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Swedish Spaceman to fly the Rocket
Courtesy of www.wiggleblog.com
When they started talking about the relative merits of welding an 60mm aero tube at the tapered side to avoid the flex associated with lateral forces, I knew it was probably time to slowly shuffle away and make the coffee.
After months of delicate negotiation, Super Swede and winner of the Paris-Roubaix race was deep in thought and discussion with master frame builder Terry Dolan over how the front end of Rocket 2 should be built. At 6’4″ Magnus Backstedt is one of the biggest and most powerfully built riders to grace the professional peloton over the last decade and perfectly suited to an attack on the RRA 25 mile record.
I say that because the RRA 25 is straight out record. It’s the oldest, most prestigious and best established of all the world’s 25mile records and it’s also extremely fast, The current record stands at 41’04″ and it doesn’t take a genius to work out that you really have to motor to take this record. It does have some advantages over other records however, namely; the rules on how your bike is set up are vastly different and in many ways more forward thinking than the UCI regulations and most importantly as long as you can get the observers to agree the start position, stop position and distance of your course you can attempt it anywhere in the UK that you desire.
Which of course means only one type of route is acceptable…..downhill.
For the first time since the failed attempt at the side-to-side record in August last year the vast majority of the team descended on Ormskirk and the Dolan factory to meet up, welcome Maggy and talk through the practicalities of a record run on one of four potential routes, in either June or August depending on the weather, which as usual will play a vital role.
Jeff and Suze will once again take care of the mechanics and are mightily pleased that whilst we will still be running our innovative Hope disc braking system on the front of Rocket 2, the rear braking will be done by normal cable operated caliper, allowing a disc wheel to be easily slotted in and out of the frame. Stephen will again take care of the mapping and course plotting, a job in which I am sure he would get down and study the tarmac with microscope if he had the time, Peta will take care of the athletes legs and I have the dubious task of just hanging on and pedalling like fury.
For such a speed record the normal chainrings simply don’t come big enough so we are honoured that Rotor and British Company Fibre-Lyte have agreed to work together to produce massively oversized carbon Q-Rings, a world first.
The most interesting idea to come out of the discussions were those concerning position. As you will be aware Maggy has been tweaking my position over the last month and now I see why. The Swede is aiming to use 3T bars that stretch him out in almost the Obree superman position whilst behind, I will be crammed in the width of his body by adopting the even earlier Obree tuck position. That, at least, is the theory and we won’t really know how well it works until the frame is complete and we are both sat on it.
We can only assume that the meeting and the subsequent meal with Magnus UK Youth team provided some inspiration as James Stewart went out today and won the 50th anniversary Eddie Soen’s at Aintree!
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Green Mountain thwarts An Post’s GC ambitions
Courtesy of www.irishprocycling.com
Rabobank’s Robert Gesink claimed an impressive victory on the finishing climb of stage four of the Tour of Oman to take control of the race as the An Post Sean Kelly team’s hopes of breaking into the top ten in the GC came up short.
The team started the day with Mark Cassidy and Pieter Ghyllebert lying within 17 seconds of the race leader Matthew Goss (HTC-Highroad) but the 157 kilometre stage from Sultan Qaboos University to Jabal al Akhdhar (Green Mountain) turned the race on its head.
The team once again succeeded in placing a rider into the break of the day with Mark McNally slipping away, for the second time in the race, with six other riders less than 40 kilometres into the stage. The group however were never allowed to build up a lead of more than three minutes.
McNally, who started the day 11’59” down, was joined by Marko Kump (Geox TMC), Preben Van Hecke (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator), Tomas Vaitkus (Astana), Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ), Koen de Kort (Skil Shimano) and Kevin Van Impe (Quickstep).
McNally had good legs and placed third in the first intermediate sprint won by Kump ahead of Van Hecke after 47.5 kilometres. He was second to Kump at the second intermediate sprint after 108.6 kilometres and now lies fourth in the Combativity classification.
Edvald Boasson Hagen’s Team Sky set about overhauling his 10 second GC deficit to Goss on the run into the finishing climb with the Garmin Cervelo team also working hard for Christian Vande Velde.
