Rain, Cobblestones and Pure Emotions - Jean Bosco Moves up in GC

We already told a lot the last days about the incredible and enthusiastic atmosphere during this edition of Tour du Rwanda. But what happened today at the "wall of Kigali" was again much more we could ever expect.

A nation. A history. Surely not the easiest history, but what this generation of Rwandan's showed as emotion today, was much more we can even describe with words. Effusive, frenetic, even rollicking are the words we could try to describe this atmosphere today with and the fans cheered the riders on the "wall of Kigali" - an incredibly steep hill of 17% in the middle of Rwanda's capital.
Pictures that you never would expect in Germany or Europe - the so called "traditional cycling countries". But those pictures are real. The pictures in the same way as all the emotions. Not just people standing there watching an event that just passes by - no, not at all. These people are fans, enthusiastic and real fans of the sport - the sport of cycling and their heroes - the riders.
"After I worked a lot today I was in one of the last groups to save my energy for tomorrow but when I saw these people cheering us that way, I gave all I had again to climb this hill. I just felt I owe it to those people who came here, waited so long and now deserve that everybody gives the same as they did - incredible! I would love to see such pictures in Germany again", Matthias Schnapka explained after the race - obviously still flashed from such a lot emotion today.

But what happened in front of the race? Exactly one year ago it was Jean Bosco Nsengimana who won at the same place in solitude and secured the overall win of Tour du Rwanda 2015. And now? This year the dominator is Valens Ndayisenga. The man from Team Dimension Data - also Rwandan (and overall winner 2014) - climbed with an incredible performance and won the stage in front of his team mate Metkel Eyob from Eritrea.
Jean-Bosco Nsengimana finished in 8th place just 20 seconds down on Valens, and moved 1 place up in GC and now ranks 4th overall classification.
Just one more stage to go in Kigali tomorrow on a quite hard circuit race and the Tour du Rwanda 2016 will be in the books again. We are sure that the atmosphere will be great again!

The important thing was taking part STRADALLI – BIKE AID at 2016 Worlds in Doha, Qatar

At this year's UCI World Championship in Doha, Qatar, Team STRADALLI – BIKE AID finished on 17th place.

It was the World Championships. The one and only official UCI Road World Championships, held in Doha, Qatar, where every year the fight for the famous rainbow-jersey takes part. This unique and wonderful jersey that stands for the best rider in the world.

Among this spectacle it was again a „small squad“ from Germany in the middle that already surprised a lot during the past 3 years in the world of procycling. Also this time, as not any single person estimated STRADALLI – BIKE AID participating at this year's Worlds. But also no one from the team itself was even dream of that can happen. The excitement was on the edge already before going to Doha, only by receiving the permission to start there as a UCI continental team.

But how should all this now getting realized again, after having already so many races in the books, all over the world and just coming back from Tour of China only 5 days before leaving to Qatar again?

While other competing teams from the World Tour (highest category in world's cycling, budget about 10 to 30 million Euro), employ about 60 staff members around the riders, for a small team like STRADALLI – BIKE AID such an event means mostly: stress, sleepless nights, headache and night shifts to prepare all needed stuff to go to such an event.

Everyone who ever went on holiday with his family knows what it is all about and what things has to be taken into consideration to avoid chaos. But to move a whole team is so much more and demands so much from the involved person to make all this happen: preparing all TT bikes, wheels, discs, tires, packing all tolls (you travel with almost whole repair center), visa formalities, flight bookings, accommodation etc. etc.

The whole delegation of STRADALLI – BIKE AID was about 10 people, but also this was at the lower limit compared to teams like SKY who had actually more Staff as the whole delegation of
STRADALLI – BIKE AID.

And every time again there are things happening you can not take into consideration but they turn an easy travel day into an emotional roller-coaster and an unforgettable event. Even more when you have riders from Africa in your team you must expect everything as the authorities very often make things not so easy.

This time it was Meron Teshome who stood without any bad feelings at the check in counter, presenting his passport, baggage already tagged and transferred but then: "Stop! Your Visa for Qatar", the lady mentioned. After lot of explanations that he is going to the UCI World Championships and the Visa is already issued and waiting at Qatar Airport (same like for everyone else) there was just an indifferent: "no way. You stay here, you can take your baggage in one hour there and there".

Meron had tears in his eyes as it was his first Wolrds in Elite so far and a dream that came true after a season he really worked hard and deserved it. Leaving Meron behind? No way.

