Saturday, July 27, 2024

Tag: Team Wiggins

Jody Warrington – How Riders Can Cope in a ‘Lockdown’

In the overall scheme of the world’s current predicament, guys not being able to race their bikes doesn’t even register but if you’ve been training all winter to realise goals you set yourself for the season and overnight they’re plucked from your grasp it’s not easy to handle. We spoke to one of the most respected coaches in the area, Jody Warrington about how riders can cope with ‘lockdown.’

Ollie Robinson – a Great Start to 2020 in Belgium

It’s that time of the year again; when young men cross the North Sea to the Flatlands, full of dreams of pro contracts, flowers and kisses from pretty podium girls. It doesn’t always work out like that for all of them but one young English rider has made a very strong start to 2020 with excellent early results; young Mr. Ollie Robinson.

Yanto Barker – the Man Behind the Le Col Brand

The new Bahrain McLaren team colour scheme for the team’s jerseys and bikes is hard to miss; but it was the little ‘le col’ logo that interested us. ‘Le Col’ is the clothing company founded and run by British ex-pro, Yanto Barker. We found out more about outfitting a World Tour team and the man behind the brand.

The VV View: Boonen’s Worlds, Respect the Rainbow Bands, Tramadol, and more!

‘Why do you rant about cycling?’ they ask us. ‘Because someone has to!’ we reply. There has to be a voice in the wilderness ... Did you watch the Worlds? Dave, Ivan and Vik all boycotted it – although they admitted to watching the finale. The Belgian offensive in the desert would have done Field Marshal Erwin Rommel proud – but apart from that and Sagan’s killer finale the race was processional.

Simon Cope – Team Wiggins’ new Director Sportiv

Team Wiggins ? Fear not, VeloVeritas is on the case. Our man in Gent, Ian Whitehead informed us that his amigo of some 25 years, Simon Cope is ‘Chat Show Sensation’ (it says here) Wiggins’ DS for the new venture. We checked Mr. Cope out and he’s got the T-shirt, the DVD and the box set – originally a 34 Nomad before he turned pro and a British champion on road and track.

At Random

Stephen Clancy – It’s time to look forward and “Changing Diabetes”

A signing which caught our eye was that of 20 year-old Irishman Stephen Clancy, joining Phil Southerland’s Team Type 1 Pro Continental squad. Last season the team took some big wins; notably ‘Philly’ – the Philadelphia International Championship, the USA’s biggest one day race where the spectators are measured in tens of thousands.

Giro d’Italia 2013 – Stage 11: Tarvisio – Vajont (Erto e Casso) 182km. Ramunas Navardauskas Rules

Ryder Hesjedal is one of the nicest professional athletes you’ll ever meet, polite, grounded, sincere, soft spoken and likeable. To see him languishing in the gruppetto with Cav, yesterday was really quite sad. He was strong at Liège, paving the way for the win which took Dan Martin from ‘up and coming,’ to firmly, ‘arrived!’

Het Nieuwsblad 2016 goes to GVA

Saturday dawns crisp, cold and sunny for the Omloop Gent Gent. We have a copy of Het Nieusblaad which has all the information we need about the route so its time to head for the start. It's moved this year to the S.M.A.K complex, site of the Gent Six Day. As the car park fills with the now de rigueur coaches, ushered in by whistle blowing attendants we grab a quick pic of world champ Peter Sagan's Specialized before being asked to move on by an unfriendly team staffer...

The VV View: The USADA Reasoned Decision Should Be the Start, Not the End

The USADA Reasoned Decision; just like those CNN images from Iraq when the Saddam statues crashed to the ground, Lance is in pieces in the dust – the legend shattered. The Zealots told us that it was a great day and the start of a new era in cycling.

Robert Smail – “I just can’t get enough of those dead straight, pan flat concrete roads”

It’s not been a good year for VeloVeritas chief cycling soothsayer, observer and talent scout, Viktor. First there were Brad’s new tattoos, then the beard; David Millar’s shoes were hard to bear – and then someone mentioned ‘Jensie’ in the same breath as Eddy Merckx. It was all too much ... But our man Dave Chapman has been scanning the Belgian kermis results for us and a name he’s spotted making the prize lists time and again is that of Englishman Robert Smail.

Norman Hill, Bernard Tapie and Heiko Salzwedel, R.I.P.

In recent weeks we’ve lost three important figures within our King of Sports; Norman Hill, a man who did it all, road, the Belgian Kermis scene, Six Days, big motors, even cyclo-cross, Bernard Tapie, the man responsible for riders beginning to get paid what they were worth, and track coach Heiko Salzwedel.