Team Lotto Honda

Team Lotto Honda: Liz Hatch, Rochelle Gilmore, Kim Schoonbaert and Veronica Andreasson

It’s good to see Honda backing cycling with the new Lotto Honda women’s cycling team. Is this a new global initiative from the company? The reason I ask is that in the UK, the company sponsors The Tour of Britain, The Tour Series, The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Rides and The Great Tour.  Whatever it is, more companies should follow in their footsteps.

Here’s more from the girls (Liz Hatch, Rochelle Gilmore, Kim Schoonbaert and Veronica Andreasson – the video can be watched by clicking here or by clicking here for the full article (which is in French)

[UPDATE] Following this video, the girls also did a photoshoot.  Thanks to the team at PezCyclingNews for this one:

The Lotto Honda girls

Tour of Britain Race Report – Stage 8: Greipel again as Albasini clinches overall win

By Peter Hodges

HTC – Columbia celebrate double success in London, as national Tour finishes on a high

The final podium at the 2010 Tour of Britain

Team HTC – Columbia celebrated winning The Tour of Britain in style as Andre Greipel took his third stage win of The Tour while Michael Albasini confirmed his overall victory to seal the Yellow Jersey presented by Bikeability.

Greipel took victory in the finishing sprint of The Tour, heading home Lucas Sebastien Haedo and Britain’s Roger Hammond in Newham to ensure that his HTC – Columbia team take four stage wins plus the overall prize from The Tour of Britain.

The Tour of Britain sprint finish in the Olympic and Paralympic Borough of Newham

In the General Classification standings, Greg Henderson used the time bonuses available at the intermediate Sprints to leapfrog Richie Porte and move into third spot overall, though at the top there was no change with Swiss rider Albasini holding onto his one minute and five second advantage over Borut Bozic of the Vacansoleil team.

Michael Albasini celebrates

Henderson also sealed victory in The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey thanks to his fourth place in the bunch sprint, while Michal Golas kept hold of the Sprints Jersey, which the Vacansoleil team added to the King of the Mountains Jersey won by Johnny Hoogerland, who immediately after the finish donated his race jersey and numbers to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Taking the honours of top British rider was Rob Partridge of Endura Racing in eighth place, two minutes thirty two second back, while Motorpoint – Marshalls Pasta came sixth in the standings to take the honours as best of the five British domestic UCI Continental teams in The Tour, head of ProTour opposition like Garmin – Transitions.

Kicking off proceedings before the grand finale of The Tour of Britain was The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Ride, which saw cyclists and celebrities ‘UniteByCycling’ to enjoy the Newham circuit in sunny conditions to take on the challenge of Stage Eight while helping to combat prostate cancer.

Speaking at the final stage of The Tour of Britain, John Neate, Chief Executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity, explains: “It was fantastic to see almost 1,000 amateur cyclists warming up the tarmac for the pros in the final stage of The Tour of Britain.  Almost 4,000 people across the UK have united behind the cause on two wheels to measure themselves against the cycling elite. We are incredibly pleased to be partnered with The Tour of Britain and we hope to build the success of these unique sportive events further next year.”

Cyclists get a further chance to ride a Tour of Britain stage on Sunday 26^th September, when The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Ride takes place at Stoke-on-Trent over the tough of Stage Two of The Tour.  To find out more visit www.tourride.co.uk

Racing in sunny conditions and in front of large crowds on the 12 kilometre circuit was fast from the drop of the flag, by Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales, with AN Post Sean Kelly Cycling Team’s Matt Brammeier being particularly active.

The Irish National Champion was soon on the attack by himself, spending the first couple of laps out front alone before he was caught by a strung out peloton.  For that move, plus his part in a later breakaway, Brammeier earned himself the day’s Honda Combativity Award for the stages’ most aggressive rider.

Brammeier was reeled in by the Sky led peloton in time for Henderson to snatch victory at the opening hot spot Sprint, moving him level on time with Porte.  Two laps later and Henderson once again headed the field as they sprinted for the line, elevating himself onto the podium at the expense of the Australian.

