Tour Doonhame & Update

Hi everyone

We’re well into the road season now! With the British Premier Calendar Series now kicked off. It holds my main focus for the first half of the season.

Since my last update, I had a dodgy March when a throat virus forced me to rest up for a couple of weeks. However, I managed to get myself backup to strength and fitness for the Tour Doonhame at Easter there. On the final stage I finished in the winning break for the first time at Premier Calendar level.

I was 11^th in that Stage and on the GC, 41 seconds down on winner Johnny McEvoy (Endura) and joint in time with 7^th place overall.

The week before was Round 1 at Dengie Marshes, which was off road in parts. It didn’t go well for me as my race ended with a mechanical.  I won a Nat B crit in Middlesburgh which was a nice and to get some points.

My crit win at Middlesburgh, top rides by the two guys with me. Great closed circuit to race on.

Tour Doonhame

This year’s Doonhame was only 2 days of racing instead of the normal 3. It was still as tough and fast as ever with all the best British domestic teams and riders competing. The traditional Girvan weather proved difficult too!

Three of my team mates joined me for this race; Kit Gilham, Andy Coupe and Jamie Shirlaw, who are all going really strong. The rest of the team were racing the Tour of the North in Northern Ireland.

As it is the home Premier Calendar race, I was looking forward to getting stuck in. I know on the flatter terrain it would be tough to compete with the tactics of the bigger teams, so I had to make sure I gave it my all on the hills.

I also wanted to better my 18^th overall from last year.

Stage1

Stage 1 on Sunday consisted of an 85 mile road stage from Castle Douglas to Girvan featuring the long draggy climb at Tairlaw.

It ended in a bunch sprint with 3 riders just 6 seconds up ahead, so our team were still in the running. Andy Coupe was best for us, sprinting to 15^th. Endura’s Rowsell was 1^st, and went into Yellow.

I was pleased that I was feeling back to my usual levels of fitness.

Winner Erik Rowsel, Endura, 6 secs on the bunch

Bunch sprinting to the finish at Victory Park Girvan

Me finishing in Bunch

Stage 2 Criterium

For Stage 2 in the afternoon, it was a 40 minute Crit race round Victory Park. The rain was hammering it down and made the racing that bit more intense.

On the start line for the afternoon's Stage 2 criterium .

I got a good start as I made sure I was right at the front, and managed to stay in the top 30 for most of the race. It was really hard to move up places because of the constant high pace but it was really easy to lose them!

I was happy that I didn't lose any time for tomorrow's big stage. Andy and Jamie finished in the pack also but Kit was unlucky with a mechanical in the last 5 laps which meant he couldn't take a lap out.

The bunch was stretched out for the whole race

Roads were slippy...

Winner Endura rider Thwaites

Stage 3

Stage 3 on Monday was the one I was looking forward to. I rode it earlier in the week. It was 107 miles and it had some hilly terrain such as the 20% climb near Talla reservoir. With the nasty weather and rough roads, it was going to be a right tough race, just the way I like it.

I was determined to achieve something today since yesterday’s stage was so controlled. I knew it would kick off on the climbs so I had to make sure I was up there.

The bunch on the Moffat Laps before the KOM.

Nothing got away on the Moffat laps and it was on the long Devil’s Beef Tub climb, around 25 miles completed, that I found myself in a really strong attack of 11 riders. It had 3 Endura riders, two each of Sigma and Raleigh, one each of Vanilla Bikes, Rapha and Node 4.

We all chain ganged it down the shallow descent and gained a minute over the pack. At 35 miles, we turned right on a single track road towards the Talla Reservoir then further on to the big climb of the day.

UK Youth missed out on the move so were driving it to get us back before the climb.They brought us back to 30 sec’s which gave the opportunity for Thwaites (Endura) to bridge across to us over the climb.

The Endura guys went tempo up the climb keeping us together. I went for KOM but just got pipped by a Raleigh rider, Sulzberger.

Me and the break at the top of 20% Talla Climb before the KOM. (Pic by VeloUK)

The bunch spliting behind (Pic by VeloUK)

We took the descent flat out. I nearly came a cropper a couple of times on the corners trying to slow down...

