series champion Nicola Juniper set to compete. Multiple Paralympic gold medallist Dame Sarah Storey will lead her Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International team which will also include seventh place finisher in the Commonwealth Games road race and track world champion Katie Archibald, plus Lauren Creamer who won the Women’s Tour of Staffordshire at the weekend, the final round of the domestic Women’s Road Series.

 

Despite the no-show at RideLondon by Mark Cavendish following his Tour de France crash, the weekend will see many of the world’s elite male cyclists taking to the streets. Australian Mark Renshaw, Chris Sutton and Ben Swift are amongst those confirmed.

 

The Prudential RideLondon event, to give it it’s full name, is an annual two-day festival of cycling developed by the Mayor of London and his agencies as part of the legacy of the London 2012 Games.

 

Full details of RideLondon at prudentialridelondon.co.uk

 

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Marianne Vos wins Women’s Tour

marianne_vos_wtob_stage5Having started with a 19second advantage Marianne Vos claimed victory for the third consecutive day on the final stage of The Friends Life Women’s Tour to secure an overall win of the inaugural event. Giorgia Bronzini took second place on the day and Amy Pieters third. Speaking to BBC Sport Vos said, ‘I have won many titles before, and some gold medals, but this women’s Tour is really special because it means so much to women’s cycling.’

 

Vos’s overall time in GC ended on 12:42:07″, with Orica-AIS’s Emma Johannson (the winner of Stage 1) in second place on +30 and Rosella Ratto (Estado de Mexico Faren) in third on +35. GB’s Lucy Garner and Hannah Barnes ended GC in 7th and 8th respectively, Danni King in in 26th and Sharon Laws in 33rd.

 

Former junior British road race champion Emma Trott – always somewhat harshly reduced to being called ‘sister of Laura’ – had announced her retirement from the sport on the penultimate day of the Women’s Tour, choosing the occasion as it rolled into Welwyn Garden City where she was born. She ended the Women’s Tour in 60th place, one spot below Emma Pooley and five below her sister.

 

Full details and results of the Women’s Tour of Britain at thetour.co.uk

 

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Johansson Wins Women’s Tour of Britain Stage 1

Women’s Tour of BritainThe first stage of the inaugural Women’s Tour of Britain ended in a sprint finish with Sweden’s Emma Johansson claiming a narrow victory over Olympic champion Marianne Vos and GB’s Hannah Barnes in a time of 2hr 18’ 29”. Despite looking to have a strong enough lead at the 500m mark GB’s Lizzie Armitstead lost her legs to the group by starting her sprint too early and finished back in eighth. GB Team Pursuit Olympic Gold Medallists Dani King and Laura Trott finished down in 29th and 38th respectively.

 

Commenting on the judgement that cost her the win Armitstead said: ‘Coming around that bottom corner there were massive crowds and as a British girl I got over-excited and went for it. I started far too early, Emma Johansson was on my wheel and she won, so I gave her the perfect lead-out basically… I’m confident that I’m in sprinting shape. I just wasn’t clever enough…’ Despite taking eighth on the day, Armitstead actually sits at sixth in the General Classifications having picked up a two seconds bonus in a YodelDirect Sprint; she was also awarded the Best British Jersey.

 

The Women’s Tour of Britain – more correctly called The Friends Life Women’s Tour – sees a total of 96 elite riders, representing 11 of the top 14 professional women’s teams, battle it out in Britain across five days, ending on Sunday May 11 in Bury St Edmunds. Daily TV highlights in the UK are on ITV4 at 8pm; for further information on the Women’s Tour of Britain see thetour.co.uk

 

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La Course by le Tour de France Launched

La Course by le Tour de France

La Course by le Tour de FranceWhen former World Time Trial champion Emma Pooley, Dutch cycling superstar Marianne Vos and four-time Ironman champion Chrissie Wellington launch their campaign last year for the return of a women’s Tour de France they clearly hit a nerve. The campaign saw rapid support and the number of signatures on their petition to ASO (Amaury Sports Organization – owner/operators of the TdF) quickly outstripped expectation, with the number now standing at over 97,000. In part due to that pressure it has now been announced that the inaugural La Course by le Tour de France will take place in Paris on the same day as the final stage of the TdF (July 27) with elite women cyclists racing a city circuit and a sprint-finish on the Champs-Elysées.