A more sizeable break then got away, instigated by Cervelo’s Jeremy Hunt, who circulated alone at first before being joined by Brammeier, Tom Barras, Peter Williams and Wouter Sybrandy.  The quintet worked well together to build up a 30 second lead, but with HTC – Columbia and Sky on the front of the main field working for Greipel and Henderson the advantage was never going to be maintained.

Once reeled in the peloton could set itself up for the finishing sprint, taking in one final high speed tour of Newham, London’s Olympic and Paralympic Borough before turning onto the long, straight finishing line.

Bursting through to take his third win of The Tour was Greipel, who adds victory in London to wins in Blackpool and Great Yarmouth.  Behind Haedo enjoyed another good day in the sprints, with Hammond taking third to end his home Tour on a high note.

Team HTC - Columbia celebrate their victory

Stage Eight Results

1) Andre Greipel                            Team HTC – Columbia               1h 57m 07s

2) Lucas Sebastien Haedo             Team Saxo Bank                       @ same time

3) Roger Hammond                       Cervelo Test Team                     @ same time

Honda Combativity Award Winner: Matt Brammeier       AN Post Sean Kelly Cycling Team

Final General Classification standings (after eight stages)

1) Michael Albasini                        Team HTC – Columbia               29h 23m 47s

2) Borut Bozic                               Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    @ 1m 05s

3) Greg Henderson                        Sky Professional Cycling Team  @ 1m 10s

Final Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey standings (after eight stages)

1) Greg Henderson                        Sky Professional Cycling Team  74pts

2) Borut Bozic                               Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    68pts

3) Koen de Kort                            Skil – Shimano                          50pts

Final King of the Mountains Jersey standings (after eight stages)

1) Johnny Hoogerland                   Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    56pts

2) Richie Porte                              Team Saxo Bank                       45pts

3) Wout Poels                               Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    31pts

Final Sprints Jersey standings (after eight stages)

1) Michal Golas                             Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    34pts

2) Richie Porte                              Team Saxo Bank                       22pts

3) Greg Henderson                        Sky Professional Cycling Team  21pts

Final Team General Classification (after eight stages)

1) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team                88h 08m 02s

2) Sky Professional Cycling Team              @ 6m 15s

3) Team Saxo Bank                                   @ 24m 42s

The Tour of Britain is proud to be partnered with The Prostate Cancer Charity.  Don’t forget this September your chance to follow in the wheel tracks of the professionals and ride three stages from The Tour of Britain.  Go to www.tourride.co.uk to find out more!

Tour of Britain Race Report – Stage 6: Huge crowds great The Tour of Britain in Norfolk

By Peter Hodges

Andre Greipel takes second stage win in Great Yarmouth

Andre Greipel (HTC-Columbia) takes the stage win into Great Yarmouth

Andre Greipel sprinted to his second stage win of The Tour of Britain, heading Borut Bozic and Lucas Sebastien Haedo across the line.  Greipel’s teammate Michael Albasini continues to hold the race lead, though his advantage was cut by two seconds to 1 minute 26 seconds, as Bozic moved up into second in the overall standings thanks to time bonuses gained during the stage.

Despite losing two members of their six rider team to illness, Team HTC – Columbia still managed to provide Greipel with the perfect leadout, as Mark Renshaw set up the German to take the win in Great Yarmouth.

The longest stage of the race saw The Tour make its first ever visit to Norfolk since its re-birth in 2004, with huge crowds all along the route as local communities and businesses across the county came together to support Britain’s biggest professional cycle race.

After a rousing send off from the crowds gathered in King’s Lynn’s Tuesday Market Place, riders headed out to the north Norfolk coast via the Sandringham Estate, where Johnny Hoogerland took the honours at the intermediate Sprint, ahead of Vacansoleil teammate, and Sprints competition leader, Michal Golas.

Out in front for much of the day was Cameron Meyer, who earned the Honda Combativity Award for his long breakaway, initially in the company of Jeremy Hunt, before the Brit sat up leaving the Garmin – Transitions rider briefly alone.

Meyer was soon joined by Team Saxo Bank’s Jaroslav Marycz out front, with the duo building an eight minute lead as they rode through the Norfolk countryside, being greeted by crowds at every town and village they passed through, with particularly large crowds welcoming The Tour to Norwich midway through the stage.

