OLD 2010 Road Team News
On Sunday May 23rd, racing cyclists across the country lined up to contest their regional championships. With several of our team over in Ireland for the FBD Ras stage race, four locally based members of the Sigma Sport-Specialized team, Gareth Montgomerie, Andy Betts, Simon Lawn and the legendary Gary Dodd, all made their way to Lingfield in Surrey to do battle...
The Championship was run over 6 laps of a testing circuit made all the more difficult by the 25 degree heat. Hydration was always going to be an issue but luckily, between them, the boys had things covered and all coped well.
Team member (and part time mechanic at Sigma Sport) Gareth Montgomery went with the early moves contributing to the pace of the group and keeping things under control until the bunch regrouped after two laps and a 15 strong break went away containing all of the Sigma Sport-Specialized team!
The 15 strong break was whittled down a little until, with two laps remaining, four riders broke clear including our own Andy Betts. The pressure was off the remaining team members and the four escapees maintained their momentum to ensure they stayed away. On the penultimate climb of the race the pace rose until Andy could not hold on any longer. The group split and two became four as the eventual winner and second place rider broke free. Andy kept plugging away to hold on for third and Gareth managed to free himself from his remaining break companions to get fifth and Gary won the sprint from his group with Simon a couple of places behind in 11th.
All in all a very respectable effort and yet another podium place for the team!
The success of the Sigma Sport-Specialized team carries on unabated with two more victories to report this week. Both of them were somewhat closer to home than of late with legendary local rider, Gary Dodd, seeing off the opposition with a strong performance in the Andrews Trophy road race held in Essex. Promoted by the Southend Wheelers the race was run over an undulating 128km with a 'big gear' uphill finish that suited the more powerful rider. After countless attempts a break went with about 4 laps to go and 8 riders, including Gary, hammered their advantage home ensuring they stayed away 'til the finish. Several attempts were made from within the group but Gary held it together before leading out the sprint to take a well earned win. He also bagged the best performance of a rider over 40 but would probably prefer us not to dwell on that too much...
Meanwhile Wouter Sybrandy edged ever closer to the '19 minute club' when he improved his PB by one solitary second recording 20.05 in the Hounslow and District 10. Come on Wouter, 6 seconds and you're in!
This year's Bec road race, was run on May 9th 2010 and started in Edenbridge Kent. The Lingfield circuit, which is well known to riders in the South East, was used and it always guarantees fast hard racing as it includes rolling terrain with two climbs of note to punish the riders. The final assault of Mutton Hill climb in Dormansland was enough to blow the race apart and leave Sigma Sport-Specialized team rider Andy Betts a clear winner of this classic race. Click on the links for pictures and official results
This year's edition of the Lincoln Grand Prix, which is in its 55th year, was a race of mixed fortunes for the Sigma Sport-Specialized boys, with crashes, broken bikes, damaged wheels and a podium place to contend with .Wouter Sybrandy and team leader Matt Stephens were both victims of the elbow to elbow racing (as was Wouter's Specialized SL3...) with riders jostling for position on every lap at the foot of the Lincoln Gp's legendary cobbled climb where positioning is critical and little quarter given! Winner of the first Premier Calendar event of this year, our very own Simon Richardson, managed to use his skill and judgement to be in the right place at the right time and, despite the race not running quite as smoothly as it had in previous years, still managed to secure a place on the podium securing third place. You can read more and see pics here
On May the 23rd a carefully selected number of the Sigma Sport-Specialized racing team will be on the start line of this year's FBD Insurance Ras stage race in Ireland. This race is made up of 8 gruelling days racing through the stunning Irish countryside.
Our team leader Matt Stephens is lucky enough to have the 2009 and 2008 winners of this race in his team this year and winning the 2010 event is his primary objective...
You can read more about this year's route and learn more about the history of this race here.
We are sure that the boys will do everything they can to make us proud!
We are now well into the 2010 racing season and it has to be said the Sigma Sport-Specialized UCI racing team are really making their mark.
With several road race victories and time trial wins in the bag already, this year is sure to go down as our team's finest to date...
The team have been guaranteed a place in the Halfords Tour series which kicks off at 7pm on May 25th at Canary Wharf where race fans will be able see our riders in action and cheer them on as they battle it out with their rivals in this exciting race format. The series visits London for the first time and the crowds surrounding the circuit are sure to be several rows deep so make a date in your diary today!
The Sigma Sport-Specialized racing team had a successful weekend's racing and placed first on the podium in three events. Team leader Matt Stephens sprinted to victory in the fourth round of the CDNW Maxgear road race league, Jerone Walters saw off all challengers at Goodwood finishing comfortably clear of the second placed rider and Wouter Sybrandy, who recently went full time for the team, maintained his excellent form to snatch victory in the second round of the Rudy Project Time Trial series...
Keep up the good work boys!
We are proud to report that Sigma Sport-Specialized's current man in form, Simon Richardson, broke away on his own with a lap and a half to go to bag a superb victory in the first Premier calendar event of the year!
The whole team rode well and gave Simon the support he needed to succeed in difficult racing conditions. It may have been dry, but the cold strong wind that blew for the entire event made the fact that Simon won alone even more noteworthy...
