Frankfurt International Cycling Club

FICC HAS MOVED!

2009-01-01T16:58:00.002+01:00

Dear readers,

The Frankfurt International Cycling Club has changed its web location. From now on, news and other info will be published via this new address:

Best wishes for 2009!

Kris

FICC riders in good form

2008-09-09T20:36:00.002+02:00

Over the past two weekends riders of the Frankfurt International Cycling Club have shown good form in events in and out of Germany. A brief overview:

Gideon Fourie continued his UCI Golden Bike Tour with the Gruyere Cycling Tour - previously known as la Pascal Richard - last weekend and was impressed by the scenery on the tour. The 120km ride contained some very steep climbs, as can also be see on this webpage. Fabian Cancellara gave acte de presence as well!

The Gruyere Cycling Tour.

Morten Hansen did it again: in shape at the right time for his main objective, the Vatenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg. Albeit ten minutes slower than last year, Morten completed the 155km race in less than 4 hours: 3h56'50" or an average speed of 38.98 km/h. That was good enough for rank 564 out of 2768 finishers. Morten was sitting in the first group for a long time until two spokes suddenly loosened and he had to get off the bike to tighten them again. The race was won by Berliner Michael Zippan in 3h43'50".

Two years after finishing third, Elin Amundsen returned to La Vosgienne in Thann, Eastern France, last Sunday to grab a solid victory. Amazingly, she needed almost exactly the same time for the 100km route across le Markstein and Vieil-Armand as in 2006: 3h20'31", merely four seconds faster. It was enough for her second win in 15 days, though. The second woman was seven minutes behind her.

After her victory on the 7okm at Rad am Ring, Elin travelled to Austria for the Deutschland Tour Mountain Challenge in the Zillertal. That race didn't work out at all for Elin, as she cracked totally on the final climb to finish 8th after missing out on food and water, and being overtaken by competitors she normally beats easily. Elin described the event as ' her worst race ever' . Good she bounced back at la Vosgienne, though!

Guus Van Domburg also returned to that French race, and he did manage a 36-minute improvement over the 100km distance. Guus crossed the finish line in 4:10:33. A worthy season's closer for him!

La Vosgienne

No longer second: Michel Snel wins La Vosgienne

2008-09-08T09:40:00.003+02:00

THANN - Vosges-based Dutchman Michel Snel at last managed to score a big cyclo victory this season after second places in Les 3 Ballons and La Velomediane. Snel outsprinted Thomas Dietsch in the 160km (3200Hm) race La Vosgienne, held in sunny conditions around the village of Thann. The winning time: 4:54:14. Snel is a cyclo rider pur sang and runs a B&B in the Vosges region. As such, la Vosgienne was a bit of a home race for him as well. More info on this great end-of-season, held every 2 years in alternation with Les Ballons Vosgiens in Gerardmer, can be found on the orga's website and Snel's blog:

La Vosgienne
Michel Snel

Oetztaler - Corradini and Dekker re-do la Marmotte as Negrini allegedly retired!

2008-09-03T20:44:00.003+02:00

SOELDEN - The Oetztaler Radmarathon produced exactly the same result as its French counterpart la Marmotte in July: Antonio Corradini wins ahead of Bert Dekker. The Italian of the Salieri Team only didn't wait till the sprint to defeat the Dutchman and finished with a leading margin of 1'42" . Corradini succeeds Emanuele Negrini, winner of the past two Oetztalers, who has reportedly ended his competitive cycling career following his fifth victory in the Maratona Dles Dolomites two months ago.

Negrini is a former professional rider (a.o. Cantina Tollo alongside Danilo Di Luca) who dominated the international mountain cyclosportives for several years. He also won la Marmotte and the GF Marco Pantani twice, as well as many other granfondos on the Italian circuit. Although still only 34, Negrini allegedly finds it harder and harder to combine his job with cycling at this level.

If there is a ranking order within Team Salieri, Corradini has nicely taken over from Negrini in the course of the summer. At 37, he has become the benchmark for the big mountain events. His Oetztaler win came in a fantastic time of 7:00:49, the second fastest ever, helped of course by the brilliant atmospheric conditions on the day.

Andreas Laner completed the podium in third place. The women's event turned into a major dual between MG K. Vis teammates Monica Bandini and Monia Gallucci, decided in favour of the former in a time of 8:18:40.

Other well-known names of the German cyclo circuit are Nino Ackermann (Team Lexxi), who finished 22nd in 7:28:26, proving that his 4th place in Zernez in July was no coincidence and that he just had a bad day at Rad am Ring last week. His teammate at Lexxi, Alex Bauer - winner of last year's T-Mobile Cycling Tour - arrived 120th in 8:08:11. Last week's winner on the Nurburgring, Jan Wallauer, came in 48th (7:50:33).

Successful FICC trip to the Nurburgring!

2008-08-30T18:55:00.006+02:00

Five riders from the Frankfurt/Darmstadt area got together last weekend to drive to the legendary Nurburgring Grand Prix circuit and participate in the fifth edition of Rad am Ring. It turned out to be a successful (and pleasant!) outing with a victory and two top 15 places despite foul weather conditions!

Rad am Ring starts and finishes on the current GP track, but takes the participants mainly onto the famous Nordschleife, with its rollercoaster character - including a 2km climb ending with a 19% steep section and descents where one can reach 85 km/h quite easily.

Elin Amundsen proved to be unbeatable on the 3-lap or 70km distance. She needed 2:20:26 for that distance, over 2 minutes faster than Katja Hernold and Verena Kolks. It was only her third race on German soil this season and her first after the horrific crash she suffered during the Henninger Turm race in May. In Goettingen last April Elin finished second. Contrary to last season, the GCC is no objective for her, and Elin has been doing quite a few cyclo events in Italy and France over the past few months.

Rebecca Schwantes emphasized her stamina and strength over the longer distances, finishing the 140km race in 8th place with a solid time of 5:48:13. Rebecca entered the top 10 of the German Cycling Cup standings overall, and also moved up to second place in her age category. Only 10 women finished the long distance event -won clearly by Annika Grueber ahead of GCC leader Manuela Haverkamp- this year, with four women abandoning and 45 women sticking to the 70km.

In the men's races, Kris Van de Velde scored a 15th place on the 140km in 4:16:06 and reclaimed third position in the German Cycling Cup ranking. Kris had to let go of the fastest riders halfway through the fifth lap, but managed to keep an even pace and even get a few riders back on the last lap of 23km. The highly contested race was won in a sprint by Jan Wallauer ahead of GCC leader Michael McManus in 4:07:25. Thomas Kapuste completed the podium in 4:10:24. Interestingly, there was also strong riders from Holland (Marco Polo-Trek team) and France in the top 15, showing that Rad am Ring is slowly becoming a classic cyclo event!

Brian O'Rourke, in his second German race after finishing 8th in the 63km of Henninger Turm, impressed again with 14th on the 70km event of Rad am Ring in 2:05:25, only 1:50 behind winner Christoph Dittrich. Brian has recently based himself in Darmstadt, coming from Japan where he did races on Okinawa and... Mount Fuji!

Morten Hansen used Rad am Ring as a good training opportunity for his traditional season's goal in Hamburg (7 September), and as warm-up for the criterium race in Bad Homburg a day later. Morten signed up for 140km, but cut it short to 70km due to the heavy rainfall during laps 2 and 3.

German Cycling Cup continues in Bochum

2008-08-01T17:32:00.002+02:00

After a two-month break, the German Cycling Cup series continues this Sunday in Bochum with a short four-lap race of 58km. Each lap contains 2 short climbs, but it remains to be seen whether anyone can profit from them to escape from an undoubtedly still large first group of riders. The event in Bochum is a two-day cycling feast, which also includes a pro race on Sunday afternoon.

Link to Sparkassen Giro Bochum

RTF Mörfelden on Sunday, 20 July

2008-07-18T18:03:00.003+02:00

Radsport SKV Mörfelden is organising its popular annual Merfeller RTF next Sunday, 20 July. The traditional distances of 115km, 75km and 45km are on offer, with the longest route taking in some nice climbs in the Odenwald. Last year there were more than 1, 000 participants.

There's a FICC related group starting at the Waldstadion in Mörfelden at 8:30 a.m.

More info on the website of the organising club.

Prestigio - Corradini also the best in apocalyptic Carnia Classic

2008-07-15T18:09:00.002+02:00

TOLMEZZO - The 37-year old former skier Antonio Corradini of Team Salieri has also grabbed the victory in the Carnia Classic last Sunday, one week after his triumph in La Marmotte. Corradini escaped on Monte Zoncolan and gained an advantage of 4'13"over Fabio Bulgarelli and 5'34" over Giorgio Rea. The event was characterised by horribly wet conditions as soon as the start was given in the Tolmezzo. Pouring rain, thunder and lightning accompanied the 2000+ riders on the way to the first climb of the day, Sella di Razzo. The rain would let off occasionally, only to come down in buckets again a bit later. The majority of riders on the granfondo circuit were redirected straight to Tolmezzo after the Zoncolan, avoiding the final climb of Sella Duron. In total, 1.182 riders conquered the famous monster climb (12.1 % on average over 10 km). The commitment of the participants was huge, given that only 112 riders officially retired from the race! The women's race was won by Monica Gallucci.

The Carnia Classic was the so-called 'new entry' in this year's Prestigio series. Every year one (smaller) event is selected for this honour. By all means, the organisation of the event was absolutely immaculate.

La Marmotte: Slick Corradini outsprints Dekker in thriller!

2008-07-08T08:37:00.003+02:00

ALPE D'HUEZ - The 2008 edition of the most prestigious international cyclo, La Marmotte, was one of the most exciting ever. After a fantastic dual on the climb to Alpe d'Huez, Italy's Antonio Corradini dove inside of Holland's Bert Dekker at the final roundabout to claim his first Marmotte victory in 6:02:12. Dekker, a triple winner himself, had to be satisfied with second place after his best run in years. Konstantin Kluyev was third 2'27" behind, Michel Roux fourth and Michel Snel fifth in 6:05:07. Snel got dropped on the Galibier but recovered remarkably and still gained a few places towards the end.

The event was held in splendid weather conditions and saw no fewer than 5300 people reach the finish atop Alpe d'Huez. The last rider crossed the line in 13:42:32.

Corradini is a 37-year-old rider of the famous Team Salieri. The biggest name of the team, Emmanuele Negrini, winner of last week's Maratona delle Dolomiti, did not participate in this year's Marmotte.

Maratona - Negrini back on top of the game

2008-06-30T09:06:00.003+02:00

CORVARA - After a number of defeats in his favoured mountain events last year, 34-year-old Emmanuele Negrini has struck back and added another Maratona title to his tally. Negrini arrived solo in Corvara after 140km and 4300 Hm in 4:29:05. It was the fifth victory in Alta Badia for the climbing specialist from Bologna in six years. Antonio Corradini and Jamie Burrow completed the podium more than 4 minutes back. Fabio Bulgarelli finished fourth, and Dutchman Michel Snel, second in Les 3 Ballons two weeks ago, made an impressive debut with fifth place in 4:40:22.

Current German Cycling Cup leader Michael McManus came in 57th in 5:14:57.

The women's long race was won by Monica Gallucci ahead of Barbara Lancioni in 5:15:54.

GF Marco Pantani: Victory for Bazhenov

2008-06-24T12:05:00.002+02:00

APRICA - The fourth edition of the very tough Granfondo Marco Pantani in Aprica (Valtellina) has been won by Alexandre Bazhenov, this year also winner of e.g. the GF Selle Italia. Bazhenov beat Fontana (+2'41") and former winner Negrini (+5'36"). The trio reached the top of the Mortirolo together, but the younger Bazhenov proved to be the fittest on the Valico di Santa Cristina and took his first victory in Aprica.

In Nauders, Austria, the Dreiländergiro - which includes the Passo Stelvio - went to Austrian rider Andreas Traxl, ahead of Germans Stefan Misstler and Marc Lipowitz. A report on that event will be posted on my personal blog in due course.

Les 3 Ballons: Volkmann faster than Snel

2008-06-17T14:44:00.002+02:00

LA PLANCHE DES BELLES FILLES - The French classic Les 3 Ballons went to German cyclo specialist Jens Volkmann last Saturday. On the final steep climb to La Planche he dropped Dutchman Michel Snel, who had also finished second last year. Volkmann's time: 6:28:24 after 205km and 4300 Hm. Frenchman Jonathan Denis completed the podium in third place almost seven minutes back.

Also Les 3 Ballons keeps growing. This year Sportcommunication announced that more than 2000 riders registered for the event, which was held in mild but dry conditions.

A more detailed report on Les 3 Ballons can be read on my personal blog soon. Meanwhile, Dutch speakers can also check the blog of Michel Snel.

Prestigio - GF Campagnolo: Bazhenov beats Negrini

2008-06-17T14:30:00.002+02:00

FELTRE - Close to 4000 participants this year for the Granfondo Campagnolo in Feltre this year: a new record. The victory on the long distance of 216km went to Alexander Bazhenov (Park Pre Selle Italia) who together with Jaimie Burrow used team tactics to beat Emmanuele Negrini (Team Salieri), who attacked on the last climb but was taken back by Burrow in the final kilometres. Negrini could not respond to Bazhenov's ultimate move towards the finish. The women's race went to 43-year-old Monica Bandini, who was particularly delighted with the win. Interestingly, second place went to another veteran on the scene, Anna Corona. The weather was quite bad with snowfall on the Valles...

