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Cycling

As a company Elliotts have many keen cyclists and each year enter teams in various Cycle Challenges across Europe.  In  2007 we also started the sponsorship of a young cycling hopeful, Dani King, who has her sights set on the 2012 London Olympics:

 Cycling Headlines
 
Dani King Update
 

2009 Dani is competing for Nicole Cookes new team, Vision 1 Racing

The first race was a relatively flat, 106km stage with 2 category 3 climbs in it. Dani eventually finished 21st, the second Vision 1 rider after Nicole came 2nd. A total of 90 riders took part so Dani was very pleased. She fininshed the race in 2 1/2 hours.
 
The following day was another stage over the same distance but with 4 huge climbs in it. The first half of the race was climbing, before descending at high speed where Dani reached 81kmh before having to hit the brakes for a bend prior to an 18%, 7km climb to the finish.
 
Tour of Rijssen - 23rd May 2009 3 days of racing in Belgium and Holland.  On Saturday Dani raced amongst 90 other elite women riders in a 70km Crit' (town centre race) and she finished 2nd.  Sunday saw another Crit' race over 80km where Dani finished 7th.
 
The Tour Of Flanders April 2009
This was Dani's First Elite women's World Cup and she had a mixed race. Dani knew that the 131km was going to be tough, especially with a lot of climbs over the famous cobble stretches, but she coped really well, staying with the first group for the first 70km.  Dani then starting having trouble with her chain and after about the 5th time of having to get off her bike to replace it she fell behind and dropped out of the race at 90km.

Italy March 2009
Unfortunately Dani caught Tonsilitus the week preceeding the race and was unsure whether she would be able to cope with the training and tough race schedule but in the end it turned out better than could have been expected.
 
Friday was the first race of 120km including 3 hard climbs over 10km.  The race began with approximately 200 elite women riders from all over the world, the vast majority of which were mid 20's plus age group. (There's currently only 1 rider in the worlds top 50 under 23 years old).  Dani stayed with the lead bunch for 70 km before eventually falling behind, finishing with another Vision 1 rider, Gabby Day about 15 minutes behind the winner, Emma Pooley (GBR Olympic Silver TT medalist).   Nicole commented on how well Dani had stayed with the leaders for so long in her first senior elite race.
 
With no day off to recover Dani raced again on Saturday in another race of 115kms. Dani finished even higher up, only 7-10 minutes behind the winner beating some seasoned cyclists including 2 who had finished in the top 20 at the womens under 23 World Championships and European games last season.   Nicole finished the race 5th and Dani was the 4th member of the team out of 8 to finish.
Giro di Trentino 18th & 19th June 2008
National Road Race Series
22nd August 209 - British Derny Championships
Dani added a second national title to her name winning the Women's Derny Championship in Newport.
 
21st June 2009
Dani her first senior National title today after winning the Womens National Circuit Race Championships in Horwich

17th May 2009
Dani finished 3rd in the 3rd race of the series and is now in 2nd place overall with another 6 races to complete.

29th April 2009
Dani finished a close second in the Cheshire Classic, the first of the National Womens Series races.  She then missed the second race of the series in Edinburgh.
Other Races
21st - 24th October 2009 - Great Britain National Track Championships
A successful few days for Dani with a 3rd in the individual 3km pursuit, 3rd in the Scratch race, another Bronze in the 120 lap points race and culminating with a gold medal in the women's 20km Madison.
 
17&18th October 2009 - European Track Championships
Dani finished 11th overall in the European Track Championship in Belgium this weekend.  A great result as a first year senior with British Cycling.
 
27th June 2009 - Elite Womens, British Road Race Championships
The race was over an 80 mile course starting in Abergaveny, South Wales.  Less than half way through the course Nicole, Emma Pooley, Christine Williamson, another pro cyclist and olympic medalist Lizie Armistead had broken away from the main peleton showing their class, endurance and experience. With only another few riders between the leaders and Dani's main group, Dani had to concentrate on using her fast finish at the end if she was to place in the top ten.
 
With 300 metres to go Dani launched her attack winning the bunch sprint placing her in 8th position overall.  However, she won a Bronze medal as the 3rd placed 'Under 23' rider.   Dani beat all bar one of the BC Academy riders so is really pleased with how she's progressing.
 
6th June 2009 - 2009 Smithfield Nocturne Circuit Races
As the name suggests, it was part of a series of evening races about 20 miles long doing laps around a 1km circuit of the 'Smithfield market' in the centre of London.
 
