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- Written by John van Lienen
Wrapping up warm to cycle this time of year is part of the sport but with the unpredictable weather around at the moment it is hard to keep rides regular when, rain,wind and below 5 degree temperatures are with us.
Spare a thought for those members who are training hard for their upcoming events and must carry on regardless of the weather.
Two such riders are Mike Thompson and Toshiaki Yamauchi who have qualified for the ICU Gran Fondo World Series Finals in Perth Australia on the 1st of September.
They are competing in age group road races and time trails which will put them to the test.
Next time you see them out and about on their bikes please look after them and wish them all the best.
If you are interested in catching up on our Bike Manawatu Members and Manawatu Schools riders successes, check out Facebook pages:Bike Manawatu, Manawatu Schools and for our BM New Zealand representatives check out Cycling New Zealand's Website.
It's great to follow members and by liking them on facebook they will appreciate your support.
The Tour de France continues to be amazing inspiration to watch and soon the Olympic Games will take over for those sports mad members who can't get off the couch.
We know who you are.
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- Written by John val Lienen
From 9th to the 11th of July our regions School cyclists are representing there schools and our Manawatu region at the North Island Schools Road and Track Nationals in Cambridge.
Individual cyclists and teams have been training hard for this event and we have had the pleasure these young talented riders riding with us at many Bike Manawatu events and often see them training hard on our roads.Its great to have them as part of BM.
To all those cyclists, parents, coaches and supporters traveling to this iconic event, Bike Manawatu and your fellow club members wish you success and a fantastic experience.
Manawatu schools have a proud history at North Islands and know you are all up there to do your very best. On behalf of us all go well and safely.
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- Written by John van Lienen
Bike Manawatu want to acknowledge all club members (schools and masters)who train hard for races utilising the BM Club events,coaches volunteers, parents,supporters,licences and our beautiful countryside preparing to race whenever, wherever.
We would like to mention four such local BM and NZ junior stars currently training or racing for NZ internationally to watch out for.
The excitement of Campbell Stewart, Michaela Drummond and Emily Shearman representing NZ at the under 19 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Aigle Switzerland July is building.Campbell Stewart is the current world junior Scratch and Omnium champion and Michaela Drummond the current world teams pursuit gold medal holder setting a new world record last year in Europe.
Emily Shearman, new to the NZ team will compete in the woman's teams pursuit and all three have been focused on training and racing with the NZ team at the Avanti Velodrome in Cambridge and are likely to be chosen to race in other events at the Junior World Champs.
As I write this they are all currently racing at the International Track Series in Melbourne against Aussies top junior riders to help their preparation for the Junior World Champs.Campbell and Michaela had won both races on the first day of four hard days racing against the Aussies in Melbourne.
Also in Melbourne is BM and NZ development team local rider Carne Groube known throughout NZ as a gutsy competitor who is also destined for good things. The NZ development team are there currently racing in various different events.
Stories like this make us Manawatu people proud.
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- Written by John van Lienen
Tour de France Excitement-This Saturday!
To watch the best of the best, team versus team and listen to the brilliant commentary from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen for the 103rd Tour de France from this Saturday the 2nd July to the 24th of July over 21 stages while taking in the beautiful French countryside,villages and mad supporters is going to be exciting.Millions of passionate cycling fans across the world will tune any way they can and experience the ultimate racing challenge.
Facts: The Tour de France is a race overs approximately 3500km.
The worldwide television audience is approximately 3.5billion people.
2000 journalists attend the tour.
1200 Hotel rooms are reserved each night for teams, staff,press and personnel.
12 Million spectators watch the tour along the route.
Spectators average 6 hours at the road side at a time.
Number of teams varies between 20 and 22 with 9 riders in each team.
Jerseys; Yellow-Overall leader.
Red Polka Dot- Best accumulated time in the mountains.
Green- The most sprinting points.
White- Best rider aged 25 and younger.
Who is your pick to win?
Froome,Quintana,Contador,Aru,van Garderen,Porte or an outsider?
Email Bike Manawatu secretary Christine Christie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your first three pick overall. 1,2,3 and be into to win a spot prize.
Last weeks BM Happy Hour
Thank you and well done to those who braved the cold to join 40 odd fellow club members in the warmth of the cosy Hotel Coachman for some quality time together sharing the love of cycling banter.The last Friday of every month come an join us.
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- Written by John van Lienen
The last Friday of every month after work we are inviting our cycling community to join us for a social catch up which is designed to encourage all cycling people to network and enjoy each other's company out of lycra.This social initiative has been a fun thing to do for BM and has brought many people together to further develop friendships. Couples and singles,young or mature who share a passion for cycling are coming along and enjoying their night. If you haven't already experienced this cosy,warm,fun social Happy Hour we would love to see you.
When; Friday the 24th of June
Where; Hotel Coachman
Time; 5.30 to 7pm.
Rio Olympics Velodrome
For all of our trackies. Last week I returned from a couple of weeks in South America where I had the chance to spend some time in Rio de Janeiro Brazil the hosts of the upcoming Olympic Games in August.What a great city of vibrant charismatic people all building towards this famous global event.The stadiums,hotels and location of the most of the Olympic venues are surprisingly glitzy, not at all what I thought.But in true Latin tradition the Brazilians are leaving everything to the last minute assuring the world they will be ready.The impressive Velodrome looked well short of being ready to me which must be of concern for our seriously competitive NZ team who would probably be medal contenders on any surface.If you are going to Rio enjoy all of it you lucky things.Go NZ.