German Cycling Cup: McManus & Haverkamp lead after five events

2008-06-04T16:54:00.002+02:00

ERLANGEN - The German Cycling Cup, successor of the T-Mobile Cycling Tour, is running pretty well after the Rund um Köln anti-climax. The events in Göttingen, Frankfurt, Leipzig and Erlangen overall saw an even large number of participants compared to 2007 and the "yellow jersey" is heavily contested- at least in the men's category. Team Lexxi's Manuela Haverkamp on the other hand seems to have taken over Annika Grüber's position of the past years and so far has been ruling the women's circuit. Katharina Reitmayer is already over a hundred points back in second place.

In the men's Michael McManus (Team Adidas) grabbed the top spot after a splendid solo win in Erlangen last weekend. In the last lap he managed to get a 35 second lead over a first group of about 40 riders. The sprint of that group was affected by a spectacular crash some 150 metres before the finishline, which included, amongst others, the defending Cup leader Andreas Bollessen and myself. As far as I know, nobody got seriously hurt and the damage was limited to bumps and bruises of various proportions. Bollessen is now second in the ranking, fifty points behind McManus. Team Strassacker's Nico Wernicke, victim of a chain rupture and a tyre puncture in Frankfurt and Leipzig respectively, moved up to third place in the ranking, trailing McManus by 75 points.

The next race of the German Cycling Cup will be held in Bochum on 3 August.

My experiences during the GCC events can be read about on my personal blog.

Prestigio - Le Nove Colli: former Pantani teammate victorious

2008-06-04T16:26:00.002+02:00

CESENATICO - The 2008 edition of the biggest Italian granfondo of the season, Le Nove Colli in Cesenatico, has been won by Sergio Barbero, who outgunned Jaimie Burrow at the finish. Barbero is a former pro, who used to ride for Mercatone Uno and Carrera alongside the late Marco Pantani. During his pro career (1993-2006) he also wore the jersey of Lampre for several years. He retired in 2006 and is apparently now enjoying himself in the granfondo circuit. Third spot on the podium of the semi-wet edition of Le Nove Colli went to Alex Pauliokovich. Corradini was fifth, Bazhenov - winner of the Selle Italia this season - sixth, and Negrini seventh.

There were also a few riders from the Frankfurt area at the Adriatic coast for the weekend. A report can be read on Challenge Magazin.

Prestigio: Dieci Colli Bolognesi dominated by ex pros

2008-05-05T11:31:00.003+02:00

BOLOGNA - The second Prestigio event of the season was determined by four riders of whom Sergio Barbero and Alex Bazhenov - the winner of the GF Selle Italia last month - took the first two steps on the podium. Both were solid elite riders up until two years ago. Ersilio Fantini and Jamie Burrow were three and four, while Emmanuele Negrini grabbed fifth place over three minutes later. Timothy David Jones was ninth and in the same second group as Negrini. The women's race was won by Barbara Lancioni.

Also in Italy last weekend, the GF delle Alpi in Sondrio (Valtellina) was won by established climber Stefano Sala. He held a three-minute advantage over Corradini and Giacomazzi.

Michel Snel wins Shimano Fiets Challenge

2008-05-05T00:16:00.002+02:00

VAALS (NL) - French-based Dutchman Michel Snel took top honours at the Shimano Fiets Challenge in Vaals yesterday, winning the 150 km cyclosportive with a 2'16" lead over Sjef Graafmans and Koen Beijens. The women's event was won by Esther Olthuis. The road event saw more than 1000 participants.

German Cycling Cup - For the last time Rund um den Turm?

2008-04-30T13:59:00.002+02:00

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.

German Cycling Cup: Superb event in Göttingen

2008-04-28T18:29:00.003+02:00

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.

Attractive Deutschland Tour announced

2008-04-17T15:37:00.002+02:00

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.

Prestigio - GF Selle Italia: Bazhenov wins solo

2008-04-15T15:42:00.002+02:00

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.

Flanders: Museeuw and Bartoli riding the 260 km!

2008-04-04T09:56:00.002+02:00

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.

Tour of Flanders: Five key points for the lay man

2008-04-02T17:33:00.005+02:00

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.

Tour of Flanders gets a very international flavour!

2008-04-01T15:41:00.002+02:00

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.

Support Agapedia and win a Red Bull racebike!

2008-03-26T20:05:00.004+01:00

Rose Versand, sponsor of Team Agapedia-Münsterland, is organising a "Gewinnspiel" with a brand new Red Bull racebike as prize! All you need to do is order the catalogue of the shop to be eligible for the prize. You can download this PDF form to order the catalogue.

Not only do you get a chance to win a racebike, but you also help the Agapedia Foundation, because for every new customer coming from this prize contest, Rose Versand will transfer a noticeable sum to Agapedia. More information on this action will follow throughout the cycling season.

Guus conquers Mont Ventoux!

2008-03-25T18:54:00.008+01:00

Dutch ECB rider Guus Van Domburg has added a significant name to his growing mountain record last week: Mont Ventoux, the nearly 2000m high giant of the Provence. Guus did the classic ascent starting from Bedouin, where it was still 23 degrees. On the top it was close to zero. Due to strong winds and icy roads, Guus could not go beyond post 1752, but there will certainly be a next time!
Guus is also preparing for his first Tour of Flanders on 5 April. His programme this season also includes the Amstel Gold Tour, Le Nove Colli, GP Schwarzwald and Dreiländergiro.

Köln cancelled, Morten does 160k in Ilbenstadt!

2008-03-25T18:50:00.003+01:00

While the 100th anniversary edition of Rund um Köln got cancelled due to the heavy snowfall, ECB rider Morten Hansen managed to put in 160 km last Monday! Training heavily to get in shape for the Tour of Flanders after a five-week holiday, Morten did the 115km of the RTF in Ilbenstadt and added the kilometers cycling from home to Ilbenstadt and back. He only got into a snow shower during the final hour of his ride...

The next RTF around Frankfurt takes place this weekend in Rüsselsheim.

RTF Ilbenstadt on Easter Monday

2008-03-18T15:44:00.002+01:00

After Niederdorfelden, RC Ilbenstadt is organising its "Frühlings RTF" on Easter Monday. Whether it will be spring remains to be seen, with the current weather forecast not exactly promising, but the RTF is worthwile and a good opportunity to put in the mileage needed for the upcoming events like the Tour of Flanders.

Website (Ausschreibung)

German Cycling Cup: Already 3000 registrations for Köln

2008-03-14T11:38:00.003+01:00

The first race of the inaugural German Cycling Cup will be held on Easter Monday in Köln. The cyclo event will again preceed the traditional annual pro race, and offers two distances: 100km and 65km.

According to the website of the organisation, already 3000 people have signed up for the event. The course is predominantly flat but there are also a few climbs in there, the last one going up to the Schloss Bensberg partially on cobblestones. On the 100km course, there are 920 Hm to be conquered.

Last year's winner was Nico Wernicke from Team Strassacker, who beat a peloton of nearly 100 riders in a bunch sprint.

More info on Rund um Köln on the website.

Niederdorfelden kicks off Frankfurt RTF season

2008-02-29T18:00:00.004+01:00

The Hessen RTF season gets underway in March and, in particular for Frankfurt cyclists on Sunday, 16 March with the traditional "Frühlings RTF" in Niederdorfelden (close to Bad Vilbel).

The longest distance is 115km and goes a.o. through the Wetterau. A good training opportunity for those racing in Cologne the week after!

More info on the organising club's website.

Gazzetta Challenge: La Tappone del Giro + Giro di Lombardia

2008-02-25T17:38:00.003+01:00

The Gazzetta Challenge, organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport, enters its third year with only two events scheduled in 2008. Due to Easter, it proved to be impossible to guarantee adequate road security measures for the organisation of the Sanremo event on 23 March. Remaining are thus La Tappa della Leggenda, also known as Dolomiti Stars, and the Giro di Lombardia.

La Tappa takes place on 24 May with start in Arabba and finish in Marmolada (Passo Fedaia). It is a course for pure climbing goats and perhaps a great alternative for those not selected to do La Maratona this season. The percorso includes the climbs of the Passo Pordoi, San Pellegrino, Passo Giau, Passo Falzarego and finally the Passo Fedaia. 153 km in total and possibly tougher than La Maratona, also considering it takes place five weeks prior.

The season's closer in Lombardia takes place in and around Lake Como on Sunday, 19 October.

Link to the Gazzetta Challenge website

German Cycling Cup: Münsterlandgiro with new course

2008-02-22T18:26:00.002+01:00

The 3rd edition of the German Cycling Cup's final race in Münster will again be held on a different course. Announced is a 140 km long race towards the west with fewer height metres (as if there were many before :-)) . For those with already tired legs, there will also be shorter distances of 110 and 70 km.

The Münsterlandgiro has quickly established itself as one of the leading events in Germany with over 3, 000 participants in 2007. The region itself, Münsterland, proclaims itself to be the cycling capital of Germany.

More info on the race's website.

German Cycling Cup officially announced!

2008-02-12T18:27:00.000+01:00

The successor of the T-Mobile Cycling Tour is now officially announced. The German Cycling Cup will contain 9 events, of which the best 7 results will count for the final classification. An attractive offer, especially for the many people whose budgets and time limits were overstretched by the 19 races that made up the 2007 Tour!

All details can be found on the new German Cycling Cup website. The Series kicks off with Rund um Köln on Easter Monday and ends with the Münsterlandgiro on 3 October.

Tour of Flanders: KOPPENBERG back in the race!

2008-02-05T08:28:00.000+01:00

Cyclists in Flanders and abroad were delighted yesterday upon the announcement that the legendary Koppenberg will return to the course of the Tour of Flanders this year! The cobbled "beast" of Melden (Oudenaarde) with its +20% stretches is an integral part of the Ronde's history and was omitted from the 2007 edition because of the worsening condition of the cobblestones, which showed large gaps between them. The town of Oudenaarde has invested in the resurfacing once again (they had just done it a few years ago to get the Koppenberg back in after a hiatus of over a decade) and all lights were put on green by the race organisers yesterday.

In 2006 a large part of the professional peloton had to get off the bike on the steepest bits of the climb. The Koppenberg substitutes the Kortekeer climb on the 2008 course.

The Ronde will be held on the 5-6 April weekend. The cyclotour version on Saturday, the ProTour race on Sunday. Six riders associated with the Frankfurt International Cycling Club will make the journey down there, and will in fact stay in "Koppenberg town", Oudenaarde.

Shimano Fiets Challenge on 3/4 May

2008-02-01T08:37:00.000+01:00

The Shimano Fiets Challenge, the self-proclaimed biggest cyclo of the Benelux countries, will be held this season on 3 and 4 May. As usual, there will be road and MTB races as well as a cyclotour. The main event, the 150km road race, takes place on Sunday.

Like last year, the finish will be on "het Drielandenpunt" in Vaals (NL), the highest point in Holland at 322m (doesn't look impressive, but the climb is rather steep).

More info on the website

Hamburg & Berlin attract thousands already

2008-01-30T15:21:00.001+01:00

The registrations for the annual Vatenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg and the new Velothlon in Berlin are coming in by the hundreds. The race organisers in Berlin have already increased the maximum limit to 10, 000 riders. The event takes place on 25 May. Hamburg takes place later than usual, on 7 September, due to the Beijing Olympics in August. The key to enter Hamburg is once again: decide quickly!

Both races do not feature on the provisional calendar of the 2008 German Cycling Cup.

Meanwhile, a new cyclo event in Lohmar has been announced for Whit Sunday, 11 May. A course of 105km and 55km will be offered with 1600 hm scheduled on the longest distance. More information can be found on the website.

German Cycling Cup 2008

2008-01-25T08:29:00.000+01:00

T-Mobile has left cycling with a bang at the end of last year and this also meant the end of the T-Mobile Cycling Tour for jedermann or cycloriders. However, the Series is NOT dead! It will continue under the name "German Cycling Cup" and will be organised by the Verband Deutscher Radrennveranstalter (VDR). That is already great news by itself.

The race calendar will contain fewer events than the 19 in 2007, which was also desired by all leading parties involved. Significant is that the race in Hambug and the new race in Berlin will not be part of the Cup. It is also unclear whether the cyclo events of the Tour of Germany in September will be included or not. Triberg and RiderMan are neither mentioned so far in the calendar.

The 11 (provisional) events of the 2008 German Cycling Cup:

24. März: „Rund-um-Köln-Challenge
27. April: „Tour d‘Energie von den Terassen“ in Göttingen
01. Mai: „Rund um den Henninger Turm“ in Frankfurt
12. Mai: Rund um die Braunkohle in Leipzig
1. Jun: Bayern-Rundfahrt in Erlangen
28. Jun: Jedermannrennen im Rahmen der Deutschen Meisterschaft in Bochum (unbestätigt)
27. Jul: Sachsen-Tour (unbestätigt)
3. Aug: Sparkassen-Giro in Bochum
23. Aug: „Rad am Ring“ auf dem Nürburgring
14. Sep: „Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt“
3. Okt: Sparkassen Münsterland Giro.2008 in Münster

Prestigio: Nove Colli already in the thousands...