After lots of phone calls with the local authorities in Qatar, they sent a confirmation and a copy of the issued visa by messenger to the smartphone. Filled with hope, the boys went to the counter, presenting the Visa and that everything is as it has to be. "No, we need it printed!" (what is the difference?) After another challenge, to print the message and Visa out and another presentation at the desk, the quality of the print was not sufficient. Now they wanted to have a new document officially sent to their email address. Did they really do all to avoid Meron's travel? Sometimes things are not logic and fair, but one for sure: not human!

After again many phone calls the queue at the desk got smaller and smaller and the time to the departure also. The hope that Meron will join us got smaller in the same way. But all of a sudden and after several discussions they received the email from Qatar and accepted the Visa. Meron was in!

When the guys arrived in Qatar, one thing was already clear: it will be hot the upcoming days. Even more than expected and the humidity was still very high even in the night. 42 Celsius was the temperature next day when the guys went out for ride and they could start to imagine how it should be at the race.

But everybody was highly motivated and worked so hard to make this come true, now they wanted to face all these challenges. But in the race it came a little different and the expected performance could not being delivered by the riders.

17th place at the end – from 17. What sounds very terrible in the beginning changes into something different at the 2nd view. It changes more into joy, as disappointment.

Joy, being part of the World Championships, as there are more than 200 professional teams worldwide.

Joy, about the unique opportunity to challenge the best teams in the World, both teams like SKY, BMC ore Etixx-Quickstep who have so much more budget available as the "small German team".

But also joy, that the social background of the team was again in the focus of the press and the team could tell again a different story about how it is possible to change something (article in the Gulftimes)

Most important thing is taking part – this time more than ever, because despite all ambitions and sacrifices the boys did throughout this year and all the good results the team earned in 2016 season – to be at the start of the World Championships is not an everyday thing!

Meron Teshome with 2nd place at ITT Nationals in Eritrea – Lechner takes great 15th in Germany

Patrick Lechner with 15^th place at André Greipel’s win in Erfurt with another good performance in a bunch sprint while Meron Teshome was taking silver medal behind Daniel Teklehaimanot.

It was the weekend where (almost) everywhere all over the world the countries were looking for their national champions. Most of them are allowed to wear those famous jerseys with the flags of their country on that everybody of the riders wants to wear throughout the next 12 months.

The nationals in Germany took place in a very old city named Erfurt. The history of this city goes back to the year 742 ac when it was first time officially named. And this city shows really a lot of this history when visiting it with its old houses and the huge cathedral in the city center. But not only the city has a huge tradition, also the German Championships do, as already so many famous names won this race and took the jersey with the black-red-gold ring on it, such as Erik Zabel, Jan Ullrich or Didi Thurau.

This time, all focus was on the two best sprinters in the world: André Greipel and Marcel Kittel. The latter was very motivated as he originally comes from Erfurt and it was his “home-race” and everything was set to welcome Kittel with the stripes after the race. But a lot of riders want to wear this beautiful jersey and the fight was on. 215 long kilometers, windy and fast. Almost 50 Kilometers on the clock for the first hour, suffering legs and hard fights for any position in the bunch. It was a real Championship. And when the end had come, it was the expected showdown in a bunch sprint final between the two giants of cycling. After a long sprint it was André Greipel who won for the third time the title of German Champion. And the young guy Max Walscheid from Giant –Alpecin left Marcel Kittel only the third place.

And what did the boys from Stradalli – BIKE AID do? They did great! They all fought a hard fight and brought Patrick Lechner in a good position and only with a chaotic final he missed a even better place than his 15^th. And also Niko Holler finished in the Top 20 with his 19^th rank.

Meanwhile in Eritrea: Meron Teshome took in a breathtaking fight with Daniel Teklehaimanot the silver medal only beaten by 34 seconds from the Eritrean hero and werarer of the polka-dot jersey in last year’s Tour de France. A great week-end for all Stradalli – BIKE AID riders! Well done!

Stradalli - Bike Aid's Patrick Lechner with 2nd Place in Bolanden – Niko Holler takes 6th in Landshut

Today was an exciting race day with 2 German classics at the same time. In Bolanden (Rhineland – Palatinum) and Landshut (Bavaria) the guys from Stradalli – BIKE AID proved again they're in great shape.

