Cycling Club

10/08/08

200 cyclists to face tough weekend

AROUND 200 cyclists are Loomberah-bound to contest this weekend's Tamworth Two Day Tour.

Tamworth Cycling Club officials are prepared for a huge weekend of racing, with three stages in the five divisions.

"We've got 200 of the best cyclists around coming," Allan Spokes said yesterday.

"Cyclists such as Brendan Jones and young rider Richard Lang, who won the recent Gunnedah to Tamworth, will be here

"With these 200 riders there should be some good racing."

He said three stages would be raced in the A, B, C, D and E grades.

The first stage starts tomorrow morning with an 80km race.

"It's twice around the Loomberah circuit and will sort a few out," Spokes said.

"Saturday afternoon is another 80km stage while Sunday's Stage 3 is a bit longer.

"It's a 140km stage from Loomberah to Nundle and around to Wallabadah and back," he said.

"There are some tough hills in that."

The A grade division rides 140km Sunday, B grade goes 120km, C and D 100km and E grade 75kms.

Copyright (c) 2008. Fairfax Media.

06/07/08

North-east cycling club hits the road in US

A north-east cycling club has gone global with the formation of an American branch.

Deeside Thistle now boasts a group of riders in New Mexico as the outfit continues to go from strength to strength.

The club is banking on the start of the Tour de France on Saturday to raise interest even further as it embarks on the next stage of its development.

Thistle's growing popularity has helped to attract a new four-year sponsorship deal with Freelance World and its sister company the Acumen Group.

Alan Campbell, chairman of the club, said: "Deeside Thistle is one of Scotland's largest cycling clubs with a diverse membership and is a club that supports grass- roots participation and welcomes cyclists from all disciplines.

"It is gratifying that two forward-thinking businesses have chosen to invest in a sport that offers health and environmental benefits.

"The club continues to go from strength to strength and attracts new members.

"We have recently welcomed riders in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who have established a branch of the club in the US and who wear their Deeside Thistle jerseys with pride."

The new club kit will feature the logos of the two new sponsors and members will be able to buy the equipment at cost price as part of the agreement.

Staff at both Freelance World and Acumen share a keen interest in cycling.

Freelance World managing director Alasdair McGill, Acumen Group director Mervyn Stanley and head of corporate and commercial services Steve Mitchell raised GBP6,000 in 2007 for Breast Cancer Care after completing the 300-mile London-Paris cycle ride. McGill said: "I have been involved in cycling for several years and have been a member of Deeside Thistle for two years.

"Since joining the club I have always been impressed by the level of enthusiasm, dedication and commitment shown by members and officials, either in participation or organisation.

"I know that people like club secretary Sandy Lindsay, who organised the highly successful Great Inverurie Bike Ride for many years, have put a great deal back into to cycling. "

Deeside Thistle was founded in 1953 and has about 400 members.

It covers all aspects of cycling, including road racing, time trials, mountain biking, touring and recreational riding. It organises competitions and recreational events, runs its own coaching sessions and is actively encouraging youngsters to take part in the sport.

Aberdeen Journals Ltd (c) Copyright Press Association Ltd

29/05/08

Clitheroe Bike Club launched

A FANTASTIC response to an appeal for interested cyclists has led to the formation of Clitheroe Bike Club.
Cycle enthusiast Richard Paige made the appeal in the Clitheroe Advertiser and was inundated with responses from people keen to help him form a new family-oriented local bike club to help get more young people into cycling.

Unlike many clubs, it does not seek to specialise in a particular type of cycling, such as mountain biking or road racing, but aims to appeal to a broad range of cylists, young and old.

The first family ride in Gisburn Forest was a success with 35 people enjoying off-road biking on the forest tracks, helped by the club's trailer to transport bikes to the starting point. Another dozen cycled from Clitheroe.

On the club's new website clitheroecycling.co.uk there are details of when regular rides will be run for anyone to join.

"Whether you have a mountain bike or a lean mean racing machine, there's a ride for you," said Jim Nolan, one of the committee members. "Whether you're the baggy shorts type or come head to toe in bright lycra, you're welcome. Each ride will suit the ability of the range of cyclists who show up. No one will be left behind!"

For the past three Sundays a group of a dozen-or-so cyclists have set off at 7 a.m. for a two-hour pedal.

"We were back for 9 a.m. after 29 miles last week," said one of the early Sunday cyclists, Jane Nolan. "The weather was gorgeous. This week again, we were out in lovely early morning light. Some went faster and further than others and we split into two groups.

"We all met up though at the Country Kitchen cafe in Waddington for breakfast at 9 a.m... I can't think of a better way of starting Sunday."

The next club meeting is at Clitheroe Rugby Club, Littlemoor Road, at 7 p.m. next Wednesday, June 4th.

22/05/08

Burghardt looking forward to Bavarian race

Team High Road's Marcus Burghardt remains pleased with his recovery from knee surgery. He has ridden several races lately and said that "I am satisfied and I am happy with the way things are going."

Writing on his website, marcus-burghardt.blog.ch, the 24 year-old noted that last week in the GP Buchholz, near Hamburg, Germany, he was in an escape group for much of the race. Although the group was brought back shortly before the finish line, Burghardt stated that "I am very satisfied with my performance. I even picked up enough points in the premium sprints to win the sprint ranking at the end of the race.

"With my racing and training kilometres, I am exactly on plan and I am well motivated," he continued. "I just miss the experience of stage racing."

