2010 has seen a dream start for two teams. Both are new kids on the block as far as road racing goes. Both have incredible individual talents onboard and a truly great team ethos. Both teams won their first races of the season. Both have achieved stunning 1-2 victories against stiff competition. Both could win a Grand Tour this year, BUT only one of these teams is suffering from “delusions of grandeur”…..

So, while Team Sky have had the most media coverage with their successes Down Under, the slightly lesser known London Phoenix have had an equally brilliant start to proceedings here at home – so good in fact that we are currently ranked 4th nationally! OK, so this quirk of how the British Cycling points system works has played comically into our hands given the season has yet to begin for the Big Boys, but still, we’ve had riders racing pretty much every weekend over the winter, and to say we’re excited about the season to come would be somewhat of an understatement.

So, to find out how easy it is to start racing (road, MTB, cross or track) for the best team in London with ‘London’ in it’s name, just get in touch.

Well after getting completely drenched just getting to the start line i can’t say i was relishing the experience of racing this Saturday and i imagine the misery of the 4ths and 3rd s as they set off in heavy rain couldn’t have been all that much fun either.

The race started with the usual thing of sigma sport’s star and leader of the league Phil Sykes going for the break on lap 2 with his co pilot Steve Golla completely burying himself to catapult Phill into the ether and never to be seen again. I was a bit savvier this time only going for attacks when the more successful people go. Sure enough 25mins in a couple went off during a lull and I followed, bit of chop and changing with 6 of us at first resulting in 4 of us working really well together. Fortunately for them i was strong enough to lead in the headwind every lap so that helped make a huge gap lap after lap. There was a danger when the group were beginning to catch up but as soon as the laps started counting they all sat up and fell back again.

In the sprint i was in a really strong position getting the lead out at 300m and so just went for it with everything , the danger was the guy behind will always be able to pull out and pip me but I just about managed to keep the pace up long enough to hold off the competition and to get 2nd place!

Still in shock really, the race was shorter by 10 minutes and most of the key players were not there but still I’ve finally got the 25 points needed to keep cat 2 now and have gained the confidence needed to make a run for 1st cat.

I think we were not far away from Phil at the end, perhaps with those extra 10 minutes we could have caught him… er or have all died and dropped by the main group. Either way Phill is so bloody strong!

I may have another crack in a couple of weeks time.

Despite the biblical weather conditions, London Phoenix had one of its best ever results this weekend when the powerhouse that is Robert Moore got into a five man break at Hillingdon, and then went on to get 2nd in the hotly contested E,1,2,3 race (you can read his race report here).

In total we had 3 podium places over the weekend, with Nathan Smith now in touching distance of his Cat 2 licence following another 2nd place, and James Wallace getting his 3rd Cat licence after bagging 3rd spot at the notorious Hog Hill, and with Matt Harper, Ben Knowles, Andrew Angwin and Stuart Lockyear all getting valuable points too.

Well done to everyone who raced, and chapeau to those who were in the points. To find out how easy it is to start racing just get in touch.

There is no better way to spend the the first day back at work after the New Year than skipping it and instead joining the Team Sky PR launch ride to St James Park. The media portray this team as the next stage of British Cycling revolution, and announced that through this team they want to encourage another million people to get on their bikes and hit the streets!

Myself and fellow LPer’s Richard and Jamie Crust were lucky enough to join the launch of Team Sky at the Guildhall in the City of London, before heading to St James Park to say hi to the Queen. Whilst we waited to head off we had a good drool over the team’s new Pinarellos, and had a quick chat with some of the pros. We were then privileged to ride in a peleton that included Edvald Boasson Hagen (winner of the Tour of Britain 2009), Ben Swift and several of the pros from Italy. I say ‘pack’ lightly as there a good hundred of us and eight or so of them!

Whilst we averaged nothing km/h during the ride, it’s was great to chat bikes with fellow cyclists – all of whom had braved the sub zero degree temperatures to catch a glimpse of this spectacle. I don’t think there was one person that didn’t enjoy the experience. Great morning for a ride, however cold it was!

LP’er Nick Pape had a dream start to 2010 when he became one of the lucky few who got the chance to meet AND ride with the newly formed Team Sky at their recent press launch. Showing true dedication to the cause, he resisted the almost overpowering urge to head to his office on the first working day of the New Year, and instead joined Edvald Boasson Hagen and Ben Swift for a quick spin round the capital. Read more..

While the big freeze has caused havoc on London’s roads and resulted in the cancellation of virtually all the UK’s cycling events, it’s also transformed Epping Forest into a wonderful winter playground for LP’s MTB and Cyclo-Cross riders.

We’ve been out in the forest on regular forays ever since the snows first fell, and have been riding the magically transformed and silent single-track for hours on end. While we’re looking forward to getting back on the roads and competing again, many of us are secretly hoping that the cold snap continues…for a month or two!

If you’re looking for a club where you’ll be able to ride (and race) all year round, just get in touch.

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