Schlagwort-Archive: Tom Scully

Warum wir die Tour of Flanders lieben (und Du solltest es auch)

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To say we’re amped up for Sunday’s showdown would be an understatement. Tour of Flanders, the second of cycling five’s Monuments, is widely considered the pinnacle of one-day racing. The course, the crowds, the atmosphere, the awareness that anything can (and will) happen – it’s distinctly De Ronde. And when a team lines up with a contender for the podium, dreaming of the top step, that belief in possibilities heightens the special feelings.

We’ll treat it like any other day on the race calendar although it’s anything but. Below the seven EF Education First – Drapac p/b Cannondale riders who will pin on a number in Antwerp on Sunday explain why.

MATTI BRESCHEL

“You feel the tension in a good way. Something big is coming up, but if anyone can finish it off, it’s Sep. That gives everyone a lot of confidence.”

MITCH DOCKER

“It’s the build-up to Flanders that makes Flanders what it is. We have a few weeks building up to Sunday, and then Sunday is every other race all rolled into one. It’s the cream of the crop. Everything around that replicates that dynamic – the crowds, the hype, even down to the way people get nervous about it, the sense of achievement of getting through it, the feeling about getting a result. It’s an epic battle, and one of I live for every year.”

SEBASTIAN LANGEVELD

“I grew up as a child in Holland watching this race, never knowing I would four times be top 10. Along with Roubaix, Flanders is my world championships. It’s the biggest one-day race of the year. As a rider, only Roubaix has the same vibe as this. For me Sunday is a big, big day.”

SACHA MODOLO

“When you are in Belgium for Flanders, it’s as if you’re breathing a different air. It’s the most beautiful race in the world. Also tactically it is different. The race can be open at any time.”

TAYLOR PHINNEY

“The crowds make Flanders the pinnacle. There are certain races on the calendar where there is an energy you receive as an athlete, which is the energy that sustains you or at least sustains me. It really inspires me and motivates me to be a part of these races.”

TOM SCULLY

“Coming from New Zealand, I’d compare it to the Rugby World Cup final in New Zealand with All-Blacks in the final. That atmosphere there, that’s what we see on Sunday. Tour of Flanders is world’s apart from where I came from, but it’s the world I live in, and it’s a pretty special thing.”

SEP VANMARCKE

“It’s the biggest race in Flanders in the year. As a Belgian, this is, of course, very important. The history, the cobbles and the atmosphere combine to make this race special for riders and fans alike.”

Looking for more details about what you can expect from Sunday’s race? We highly recommend this Tour of Flanders preview from CyclingTips

EF Education First – Drapac p/b Cannondale for 2018 Ronde van Vlaanderen

Sport Directors:
Andreas Klier (DEU)
Ken Vanmarcke (BEL)

Riders:
Matti Breschel (DEN)
Mitch Docker (AUS)
Sebastan Langeveld (NLD)
Sacha Modolo (ITA)
Taylor Phinney (USA)
Tom Scully (NZL)
Sep Vanmarcke (BEL)

Pictures © Team

CONNECT WITH EF EDUCATION FIRST – DRAPAC P/B CANNONDALE

Villella is Vuelta King of the Mountain; Woods rides to seventh overall

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Villella is Vuelta King of the Mountain; Woods rides to seventh overall

The #GreenArgyle Vuelta a España squad closed out the final three-week Grand Tour with seventh overall and the polka dot King of the Mountains jersey.

Canadian Mike Woods rode what he described as “the best race of my life to date” to contend with the sport’s top general classification riders. En route to seventh overall, 8’27 down on 2017 Vuelta winner Chris Froom, Woods recorded four top ten stage results, including third place atop Cumbre del Sol.

“I think the biggest lesson learned here is that I’m able to ride with some of the best riders in the world,” said Woods. “Prior to this race, I thought I might have the legs. I was putting out numbers that showed I was capable of having a performance like this, but I didn’t yet have it between the ears. And now I do – and a lot of that has to do with the experience I’ve gained here and the good guidance the team has provided. I really found my mojo during this race.”

Woods arrived at the Vuelta harboring ambitions to win a stage. It was only after his performance during week one and his subsequent rise to eighth overall that the team fully committed to general classification ambitions.

Villella is Vuelta King of the Mountain; Woods rides to seventh overall weiterlesen →

Tom-Jelte Slagter wins Tour of Austria stage two

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When race leader Sep Vanmarcke moved into the Tour of Austria race lead on Monday, he made it clear in post-race interviews that a stage win on Tuesday was the team’s next aim. It was mission accomplished in Pöggstall.

Tom-Jelte Slagter won a four-up sprint to take his first victory of the season. Vanmarcke was best of the rest, sprinting in for fifth place. The stage result was enough to keep Vanmarcke in yellow and add the green points jersey to his collection.