With its name “Rund um den Donnersberg” (means „thunder“ in German) the race in Bolanden already expected a lot. And indeed it is a race where all year the Elite of the German road cyclists come together to fight against each other and make them suffer a lot. It is one of the few remaining real road races in Germany with 140 hard kilometers. Every single lap from 17 in total there is a 1,5 kilometer climb to leave behind. It doesn't sound  really long, and compared to the alps it is really not, but everyone who ever did a race like this, perfectly knows that if you have to do this 17 times, that is what kills you at the end. And especially when there is a hard sprint at the top of the climb for a prime: that is even worse.

After the first or even second lap everything still feels quite comfortable but then, the 5th or 6th lap, the suffering starts. And you just wish you wouldn’t do this kind of racing.

What is the solution for a situation like this? Not so easy to answer but today three guys found a solution after lap 4 and made their way alone after the top of the climb. Among them: Patrick Lechner from team Stradalli – BIKE AID. He already proved to be in great shape in the Tour of Ireland and after giving his body the needed rest, he continues with great racing! The 3 lads in front harmonized well and quite soon they had a comfortable gap between them and the main bunch of 4:30 minutes.

As they went into the last lap, the gap remained at the same time and it was sure they will race for the victory. After a breathtaking final it was Simon Nuber from Team Möbel Ehrman who won the race and beat Patrick Lechner in the Sprint. The 2nd place is a great result for Patrick and the team, and Meron Amanuel rounded the day up with his 7th place in the following group.

Far more south the second hard race took place. 130 kilometers with more than 2500 meters of climbing makes the “Grand Prix of Baier Bike sport world” to one of the most prestigious races in the south of Germany. Nikodemus Holler on his full carbon Bitonto road bike also made his way into the break-away othat was dominated by the host team with 4 people in it. After a lot of attacks and a lot of rain, Nikodemus tried to put all his cards on the table in the final lap and attacked the break. 1 Kilometer to the finish line the guys behind could catch him with all they had and it was Florenz Knauer who won the race. Niko finished on a great 6th place and continues to show he's in great shape.

A really good race day with good results from the guys of Stradalli – BIKE AID! Well done and keep going next week at the German national Championships!  

In Cologne on the rollercoaster with the world-class – 100th edition “Rund um Köln”

For the 100^th edition of one of the most traditional races in Germany, many World Tour teams were at the start line. Together with Giant – Alpecin, Lotto – Soudal or BMC the guys from Stradalli – BIKE AID had a hard day.

The first edition of this race started in 1908 and since then the riders found the finish year by year in the city of Cologne, one of the biggest cities in Germany with a huge history and tradition. The history of Cologne goes far back to the Romans who named it “Colonia” and it was one of the major cities at the times of the Roman Empire. Lots of battles and war between Romans and Germans took place – a big history that marked all of Europe. Now, more than 2000 years later on a cloudy Sunday morning, there was another battle that took place. But this time on a different kind of battlefield with different kinds of knights using modern kinds of swords to fight. Horses that have two wheels were ridden through the hilly landscape around the city of cologne.

A battlefield with a total distance of 205 Kilometers was ahead of the “black knights” from Stradalli – BIKE AID team. Their mission: conquer the empire of the “dark Lord” André Greipel from the Lotto – Soudal kingdom.

Well, maybe the text would have been like this couple hundred years ago. Today it is more like: Continental Teams trying to present themselves among the Top riders of the World. For sure it is a fight with very different weapons, but still it is worth to fight this fight again and again. Among the best riders were names like: André Greipel (Lotto – Soudal), Taylor Phinney (BMC), Nikias Arndt (Giant – Alpecin) or Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto – Jumbo NL). And what was the plan of the guys from Stradalli – BIKE AID? Well, to put a tiny guy from Eritrea in the middle of the sprint. So far so good. Meron Amanuel, a very fast guy has to sprint against the best of the world. And all other riders would have to protect him and keep him out of all the wind and trouble that can happen during such a long race.

The plan went well, until 30 kilometers to the finish line, when Meron’s back tire punctured in a very bad moment. All that effort for nothing? No, we still had Niko to make an impact. And the small climber made it with his 55 kilos to the top 20 again, among all those sprinters. But he is a very smart guy who knows how to keep position and that led to 17^th place at the end.

A great race, a nice day and an awesome city! Thanks a lot Cologne and see you next year! 

Last stage of An Post Rás – Holler defends climbers-jersey

Stage 8 of An Post Rás (UCI 2.2) in Ireland was the last stage of a wonderful and successful race during the last week. With his 13th place today, Nikodemus Holler seals the win of KOM – jersey on his Stradalli Cycle Bitonto full carbon road bike.