Dani eventually finished 2nd being watched by a large crowd who had also come to watch an elite mens race which included medallists from the Olympics.
 
31st May 2009
Dani won her first National Ladies Team series event in Derbyshire today. It was a tough 50 mile race which saw the riders covering 5 laps of a 10 mile circuit with one climb up Pistern Hill each time and two other climbs on the circuit which were probably even more demanding.
 

Dani King

Vision 1 Racing Team
Vision 1 photos above courtesy of Simon Keitch
 
 
 
 
British Derny Championships
 
 
 
  
 
British Track Championships Manchester
 
 
 
The Alpine Challenge 25-27th September 2009
 
Alpine Challenge
The Alpine Challenge starts at Laon in North Eastern France, on Friday 25th September.
 
Sixty teams of four take part in the challenge with each team cycling 500 miles in three days riding in relay.  Elliotts have four teams entered in the Challenge and, at time of writing, staff riding were confirmed as:
 
Stuart Mason-Elliott, Tom Mason-Elliott, Tony Adams, Bryan Eccles, Vicky Babb, Rory Dunleavey, Andy Hooper, Kim Slattery, Pete Smith, Paul Stubbington, Richard Tolley and Lee Woodford.
 
The main charities are Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK. 
 
Friday will see cyclists passing champagne vineyards and rolling countryside into Chablis country and the first night's stop at Auxerre. On Saturday, they head east passing through the village where the feature film of  "Chocolate" was made, then riding on past the source of the Seine north of Dijon across lovely countryside before arriving at Besancon.  On Sunday, teams will head into the Jura mountains past ski stations and stunning alpine scenery arriving at Lac Annecy with its historic and picturesque old quarter.
 
The Velo Vosges Challenge 2008
 
Velo Vosges Challenge 2008

The Velo Vosges Challenge started in Arras, near the English Channel, on Friday 3rd October and finished in the fairytale village of Riquewihr on Sunday 5th October. Seventy teams of four took part in the challenge, with each team cycling nearly 500 miles in three days riding in relay.
 
The Route

Setting off south from Arras following part of what was the Western Front in the Great War, passing moving memorials to the fallen youth amid the poppy fields, cycling along the Somme where trees and verdant countryside has grown up out of the trenches and carnage of 1914 -18. The Montagne de Rheims marks the finale of the days ride as the legendary vines steeped in tradition march down to the River Marne and Epernay. Teams finished on the Avenue de Champagne amidst the marques of the most famous “maisons”.

Teams needed to be up early the next day for the steep climb to Hautvillers and the resting place of Dom Perignon, before continuing around the Montagne de Rheims on the Route Touristique de Champagne, and crossing the Chalons plain arriving in Lorraine and the beautiful countryside skirting Verdun, the “City of Peace”. In February 1916, it was the eastern bulwark of the French lines with fortresses high on a ridge above the River Meuse where the forests now disguise the trenches where so many fell.

Dawn on the final day saw the teams leaving Nancy heading south towards the pine forests, ski stations and steep climbs of the Vosges Mountains. Fantastic views and stunning scenery again gave way to a thought-provoking memorial, this time at Struthof, the location of the only Nazi Concentration Camp on French soil. On through the mountains to the final climb and the classic germanic chateau of Haut Koenigsbourg, before the welcome descent took riders through vineyards and Hansel and Gretel villages, homes to Storks as well fine Alasatian Reisling and Gewurztraminer wines, to the finish line at Riquewihr

Elliotts entered four teams in the Challenge and staff riding were as follows: Stuart Mason-Elliott, Tom Mason-Elliott, Tony Adams, Bryan Eccles, Rory Dunleavy, Andy Hooper, Nidia Scott, Chris Sharman, Kim Slattery, Peter Smith, Ray Smith, Paul Stubbington, Richard Tolley and Lee Woodford.

In addition to Elliotts staff Danielle King and her father Trevor also cycled with us. Dani is an Olympic hopeful for the 2012 games and is sponsored by Elliotts. Trevor is an Olympian in his own right having competed in the Biathlon in both Calgary and Sarajevo.