With Team Sky working hard on the front of the peloton to reduce the deficit as they sought to set up Greg Henderson for a second stage win the gap began to steadily decrease, with just a 2 minute 35 second advantage remaining with 25 kilometres to go.

Fifteen kilometres to go and the advantage was south of one minute, and as they approached Great Yarmouth Meyer opted to go it alone, shedding Marcyz as he made his way into the finish town.  The Australian though was caught inside the final two kilometres, as Team HTC – Columbia came to the front with Bert Grabsch and Mark Renshaw, piloting Greipel through the final couple of corners and safely onto the long finishing boulevard.

The large awaiting crowds at the stage finish in Great Yarmouth

As the field snaked out of the final turn, Greipel burst past Renshaw to cross the line first, taking his second victory at a British seaside resort in six days, after his opening leg win in Blackpool on Saturday.

Speaking after the stage, winner Andre Greipel said that despite the flatness of the profile it was still another tough day in the saddle, describing the stage as “hard!”

“We were not so fresh at all with just four riders left in the race, so it was quite a good powerful beginning to the stage for the team.  We tried to keep the breakaway as small as possible as we were all pretty tired from the last two days.

“We were happy that just two riders were away and we could sit on as the other riders chased the breakaway down.  At the end we were focused on the sprint, and Bert Grabsch and Mark Renshaw gave me a really good position, and quite a good leadout from Mark.  I think we can be really happy with this victory.

“Sky had to chase the breakaway down, so there was no one left to do the leadout, so we were just sitting on and with two kilometres to go we went, and that’s how it was.

Greipel also spoke about the loss of teammates Tony Martin and Marco Pinotti to illness, praising the German, who has worked so hard for race leader Albasini, in particular, saying, “Tony is like a locomotive, once he is riding his bike as fast as possible, he never can stop so this is a really big thing that we lost him.  I hope we are able to defend the jersey until London.”

One of Albasini’s rivals for the Yellow Jersey presented by Bikeability is Team Sky’s Greg Henderson, who took fourth in the finishing sprint, the same position he currently lies in overall, 1 minute 33 seconds behind first place.  Henderson currently wears The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey, as the races’ most consitent finisher, but has his eyes on other prizes too.

“The aim’s the overall in London,” said Henderson after the stage, “And I have to try and get on the podium.  It’s a very important race for us, a home race, and at the moment I’m in fourth place so I’m chasing time bonuses along the road and chasing time bonuses at the finish.  But it’s been a long hard week and it’s taken its toll on not only myself but the whole team, who are riding full gas for me.

With several riders closely bunched behind the race leader, The Tour of Britain is boiling down to an exciting two final stages, but Henderson says that the closeness of the General Classification poses problems.

“They’re not going to let me go anywhere, Columbia mark me, we mark certain people.  There’s a core group of people who can’t go anywhere basically and I can’t slip into a move because they’ll chase me instantly.  Everybody’s on their last legs, so we’ve just got to keep fighting until London.”

Also fighting on for another day was Team Raleigh’s lanterne rouge Peter Smith, who came home in 80^th position in a group containing Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas.  Smith now sits in 83^rd place, 1 hour 6 minutes and 13 seconds behind the Yellow Jersey.

Stage Seven sees The Tour of Britain visit Suffolk and Essex, heading across the two counties from Bury St Edmunds to Colchester, taking in 152.3 kilometres of racing.  Beginning at Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds, riders will race through Haverhill, Long Melford and Sudbury, on their way into Essex where they will face crucial intermediate Sprints at Braintree and Tiptree before the drag up East Hill in Colchester to the finish line.