We opened the gap over 3 minutes once most of the hills were done. It was great being up ahead in the break.

In the run-in, with 15 miles to go, the head wind was strong and terrain was rolling. We lost a couple of riders before Langholm and Raleigh tried a couple of attacks but Endura were quick in closing them down. We worked together as we needed to keep the 2 minute gap. I was feeling strong and wanted to slip away with an Endura rider, since the finish was downhill, which isn’t ideal for me.

The Break of the day passing Megget Reservoir, around 50 mile mark.

Me in the break of 13 

5 mile to go, the attacks started again, but with 4 riders, Endura were dominant in neutralising them. There was a lull, I attacked on an uphill corner and got a gap on them, but the headwind was brutal. McEvoy bridged across to me and counter attacked immediately. I couldn’t respond and had to dig deep to get on to the rest when they blasted past me.

McEvoy stayed away to win, while the rest of the riders continued to attack each other. I let myself recover until a mile to go when I had another attack. Rowsell towed the rest back to me and we headed into Annan Sprint finish.

I finished 11^th after sprinting too early; I will learn from the experience for the next race. Really happy though, to see my improvement from last year, as I finished in the winning break and felt as strong as the guys that were in it.

Winner McEvoy taking the win and the GC.

The rest of us sprinting into Annan 26 seconds back

Wet and tired!

The team rode great, getting 6th in the team rankings. Kit and the guys were getting up there in the moves. Jamie placed well in the bunch gallop, getting 16^th on the last stage and Andy was 15^thon Stage 1 into Girvan.

This weekend I couldn’t ride CDNW Old Hutton because I recently picked up a chest infection. So my next races are the Drummond GP, after that the Cicle Classic UCI race, then the Tour of the Reservoir Premier which I hope to get up there in.

Thanks for reading

Robbie

More Pictures below

Good Report by VeloUK on Stage 3: http://www.velouk.net/2012/04/09/report-stage-3-tour-doonhame-scotland/

British Cycling Video Coverage of the Race: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOibhQ6nrGA&feature=relmfu

More Picures of the Race:

Me before the start of the first stage.

The bunch rolling out of Castle Douglas

Stage 1 break

The bunch working to bring it back

Start of the Crit

Bunch on the downhill section of circuit

Team mate Andy Coupe finishing

Our break on Stage 3 passing Megget Reservoir, bunch splinter groups in distance.

The front chasing group

Team mate Andy Coupe in the Rain

One of the bunch groups passing in the rain

The sprint for 2nd

The bunch finishing in Annan

Team mate Jamie Shirlaw on the right, sprinting strong to 16th, 5th in bunch sprint.

Clayton Velo Classic and Training Camp

Hi everyone

Last weekend was my first race of the year, the Clayton Velo Spring Classic near Preston. At 55 miles and handicapped, it was a great season starter and training race. It was on a small rolling 4 mile circuit on quite tight country roads which made it pretty dodgy at times.

Me and my teammates, Richard Bott, Andy Coup and Andy Hawdon, all started in the scratch group with 9 Rapha Condor riders. Team Node 4 didn’t show up which made the scratch group smaller than expected. Me and the guys did our turns and we soon caught the other groups on the road which included other big teams like Vanilla bikes and Bglobal.

Bunch (Pic by VeloUK)

It was 5 months since my last race, so you forget what it is like trying to hold your position in a large bunch with guys squeezing past you at speed. It takes a wee while to get used to it again, but by the last 4 or 5 laps I was back in the zone. This was the good thing about doing this race, lots of quality fast riders to get back up to speed, physically and tactically.

With 40 odd mile raced, attacks started but nothing was getting much room to get away. On the 3^rd last lap I spotted a group going clear so I jumped across and began working with them. There was the right amount of teams in there for the riders back in the bunch to stall and by a mile or so later 9 of us were well clear.

The winning break  (Pic by VeloUK)   

In the last lap, guys in our group began attacking but each time someone would pull them back.

