Saturday, April 20, 2024

Tag: The Cycling Professor

Entrepreneurs on the Saddle – an extract from “The Cycling Professor”

"Entrepreneurs on the Saddle" is the first of several excerpts from my book "The Cycling Professor", to give you a flavour of the topics I discuss in it. Thanks to the guys at VeloVeritas for the opportunity to do this.

At Random

2019 UAE Tour – Provisional Entry List

The cycling world's top names line up for the only Middle Eastern race in the UCI WorldTour calendar. With just five days until the 2019 UAE Tour starts, the entry list is announced, with key riders’ extended biographies.

Gent Six Day 2012 – Sunday Finale

The final day of the Gent Six Day 2012 promised a big tussle between the Belgian World Madison Champions De Ketele / Van Hoecke and local hero Iljo Keisse with Glenn O’Shea. They didn’t disappoint.

Le Tour de France 2016 – Stage 6; Arpajon-sur-Cère – Montauban. Cavendish’s 29th Career Stage Win!

Mark Cavendish? There’s little left to say about the man, his third win of the 2016 Tour de France and his 29th career stage win to take him one ahead of Bernard Hinault in the record books with just the legend that is Eddy Merckx ahead of him on 34 stage wins. Dimension Data and Deloitte will be ecstatic. Cav beat Etixx Stage Four winner, Marcel Kittel into second place – the downhill charge should have suited the German - and in third spot a terrific result for Fortuneo’s Dan McLay not so far away from ‘The Missile.’ Kristoff, Coquard, Theuns, Sagan, Groenewegen all behind the Englishman – a real quality effort.

Gent Six Day 2010 – D Minus One

Monday night, 24 hours until the 70th Gent Six Day 2010 commences. The Derny exhaust fumes are sweet and sickly, like the stench from the Grangemouth chemicals plant on a bad day, the cold air makes them all the more pungent. Five or six riders sit behind the little bike, loosening off stiff legs, dull after hours sitting in aeroplanes or cars.

In Memoriam, Palle Lykke

Friday 19th April was a sad day if you're a Six Day fan; Denmark's best-ever Six Day rider, Palle Lykke died in Belgium at 76 years-of-age. Born in Denmark in 1936 Lykke won 21 Six Days between 1958 and 1967 - Aarhus, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dortmund, Frankfurt, London, Montreal, Munster and Zürich all fell to the handsome man from Ringe.

Louis Meintjes – u23 World Road Championship Silver Medallist

The U23 World Road Championships race threw up a number of surprises; all of the big name Belgian, British, French and Italian favourites failed and Slovenian Matej Mohoric moved seamlessly up from junior to U23 Champion of the World. In second place was a young man who chased the Slovenian all the way to the line and once again reminded us that African cycling has to be taken seriously. Louis Meintjes (MTN-Qhubeka and Republic of South Africa) kept the African Pro Continental squad’s dream of a season rolling with the silver medal.