Current yellow jersey of The Tour of Britain - Michael Albasini (HTC-Columbia)

Stage Six Results

1) Andre Greipel                            Team HTC – Columbia               4:09:05

2) Borut Bozic                               Vacansoleil Pro Cycling             @ same time

3) Lucas Sebastien Haedo             Team Saxo Bank                       @ same time

Honda Combativity Award Winner: Cameron Meyer       Garmin – Transitions

General Classification standings (after six stages)

1) Michael Albasini                        Team HTC – Columbia               24h 02m 14s

2) Borut Bozic                               Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    @ 1m 26s

3) Richie Porte                              Team Saxo Bank                       @ 1m 27s

The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey standings (after six stages)

1) Greg Henderson                        Sky Professional Cycling Team  48pts

2) Borut Bozic                               Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    42pts

3) Michael Albasini                        Team HTC – Columbia               39pts

The King of the Mountains Jersey standings (after six stages)

1) Johnny Hoogerland                   Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    54pts

2) Richie Porte                              Team Saxo Bank                       45pts

3) Dan Martin                                Garmin – Transitions                  32pts

The Sprints Jersey standings (after six stages)

1) Michal Golas                             Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    27pts

2) Richie Porte                              Team Saxo Bank                       18pts

3) Johnny Hoogerland                   Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    15pts

The Tour of Britain is proud to be partnered with The Prostate Cancer Charity.  Don’t forget this September your chance to follow in the wheel tracks of the professionals and ride three stages from The Tour of Britain.  Go to www.tourride.co.uk to find out more!

Tour of Britain Race Report – Stage 5: Frapporti doesn’t look back as he solos to victory in Glastonbury

By Peter Hodges

Bradley Wiggins second, as Marco Frapporti takes solo victory in Somerset

Marco Frapporti (Colnago – CSF Inox) taking a solo victory in Glastonbury

The Tour of Britain leaves the South West of Britain tonight after two days of tough racing in Devon and Somerset with Michael Albasini still in the lead of the race, having maintained his 1 minute 28 second advantage over Richie Porte during Wednesday’s 178 kilometre stage from Tavistock to Glastonbury.

Winner on the day was Marco Frapporti of the Colnago – CSF Inox team, who broke away from his breakaway companions in the closing kilometres to win by 13 seconds from Bradley Wiggins, with the main field coming in over nine minutes in arrears.

Bradley Wiggins coming in second behind Frapporti

Frapporti was a member of a seven rider breakaway group that spent the majority of the stage out in front, escaping in the closing kilometres to ride alone into the packed Glastonbury town centre, where he crossed the line arms aloft head of Britain’s Wiggins.

“I was here to ride for Manuel Belletti, so I have been riding in support of my team,” said Frapporti.  “But when Manuel got a virus and had to stop, then today I was able to take my own chance, which I did.”

Frapporti, who hails from Gavardo in Lombardy, described his winning move in the post-race press conference.

“I attacked with ten kilometres to go with Dan Martin.  With five kilometres to go there was a false flat and I jumped then and Dan couldn’t go with me, and luckily for me I kept away.

“I didn’t even look back, because the moment you look back then you lose, so I just put my head down and went.”

With the day’s first King of the Mountains climb at Merrivale coming within the first few kilometres of racing, there was action right from the flag drop, particularly as a number of those riders looking for King of the Mountains points like Johnny Hoogerland and Richie Porte were also in overall contention, provoking a fierce chase behind.

Windy conditions on the exposed roads across Dartmoor didn’t help matters, although the dry and bright weather conditions were a marked improvement on previous days.  The wind contributed to a split in the peloton, but with Albasini and the other contenders in the front group there was no fierce drive on to distance any rivals.

After an hour of racing the day’s break formed, containing Frapporti, Lucas Sebastien Haedo, Iker Camano, Michal Golas, Pieter Ghyllebert and Daniel Martin, with Heinrich Haussler and then Wiggins joining them, with the septet quickly building an advantage thanks to the lack of threat they posed the yellow jersey.

After beginning to struggle with the pace, Haussler was first dropped and then abandoned into his Cervelo team car.  At the same time Wiggins rode away from the break crossing the King of the Mountains climb of Rosemary Hill as he was joined first by Golas and Camano before the rest of the escapees also caught up.  The steep Category One Rosemary Hill also saw Porte and Patrick Sinkewitz attack from the peloton, but a fast chase by the HTC – Columbia headed peloton reeled them both back in after the climb.

One rider who did escape the peloton was Skil – Shimano’s Ronald Van Zandbeek, with around 35 kilometres to go, however the Dutch rider spent the rest of the stage dangling between the break and the peloton, eventually crossing the line six and a half minutes in arrears.

