By the time you read this, the 2010 Tour de France has rolled under the Champs Elysees and mercifully, sleep patterns can return to normal. This year’s event was filled with high drama headlined by the “to wait or not to wait” debate following Alberto Contador’s attack, taking advantage of Andy Schleck’s mechanical issues in what has unfortunately proved to be the decisive moment of this year’s event.
Whatever side you take (and there is no middle ground on this one) if nothing else, it has guaranteed this year’s Tour will live long in the memory banks.
From a Kiwi perspective, it has also been notable for Julian Dean’s outstanding effort in earning multiple podium finishes. At the same time he continued his habit of being caught in the middle of some of the Tour’s most bizarre instances.
Last year he had pellets dug out of his fingers after being shot at by an air-gun wielding spectator. This year he was on the receiving end of Mark Renshaw’s head at 70 kilometres per hour and was crash tackled by a gendarme who mistook him for a member of the public on the race route prior to Friday morning’s stage. I would have though the gaudy orange Garmin-Transitions team kit might have been a giveaway. Throw a hospital visit in to the mix and Dean’s 2010 Tour experience also fits into the memorable category.
Further outstanding news over the weekend as Eddie Dawkins created a little piece of history on Saturday by becoming the first New Zealander to win the prestigious Keirin Cup in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. With the number of Brits (the latest being Sir Chris Hoy) withdrawing from the Commonwealth Games to concentrate on Olympic qualification at the new European Championships, Dawkins and his fellow sprint men could be eyeing some excess baggage charges when they return from Dehli later in the year.
Whilst on the subject of Dehli, Cycling Southland’s Graham Sycamore is wearing out another passport, officiating at the Commonwealth Games test event at the track cycling venue this week. Syccie tells us the new Dehli velodrome is amazing, as it should be with a price tag of US$52 Million – although even all those zeros haven’t stopped some rather shoddy workmanship. He confirms (totally unbiased of course) it still falls short of the ILT Velodrome.
And while all of the above was going on, Pieter Bulling slipped quietly out of the country last week, bound for Montichiari, Italy and the World Junior Track Cycling Champs. We have watched Piet put the finishing touches on his preparation under the watchful eye of mentor (and legend) Laurie Tall.
As Andy Schleck has found out, many sporting fairytales don’t always have a happy ending, but if one young man deserves to taste success it’s Bulling. His work ethic and level-headed nature have made him a great ambassador for his family, his province and his sport.
Fingers crossed he can provide a golden glow for Big Eddie to follow in October.
Cycling Southland CEO's Blog from inside the Stadium Southland Velodrome
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Relief to Hear From UCI ... Finally
The feedback since our announcement last week on the PowerNet Tour’s parting of ways with the UCI has been interesting.
Internally, the overwhelming sense is one of relief. Relief that finally, after 18 months of trying, cycling’s international body has provided some belated direction on our Tour’s ability to continue to operate under the UCI’s onerous road rules. Clarity at last.
In any sport, gaining the endorsement from your international body should be the ultimate – something to aspire to, something that once you have it you don’t want to live without it. In this case however, I am still struggling to find anyone who can provide a concrete benefit in favour of fighting to retain UCI status.
After reading this paper on Saturday, I suspect the only benefit might be to offer “bragging rights” over other similar events. I apologise to our Tour of Wellington friends if that appears a “loser attitude,” but on the evidence of the torrent of correspondence and calls I have received since our announcement late last week, it seems team managers, officials and cyclists generally agree.
The rules have become so prescriptive there seemed a real danger the life could be squeezed out of the “friendly Tour.” With the outstanding support we receive from volunteers, riders and sponsors, headlined by PowerNet, I know we all now have that little bit extra motivation to make this year’s PowerNet Tour the best in recent memory.
Here’s the crux of it for me. As New Zealand’s reputation continues to rise in the world of cycling, the number of Kiwi riders in UCI racing teams around the globe will also increase. How ridiculous would it be, in time, if the country’s top twenty bike riders couldn’t take part in the PowerNet Tour because of UCI fineprint?
Last week we couldn’t entertain the thought of seeing the likes of Greg Henderson, Julian Dean, Hayden Roulston, Tim Gudsell or Sam Bewley on tour. This week we can. (Yes, we’re already on it, don’t worry).
