Tag: Koppenberg

What was it Oasis sang? ‘Don’t look back in anger.’ We look back on 2020 not with anger but with sadness - if you or your friends, colleagues or family have had the misfortune to encounter Covid then you have our commiserations. Here's our hindsight view of the VeloVeritas year.

The result of the Tri Changing Gear CC 16ml Hilly TT. An excellent ride by Jonathan Copp to take this race, with Carlos a little unfortunate having punctured just before the start and ending up riding on someone's borrowed "winter bike" rear wheel.

In this Rant, we remember Sandy Wallace's palmarès and Alex Coutts' career, ponder Rapha CC and cycling as a middle class pastime, and try to imagine when Elia Viviani will get to wear his Rainbow Jersey.

'It's not a competition any more, it's a personal time trial,' the words of Tour de Trossachs organiser, Janette Hazlett after she had to void the result, following a serious crash. David Clark of the Stowmarket & District CC was involved in what appeared to us to be a head on collision with a car on the Loch Venachar road and had to be helicoptered to hospital.

In Scotland the last two weeks have seen us lose two fine young men from our cycling scene; gone before their time, Ben Abrahams and Dougie Young. But over in the Belgian Heartland they’ve suffered too – with the recent passing of Daniel (Danny) Willems at 60 years of age. ‘Who’s Danny Willems?’ I hear you ask. I’m not surprised you should ask that; there’s been very little reaction to Willems demise - but those of my generation remember him as tall, stylish, classy and a big name in pro cycle sport in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

On social media the other day I saw someone contend that perhaps the crisis that faces time trialling – i.e. the participation age range becomes older by the season, with a case in point being the Scottish ‘25’ title: three youths, one junior – is as a result of the fact that the youngsters think that to compete on equal terms they MUST have a machine which will cost upwards of five grand.