Take a look at photos from the race and see the boys in action by clicking on the link below.
Photos by Andrew Kennedy/www.kennedyimages.co.uk
After showing good form in early season time trials our 'flying Dutchman' Wouter Sybrandy turned his attention to road racing with good effect when he placed third in this year's Wally Gimber road race.
Wouter takes us through the race from his perspective;
"After the previous Sunday’s eye-opener in the French UCI 1.2 Paris–Troyes race, it was back to racing on home ground for the early season classic; the Wally Gimber RR around Woodchurch, Kent. I had been feeling a bit tired the last couple of weeks after returning from the two training camps I did in Tuscany and Nice, and probably felt a bit ‘flat’ because of the 'all day' in Paris–Troyes. That is why I decided to take it a little easier during the week, so I would feel fresh and recharged again for the weekend.
As the race got underway I could feel this had worked as I felt a lot more lively and energetic and was able to cover most of the early moves together with team mates Gareth, Gary, Andy and Simon L. In the first half of the race, groups were clipping off the front and being brought back regularly without any moves really sticking until I attacked hard going through the finish with three laps to go. Only Andy Lyons (Orbea) followed and we soon built up a 1 minute lead. Unfortunately, Lyons did not want to come through so after nearly a full lap riding on the front, we were caught by a small chasing group of about eight, but still over a minute up on the bunch.
Orbea were strongly represented in this group with three riders, while Corley had two with Roy Chamberlain and Chis MacNamara. As the sole Sigma rider in the break I knew the only way to overcome this disadvantage would be to shake off part of the group, which I did when I attacked with half a lap to go. Only three followed this time; Roy Chamberlain (Corley), and two Orbea riders (Lyons and Marcel Six) and it was clear we would normally stay away till the finish.
I probably made the mistake of not attacking earlier, because with 1km to go the two Orbea riders played their numerical advantage well as Lyons attacked meaning Marcel Six could sit in and wait for the sprint. And with Roy assuming I would chase, it was left up to me to get Lyons back and hopefully have enough left to win the sprint. Unfortunately, this was not the case as I did catch Lyons but both Six and Chamberlain managed to outsprint me. So, tactically a less than perfect race but the legs felt the best they have so far this season so plenty of positives to take away for the coming weeks."
Photo: Belinda Sinclair
The recent Sigma Sport-Specialized Tuscan training camp took place in mid-February and was a great success. It was a perfect opportunity for the guys to get to know each other better and put in a few quality kilometres in one of the most cycling friendly regions of Italy. The team headed out to Quarrata, which is a very popular area with the European-based English-speaking riders and an ideal location for early season preparation ...
The first of six days riding saw the boys eager to get stuck in and get a good four hour session in on their new Dura-Ace equipped Specialized Tarmac SL3 bikes. Running training camps on unfamiliar roads is often a challenge of navigational skills, not to mention patience, so imagine the group's delight when none other than 2009 Milan-San Remo winner and all-round super sprinter Mark Cavendish turned up outside the hotel on the first morning! Mark lives in the area and was only too happy to keep the team company and act as a guide for a few days, awesome...
On the second day Mark again kindly accompanied the riders for 6 1/2 hours and the best part of 200kms steady riding which meant everyone was ready for a hearty evening meal when they returned to their hotel. As luck would have it the catering was excellent and we all know how important this is after a long day in the saddle.
The following day things were kept a little shorter and faster to ensure the riders did not overdo it but still they still got a brisk 3-4 hrs in that left them looking forward to a rest day.
Some rest day it was, as Cav turned up again keen to take the boys to one of his favourite cafés where it just so happened the World Champion cappuccino maker worked ( well, we were in Italy!) and a copious amount of his wares were sampled but cakes were avoided despite their presence on the table! Training is taken seriously and even though Mark was kind enough to describe every one of the pastries on display in detail, his resistance to partake was admirable and hopefully will pay dividends on March 20th when he attempts to secure back-to-back wins in 'la Primavera'.
The teams luck ran out on the fifth day and the weather turned against them with wet foggy conditions curtailing a lengthy ride. An early puncture meant that the guys ended up hammering up and down the same climb to try and keep warm so in the end it was decided that a day of hill reps would suffice and recovery could start early that day...
The week drew to a close and the team headed home satisfied with a good few days riding in the bank and keen to get racing.
If anyone reading this fancies savouring the delights of riding in Italy then click here for info on Sigma Sport's very own training camp!
It is hard to conceal the current excitement at Sigma Sport surrounding the fortunes of our newly formed, UCI registered, Sigma Sport-Specialized racing team...
2010 sees our hopes and aspirations pinned on the strongest rider line up we have had so far and with Matt Stephens at the helm and a team with experience and talent in equal measure we are sure the boys will make their mark soon enough...
A team made up of Matt Stephens, Simon Richardson, Wouter Sybrandy, Thomas Murray, Dan Duguid, Tom Last, Stephen Adams, James Williamson, Kit Gilham and Gareth Montgomerie made their first foray into European racing this year when they participated in the 2010 Paris Troyes on Sunday the 14th of March.
