Looks like Matt Brammeier is keen to win his weight in beer
In today's Tour of Flanders, the first rider to pass through the village of Sint Eloois Winkel after 34kms will win a decent enough prize. The vilage is home to the Steene Molen brewery, and they have announced that the first rider to pass through the village will win his weight in beer. It seems that Matt Brammeier (MTN-Qhubeka) is particularly...
“He’s relaxed and that’s the time when you can perform much better” Sean Kelly’s prediction for Flanders
We caught up with Sean Kelly earlier in the week to discuss a number of subjects including who he thinks is going to win the Tour of Flanders. This is what he said. “Sunday’s situation has changed a lot with Cancellara and Boonen out. I think it’s a different race altogether now as those teams would have been controlling the...
Cyclists speak ahead of the Tour of Flanders cyclosportive
The Tour of Flanders cyclosportive is amongst the biggest sportives in the world, attracting 16,000 cyclists. The event takes place the day before the race, and has a choice of three different distances, 254km (2100 metres of climbing), 134km (1600 metres of climbing) and 75km (930 metres of climbing). All three routes will take in cobbled sections of the course. Riders...
Pinarello launch a new bike for cobbles
Team Sky will ride the Tour of Flanders on Sunday on a 'game changing' new bike which has been co-engineered by Jaguar and Pinarello. The DOGMA K8-S has been designed especially for the challenging terrain of the cobbled classics, and features a new lightweight suspension system (DSS 1.0, Dogma Suspension System) and flexible flat carbon chain stays (FLEXSTAYS™) to create...
Are Saxo Bank set to cease sponsorship?
According to L'Équipe, Saxo Bank is set to cease sponsorship of the Tinkoff-Saxo team after this season. The Danish investment bank has been linked to the team since 2008. The departure of Bjarne Riis from the team is said to have been a major factor in the decision. The presence of the Danish manager was an important factor for the...
The cyclist who got drunk and won the Tour of Flanders (Book extract)
In 1919, a young Flemish cyclist named Henri “Ritte” van Lerberghe had just finished service with the Belgian Army when he arrived at the start line of the Tour of Flanders without a bike. At the start in Ghent, he managed to borrow a bicycle. He told the other riders that he would ride them all off his wheel, and...
Sylvain Chavanel’s masterclass in how not to remove a cape and other footage from Ghent-Wevelgem
This video features highlights from last weekend's Ghent-Wevelgem, which turned out to be ridiculously windy. The video shows Gert Steegmans (Trek Factory Racing) after having crashed into a ditch, riders getting blown off the road, including Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), and also Sylvain Chavanel (IAM Cycling) with the help of a teammate making a mess of taking off his cape.
Balbriggan Cycling Club’s response to Fingal County Council regarding road race cancellations
Balbriggan Cycling Club have been in touch to provide a copy of their response to the recently published press release from Fingal County Council regarding road racing in North County Dublin They have also provided a copy of the race cancellation notice, 2015 Memorial Races Cancellation Notice D S(4) Response to Fingal Co. Co’s. (FCC) Press Release Balbriggan Cycling Club (BCC)...
Fingal County Council’s press release regarding road racing
The situation with road racing in Fingal has still not been resolved and below is the press release from Fingal County Council released prior to the Balbriggan races outlining their position. The Balbriggan Cycling Club has been staging cycle racing events on Fingal roads for many decades. As with other similar event organisers, they have liaised with Fingal County Council in advance...
Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) on what makes the Tour of Flanders so special (VIDEO)
Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) has spoken to cyclingnews.com about what makes the Tour of Flanders so special. Boonen has taken victory in the race three times, in 2005, 2006 and 2013. However, he won't be racing this year as he is still recovering from injuries sustained in a crash at Paris-Nice. "It all takes part in this mythical place, small climbs,...
Onboard footage from Ghent-Wevelgem
The weather at last weekend's Ghent-Wevelgem played an important part in how the race turned out to be. And it turned from bad to worse. Watch MTN-Qhubeka's Kristian Sbaragli onboard footage as he makes his way through the race. The Italian was listed as a DNF in the race.
Eddie Dunbar and his NFTO team check out the Tour de Yorkshire course
Eddie Dunbar and his NFTO team mates have been checking out the course of the Tour de Yorkshire. The new race is a legacy event following on from the Tour de France having taken place in Yorkshire last year. The race will feature many of the same roads as were used in the Tour and it takes place from...