Geraint Thomas- Geraint Thomas talks about riding the Etape Cymru, World Records and Olympics
Tonia Couch wins bronze in Mexico
Congratulations to three60′s Tonia who won bronze in the woman’s synchronised 10m platform diving at the FINA World Series event in Mexico last weekend, alongside partner Sarah Barrow.
19-year-old Tonia is already an Olympian, having finished an impressive 8th at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
In August she will again represent Team GB, at the London 2012 Olympic Games and her performance in Tijuana shows that she is a genuine medal hopeful.
Geraint Thomas takes to the streets
2008 Olympic team pursuit gold medallist Geraint took to the streets of east London last week as part of his role as a Fiat Amabassador.
Geraint took to the streets fresh from breaking world records Down Under
The Welshman took some time out of his preparation for the summer Games to spend the day with Fiat, the Official Vehicle Supplier to British Cycling, who provide a range of Fiat cars to support both the Cycling and Para-cycling teams.
As part of Geraint’s partnership with Fiat he has been provided with a Fiat Punto to help with his travel for training and competitions.
Look Mum No Hands!, a cycle café and bike workshop in east London, played host to Geraint and Fiat.
Geraint cycled the streets, picked up his car, grabbed a coffee and ensured his bike was up to scratch ready to hit the road again.
When asked about his preparations for this summer Geraint commented, “My preparations for this Olympics are very similar to 2008 in Beijing. There is definitely more pressure with it being on home turf but I’m feeling confident and can’t wait to get on the track.”
Click HERE to check out the new special edition Punto GBT and HERE to try your hand at racing Geraint, thanks to Fiat.
You can also follow Geraint on Twitter @GeraintThomas1986
Victoria lights up the Olympic stadium
Victoria took time out from her preparations for the Games this summer to light up the Olympic stadium on behalf of EDF Energy, courtesy of a stunning blue wire dress.
Victoria is the ambassador for Team Green Britain, a movement founded by EDF Energy to help people work together to tackle climate change. To demonstrate this commitment to a low carbon future, EDF – the official electricity supplier of the London 2012 Games – announced that the electricity it will supply for the Games will be matched by equivalent amounts of electricity backed by nuclear and renewable sources.
Away from modelling electricity cables, Victoria is now in the final few months of training as she bids to defend her Olympic sprint title, which she won so convincingly in Beijing in 2008.
She warmed up for London in some style earlier this month, by winning her sixth world sprint gold at the UCI World Track Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Victoria beat her fierce rival and home favourite Anna Meares in the semi-final before defeating Lithuanian Simona Krupeckaite 2-0 in the final.
You can stay up-to-date with Victoria’s Olympic preparations by following her on Twitter @v_pendelton
Sarah Ayton returns to the water
For the first time since the birth of her second child, double Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ayton returned to the water last week thanks to her association with the Volvo Dealer Sailing Tour. Sarah hosted two days last week as part of Volvo’s project to celebrate their heritage and legacy in British sailing.
Sarah passed on her gold-medal wisdom to the next generation of sailors
The aim of the Tour is to inspire the nation with tales of sailing the seas, training programmes, hopes and aspirations including their ultimate goal of gold or, in Sarah’s case, how it feels to win gold for your country, not once but twice – one gold for each child!
Not only did Sarah enthral her audience with vignettes from her two Olympic campaigns, she also provided a rare behind-the-scenes insight into the journey to Olympic gold.
In between wowing the audience with footage of the Team Volvo sailors in action, Sarah introduced her hooked audience to the biographies of the sailors the British public can cheer on down in Weymouth at the summer’s Olympics.
While Sarah won’t be in action this summer – her ‘no compromise approach’ to sailing does not fit with raising the young family that has become her priority – she will still be close to the Games as she supports her husband Nick Dempsey as he gears up for his fourth Olympic campaign.
Windsurfer Nick recently won silver at the world championships in Cadiz and will be looking to turn his 2004 Olympic bronze medal into gold – and with Sarah alongside him, he has the perfect person to turn to for advice.
Follow Nick’s gold-medal journey with him on Twitter @nickdempsey1
Sarah is also mentoring for the Royal Yacht Association and supporting first-time Olympians throughout 2012, helping them get through what she knows to be a vastly challenging time.
Victoria Pendleton’s Mum features in short film as part of P&G’s “Thank you Mum” Campaign
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is unveiling a series of short documentaries telling the lives of some of Britain’s top Olympic and Paralympic athletes through the eyes of their mothers as part of the Worldwide Olympic Sponsor’s “Thank you, mum” campaign.
Victoria Pendleton’s mum Pauline Pendleton features in one of the films, talking about Victoria’s incredible dedication to he sport. Pauline is pictured below to the right of Dawn French.
