August 10
Moerenhout wins stage, 2nd overall at Eneco Tour
24th August 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
Rabobank wins team classificationRabobank put in a strong showing at the Eneco ProTour race with Koos Moerenhout winning a stage and finishing second overall. The eight-day race through The Netherlands and Belgium ended on a high note for the team as Maarten Tjallingii finished second in the final stage time trial on August 24 and Rabobank won the overall team standings.
Moerenhout took a sweet victory aboard his Giant TCR Advanced SL in the Stage 3 race in Ronse, Belgium. The 36-year-old is set to retire at the end of the season, and his victory in Ronse will rank as one of the highlights of his 15-year racing career. He attacked on the final climb with 32km to go and then beat German Tony Martin to the line.
In the final time trial, a 16.5-kilometer circuit in Genk, Belgium, Tjallingii rode his Trinity Advanced SL to a second-place finish, equaling his second-place in the prologue a week earlier. That put Tjallingii seventh overall. Between Moerenhout (second GC), Lars Boom (sixth GC) and Tjallingii (seventh GC), Rabobank had three top-10 finishers and won the teams classification.
Rabobank Starts Strong at Eneco Tour
17th August 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
Riders take 3 of top 5 in prologueRabobank riders came out swinging at the Eneco Tour, an eight-day ProTour stage race that started August 17 with a short prologue in Steenwijk, The Netherlands. Jos Van Emden, Lars Boom and Maarten Tjallingii finished second through fourth respectively in the 5.2-kilometer time trial, giving Rabobank three of the top-five overall positions heading into the first road stage.
The technical 5.2-kilometer course in Steenwijk was made even more challenging by wet, rainy conditions. Van Emden, the current Dutch National Time Trial Champion, rode his Giant Trinity Advanced SL bike to a time of 6:24, just 5 seconds behind prologue winner Svein Tuft of Canada.
The Eneco Tour continues with a 178-kilometer Stage 1 road race on August 18 and concludes with a final time trial in Belgium on August 24.
Hart, Lenosky Lead Giant Charge at Crankworx
15th August 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
Hart finishes 2nd in Giant SlalomGiant Factory Off-Road Team rider Danny Hart showed off his versatility with a second-place finish in the Giant Slalom event at the 2010 Kokanee Crankworx mountain bike festival in Whistler, British Columbia.
Hart, a top World Cup downhill racer from England, entered the slalom race—which pits two riders at a time on a course featuring jumps and berms—and advanced all the way to the finals, where he was edged out by former four-cross world champion Michal Prokop of the Czech Republic.
Hart’s teammates Jared Rando and Duncan Riffle also competed in the Giant Slalom, which was presented by Giant Bicycles. Hart and Rando faced each other in the quarter-final round of the elimination-style competition, with Hart advancing to the finals.
Also representing Giant at the Canadian event was veteran freeride and trials athlete Jeff Lenosky. The American, who suffered a broken leg last winter, showed that his recovery is complete as he posted a victory in the Trialsworx competition. Riding his Giant STP, Lenosky topped a field of some of the world's top trials riders.
Emmett Wins TR3 in Canada
11th August 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
3 stage wins for Giant riderGiant Factory Off-Road team rider Kelli Emmett rode her Anthem X Advanced SL to a convincing overall win at TR3, a grueling three-day off-road stage race in the Canadian Rockies. Also representing Giant at the August 8-10 event was Rabobank-Giant Off-Road team rider Adam Craig, who scored a podium finish in the men’s overall standings.
Emmett, Craig and their teammate Carl Decker competed in the UCI-sanctioned event—which was part of the weeklong TransRockies race that features two-person teams—in part to train for upcoming World Cup and World Championship races.
“I hadn’t really raced in wet, slippery, muddy East Coast type conditions yet this year, so I thought this would be perfect training for the World Cup finals in Windham [New York] and World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne [Canada],” Emmett said. “It was pretty epic with some really long, hard climbs.”
Emmett finished more than an hour ahead of her nearest competitor in the Open Women’s category, winning all three stages including the opening time trial in Fernie, British Columbia.
“The climbs were so steep,” Emmett said. “You look up and think there’s no way you’ll be able to ride up it but the Anthem gets such great traction you can just keep pedaling up.”
Emmett, Craig and the rest of Giant’s XC riders now turn their attention to the final races of the World Cup season, and then the World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, September 2-5.
LONDON GOLD FOR JENKINS
9th August 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
Giant rider Helen Jenkins takes the number 1 spot at the London TriathlonThis weekend saw Giant rider Helen Jenkins win the 2010 London Triathlon in 2hrs 1 minute 1 second, followed by fellow brits Jodie Stimpson and Liz Blathcford. Meanwhile Australian Courtney Atkinson won the mens race in a sprint finish, 5 seconds ahead of Prologue’s Tim Don.
Also racing was Radio One presenter Vernon Kay who rode his Giant Defy Advanced 3 on the bike leg, completing the race in an effort to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.
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Mollema Posts Win in Poland
6th August 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
First ProTour win for Dutch riderRabobank rider Bauke Mollema rode his Giant TCR Advanced SL team bike to a solo victory at Stage 6 of the Tour of Poland. The 23-year-old launched a counter-attack 4 kilometers from the finish of a tough 228-kilometer stage and held off the chasers to score the first ProTour win of his young career.