As expected the race was tough from the start... Unlike the majority of pro road races that are initially ridden at a steady tempo, this year's Paris Troyes had barely covered 15kms before the peloton split due to the strong crosswinds that the race was plagued with. After sixty or so kilometres the two groups merged but attacks came immediately, the race-winning move formed and history was written...
Simon Richardson was our highest placed finisher in 33rd place; 5 minutes 15 seconds down on the winner in a group of riders forty strong that also included our very own Wouter Sybrandy. Thomas, and Matt however were frustrated to miss the decisive move and settled into a 45-strong group rolling home a further five minutes in arrears. Other team members hung in to their respective selections and, with the exception of Dan Duguid who was slightly weary from several days abroad with DT Swiss and poor Kit Gilham who came down with food poisoning everyone of the team completed the 172.1km route.
All in all there was a slight sense of frustration in the Sigma Sport - Specialized team camp and collectively the boys had hoped for slightly higher placings, but, given that we are in the early stages of a long racing season and several of the team are lacking in racing miles thus far, they are sure that things will keep on getting better. After the race Simon Richardson was quoted as saying that "the Paris Troyes was a beautiful race to take part in" He went on to say that he currently lacked a bit of the sharpness that would have made the difference between first and second groups but is sure the form will come. Morale within the team is high and individual members have gelled to form a strong squad that is expected to shine as the season progresses...
Results can be found here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/paris-troyes-1-2/results
The Sigma Sport-Specialized UCI registered racing team look set to have their best season yet... After their first winter training camp that saw them experience everything from riding through and off in extreme conditions to digging their trusty Audi A6 team car out of a snow drift with track pumps amongst other things! They really have shown early on that the spirit in the team is already at an all time high. You will be able to follow the team's exploits on their own dedicated website once it is up and running later this year. In the meantime just visit their Facebook page or on Twitter and experience the highs and lows of a full racing season and keep track of their exploits at local and international level...
Stiffness-to-weight, Engineers will tell you it’s the Holy Grail when it comes to making a fast race bike. But, more importantly, every serious road rider and professional athlete will say the same. The athletes putting their bikes and bodies on the line-at the spring classics, grand tours, and local criteriums-won’t settle for anything less than perfection. And neither will Specialized. That’s why Specialized keep coming back to the drawing board every year to tweak, refine, innovate and optimize their best bikes to be even better.
Through close collaboration with teams Saxo Bank and Astana, every part of the SL3’s FACT 11r carbon frame has been optimized to achieve the most efficient transfer of power, ideal handling characteristics and amazing light weight. With the best stiffness-to-weight ratio on the planet, the Tarmac SL3 is 10% lighter and 18% stiffer than the already exceptional SL2.
Sigma Sport/Specialized Team bike Specifications;
- Frameset: S-Works Tarmac SL3- Stem: 3T ARX-Team- Bars: 3T Pro in either Rotundo, Ergnova or Ergosum designs- Bar Tape: 3T- Shifters: Dura-Ace 7900- Brakes: Dura-Ace 7900- Front Mech: Dura-Ace 7900- Rear Mech: Dura-Ace 7900- Chainset: Dura-Ace 7900 53-39- Cassette: Dura-Ace 7900 11-23- Chain: Dura-Ace 7900- Pedals: Time i-Clic Carbon- Seatpost: S-works pave- Saddle: Specialized BG Toupe- Wheels: Mavic Ksyrium Equipe (training), Ksyrium SL (Racing), Cosmic Carbon Ultimate (racing), R-Sys SL (racing), Cosmic Carbone SLR (racing).- Tyres: Vredestien Fortezza Quattro TriComp tyres &Vredestien Fortezza Pro TriComp Tubulars- Bottle Cage: Specialized- Computer: Garmin Edge 500- Additions: Custom Dan Duguid number mount- Accelerate energy product in their bottles- Finish Line lubes on the chains
The 2010 Sigma Sport-Specialized team came together for the first time at the Specialized HQ in Chessington, Surrey and were talked through the brand and some of the kit they will be riding.
Reflecting the importance of television coverage of the Tour Series after a successful first year, both Kingston bike store, Sigma Sport and world brand Specialized, have increased their commitment for 2010.
The 2010 squad will be led by rider manager Matt Stephens and features the notable signing of Simon Richardson from Rapha/Condor.
The 2010 rider list is:
Team management will be:
Equipment talk through - As part of the informal get together of the team James Booth of Specialized took the team through the equipment they will be using, such as the 2010 SL3 bike, developed by Saxo Bank and Quick Step. Plus helmets, glasses and saddles.
James and Richard Hemington, Managing Director for Specialized UK, talked enthusiastically about their role and how much they were looking forward to working with the riders as they compete in Premier Calendar and the Tour Series.Having the riders at Specialized HQ also gave James Booth the opportunity to talk to the riders about bike and saddle fitting, and Spesh's Body Geometry programme. Much time was subsequently spent outlining the many options available.
Ian Whittingham representing Sigma Sport also expressed his enthusiasm for the project and how important the investment in the team was for them.
The team will be launched after the new year and the riders will begin to receive their bikes and kit in the near future.