With ten kilometres to go, Martin, one of the stars of Stage Four who admitted before the start that his legs were only just beginning to come good attacked, and was swiftly joined by Frapporti.  The duo worked well together until with five kilometres to go the Italian struck off alone, and Martin was unable to match the rise in pace.

With Martin slipping backwards to an eventual seventh, Wiggins leapt forwards and attempted to ride down Frapporti, but instead of victory only had the sight of the Colnago – CSF Inox rider crossing the line, arms aloft, 13 agonising seconds ahead of him.

“At first it was very hard, we had 15 riders with us then a group came together”, said Frapporti.  “Then we went again as four and Haussler arrived, and then Wiggins.  And then Haussler for some reason stopped.  It was hard as it kept splitting over the hills.

“The crowd were very very friendly, and very warm.  During the entire stage there were a lot of people watching and everybody was cheering and shouting so it was a very good atmosphere.

The 25-year-old also admitted to a moment’s inattention in the closing metres that almost cost him dearly, saying, “At the finish I was going too hard and I followed the motorbikes in front and almost went down the deviation, so there was fear, but it was ok.”

Frapporti becomes the eighth Italian rider to win a stage of The Tour of Britain since it’s re-birth in 2004, joining the ranks of Alessandro Petacchi and Filippo Pozzato.  Italy are statistically the most successful nation in Tour history, having now won eleven stages of the race in seven editions.

While Yellow Jersey presented by Bikeability holder Albasini held onto his race lead, his bid for overall honours has been hampered by the loss of a second teammate in consecutive days, after Tony Martin abandoned with illness.

Albasini also kept possession of The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey, although thanks to the Swiss rider’s overall race lead, Sky’s Greg Henderson will once again have the honour of wearing the blue jersey.

Once again the South West proved to be a happy hunting ground for the Vacansoleil team, as Hoogerland kept hold of the King of the Mountains jersey, reinforcing his lead along the way, while Golas took control of the Sprints competition in a battle which looks set to go right down to Stage Eight in London on Saturday.

Away from the racing, Glastonbury also The Tour of Britain remember Battle of Britain Day, with a minutes silence and the release of 70 white balloons, shaped as doves.

Stage Six sees The Tour of Britain visit Norfolk for the first time ever, with the longest stage of the race, 190 kilometres from King’s Lynn to Great Yarmouth, visiting the likes of Sandringham, Wells-next-the-sea and Norwich on its way across the county.

Stage Five Results

1) Marco Frapporti                                    Colnago – CSF Inox                  4h 16m 10s

2) Bradley Wiggins                        Sky Professional Cycling Team  @ 13s

3) Lucas Sebastien Haedo             Team Saxo Bank                       @ 32s

Honda Combativity Award Winner: Pieter Ghyllebert     AN Post Sean Kelly Cycling Team

General Classification standings (after five stages)

1) Michael Albasini                        Team HTC – Columbia               19h 53m 09s

2) Richie Porte                              Team Saxo Bank                       @ 1m 28s

3) Borut Bozic                               Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    @ 1m 32s

The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey standings (after five stages)

1) Michael Albasini                        Team HTC – Columbia               39pts

2) Greg Henderson                        Sky Professional Cycling Team  36pts

3) Koen De Kort                            Skil – Shimano                          30pts

The King of the Mountains Jersey standings (after five stages)

1) Johnny Hoogerland                   Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    51pts

2) Richie Porte                              Team Saxo Bank                       45pts

3) Dan Martin                                Garmin – Transitions                  32pts

The Sprints Jersey standings (after five stages)

1) Michal Golas                             Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    23pts

2) Richie Porte                              Team Saxo Bank                       15pts

3) Matthew Hayman                       Sky Professional Cycling Team  11pts

The Tour of Britain is proud to be partnered with The Prostate Cancer Charity.  Don’t forget this September your chance to follow in the wheel tracks of the professionals and ride three stages from The Tour of Britain.  Go to www.tourride.co.uk to find out more!

Tour of Britain Race Report – Stage 2: Henderson heads the selection, as The Tour gets tough

Greg Henderson taking the win on stage 2 of The Tour of Britain (image courtesy of The Tour of Britain)

By Peter Hodges

Greg Henderson wins in Stoke-on-Trent to move into the Yellow Jersey

Team Sky picked up their first win of The Tour of Britain, as Greg Henderson sprinted to victory on the tough uphill finish in Stoke-on-Trent, as the day’s racing was shaped by an 18 rider break that shook up the overall standings.