As we enter the sprint finish, because of the head wind I wanted to leave it late but Richard Hepworth put in a great attack with over 300 metres and none of us could get anywhere near in time.

He crossed 1^st, David McGowan of UK Youth 2^nd and myself 3^rd. My team mate Andy Hawdon was 4^th.

The sprint (Pic by VeloUK)   

As a racer, I was disappointed at not winning but I’m happy to get a podium for the team in the first race of the season.

Good report and Pics here by VeloUK.net: http://www.velouk.net/2012/02/26/2012-clayton-velo-spring-classic/

Training Camp

Two weeks ago, I was away with the team to our training camp in Costa Blanca, Spain. It was well needed as the weather in the west of Scotland had been wet and horrible all winter!

Most of us attended so it was a great way to get some fast miles in together and for me to get to know the guys a bit more. Also, thanks to the sponsors supplying us in time, we could try out our new Specialized Tarmac SL4 bikes and Bioracer team kit.

The team, from left, Simon Baxter, Kit Gilham, Myself, Andy Hawdon, Andy Coupe, Richard Bott and Tommy Bustard (Pic by Ciclo Costa Blanca)

We stayed at the Abir Gardens Hotel near Altia and were supported by Terry Kerr of Ciclo Costa Blanca Cycling Holidays.  They are based within the hotel resort and have a great hub for bike hire, maintenance etc. He followed us, and many other riders that came along, in the van during rides which was good.

Ken Jones who sponsors the team with Bioracer clothing also joined us which was a great addition to the camp.

The team spelling about (Pic by Ciclo Costa Blanca)

We got some great rides in the good weather over there, racing up some of the local well known climbs like the Col du Tudons and the Col du Rates.

Riding hard up the Col du Tudons, Kit, Me, Norwegian Dude and Simon (Pic by Ciclo Costa Blanca)

I really loved the roads over there. They were in great condition and the descents were awesome. It was a good way to brush up on the descending skills after months of Scottish roads full pot holes, ice, slush etc...

On the last day I unfortunately came a cropper when I hit a bad patch of gravel round a hidden bend. The bike’s ok though...

Me (Pic by Ciclo Costa Blanca)

All the guys in the team were going really strong which bodes well for the races. Special mentions to Team Camp Captain Richard Bott for helping the camp run real smoothly.

Link to more pictures by Ciclos Costa Blanca’s Gallery: https://plus.google.com/photos/112511467519481513281/albums/5710131360340343281?banner=pwa

Cheers

Robbie

Some more Pics:

Simon, Tommy, Richard and Andy

The beach at Altia

The Hotel

Simon, Tommy and Me

Benidorm from the Plane!

Braveheart Fund Blog - New Season

Hi everyone

First of all, I want to thank the Braveheart Fund for their continued support for 2012, and to everyone who has generously backed the fund for another year.  I was at the dinner in the autumn and it was great to see the amount of support people give to the fund. It is a real help for getting to race the important races down south and for racing abroad which I plan to do in the summer.

For this year, I am racing for Team Herbalife/Leisure Lakes Bikes. Managed by Neil and Lindsay Taylor and Geoff Newcombe, they are based near Kendal, North West England with most of the riders living in the North of England.

I’m really happy about joining the team. They know me well from 2011 in the Super Six’s and Premiers and they will be focussing on the top British races which is my goals for the first part of the season. They are great group of guys to race with, and have plenty of experience and power for the big races.

The team is getting support from sponsors like Herbalife 24, Leisure Lakes Bikes.com, Specialized, Dulux and Bio racer to name but a few.

Team bike with my racing wheels on. Specialized Tarmac SL4 with SRAM Red Groupset.

Hebalife 24 Products 

Specialized Shoes and Helmet

The team’s riders post regular blogs on a special section of our website called “Tales from the Greenroom”, should check it out: http://talesfromthegreenroom.herbalifeleisurelakesbikes.com/

As well as the Braveheart, I’ll be keep updating my own personal blog with plenty of pictures and videos of my races throughout the season:  http://roberthassan.blogspot.com/

I am also on twitter commenting on my races, training and other things: https://twitter.com/#!/robbiehassan (@robbiehassan)

Thanks for reading

Robbie

Winter Update

Hi everyone

Just giving a quick update on what’s been happening with me so far over the winter season.

