Bike Pure Update

Tour of Italy Update
The Tour of Italy is well underway with several Bike Pure guys represented. The prologue was held in Amsterdam on Saturday with HTC-Columbia’s Marco Pinotti down as one of the favorites for the 8km race.

Marco started slightly earlier than the big guns and said the course was slippery in places as a result. However, he posted a great time, finishing in 10th place.  Bike Pure rider Richie Porte (Saxo-Bank) finished in 6th place, only 5 seconds behind the winner Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky.

Irishman Dan Martin, not noted for his time trial ability, surprised many by finishing in 87th place, just 35 seconds off Wiggins’ pace. Other placings saw Dan Lloyd (Cervelo) in 76th place, Adam Blythe (Omega-Pharma-Lotto) in 182nd place, Jack Bobridge (Garmin) 163rd, Cam Meyer 99th, Olivier Kaisen (Omega-Pharma-Lotto) 121st, Steve Cummings (Team Sky) 69th and Chris Froome (Team Sky) 138th.

The early stages of the race have seen several crashes which may have already dashed the hopes of some of the leading overall contenders. As it stands after Stage 3 it’s great to see Richie Porte sitting second overall on GC showing his strength in depth for the forthcoming three week event. He also leads the young rider competition, proving that the Aussie is a great future talent.

Lincoln Grand Prix (UK)
As most of Team Sky were racing in Italy, there was a rare window of opportunity for Russell Downing and his team mate Ben Swift to make an appearance on English roads at the Lincoln Grand Prix. It was also a good chance for Russ to race against his older brother and fellow Bike Pure rider Dean Downing (Rapha-Condor-Sharp).

Russ Downing had won the event previously but had to settle for 6th place on the day behind winner Chris Newton. Other Bike Pure guys who rode included Alex Wetterhall (Team Sprocket ProCycling) who rode to a great 4th place, Liam Holohan (Team Raleigh), Kieran Friend (Pendragon-Le Col-Colnago) and Raleigh’s Dan Fleeman. Fleeman however was brought to hospital after a crash to reveal a broken rib that will keep him out of action for a while.

A full race report and photos can be viewed here.

Horizon Fitness Racing Team

The Horizon Fitness Racing Team are shaping up to be the most successful women’s team in the UK this season with several wins and a dominance in stage races. Horizon Fitness rider Sarah Storey won the Bedford 2 Day after a very strong weekend by the team. Horizon Fitness Racing Team dominated the 2 day event and placed the first 3 riders overall on GC in a fantastic team performance.

Sarah Storey also cemented her dominance of the UK time trial scene by winning Round 4 of the Rudy Project TT Series. Sarah is having a great season under at Horizon Fitness, under the direction of Director Sportif Stefan Wyman.

Please visit the Horizon Fitness team’s website here.

Tour of California
The Amgen Tour of California runs from May 16th-23rd and is fast becoming America’s premier stage race. Although the race date has moved this year and now clashes with the Tour of Italy, its hasn’t affected the big names and teams traveling to the West coast.

Bike Pure guys to watch out for include Garmin-Transitions Steven Cozza and Peter Stetina, HTC-Columbia’s Tejay Van Garderen, Alexander Kristoff (BMC), and Philip Deignan (Cervelo).

Bissell also field a strong team headed by Ben-Jaques Maynes with team mate Daniel Holloway also lending support. Tour of Langkawi stage winner Jay Thomson represents Fly V Australia whilst Jeremy Powers and Kiel Reijnen form part of the Jelly Belly squad.
The official race website can be found here.

Tour of Japan
The 14th edition of this event runs from 16th – 23rd May and sees many riders from Bike Pure taking part in what is proving to be a more popular event each year. The mixture of home based Japanese teams combined with some European and Aussie teams provides some great racing each year.

UK outfit Rapha-Condor-Sharp have sent a strong squad which includes Dean Downing and British champion Kristen House. Team Jayo-Skins also send a strong yet youthful squad from Australia which includes Bike Pure guys Michael Matthews, Richard Lang, Patrick Lane and Aaron Donnelly.

We wish all the guys a safe and successful race. Please visit the official Tour of Japan website here.