Hamburg date still uncertain

Because the Deutschland Rundfahrt will assume two weekends instead of one next year (as demanded by ARD), the 19 August date for the Vatenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg is now again uncertain. The Tour of Germany will be held as of 11 August.

Meanwhile, the Tour d' Energie in Göttingen has been confirmed for Sunday, 29 April. As in the past two editions - which were outstandingly organised - there will be a 80km race, but new is also a 55km option.

The Frankfurt International Cycling Club will travel to Niedersachsen with a considerable team. Please let us know if you'd like to join us!

www.goesf.de

Register for Köln, Frankfurt and Leipzig

Three big city races have opened the registrations for their cyclo events in 2007. First on the calendar will be Rund um Köln on Easter Monday (9 April), which should also be the first leg of the 2007 edition of the T-Mobile Cyclo Tour. You can also register already for the Henninger Turm on 1 May and Rund um die Braunkohle in Leipzig on 28 May.

Links:
www.rundumkoeln.de

www.henninger-rennen.de

www.neuseenclassics.de

Weekend training round-up

Elin, Lorenzo and Kris took out the road bike on Saturday for a moderately-paced ride towards the Taunus via Höchst. A key objective was to find a nice 8-10km circuit somewhere for training purposes. And yes we did find something! A 9km tour around the Farbwerke with little to no traffic (1.6km is even forbidden for cars), good roads and/or wide cycling lanes and only 1 traffic light. It was Lorenzo's proposal and we happily accept. More details on the Höchst Loop, which can easily be reached via the Mainzer Landstrasse onto Farbwerke S-bahn station, or simply via the Main river, will be released here soon. Objective is to train in group there on weekday nights (e.g. Tuesday & Thursday) and Saturday mornings.

The trio went on to the Kaiserstempel in Eppstein before heading back to Frankfurt with some 100km in the legs. That wasn't even enough for Elin, as she did another four hours with Morten on Sunday!

La Marmotte on 7 July 2007

The provisional calendar of the French Grand Trophée des Cyclosportives has been released by the organisers (www.sportcommunication.com). No major surprises as the two key events, La Marmotte and Les 3 Ballons, keep their traditional weekends. The races in the Provence on the other hand have been moved significantly, with Epervier now on 29 April already en La Cezanne on 27 May. No date has been scheduled so far for L'Etape Beaujolaise. Registration opens in January.

Photo left: Emmanuele Negrini, winner of La Marmotte in 2005 and 2006.

29.04.07 - Trophée de l'Epervier, Cogolin
13.05.07 - La LOOK, Nevers
27.05.07 - La Cezanne St. Victoire, Aix-en-Provence
02.06.07 - La Ventoux, Beaumes-de-Venise
09.07.07 - Les 3 Ballons, La Planche-des-Belles-Filles
16.07.07 - La Morzine, Morzine
01.07.07 - La Vaujany, Vaujany
07.07.07 - La Marmotte, Alpe D'Huez
18.08.07 - L'Auvergnate, La Bourboule
08.09.07 - La Ronde Picarde, Abbeville

Become a member!

Gradually the Frankfurt International Cycling Club is coming into shape. If you'd like to be listed as a member (no obligations to go with it), please click on the freshly inserted link on the right-hand side. A membership list is just to measure your interest in the FICC project as a visitor to this site.

Even if the weather is currently not very appealing, check the calendar for upcoming training rides that people are committing themselves too.

If you are a keen cyclist in the Frankfurt area, and you'd like to become an editor to this website, by all means, please send an e-mail to frankfurt.cyclingclub@googlemail.com. Hopefully, this can over time become a central point of information on cycling activity in the FFM area!

Ronde van Vlaanderen 2007: No Koppenberg!

The course of the Ronde van Vlaanderen for 2007 was announced in Oudenaarde, Belgium, yesterday. The most striking novelty is the omission of the legendary Koppenberg. The organisers were unimpressed by the chaos in this year's pro race, which saw only 8 riders managing to reach the top without having to set foot on the ground. The state of the cobblestones on the Koppenberg has deteriorated again to such an extent that it is not considered safe enough. It is not excluded that the Koppenberg returns to the Flanders race in the next few years, possibly even closer to the finish line. It is a public secret in Flanders that the organisers would like to see the finish of the race in Oudenaarde, with the succession of Oude Kwaremont, Paterberg and Koppenberg as the decisive climbs in the finale.

In 2007, Foreest and Steenberg will be replaced by the Kluisberg, Cote de Trieu and Kortekeer - all three making a return to the Ronde - and an additional 18th climb will be conquered: the unknown Eikenmolen, between Tenbosse and the Muur.

As usual, the cylotour version takes place the day before, on Saturday. People can ride the full distance (256km, start in Bruges) or the 140km, which starts in Ninove (Aalst) and contain all the highlights.

The 2007 Tour of Flanders includes the following climbs with each length, average grade, and maximum grade indicated:

Molenberg 325m, 9.8%, 11.0%
Wolvenberg 800m, 6.3%, 19.0%
Kluisberg 1100m, 6.0%, 15.0%
Knokteberg/Cote de Trieu 1100m, 8.0%, 13.0%
Oude Kwaremont 2200m, 4.3%, 11.0%
Paterberg 350m, 12.5%, 20.0%
Kortekeer 6.0%
Steenbeekdries 700m, 5.3%, 6.7%
Taaienberg 475m, 9.5%, 18.0%
Eikenberg 1175m, 5.5%, 11.0%
Boigneberg 1050m, 5.2%, 12.4%
Leberg 850m, 4.6%, 16.0%
Berendries 900m, 4.7%, 14.0%
Valkenberg 875m, 6.1%, 12.8%
Tenbosse 450m, 6.9%, 8.7%
Eikenmolen 610m, 5.9%
Muur-Kapelmuur 825m, 9.3%, 20.0%
Bosberg 475m, 8.4%, 11.0%

Prestigio 2007 schedule announced!

The 2007 schedule of the famous Italian Prestigio circuit has been officially announced. The series will contain ten events next season, and will see the return of the GF Felice Gimondi and the introduction of the merciless GF Marco Pantani (incl. Mortirolo and Gavia). The GF Costa Smeralda in Sardegna has been dropped. To obtain the scudetto, you are required to complete seven gran fondos.

Full schedule

1 April - GF Selle Italia (Cervia)
1 May - Dieci Colli Bolognesi (Bologna)
13 May - GF Felice Gimondi (Bergamo)
20 May - Le Nove Colli (Cesenatico)
17 June - GF Campagnolo (Feltre)
24 June - GF Marco Pantani (Aprica)
1 July - Maratona Dles Dolomites (Corvara)
15 July - GF Pinarello (Treviso)
26 August - Ötztaler Radmarathon (Sölden)
9 September - GF Cinque Terre (Cinque Terre)

What a ride!

Kris, Guus and Lorenzo
had a healthy 73km ride just short of 1,400 hm. It was the 1st time for Kris on the Altkoenig and he tamed it pretty well, displaying improved downhill skills. The times of pushing are fading memories....

After that it was the turn of the Feldberg where a lekker cup of coffee was the right reward! It was a chilly day after all, though mainly sunny (we did manage some hails too).

Now that Elin, the Nordic star of the ECB Cyclosport team has announced the purchase of an MTB the going can get only tougher...