FRANKFURT - German pro cycling is in a deep crisis and even the biggest German spring classic, Rund um den Henninger Turm, is feeling the effects of the many doping revelations of the past years. The main sponsor of the race, traditionally held on 1 May, is pulling out after the 2008 edition and organiser Bernd Moos-Aschenbach has not found a successor yet. So, we may see the professional peloton in Frankfurt for the final time tomorrow...
Contrary to the malaise in pro cycling, the cyclo scene is booming tremendously in Germany. The organisers in Göttingen again had a new attendance record last weekend, and also for the VeloTour over 4000 riders are expected to start tomorrow. It will be the third out of nine events of the German Cycling Cup.
The ECB Cyclosports Team will consist of Elin Amundsen, Morten Hansen, Guus van Domburg, Alan Richardson, Patrick Hess and myself. Elin will aim for victory in the 75 km flat event.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
German Cycling Cup: Superb event in Göttingen
Göttingen - The second leg of the German Cycling Cup, the Tour d' Energie in Göttingen, once again delivered the goods. Splendid organisation, great course and, finally, sublime race weather as well!The men's 85km race was won by youngster Tilo Breuer who nicked the already celebrating Jan Niclas Grosse on the line à la Freire in Milan-Sanremo 2004 or à la Cavendish in this year's Scheldeprijs. A group of about 30 riders stormed to the line after the series of climbs around Dransfeld had dropped some well-known riders of the Series.
The women's event was won by Manuela Haverkamp, who got rid of Frankfurt starlet Elin Amundsen on the Hoher Hagen climb. Elin did manage to stay ahead of Remi Brunner of Frankfurt/Bad Vilbel for second place. Annika Grüber did and won the 45km distance as she is still recovering from a knee injury.
Apart from Elin, two other ECB riders were at the start last Sunday. I myself came in with the leading group as 22nd, while Morten Hansen took 464th place out of 1300 participants on the 85km distance.
More info on other riders based in the Frankfurt area is coming up soon.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Attractive Deutschland Tour announced
At last the three stages of the Deutschland Tour for jedermann have been officially announced. It is a very attractive trio spread over two weekends. Starting with the Mountain Challenge in Fügen (Austria) on 30 August, and followed one day later by the Raceday around Hesselberg (Bayern) the tour will end with the Skoda time trial in Bremen on 6 September - one day before the event in Hamburg.
The Mountain Challenge in Zillertal contains 3100 Hm over 120 km. That's a lot of climbing!
More info on the website.
The Mountain Challenge in Zillertal contains 3100 Hm over 120 km. That's a lot of climbing!
More info on the website.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Prestigio - GF Selle Italia: Bazhenov wins solo
CERVIA (IT) - Russian ex pro Alexandr Bazhenov of the Team ParkPre Guru has won the first Prestigio event of the 2008 season in style, finishing 2'26"ahead of Michel Chocol and 4'22" ahead of Maurizio Frigo. Bazhenov was still riding in the Italian continental team Naturino in 2006 (...). he also rode for Domina Vacanze a few years ago. Emmanuele Negrini came 9th in Cervia, and Sergio Barbero - a former Mercatone Uno rider and domestique of Pantani - crossed the line in 10th place.The women's race saw Barbara Lancioni beating Monica Bandini and Monia Gallucci.
The next Prestigio event is the Dieci Colli Bolognesi on 1 May.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Flanders: Museeuw and Bartoli riding the 260 km!
An interesting feature of tomorrow's cyclosportive version of the Tour of Flanders will be the presence of the two greatest classics stars of the nineties: Johan Museeuw and Michele Bartoli! Museeuw is a triple winner of Flanders, while Bartoli won the race in 1996. Both ex pros have kept themselves in shape since their retirements and they will both be riding the 260 km cyclotour tomorrow.
Bartoli is leading a team of Italian cyclotourists coming over for the weekend, while Museeuw is supposed to guide one of the finalists of the Miss Sports Belgium contest. The question is: will the old vibes return and how will these antagonists react when they see each other on the road, let alone the Koppenberg :-)!
The cyclotour will see a host of famous ex pros (Van Petegem, Vanderaerden, Mattan,...) and other Belgian celebrities on the course throughout the day.
Bartoli is leading a team of Italian cyclotourists coming over for the weekend, while Museeuw is supposed to guide one of the finalists of the Miss Sports Belgium contest. The question is: will the old vibes return and how will these antagonists react when they see each other on the road, let alone the Koppenberg :-)!
The cyclotour will see a host of famous ex pros (Van Petegem, Vanderaerden, Mattan,...) and other Belgian celebrities on the course throughout the day.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Tour of Flanders: Five key points for the lay man
If you are new to the Ronde van Vlaanderen, you may be wondering what all these hills or hellingen are all about. There is indeed no event to compare the Tour of Flanders with. Paris-Roubaix has many more cobblestones but no hills worth mentioning. In Flanders, you have cobbles and climbs, and its the latter that will make your day in the saddle difficult. Below are five key points of the Tour, which you may wish to save on your hard disk for Saturday.
1) Molenberg
Fact sheet
The third climb for those who do the full distance, but the first for the majority of riders, who do the 140 km tour. The first time you come here, the Molenberg hits you totally unexpectedly. You take a sharp right off a main road and you are immediately on a narrow and steep path with cobblestones in mediocre condition. The climb is short - only 350m - but if you didn't shift to your 39x19 or smaller before the corner you are in for a surprise. In the professional race this is a standard spot for crashes.