Henderson headed home breakaway companions Michael Albasini and Heinrich Haussler, to move into the Yellow Jersey presented by Bikeability, as well as taking early control of The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey thanks to his third placed finish on Saturday’s stage.

A frantic start to the 100 mile stage, that helped to celebrate the centenary of Stoke-on-Trent, saw a number of repeated attacks going away from the peloton, only to be brought back by the speeding bunch as it passed through the Staffordshire countryside.

The Tour of Britain peloton making their way through the beautiful Staffordshire Moorlands (image courtesy of The Tour of Britain)

Among the teams most active in trying to put riders up the road were AN Post and Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator, but despite several small groups pulling away before being reeled in, neither team had a rider in the break when it eventually formed after around ten kilometres of racing.

With the peloton chasing hard to counter a two-rider move, the front group split leaving a high-quality group out in front, including Henderson, Albasini and Haussler, plus the likes of Sprints Jersey holder Richie Porte, Welshman Rob Partridge, Vacansoleil duo Borut Bozic and Michal Golas and most crucially for the eventual winner, his Sky teammates Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas.

The peloton was always going to find it hard to bring back such a strong break, and so it proved as the gap immediately went out to around the 40 second mark as Endura’s Iker Camano tried to bridge across.

The Spaniard’s attempt failed, but after 29 kilometres of racing and heading towards Millwich the gap was down to just 22 seconds, persuading Darren Lapthorne and Johnny Hoogerland to set off in pursuit.

The pair soon caught Jaroslav Marycz who was dropped from the front bunch, but Rapha – Condor – Sharp’s Australian couldn’t hold the wheel of the Dutchman, and found himself heading back to the peloton after around forty kilometres of racing.

Hoogerland continued alone, with his impressive solo ride paying off as he made contact with the leading riders, while the peloton was headed by the Sigma Sport – Specialized team.

With the third Vacansoleil rider now at the front the gap stretched out, particularly after Thomas drove hard on the opening King of the Mountains climb at Ramshorn, sending the gap up to the three and a half minute mark.

Behind AN Post and Topsport Vlaanderen chased, but to no avail as the gap soared past six minutes by the time the peloton was negotiating the huge crowds in the village of Longnor in the Peak District National Park.

With the 18 strong rider group working well together they extended their lead to just shy of eight minutes by the top of the Hollinsclough Moor King of the Mountains climb, as the wind on the exposed tops near to Flash seemed to hamper the chase of the peloton, who by this time realised they were racing for the minor placings.

Stage One escapee Porte then tried his hand alone from the group, jumping away on the road to Gun Hill and pulling out a 16 second lead.  Behind a chasing group consisting of Albasini, Wiggins, Hoogerland, Patrik Sinkewitz, Travis Meyer, Dan Craven and Koen de Kort formed, with Porte being caught on the descent to Leek and the front group reforming.  Sinkewitz was next to try his hand off the front, but the ISD rider’s advantage was short lived.

Heading in the opposite direction from the front group were ENECO Tour winner Tony Martin and Federico Canuti, both of whom were dropped as the pace rose after Leek.

At the front Team Sky began driving, sensing the potential to set Henderson up for the win, so when Haussler and Golas escaped nearing Stoke-on-Trent and built a 13 second lead, it fell to Wiggins and Thomas to ride the duo down, with both riders pulling massive turns before dropping off the back to finish 1 minute 16 seconds and 1 minute 48 seconds down respectively at the finish on Albion Street.

With Haussler and Golas caught, it set things up for an exciting 13 rider sprint up the 500 metre drag to the line, with New Zealander Henderson heading home Albasini, and preventing the HTC – Columbia team from taking a third successive victory in the city of Stoke-on-Trent.

More crucially the time bonus on the line, along with that gained in Blackpool, helped Henderson into yellow, with a 14 second lead over the second placed Swiss rider.  In each of the previous three Tours of Britain, such a lead has proved enough to win the race overall, but with a trio of tougher stages to come and six days of the race still to go, Henderson will be looking over his shoulder at the twelve riders placed within 23 seconds of his race lead.