2008-01-10T17:56:00.000+01:00

The biggest Italian granfondo of the season, Le Nove Colli in Cesenatico, already has several thousands of registrations. The so-called "griglia blu" which runs till #5500 is full according to the website! The great event will be held on Sunday, 18 May this year.

Check the website for more.

CHIBA Alpencup: four big alternatives

2008-01-10T17:49:00.000+01:00

The CHIBA Alpencup, a tough four-event criterium in the German-speaking part of the Alps has been officially announced recently and will include the following granfondos:

18.05.08 Amadé Radmarathon - Radstadt (A)
15.06.08 Berchtesgadener Land Radmarathon - Bad Reichenhall (D)
06.07.08 Engadin Radmarathon - Zernez (CH)
03.08.08 TirolWest Radmarathon - Landeck (A)

These events may provide a nice alternative for those wanting to skip top events like the Maratona and Marmotte for a year.

More information can be found on the website of the Alpencup.

Prestigio: Carnia Classic-Zoncolan opens the books

2008-01-10T17:46:00.001+01:00

The registrations for the GF Carnia Classic-Zoncolan, one of the highlights of the 2008 granfondo season held in Tolmezzo (Udine), have opened. Online payment will be possible also in due course. Check the website for more details.

Grand Trophée 2008: La Marmotte on 5 July

2007-12-14T18:19:00.000+01:00

The most prestigious French cyclosportive series, Grand Trophée, will feature 11 events next season, with the traditional highlight, La Marmotte, scheduled for Saturday, 5 July.

Other popular international events as La Ventoux and Les 3 Ballons will be held on 7 and 14 June, respectively.

Full 2008 schedule:

11/05: La Cezanne, Aix-en-Provence
18/05: La LOOK, Nevers
01/06: L'Epervier, Cogolin
07/06: La Ventoux, Beaumes-de-Venise
14/06: Les 3 Ballons, Champagney/Planche-des-Belles-Filles
22/06: La Morzine Vallée d'Aulps, Morzine
29/06: La Vaujany, Vaujany
05/07: La Marmotte, Bourg d'Oisans/Alpe D'Huez
23/08: L'Auvergnate, La Bourboule
13/09: La Ronde Picarde, Abbeville
23/11: La Cyclo Guadeloupe, Guadeloupe

The online registration opens on Tuesday afternoon, 14 December. Usually there is no maximum participation limit imposed.

More info on the website of Sportcommunication.

Team Agapedia-Münsterland announces 2008 line-up

2007-12-06T10:06:00.000+01:00

Münster - Team Agapedia-Münsterland, one of the big jedermann teams in the German cyclo circuit, has announced its team line-up for the upcoming 2008 season. The team will consist of 23 fixed riders and sees a number of newcomers including Elin Amundsen and myself, but also former pro Jürgen Lücke and granfondo specialist Jens Volkmann, who is also world champion individual time trial in the Senior category. Volkmann won a.o. the Tour Transalp in 2006 and has featured in the top five of big mountains events like the 3 Ballons and the Ötztaler Radmarathon.

The team will be co-sponsored by Rose Versand, Snickers, Gebiomized and of course the Münsterland region. The riders will mount Red Bull frames for the season.

More info on Challenge Magazin.

Fate of T-Mobile Cycling Tour still unclear

2007-12-04T09:06:00.000+01:00

After Deutsche Telekom decided to stop all sponsorship with immediate effect last week, the fate of the beloved T-Mobile Cycling Tour is very much unclear. An official statement on the website doesn't tell the fans anything.

Sponsors (also e.g. Adidas) seem to be pulling out everywhere in Germany following the media hysteria triggered by various doping cases involving riders of the professional T-Mobile team. This will push several German race organisers in a bad spot as of next season. Neverthless, the organisers of the Deutschland Tour, Rund um Köln and Henninger Turm have all confirmed their events will go ahead as scheduled in 2008. Therefore, it can be expected that the cyclo or jedermann races will also happen - but probably not under the umbrella of T-Mobile any longer.

Prestigio 2008: Full calendar released

2007-11-29T08:44:00.000+01:00

The 2008 Italian Prestigio Series will again include 10 of the most prestigious Granfondos of the season. As previously announced, the new entry will be the GF Carnia Classic-Zoncolan on 13 July, and in September the GF Colnago replaces the GF Cinque Terre as the former has outranked the latter for the past three years in terms of participants.

The Prestigio calendar:

6 April:
GF Selle Italia
Cervia
www.sportur.com

1 May:
Dieci Colli Bolognesi
Bologna
www.diecicolli.it

11 May:
GF Felice Gimondi
Bergamo
www.felicegimondi.com

18 May:
Le Nove Colli
Cesenatico
www.novecolli.it

15 June:
GF Campagnolo
Feltre
www.granfondocampagnolo.it

29 June:
Maratona Dles Dolomites
Corvara in Badia
www.maratona.it

13 July:
GF Carnia Classic - Zoncolan
Tolmezzo
www.carniabike.it

20 July:
GF Pinarello
Treviso
www.granfondopinarello.com

31 August:
Ötztaler Radmarathon
Sölden
www.oetztaler-radmarathon.com

7 September:
GF Colnago
Piacenza
www.granfondocolnago.com

A traditional Ronde in 2008

2007-11-14T08:51:00.000+01:00

BRUGGE - The route of the 2008 edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) was revealed earlier this week. It will be a traditional race of 260km including 18 hellingen. The legendary Koppenberg is not in, and replaced by the Kortekeer, but this may still change if the organisation is happy enough with the roadworks that are currently in progress on the Koppenberg (the cobblestones have again deteriorated so much that they have to be redone).

The cyclosportive edition on Saturday, 5 April also sees no major changes. There is the full distance from Brugge to Meerbeke-Ninove, and there is the 140km route with start and finish in Ninove and with all the climbs in it. For those not so familiar with the Ronde, the first 120km are flat and is more a battle against the wind. All climbs are concentrated in the final 100km.

The Frankfurt International Cycling Club will go to Flanders for the weekend from Friday to Sunday. Currently we are five riders, two of them keen on the 260km, and we will be staying in the town of Oudenaarde. That's the heart of the Flemish Ardennes, location of the Oude Kwaremont and the Koppenberg, and also host of the museum of the Tour of Flanders. During the cyclo, we will pass Oudenaarde on three seperate occasions (the last time after the Boigneberg), so it is perfectly possible to quit if anyone's legs are suddenly left with no juice:-)

Anyone keen on joing us, please just write an email to the Frankfurt International Cycling Club. Please note that we would prefer people to make their own accomodation arrangements, so there is no fuss for anyone. The idea is simply to ride together with people.

Register for the Ronde

Prestigio 2008: Enter Monte Zoncolan !

2007-11-13T18:48:00.000+01:00

The 2008 Prestigio series will include the Carnia Classic in Arta Terme (Udine) on 13 July. This event has entered the minds of mountain goats last season because of Monte Zoncolan, the horribly steep mountain pass included in the 2007 Giro d' Italia (stage won by Gilberto Simoni). The Prestigio series traditionally supports one 'new' or 'promising' event per year. In 2007 the honour went to the GF Pantani in Aprica.

An important change is the final event of the series in September. The GF Colnago in Piacenza has managed to beat the GF Cinque Terre in number of finishers the past three years, and thus becomes part of the Prestigio.

The full calendar will be revealed soon.

Gazzetta Challenge - Giro di Lombardia closes Granfondo season

2007-10-22T17:15:00.001+02:00

COMO - The Italian classic Giro di Lombardia also has its cyclo version since two years. The so-called mediofondo is included in the Gazzetta Challenge (together with La Sanremo and the Dolomiti Stars-Giro d' Italia) lasts 113 km and has start and finish in Como. Michel Chocol won the race in 2:56:49 (avs 38.34 km/h) in a sprint against Andrea Paluan.

As such, the long Italian season has also come to an end.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour: Alex Bauer and Annika Grüber overall winners

2007-10-04T17:35:00.000+02:00

Münster - The 2nd Münsterlandgiro confirmed the good vibes people already felt after the inaugural edition last year. Superb organisation, great atmosphere, good roads, limited danger, hardly a better way to close the cyclo season and the T-Mobile Cycling Tour! In the end, Alexander Bauer (Team Lexxi) and Annika Grüber (Team Agapedia) were celebrated as winners of the 2007 Tour. The 130km long Münster race saw Nico Wernicke (Team Strassacker) outsprint 50 to 60 riders who constituted a first group, and Judith Cramer (Team Lexxi) claiming her biggest win of the season in the women's event.

Wernicke thus won both the season's opener in Köln and the closer in Münster. Cramer took full advantage of the absence of Grüber, who participated in the German Hochschule Meisterschaft instead (and finished fifth over 65km). The latter's lead in the ranking was anyway so big that she could not be overtaken anymore.

One critic comment should be mentioned, though. Having all three available distances merging at the end leads to unnecessary danger. I found myself sitting in the first group all race and didn't witness any crash or tricky situation until we caught up with slower riders from the other races. Unfortunately, this also led to a crash 1.5 kilometres before the finish as we suddenly had to sweep left to overtake such a slow group. There was not enough place on the left so five, six guys went down - including myself. My race ruined. In the end I got ranked 81st, but most importantly I left without injury or bike damage.

ECB rider Morten Hansen came back from a forced break to finish his season with a respectable ride over 130 km. He hung onto the first group for a while, before the lack of training made itself felt in his legs.

Picture taken from Team Lexxi's website.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour: Münsterlandgiro ends long season

2007-10-02T15:34:00.000+02:00

Münster - The second T-Mobile Cycling Tour ends tomorrow, Wednesday, in Münster after six months and 20 races. The protagonists are tired, both physically and mentally. There seems to be a general consensus that it has been a little bit too much. All races count, so if you go for a high ranking you are bound to start everywhere. Better would be a system in which, say, the best 12 or 14 results count - allowing at least a little breather for what are still supposed to be hobby cyclists.

The men's overall ranking is led by Alex Bauer (Team Lexxi), but Michael Rademacher is not yet out of contention with his 131-point deficit. In a flat race like the Münsterlandgiro a small problem can cost you a lot of points as the groups are larger than in a race on a hilly course. Nino Ackermann (Blue Essentials) will most likely have to settle for third place nonetheless.

The women's event has been dominated again by Annika Grüber (Team Agapedia), who will in fact be riding in front of her home crowd on Wednesday. A few women, such as Elin Amundsen, gave Annika a hard time on occasion, but on the whole her second consecutive victory in the -Mobile tour was never really endangered after Elin's debacle in Fürth in June.

The Münsterlandgiro offers three different courses, and increased the max distance to 130 km. You can also ride 110 and 65 km. Over 3000 people have already registered!

Münsterlandgiro

Maratona Dles Dolomites on 29 June 2008

2007-09-24T16:38:00.000+02:00

Next year's edition of the famous Maratona Delle Dolomiti will be held on Sunday, 29 June. In order to assign the entry tickets, a pre-registration phase will be organised between 18 October and 8 November 2007. The draw will be held roughly a week later.

Of course it will also be possible to buy a package tour that includes a starting ticket and accomodation as of November.

The maximum number of participants will once again be 8500, half of which will be Italian.

The Maratona will be organised next year to the benefit of a reforestation scheme in Ecuador.

All info can be found on the Maratona website.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour: Nürnberg

2007-09-17T10:32:00.000+02:00

Nürnberg - The 103km event in Nürnberg was won by Thomas Wickles from Team RadioAktiv Racing. He outsprinted Team Strassacker's Nicko Wernicke and Team Lexxi's Alexander Bauer. Frankfurt-based Briton Gary Weir had his best T-Mobile result of the season with a 27th spot.

The women's long distance race went to Annika Grüber, who consolidated her 1st place in the T-Mobile ranking. She finished 4 minutes ahead of Judith Cramer and five of Martina Hausmann.

The next races are held next weekend, with a time trial in Tübingen and a tough race in Bad Dürrheim (RiderMan).

The finale will be held in Münster on 3 October.

Update: Elin's season over

2007-09-13T17:34:00.001+02:00

With some reluctance Elin Amundsen has to allow six weeks of plastercast for her broken left hand to heal properly. Her season is now formally over, just when the desired third spot in the T-Mobile ranking is easily within her grasp (check the ranking, now updated with the Hamburg results).

Elin hopes to return to the scene in 2008, hopefully with support of an appropriate team structure.

The T-Mobile Cycling Tour continues this weekend with Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt, a flat race with a max distance of just over 100km. Close to a thousand riders have already signed up.

The final race of the season on 3 October in Münster, home of Team Agapedia, can expect already now more than 2000 participants according to latest reports.

Prestigio: Cinque Terre - Antonio Corradini wins solo

2007-09-12T16:46:00.000+02:00

La Spezia - The final event of the Prestigio series this season was dominated by Mg.K Vis rider Antonio Corradini, who finished 3'15"ahead of Konstantin Klyuev and Gianni Fontana. Stefano Sala was alone in fourth nearly five minutes down.

In the final race of the Grand Trophée series in France, La Ronde Picarde, Jerome Minard outsprinted Benjamin Audoux and four others in a small group finish.