Their efforts in cutting the gap to the leaders split the peloton in two before the finishing climb. The rapid pace over the six kilometre ascent which included gradients of up to ten per cent tore the race apart with Gesink (Rabobank) clearly in command.
He looked comfortable throughout the climb and a strong attack with two kilometres remaining saw him ride clear for the stage win with Boasson Hagen finishing second over 47 seconds back while Belgian Dries Devenyns took third with that order now repeated in the GC.
Sam Bennett was the best placed rider on the An Post Sean Kelly team having come home 10’41” down. His Irish compatriot Cassidy had to settle for having limited his losses to 14’40” which seen him drop from 13th to 67th in the GC where he is now 14’48” off the pace.
Gesink starts tomorrow’s 18.5 individual time trial with 44 second cushion lead over Boasson Hagen’s whose success in the discipline in last year’s event suggests that the Dutchman will have his hand full to retain the red race leader’s jersey heading into Saturday’s closing stage.
Results:
Tour of Oman
Stage 4: Sultan Qaboos University – Jabal al Akhdhar, 157 kilometres
1. Robert Gesink (Rabobank Cycling Team) 4 hours, 03 minutes, 58 seconds
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) at 0:00:47
3. Dries Devenyns (Quickstep Cycling Team) at 0:00:51
4. Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli) at 0:00:53
5. Christian Vande Velde (Team Garmin-Cervelo)
6. Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) at 0:01:02
7. Maxime Monfort (Leopard Trek) at 0:01:05
8. Michael Albasini (HTC-Highroad)
9. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Sky Procycling) at 0:01:12
10. Patrik Sinkewitz (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli) at 0:01:29
An Post Sean Kelly Team:
57. Sam Bennett (IRL) at 00:10:41
60. Pieter Ghyllebert at 00:11:04
72. Mark McNally at 00:11:46
95. Andrew Fenn at 00:12:54
103. Niko Eeckhout at 00:13:53
107. Kevin Claeys at 00:13:55
111. Mark Cassidy (IRL) at 00:14:40
126. Maxim De Brusschere at 00:17:35
General classification after stage 4:
1. Robert Gesink (Rabobank Cycling Team 16 hours, 15 minutes, 18 seconds
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) at 0:00:44
3. Dries Devenyns (Quickstep Cycling Team) at 0:00:57
4. Christian Vande Velde (Team Garmin-Cervelo) at 0:01:03
5. Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli)
6. Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) at 0:01:09
7. Maxime Monfort (Leopard Trek) at 0:01:15
8. Michael Albasini (HTC-Highroad)
9. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Sky Procycling) at 0:01:22
10. Patrik Sinkewitz (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli) at 0:01:33
An Post Sean Kelly Team:
45. Pieter Ghyllebert at 00:11:14
67. Mark Cassidy (IRL) at 00:14:48
83. Sam Bennett (IRL) at 00:21:22
99. Mark McNally at 00:23:35
100. Andrew Fenn at 00:23:55
108. Niko Eeckhout at 00:24:34
115. Kevin Claeys at 00:25:40
126. Maxim De Brusschere at 00:29:11
Posted in Team An Post
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Cassidy improves to 13th in Oman GC
Courtesy of www.irishprocycling.com
Mark Cassidy moved up one place to 13th in the GC of the Tour of Oman after stage three came down to a bunch sprint which saw former race leader Theo Bos bounce back for a second stage win.
The An Post Sean Kelly team succeeded in placing a man in the break for the third day in succession with Kevin Claeys taking his turn in a five-man group which went clear after just four kilometres.
Claeys was joined in the break by Marco Kump (Geox TMC), Patrik Sinkewitz (Farnese Vini Neri Sottoli), Marcus Burghardt (BMC Racing) and Vitaly Kondrut (Lampre-ISD).
The 209 kilometre stage around the city of Sur was the longest in the race with the distance doing little to deter the leading quintet who opened a lead of 6’50” after 45 kilometres of racing.
The peloton came to life soon after with race leader Matthew Goss’s HTC-Highroad team leading the chase with assistance from Edvald Boasson Hagen’s Team Sky.
