Monthly Archives: April, 2007

Danilo Di Luca rewarded his hard-working teammates in the best way yesterday (Sunday) by racing a tactically perfect Liege-Bastogne-Liege and taking the win in front a first-class field. "I've been dreaming of winning this race for nine years. This is the most beautiful and most difficult race that I have won" exclaimed Di Luca post-race.

Paul Coats (Squadra Via Mazzini Racetool) showed that he had the legs to match his cool suntan with a fine win in Sunday's David Campbell memorial race over 80 cold and hilly miles around Fife's Cults Hills.

Mountainbiker Euan Pope took the top spot in the Dunfermline Road Race, with a fine solo win. Second was Lewis Oliphant and third Richard Allan.

Cannondale Synapse was the frame of choice for many of the riders of Team Liquigas at last weekend's Tour of Flanders, including Filippo Pozzato and eventual podium-finisher, Luca Paolini. The frame offers a number of features which make it well suited for the cobbled classics, the most physically demanding races of the calendar, both for the riders and their equipment.

The GS Corsa Spring Bunny 25 race start was delayed as there had been an accident on the course, however once underway it ran smoothly. The course was the AB25/4 - Garlogie Torphins.

The 2007 Ingliston Criterium Series sponsored by Cycling Scotland kicked off last Thursday, the 12th April, at the Royal Highland Showground just west of Edinburgh. Now in its 9th season and this year expanded to 6 events, the series is expected to attract many of Scotland's top elite, women and junior riders.

It was too good an opportunity to miss - Viktor with his pils; me with my Diet Coke; Ghent-Wevelgem and De Panne winner, Nico Mattan with his Carlsberg. I was interviewing Nico thanks to his DFL team mate, Evan Oliphant, who set the meeting up.

We're at Paris - Roubaix 2007 and it's more like July in San Trop than spring in Northern France. We're in Wallers to take-in cobble sectors 19 and 17, both of which are on the outskirts of the village but at different ends, we had thought about watching at sector 18, Arenberg, but half of France has the same idea, it's heaving, and we have to get up to the finish "soon-as" after we've cobble-watched.

A beautiful day greeted the 53 riders who took the start of the 56th sponsored The Drummond Trophy Road Race. In glorious sunshine the race rolled out of the small town of Strathaven, situated in the heart of the Avon Valley, Scotland. The rugged course incorporated a large loop of about 45 miles in length, and three smaller loops covering close to 15 miles.

The Saturday gig for Paris - Roubaix 2007 was to do a piece on the velos, so it was down to the start at Compiegne, and collect our creds. ASO didn't let us down; "I have credentials for you, but not your driver!". I won't bore you, but it was several hours and more of that patience-stuff later before we got the vital bits of string and plastic.

Friday's gig was to do a course recce for Paris - Roubaix 2007. There are 28 sectors and you can't skek them all, so we decided to do the track at Roubaix, the final four sectors, a new sector which has just been added and the two legendary sectors - Carrefour de L'Arbre & Arenberg.

Paris - Roubaix 2007. My lift was late; the architect at the site meet was a pain, then the car broke down. It was therefore a stressed Ed who lurched onto the 12.30pm London express at Waverley on Thursday afternoon to rendez-vous with VeloVeritas Editor, Martin.

Ailsa Craig is lost in the low cloud, visibility isn't much beyond the breakwater. The rain is a fine, freezing, stinging mist - it's a perfect day for the last stage at The Girvan 2007. We've just agreed that the guys from Bike&Run London, with their cool all-white kit and matching Looks, opened the curtains and began packing the car for the trip home immediately.

Sunday stage on the The Girvan 2007 started at 12.01am in the Roxy, Girvan's answer to Stringfellows. We drank cocktails, there was Bobby Darrin on the sound system, and the talk with the Prada-clad lovelies was of moving to Saint Tropez for the Spring.The scent of Chanel filled the air. Na - you know what it was really like; but we only had three beers, so there are no war stories.

Aidan McIlroy (Auchencrow Thistle) backed up his great ride in the recent Gordon Arms time trial to win his own club's promotion, the hilly TT - "Up The Cleugh". Second was Gary Robson, and third Jon Kelly, visiting from the north of England.

There's a nip in the air at 07.30 en route the Girvan 2007 as I stand on Kirkcaldy promenade and await the arrival of Davie and the new Nissan. The big, old Peugeot has gone and he's got a new Micra now, complete with CD - Yuppie!

It's a split stage today for the Driedaagse, 119 kilometres in the morning, then 11 kilometres contre la montre in the afternoon. The morning stage means an early start all-round and at 09.05 the bunch rolls out of De Panne, it's parky but sunny.

Stage two is the longest at nearly 230 K, from Zottegem to Sint-Idesbald, a quick breenge around the bergs then a charge back to the coast and two finishing laps. Viktor wanted to see his hero, Guy Smet at a kermesse near Bruges, so my race watching was courtesy of the plasma screen in a cafe.

Stage one is Middelkerke (home to the Tom Boonen fan club) to Zottegem, wearing-on for 200 K, when you include two laps of a circuit in the 'bergs' near Oudenaarde. All of the hills which give Het Volk, Kuurne, De Panne and Flanders their particular character are contained within a relatively small area.

Viktor has barred us from attending any races which are patronised by Graham Baxter Tours, this means that the Tour of Flanders is out. The next-best thing therefore, is Driedaagse van De Panne. It covers many of the roads that Flanders does, the 'Flanders fever' is in full flow but the security is non-existent so you can skek bikes and annoy mechanics to your heart's content.

The appearance of daffodils by the roadside at the The Gordon Arms Trophy served to remind you that despite the wonderful blue sky, it is in fact only just the beginning of spring; the morning was tempered by a pretty chilly nor-easterly, taking the temperature down enough to justify at least arm-warmers for most of the field, with gloves, leg-warmers and even overshoes the choice for many riders too.