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World Record Holders in Pursuit of London Glory
04/06/08
Team Pursuit World Champions and Beijing Olympic gold medal prospects Geraint Thomas and Ed Clancy will return to race in the UK this Saturday evening.
The pair were last seen in the UK breaking the Team Pursuit world record at the World Track Championships in Manchester. This time round they will be competing on the streets of London alongside the Best of British in the Smithfield Nocturne Elite Criterium.
The race will be the highlight of an action packed evening of bike racing around Smithfield Market in the heart of the capital. Thomas last raced in London at the Tour de France and the Barloworld pro is looking forward to return to the city,
“It will be great to return to London as it’s not often we get the opportunity to race there,” he commented. “The Nocturne is obviously a different prospect to the Tour de France but I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve just come off the back of the Giro so I’m up for mixing it up in a crit race.”
Thomas will have had a week to rest his legs following a solid performance in the Italian Grand Tour where he placed 12th in the final time trial coming ahead of compatriot and time trial specialist David Millar.
“I was pleased with my form in the Giro, especially in the final time trial. It bodes well for my preparation towards the Olympics. I’ve had some rest this week and have a free schedule so it was a perfect opportunity to race against some of my GB team mates and enjoy some action on the streets of London.”
Along with Clancy the other British stars on the start line will include Chris Newton and Rob Hayles as well as the best of the British pro scene.
The race will close a packed race programme which will also feature London commuters in the highly competitive folding bike race. This year it won’t just be Londoners fighting it out for glory as competitors have entered from as far a field as Barcelona and Slovenia.
“It is a long way to fly to race” said Enrique Casanovas from Barcelona. “We have been thinking of creating a folding bike race in Girona for several years so we are delighted to be able to join the event in London. The Brompton World Championships were hosted in Barcelona but we particularly like the format of the Nocturne and are looking forward to an exciting race”.
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Battle of the Brits at the Rapha Condor Smithfield Nocturne
20/05/08
World class city centre cycling comes to the City of London on 7 June when the Smithfield Nocturne hosts a cycling showdown between the UKs leading pro teams.
Now part of the British Cycling National Circuit Series, the Smithfield Nocturne elite criterium will be the second race in this year’s competition, featuring the leading UK teams and individuals racing on a closed 1 km circuit for one hour plus five laps.
Revenge will be in the minds of the Rapha Condor Recycling team following victory in last years’ inaugural race by Plowman Craven’s James McCallum, the current National Criterium Champion. The scene is set for a head to head clash between these two British super teams, with both the men in black and the men in pink entering their top names.
Lining up for Rapha Condor Recycling will be Olympic silver medallist Chris Newton, only recently returned to racing after injury. Newton will be joined by team mates Kristian House and last year’s runner up Dean Downing, keen to go one better this time in an event supported by his Team’s sponsor.
“The Nocturne is a great race and effectively our Team’s home race since it’s presented by Rapha Condor” said Downing. “I’m keen to win, and I definitely think we’re the in-form team this year. We’ve already beaten Plowman Craven in the opening race of the series and I also won the opening road race of the season so they’ll have their work cut out!”
Among the Rapha Condor Recycling line up will be Graham Briggs who took the first scalp of the season in the contest between the teams when he won the Hillingdon GP circuit race last week. Briggs’s early form will be crucial against the strength of the Plowman Craven squad, but Rapha are unlikely to win without a fight.
Despite recent surgery to his shoulder, Commonwealth Games medalist and current National Criterium Champion McCallum is planning to defend his title and he’ll be bringing some quality team mates to help him. Plowman Craven dominated circuit racing last season, winning both the individual and team honours in the National Series: Simon Gaywood, a former National Series winner who took three races in last years’ competition will be joined at the Nocturne by Tony Gibb who only lost to Briggs by a matter of inches in the opening round.
“We’re going to repeat our win of last year” exclaimed a typically forthright McCallum. “Things may be going Rapha’s way on the road at the moment, but closed circuits are our territory and we mean it to stay that way.”
While the big teams posture and debate which of them will win, the nature of circuit racing means that good individual riders can always steal victory from the bigger squads. Look out for Rob Hayles of Team Halfords Bikehut, a former National, World’s and Olympic medallist, and a potential Great Britain team member in Beijing later this year. As Voltaire said, battles aren’t won by the big battalions but by the best shots…..
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Folding Bike Race, sponsored by Halfords Cycle2Work, returns to the capital
15/04/08
London commuters are invited to test their skills at the Smithfield Nocturne on 7th June as the Folding Bike Race returns.
The inaugural event on 23rd June 2007 saw 40 suited competitors battle it out in front of 5000 cheering spectators around Smithfield Market in central London. The ‘Le Mans’ start meant riders had to run to their bikes and assemble them before setting off around the challenging Smithfield Nocturne course. The competition for commuter glory was intense and the race became one of the highlights of the 2007 event.
In 2008 the race will be bigger and better with Halfords - the UK’s leading retailer of bikes and accessories and pioneers of the Cycle2Work scheme - confirmed as the title sponsor.
The event will now feature qualification heats leading to a grand final meaning more London commuters can sign up and experience the thrill of competitive action on closed roads.
“We developed the folding bike race to appeal to London commuters and the race was a huge success in 2007” commented Race Director James Pope. “With more and more Londoners getting on their bikes we are delighted to work with the Halfords Cycle2Work scheme. The sponsorship will help us to continue to promote commuter cycling in London and mean that more riders can sign up to the 2008 event.”
As an avid cyclist and participant of the Halfords Cycle2Work Scheme, Paul Bullett, Halfords Business Services Development Manager comments;
"The Halfords Cycle2Work team is very excited about sponsoring the Smithfield Nocturne Folding Bike Race. As a team we have been working very hard to promote the idea of cycling to work and all its benefits to more than 3 million employees around the UK.
“Halfords pioneered the Cycle2Work scheme in response to the Department for Transport’s plan to promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution. The scheme is very popular amongst employees, who benefit from a healthier more active lifestyle, whilst reducing their carbon footprint.
“Sponsoring the Folding Bike Race is an excellent way for us to promote cycling to work as the cleaner, greener and leaner mode of transport."
The folding bike race will be part of an action packed race programme that will culminate in an elite criterium featuring top British cycling stars.
Full details of the Smithfield Nocturne can be found at www.smithfieldncoturne.co.uk including entry forms for the folding bike race.
For more information about Halfords Cycle2Work scheme call 0845 0778850 or visit www.cycle2work.info.
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