A week full of stress, fighting, suffering and much more has now been left behind. Such a stage race always keeps very special and unique challenges for the riders. And it is not only the pure racing that makes it hard, it is also the psychological part that is a real challenge to everyone.

Not only are the riders concerned it is also the staff that has to bear a lot of the stress and suffering too during such a tough race. Lot of tasks have to be done in a very accurate way but in a short amount of time as the whole pack is moving every day from A to B. Waking up early in the morning, preparing bottles (about 40 per day), food, equipment, tactical briefing and many more. Then race time, pure stress. After the mechanics take their space to clean and service all the bikes and wheels and the physios trying to let the riders relax. Lot to do before the last one turns the light off.

In such conditions and with that amount of stress, it is barely important that the people involved in such a tour have a good relationship and are able to maintain a good mood together during the whole time of the race. If you are inside of all this, you often do not realize the real meaning of what everybody brings in and sacrifices to make the whole thing working. But when you take a step outside of the box and look on all these details, you quickly realize that everybody in a team I a hero on his own way with his own experience and with all he or her does. Just awesome what all people have to bring together that it is possible to bring a team to the start line.

And when all these sacrifices, all this passion and suffer from everybody leads to success at the end, there can be not much more feelings that are better. And tonight the guys from Stradalli – BIKE AID surely deserved it to have a brilliant evening with a lot of fun, as the whole week can be seen as a success.

8 hard stages left behind, lot of stress and hectic, suffer and fight and today it was all about bringing the jersey home. And maybe to have a good sprint for Patrick Lechner again at the end of this 8th stage in Skerries. Unfortunately Patrick got involved into a bad crash in the final lap and his opportunity to do another good result was gone. So it was finally all about bringing Niko’s climbers jersey home. He finished 13th again and finally won the climbers classification and took 10th place in GC.

Congratulations also to Clemens Frankhauser form team Tirol who won the GC of this year’s Rás and who really deserves it! Well done to all of you guys! Now we wish you all a good way back and hope for another great adventures!   

A day in the break – superb ride brings Holler closer to the overall win in KOM classification

With his awesome ride today in the break, Nikodemus Holler gained more points for the KOM classification and just needs one more point on tomorrow’s last stage of An Post Rás (UCI 2.2)

Sometimes it is the best way to defend, when you attack. But in cycling you don’t want to throw out all your cards too early on the table and attacking the others also brings many risks. But sometimes you get forced to do it by the action of your competitors and you can forget all your plans that you made before.

On today’s penultimate stage of An Post Rás in Ireland, the plan was actually to stay together with the other favorites for the GC and to have a showdown at the last climb of the day – ranked in category 1. But before the first climb there was a break going with the biggest competitor for Niko in the KOM classification and he had to react immediately. So he made his way to the break before the first climb and from there on Niko showed an incredible performance. Winning all KOM’s until the last climb and when his fellows started to fatigue, he took his way alone. He literally put all his cards on the table and now forced the others to react.

Unfortunately the Australian National team had different plans and put all effort to chase Niko down and fight for the GC themselves. In the middle of the cat 1 climb, the Aussies closed the gap with only 5 guys together and an incredible speed. Of course it is the most difficult moment when you get caught in the middle of a climb having already many kilometers of break in the legs.

Despite all efforts and incredible fight, Nikodemus Holler could not follow the Aussies anymore and took his own rhythm. After the decent he fought with another group to come back but when they arrived to the finish they missed by only 56 seconds. Niko finished on 13th place, but made again his way to the podium to receive “his” mountains jersey. 

On tomorrow’s last stage he needs just one more point to take this beautiful jersey home and also to finalize a superb week of great racing in Ireland!

Fingers crossed, and never forget the GC 

Holler increases lead in KOM classification – 2 days to go to Dublin

With his 14th place and even more points in the KOM classification on today’s 6th stage of An Post Rás (UCI 2.2) in Ireland, Nikodemus Holler could successfully defend his mountains jersey and still ranks promising in GC.

Actually it should be a day without lot of trouble and a little bit more calm as the previous days. That’s what the riders were thinking. But in reality the stage was again very hectic, nervous and fast in the beginning due to lots of attacks. With 158 kilometers and “only” 3 KOM climbs of category 3 it was not a very hard stage, but at the end it’s the riders who make the race hard. And in the Rás there is no real day to rest or to let you hang around in the pack, as you always have to keep the tension and concentration.