Winner of the Honda Combativity Award for his impressive ride across to the break Johnny Hoogerland certainly believes the Sky man’s lead isn’t insurmountable, saying at the post-stage press conference, “I think it’s very difficult for Henderson to keep the jersey.  He is good on the hills, but we are getting a few hilly stages, so I think it is difficult for him.

“We are not satisfied with sixth place on the General Classification, so we are going to try and win the Overall.  We had three in the first group and we have Wout (Poels) and (Matteo) Carrara in the peloton, but they are also in very good condition, so I think we can make it pretty hard for Sky.”

The Dutchman was also full of praise for the route, saying, “It was not what I expected.  I spoke to Daniel Martin yesterday and he said tomorrow is not a heavy stage, and then I just wanted to take it easy until stages four and five, as I know these are the heavy stages of The Tour of Britain.

“I’ve never been to England before, I was only one night in Heathrow, but that’s all.  The mountains are steep; it’s totally different to Belgium or France.  It’s steep, a little bit flat, steep and a lot of corners.  It’s a beautiful landscape.  Today it was perfect with like twenty riders, but with the whole peloton and then on the top of the climbs with a little bit of wind from the side it’s difficult.”

Hoogerland also revealed his future motivation for the rest of the race was not just one, but two snubs he, and his team had received.

“Not just for the Vuelta a Espana, but also for the World Championship.  I also really wanted to do the World Championship but they passed me by, so I just want to show that I have to be there.  I am always good in September and October, so it is the same this year.

“Maybe when someone is injured I can go, but maybe I am not really motivated anymore for doing that race, I just want to do a very good Tour of Britain.”

Stage Three sees The Tour of Britain return to Wales for the first time since 2004, as The Tour races through mid-Wales from Newtown to Swansea, via the King of the Mountains climb of Black Mountain.  Also on the route is Constitution Hill in Swansea, a brutal one-in-three cobbled climb that features in the final two kilometres, and will surely see the General Classification of The Tour of Britain shaken up once again.

Stage 2 podium presentation: Johnny Hoogerland (left), Richie Porter (middle), Greg Henderson (right) (image courtesy of The Tour of Britain)

Stage Two Results

1) Greg Henderson            Sky Professional Cycling Team  3:59:52

2) Michael Albasini            Team HTC – Columbia               @ same time

3) Heinrich Haussler           Cervelo Test Team                     @ same time

Honda Combativity Award Winner: Johnny Hoogerland, Vacansoleil Professional Cycling Team

General Classification standings (after two stages)

1) Greg Henderson            Sky Professional Cycling Team              7:16:23

2) Michael Albasini            Team HTC – Columbia                           @ 14”

3) Heinrich Haussler           Cervelo Test Team                                 @ same time

The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey standings (after two stages)

1) Greg Henderson            Sky Professional Cycling Team              28 points

2) Andre Greipel                Team HTC – Columbia                           15 points

3) Michael Albasini            Team HTC – Columbia                           15 points

The King of the Mountains Jersey standings (after two stages)

1) Richie Porte                  Team Saxo Bank                                   35 points

2) Johnny Hoogerland       Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team                24 points

3) Wout Poels                   Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team                16 points

The Sprints Jersey standings (after two stages)

1) Richie Porte                  Team Saxo Bank                                   15 points

2) Michal Golas                 Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team                8 points

3) Koen De Kort                Skil – Shimano                                      8 points

The Tour of Britain is proud to be partnered with The Prostate Cancer Charity.  Don’t forget this September your chance to follow in the wheel tracks of the professionals and ride three stages from The Tour of Britain.  Go to www.tourride.co.uk to find out more!

My ride with Magnus Backstedt on the Tour Ride

Me (3rd from right) riding alongside Magnus Backstedt (4th from right)

One of the cool parts of my job is that I regularly get to meet pro riders. Not from a looking for signatures/pictures aspect, but more along the lines of how we can work together for something bigger. Most recently I got the chance to promote a mass participation ride – The Tour Rides – and part of this included a media preview ride. Here we would take a few members of the press along with us to try out the route of the ride. The end result would be that they write about the ride, give their experiences, and hopefully encourage fellow cyclists to take up the chance to ride a route that the pro riders will take in The Tour of Britain.