Overall our teams raised a fantastic £15,220 for charity.  50% of that was shared between Cancer Research UK and Wessex Heartbeat with the balance going to the teams nominated charities.  Nominated charity donations were as follows:
£3,000 - Vision 1, £2,400 - Eastleigh Mayor's Appeal, £1,300 - Naomi House, £400 - Smile 4 Rich and £500 to Cancer Research UK
Stuart Mason-Elliotts Team raised a massive £8,550 and were awarded the Challenge Trophy for raising the most sponsorship.  Congratulations to Stuart's team and to all our staff who took part in the challenge.
  
Challenge Adventure Charities Cancer Research UK Wessex Heartbeat

Race Across America (RAAM) - the World's Toughest Bicycle Race (June 2008)

We are proud to announce that the RAAM 4 person team race was won by Utag Yamaha.com a team co-sponsored by Elliotts.

Race Across America (RAAM) - UtagYamaha.com

The Race Across America is one of the most respected and longest running annual endurance events holding legendary stature the world over. It is one of the pinnacles of sporting accomplishment, globally seen as the highest rung of the ultra-endurance sports ladder. Since 1982, RAAM has a rich and storied history standing as a monument to human endeavours.

The route is over 3000 miles, touching 14 states and climbing over 100,000 feet. Teams typically cross the country in 6 to 9 days, averaging 350 to over 500 miles per day.
 
Solo racers finish in 9 to 12 days, averaging 250 to 350 miles per day. Teams have a relay format and race 24 hours a day. Solo racers have the challenge of balancing a few hours of sleep each night against race deadlines.
 
This is a Race! Unlike other famous races, like the Tour de France, RAAM is not a stage race. The race is one stage, live to the very end. In RAAM, once the clock starts on the west coast, the clock doesn't stop until each racer reaches the finish line on the east coast. RAAM is 30% longer than the Tour de France and racers finish in half the time with no rest days. The race format is essentially a time trial, commonly called racing against the clock or the race of truth. Unlike the Tour de France, there is no drafting or taking shelter from the wind. It's an all out solo challenge.
 
This year's race started at The Oceanside Pier, Oceanside, CA - in early June and finishes at The City Dock Annapolis, MD.    Individuals and teams will continue to finish up until June 20th.

The Utag Yamaha.com team is an all rookie team from the UK and they finished on Tuesday evening with a time of 6:02:12 and average speed of 20.62 mph.   A rider on the Utag team on the finishing stage said, “We were going to do the Tour de France, but decided to see America.” Utag is personal information worn in a neck strap to save lives in case of emergency". Another Utag rider said, “Riding 3,000 miles across America was the easy part, the crew had to do all the hard work.” A rider said, “Get rid of the bike”  when they were making room on stage for their crew to come up. They used the classic 4 person team strategy of 2 man rotations for 8 hour shifts, but one pair did 5 mile pulls while the other pair did 10. Utag rider Julian Jenkinson has ridden a 100 mile TT in the UK in 3:49. A former pro triathlete, he holds the British Ironman record of 8:15:23, and has done the Hawaii Ironman 4 times finishing as high as 20th place.

Visit the official RAAM website

 
Race Across America - start line Oceanside, CA  
Race Across America - finish
 

An Olympic Dream (July 2007)
 

Dani King with Stuart Mason-Elliott

 
Dani King
With the London Olympics less than 5 years away, Elliotts are pleased to announce that they are helping a local Olympic hopeful to achieve her dream.

Danielle King is a 16 year old student at Hamble Sports College who has been chosen for the Olympic Development cycling squad and is fast making an impact in the sport having only started cycling in 2005.  She was previously a County swimming champion and was encouraged to change sport when her natural cycling ability was identified.

Dani has her sights set on the 2012 London Olympics and is very clear on her ambitions. “I want to be a World Champion and Olympic Gold medallist” and her training programme is already almost full-time.

With the help of Peter Hargroves Cycles, Elliotts have just given her a new training bike that mirrors the geometry of her track racing bike so it feels the same when she is both training and riding road events.  ‘ I just can’t wait to ride it’ said Dani as she was clearly delighted to receive it. Elliotts have also agreed to help fund her travel and accommodation costs which are growing with events most weekends in Newport, Manchester or abroad.

She is thrilled to have been selected to represent Great Britain in the junior European Track Championships in Germany in July where she will ride match sprint, 500m time trial and Kieran events. ‘ Dani has made excellent progress in only 9 months since joining the Olympic Development Sprint Team and she is now competing at a high level and thoroughly deserves her position in the team’ said Iain Dyer, Head Coach of the British Cycling Sprint Squad.

Go Dani….!