 

Brian Cookson, president of the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) has welcomed the move, saying, ‘I am delighted to see this exciting development for women’s cycling. The UCI is committed to support the development of women’s cycling, and following my election to the UCI Presidency in 2013 we established a Women’s Commission to focus our efforts here. The quality of professional women’s road racing has long deserved a wider audience, and we are very happy that this initiative by A.S.O. will bring the sport to many fans, new and old.’

 

Commenting on the launch of the La Course by le Tour de France – which organisers are describing as an event ‘…destined to become an iconic race in the women’s calendar,’ – Vos added, ‘I am very excited to be taking part, especially with the majestic finish on the Champs-Elysées. The launch of this race is a revolutionary development in our sport. The Tour is the pinnacle of professional cycling, and I have no doubt that La Course by Le Tour identifies a new era for women’s cycling and will significantly contribute to the growth of road racing.’

 

You can continue to support the campaign for full equality at letourentier.com and follow it on Twitter @LeTourEntier – further details on La Course by le Tour de France can be found at letour.fr

 

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Marianne Vos Wins RR Title

Marianne Vos

Marianne VosMarianne Vos has retained the women’s Road Race title at the World Championships in Italy. The 26-year-old Dutch rider comfortably won the 140km (86.2mile) race in Italy in a time of 3hrs, 44 minutes, 15 seconds ahead of second-placed Emma Johansson (Sweden) with Italy’s Rossella Ratto taking third. GB’s Lizzie Armitstead, who won Olympic Silver to Vos’s Gold last year, finished back in 19th place – the highest placed Brit.

 

The British performed little better (in fact considerably worse) in the men’s Road Race. In a rain-soaked and crash-scattered event, Portugal’s Rui Costa took the win in 7hrs 25’42”, whilst 2013 Tour de France winner Chris Froome dropped from the event with 80kms let to run. None of the other seven Brits on show – including Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish – crossed the line either.

 

Talking to Sky Sports News about a day best forgotten Froome commented, ‘It was a tough race out there and really dangerous once we reached the circuit… The roads were really slippery and the rain has just been relentless today. At the end of the day I just didn’t have it. I was feeling blocked up and all stiff through my back, I think from trying to grip onto the brakes…’

 

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Women’s Tour de France Manifesto

womens_tdfThe campaign to reintroduce a women’s Tour de France has intensified with the launch of a new website – letourentier.com – and the unveiling of an official manifesto which has been sent to both the International Cycling Union (UCI) and Amaury Sport Organisation, owners of the Tour de France.

 

With support from a number of high profile sports personalities including World Champion Emma Pooley, Dutch superstar Marianne Vos and World Ironman Triathlon Champion Chrissie Wellington, the reintroduction of the event is once more high on the agenda. The women’s Tour de France has had a checkered history; it began in 1984 (as the ‘Tour de France Feminin’), folding five years later and returning for a further stretch from 1992 during which it was rebranded ‘The Grande Boucle’ following trademark disputes; the 2004 event was cancelled due to problems with logistics and the last running of the race was in 2009.

 

The Manifesto makes it clear that the opening up of the TdF to female athletes is only part of the wider issue of equal representation (and indeed media representation), saying, ‘Our objective is to help create a framework to support the growth of women’s cycling and build a sport with greater consumer, media and commercial appeal…’

 

To support the reintroduction of the women’s Tour de France campaign, which encompasses everything from sponsorship to more holistic employment opportunities visit letourentier.com, sign the petition (almost 94,000 already have) and spread the word. You can also follow the campaign on twitter at @LeTourEntier