2) Kerkgate - Mater
Fact sheet
Arguably the toughest stretch of cobblestones. 2400 metres long and false flat uphill. This one is to take in sheer power to keep a good momentum. Your hands will hurt at the end of the stretch, but the food & beverage stop in Oudenaarde is now close by.
3) Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg-Koppenberg
Fact sheet Oude Kwaremont
Fact sheet Paterberg
Fact sheet Koppenberg
These three classic climbs succeed each other very quickly, your time to recover is very limited indeed. And to make things better: these are three of the toughest cobbled climbs of all, with the Pater and the Koppenberg offering parts with a gradient of over 20%! The Koppenberg is making a re-entry in the Tour this year, following a thorough restoration of the cobblestones last winter. In the 2006 professional race, only about 20 riders managed to stay on the bike. Conquering the Koppenberg is a feat by itself. This is your real test for the day. If you get over the Koppenberg without blowing yourself up, you will tackle the following climbs with a comfortable feeling.
4) Taaienberg
Fact sheet
Always in the shadow of the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the previously mentioned climbs, the Taaienberg is nevertheless a hard nut to crack. It has a very short 15% bit in the middle that often disrupts your rhythm. The Taaienberg has become a favourite climb for Tom Boonen to launch an attack.
5) Kapelmuur
Fact sheet
This is the last really tough climb, 20 km from the finish. It is quite long with 1075 metres and an average of 9%, and it ends with a steep cobblestone stretch that leads to a chapel. This is the place were the favourites in the pro race drop their bombs. The Bosberg still follows this climb some four kilometres down the road, but if you've done the Muur you've had the worst behind you.
1) Molenberg
Fact sheet
The third climb for those who do the full distance, but the first for the majority of riders, who do the 140 km tour. The first time you come here, the Molenberg hits you totally unexpectedly. You take a sharp right off a main road and you are immediately on a narrow and steep path with cobblestones in mediocre condition. The climb is short - only 350m - but if you didn't shift to your 39x19 or smaller before the corner you are in for a surprise. In the professional race this is a standard spot for crashes.
2) Kerkgate - Mater
Fact sheet
Arguably the toughest stretch of cobblestones. 2400 metres long and false flat uphill. This one is to take in sheer power to keep a good momentum. Your hands will hurt at the end of the stretch, but the food & beverage stop in Oudenaarde is now close by.
3) Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg-Koppenberg
Fact sheet Oude Kwaremont
Fact sheet Paterberg
Fact sheet Koppenberg
These three classic climbs succeed each other very quickly, your time to recover is very limited indeed. And to make things better: these are three of the toughest cobbled climbs of all, with the Pater and the Koppenberg offering parts with a gradient of over 20%! The Koppenberg is making a re-entry in the Tour this year, following a thorough restoration of the cobblestones last winter. In the 2006 professional race, only about 20 riders managed to stay on the bike. Conquering the Koppenberg is a feat by itself. This is your real test for the day. If you get over the Koppenberg without blowing yourself up, you will tackle the following climbs with a comfortable feeling.
4) Taaienberg
Fact sheet
Always in the shadow of the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the previously mentioned climbs, the Taaienberg is nevertheless a hard nut to crack. It has a very short 15% bit in the middle that often disrupts your rhythm. The Taaienberg has become a favourite climb for Tom Boonen to launch an attack.
5) Kapelmuur
Fact sheet
This is the last really tough climb, 20 km from the finish. It is quite long with 1075 metres and an average of 9%, and it ends with a steep cobblestone stretch that leads to a chapel. This is the place were the favourites in the pro race drop their bombs. The Bosberg still follows this climb some four kilometres down the road, but if you've done the Muur you've had the worst behind you.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Tour of Flanders gets a very international flavour!
BRUGES - The cyclotour version of the Tour of Flanders will once again see between 14, 000 and 18, 000 riders in the saddle this Saturday, 5 April. The Ronde gets an increasingly international flavour as well. A little survey on the pre-registrations show 43 Americans, but also 12 Japanese, 4 Chinese, 5 Canadians, 8 Brazilians and even a few riders from Uganda, Korea and Algeria! 15% of the peloton will consist of riders from Holland.
The ECB Cyclosports team will also be present in Flanders again with five scheduled riders. Morten Hansen and Kris Van de Velde will attempt the full distance of 260 km, while Guus Van Domburg, Michael Schneider and Gideon Fourie aim at the 140 km distance which includes all the highlights.
The five will use Oudenaarde as their base for the weekend, with the hotel window offering a fine view of the Koppenberg :-)
The weather forecast is currently not so optimistic for good weather. It will most likely be chilly and windy, but whether or not there will be rain remains uncertain.
More info on the Ronde van Vlaanderen can be found on this website.
The ECB Cyclosports team will also be present in Flanders again with five scheduled riders. Morten Hansen and Kris Van de Velde will attempt the full distance of 260 km, while Guus Van Domburg, Michael Schneider and Gideon Fourie aim at the 140 km distance which includes all the highlights.
The five will use Oudenaarde as their base for the weekend, with the hotel window offering a fine view of the Koppenberg :-)
The weather forecast is currently not so optimistic for good weather. It will most likely be chilly and windy, but whether or not there will be rain remains uncertain.
More info on the Ronde van Vlaanderen can be found on this website.
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