Interview with Elin on Challenge-Magazin

2007-09-04T12:42:00.000+02:00

A lengthy and very fun to read interview with Elin Amundsen has been published on the website Challenge-Magazin.

The interview was taken after the race in Hamburg on 19 August. As reported yesterday, Elin broke three bones in her left hand last Sunday in a race - which she still won - in France. She has been advised to allow six to eight weeks for recovery. In any case, her participation in the upcoming races in Nürnberg, Tübingen and Bad Dürrheim is highly in doubt.

Les Ballons Vosgiens: Elin wins "Route des Crêtes" with broken hand!

2007-09-03T11:23:00.000+02:00

GERARDMER - Despite a very heavy T-Mobile schedule in August and her nasty crash in the RegioTour last weekend, Elin Amundsen could not live without a week of competition and travelled to the French town of Gerardmèr in the Vosges for the cyclo Les Ballons Vosgiens. Equipped with her "old" LOOK-bike she raced on the 92km and 1500 Hm distance - nicked La Route des Crêtes - and took a smashing victory by nearly five minutes over her nearest rival! She finished in 2:56:01 (avs 29.31 km/h), beating a female field of 33 riders.
However, it didn't go all that smoothly. In the descent of the Schlucht, Elin missed a corner and went down for the second consecutive week... This time it's not so much the bike but the body that got hurt. After the race, doctor's diagnosed a few broken bones in her left hand. The healing process theoretically lasts six to eight weeks, so Elin's season might suddenly be over. Still, she is not giving up hope that she can at least start in the next T-Mobile events and defend her position in the rankings.

The men's 155km (3500hm) races was won by local matador Thomas Dietsch, bronze medalist in the MTB long-distance world championships, who outsprinted Cofidis-pro Nicholas Hartmann and Dutchman Michel Snel in 4:54:47 (avs 31.75 km/h). Oege Hiddema, winner in 2005, made his comeback after his big crash in the Transalp in June and finished sixth after being dropped in the descent.

Ötztaler Radmarathon: Negrini back on top!

2007-08-29T16:10:00.000+02:00

Soelden - Bologna-based Italian Emmanuele Negrini came back from a number of shocking defeats this season to claim his second Oetztaler Radmarathon in a row. Negrini had to outsprint fellow-Italian Antonio Corradini and the surprising Dutch veteran Bert Dekker in the town of Sölden in a dramatic conclusion to the 238km race. The clock stopped at 7:03:37.

The event was held in the best weather conditions in years, resulting in overall faster times. The podium place of Bert Dekker was unexpected. The former three-time winner of La Marmotte did not make the top 10 on Alpe d'Huez this year and seemed to be on his return at the age of 37. Interestingly, the winner of La Marmotte this season, Andrea Ciavatti only managed 21st in 7:32.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour: RegioTour - Elin crashes out of contention

2007-08-28T08:49:00.000+02:00

After a long hard summer, Elin had battled her way back to the top 3 of the T-Mobile Cycling Tour ranking... only to lose it all again in one race, the shortest race on the calendar. The 52km long race was full of incidents - an unfortunate characteristic of this season's T-Mobile events - and Elin was one of many to crash down hard. After the Texaspass Elin had found herself in second position (Annika was in a first group) when the rider in front of her made an unexpected move aside. Elin hit the rear wheel and went down, taking several other riders with her. She escaped with bruises herself, but her Cervelo suffered the most. Fork broken, handlebar bent and what have you: game over. The disappointment was huge. No points for Elin, Judith Cramer and Katharina Reitmaier are now much more comfortable in their podium slots in the Tour. Elin will now focus on the individual events and snatch a victory or two still this season.

The men's race saw a dominant performance by Nino Ackermann, who went solo on one of the climbs and reached the finish with a 1'40" advantage over Alex Bauer and the rest. Strong stuff. Markus Hagedorn also went down half-way the race and came in 74th.

There's a break in the schedule now, with the first event taking place in Nürnberg on 16 September.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour - Hamburg & Hannover

2007-08-20T09:06:00.000+02:00

HAMBURG - Elin Amundsen is very likely to have regained her second spot in the T-Mobile ranking after last weekend's races in Hannover and Hamburg. On EDEKA Race Day Elin rebounded immediately from Friday's disappointment in Fürth, to snatch fourth place behind Annika Grüber (second) but way ahead of Katharina Reitmaier (9th) and Judith Cramer (3rd on 70km distance). The win went to a new name Gundula Henning, who managed and avs of nearly 42 km/h over the 100km distance. Martina Höllige from Team Strassacker is clearly a mountain and time trial specialist as she had to settle for sixth.

In Hamburg Elin managed sixth place but ahead of all the usual suspects including Annika (ninth). The first five places went to stars of the day. Interestingly, Elin showed the best recuperative powers over this intensive weekend as she even beat the #3 of the race in Hannover! She completed the 155km in 3:53:26 (avs 39.55 km/h). For once she was 3 minutes ahead of Annika Grüber who came in ninth. Reitmaier was 12th, Cramer 13th.

In the men's events Morten Hansen proved oncemore that Hamburg is his event. This season he finished 289th in 3:49 (avs 40.21 km/h), his best ever! In Hannover he was 107th in the 70km race. Markus Hagedorn was 96th in that race. In Hannover he finished in top 20 according to his own timing but official results are still not online due to a hick-up by Mika Timing. Markus Hagedorn also finished in top 20 on the medium distance.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour - Elin no chance without time trial machine

2007-08-17T16:37:00.000+02:00

FUERTH - The 33km long GIANT individual time trial saw the men's winner Marcel Barth finishing with an average speed of46.83 km/h. Awesome performance. The traditional stars of the Tour turned out to be not the greatest time trialists so we may see some changes in the ranking. Alex Bauer was 30th and Nino Ackermann still stood his ground in 40th place, nearly five minutes down. Michael Rademacher was 46th. The Strassacker boys were cleary beaten too. Marc Leischner was fifth, Günter Höllige was 19th, Nico Wernicke 26th.

Markus Hagedorn managed 54th place with an avs of 41.37 km/h, 5'35" behind Barth. He was marginally quicker than Gary Weir (57th).

The women's race brought another win for Annika Grüber ahead of Martina Höllige. The Agapedia ace scored a time of 48'56" (40.57km/h). Without a time trial bike, Elin Amundsen was defenceless and had to be satisfied with 19th place, over six minutes down on Grüber. Unfortunately, Elin's two main rivals for the podium in the overall ranking finished ahead of her today. Judith Cramer was 10th and Katharina Reitmaier 17th. Let's see whether Elin can take revenge tomorrow and Sunday in Hannover and Hamburg!

Sunday 19 August: RTF Henninger Odenwald

2007-08-17T14:21:00.000+02:00

FRANKFURT - This Sunday RV Henninger 1895 Sossenheim organises its annual RTF Henninger Odenwald with start and finish at the Henninger brewery on the Darmstädter Landstrasse in Sachsenhausen.

A great and recommended 117km tour goes to the Odenwald, where a few hills need to be climbed. A nice ride for those who don't race in Hamburg.

Check

T-Mobile Cycling Tour - Big weekend coming up

2007-08-15T17:53:00.000+02:00

A big weekend is coming up in the T-Mobile Cycling Tour with no fewer than three events after one another. On Friday, the Deutschland Tour continues with the Giant time trial in Fürth over 32.8 km. Saturday is EDEKA Race Day in Hannover, a more or less flat race over 100km and Sunday is of course the Vatenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg, the most popular German cyclo event of the year.

Elin Amundsen will be riding all three of them in her ongoing attempt to regain second place in the overall tour ranking. After the mountain time trial in Sölden last Tuesday she is actually already back in third place, only 33 points behind Katharina Reitmaier.

Other ECB Cyclosports riders active this weekend will be Markus Hagedorn, Morten Hansen (photo) and newcomer Roswitha Hutter. Markus is the surprise of the season. A string of solid performances has put him in 74th place in the overall ranking so far, and his ambition is endless. In Fürth he is aiming high with his brand new Cervelo time trial bike, before travelling to Hannover - a course that should suit him well. Morten is doing Hannover and Hamburg, his traditional late summer goal. After a bit of a dip in his performance level during the month of June, Morten has come back strongly with a top 200 placing in Bochum two weeks ago.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour: Mountain challenge on Rettenbachferner

2007-08-15T08:30:00.001+02:00

SOELDEN - Elin Amundsen had to settle for seventh place in the mountain time trial on the Rettenbachferner yesterday. She climbed the 13km in 1:16:18, ten minutes slower than winner Annika Grüber but considerably faster than the numbers two and three in the overall T-Mobile Tour ranking Cramer and Reithmayer. Elin is now looking forward to the flat events in Hannover and Hamburg where she has a better chance against the Agapedia lady, who admittedly is in stunning form these days. Second in Sölden was Strassacker's Martina Höllige, winner in Stuttgart this season, more than two-and-a-half minutes down on Grüber...

Slovenian Miran Cvet won the men's event with an advantage of 43 seconds over Günter Höllige.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour Update: Elin wins in Bochum!

2007-08-14T07:58:00.000+02:00

It is summer holiday time but not for those with an interest in the points ranking of the T-Mobile Cycling Tour! Among those is Frankfurt-based Norwegian Elin Amundsen, who is still keen on a top three ending after the unfortunate Fürth debacle. Elin raced in Dresden, Nürburg and Bochum in the past few weeks. She came in second once again to Annika Grüber in the first two, but beat her rival in Bochum last week on Sunday in a sprint finish. It was Elin's first official victory of the season.

Elin will be competing today as well in the mountain time trial (13km and 1300hm) on the Rettenbachferner in Austria, which is the first stage of the jedermann Deutschland Tour. The next two events take place on Friday in Fürth (hopefully Elin will have more luck there this time!) and on Saturday in Hannover.

She warmed up for the Rettenbachferner last Saturday in Andermatt, Switzerland, where she did the 120km (3550hm) Alpen Brevet ride. Rumour has it she was second woman, but the event is officially not a race.

Two other members of the ECB Cyclosports squad were active in Bochum and Nürburg. Markus Hagedorn is continuing his amazing debut on the scene with a 51st place, preceeding seasoned powerhouse Morten Hansen who also found his legs back in 183th spot. Frankfurt-based Briton Gary Weir was 86th.
In Rad am Ring, Morten came in 77th in the 70km event won by Bad Vilbel rider Gerhard Hack.
Gary finished 80th on the 140km.

Grand Trophée - La Marmotte: Ciavatti continues Italian dominance

2007-07-09T18:11:00.000+02:00

ALPE D'HUEZ - What the Maratona or Oetztaler is for Italians, Austrians and Germans is the Marmotte for the Benelux and French cyclo enthusiasts. A 174km hardcore ride through the Alps with 5000 hm covering the Col du Glandon, Col de la Télégraphe, Col du Galibier and last but not least the ascent to Alpe d'Huez. A royal Tour de France stage!

The Dutch love this race in particular as nearly half of the 6000 to 7000 participants each year come from the low country. But since a few years it's the Italians who dominate the race up front. As in the Oetztaler, however, every rider crossing the finish line is a winner.

After some very nasty accidents the past three years, attendance dropped slightly with 6000 doing the standard Marmotte, and some 500 the shorter cyclotour from Valloire to the Alpe.

Emmanuele Negrini, winner in 2005 and 2006, was absent but his role was taken up by Andrea Ciavatti from Rimini. The professional soldier dropped his compatriot Giovanni Maiello (who took victory in the Fausto Coppi last week) in the final climb to finish in 6h00'56". Stefano Sala, twice second behind Negrini, was now third in 6h03'47". Michel Roux and local community worker Patrick Gueraud gave French cycling something to cheer about with fourth and fifth. Feike Loots was the first Dutchman in sixth with 6h14'38". Michel Snel had to settle for ninth, while Oege Hiddema was sidelined after a heavy crash on training a few weeks ago. Former tripple winner Bert Dekker came in 12th.

The time of Ciavatti, interestingly, was nearly 10 minutes slower than Negrini the past 2 years. Ciavatti finished third in the Oetztaler last season.

I finished the Marmotte for the fifth time, and improved to 7h19'46". Good for rank 151. My bruised ribs, which I suffered last week in the Maratona, hampered my breathing to really race and gave me some pain on the bad road surface of some parts of the descents. I was happy to beat my 30 hometown pals from Belgium, though:-)

T-Mobile Cycling Tour - Wiesbaden: Elin keeps finishing second

2007-07-03T08:45:00.000+02:00

WIESBADEN - Elin Amundsen changed her mind last week about travelling to the Maratona Delle Dolomiti in favour of riding the next T-Mobile event, and finished second once more. Going strong for three laps, she had to let Annika Grüber go on lap 4 out of 5.

Meanwhile, the T-Mobile Cycling Tour crew is apparently trying to settle the famous Fürth issue. Elin finished behind the barricades in that race as she had to jump on the sidewalk to avoid a mass crash in the final straight. As a result she did not cross the transponderzone and did not get ranked, which meant a significant loss of points and basically a logical end to her aspirations to win the overall Tour this year. Video footage of the finish in Fürth exists, but the organisers there need to confirm before the T-Mobile squad can assign any points.