Kump took the first intermediate sprint after 62 kilometers ahead of Sinkewitz and Kondrut with the efforts of the chasing pack having cut the leaders advantage by one minute at that point.
The gap fell to 2’35” by the second intermediate sprint after 130 kilometres where Kump once again prevailed with Claeys taking the second bonus ahead of Sinkewitz.
A strong tailwind changed the tempo of the race in the run back to Sur as second placed Daniele Bennati’s Leopard Trek team took control of the chase with the aim of overhauling his four second GC deficit to Goss.
Claeys’s break came to an end with ten kilometres to go and the race was tightly controlled by the sprinters. Bos once again profited from some fantastic riding by his Rabobank teammate Graeme Brown in the chaotic run onto the finishing straight.
He produced another lightening burst of speed to consign Bennati to second place for the second time in as many days while Goss maintained his consistency by placing third to maintain his overall lead over Bennati by a slender 2”.
The An Post Sean Kelly team pulled well together in the finishing stages to protect Cassidy’s and Ghyllebert’s GC interests and were given extra cause to be satisifed with their day’s work when Niko Eeeckhout placed 8th on the stage.
Cassidy faces a tough task on tomorrow’s 157 kilometre stage to improve his GC postion where he lies just 15 second behind Goss with the stage taking the riders from Sultan Qaboos University to the summit finish on Jabal al Akhdhar (Green Mountain) which tops out at 1,235 meters above sea level.
Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale), meanwhile, conceded 1’15” on the second stage of the Volta ao Algarve to winner John Degenkolb (HTC-Highroad) who outsprinted Tyler Farrar (Garmin Cervelo) and Michael Matthews (Rabobank).
Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma Lotto) retains the race lead with a 4” advantage over Degenkolb with Farrar third at 8”. Roche lies 127th in GC 2’38” down.
Results:
Tour of Oman
Stage 3: Sur-Sur, 209 kilometres
1. Theo Bos (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team) 5 hours, 14 minutes, 41 seconds
2. Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek)
3. Matthew Harley Goss (HTC-Highroad)
4. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling)
5. Heinrich Haussler (Team Garmin-Cervelo)
6. Oscar Gatto (Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli)
7. Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha Team)
8. Niko Eeckhout (An Post – Sean Kelly)
9. Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad)
10. Francesco Chicchi (Quickstep Cycling Team)
An Post Sean Kelly Team:
8. Niko Eeeckhout at 0:00:00
50. Andrew Fenn
88. Pieter Ghyllebert
90. Mark Cassidy (IRL)
101. Sam Bennett (IRL)
111. Maxim De Brusschere at 0:00:55
117. Kevin Claeys at 00:01:06
122. Mark McNally at 00:01:14
General classification after stage 3:
1. Matthew Harley Goss (HTC-Highroad) 12 hours, 11 minutes, 13 seconds
2. Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek) at 0:00:02
3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) at 0:00:10
4. Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) at 0:00:11
5. Patrik Sinkewitz (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli)
6. Marko Kump (Geox-TMC)
7. Tanel Kangert (Pro Team Astana) 0:00:13
8. Danilo Hondo (Lampre–ISD) 0:00:14
9. Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team)
10. Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team
An Post Sean Kelly Team:
13. Mark Cassidy (IRL) at 0:0:15
53. Pieter Ghyllebert at 0:00:17
79. Niko Eeckhout at 0:10:48
104. Sam Bennett (IRL)
109. Andrew Fenn at 0:11:08
112. Maxim De Brusschere at 0:11:43
114. Kevin Claeys at 00:11:52
120. Mark McNally at 0:11:59
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Cassidy climbs Oman GC after early break
Courtesy of www.irishprocycling.com
Mark Cassidy climbed to 14th in the GC after stage two of the Tour of Oman having instigated an early break which was swept up by a group of seventy riders from which Matthew Goss sprinted to a stage win and the race lead.