Luckily the “joint-venture” of TeamTirol and Stradalli – BIKE AID succeeded after a while to control the race to make it a little more comfortable for their captains as there is a real day of fight waiting for the guys tomorrow.

At the end of the stage Nikodemus Holler could manage to reach the finish again with the other favorites and keep his promising position in the GC with only 10 seconds back of yellow. In the KOM classification he could increase his gap to 18 points to the second position.

“I still feel very good in the climbs and just didn’t want to invest too much today, as tomorrow will be another hard and probably the decisive day for the GC. But it was also important to me, to win another points for the KOM classification, as this jersey is so beautiful and I want to keep that until Dublin”, Nikodemus Holler described his day.

In the morning before the stage there was some bad news the team received: Joschka Beck couldn’t start the stage as he fell sick and got a fever during the night. We wish him all the best!

Niko Holler extended his lead in the King of the Mountains classification at UCI 2.2 An Post Ras today during Stage 6 through Eastern Ireland.

Stage 6 was not as mountainous as the previous several stages, but it still provided opportunities for the climbers of the race to compete for points on several categorized climbs. The race was hard enough to split the field down to only 50 riders, but the fast flat finish meant Stradalli – Bike Aid team chose to focus on protecting the general classification and king of the mountain classification position held by Holler instead of contesting for the win.

This week at An Post Ras has been about riding as strong as possible as a team to prepare for Qinghai Lake, the most prestigious race on the UCI calendar in Asia. Holler has confirmed all season is ability to lead the team in top level UCI races.

Stradalli – Bike Aid riders Joschka Beck, Patrick Lechner, Damien Garcia and Janvier Hadi have been riding solely to protect Holler and give him the opportunity to chase big wins at An Post Ras. It has been a full team effort to shield Holler from the wind and ensure he makes the front group during every stage of racing. It is very difficult to win a leader’s jersey at a race like An Post Ras, but the goal is very achievable.


Holler still remains 10 seconds away from the leader’s jersey and with several hard stages left the team is going to try everything in the book to gain the lead in the general classification and build on the lead in the King of the Mountains classification.


An Post Ras continues tomorrow with Stage 7, 155 kilometers from Dungarvan to Baltinglass. There will be 4 opportunities for King of the Mountain points. 3 category 3 climbs come early in the race, but the big ascent of the day comes at 110 kilometers. Mount Leinster will give the general classification riders the last opportunity to sort out the overall and the Stradalli – Bike Aid team is looking forward to their defense of the King of the Mountains jersey.  

Holler and the points – on stage 5 back in KOM jersey

Stage 5 of An Post Ras UCI 2.2 race finished with a small breakaway arriving 27 seconds ahead of the main group. Today Stradalli – Bike Aid missed the breakaway, but the real race for leader’s jerseys was still on in a hard way.

The 166.8 kilometer route saw the riders tackle several categorized climbs which meant many King of the Mountain points were on offer. Stradalli – Bike Aid rider, who was previously placed second in the mountains classification, put his climbing skills to work and reclaimed the King of the Mountains jersey with only three days of racing left

The mountainous route meant the race would be very hard to control and a break of 6 would eventually go up the road. None of the riders were a huge threat to the general classification, so there wasn’t much motivation from the group to chase late in the race. The team worked to protect Holler and keep him safe from any accidents.

Holler would eventually make the front group of only 28 riders and finish 13th on the day and preserving his top 10 general classification placing. Holler still remains 10 seconds behind the leader’s jersey and with more mountainous stages ahead a general classification win is still well within reach.

Stage 6 from Clonakilty to Dungarvan runs 159.1 kilometers is another hilly route, but will provide the sprinters who make it to the end with a fast flat finish. Out of over 150 riders, only 30-40 riders are consistently making it to the finish in the front group. The weather conditions and routes are proving tough for all riders involved, but the team is positive and are looking forward to another day defending the King of the Mountains jersey and chasing an overall win.

Nikodemus Holler gets back the lead in the KOM classification at An Post Rás (UCI 2.2) in Ireland. After lots of points today, Holler now leads with 11 points ahead of second place.

On today’s fifth stage of An Post Rás the guys from Stradalli – BIKE AID had a lot on their minds with what they wanted to do. In the language of football nowadays everybody talks about “setting goals” and so on. Whatever you may think about those kind of “plans” or “missions” one thing is for sure: in real life it is important to set some goals and to try and reach them as good as possible. And honestly, who wants to go through life without any plan?