Also in Wiesbaden we saw a brilliant performance by ECB Cyclosports newcomer Marcus Hagedorn. In only his fourth race ever he stayed with the first major group and finished in 22nd place, 56 seconds behind race winner Günter Hollige (Team Strassacker). Frankfurt-based Briton Gary Weir finished 64th and Cyril Monnet (ECB Cyclosports) 101st after mechanical issues.

The next T-Mobile event is scheduled for 29 July in Dresden.

Prestigio: Maratona Dles Dolomites - Outsider Jones ends Negrini's reign

2007-07-02T10:47:00.000+02:00

CORVARA - The four year reign of Emmanuele Negrini in the Maratona Dles Dolomites came to an end yesterday with the victory of Timothy David Jones. The Zimbabwe-born Italian took control of the race from the get-go together with teammate Raimondas Rumsas, who had to retire from the race later on. Jones was engaged in a fierce dual with Italian Michele Ladomada, whom he eventually beat in the sprint. 22-year old Bulgarian Alex Pauliukovich took the final step on the podium, three-and-a-half minutes down. Negrini had to settle for fourth place five-and-a-half minutes behind Jones, and Fabio Bulgarelli concluded in fifth place.

Negrini had won the past four editions of the Maratona. Last week in Aprica he also couldn't achieve more than fifth.

Barbara Lancioni and Monica Gallucci sprinted for the win in the women's race, with the former scoring her second consecutive win. Monica Bandini took third.

8500 riders started for the 21st edition, like last year in superb and even warm conditions. The Maratona remains the most internationally established granfondo of the year with 35 countries present. Almost 20,000 people wanted to get in this year, but only 8500 were allowed to start.

The ECB Cyclosports section had four riders in this year's edition. I had a very good run, sitting in a small group of about 12 including Lancioni and Gallucci until the descent towards the Giau. I hit a bump going into a sharp corner, missed my braking zone and slammed hard against a wall of rock with my left body side. It took a minute before I had my senses back and realised I could still move everything. That was the end of my race while riding in the top 80 according to the intermediate times... As the left brake handle was bent, and my front wheel was not 100% straight, I didn't trust going down full speed anymore. In addition, I suffered a few bruised ribs, big swellings on shoulder and hip and a badly bruised elbow so even standing on the pedals on the Giau and Falzarego hurt. I crossed the line still in 5:42, only seven minutes above last year's time. I trust I would have gone under 5:30 and even 5:20 this year. My detailed report follows in due course.

Lorenzo Borghini beat his 2004 time by 12 minutes on the granfondo. Riding better than ever this season, Lorenzo entered Corvara in 6:52:51. A great achievement. His wife Julia opted for the mediofondo after having tasted the percorso corto last season. She came home in style in 6:55. Morten Hansen did not find the legs back to brought him a splendid 10:15 time in last year's Oetztaler. Morten redirected himself to the mediofondo and arrived in 5:38:57. Not much behind him was Holger Hacklaender, from Frankfurt, in 5:45:45.

A big name was in the race this year: Greg LeMond, three-time Tour de France winner and double World Champion, got spotted during the race and indeed appears in the result list with a time of 5:44:24 (227th). That's two minutes behind me :-)

Prestigio - GF Marco Pantani - Rumsas smashes opposition

2007-06-26T14:18:00.001+02:00

APRICA - The biggest surprise of this year's GF Marco Pantani was maybe not the victory of Raimondas Rumsas, but the fifth place of Emmanuele Negrini, the dominator in the high mountain events of the past few years. Negrini, who also won the previous two editions of this Granfondo, was 16 minutes down at the finish! Rumsas needed 5:24:43 to cover the 174km across the Passo Gavia, Mortirolo and Valico di Santa Cristina, just under a minute less than Andrea Ciavatti. In third was Timothy David Jones, more than 10 minutes behind.

The GF Pantani keeps growing despite the gruelling climb of the Mortirolo, about the most strenuous climb around along with the Zoncolan. Over 3600 riders took the start in Aprica, and whether you do granfondo, mediofondo or percorso corto, there is always the Mortirolo to conquer.

Next week is Italy's most famous international cyclo, the Maratona Delle Dolomiti.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour - Updated rankings

2007-06-25T18:23:00.000+02:00

The T-Mobile Cycling Tour rankings have been updated with the results from Triberg now. Michael Rademacher remains firmly in the lead and will clearly be the man to beat. In the women's, Annika Grüber has taken over from Elin Amundsen, whose misfortune in Fürth costs her dearly. Here is the current top 5 and the placings of a few known riders in the Frankfurt area:

Men:
1. Michael Rademacher, Team UGS, 1896 pts
2. Alex Bauer, Team Lexxi, 1762 pts
3. Nino Ackermann, Team Blue Essentials, 1717 pts
4. Ralph Heuser, Team Lexxi, 1683 pts
5. Holm Barkmann, Team Agapedia, 1576 pts
14. Kris Van de Velde, Bobteam, 1360 pts
15. Torsten Roell, Team UGS, 1340 pts
91. Marcus Hagedorn, ECB Cyclosports, 609 pts
174. Cyril Monnet, ECB Cyclosports, 463 pts
197. Morten Hansen, ECB Cyclosports, 413 pts
559. Lorenzo Borghini, ECB Cyclosports, 249 pts
685. Alex Nikolopoulos, Team Strassacker, 237 pts
1419. Guus van Domburg, ECB Cyclosports, 173 pts

Women:
1. Annika Grüber, Team Agapedia, 1961 pts
2. Jüdith Cramer, Team Lexxi, 1813 pts
3. Katharina Reitmayer, 1789 pts
4. Sonja Ludwig, Team UGS, 1713 pts
5. Ninetta Koswig, Radon Cyclepower II, 1671 pts
7. Elin Amundsen, Bobteam, 1640 pts

RTF: Sunday, 24 June: Rodgau-Odenwald, start in FFM-Niederrad

2007-06-22T08:59:00.000+02:00

FRANKFURT - The SKG Frankfurt Radsport is organising its annual Rodgau-Odenwald RTF this Sunday. Start and finish for all tours is in Frankfurt-Niederrad. Please see and click on the images below for further information.

2007-06-21T17:14:00.000+02:00

KVDV's Event Report

03/06/07 - WM VeloTour in Stuttgart

Setting the scene for Bettini and co

STUTTGART - A race on exactly the same course as the upcoming professional world championship road race is a special event. It was even an interesting course, with two genuine hills in it, to be done 4 times for a total of 76km. I cancelled my registration for Fürth, another T-Mobile race held on the same day, and headed for Stuttgart.

I will be very surprised if Tom Boonen plays a factor in September. One can argue that the Herdweg climb is a Flemish climb, 700 metres long with a 13% bit. But then there is another 1.2km climb with an 11% bit followed by the 2.8km long false flat to the finish. It is a great course, but I'd bet on the Bettini's and Di Luca's of this world with local hero Schumacher as a very dangerous dark horse.

Back to my race. Foggy conditions at 8 a.m. in the morning, it rained the night before. I arrived at the starting area more than half an hour early, but discovered that plenty of riders had already taken up position in the starting block. Very annoying. As the first km went uphill, followed by a fast descent and then the Herdweg climb, I knew right away it would be vital to reach the front of the peloton as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this was not feasible. The fastest guys, 12 in total at the finish, were gone and I never saw them. I found myself in a third group at the end of the first lap. Second time around on the Herdweg I opened up a small gap and saw the second group not so far ahead. I gave it a try and chased them. But after a few kilometres and not making a lot of progress I acknowledged it was a 'chasse-patat'. Back in group 3 I did my share of the work and kept the pace high on the climbs. Third lap, Herdweg, an Agapedia-rider found some extra strength and accelerated. Just past the top I caught up and together with a third rider we chased down a few riders who had been dropped off the second group. Interestingly, two of those four guys were also Agapedia guys. That was a good thing. Willingly or not, they took responsibility and decided the pace. As such we actually caught up with the second group right at the start of the final lap. Despite a few attacks, we more or less stayed together and sprinted for 13th place. Sprinting is not really my thing, but I was happy with 25th and the knowledge the legs were excellent.

FACT SHEET:
Name: WM VeloTour
Date: 3 June 2007
Venue: Stuttgart, DE
Type: T-Mobile Cycling Tour
Distance: 76km (1600hm)
My Result: 25/650 finishers (1400 overall participants): 2:07:26 (+ 5'56")
Info: website
Event rating: 4/5

Prestigio: GF Campagnolo - Rumsas wins solo

2007-06-18T17:38:00.000+02:00

FELTRE - Raimondas Rumsas took an important win yesterday in the Granfondo Campagnolo, held for the last time in Feltre (rumour has it the granfondo will change location in 2008). On the mountainous course of 214km, Rumsas attacked on the Passo Rolle (1970m) - the second of two big mountains after the Passo Manghen (2042m) - and only got Andrea Ciavatti with him. Emmanuele Negrini, Rumsas' main rival in the upcoming mountain events and himself a former double winner of the Campa, had to let go and settle for third place at the finish, more than 10 minutes behind Rumsas. Pauliokovich and Timothy David Jones were fourth and fifth. The pace must have been blistering. Number six in the result is 22 minutes down, number seven nearly half an hour!

The GF Campagnolo was attended by 3500 riders. It is by some considered to big the toughest test of the season as it takes place mid-June, before the Pantani, Maratona or Oetztaler.

The women's race was won by Monia Gallucci, but she was given a stern challenge by Barbara Lancioni.

The next Prestigio event is the Granfondo Marco Pantani in Aprica next Sunday.

Grand Trophée - Morzine: Win for Nicola Roux

2007-06-18T17:11:00.000+02:00

MORZINE - The next event in the French Grand Trophée series, La Morzine/Vallée d'Aulps, was won last Saturday by Nicolas Roux in 4:48:24. He beat Nicolas Ougier in a sprint to the line. La Morzine covers the renowned Col du Joux-Plane.

Triberg: Official results

2007-06-16T15:45:00.000+02:00

TRIBERG - With a bit of delay the results of the GP Schwarzwald race in Triberg have been published. Winner of the 69km long A-race was Daniel Preiss from Ludwigsburg in a time of 2:00:35. He outsprinted Lipowitz, Leischner and Fischer on the final climb to the line. Marc Leischner of Team Strassacker had also finished second in Friday's time trial behind Marco Utz.

Annika Grüber was too strong on this hilly circuit for Elin Amundsen. She had an advantage of 9 minutes.

What was odd was the time limit in Saturday's race. It was exceptionally tight, to the extent of hardly being fair. After all, quite a few participants travelled to Triberg only to do the Saturday race. Not more than 101 riders have been ranked on the 3-lap or the 69km race. All the rest was requested to halt after 2 laps. ECB Cyclosports rider Morten Hansen is not a mountain goat, but he is a strong all-round rider who always finishes within the first half if not the first third of the pack. In Triberg he was close to being asked to stop after 2 laps (he finished 91st)!

Probably the police no longer had any patience to keep the roads as traffic free as possible.

Anyhow, Team UGS's Torsten Roell, Frankfurt, finished 19th, four places and seven seconds ahead of myself (2:08:12 vs 2:08:19). Torsten got dropped from the first chase group at the end, and we in the second chase group of eight riders just managed to catch him. Cyril Monnet found the climb on the Geutsche too steep for his liking and then opted to stay with Elin.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour - GP Schwarzwald in Triberg: Great events marred by timing issues

2007-06-12T16:36:00.000+02:00

TRIBERG - The GP Schwarzwald in Triberg offered three different events this year. An individual time trial on the Geutsche (a steep climb of 4.6km with a max gradient of 19%), a race over 70km and 1600hm counting for the T-Mobile Cycling Tour on Saturday and the traditional Radmarathon/RTF on Sunday.

The area is brilliant for cycling, although you need to like climbing. Too bad that the timing in the Saturday race turned out to be problematic to say the least. Several riders got wrong times or were not even ranked in the result list at all. One of the main reasons seems to be that the timing company that was hired for the occasion is specialised in MTB events, where riders usually do not arrive at the finish in groups... Despite all the goodwill, the timing of events seems to become a recurring issue in Germany this season.

The result of Saturday's T-Mobile race is as yet unofficial and not even formally published on the event's website. It has been announced for Wednesday. What worries me is that they were asking for feedback from the participants themselves.

On Friday night, the fastest man was not honoured as the winner. He had been overlooked as well. Marco Utz from Offenburg beat a field of 75 riders with a time of 14:49, 19 seconds faster than Team Strassacker's Marc Leischner. Frankfurt-based Thorsten Roell, winner of the 2006 T-Mobile Tour, was 12th in 15:46. I managed a time under 16:00 as well: 14th in 15:56.

Grand Trophée - Les 3 Ballons: Morizot too fast for Snel

2007-06-12T16:05:00.000+02:00

CHAMPAGNEY, France - The classic French cyclosportive Les 3 Ballons was won by a French pro last Saturday. After 205km through the Vosges (4300hm), Florian Morizot from Team Auber 93 was 1'47" faster on the steep La Planche-des-Belles-Filles then Vosges-based Dutchman Michael Snel from Team Veltec Granfondo. Total time was 6h24'02". The podium was completed by Andreas Rutishauser. Oege Hiddema came in fifth.