He noted that he is particularly looking forward to the race in Bavaria, which features a number of Professional Continental and Continental teams. "I am looking forward to this race and find it great that many young riders get the chance to test themselves against the pros. That shows me that the organisers believe in the future of cycling. I want to honour that not only with my participation, but also with my respect and hopefully with a good performance, too."

08/05/08

Barloworld commits to 2009

Barloworld announced the continuation of its sponsorship of Team Barloworld into 2009. The sponsorship of the professional bike team started six years ago. For its commitment, Barloworld had received numerous accolades, both in South Africa and abroad.

Chris Fisher, Head of Corporate Marketing at Barloworld, stated that "Our current team is now stronger than ever before and we have high expectations for 2008. With invitations to both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, Team Barloworld has already achieved one of [its] objectives of being invited to two of the Grand Tours and with nine wins already under the team's belt, [it is] also well on [its] way to another successful season."

Fisher added that "Team Barloworld's focus for 2009 will be to compete for two of the four jerseys in each Grand Tour that we are invited to participate in. With this in mind, we have already secured Team Manager Claudio Corti and directeurs sportifs, Alberto Volpi and Valerio Tebaldi [for the next season].

"This sponsorship has become very public and accordingly we feel we owe it to our cyclists, employees and supporters around the world to communicate our continued commitment to the team," the Barloworld marketing head concluded.

05/05/08

Aspen Cycling Club ready to roll

Jon Maletz
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
May 2, 2008

ASPEN - Heavy snow inundated the valley Thursday, making it hard to fathom that, in less than a week, Aspen Cycling Club members will be hopping on their road bikes.

Hard to fathom, maybe, but hardly unusual, club vice president Erik Skarvan said. In its 20 years of operation, the club has seen its share of variable early-season conditions.

"I had someone ask me if snow tires are allowed," Skarvan joked. "I told him 'Whatever you want.'

"We've seen the full gamut over the years. Full-on snow, sleet, rain - we've had it. It's usually a hearty race. You never know what you're going to get."

The club's competitive calendar begins Wednesday with the aptly-named Difficult time trial, a six-mile test of endurance that starts and finishes at Difficult Campground, 3.5 miles east of Aspen. Competitors will start individually every 30 seconds, making their way toward Aspen on Highway 82 before turning around near the Northstar Preserve Bridge.

Forecasts call for the possibility of scattered showers and temperatures in the 50s, Skarvan said. But he's ready for anything.

"It could actually be decent weather. We usually get sleet, 38 degrees and sometimes blowing snow," he said. "You can bring studded road tires or cyclocross bikes. Some guys have done road time trials on mountain bikes in the past."

Whatever their bike of choice, Skarvan expects 90-100 bikers to participate in Wednesday's race, which begins at 6 p.m. The first few races - May 14's Rio Grande time trial follows next week's event - tend to garner a high level of interest, a direct result of the format, Skarvan said.

"The first couple races are shorter and less intimidating," he added. "There's a lot of excitement and energy."

The club is coming off a season in which it experienced a resurgence of sorts. Nearly 200 members took part in events from May to early September - a high-water mark in the last six or so years, Skarvan said. Aspen Mountain ski patroller Max Taam took first overall in the mountain biking races and second in road to edge out Danny Sullivan. Sullivan took first in last year's Difficult time trial - then the second race on the calendar - finishing in 10 minutes, 31 seconds.

"This is the race of truth," Skarvan said. "There's no hiding. It's just you and your bike. It's a great indicator of where you are in terms of fitness."

Because parking near Difficult Campground is limited, organizers are asking participants to park in Aspen and ride to the starting line.

Advanced registration is not required. Racers can sign up and pay at the start between 5 and 5:50 p.m. Those with a start-time preference can pre-register, but must still check in before competing. Entry fees are $5 for members and $10 for non-members.

The season's first post-race party, to be held at Cantina, will follow Wednesday's action.

Race changes and or cancellations will be announced at the start, Skarvan said. He already has a contingency plan in place should wintry weather persist.

"I'm going to have a dog sledding team pulling me," he joked.

The 2008 season will consist of 10 road bike and 10 mountain bike races, and will run through Sept. 3. For more information regarding upcoming events, visit ww.aspencyclingclub.org, call the club hotline at 922-2000 or pick up a club newsletter at bike shops in Aspen, Basalt and Carbondale.

jmaletz@aspentimes.com

02/05/08

Austrian one-two in U23 Henninger

The Austrian youngsters dominated the Rund um den Henninger Turm U23 race Thursday in Frankfurt, Germany. Stefan Denifl of Team Elk Haus and Christoph Sokoll of Team Volksbank finished one-two out of the remains of an escape group after 143 kilometres.

The 20 year-old Denifl and Sokoll, 21, were appearing for the Austrian national team. The two joined an early seven-man strong breakaway, which was unsuccessful. "About 20 km before the finale, Christoph Sokoll and I made the deciding attack," Denifl said. They were joined by Jean Schluter of Continental Team Milram and Ralf Matzka of Team Ista. The two Austrians were able to outsprint Schluter who finished one second back, while Matzka fell back and won the sprint of the field.

"Last year I was ninth in the pro race," Denifl said. "That's why I expected to do well today in the U23 race. Of course I would have been glad to start with the pros again today, but I am very happy with this win."

Sokoll added, "As a team we harmonized perfectly and had the race under control at all times. Everything worked out perfectly. A perfect race."