Archive for July, 2009
Freddie Grubb works in Twickenham
Cyclists of my generation remember Freddie Grubb bikes only as a cheaper range in the Holdsworth stable. Apparently this was not always the case and before the war they were well regarded.
I have just come across a short piece in a news paper’s property section lauding the conversion of an old building in Gould Road near Twickenham Green into waterside offices. It is said that in 1928 Freddie Grubb established Grubb Cycles on the premises and produced models that included the Twickenham Eagle and the Kingston Recumbent. The premises were later used for the production of Mercury cars.
Did Jurgen yell for Cadel to wait?
I just checked the result of the TDF ttt and noticed that Silence-Lotto didn’t wait for VdB when he fell. He lost seven minutes on Astana and about 4min 30sec on the rest of his team. I imagine dinner was a little difficult that night!
173rd Jurgen van den Broek (Bel) Silence-Lotto @ 7min. 04sec.
Yell for Cadel
Rather belatedly I came across the Yell for Cadel campaign. Sadly it did not work and Evans rode a poor Tour. Team owner Coucke says he is standing by the Aussie but has also said that race revelation Jurgen Van den Broek is now joint leader of the Silence-Lotto squad. Evan’s was keen to big up Bradley Wiggins’s amazing performance rather than Jurgen’s move in to the big time.
The photo shows Cadel at Verbier together with his supporters club.
Millar and Chavanel on the road to Barcelona
This must surely be the best Tour ever for British fans, with all due respect to Brian Robinson and Robert Millar. I have not forgotten Tom Simpson but lets be honest he wasn’t much of a Tour rider. Cav has delivered as expected and Bradley Wiggins is a revelation, to me at least. Others may claim that they knew all along that he could climb with the best but it has shocked me. I have always believed that he could win De Ronde, if only because he has the same build as Eddy Bosberg, but I thought the Muur at Gerardsbergen would be his limit.
But the ride that exited me the most was Millar’s epic on the road to Barcelona. When he clipped off 29km from the finish he left Sylvain Chavanel for dead. Yes the same Chavanel who has been the strong man of the Quick Step team all year. I don’t think he can use the “I was on a bad day” excuse or Sylvain would have stayed in the bunch not gone looking for a stage win. The truth is Chavanel was beaten by a much better man who truly deserved a stage victory.