1109 riders completed the long course, which was apparently struck by a thunderstorm on the Grand Ballon.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour: Stuttgart & Fürth

2007-06-04T14:07:00.000+02:00

Five ECB Cyclosports Team members were active this weekend in Fürth and Stuttgart, where two races were held simultaneously for the T-Mobile Cycling Tour. Fürth offered a flat course of 70km in the context of the Bayern Rundfahrt, Stuttgart a hilly 76km (1600hm) on the World Championship course.

Women's Tour leader Elin Amundsen's race in Bayern had a super annoying conclusion. About 400 metres before the finish line a number of guys crashed down in the sprint and forced Elin to jump onto the sidewalk behind the barriers and the spectactors. She also crossed the line on the sidewalk and thus did not cross the transponder mat. Instead of a rather comfortable victory, Elin does not feature in the result list.

There were more incidents in Fürth. Cyril Monnet also crashed out of contention. The number of crashes in these flat T-Mobile races is clearly becoming an issue. Newcomer Marcus Hagedorn stayed upright and finished with the first big group in 94th place. 329 riders made it into the list.

Stuttgart was much less hectic in that respect. The start was uphill and 4.6km later was already the first ascent of the Herdweg, 700m with a max of 13%. So the natural selection happened almost straightaway. Starting too far back, I never saw the first group of 11 riders get away but I was happy with my form and 25th rank at the finish. Morten Hansen concluded his race in 329th place out of 594 finishers in the A-race (4 laps). 1400 people turned up for the event, slightly more than expected. In any case, on this course it is hard to imagine Tom Boonen sprinting for the rainbow jersey at the end of September!

STUTTGART:
1. Daniel Preiss, 2:01:30 (netto 2:01:14)
2. Häfele Christian, 2:01:30 (netto: 2:01:24)
3. Michael Rademacher, 2:01:30 (netto: 2:01:19)
25. Kris Van de Velde, 2:07:26 (netto: 2:06:55)
41. Torsten Roell, 2:07:24 (netto: 2:07:15)
324. Morten Hansen, 2:27:18 (netto: 2:23:43)

FUERTH:
1. Thomas Wickles, 1:36:05
2. Michael Dehler, 1:36:08
3. Dieter Bosek, 1:36:08
94. Marcus Hagedorn, 1:36:37

Be 'in', do the Zoncolan!

2007-05-31T16:56:00.000+02:00

Fans of big climbs must have felt their legs itching yesterday afternoon, seeing Gibo Simoni repeating his 2003 win on the Monte Zoncolan, arguably the steepest climb in Europe ever taken up in a Grand Tour. Figure this: 10km with an average gradient of 12%, several stretches above 15% and a maximum of 22%!

Well, this Sunday you can do it as well! The event is called Carnia Classic and includes the Zoncolan from Ovaro. The fastest rider on the climb itself will receive a special prize of 300 euro!

More info on Carnia Classic

T-Mobile Cycling Tour - Updated rankings: Elin leads

2007-05-31T16:48:00.000+02:00

After four rounds, Elin Amundsen leads Annika Grüber in the women's ranking by 5 points (1331 vs 1326). In the duo's shadow is Isabell Sayle with 1219 points.

In the men's ranking, Michael Rademacher remains on top ahead of Alex Bauer (1331 vs 1223 points), with Ralph Philip Reuschl moving up to third place.

This weekend there will be two races for the Tour. One in Fürth, a 70km flat race in the context of the Bayern Rundfahrt, and one in Stuttgart on the World Championship course, 76km with 1500 hm.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour - Another second spot for Elin!

2007-05-29T11:42:00.000+02:00

LEIPZIG - The weather could have been worse after all in Leipzig, with wet roads but no fresh rain. The fourth event of the T-Mobile Cycling Tour saw a group of some 85 riders racing to the line with Jürgen Werner from Zwickau taking the win ahead of Mario Dabelstein (Altenberg) and Strassacker's Nico Wernicke, the winner in Cologne earlier this year. The average speed over the 110km distance was 42.7 km/h...

Tour leader Michel Rademacher (Team UGS) had to settle for fifteenth, but Nino Ackermann only appears as 95th in the result, three minutes down.

In the women's race, Frankfurt-based Elin Amundsen scored her third second place of the season. Winner Beate Zanner was out of reach (she finished in the first group with an avs of 42.6 km/h!!!), but Elin managed to stay ahead of Franziska Reinfried and... Annika Grüber in the sprint for second place in a time of 2:40:29 (avs 41.1 km/h)! That means Elin and Annika have the same numer of points for the T-Mobile Tour, but Annika already has two wins behind her name. Next week Elin will be racing in Fürth, whereas Annika is expected to be more in her element on the hilly Stuttgart course.

Apart from Elin, a second member of the ECB Cyclosports squad made the long journey to Leipzi: Marcus Hagedorn, who had a strong debut in the Henninger Turm, finished half a minute down on the winner of the 70km race, good enough for 45th out of 756 finishers! His time was 1:47:53.

Gazzetta Challenge - Negrini, the Dolomiti Star

2007-05-29T11:32:00.000+02:00

ARABBA - Since last year the Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport organises its Gazzetta Challenge, a trio of events held in the 'shadow' of a professional race, similar to the T-Mobile Cycling Tour races here in Germany. In March there was Milan-Sanremo, in October there is the Giro di Lombardia and last weekend was the 'Giro d' Italia - Dolomiti Stars'. Start and finish was in Arabba and the 136km course included the Passo Duran, Staulenza, Passo di Giau and Falzarego. Indeed a considerable part overlapped the traditional Maratona course. No wonder then that Emmanuele Negrini showed he will again be the man to beat next month. Negrini won the race, finishing 17 seconds ahead of Moschiano and 20 ahead of Fontana. The event saw 1100 participants.

And Rumsas? Well, he and his teammate Timothy David Jones got beaten in the sprint by Englishman Jamie Burrow in the GF Michele Bartoli in Lucca di Montecarlo!

Gazzetta Challenge

Grand Trophée - Rubio beats Colevret on Ventoux

2007-05-29T11:27:00.000+02:00

BEAUMES DE VENISE - The French Grand Trophée series has entered its core period with the cyclo La Ventoux last Saturday. Victory went to Stephane Rubio, who was slightly faster than favoruite Philippe Colevret and Bruno Mestre. Dutchmen Feike Loots and Oege Hiddema came in fourth and sixth. Some 750 riders made it to the finish of the long distance.

In 2 weeks Les 3 Ballons is on the agenda, followed by the Alpine events Morzine, Vaujany and of course la Marmotte.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour: Leipzig kicks off second chapter

2007-05-24T18:10:00.000+02:00

The second chapter of the 2007 T-Mobile Cycling Tour commences in Leipzig on Whit Monday, 28 May. On the menu is a predominantly flat race of 110km which is bound to end up in a large group sprint, unless some people manage to get away in the final kilometres. Or a large-enough group attacks early and includes a number of favourites of the established teams...

In any case, the organisers of the Neuseen Classics have taken the bull by the horns and have been marketing the race enormously. More than 2000 riders are expected to start.

After Leipzig, the next races are Fürth, Stuttgart (both on 3 June) and Triberg (9 June). You can still register for all of them, check the websites for more info

Leipzig
Fürth
Stuttgart
Triberg

Men's top 10 after three races

1 Rademacher, Michael (Team UGS) 999
2 Bauer, Alexander (Radsport minibarista.de Hadamar)
3 Ackermann, Nino (team blue essentials) 933
4 Rademacher, Stefan (Team UGS ) 912
5 Reuschl, Ralph Philip (AGAPEDIA Münsterland) 905
6 Wendler, Olaf (Radsport minibarista.de Hadamar) 872
7 Stelzer, Tim (Team Radsport Vento) 854
8 Van de Velde, Kris ( bobteam.info) 830
9 Tiefel, Peter (independent) 819
10 Koopmann, Holger ( team blue essentials) 806

Women's top ten after three races

1 Grüber, Annika (AGAPEDIA Münsterland) 1001
2 Amundsen, Elin (bobteam.info) 981
3 Faust, Telse (independent) 913

4 Sayle, Isabell (Radsport minibarista.de Hadamar) 906
5 Reitmaier, Katharina (independent) 891
6 Cramer, Judith (Radsport minibarista.de Hadamar) 877
7 Ludwig, Sonja (Team UGS) 862
8 Kosswig, Ninetta ( Radon-Cyclepower) 840
9 Schicketanz, Uta ( Team Viner Racing) 808
10 Kegelberg, Britta (Team Von 0 auf 60 ) 796

2007-05-22T14:29:00.000+02:00

Hendrik's Event Report:
20/05/07 - La Vauclusienne
Racing around the Ventoux

Belgium-based Hendrik Van Ekert, former amateur racer and cyclo rider, travelled to the Provence last week and participated in the cyclosportive La Vauclusienne. Here's his report:

I reached my main objective, i.e. finishing the race. But, sadly, the legs felt very bad. Probably due to a combination of two weeks without training (because of an injured knee), a ride on the Ventoux on Friday, another bumpy 90km on Saturday and a bunch of anti-inflammation products. I did have the impression, though, that the average level was quite high. Not so many participants (about 350) but nearly all of them finished with an average speed above 30 km/h.

After 10km we hit the first climb, which we took on the 53. I was only just unable to keep up with the first peloton (circa 50 riders) otherwise I would have risked blowing up. I fell back into a group of about 20 riders and together we rode up the Col des Abeilles (10km à 5-6%). Had to grit my teeth to follow.

Everything stayed together and we collected a few guys who had dropped off the first group. In a technical descent I escaped with six others. But after some ten kilometeres of working together the others still caught us back. Then the third genuine climb, about 3 km à 5%. Again a very solid pace and I felt my legs filling up with lactic acid. And in the final 25km they also exploded, I had to 'park' myself completely and could only make it to the finish riding my own tempo. My friend still overtook me and I could not even attach myself to his wheel anymore.

In the end 115th in the result list, half an hour behind the winner, but still with an average speed of 32.2 over 137km and some 1850 hm. Soit, I am not unsatisfied. My knee, which had been hurting so much the last two weeks, seems to have gotten better by the climbing. Either because of the anti-inflammation tablets or my slightly higher seating position on the bike.

Conclusion: "La Vauclusienne - Tristan Mouric" is a great cyclo in a wonderfull scenery riding around the legendary Mont Ventoux.

The race is perfectly organized, you get much value for your money (eg. nice cycling glasses, some commercial products, breakfast at the start, dinner with wine 'à volonté' at the finish, ...) and you even have the opportunity to cycle against Alain Prost, the famous F1 rider who participates in this cyclo every year (this year he ended up 58th).

Website of this cyclosportive: http://www.cyclosport-lavauclusienne.fr

HAC4+ Data:

Vlaamse versie:

Hoofddoel bereikt, koers kunnen uitrijden.

Maar de benen waren spijtig genoeg heel slecht. Waarschijnlijk combinatie van 2 weken niet meer te trainen, en dan vrijdags de ventoux op en zaterdag nog 90km over een paar hellingen en daarbovenop nog wat ontstekingsremmers.

Had wel de indruk dat het algemeen niveau redelijk hoog lag.

Niet zo veel vertrekkers maar bijna allemaal boven de 30km/u gemiddeld.

Na 10km de eerste klim, werd op het buitenblad opgevlamd. Ik kon net niet aansluiten met het eerste peloton (ong. 50 man) of ik zou moeten forceren.

Kwam daarna in een groepje van een man of 20 te zitten en reden samen de Col des Abeilles op (10tal km klimmen tegen 5-6%). Was wel wat doorbijten om te volgen.

Daarna bleef alles samen, raapten nog wat gelosten op. En in een technische afdaling reden we met 7 man weg.

Na een tiental km ronddraaien kwam de rest toch terug.

Daarna de 3de echt klim, 3-tal km aan 5%, werd weer stevig tempo gereden en voelde ik de benen al vol zuur lopen.

En in de laatste 25km zijn ze ontploft, stond volledig geparkeerd en heb eigen tempo naar de aankomst moeten rijden.

Mijn kameraad is me nog voorbijgereden en heb niet meer kunnen aanklampen.

114des geworden op een half uur van de winnaar, toch nog 32,2 gemiddeld met zo'n 1850HM over 137km (ik stuur later wel nog een grafiekje op).

Soit, toch redelijk tevreden van mijn weekend.

De knie lijkt wonder boven wonder verbeterd door het klimwerk. Ofwel ligt het aan de pillen of aan mijn iets hogere positie op de fiets.

Uitslag op http://www.kms.fr/Eprv/Rsl/07/Rsl-07-Eprv-Stat.Asp?CodEprv=Vauclusienne3G%2D07&NomEprv=La+Vaucluienne+136Km

Website op http://www.cyclosport-lavauclusienne.fr/index.html

La Charly Gaul dan toch maar voor de korte afstand kiezen zeker?

Prestigio: Le Nove Colli - Rumsas, who else ...

2007-05-21T13:58:00.000+02:00

CESENATICO - For the third consecutive year in a row, Raimondas Rumsas grabbed the win in the 205km long Nove Colli event in Cesenatico. And once again, his teammate Timothy David Jones finished second right behind him. Negrini came in fifth, which promises a lot for the several mountainous June events! Right behind him were Ciavatti and Giraldi. The women's race was decided in the sprint with Galucci beating Bandini.