At its highest level the UCI is questioning the lack of events registered on its Oceania Tour calendar for this season. There is only one UCI calendar event in New Zealand and Australia. Instead of sending correspondence down under, the UCI should be asking itself serious questions as to why that might be.
Don’t get me wrong, UCI accreditation has served us well in the past. It elevated the Tour to the international stage at the perfect time in its life cycle. But we now have a timely opportunity to again re-focus our energies into what has always made the Tour of Southland great for 53 years and counting.
It’s a sad indictment on the international body, but last week’s news was truly a weight off our shoulders. We can now get on with running the country’s best Tour, with the riders we want and continue to showcase the racing, the hospitality and the experience that is the PowerNet Tour, without being suffocated by rules and regulations.
Internally, the overwhelming sense is one of relief. Relief that finally, after 18 months of trying, cycling’s international body has provided some belated direction on our Tour’s ability to continue to operate under the UCI’s onerous road rules. Clarity at last.
In any sport, gaining the endorsement from your international body should be the ultimate – something to aspire to, something that once you have it you don’t want to live without it. In this case however, I am still struggling to find anyone who can provide a concrete benefit in favour of fighting to retain UCI status.
After reading this paper on Saturday, I suspect the only benefit might be to offer “bragging rights” over other similar events. I apologise to our Tour of Wellington friends if that appears a “loser attitude,” but on the evidence of the torrent of correspondence and calls I have received since our announcement late last week, it seems team managers, officials and cyclists generally agree.
The rules have become so prescriptive there seemed a real danger the life could be squeezed out of the “friendly Tour.” With the outstanding support we receive from volunteers, riders and sponsors, headlined by PowerNet, I know we all now have that little bit extra motivation to make this year’s PowerNet Tour the best in recent memory.
Here’s the crux of it for me. As New Zealand’s reputation continues to rise in the world of cycling, the number of Kiwi riders in UCI racing teams around the globe will also increase. How ridiculous would it be, in time, if the country’s top twenty bike riders couldn’t take part in the PowerNet Tour because of UCI fineprint?
Last week we couldn’t entertain the thought of seeing the likes of Greg Henderson, Julian Dean, Hayden Roulston, Tim Gudsell or Sam Bewley on tour. This week we can. (Yes, we’re already on it, don’t worry).
At its highest level the UCI is questioning the lack of events registered on its Oceania Tour calendar for this season. There is only one UCI calendar event in New Zealand and Australia. Instead of sending correspondence down under, the UCI should be asking itself serious questions as to why that might be.
Don’t get me wrong, UCI accreditation has served us well in the past. It elevated the Tour to the international stage at the perfect time in its life cycle. But we now have a timely opportunity to again re-focus our energies into what has always made the Tour of Southland great for 53 years and counting.
It’s a sad indictment on the international body, but last week’s news was truly a weight off our shoulders. We can now get on with running the country’s best Tour, with the riders we want and continue to showcase the racing, the hospitality and the experience that is the PowerNet Tour, without being suffocated by rules and regulations.
Monday, July 12, 2010
The Race for a Cycling Centre Begins
The cycling week has been dominated by Le Tour, features being Kiwi Julian Dean’s outstanding lead-out work and Mark Cavendish’s total domination of stage sprint finishes.
Closer to home this week we received further information from SPARC regarding its proposed Cycling Centre of Excellence.
Last month, Sports Minister Murray McCully announced that a hub of cycling excellence is to be developed to provide for all cycling disciplines (road, track, BMX, mountain bike). This week we learned a little more about the process.
Expressions of interest documentation will be released on July 30th and will be submitted to the SPARC High Performance Board by the end of August. Those expressions will be reviewed and from there a yet to be determined number will be confirmed to take part in the second phase. Request for Proposals will be released to the targeted regions/cities at the end of October and be submitted by the end of January 2011. Following a review of these proposals and presentations to its HP Board, SPARC will identify its preferred proposal. Then, subject to the Minister’s and the SPARC Board’s approval the decision will be confirmed by mid-April next year.
There is a lot we don’t know. The devil will be in the detail to be released later this month. The process outlined above would tend to suggest that politics will play its part. Bill and Eric, take this as a heads up to expect a call. What we do know is that a number of regional centres have lodged an interest and we are one of them.
