On Monday 8 November at the Hotel Collingwood, Bournemouth professional cyclist Daniel Lloyd (Garmin-Cervélo) will be on hand to answer questions from guests, sign autographs and enjoy a social evening all hosted by the Bournemouth Arrow CC.
Entry to the evening is £5, with proceeds going to the £26,000 budget required to purchase all the necessary and essential items (hire bikes, starting gates, lap boards, etc) to successfully run the Bournemouth Cycling Centre located at Slades Farm in 2011.
With the main contractor Raymond Brown Limited still ahead of schedule, the new 250m outdoor track will be a key facility in creating the area’s next generation of top-class riders. With a tight budget and a keen eye on the environmental impact of the project, Raymond Brown are using recycled materials from their own Hampshire-based facility to build the height required for the track’s banking.
With a world class cyclist in the area, beginners through to regional based riders could well rub shoulders with Lloyd on the track next year when he will be able to use the track as part of his preparation for some of the world’s biggest races such as the Tour de France, Giro D’Italia, Tour of Britain and the Paris-Roubaix.
But Lloyd is also looking forward to the opening of the track for reasons much closer to home. “I have an 8-year-old son who loves his cycling, so it will be a great place for him to channel his energy and also to learn some important skills on the bike. It’s going to be a great facility for all local cyclists, where they will have a safe environment to ride, race and learn.”
A hot topic will no doubt be Lloyd’s use of power measuring devices in the last 3 years, and a representative from Paligap will be on hand to answer questions about the Saris PowerTap that Lloyd and his team mates will be using in 2011.
Lloyd will of course be riding for the World champion Thor Hushovd, a prospect Lloyd is looking forward to. “It is going to be a huge team and one of the strongest in the world. I think everybody is going to be training hard this winter; we are all going to have to just to make it onto the classics team for the cobbled races! It is nice that there is a group of us going over from Cervélo but I’m also looking forward to integrating with the great riders that Garmin already have.”
The evening starts at 7pm, with a licensed bar available for those who wish to toast the successful completion of the track in 2011.