Three ECB Cyclosports riders also took part in the event. Lorenzo Borghini did the 205 km event in 9 hours, while Julia Bennett and Michael Schneider arrived in 6:52 and 6:58 respectively on the 130km. For the latter it was a personal best, while Lorenzo and Julia debuted on their distances. All three of them lost a lot of time on the Bertinoro, the first climb, due to the death of a participant (heart failure).

Men - 205km

1 Rumsas, Raimondas (Team Guru Parkpre Selle Italia) 5h 47m 17s

2 Jones, Timothy David (Team Guru Parkpre Selle Italia) 5h 47m 17s

3 Kvachuk, Oleksandr (Team Cinelli Endeka) 5h 50m 47s

4 Fantini, Ersilio (Team MG.K VIS-LGL-LOOK) 5h 50m 47s

5 Negrini, Emanuele (Team Salieri) 05h 50m 49s

6 Ciavatti, Andrea (Team MG.K VIS-LGL-LOOK) 5h 50m 49s

7 Giraldi, Stefano (Team Pianeta Bici) 5h 50m 54s

8 Falzarano, Alfonso (Team Cinelli Endeka OPD) 5h 50m 54s

9 Chaburka, Anatoli (46ª Brigata Aerea-Filippo Sport) 5h 50m 57s

10 Purismi, Doriano (Viner Team) 5h 50m 57s

CHIBA Alpencup - Amade Radmarathon marred by fatal crash

2007-05-21T13:42:00.000+02:00

SALZBURG - The Amade Radmarathon in Salzburg, Austria, was overshadowed by the deadly fall of a 48-year-old German participant. The accident happened on Sunday morning apparently without the involvement of other riders. The man crashed into a guide bar and died moments later of his head injuries. The emergency ambulance arrived at the tragic spot within five minutes but resuscitation attempts failed.

Around what must have been the same time, a 74-year-old participant in the Italian granfondo Le Nove Colli suffered a fatal heart failure on the Bertinoro, the first climb.

A black weekend in the cyclo circuit.

The two 176km long distances of the Amade race were decided in the sprint. Simon Schmidmayr narrowly defeated Slovenian Gaspar Svab, while Italian veteran Anna Corona, 46, was the better woman ahead of Andrea Hofbauer.

2007-05-18T17:14:00.000+02:00

KVDV's Event Report:
05/05/07 - Bike Away in Lommel (BE)

Training with the pros

LOMMEL - After the hectic race in Frankfurt it was time for a gentle cyclotour in Belgium's Brabant and Limburg provinces. A young event, called Bike Away, which featured tours of several distances (the longest being 275 km!) and the option to ride either on Saturday or Sunday. I chose the Saturday and the 160 km distance. Basically all flat but good as recovery and to build up some endurance. My granfondo season is now coming closer, after all.

The event was quite well-hyped in the Flemish cyclo circuit, but having the much more established Shimano Fiets Challenge taking place only 50km away on the same weekend resulted in a rather moderate number of participants. A pity, because the event is well organised and has a pleasant course. They even managed to get some professionals to turn up and do the tour as training. Johan Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotto) and Kevin Hulsmans (Quickstep) joined the first group of riders who started at 8 a.m. Two hours later six more pros, including Roy Sentjens (Predictor Lotto, winner of the Flèche Brabançonne 2004), Gert Steegmans (Quickstep - Tom Boonen's lead-out man and multiple stage winner himself), Wim De Vocht (Predictor Lotto) and Sebastien Rosseler (Quickstep).

I joined four guys who rode a very solid pace from the start. They were doing the 120km and the fact that each participant's time was being registered ( as in the Amstel) clearly made them not wasting any time. We even did not stop at the first checkpoint. Eventually we caught up with eight other riders so we formed a little gruppetto. After a little climb in a forest, they turned left and I went straight for my 160km ambition. I joined four other guys. After we had chatted about La Marmotte, I took off on the longest climb of the day. That hill was followed by - surprise - a cobblestone stretch. As I hit it six riders suddenly rode past me: I immediately recognised Steegmans with five others in his wheel. I put a bigger gear on and attached my waggon. Steegmans, De Vocht, Rosseler, Sentjens and a guy from Cofidis and Landbouwkrediet-Colnago. Great!

For 60km I stayed in their wheels without too much trouble, the accelerations after every corner was the toughest bit. In fact, on two short climbs the Landbouwkrediet-rider got dropped. Too bad his director sportif wasn't following us :-) The six were joking about with De Vocht, Steegmans and Sentjens as protagonists in this department. Funny in some way was the last checkpoint. You don't always see established pros like Steegmans filling his own bidon and grabbing a waffle at some table on the edge of a meadow.

FACT SHEET:

Name: Bike Away
Date: 6 May 2007
Venue: Lommel, Belgium
Type: Cyclotour
Distance: 160km (flat)
Info: website
Even rating: 4/5
Pictures: Picasa album

Gerolstein - Some results

2007-05-16T16:13:00.000+02:00

GEROLSTEIN - The second TOUR-Festival in Gerolstein was held in mainly wet and chilly conditions. The attendance was nevertheless respectable and can only hope that the organisers are luckier with the weather next year. Below are a few results (the online results are all age-class based, unfortunately). The radmarathon of 155km saw quite a few Benelux riders in the top 20.

Jeantex time trial - 30.1 km (630 hm)
Men:
1. Günter Hollige 52:44 (34,244 km/h)
2. Michael Göhner 52:48 (34,198 km/h)
3. Frank Lingnau 54:53 (32,906 km/h)
12. Alex Nikolopoulos 56:56 (31,715 km/h) (Frankfurt)
82. Gerhard Reutzel 1:03:35 (28, 403 km/h) (Frankfurt-Hofheim)
127. Manuel Schulz 1:06:08 (27,303 km/h) (Frankfurt)
225. Denis Hergert 1:20:04 (22, 551 km/h) (Frankfurt)

Women:
1. Annika Grüber 1:00:28 (29, 867 km/h)
2. Mechthild Gerhardt 1:03:54 (28, 258 km/h)
3. Inge Roersch 1:04:57 (27, 801 km/h)
18. Anna Wächtershäuser 1:16:13 (23, 690 km/h)

Marathon 101 km - (439 participants)
1. Marc Leischner 2:59:17 (33, 866 km/h)
2. Oliver Becker 2:59:43 (33, 785 km/h)
3. Joachim Krüger 3:01:14 (33, 500 km/h)
6. Cyril Monnet 3:08:57 (32, 134 km/h) (Frankfurt)
11. Alex Nikolopoulos 3:11:19 (31, 736 km/h) (Frankfurt)
52. Morten Hansen 3:25:48 (29, 502 km/h) (Frankfurt)

Marathon 155km
1. Günter Hollige 4:37:34 (33, 622 km/h)
2. Daniel Preiss 4:42:15 (33, 064 km/h)
3. Christian Fett 4:46:07 (32, 618 km/h)

Prestigio - GF Gimondi - Another victory for Rumsas

2007-05-14T18:03:00.000+02:00

BERGAMO - Raimondas Rumsas remains the man to beat in the Italian granfondo circuit. The former Lithuanian pro also took victory in the GF Felice Gimondi in Bergamo last Sunday, edging Matteo Podesta and teammate David Timothy Jones by 12 seconds after 165km. The leading trio had a four minute advantage over a quintet, led by Andrea Ciavatti.

In the women's event Monica Bandini scored a win over Monia Gallucci.

There were over 5000 participants in Bergamo. Next weekend the Prestigio series continues with the Nove Colli in Cesenatico, the most popular event with 11000 riders.

TOUR Festival in Gerolstein: Cyril & Morten go for it

2007-05-11T11:17:00.000+02:00

Two members of the ECB Cyclosports Team are heading to Gerolstein to participate in the TOUR-Festival this weekend. In particular, Morten will do the 'marathon' over 155 km and Cyril the 100km version.

The whole weekend - starting today with an individual time trial - will see a large number of cyclists in and around Gerolstein. Via the link on the left-hand side you can obtain all the info you need. It is still possible to register on the spot as well. Unfortunately, the weather forecast is not brilliant.

Morten is continuing his preparation for the Tour of Wessex in Wales at the end of the month, while Cyril will be hoping for a good result after a crash in the penultimate corner of the Henninger Turm race deprived him from a top 50 ranking.

The Gerolstein events are not included in the T-Mobile Cycling Tour.

T-Mobile Cycling Tour Update: Elin reigns after Göttingen

2007-05-10T14:36:00.000+02:00

The T-Mobile Cycling Tour ranking has been updated with the results of Göttingen, the second race in the series that took place on 29 April. As expected, Elin Amundsen is on top of the female standings with an advantage of 15 points over Annika Grüber. However, when the points of the Frankfurt race are added, they will normally swap.

I'm finding myself in 8th place at the moment... soon I need to re-adjust my programme:-)!

T-Mobile rankings

2007-05-08T18:21:00.000+02:00

KVDV's Race Report

01/05/07 - Frankfurt/Main - Rund um den Henninger Turm

Crash festival

Only two days after the tough event in Göttingen, the next race for the T-Mobile Cycling Tour was already on the agenda. Not just another race even, the Henninger Turm in our home base Frankfurt! As I had gone quite deep in Niedersachsen (see my race report), I was not overconfident for the 102km rush through the Taunus with some of its steepest climbs. On Monday I spent half an hour on the ergobike in the morning and another 1h15 on the race machine in the evening. That was probably not a bad idea as my legs felt loose on race day.

I've done every single Henninger cyclo race since 2002. The inaugural event was wet and I crashed on my knee with many others on a large oil spot in a descent off a Bundestrasse. The year after I surprised myself by finishing 55th. Then we had the apocalyptic edition of 2004: pouring rain all day. Intermediate times on Rupersthainberg put me around 35th spot when I slipped in the sharp corner to enter the long descent to Kelkheim. My rear wheel was badly damaged and the tyre flat. My love-hate relationship with this race continued in 2005. Forced to start in Block C I blew myself up entirely trying to get to the front before the climbing zone. I finished 175th or something like that. But last season I returned with a vengeance to conclude the race in 14th place!

Coming from Köln and Göttingen with satisfying results, I knew I had the legs to stick with the first group again. Still, the Taunus is unforgiving and the difference between 100% and 80% can make a hell lot of difference. As it turned out, I didn't have any major problems hanging in there with the fastest. The famous 20% stretch in Eppstein went 'fine'. However, as in Göttingen, I have to admit that's all I could do. Attacking or counter attacking did not come to my mind. A nasty crash of three, four riders in Glashütten forced me to put my foot on the ground and gave me some concern. The pace was quite high and standing still on a piece of false flat was not really ideal. It took until just at the foot of the steep Rupertshainsberg to get back to the leading group. In the nick of time! The climb was rock-hard, no point denying that. But I guess it was that way for everyone.

After Rupertshain it was fast downhill to Frankfurt City, with two bumps in Kelkheim to break the speed. Then the fun was over.

Masses of slower riders on the 'flat' 75km distance merged with our group of some 40-50 riders in Kelkheim. Surely it was unfortunate timing but this was wild. It was nearly impossible to distinguish who was with us and who wasn't! Upon entering the cobbled climb out there, it was simply a matter of too many riders on too narrow a road. In a reflex I personally jumped on the terrible footpath next to the cobbled street. I saw two fast guys crashing as they couldn't pass slower riders. On top, I accelerated but I had no clue where the leaders were. Somebody else hammered down in the descent and I followed. Brief, total confusion.

Luckily, we didn't have the feared inline skaters there at that moment...

Gradually our group got back together after a number of kilometres but now obviously also included 75km riders who were giving it a shot to follow our pace on the remaining flattish 40km. I sat comfortably in there with Cyril, who had joined us in the descent of Rupertshain. My main concern remained avoiding crashes. Because yes, every now and then you heard them around you. Entering the city there was a big one again in front of me. I hope all these people are okay because their crashes looked pretty bad! Needless to say it spoilt the fun.

Anyhow, as we passed the ECB's Eurotower and rode along the Main to Konstablerwache I took the lead on the bridge. I expected an attack on the sloping Darmstädter Landstrasse - where the pro race starts and finishes- and I thought I better be up front when that happens. There was no real attack, though, just an increase of pace. Then again down to the Main and via a cycling lane (!) filled with slower riders we headed back to Höchst. Taking the bridge towards the Main-Taunus Zentrum I took Cyril's wheel in about 15th place when suddenly two slow inline skaters appeared ahead of us! The poor woman was obviously shocked when riders going for victory were storming passed her left and right, some - like the guy pushing me to the left - narrowly avoiding a heavy collision. These escapades made me lose momentum and Cyril's wheel, but I just got it back in the penultimate 90 degree corner when... the guy ahead of Cyril missed his corner completely, went down and took Cyril with him! I slipped but did not tumble over them. My sprint was destroyed and after such a thriller I could not really be bothered to get myself up to speed again for the last 200 metres. Cyril, who was doing his best ever T-Mobile race, crossed the line afterwards, shaken, disappointed but unhurt.

Then we got an email from Gary Weir who returned from the Giro della Sardegna saying he did not witness a single crash all week.