Today the riders of team Stradalli – BIKE AID agreed together on 2 main goals: first, to take back the KOM – leader jersey for Nikodemus Holler and second, to try to put pressure on the yellow jersey today.

With these targets in their pocket, the riders from the German team went to the start line ready to fight like hell. Sure, during the Rás it is very hard to control the race as the teams consist only of 5 riders and the race is so nervous and hectic but the guys did the utmost to reach their goals. Again working hard as a team with their Stradalli full carbon Aversa road bikes, they controlled the pack until the first KOM and Nikodemus did the rest. He won the first KOM and took second in the KOM number 2 to win again the third.

With taking all these points, Niko now leads with 11 points ahead of the second and wears the leader jersey of the KOM classification again! A very beautiful one by the way, very colourful!

At the end of the stage, Niko finished with a group of other favorites on 13th place 27 seconds back on the winner Wouter Mol form dutch team De Rijke.

So there is one goal left for the upcoming days, guys!

On today’s stage 4 at the tour of Ireland, Stradalli – Bike Aid pro racer Patrick Lechner missed the podium by only a few millimeters, but proved again how fast he is in the sprint.

It was one of those moments, when it is all about a few millimeters, just a few thousands of a second. A moment, when an athlete doesn’t really know what to think about: should he cry or should he be happy? Was it a great performance or was it simply missing the success? Actually it should be a moment of joy and happiness when you finish 4^th on a stage of a professional race but somehow there always remains a feeling of an incomplete mission.

Athletes are like this. Always on the run, always about faster, higher, further. But this is exactly the what athletes are made of! Always in mind how to develop and how to improve. When you don’t have this attitude, you will never come to success in competition.

But honestly: what the guys did again today is just awesome! It was a superb performance of the whole team again as they focused on one common goal together: to put the fastest guy in the best position for the sprint. And Patrick delivered massively again! 4^th place! In a professional UCI ranked race. What more you can ask for? And Nikodemus Holler well rounded this day with his 9^th place in the stage classification.

The only small bad thing today: Niko lost his climbers jersey as there was a break that went away and took the needed points. But he will have his opportunities to fight to get the jersey back during the upcoming days.

Well done guys and go ahead!

Stradalli – Bike Aid pro team places two riders in top 10 after 162.8 kilometers of racing on stage 4 of UCI 2.2 An Post Ras.

Stage 4 of An Post Ras had 4 categorized climbs on the route for the riders to tackle, meaning defending the King of the Mountains jersey which was held by Niko Holler after Stage 3 would be difficult. The team rode strongly to protect Holler, but the team decided the general classification was more important than the mountains leaders jersey.

Holler still sits second on the mountain classification, but moved up in the general classification to 6th place, 10 seconds behind the leader’s jersey for the overall general classification of the race. Holler showed his good form again today with a 9th place finish, but the Stradalli – Bike Aid team’s depth is what is bringing the team such great success.

Stradalli – Bike Aid rider Joschka Beck has been the key domestique for the team, allowing Holler and the other riders to excel in the final. Beck has been more active than any other rider covering breakaways and ensuring Holler doesn’t miss any key moves. Out of 163 riders racing An Post Ras, only 43 finished in the front group. Great teamwork is essential in order to keep key  riders for the general classification in prime position to compete for the win.

Patrick Lechner of Stradalli – Bike Aid, who has been sprinting in fast finishes and riding in support of Holler, finished 4th on today’s stage giving the team two riders in the top 10. An Post – Chain Reaction, Ireland’s top professional team, was the only other team to place two riders in the top 10. Madison Genesis, NFTO and JLT Condor, the top UCI Continental teams from Britain, managed to take minor placings but Stradalli – Bike Aid is doing a great job of controlling the race.

An Post Ras is now halfway finished and continues tomorrow with Stage 5, a 148.3 kilometer route from Sneem to Clonakitty. The route will include 5 more categorized climbs meaning it will be another tough day of racing protecting the general classification aspirations of Niko Holler. The final 3 kilometers of the race will be predominantly flat, but the sprint will be uphill to the finish line which will give Holler and Lechner the perfect opportunity to capitalize on a great job so far at An Post Ras!

