Video: Defending champ Brammeier psyched for Irish road race nationals after TT victory
HTC Highroad rider talks about team’s hunt for a new backerThe 2010 Irish road race champion Matt Brammeier is upbeat about his form heading into Sundays’ defence of his title. The HTC Highroad rider headed to Ireland determined to try to retain the distinctive white and green jersey; he quickly picked up one where he didn’t expect when he won Friday evening’s Elite time trial. “It is great, it is really unexpected. I was coming here hoping to get a medal, and to win it is pretty unbelievable,” he told VeloNation in a video interview. Brammeier ploughed through wet and cold conditions to cover the Emyvale course in a time of 50 minutes 15 seconds. This was six seconds quicker than former champion David McCann (Giant Kenda) and sixteen clear of Michael Hutchinson (In Gear Quick Vit UK). He said that it gave him a boost prior to Sunday’s road [...]
Video – Tony Martin Interview: Aiming for a high GC finish in Tour de France
Dauphiné stage win adds to increasing confidence of German rider First in the Volta ao Algarve, first in Paris-Nice, second overall in the Tour de Romandie and now a stage winner in the Critérium du Dauphiné; Tony Martin’s excellent 2011 season continued Wednesday when he raced to his latest victory in the Grenoble time trial of the race. Even before he achieved the latest result, Martin was convinced that he could step things up a level in the Tour de France. Despite strong showings in other races over the past few years, his history with the Tour has not been a very satisfying one for him. In his debut in 2009 he finished 36th overall, although he wore the white jersey early on; last year, things were more difficult again and he finished back in 137th, a full three and a half hours behind Alberto Contador. Some of that time [...]
Video: Porte has Tour de France stage win on his wish list
Australian talks possibilities about debut in top eventExactly one month from today, Australian rider Richie Porte is expected to make his Tour de France debut and line out at the Passage du Gois for the start of the race. The 26 year old Tasmanian has just completed his second Giro d’Italia and hopes to recover well, then head to France for the cycling’s top event. His Saxo Bank SunGard Alberto Contador has got the green light from CAS and Tour organisers ASO and, providing he gets over his current fatigue, will go to the Tour as clear leader of the team and aiming for another Tour victory. “I’ll got to altitiude and just relax, hopefully get ready for the Tour,” he told VeloNation’s Ben Atkins prior to Sunday’s final time trial at the Giro d’Italia. At that point in time, it wasn’t certain that Contador would get the green light [...]
Video: Neil Martin believes in prospects of Sean Downey and his son Dan Martin
Former professional Neil Martin has said that his son Dan is gearing up for a strong Criterium du Dauphiné and, hopefully, his first ever Tour de France. The 24 year old rider went close to starting the race in 2009, travelling with the Garmin team to Monaco for the Grand Depart, but ultimately withdrawing from the squad due to a knee injury. He did the Giro d’Italia last year, picking the Italian race over the Tour de France. This time round, he’s pushing for a place on the Tour squad “Dan is good, he has just come out of the Tour of California, although he didn’t quite get the result he was aiming for,” said Neil Martin, speaking in a VeloNation video interview carried out on the last day of the An Post Rás. “He struggled a bit with the heat on Mount Baldy, which was furnace-like, 38 degrees. But [...]
Video – Giro d'Italia: Peter Stetina stays hungry after his first Grand Tour
Garmin-Cervelo rider finished as highest English-speaking racer in 22nd placeTalented young American rider Peter Stetina had a very solid first Grand Tour with the Giro d'Italia. He ended the three-week course in 22nd place, 50 minutes 9 seconds behind winner Alberto Contador. He was also third in the young rider's competition, showing that he has a bright future ahead of him. His ranking was not a real surprise to him. "I am happy with it. We thought I was capable of doing a top 20 beforehand,” he told VeloNation just before the final TT in the race. He just missed out on that target, losing some time in the first week. "If I hadn’t relaxed and enjoyed the first week, I would definitely be there,” he said, but remains satisfied with what he achieved. "Twenty-second - I am stoked and I am pumped with it," he says. That’s even more [...]
Video: Carlos Sastre 30th, but says he’s satisfied with his Giro d’Italia
Spaniard said he was pleased he gave 100 percentCarlos Sastre has mixed emotions from tjhe 2011 Giro d'Italia that finished on Sunday. He was clearly upset with the tragedies and the tough route did not make his job easier. On the bright side he enjoyed the scenery and overall was pleased with the race. The Feria in Milano was the start area. It was surprisingly quiet, with fewer spectators than expected. This could have been due to the fact that the race was to start somewhere else initially, but had to be changed on late notice. So the atmosphere was almost like at a criterium. Sastre sat relaxed on the ground when he chatted to VeloNation. The Spaniard remembers the tough start of the race three weeks ago. "It has been a difficult Giro for many different reasons. There was the day we lost Weylandt, then Tondo," the Spaniard said. [...]