KBS and Champion System sent a film crew to Belgium to film the classic Druivenkoers Overijse last week, and the results are amazing! Watch this great HD video they put together on the race.
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Read this race report on the final two events from Performance Director Jonas Carney.
"Wednesday we headed into France for the tough and historic Le Grand Prix des Marbriers. It is a 1.2 UCI event
running 16 laps over an extremely difficult 10 kilometer circuit. One reason the race is so difficult is because
there is no recovery on the course. The riders were greeted with extremely
narrow roads, bad pavement, short, steep climbs, and crosswinds for most of the day.
After a three day stage race in Norway and a very long travel day on Monday,
the guys were starting to look tired. Regardless of their various mental and physical conditions, everyone
stayed near the front and was able to make all of the splits. Once the front group was
formed we had four riders in a group of thirty & Cando, Veilleux, Anderson,
and Anthony. The attacks never stopped flying, and Anderson made
a break of four that eventually grew to 10. This break made it all the way to the line, and Anderson finished
7th on the stage while Jesse came across the line in … [Read more]
Kelly Benefit Strategies Pro Cycling battled crashes, injuries, and some of the top Continental teams in Europe to claim the top GC prize at Festningsrittet, one of Norway's premiere stage races. Jesse Anthony topped the overall podium Sunday in beautiful downtown Kongsvinger after his second 2nd place finish in as many days, with teammate Neil Shirley joining him in the top five overall.
Shirley, along with the rest of the team, ran won of his best races of the year, putting in several efforts that would prove crucial to teammate Anthony's overall crown. Performance Director Jonas Carney described the race as "highly tactical", and a genuine team effort was imperative for the team to pull out the win against such a competitive field.
Sunday's third and final stage, 171k from Charlottenberg into downtown Kongsvinger, would be KBS' last chance to win the race outright, and things looked promising for the only American team after two hard days of racing.
"We knew the race would inevitably be fought and won on the 5 closing circuits through downtown Kongsvinger, but there was a tough stretch of road to get there first," said Performance Director Jonas Carney. "The Thuringer Energie team was our … [Read more]
Read this in-depth update from Jesse Anthony, as he checks in from Norway after taking second on the stage.
"Saturday was Stage 2 of the Festningrettet, a tough 197km trek destined to create separation in the GC, so the team went into it with plans to emerge as close to the top of that classification as possible. With the loss of David Veilleux to a crash yesterday, we were down to 5 riders, but everyone was still confident we could deliver a result, possibly with Neil Shirley and myself being the go-to-guys for the tough uphill finish.
That uphill finish was on a cobbled road through an old tunnel and into a courtyard inside a medieval fortress at the top of a 1200 meter-long climb. It's hard to imagine, but it is a pretty awesome scene when you actually see it. It's really cool how some of these Euro races incorporate the local history into the event.
The race started off with a solo attack from an amateur rider, and most of the peloton seemed content to let him go off in pursuit of glory some 196 km in his future. After another kilometer or two, someone decided they were not … [Read more]
"Friday was Stage 1 of Festningsrittet, a 3-day stage race held in
Norway and Sweden. After a solid start to our European campaign in the Belgian GP Zottegem race, we were ready to keep the momentum rolling in Scandinavia. The 140km opening stage was on
twisty roads and constantly rolling terrain. The race started off with
lots of attacks and the pace stayed hot. A few breakaways
would get a handful of seconds on the field, but would quickly be
brought back. The team made sure we had at least one
rider in every move, just in case the peloton decided to let something
roll. When we weren't busy covering moves, it was hard to ignore the
beautiful scenery that Sweden has to offer. At one point we were
speeding along a one-lane road with dense forest on our left and a massive and magnificent lake to our right. I was wishing I had a camera in my
jersey pocket!
Unfortunately, near the midway point of the race, David Veileux's bad luck continued, and he crashed hard on a sketchy section of road. He had to be taken to the hospital to get some x-rays on his hand, as well as to … [Read more]