Holler takes 3rd place and lead in KOM – classification at An Post Ras (UCI 2.2) in Ireland

Nikodemus Holler impressively proved his climbing abilities on today’s third stage at An Post Ras by taking the overall lead in the KOM’s classification and finishing 3rd at the stage.

“It is always a good feeling if you have something in mind to do and at the end you succeed with that but in cycling it is not always the case. Honestly speaking it is very rare that this happens as the sport is so complex and there are so many things that can be an influence. But today, was exactly that day where things came together and at the end you reach your goal.”

After Patrick Lechner’s  6th place finish yesterday the team had a clear mission. On today’s schedule: 133 hard kilometers, with a steep climb of the first category 7 kilometers to the finish line. It was expected to be a hard day for the contenders for the GC.

The goal for the guys from Stradalli – BIKE AID was clear: keeping the captain Nikodemus Holler in a good position before the climb so he can put all his focus on delivering his best performance without any obstacles or the risk of a crash. Set and done, the guys protected him so well and especially Joschka Beck worked hard as a tank to bring his man in the final climb. Now it was all on Niko to show the performance that he delivered throughout the last couple of weeks.

And what he did was amazing! He won the KOM and took the jersey for best climber, but when he turned around he saw just 4 other guys who were able to follow his wheel. And now the direction was clear: full gas to the finish, all that he had left! 7 Kilometers almost all downhill and just a slight uphill finish. It was the Brit, James Gullen who risked everything and set the final attack with 500 meters to go when he made a gap to the other fellows.

At the end he won the stage by 2 seconds and Nikodemus finished 3rd after the Kiwi Aaron Gate. Also in the same time, former Ràs winner and favorite for the GC Clemens Frankhauser from Austrian Proteam “Tirol” who took the overall lead and the yellow jersey.

Niko is ranking 7th now in the GC with 10 seconds back on Frankhauser. A good position for the upcoming days!  

Niko Holler finishes third and takes mountains leader’s jersey on stage 3 of An Post Ras (UCI 2.2) in Ireland

Stage 3 of Tour of Ireland gave the riders several opportunities for King of the Mountain points as well as sprint points. The stage was consistently hilly meaning the climbers would have their opportunity to shine. Today’s stage required top level teamwork to claim the stage win.

All day the Stradalli – Bike Aid team rode in support of Niko Holler, who would capitalize on every opportunity the team provided him.

Stage 3 is the shortest of all the stages at 133.2 kilometers, but it confronted the riders with the most difficult terrain. The beginning of the stage was flat, but the riders rode aggressively to take the early sprint points on offer. Many of the riders had put in huge amounts of work before the first ascent of the category 3 Knockabout Cross mountain at 51 kilometers.

The riders who made it over the top of the first ascent in the main group competed for more sprint points at the 60 kilometer mark. The Stradalli – Bike Aid riders were busy all day controlling the race. Even Patrick Lechner, who finished 6th in the sprint on stage 2, rode his hardest to support Holler all the way to the final category 1 ascent of Conor Pass.

In the toughest race in Ireland, Holler finished 3rd and now holds the mountains leaders jersey. Stage 4 continues tomorrow with 162.8 kilometer mountainous stage with 4 categorized climbs.

STRADALLI – BIKE AID PREPARES FOR IRELAND AND WALES UCI RACES

The An Post Ras Ireland is the most prestigious race in Ireland, begins May 22 and Stradalli – Bike Aid pro cycling team will bring a full A-squad to compete for the overall of the 8-day UCI 2.2 stage race.

The Ras has been sponsored by An Post for the past six years, but has been a mainstay in the top level of Irish racing since 1953. The race regularly attracts top teams from all over the world. In attendance this year will be well known trade teams such as Madison Genesis UCI Continental Team and JLT Condor presented by Mavic from Britain. 

The An Post Ras is noted for being a tough race due to the hills and volatile weather. The weather in Ireland is consistently rainy and windy. The hilly terrain of Ireland combined with the weather will ensure all teams will have a tough time fighting for the leader’s jersey over the course of 8 stages.

A team containing a mix of German , French and African riders will contest An Post Ras while another top level group of Stradalli – BikeAid Riders will make their to Wales for UCI 1.1 Velothon Wales, a race also historically frequented by top level professional riders from Europe.

The team is finalizing their preparations for the race. Stradalli – Bike Aid team management are taking the ferry from Dunkerque, France to Dover in the United Kingdom so they can safely transport team cars, busses, bikes and gear necessary to complete a long block of racing in Great Britain.