British riders prepare for battle of the beaches
- Friday, 27 November 2009
- 2 Comments
BRITISH RIDERS PREPARE FOR BATTLE OF THE BEACHES
Five Britons are in Belgium for the infamous Koksijde round of the cyclo-cross World Cup tomorrow.
National champions Jody Crawforth and Helen Wyman will join Ian Field, Nikki Harris and Gabby Day in the sand dunes of the unique seaside Koksijde course.
"I seem to have done well here before," said Wyman.
"It is a really hard course: you have to be on good form, and hopefully I have good form. Loads of British people come and cheer us on - well, everyone cheers for us. It's really cool," Wyman added.
Wyman, Day and Field are already at the course and have been practicing ready for tomorrow's action.
Koksijde preview>>>
Above: (l-r) Gabby Day, Ian Field and Helen Wyman gearing up for Koksijde
ACADEMY PAIRING BATTLING FOR GHENT SIX HONOURS
The British Cycling Academy duo of Luke Rowe and Jon Mould are currently in third after three nights' action in the UIV young riders' cup in the Ghent Six-day in Belgium.
Rowe and Mould have scooped 43 points with three nights remaining and currently trail the leading pairing of Australians Alex Carver and Scott Law by 19 points.
Former Academy riders Peter Kennaugh and Adam Blythe won the 2007 competition at the Kuipke velodrome, both of whom have since signed professional contracts.
TESCO PAYS NEARLY £1M FOR SIX BIKES
If you think some of the carbon exotica in Cycling Weekly's pages is overpriced, how about £984,000 for half a dozen Muddy Fox mountain bikes?
A member of Tesco's finance team got a little confused and forked out almost £1m for the six machines instead of the intended £984.
Now Britain's biggest retailer is taking the supplier, Universal Cycles, to court for the alleged £121,000 not paid back.
This puts the Muddy Fox MTBs straight to the top of Britain's most expensive bikes table, but some way short of the American record.
Lance Armstrong's Trek Madone, decorated with real butterflies by artist Damien Hirst and ridden by Armstrong on the Champs Elysées in July, fetched a staggering $500,000 at auction in New York this month.
24-HOUR RIDE OFFERS EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT
The RIDE24 endurance event at the Top Gear test track will return for a second running on June 19-20 2010.
Inspired by the Le Mans 24-Hour motor race, RIDE24 pits teams of four riders against one another in the ultimate test of endurance.
Organisers, the Action Medical Research charity, will give a 50% discount for anyone entering before the end of November 2009.
For more information, see www.action.org.uk/ride24. Alternatively, contact the event manager Sarah Stevenson on 01273 735788 or sarahs@action.org.uk
SPRING ONION SPORTIVE
The South Western Road Club's annual spring sportive has been re-branded the ‘SWRC Spring Onion', set for March 7.
The early year sportive is a circular route of 100km through the picturesque lanes of Surrey and Sussex.
Refreshments, showers and parking facilities are all provided in the £10 entry fee.
Entries start January 1; entry procedure to be announced.
Reader comments
Add your commentsNovember 27 20:53
Will Hirst
Is it a good idea to have a bike ride of the Top Gear test track? That petrol head muppet Clackson has a real disdain for cyclist and might be tempted to get a little too close in one of those supercars (that he drives to hide the fact he is lacking in size somewhere else) that cost more than a decent house. But those cyclists will still be going faster than James May.
November 28 11:42
Stephen Cole
It's not just the Tesco finance team that's got in a muddle with a decimal point: half a trillion dollars for Lance's bike? Mind you, half a million is more than enough.