“Our sports director once again crafted a smart plan that we executed perfectly and which delivered us the win,” said Vanmarcke. “Lots of kudos to him.”

“The plan was to let a small breakaway go, preferably a group of continental riders, to create a situation we could easily control and take initiative in the final,” Slagter added. “We executed the plan perfectly as a team.”

Five riders escaped early. None were a threat to the overall or a chance for the stage win, so Cannondale-Drapac granted the group a gap.

“Ryan Mullen and Will Clarke led the peloton from that point and they worked tirelessly the entire day,” said Vanmarcke. “In the final, when we entered the climbing section, they had brought the breakaway back to the bunch.”

Tom-Jelte Slagter wins Tour of Austria stage two weiterlesen →

Sebastian Langeveld sprints to third at Paris-Roubaix

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Dutchman Sebastian Langeveld snagged the final spot of the Paris-Roubaix podium from a five-up sprint on Sunday. It is the first time the 32-year-old has appeared on the podium at one of cycling’s five Monuments. Olympic road champion Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) bested Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step) to win the Queen of the Classics.

Langeveld’s result closes out a consistent cobbled classics campaign for Cannondale-Drapac. The American-registered squad saw Sep Vanmarcke finish third at Omloop het Nieuwsblad. Dylan van Baarle narrowly missed the podium at Ronde van Vlaanderen where he finished in fourth place. He also posted top ten finishes at Dwars door Vlaanderen and E3 Harelbeke.

Paris-Roubaix viewers saw #GreenArgyle all over Sunday’s race. Will Clarke and Paddy Bevin were among the first attackers. Wouter Wippert, Ryan Mullen and Tom Scully also attempted to get up the road. When the race hit Troisville, the first of the 29 cobble sectors, Cannondale-Drapac had five riders tightly packed together in the first third of the field. Heading into the Arenberg Forest, Cannondale-Drapac exited the five-star sector with four riders in the group of around 40.

Sebastian Langeveld sprints to third at Paris-Roubaix weiterlesen →

Vanmarcke führt neue Cannondale-Drapac-Klassiker-Gruppe zum Eröffnungswochenende

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Schließlich zieht die Klassiker-Saison in die Nähe. Cannondale-Drapac hofft, der Aufregung hinzuzufügen und schickt eine neue Gruppe zu Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Sep Vanmarcke, der vor kurzem von Slipstream Sports zurückgekehrt ist, leitet die Mannschaft, die aus Paddy Bevin, Kristijan Koren, Sebastian Langeveld, Taylor Phinney, Tom Scully, Tom Van Asbroeck und Dylan Van Baarle besteht. Andreas Klier und Ken Vanmarcke werden direkt antreten.

Vanmarcke, fährt für Garmin-Barracuda, gewann das 2012 Rennen, vor Tom Boonen und Juan Antonio Flecha in den letzten Kilometer.
„Ich bin nicht nervös“, sagte Vanmarcke. „Ich freue mich wirklich. Die letzten Wochen in Valencia und Algarve waren angenehm, um mit den Jungs zu fahren. Die nächste Zeit ist sehr wichtig, also bin ich wirklich motiviert es gut zu machen. Ich habe bereits Erfahrung in diesem Rennen, also gibt es keinen Grund nervös zu werden, aufgeregt ist ein besseres Wort. Ich bin zuversichtlich, dass wir in den nächsten Wochen gut vorankommen werden. “

Vanmarcke ist ruhig und vorsichtig. Omloop, dem es als Eröffnungswochenende dient, ist noch weit genug entfernt von den Denkmälern, dass ist nicht immer der Indikator Rennen, Menschen sollen denken.

„Ich glaube, ich bin noch nicht auf meiner obersten Ebene. Wir planen einen großen Monat, wenn die größten Klassiker auf der Karte sind. Aber meine Form sollte schon ziemlich gut sein, also werde ich meine Rolle im Finale spielen „, sagte Vanmarcke. „Welches Ergebnis es sein wird kann ich nicht wissen. Meine Teamkollegen sind auch in einer guten Form, also ist alles für uns möglich. “

Vanmarcke führt neue Cannondale-Drapac-Klassiker-Gruppe zum Eröffnungswochenende weiterlesen →

Clarke powers to the podium in Sun Tour Prologue

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Will Clarke en route to the finish line at Melbourne’s Southbank. © Mark Gunter

Will Clarke has claimed Drapac Professional Cycling’s first podium of the 2014 Jayco Herald Sun Tour with third place in the twilight 2.5km Prologue through the Melbourne CBD.

The Tasmanian clocked a time of 3:02.51 and played a waiting game in the hot seat as one of the early riders on course, only to be gradually be usurped by New Zealand’s Tom Scully (3:01.08) and finally Jack Bauer (Garmin Sharp) who came into the finish line in a time of 3:00.90.

Clarke powers to the podium in Sun Tour Prologue weiterlesen →