Fears over the White Horse's safety during the Assistant Directors recent visit to the land of milk and honey were put to rest after the image below came to light.
Rumours of bribery and kidnapping prompted the resistance movement into action, whisking the white beauty underground during the Assistant Directors brief stay.
The Director reports that the White Horse is in good condition with a renewed vigor in his stride since returning from the ordeal.
It ain't all glamour in the good land though... Slim has been working hard to put food on the table of late.
Sprezzatura is an old Italian word for being able to do your craft without a lot of visible effort. It's a combination of elan and grace and class, sort of the opposite of loud grunts while you play tennis. Or in the case of a professional cyclist, letting your legs do the talking and winning bike races. All the while looking like you've just been out for a casual Sunday spin to the local cafe as you cross the finish line, preferably alone.
Yesterday at the Kapiti Cycle Challenge, Joseph Cooper (JC) demonstrated why he is one of the best hill climbers in the country, taking all three hill climb primes and the race win to boot. And this was the day after finishing a solid 4th at Le Race in support of Subway Avanti team mates Michael Vink and Gordon McCauley.
One look at the course profile below (green line) clearly illustrates why the Kapiti race is tailor made for climbers. A classic route used for many years at the Rice Mountain Classic before it was deemed too dangerous on the often narrow, open roads and one too many close calls with oncoming cars.
The race features three major climbs, Paekak (13km), Haywards (33km) and the Akatarawa climb, where the riders are effectively climbing from the 55km point through to 74km.
Departing Waikanae, the race was stopped in its tracks immediately by a northbound train, reminiscent of 2006 Paris Roubaix.
Underway again and aided by a northerly tailwind the race sped through to the base of Paekakariki Hill. Many riders were fighting for position, all wanting to be at the front for the lead in to the steep ascent creating chaos in the peloton.
Michael Naylor hit the bottom of the climb at near full gas and the race quickly went from a big mass of riders to a long thin line. The pace settled through the middle part of the climb before the speed ramped up again, Silas attacking towards the top with Backy taking over the tempo for the later part. 150 metres out from the summit Joe launched a searing attack to take the hill prime.
Onto the long descent a group of 5 riders, namely Joe, Silas, Backy, Michael Naylor and Finlay Brazier quickly established and shared the pace making. As Haywards approached Finlay was dropped, while Capital Cycles sponsored rider, Andy Hagan put in a big chase effort to bridge across on the Haywards climb.
This group worked well together and stayed intact through the Akatarawa's until approximately 25km from the finish where Joe made his move. After patiently biding his time, JC attacked from the back of the group on a short, sharp climb called 'pig hill'. He was never to be seen again.
A brief chase effort ensued from behind, but it was in vain as Joe rode away into the distance. The remaining quartet crested the top of the Akatarawa's together, but split apart on the technical descent into Waikanae. Michael Naylor crashed, but quickly remounted, while Silas utilised his freshly honed MTB descending skills to ride away.
Joe had a comfortable 2:30 gap to Silas at the finish, Andy pipped Michael for 3rd and Backy took 5th place. Lawny, not quite on his normal game after breaking a couple of ribs at the National MTB race a few weeks earlier was 6th.
Other GP riders in the results: Jono (28th – 2nd, 45-54 age group), Jeff (50th), Glenno (69th).
A really well run event, the GP boys will be back in force next year, thanks Kapiti.
Also, a huge thanks to Gary Nesbit (Nesport Photography) for kindly allowing the GP to use his superb race photos. Gary seemed to be everywhere on the course yesterday taking shots at the start, Paekakariki, the Aka's descent and on the finish line. To see more of Gary's sharp photography skills check out his website. Prints are available to buy online too.
A beautiful win by Subway Avanti/Meo GP rider Joe Cooper today at the Kapiti Cycle Challenge. Joe showed his class by riding away from his four breakaway companions through the Akatarawas, crossing the finish line two and a half minutes clear of fellow GP rider, Silas Cullen.
Silas rode away from Andy Hagan (Capital Cycles), Mike Naylor and Backy on the technical descent into Waikanae.
