By Chris DiStefano • 1st May 2013 • Posted in Team
Ian Boswell is hoping for the unanswered attack; that he can simply roll away from the bunch without concern from those on guard duty at the front.
Team Sky’s American neo-pro is, perhaps, already too well-known for this to be likely any time soon. A second-place finish at last year’s U23 Liege-Bastogne-Liege and fifth overall at Tour de l'Avenir have already revealed his range of all-around abilities. Expectations are running high for the native of Bend, Oregon, as he adjusts to life in the top professional ranks. So high, in fact, that with about 40km to go at this year’s Flèche-Wallonne, Boswell’s absence through injury was mentioned in Eurosport’s coverage as a potentially important factor in deciding the outcome of the race.
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By Joe Hall • 12th April 2013 • Posted in Team
photo: Kramon
Rapha-Condor-JLT are currently competing at the Tour du Loir-et-Cher in the rolling countryside of central France. Comprising five stages and 861 kilometres and racing against 27 other teams, including development squads for ProTour teams, it’s another important test for the team’s young riders, including Irish criterium champion Felix English.
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By Tom Southam • 22nd March 2013 • Posted in Team
Rapha-Condor-JLT are in the middle of a tough week in north-western France, where six of the team’s riders are taking part in the Tour of Normandy.
The first bike race I ever saw in France completely threw me. During a summer holiday in Brittany, my family and I stumbled across a town where a course professionelle was due to take place and we were, at first, delighted to have the opportunity to go and see a real professional bike race.
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By Joe Hall • 12th March 2013 • Posted in Team
© Graham Watson photography
Twenty-eight year-old Richie Porte only started racing in 2006, having begun his sporting life as a triathlete. Porte first competed on the road for pro continental team Praties in his native Tasmania, then switching to Andrea Tafi's amateur Grassi Mapei squad in Italy during 2009. There he raced at the baby Giro winning the individual time trial which led to a contract with Saxo Bank. In 2010 he wore pink at the Giro d'Italia itself for three stages, eventually finishing the race in 7th place and winning the young rider classification. The diminutive but devilish Tasmanian joined Team Sky at the start of the 2012 campaign and immediately made an impact, winning the Tour of the Algarve. Porte's time trialling ability is complemented by his strength as a climber, making him yet another powerful stage race contender within Team Sky's arsenal.
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By Jeremy Dunn • 14th February 2013 • Posted in Team
When the UCI Cyclocross World Championships took place in Louisville earlier this month, it marked the first time this prestigious event had taken place outside Europe. To help commemorate the occasion, one of America’s most iconic sporting goods manufacturers decided to join the party. From its home in the host city, Louisville Slugger has been making the best bats in baseball for more than 120 years and the mini bats it gave away around the course during the weekend of races proved popular keepsakes for visiting fans.
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By Jeremy Dunn • 11th February 2013 • Posted in Team
All photos by J. Dunn
"I can honestly say, I've never raced anything like that before. The sound and amount of people cheering for me was what kept me going."
– Gabby Day, Rapha-FOCUS
The thing most foreign racers and spectators commented on at the World Cyclocross Championships in Louisville, Kentucky last week, was the noise. A wall of sound that accompanied riders through the slippery corners, sand and slick run-ups. Kentucky has earned its place in the cyclocross hall of fame, first for being the only location outside of Europe to host the ‘Worlds’ and secondly, for its noise. Cyclocross in the US has a curious reputation, especially when held up against its European counterparts. There’s a misconception that we don't take our cyclocross as seriously as they do in the cross motherland.
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By Guest Author • 7th February 2013 • Posted in Team
Words: James 'Jimmy Mac' McCallum | Photos: © Crankphoto.co.uk
It was a different setting but a very familiar atmosphere on Saturday 2nd February in Glasgow. Having competed in several of the track Revolution Series meetings, I’m a bit of a veteran when it comes to these events. However, this season the organisers decided to bring the whole circus way up north to the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome for the grand finale. For the first time at the Revolution Series we had bagpipe music and the Proclaimers at full blast over the PA. It put a huge smile on my face (even if a little stereotyping was taking place) and I almost wished I'd brought my kilt.
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