Long time no blog! Since my last blog a lot has happened in my world. First up was the Superprestige in Zonhoven. I rode really well on the uber-tough sandy course and picked up another top 20, eventually finishing 16th. I was really pleased as I don't get to race in sand much and it shows I have the needed skills to compete well in those conditions which until that race I hadn't really believed I could...
Enjoying the evening sunshine and large crowds around the town for The Peebles Criterium 2011, young Pedal Power\Endura rider Robbie Hassan rode an intelligent and strong race to win the inaugural event, part of the Tweedlove Festival, fending off a strong challenge from Director's Choice's Allan Clark and Endura Racing professional Callum Wilkinson.
The 2019 Race Across America (RAAM) was won by a man who’s already won it five times previously – the undisputed king of the ultra-distance riders, Austria’s Christoph Strasser. We caught up with Christoph a week or two after his epic ride – by his own admission, the hardest RAAM he has ever participated in.
The last time we spoke to Denmark and Saxo Bank’s Michael Mørkøv – after he’d won a dramatic Vuelta stage – we said that perhaps it was time to stop referring to him as a ‘Six Day star.’ We were right.
If you’re a sad old tester like me you’ll remember that wonderful day back in 1978 when ‘King’ Alf Engers discovered the Holy Grail – it took 49 minutes and 24 seconds. The first 30 mph 25 mile time trial. Hard to imagine that Alf’s time would only have given him joint 21st position in the Lea Valley CC ‘25’ on the E2/25 a couple of weeks ago – some four minutes behind the winner, John Dewey of Team Bottrill/HSS Hire.
The first big mountain stage of the Tour has exposed the form of the riders who have intentions of finishing on the podium in the race. The best five in the race to date have been Wiggins, Evans, Nibali, Froome and Van Den Broeck (VDB). Bizarrely, Chris Froome is probably the best in the race right now: he completely cracked Cadel Evans AND (briefly) dropped his own team leader.
It was that master of the ‘sporting’ time trial parcours, Chris Smart who again took the honours in Sunday’s classic Tour de Trossachs time trial, adding his name once again to a roll call that read like a ‘who’s who’ of Scottish Cycling – Billy Bilsland, Robert Millar, Graeme Obree and the late, great Jason MacIntyre.