Only yesterday, Joe was competing at Le Race, where he finished a fine 4th. Joe's Subway Avanti team mate Michael Vink, won Le Race in a new record time... a young talent to keep an eye on in the future.
Other GP riders in the results: Jono (28th), Jeff (50th), Glenno (69th).
"The winner of Blog of the Year is a slam dunk. It's La Gazzetta Della Bici. No, please don't mistake it for the Italian pink newspaper. It has nothing to do with it. Rather, it's similar to what the Cycling Art Blog does, but in a heightened and more frequent way. The photos and videos are extraordinary and you'll find them there first before anywhere else. A bonus is its refined appreciation of style (what many refer to as PRO). It is pure pleasure, an often twice-daily piece of chocolate for the mind. RSS it and enjoy."
Simon has been very supportive of the Meo GP, often posting GP articles and photos on La Gazzetta. Be sure to check out La Gazzetta Della Bici and follow Simon on Twitter.
Pavé is a blog site operated by Whit Yost, a former assistant director sportif with Mercury-Viatel amongst other things. Whit shares his experiences and views on the professional peloton at Pavé and also writes a regular column on Embrocation Magazine.
An interesting and insightful read, make sure you bookmark Pavé for your regular digest of the professional racing scene.
Every GP rider has a story to tell... stories that we'll be posting by way of regular rider profiles over the coming months. David Barnett (known as Guiseppe, Barney or Stonker to his mates) is the first rider to be profiled and has some great photos and racing experiences to share. Pictured above during stage 5 of the 1984 Giro d'Abruzzo, David raced in Italy during the 1984 and 1985 seasons. The highlight being 14th overall at the 1984 Giro d'Italia.
There's plenty of racing on the Wellington racing calendar at the moment, all ideal preparation for riders heading up to the club road nationals at the end of April. Meo GP riders will be competing at the nationals so we have been getting in amongst it at the local events.
The first race in the Wellington Cup series was held on the Miramar circuit on Sunday 7 March. A technical 12km loop with a few rollers, 1km power climb, tricky descent and a flat sprint finish – something for everyone. 6 laps, totaling 72km for both A and B grade.
The GP was represented by Lovers, Jono (B grade), JC and Backy (A grade). For a more detailed report of the A grade race see Joe's report over on www.joecooper.me
Some of the other GP boys were at the event including Tom, who was marshaling and sounding a bit worse for wear after a big night of units (boozing). And Barney made an appearance to witness the fast finish of his new boss, Lovers. His first racing appearance of the year, Lovers turned on his customary turn of speed to take out B grade...
Unfortunately Jono punctured for the second race in a row and is now looking at a pair of these for his Boras. In the A grade race, Backy jumped clear to win by a few lengths from Dave Rowlands, JC and Andy Hagan...
Backy raced the Masters National 40km Time Trial championships on Sunday. He had a good day to secure the fastest time of 56:00 on the rolling course near Masterton in the Wairarapa.
This coming Saturday JC will be in action at Le Race in Christchurch, followed by a quick plane trip home to line up for Sunday's Kapiti Cycle Challenge with the other GP boys. The Kapiti race includes the Paekakariki hill climb and the Aka's. We'll need our climbing legs on for sure.
Hot off the production line, GP team issue water bottles are now available to purchase from Capital Cycles, 135 Victoria St or The Immigrant's Son roastery, 10 Elizabeth St, Mount Victoria.
Featuring a prominent GP logo and associated sponsor logos, the bottle has a 400ml capacity with an orange rubberised grip for non slip handling – a handy feature when your bike is bouncing around over cobblestones or Wellington roads.
For anyone living outside of Wellington you can purchase GP bottles using your credit card with the secure PayPal system.
New Zealand orders – NZ$10 each. 2 bottles minimum order. 2 bottles delivered anywhere within New Zealand for NZ$20 including postage. Click 'Buy Now' button below to purchase... International orders – NZ$15 each. 2 bottles minimum order. 2 bottles delivered anywhere in the world for NZ$30 including postage. Click 'Buy Now' button below to purchase...
If you need to contact the GP team regarding your order, send an email to meogp@slingshot.co.nz
