Magic Number Twelve

Magic number twelve. Today Aussie sprinter , Robbie McEwan notched up his 12th career Tour De France stage win in a manner that rekindled the magic of the Tour that has been tarnished by last years drugs scandal and subsequent scandals to date. Robbie crashed at 23km, injuring his wrist and at a time when the race is at its fastest was paced back to the peloton by 4 teammates. He then had the difficult task of making his way through a tightly packed field on narrow roads to reappear at the crucial moment as Friere, Zabel & Boonen launched into battle. They must have thoroughly that Robbie was well out of it but as Boonen started his sprint , McEwan exploded out of the bunch other with a burst of acceleration that sealed the most remarkable victory.

On the home front our own supervet Sean Lally too reached that magic number with twelve wins to date in the IVCA.. Sean has 9 Sunday road wins, one Tuesday road win and Gold medals in the IVCA 25 & 50 mile TT Championship. He has also a sliver in the 10 and only once has finished outside the top 6. He has the ability and intelligence to know how to get into the moves and then works hard to ensure they succeed and most important of all his super sprint ensures he converts these moves into wins. His 50 mile TT is 30 minutes better than his age standard! I know that Tour time usually means ‘drug’ taunts from workmates but today we saw a bit of magic from two pocket rockets and achieve things that those who taunt us would have no comprehension of!

This weekend also saw Colm Cassidy win both the Sorrento Open 10 (21’03”) and The Ulster 50 Mile Time Trials (1:50’39”). Well done all!