We have an incredible facility which gives us a head-start. We have runs on the board with Bike NZ given that the ILT Velodrome has been the nation’s home of track cycling for the last four years. We have strong mountain-biking and BMX clubs and a proven ability to firstly build and then resource facilities which are world class. Sure, we could do with a few more hills for road racing, but a Central Otago base for a road programme would be a perfect fit.
Even given all of this, to my mind the biggest asset we will have in this process is community support. Many centres have talked about building a Velodrome, some for years. We just got on and built one. That is due to the commitment of passionate Southlanders and the outstanding support from funders, headlined by the Invercargill Licensing Trust and Community Trust of Southland. Those organisations make us the envy of the cycling community.
Back in my former life in radio I used to talk to businesses about point-of-difference. What’s the one thing that separates you from the guy across the road, pedalling the same goods or services.
Southland has a huge strategic advantage with the ILT Velodrome. This process isn’t just about cycling. It’s about answering whether we as a region want to give up an advantage like this and become just one of the crowd.
I know my answer.
Nick Jeffrey
nick@cyclingsouth.org.nz
Closer to home this week we received further information from SPARC regarding its proposed Cycling Centre of Excellence.
Last month, Sports Minister Murray McCully announced that a hub of cycling excellence is to be developed to provide for all cycling disciplines (road, track, BMX, mountain bike). This week we learned a little more about the process.
Expressions of interest documentation will be released on July 30th and will be submitted to the SPARC High Performance Board by the end of August. Those expressions will be reviewed and from there a yet to be determined number will be confirmed to take part in the second phase. Request for Proposals will be released to the targeted regions/cities at the end of October and be submitted by the end of January 2011. Following a review of these proposals and presentations to its HP Board, SPARC will identify its preferred proposal. Then, subject to the Minister’s and the SPARC Board’s approval the decision will be confirmed by mid-April next year.
There is a lot we don’t know. The devil will be in the detail to be released later this month. The process outlined above would tend to suggest that politics will play its part. Bill and Eric, take this as a heads up to expect a call. What we do know is that a number of regional centres have lodged an interest and we are one of them.
We have an incredible facility which gives us a head-start. We have runs on the board with Bike NZ given that the ILT Velodrome has been the nation’s home of track cycling for the last four years. We have strong mountain-biking and BMX clubs and a proven ability to firstly build and then resource facilities which are world class. Sure, we could do with a few more hills for road racing, but a Central Otago base for a road programme would be a perfect fit.
Even given all of this, to my mind the biggest asset we will have in this process is community support. Many centres have talked about building a Velodrome, some for years. We just got on and built one. That is due to the commitment of passionate Southlanders and the outstanding support from funders, headlined by the Invercargill Licensing Trust and Community Trust of Southland. Those organisations make us the envy of the cycling community.
Back in my former life in radio I used to talk to businesses about point-of-difference. What’s the one thing that separates you from the guy across the road, pedalling the same goods or services.
Southland has a huge strategic advantage with the ILT Velodrome. This process isn’t just about cycling. It’s about answering whether we as a region want to give up an advantage like this and become just one of the crowd.
I know my answer.
Nick Jeffrey
nick@cyclingsouth.org.nz
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Southlanders Taking on the Cycling World
With the Corporate Pursuit now confined to the memory banks, aside from a few lingering aches and pains, Cycling Southland is busy planning for its upcoming road and track racing seasons.
Last week’s Harrex Group-sponsored event was an outstanding success with record fields, record crowds and record times. The atmosphere created in the ILT Velodrome was superb and provides the benchmark for future events. Since taking up the role of Chief Executive I have been blown away by the potential which exists in our sport. We have a world-class facility and a world class spectator sport. Our key focus is providing the overall package which delivers a great experience for riders and spectators alike in this magnificent arena.
Last week’s Harrex Group-sponsored event was an outstanding success with record fields, record crowds and record times. The atmosphere created in the ILT Velodrome was superb and provides the benchmark for future events. Since taking up the role of Chief Executive I have been blown away by the potential which exists in our sport. We have a world-class facility and a world class spectator sport. Our key focus is providing the overall package which delivers a great experience for riders and spectators alike in this magnificent arena.
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