The hilly Stage 6 from Oswiecim to Terma Bukowina Tartz had the attention of all the general classification hopefuls. With six categorized climbs, it was considered a pivotal stage in the seven-day race through Poland. Inclement weather, including heavy rain in the early portions of the race, made things even more difficult for the riders.
Mollema made his move right after the main group caught a small breakaway on the final climb. He gained a gap of 15 seconds and managed to hold off the chasers all the way to line. He finished 7 seconds ahead of a group of three riders, and 9 seconds ahead of the group containing overall leader Dan Martin. The win brought Mollema up to third place overall, 10 seconds behind Martin.
The Tour of Poland concludes August 7 in Krakow.
Hart, Giger lead Giant in Italy
1st August 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
Hart cracks top 10 in Mens' DHEighteen-year-old Giant Factory Off-Road rider Danny Hart, a rookie pro on the World Cup Downhill circuit, had the best performance of his young career at Round 5 in Italy this weekend. Hart raced his Giant Glory to seventh place at the August 1 race, leading Giant’s squad of downhill and cross-country racers competing in the World Cup at Val di Sole, in Northern Italy.
Hart rode a terrific qualifier on the 1.6-kilometer downhill course, finishing sixth among some 200 pro men. Battling to crack the top-10 overall in the series, Hart put in an equally impressive finals run for seventh place. He now sits 11th overall in the series and is the top-ranked teenager on the World Cup.
This round of the Mountain Bike World Cup was the first to bring together all three disciplines—downhill, four-cross and cross-country. Giant’s cross-country efforts were led by 23-year-old Rabobank-Giant Off-Road rider Fabian Giger of Switzerland.
Racing on a similar course to the one used at the 2008 UCI World Championships, Giger finished 11th on his XtC Advanced SL. Amazingly, he was one of five Swiss riders among the top 11 finishers, including the day’s winner Nino Schurter. The 6.3-kilometer course challenged racers with steep climbs, and less than half the day’s 190 starters finished on the same lap as the leaders.
American Adam Craig, in just his second World Cup XC event since he had off-season knee surgery, rode his Anthem X Advanced SL to 17th, best among North American competitors.
July 10
JENKINS TAKES BRONZE IN HYDE PARK
26th July 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
3rd place for Giant triathleteThis weekend saw Giant triathlete Helen Jenkins win bronze at the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship in Hyde Park, London, finishing behind Canadian Paula Findlay and Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig.
“I’ve been finishing third a lot lately—it’s about time I get second or first!” Jenkins joked afterward. “My plan today was just to commit to the whole race and to go hard for two hours, so I’m really happy with how things turned out.”
There is now a two week rest period before Helen takes on the London Triathlon on August 8th, before heading to Kitzbühel, Austria for the penultimate stage of the Series on August 14-15.
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Giant Pros Medal at Nationals
19th July 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
Podium finishes for Emmett, Craig, BeckingsaleRiders from the Giant Factory Off-Road Team and the Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team rode to several podium appearances at this past weekend’s various MTB National Championship events around the world.
In the U.S., Factory Team rider Kelli Emmett led the way by winning her second National Championship in Super D. Racing in her home state of Colorado—where the U.S MTB Nationals were held at Sol Vista ski resort in Granby—Emmett scored a convincing win on her Giant Trance X Advanced SL bike. The course, lengthy by Super D standards, challenged racers with one tough climb followed by fast singletrack descending.
“The climb separated us pretty well this year,” Emmett told Cyclingnews.com after her win. “I was able to get around and away there, which was my strategy.”
Emmett’s fellow American racer Adam Craig, representing the Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team, also made it to the podium in Colorado, scoring a bronze medal in the Short Track XC. Craig, who has been building his form after missing the first half of the season due to knee surgery, surged ahead in the final lap, moving up to finish third on his Anthem X Advanced SL.
Craig said his comeback is right on track and he’s looking forward to returning to Europe for the next group of World Cup races, starting this coming weekend in Switzerland.
Across the Atlantic in Great Britain, Factory Off-Road rider Oli Beckingsale rode to a silver medal in the British XC National Championships in Pippingford. Beckingsale was in a tight battle with his rival and fellow British Olympian Liam Killeen until a broken chain brought his medal hopes to a halt. Beckingsale still managed to stay in the race, and despite losing close to 5 minutes, he made the repair and passed more than a dozen riders to finish second.
The next few weeks will be big for all of Giant's off-road racers as they turn their attention back to World Cup and other international events for the remainder of the summer.
SILVER AT UK NATIONALS FOR OLI
19th July 2010 - filed under Teamsriders
Epic battle with Liam KilleenFollowing two second places in the last 2 years in the UK Nationals, behind long term rival Liam Killeen – Oli Beckingsale went into last Sundays event hoping to better that with a gold.
With a good start from the gun Oli attacked hard on the hilly technical circuit, gaining a gap after half a lap when the chain came loose from the chain ring and chain device. Following a time sapping fix Oli was back on the bike chasing the leader Killeen. By lap 3 Oli had clawed back to 10 seconds off the lead when the chain completely snapped forcing him to run 1 mile to the technical zone where he fitted a new chain, losing 6minutes and falling back down to 9th place.
A tough chase followed and by the last lap Oli had climbed back to second place where he finished, settling for his third Nationals silver in three years. Next up for Oli is World Cup action in Switzerland and Italy.
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