gabtext - ShapeCycling

v18
31/08/10
16:25
Page 28
Sport
elcome to the Sporting Life,
which I am writing from my
hotel room here in Sarajevo!
The reason for the visit is due
to work but that didn’t stop me from
going to see one of the two professional
teams in the city play. A colleague from
Germany and I went to see FK
Zeljeznicar thrash FK Leotar by a score
of 8-0! But that’s not important right
now. What I want to do first is talk
about cycling.
W
Recently a Swedish officer and a
British civilian met on SHAPE. What
brought them together was their passion for cycle racing.
Anders Widén arrived at SHAPE in
June of last year after spending most of
his naval career on minesweepers and
hunters, and also a tour of duty in
Naqura, Lebanon.
“I started with road biking back in 1994
as a way to stay fit,” the commander
told me. There was also the incentive to
complete a challenge that seems to be
unique to Sweden.
“There is a challenge in Sweden that
includes a ski race of 90 kilometers, a
one day bike race of 300 kilometers, a
river swimming competition of 3 kilometers, and finally a cross country run
of 30 kilometres.”
(And the SHAPE Ironmen think their
competition is tough?)
ning. I (still) complete the ski race and
bike race every year.
Obviously the Military Cooperation
Division staff officer takes his fitness
seriously but at the same time finds a
lot of enjoyment in doing so, especially
the cycling.
“I could very well bike the whole year
around but the climate in Sweden doesn't really allow that.”
Arriving at SHAPE with his family, he
was more than pleased when he attended the American 4th of July celebrations and came across Kevin Bookman
and Kris Lindsey, the gentlemen who
founded the SHAPE International
Cycling Club (SICC).
“I especially like biking in groups as
there is a special feeling in the strength
of a well coordinated peloton that rides
together. I'm most interested in long
endurance sports and that's why I like
biking and cross-country skiing.”
but after a couple of bad injuries I
decided that I needed to look for some
alternative sport to keep fit,” the exsailor told me.
“I used to commute to work on my bike
and a friend suggested that I join him
for a ride one Sunday. My first ride in
1993 was with a club in the South West
of England and I lasted 10 miles before
I lost contact with the group but those
10 miles had inspired me enough to
return again. Eventually I was able to
stay with the group for the whole of the
ride (normally about 70 miles) and I got
Soon after discovering the SICC Anders
I met Trevor Blagg.
Trevor, who is originally from
Birmingham, served queen and country
by completing a 27 year (British) Royal
Navy career. Last year he gained
employment with NCSA here on
SHAPE.
“Initially I was a keen football player
“If everything is completed within one
year you get a special diploma. I did
these three years in a row but then I
skipped the swimming and the run-
rSHAPE Cycling Club with their new equipment.
rSHAPE Cycling Club members at Mons-Chimay-Mons 160 km
Ride.
rSHAPE Cycling Club goes to Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2010.
rTrevor Blagg.
31/08/10
16:25
Page 29
Sport
Cycling Clubs in the area around
SHAPE,” Anders said.
“As this area has a lot of biking events
it is up to the members to pick and
choose. SICC is putting together an
annual bike calender with all interesting local and well supported races
around SHAPE. We try to be present to
a greater extent on those rides
arranged by clubs just adjacent to
SHAPE. Maybe in the future, SICC
will arrange such an event well.”
the cycling bug big time.”
Eventually Trevor gave up football
completely and instead concentrated on
cycling which, he admits, isn’t as easy
as it may look.
“I found that you have to be a lot fitter
for cycling than football, even if you just
want to keep pace with the local club.
There are a lot of old guys in cycling
clubs but you should never be fooled by
their age and if anyone was looking to
participate in a group activity for the
rest of their life, then I would definitely
recommend cycling. During my naval
career and even now in SHAPE, I have
had to move home and area on a number of occasions but wherever I have
gone, there has been a cycling club to
ride with. This way you get to meet people and you certainly get to know the
local area a lot quicker. Cycling is a
very inclusive sport and gender, age
and rank are never a barrier.”
If not for the rest of your life, you at
least have the opportunity to join a
cycling club while you’re assigned here
at SHAPE.
The SHAPE club has about 20 active
members and the copresidents of Widén
and Blagg currently
oversee the organization.
rSHAPE Cycling Club members at 2010 Paris-Roubaix with Fabian Cancellara.
rKris Lindsey at Paris-Roubaix 2010.
“We arrange weekly
evening rides
Tuesday and
Thursday
starting
from outside the
SHAPE Main gym at
1800 hours and attend
the weekend local
rides arranged by
portfolio.lesoir.be
v18
If you’re interested in joining the club
or are just curious and want to ride
along one Tuesday or Thursday
evening, you can contact one of the two
gentlemen for more information. If you
don’t already know them, just send an
email to [email protected].
They’ll be happy to give you more information and welcome you to ride along
with the club.
Of course you just knew that I would
get back to football! In the last issue I
mentioned Anderlecht’s pursuit of the
Champions’ League group stages. I was
up in Brussels when they recently
played Partizan Belgrade in the second
leg of the competition, having played to
a 2-2 draw in Serbia the week before.
The Belgian champions fought back
from a 0-2 deficit to tie the game up,
which eventually went to penalties.
Although Silvio Proto, the Anderlecht
goalkeeper made a couple of excellent
saves, three of their penalty takers
kicked the ball over the crossbar and
handed the Serbians the victory.
All is not lost however. The Brusselsbased team at least qualified for the
Europa League and will take on Zenit
St. Petersburg, Hajduk and AEK
Athens. They open up the group
stages at home on September
16th against the Russians.
rSilvio Proto, the Anderlecht goalkeeper.
Before I sign off I just wanted to
let you know that RAEC Mons is
off to a very strong start despite
being knocked out of the Cup
recently. After three matches,
they are on maximum points
and are in the top sport in the
Exqi League. Their next home
game will be on the 11th of this
month when they host KV
Oostende. So until then and the
next issue, stay fit!