These are my personal experiences of this year's race of course, but many other participants also complained and reported a large number of crashes. As mentioned above, the situation in Kelkheim may just be due to bad timing - but still. The organisers should try to find a solution to avoid these bottlenecks. The stretch from the City back to Höchst which partially went via a cycling path along the river is hard to imagine for someone who didn't experience it. The final kilometre around the MTZ is asking for trouble. And having skaters on the same roads is just not helping matters. It's such a shame as the course through the Taunus remains a highlight of the season.

The Henninger results to this day are still purely netto time based. This puts me in 46th spot, 18 seconds behind winner Stefan Rademacher (Team UGS), Cyril in 68th. The entire ECB team did a splendid job, the results can be found elsewhere on the blog. Only sad that Elin did not get what she deserved: third place on the podium. That was awarded to Reni Brunner due to the netto-time rule. Hopefully she will get the points for third place in the T-Mobile Cycling Tour ranking.

FACT SHEET:

Name: Henninger Turm
Date: 1 May 2007
Venue: Frankfurt/Main
Type: Race (T-Mobile Cycling Tour)
Distance: 102km (900hm)
My Result: 46/1440 (finishers), 2:34:40, avs 39.568
Info: website
Event rating: 1/5

Leon Van Bon beaten in Shimano Fiets Challenge

2007-05-07T11:23:00.000+02:00

The self-proclaimed greatest cyclo of the Benelux, the Shimano Fiets Challenge in Vaals (NL), had a surprising outcome as experienced ProTour rider Leon Van Bon (Rabobank) got defeated in the sprint by Vosges-based Dutchman Michel Snel. The 150km was covered in 4:01:37 by a leading trio with Matthieu Heyboer completing the podium.

Snel is not an unknown in the cyclo circuit. He finished third in La Vosgienne last year, and was also the fastest in the time trial on the Ballon 'd Alsace last September. He's a member of the new Dutch Veltec Team Granfondo.

The women's event was dominated by Irene Van den Broek who had an advantage of over 11 minutes to finish in 4:24:27.

Unfortunately, the signalisation of the event was below standards and several riders exited the course involuntarily at some point.

Avoid the rain, go to Belgium!

2007-05-04T13:55:00.000+02:00

Whereas the weather forecast for Hessen is not exactly brilliant for tomorrow, Belgium should still enjoy lots of sunshine this weekend. Last-minute deciders could check this cyclosportive/cyclotour out that takes place in Lommel: Bike Away

It is only the second edition of this much-hyped event and covers the entire weekend. That is: on Saturday you can choose to do the various available courses cyclosportive-style, with time registration and a ranking at the end. On Sunday it is purely cyclotour-style.

Two bunch starts are foreseen on Saturday: one at 8 a.m. for the 275km and 200km, and a second one at 10 a.m. for the 160km, 120km and shorter distances.

And last but not least: a number of Belgian professionals will line-up at the starting line as well! Gert Steegmans, the lead-out man for Tom Boonen at Quickstep, will join the 275km bunch start together with another Quickstepper Sebastien Rosseler.
At 10 a.m. Predictor-Lotto aces Johan Vansummeren, Roy Sentjens and Wim De Vocht will join the second bunch start.

Rumour has it on a Flemish forum that even Tom Boonen will turn up - with his bike ..

Motorcyclists will follow the event with cameras and video footage will be shown at the start/finish in Lommel after the event.

MTB - Lorenzo & Julia kick off season in style

2007-05-04T09:56:00.000+02:00

SUNDERN HAGEN - Last Saturday Lorenzo and Julia Borghini started their MTB season with the first event in the Bike Sport News Marathon Trophy Series in Sundern Hagen. Despite the hot temperatures, Lorenzo had great legs and opted for the long distance race over 102 km (2500 hm) and did it in a great time of 5:04:33 to finish 113th. Julia went for the medio of 57km and came in 25th in 3:07:11. Everything certainly seems top with their current conditional level, as Lorenzo and Julia went on to deliver great results in last Tuesday's Henninger Turm road race as well! Lorenzo was 30th on the 63km and suprised everybody with his intermediate time on Rupertshainberg, while Julia was 21st and 2nd (!) in her age category on the 74km.

More information on the Bike Sport News Marathon Trophy
And here's the link to the Sundern Hagen event

2007-05-03T16:00:00.000+02:00

KVDV's RACE REPORT:

29/04/07 - Göttingen, Niedersachsen
Tough but pleasant racing

Göttingen remains one of my favourite German races. Registration and overall organisation is hassle-free, the results are like you expect them to be, and the 80 km long course is bloody tough to race on! For my third participation I just had a simple target: reach the finish with the fastest group, something I failed to do last season (second group, rank 36). For half of the race it did not look good for me, but eventually I did manage to cross the line just inside the top 20! The netto-time rule as of rank 16 relegated me to rank 21, but alas.

While warming up, my front braking cable lost all its tension. That was quite shocking. I had cable issues after the Cologne race ... but at the rear, not at the front! By the time I had everything fixed and reliable again, starting block A was already quite filled up and I was forced to take up a position towards the back. No big deal, the first 3km are neutralised anyway. Yeah right: the pace up front was immediately so high gaps emerged everywhere. The chase was on straightaway! I could not even see the front riders and the pace was blistering. I took the wheels of three guys wearing Tui-jerseys. I remembered them from the Münster event last season and they seemed keen to make it to the front as quickly as possible, too. However, it really was easier said than done. It was not exactly pancake flat and there were a few passages through small villages. It took 7-8 kilometres before I passed ECB Cyclosports teammate Morten and a bit further I finally caught up with Elin.

The rush to the front cost me a lot of strength and on the long sloping road that followed I could not keep up with the first group of about 30 riders that was now clearly detaching itself from the rest of the peloton. I resisted for a while with a few others, but to no avail. The wind did not help neither and I was gasping for air. A second group of about ten riders closed up and included Elin. The Agapedia train for Elin's main competitor Annika Grüber also joined us.

The next ten to fifteen kilometres I just tried to get my act together. Meanwhile, I noticed Elin was stronger than Annika. I told her to save her energy for the last climb, Hoher Hagen at 12km before the finish. However, the two or three teammates of Annika did a superb job 'protecting' her and in fact it was last year's winner of the women's T-Mobile Tour who took off at Hoher Hagen and not Elin.

The pace in our group was high enough to catch up with the leading group just before the long climb of Bramwald. That was just in time. I immediately sneaked my way up the front of the group, where I had no problems with the climbing pace. In fact, I started feeling better and better. The group split up again and I was comfortable sitting in there. The rollercoaster ride towards Hoher Hagen did not bother me at all, but at Hoher Hagen itself I had to accept that following was all I could, and I had to dig very deep to do so. When we turned left into the descent I was knackered and luckily I caught the wheel of another Agapedia-rider. Yet the subsequent bumps killed me and I once again dropped off the group of about 20-25 riders. The truth is this was racing at its finest. I battled my way up the stretch of false flat and joined two guys who had suffered the same fate. Together we reconnected with the group a bit later. Then it was basically straight down the line.

Unlike in Köln, the rush to the finish was not obstructed by sharp corners or narrow streets and I decided to give it a shot. I positioned myself up front and started the sprint in the wheel of Stefan Rademacher, who would finish fifth, but someone forced me to pull to the right where I got a bit squeezed. I estimated I crossed the line around 15th place. I did not know three guys were actually ahead of us since Hoher Hagen, with Michael Rademacher of Team UGS beating Oliver Beerman and Nino Ackermann for the win.

It was tough going this race, but I'm genuinely satisfied. Göttingen gives us jedermänner a perfect opportunity to race in a pleasant atmosphere and without many concerns about safety. I can only recommend this event once again to everyone.

FACT SHEET:

Name: Tour d' Energie
Date: 29 April 2007
Venue: Göttingen
Type: Race (T-Mobile Cycling Tour)
Distance: 80km
Hm: 1060hm
My Result: Rank 21/1327 (f), 2:07:01 (netto, rank 10)
Info: website
Event rating: 5/5

PRESS: Göttinger Tagesblatt 30.04.07
http://www.goesf.de/fileadmin/Ergebnisliste/GT30-04-07_III.pdf

VIDEO COVERAGE - Finish 80km (a few slower riders of the 50km are in between)

Prestigio: Dieci Colli Bolognesi: Jones ahead of Rumsas

2007-05-02T15:20:00.000+02:00

BOLOGNA - Second event in the Italian Prestigio series: the Dieci Colli Bolognesi. As in the GF Selle Italia, Parkpre teammates Timothy Jones and Raimondas Rumsas took top honours after 163km. Attacking on the last climb, they opened up a gap of 40 seconds over Kyrilo Pospeyev and1'17"over local hero Emmanuele Negrini. The order was different now though: Jones crossed the line ahead of Rumsas.

In the women's event, Monica Bandini had a lead of nearly 10 minutes over Barbara Lancioni.

Next Prestigio event is the GF Felice Gimondi in Bergamo on 13 May.

Henninger Turm: Elin third across the line!

2007-05-02T13:51:00.000+02:00

FRANKFURT - Elin Amundsen was quite annoyed when the results were displayed yesterday afternoon. She had just "trashed" Reni Brunner, also from Frankfurt, in the sprint for third place, but found herself behind Brunner - and thus off the podium - in the result list.

The reason is simple: the very controversial netto-time based result policy which the Henninger organisation apparently defends. Brunner must have crossed the starting line 10 to 15 seconds after Elin and thus had a "time advantage" that Elin's sprint victory could not erase. "Why did I then sprint?," said Elin rightfully.

Curious to see what will appear on the website of the T-Mobile Cycling Tour. If they apply the rules as published on their website, Elin should be awarded the points of third place. With Annika Grüber winning the race in Frankfurt just like in Gottingen, every single point is important ...

My personal race report will follow in due course.

TOP 3:

Men:

1. Rademacher Michael (Team UGS)2:34.21,9
2. Dehler Michael (Team Blue Essentials)2:34.22,2
3. Bauer Alexander (Radsport minibarrista)2:34.22,6

Women:

1. Grüber Annika (Team Agapedia Münsterland 3)2:39.45,1
2. Höllige Martina (Team Strassacker)2:41.57,4
3. Brunner Reni (Bad Vilbel) 2:44.20,9

VeloTour: Fine results for entire ECB Cyclosports Team

2007-05-02T13:37:00.000+02:00

FRANKFURT - More than 3500 riders took part in this year's VeloTour- Henninger Turm, a new record. Here are the results of a succesful ECB squad in brief

(note: Elin Amundsen de facto finished third and should be awarded third-place according to the T-Mobile Cycling Tour rules, but on netto time she has been relegated to fourth so far by the Henninger organisers).

102km (Taunus long), 63 km (Taunus short), 74km (flat long), 35km (flat short)

Women:
Amundsen, Elin
102km - rank 4/74, 2:44:24 (+ 4'39"), avs 37.223
Bennett, Julia
74km - rank 21/133, 2:05:31 (+ 16'58"), avs 35.370

Men:
Borghini, Lorenzo
63km - rank 30/314, 1:51:47 (+8'36"), avs 33.974
Hagedorn, Marcus
74km - rank 116/1002, 1:52:42 (+5'36), avs 39.396
Hansen, Morten
102km - rank 440/1458, 2:50:53 (+16'31"), avs 35.812
Monnet, Cyril
102km - rank 68/1458, 2:35:04 (+0'42"), avs 39.464
Richardson, Alan
74km - rank 928/1002, 2:33:51 (+46'45"), avs 28.858
Van de Velde, Kris
102km - rank 46/1458, 2:34:40 (+0'18"), avs 39.568
Van Domburg, Guus
63km - rank 106/314, 2:05:18 (+22'07"), avs 30.308

Ten ECB Riders at the start tomorrow!

2007-04-30T16:49:00.000+02:00

Frankfurt - The ECB Cyclosports Team is expected to line up ten riders for tomorrow's Henninger Turm event, the home race so to speak. Here are the names:

AMUNDSEN, Elin
BENNETT, Julia
BORGHINI, Lorenzo
HAGEDORN, Marcus
HANSEN, Morten
KRUSEC, Dejan
MONNET, Cyril
RICHARDSON, Alan
VAN DE VELDE, Kris
VAN DOMBURG, Guus

Göttingen: official results

2007-04-30T16:35:00.000+02:00

Göttingen - The results have now been modified according to the rules of the T-Mobile Cycling Tour, which say that the first 15 across the line occupy the first 15 spots regardless of each rider's netto time. As of rank 16, the classification is based on netto time.

These rules, incidently, were changed last week on Friday. In Cologne the first 250 across the line were also the first 250 in the result list.

We have already discussed the system earlier this month. At least the result is not purely based on netto-time...

Men's 80 km (1060 Hm) - 1326 finishers
1. Michael Rademacher (team UGS) - netto 2:05:46 (5)
2. Oliver Beerman (Faktor magazin) - netto 2:04:07 (1)
3. Nino Ackermann (Blue Essentials) - netto 2:06:09 (6)
21. Kris Van de Velde (bobteam) - netto 2:07:01 (10)
83. Cyril Monnet (ECB Cyclosports) - netto 2:11:02 (83)

Women's 80km (1060Hm) - 71 finishers
1. Annika Grüber (Team Agapedia Münsterland 3) - netto 2:09:19 (1)
2. Elin Amundsen (bobteam) - netto 2:11:41 (2)
3. Katja Hernold (TV Kettwig) - netto 2:19:13 (3)