Cassidy attacked from the gun taking four riders with him with the group comprising Ronan Van Zandbeek (Skil-Shimano), Daniele Ratto (Geox TMC), Dymtro Krivtsov (Lampre-ISD) and Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen Mercator) establishing a lead of 3’40” at the midway point of the 139.5 kilometre stage from The Wave, Muscat to Al Wutaya.
Ratto attacked on the four kilometre ascent of the The Climb and took the bonus sprint at the summit just seconds ahead of Cassidy who was riding well with Krivstov trailing a further 17 seconds back after 81.5 kilometres of racing.
The gradient also took its toll on the peloton which splintered into a number of groups with race leader Theo Bos (Rabobank) joining World Champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) and Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) in losing ground.
A group of thirty riders led by Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) and Alexandre Vinokurov (Astana) closed the gap to the breakaway before they were joined by another group of forty riders in opening a lead of 2’30” over Bos and the remainder of the peloton.
The larger group also included Cassidy’s teammate Pieter Ghyllebert and the duo worked well to stay with the group as Patrik Sinkewitz (Farnese Vini Neri Sottoli) and Adriano Malori (Lampre-ISD) attacked ahead of the second intermediate sprint at 103.5 kilometres.
The duo were recaptured soon after Sinkewitz took the sprint but the plucky German tried his hand at escaping a second time, this time in the company of Astana’s Andriy Grivko, as the larger front group continued to stretch out its lead.
The duo were kept on a short leash by the chasers which also included Robert Geskink (Rabobank), Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Cervelo) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) and were brought to order with three kilometres to go.
Goss produced a powerful sprint to hold off Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek) ahead of Boasson Hagen to clinch the stage win and the race leader’s red jersey while Bos joinined the other members of the An Post Sean Kelly Team team in finishing the stage 10’34” down.
Cassidy and Ghyllebert will look to improve their positions on Thursday’s 208 kilometre stage from Sur-Sur where Goss will start the day with a narrow 4” lead over Bennati with Boasson Hagen lying just 2” further back.
Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale) meanwhile, got his season underway at the Volta ao Algarve where Philippe Gilbert won the first stage from Estadio Algarve to Albufeira after a late attack.
Roche finished the stage 1’14” behind the Belgian who leads Gerald Ciolek (Quickstep) by 9” overall with his Omega Pharma Lotto teammate Andre Greipel third at 11”.
Results:
Tour of Oman
Stage 2: The Wave, Muscat – Al Wutaya, 139.5 kilometres
1. Matthew Harley Goss (HTC-Highroad) 3 hours, 18 minutes, 17 seconds
2. Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek)
3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling)
4. Greg Van Avermaet BMC Racing Team
5. Danilo Hondo (Lampre-ISD)
6. Oscar Gatto (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli)
7. Luca Paolini (Katusha Team)
8. Lars Boom (Rabobank Cycling Team)
9. Simon Clarke (Pro Team Astana) 0:00:03
10. Grega Bole (Lampre–ISD)
An Post Sean Kelly Team:
19. Pieter Ghyllebert at 0:00:03
55. Mark Cassidy (IRL)
84. Niko Eeeckhout at 00:10:34
88. Kevin Claeys
99. Sam Bennett (IRL)
100. Maxim De Brusschere
104. Mark McNally
116. Andrew Fenn – all same time
General classification after stage 2:
1. Matthew Harley Goss (HTC-Highroad) 6 hours, 56 minutes, 36 seconds
2. Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek) at 0:00:04
3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) at 0:00:06
4. Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen–Mercator) at 0:00:07
5. Tanel Kangert (Pro Team Astana) at 0:00:09
6. Danilo Hondo (Lampre–ISD) at 0:00:10
7. Luca Paolini (Katusha Team)
8. Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team)
9. Lars Boom (Rabobank Cycling Team)
10. Patrik Sinkewitz (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli)
An Post Sean Kelly Team:
14. Mark Cassidy (IRL) at 0:00:11
51. Pieter Ghyllebert at 0:00:13
76. Mark McNally at 00:10:41
83. Niko Eeeckhout at 00:10:44
89. Kevin Claeys
96. Maxim De Brusschere
106. Sam Bennett (IRL)
124. Andrew Fenn at 00:11:04
Posted in Team An Post
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