VeloResults

Endura Racing Team Launch (0)

“Hi Ed, I’ve finally heard from Cycling Weekly – they want 300 words, but also if you want to do “Minute With” interviews with some of the riders, that’d be good also.”

Jeez! Work from “The Comic” and a brief too – I’m so used to rolling up at races with a camera, pencil and notebook then just doing what I want, that I’d forgotten about that word count stuff.

Maybe if I make a good job, I’ll get to do Girvan again; they haven’t forgiven me for last year, when I forsook ‘Com one’ at Girvan for a team car at Milan-San Remo.

Our 2008 Review (0)

It’s tacky, it’s clichéd, but we have to do it – Review of 2008.

VeloResults didn’t manage to get to every big race in Scotland in 2008, but we didn’t do too badly.

An Incredible Day (0)

It was completely surreal.

It was the 26th of July last year, and we were in Lourdes, sitting in a neon-lit, scruffy, greasy-spoon café at 1:00 in the morning. Our pizzas were cooking in the oven, but we weren’t really that hungry anymore. We had travelled to the summit and back down again today, both literally and metaphorically; we’d had a wonderful day working on Stage 16 of the Tour de France which took the race to the ski station, 5,600 feet high, at Gourette-Col d’Aubisque in the Pryenees, and it had been turned completely on its head.

Unlucky Team Liquigas at Paris-Roubaix (0)

Lady Luck certainly wasn’t on Team Liquigas’ side at last Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, as things went from bad (even before the race) to worse!

Still, Manuel Quinziato, Murillo Fischer, Filippo Pozzato and the guys in green gave it their all at the world’s toughest race.

So, here is a list of 10 things you may not have seen from Paris-Roubaix coverage elsewhere…

Peter Murphy – “Go To Belgium” (0)

Scottish bike racing; let’s face it, no matter how well you do in the Super Sixes, or how quick you can go around West Ferry, you’re going nowhere if you stay in Auld Scotia.

Please don’t quote Graeme Obree – he’s a one off, crazy, marvellous, gifted, but impossible to emulate. John Kennedy, Billy Bilsland, Robert Millar, David Millar – they all crossed the channel. The track? Then you best get down to Manchester and see if you can get on ‘the Plan,’ that’s what Chris Hoy and Craig MacLean did.

It’s a scary thought, but if you want to “make it big” it isn’t happening among the hillies and glens.

Dean Downing – Still Living His Dream (0)

This is the first in a series of articles in which we explore racing in Belgium, and chat to a few guys that “have done it the hard way”, outside of “The Plan”, and on their own. To kick us off, we caught up with Rapha Condor star Dean Downing between Tour Series criteriums.

‘Deano’ may be well known for his high-profile wins in Premier Calendar races and riding madisons on the track with brother Russ, but he actually learnt his trade racing on the Belgian cobbles, way back in 2000.

Dan Craven – Ten Year Plan (0)

It’s not everyday that we have the African champion racing on Scottish roads so when we met Dan Craven of Rapha/Condor after his fine third place at the recent Drummond Trophy, we thought we’d better make the most of it.

Dan was recently the subject of the ‘big interview’ in Cycling Weekly, so we steered clear of subjects already raised by our chums at ‘The Comic.’

Evan Oliphant – From Pink to White (1)

What’s happening at Plowman Craven, but I guess we should say ‘Madison’, now?

With Scots professionals Evan Oliphant and Ross Creber on their books, we thought we’d best find out what’s going on.

Evan spoke to us on today, and told us what he could.

Le Tour de France – We’re There! (0)

In previous years we’ve posted stories and interviews live from the Tour de France, but we usually haven’t joined the race until it’s into the second week.

This year however, we thought we’d bring you our exclusive great coverage right from the very start of the Tour!

We’ll be posting daily diaries direct from France: starting today until stage nine they’re from Gordan Cameron, then Ed and Martin take over until the finish in Paris. In addition, we’ll bring you the Spanish view from Al, and from time to time we’ll present Viktor’s View as well!

Dooley’s RT at the Tour Nivernais Morvan – Day 4 (0)

On the home straight now! 80 something miles and 3 category three climbs today! Not too hard we hoped, especially after the last few days. But boy were we in for a surprise!

We thought they’d take it, easy last day and all that, plus the GC was a done deal by now.

No way. 46km in the first hour, 45km in the second hour, jings – it’s gonna be a quick stage. Who needs the TGV?

Dooley’s RT at the Tour Nivernais Morvan – Day 3 (0)

The fourth stage was the queen mountain stage, a very tough 161kms of narrow winding roads. With three major climbs each around 10km long and many short 1-3km climbs not classified a hard day was on the cards.

With 15km to go before the second major climb the French champion Nicolas Bourdillat drilled solo all the way to the bottom of the climb and up the 8km ascent. He basically ripped the field apart, and of our team only Alsatair and Michael got over the top in the what was left of the main bunch.

Dooley’s RT at the Tour Nivernais Morvan – Day 2 (0)

After yesterday’s baptism of fire in 35 degress heat, the Scots boys were more at home today: the temperature had fallen to 15 degrees and it was pouring with rain.

Again it was very hilly today, with the finish the third time up a 2 km climb of 13% gradient. This was a much better day, with the weather having cooled down, in fact it was raining at the start.

“A day for the Scottish” one of the French riders commented.

British Elite Road Championships (0)

Kristian House of Rapha-Condor won, Chris Froome was man of the match and there was plenty of sunshine.

That’s the British Champs in a nutshell; the race story is up on Pez – it really was a great day.

But as well as our Pez hats, we had on our “Supporter Hamish Haynes” and “VeloResults” bonnets too.

The Scottish National 25 Mile Time Trial Championship (1)

It took Arthur Doyle (Dooleys) just 51:33 to join the likes of Billy Bilsland, Graeme Obree and Jason MacIntyre on the roll of honour for the Scottish 25 mile championship on a warm but windy Sunday morning on the fast dual carriageway of the A90 Laurencekirk by-pass.

Doyle was run to 23 seconds by former 100 mile champion, Jonathan Copp (Sandy Wallace), who blasted back from the turn with 51:56 to keep perennial Jim Cusick ((Glasgow Couriers) back in third on 52:19.

The 44th David Bell Memorial Road Race (0)

Ross Creber delivered the win for the dominating Endura Race Team in the 44th edition of the David Bell Memorial Race. Creber was the victor from a surviving group of six after a war of attrition across 70 miles of South Ayrshire’s finest hill roads.

Team mate and reigning Scottish Road Champion, Evan Oliphant took 2nd, narrowly edging out visiting James Sampson of the Candi TV – Marshall’s Pasta team.

Super 6 – Round 4, Lang Whang, West Calder (0)

“Lang Whang” is Auld Scots, it means ‘long way’ – it’s fair to say that Endura’s Gary Hand was in the break for a lang whang and he won the finishing sprint by a similar margin from wanderer returned, Alex Coutts (I looked at his jersey but the team name looked like Greek to me).

Hand’s big sprinting team mate, James McCallum took third after a cold and windy 80-odd miles on the pot-holed moor roads around Carnwrath in Sunday’s Lang Whang Super Six.