Linda McCartney Victories in Ghent
A capacity crowd at the Ghent Velodrome have been treated to some fantastic
action over the first three nights of the six-day event. Tayeb Braikia of the
Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team has been in the thick of the action, as has
his new teammate, Bradley Wiggins.
The Dane won last night's "Flying Lap" competition with his Belgian partner
Luc de Duytsche, completing a circuit of the 166 metre track in a fraction
over nine seconds. He also took second in one of the crowd's favourite
disciplines, the "Elimination Race", where the final rider is pulled out each
time over the line. To cap off a great night for Tayeb, he placed third in
the "Derny" race, where each rider is paced by a moped. The moped is
traditionally and almost invariably ridden by a fat, bearded middle-aged man,
so your favourite press-officer is taking lessons and growing a beard should
an opportunity arise in twenty years or so.
The British pairing of Rob Hayles and new McCartney signing Bradley Wiggins
are flying around the boards in front of what is virtually a home crowd. Many
Brits have made the short trip to Belgium for a few nights drinking and bike
racing, with their numbers expected to swell considerably over the weekend.
Bradley hit brilliant form by winning an "Elimination Race", his long legs
carrying him clear of Italian veteran sprinter Adriano Baffi, and there was
more to come. Bradley and Rob teamed up to see off Baffi and his equally
experienced Belgian partner Frank Corvers in the "Points Race" that is
becoming the British pair's speciality. You may remember that the duo were
robbed of a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics when Rob was brought down in
a crash within touching distance of the line.
In other news, Huw Pritchard is threatening violence against your press
officer for neglecting to pick up on the McCartney man's stage victory in
Australia's Commonwealth Bank Classic. In fear of having an eye taken out by
the Welshman's spiky hair, I must confess that I did indeed miss it, no
excuses, and I have heard tell that it was one of the greatest victories ever
seen in the history of cycling. It was a McCartney 1-2, Huw out-sprinting the
earlier stage winner Ben Brooks into Bateman's Bay on Stage 12.
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