Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Tag: Old Races

The 1978 Crystal Palace Grand Prix

Have you been clearing out the loft, found an old race programme or finishing sheet and wondering what to do with it? Fire it off to VeloVeritas – we love the smell of the old paper, those names that we’d just about forgotten and remembering that British Cycling did actually exist before Sky came along. Kris, my Six Day boss sent me a photocopied sheet from the past the other day – it’s not the best print job but it’s just about readable; the Crystal Palace Grand Prix...

The 1962 Usher Silver Tankard Road Race

Usher Silver Tankard Nostalgia: “describes a sentimental longing for the past” defines the dictionary. I’m not one to sit and say that everything was better when I was a youngster – bikes certainly weren’t; much of the equipment available was scrap and would get laughed out of court in 2013. Cycling clothing was horrible and cycling shoes were positively medieval. Albeit cars were cooler, music was better and so was the cycling scene.

At Random

Giro d’Italia 2012 – Stage 2: Herning 206km. Cav is King!

Giro d'Italia 2012 - Stage 2 and Cav is King. If these were Medieval times I'd have to throw myself on his mercy. Prostrate myself at the foot of the steps to the Sky bus, next Monday in Frosinone. Trust that in the joy of his re-confirmation as king of Denmark he'd be merciful.

Tommy Bustard – Gifford RR Winner; “I don’t put myself under pressure”

The winner of the first big Scottish road race of the season – in bonnie Gifford - was Velosure-Giordana’s Tommy Bustard, and we wanted to have a word... we can’t have these Englishmen coming up and winning our races and then not ask them what it’s all about. If you’ve been paying attention to the ever-more sparse ‘local results’ in ‘Sportives and Road Tests Weekly’ (aka ‘Cycling Weekly’) you’ll have seen that Bustard scored a good win in the early season Roy Thame Cup; a hotly contested road race in the south - so the form was there.

Le Tour de France 2014 – Stage 18; Pau – Hautacam, 145 km. Nibali Authoritative

Bonjour! Hautacam and the Pyrenees are in the rear view mirror as we head for the start of Stage 19 and the start of the long haul north towards Paris. We were on the Tourmalet, yesterday - a beast of a mountain. But first, Lourdes - go, see it and then leave, quickly. At the bottom of The Tourmalet sits Sainte-Marie-de-Campan where - back in the days when men were men - Eugene Christophe had to fix his own forks but the commissars still nailed him because the blacksmith's apprentice worked the bellows at the forge.

Sean Flynn – on a Dual Road/MTB Program with SEG Racing

20 year-old Sean Flynn from Edinburgh; four times a British Champion at youth and junior level, is on the SEG roster for season 2021, which is an achievement in itself.

The Champ Rolls On

The Champ Rolls On... I can remember seeing the photos from the presentation of the teams at the start of the race and thinking how embarrassing it was for the Garmin team to be doing their bow down to Thor thing while he held up a warhammer. I was clearly completely wrong!

Bob Jungels Solos Victorious in Kuurne Brussels Kuurne 2019

Sunday’s Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne UCI 1.1 HC is the bridesmaid to Het Nieuwsblad’s UCI WT bride but it’s a race with a long history dating back to 1946 and has some interesting winners including Roger De Vlaeminck, Patrick Sercu, Johan Museeuw, George Hincapie, Cav – and a certain Patrick Lefevere in 1978.