So back in mid May I arranged for a few journalists to join me on a ride of stage 5 of the 2009 Tour of Britain. This route also forms the basis for the etape-style 145km’s mass participation ride – The Prostate Cancer Charity Pro Tour Ride – that will take place on Saturday 6 May.  Now I was lucky enough to have Magnus Backstedt agree to join us on the ride. Who better to join us on the tough route other than former Paris-Roubaix winner and Tour de France stage winner.

So off we (the team at RoadCyclingUK – Richard and David, Men’s Fitness – Fitness Ed Matt Ray) went from our office in Weybridge and made our way up to Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent in our newly acquired Honda-sponsored vehicles. The day looked wet and gloomy as we made our way up, which didn’t help us for what we were about to tackle. On its own, we knew it was going to be a tough ride, but to add horrible weather was just adding to an experience that we were not looking forward to.

Once at Britannia Stadium we got changed into our gear, prepared our bikes and loaded them into our vehicles. We decided with the weather and the way it was, that we would start the ride 40km’s into the route. As we headed out, the route just rose and every turn we took, the road just went higher and higher. Not something to look forward to.

Well, there are our Honda sponsored vehicles. That's me between the two cars talking to the remarkable Graham Jones

We got to our drop location, got ourselves ready and before we set off, had a few final pics taken with our Honda-sponsored vehicles.

Then the pain started – the moment we made our way onto the route, my legs began to cry for help.  The route was totally unforgiving. Over the day, our group averaged about 15 km/h. Even though we weren’t pushing it, you could tell the route played its part.

Trying to make my way along the route (yes, I have an old bike - any willing sponsors, please come forward )

Magnus and David (from RCUK) leading the pack

I have to admit that just before reaching the all famous Gun Hill, I retired to the broom wagon. It was just too much and I didn’t have a gear any bigger than the 23-tooth chainring I had on the back to help me any further along the route.

Speaking to Backstedt following the ride on what he thinks of the route, he replied: “I think that the ‘not-a-metre-flat’ character of the course will take its toll on the pro riders by the end of Stage Five [of The Tour of Britain].”

I then preceded to ask him on what his strategy would be for this sportive in preparing for it. He responded, “Ride at your own pace. Don’t get carried away and overreact to a group pulling away from you by playing catch-up because it’s too expensive.”

“I find that three 20-minute intervals ridden as fast as you can with 30 minutes of rest in between really pushes up the strength endurance in your legs.” So there you have it, Magnus Maximus’s secret weapon.

Having our last picture taken following the ride. Magnus is holding up some of the new branding we created for the Tour Ride

So, ifyou want to experience what both Magnus and myself did, why not give his strategy a go and sign up for The Prostate Cancer Charity Pro Tour Ride taking place on 6 September in Stoke-on-Trent.

According to the Tour Rides’ website, the description for the route we rode is:

The 145km Pro Tour Ride takes in the complete Stoke-on-Trent stage of this year’s Tour of Britain, providing a unique chance for riders to test themselves over the same terrain as the professionals will do battle over during The Tour and experience the full Tour of Britain setup.

The route takes riders out of the city past Trentham Gardens and across the M6 motorway and south via Swynnerton to Eccleshall, then east towards Stone, over the same roads that featured during the closing miles of Stage Four of the 2008 Tour of Britain.

The attractive market town of Stone marks 30km into the Pro Tour Ride, which then follows the Trent Valley to Sandon before heading east and skirting Uttoxeter.

Here the route becomes more challenging, undulating constantly all the way back to Stoke-on-Trent, as it traverses the attractive countryside of the Staffordshire Moorlands and on to the main test of the route, Gun Hill, just after Tittesworth Reservoir.

It’s not quite all downhill back to the Britannia Stadium, but the main climbing is done so riders will be able to enjoy the scenery as they pass Rudyard Reservoir and cross the Churnet Valley near Cheddleton.

If you want further info and would like to check out the route and its profile, you can download it by clicking here.

I do hope you’ll sign up to take part in the ride. I’ll be there myself so drop me a note if you want to hook up. Cheers!