The launch of the short films with an exclusive preview of a compilation video was shown at The Mayfair Hotel in London on Monday.
Watch the compilation video here:
In all 50 documentaries will be rolled out worldwide by P&G over the coming months.
Nathan Homer, P&G’s Olympics Project Director, said: “For us it is about the people who supported [the athletes] every step of the way and recognising that behind every amazing Olympic and Paralympic athlete is an even more amazing mum.
“P&G has been there for mums for generations creating brands that have created small, but meaningful, differences to everyday life.
“It has given 97 per cent of its Olympic tickets to mums and families so they can go and experience the Games for themselves.”
The company’s “Thank you, mum” campaign ensures that mothers have the chance to watch their sons or daughters compete in London this summer. The company also promotes a British campaign, called “nearest & dearest”, with the British Olympic Association. It guarantees each athlete two tickets for their first event this summer.
Laura at Gadget Show Live for Samsung
Fresh from her incredible double Gold medal success at the World Track Championships in Melbourne Laura attended the Gadget Show Live at the NEC in Birmingham for her sponsor Samsung.
Following a morning of back to back media interviews that appeared in today Telegraph, Independent, Ipaper and Daily Express, Laura had the opportunity to go onto the Samsung stand to have a look at all their amazing new products……. whilst having to pose for lots of photographs!
Geraint switches track for 30 miles of Etape Cymru route!
World Champion and new Team Pursuit World Record holder, Geraint Thomas MBE, returned to Wales to take on the route of the Etape Cymru on Wednesday 11th April 2012.
Geraint returned from the World Championships in Melbourne to ride 30 miles of the Etape route
Geraint took on a 30-mile section of the closed-road cyclosportive’s route, including the Panorama and Horseshoe Pass climbs. The event will be held on Sunday 9th September 2012.
Watch this video of Geraint cycling the route here on vimeo
Geraint said “I really enjoy coming back to Wales to ride, the roads are unbelievably challenging but at the same time provide really nice scenery so there is plenty to look at on the way round,” he explained. “I come here to ride when I can as my girlfriend has relatives just around the corner so it’s always good to come back to North Wales and ride these great roads.”
“The Etape Cymru route has been designed with some great climbs and includes some spectacular roads. And it’s in Wales, at the end of the day, it’s the best country in the world,”
The Welshman returned to his home country as a new World Record Holder after flying straight from the World Championships in Melbourne. “Melbourne was unbelievable. To go there and win the Worlds in Australia’s back yard and get a world record at the same time is just a great feeling,” he explained. “It was good to turn it around from London and I’m not sure a lot of people expected us to do it so quickly.”
Geraint is positive about this year’s Olympic Games but insists there’s still more room for improvement from the Great Britain team.
“I definitely think we can improve, if I spend more time on the track I will improve a lot more. From the Worlds in 2008 to the Beijing Olympics we improved nearly three seconds and I think we can similar again. We’ve still got a lot of training to do and it’s part of the plan to keep pushing forward and I think, for sure, we can improve another couple of seconds.”
The closed-road Etape Cymru is organised by Participate Sport, who also own and organise the Wiggle Dragon Ride in South Wales.
Geraint, a proud Welshman, has taken the decision not to ride the Tour de France in order to focus on becoming a Welsh Gold medallist for the second time at the 2012 Olympics.
Geraint is proud of his Welsh heritage
“Wales doesn’t have lots of chances for a Gold medal so I’m proud to be in this position. I felt with the Tour, leading up to the games it would have drawn my attention away from the track; I wanted to give the Olympics everything,” Geraint clarified. “I’ve grown up watching the Olympics, wanting to be part of it. I want to get on the start line in London and know I haven’t jeopardised my chances in any way. I don’t want to get there with any excuses or doubts in my head. Hopefully it will be enough on the day, and if not, that’s the way it is; I’ll have no excuses.”
The Etape Cymru is committed to supporting the local area and is working with Macmillan Cancer Support as the national charity and Nightingale House Hospice as the local charity.
More information on the Etape Cymru route can be found on: http://www.etape-cymru.co.uk.
adidas Take The Stage TV advert featuring Victoria Pendleton
With just over 100 days to go until the Olympics, adidas present their Take the Stage campaign. This is adidas’s biggest ever UK campaign and has been named ‘Take the Stage’ to illustrate that there is a stage for everyone in 2012, whether you are in to Sport, Street or Style.
The all-new 60 second TV advert kicked off the multi channel campaign at the weekend.
Check out the 60 second video here
The advert features 9 times world champion cyclist, three60 client Victoria Pendleton.
Referencing Victoria’s link up with adidas designer Stella McCartney at approx. 35 seconds in and also focusing on Victoria sitting on a bike at the roof top party at the end of the advert.