In November, I joined Team Herbalife/Leisure Lakes Bikes for the 2012 season. Managed by Neil Taylor and Geoff Newcombe, they are based near Kendal, North West England and are getting great support from sponsors like Herbalife 24, Leisure Lakes Bikes.com, Specialized, Dulux and Bio racer to name but a few. So looking forward to receiving the nice new kit and bikes at the end of the month!

I’m really happy about joining the team. They know me well from 2011 in the Super Six’s and Premiers and they will be focussing on the top British races. They will be a great group of guys to race with, as guys like Kit Gilham and Alistair Kay pack plenty of experience in the big races.

The team's 2012 kit

My winter training has been a lot better than the previous year. Due to the fact I stopped racing in early September for a break, I therefore prevented myself from picking up too many late season illnesses and was able to crack on by putting in the winter miles.

I can’t wait for the team’s training camp in Spain, as the traditional appalling West of Scotland weather has been at its best this year!  

We’re staying for a week from the 11^th -18^th of February at the Ciclo Costa Blanca Premier Hotel and Resort. They are supporting the team and the resort has got a great cycling setup so it’s the ideal place to go to get some training or a holiday in the sun. If anyone’s over, would be cool to see you there!

Hope everyone has a great year!

Cheers

Robbie

Ciclo Costa Blanca Website: http://www.ciclocostablanca.com/

Team's website: http://herbalifeleisurelakesbikes.com/

Braveheart Blog - End of Season

http://www.braveheartfund.com/DiaryPost.asp?id=1102


Hi everyone

Since my last blog, at the start of August, I won the Border trophy race down in Northumberland which was a great event on a super tough course.

The rest of my team and I did our best to help Gary Hand win the Super Six overall title at the last round in Falkirk, well done to him and the guys for that. I lost grip and came off on a dodgy roundabout just before the finish which was a pain but I came off with just a few grazes.

I hit a wee bit of a bad patch later on health-wise, so I did my best at the Scottish Crit champs to help Davy Lines win as I knew I wasn’t capable of winning because the state I was in. It was a well deserved victory for him, well done Davie!

The main break of the day

The sprint

I had my last two Premiers at the end of August, big end of season goals for me.

The Twinings Pro/Am race was a bit of a disaster, since on the first lap, I got knocked off my bike in a big pile up at 40mph and never got back on to the bunch after that. I was lucky to get no serious injuries, so I was up for the next weekend’s Premier, Richmond GP, especially as I was feeling healthier and stronger than the past weeks before.

Next up was the Richmond GP Premier. My favourite course of the season with its mega hills like the 4km, 25%, Buttertubs climb and killer finishing circuits.

A strong break of 4 stayed clear to fight for the win. The Endura Racing team missed out on the move, so the whole race was about chasing the break. I was in the large chasing group and sprinted into to 15^th place on the cobbled finish. It was a good race for me as I was strong on the big climbs but it was tough getting into a good position to sprint out. Something I will be working on for next year.

The bunch on the Buttertubs climb

Bibby and  Teirnan Locke, the best climbers in the Premiers this year,  trying to get away from the pack

On the tough finishing circuits

The winner from the break - Andy Tennant 

Crossing the line 15th

Well after the Richmond, that was my season pretty much over. I did  the cool, well organised Peebles Pro/Am  the week after. British guys from down south were riding and it was won by an impressive ride by Evan Oliphant. I came 8^th.

I’m happy with my progression this year. I am a lot stronger than I was from last year and I am able to compete in the top Premiers now.

I want to thank the Braveheart Fund, and everyone who helped contribute to the fund as it really makes a big difference helping travel to the big races down south and racing abroad like my Basque country trip in July. Also thanks for the support and praise from everyone, it’s much appreciated.

Thanks for reading my blogs

Robbie

Some videos:


Richmond GP

Border Trophy RR - Finish Sprint at 2 mins on video