Subscribe to L2P News London, UK. 20 January 2009
One of the world’s leading road racing managers is to ride this year’s London-Paris Cycling Pro-Am. Scott Sunderland, who helped mastermind Carlos Sastre’s Tour de France triumph last year, will be back in the saddle for the event in June.
Sunderland, the former sporting director at Team CSC-SaxoBank, is regarded by some as the Sir Alex Ferguson of cycle team management. He said: “I’m really looking forward to getting back on the bike and returning to riding. Cycling is enjoying a huge surge in popularity in the UK, following the success of British Cycling in Beijing and I’m proud to be taking part in what is Britain’s top cyclosportive.”
Australian-born Sunderland, who’s based in Belgium, will be riding alongside ex-Tour de France winner, Stephen Roche. Sunderland said: “London-Paris attracts some of the very best former pro-riders and there’s no better place for the amateur cyclist to experience the excitement of professional road cycling.”
As a boy from the New South Wales bush, Sunderland worked double shifts in an abattoir to fund his early cycling career. He competed in the world’s biggest events until suffering horrific injuries in the Amstel Gold World Cup race in 1998. He sustained a double blood clot on the brain and after five hours of neurosurgery to save his life, Sunderland fought his way back to fitness and competitive racing.
London-Paris 09 director, Sven Thiele, said: “We are thrilled to have someone of Scott’s stature riding this year. He is an inspirational team leader, who won cycling’s Holy Grail when CSC triumphed in the Tour in 2008. It will be fantastic for our riders to participate alongside someone of Scott’s calibre.”
London-Paris 09 is the blue riband of UK cyclosportives and is widely regarded as the premier professional event for amateur riders. This year’s event will have four partners, the Geoff Thomas Foundation (a leukaemia charity set up by former England footballer Geoff Thomas), Christel House, Schools for Children of Cambodia and South Africa’s Morning Star which works with children with HIV.
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Editor’s Notes:
The London-Paris Cycle Tour is a unique 3 day “Tour de France” style endurance event for amateur and cyclosportive riders. It is the "professional event for amateurs". Like a pro event it has full support, rolling road closures and covers 550 km in three days followed by a rest day in Paris. This PRO/AM has attracted riders like double Olympic Gold James Cracknell; Tour de France Giro and World Championship winner Stephen Roche (who will ride again in 09); Sean Kelly, Johan Museeuw, Brian Smith and ex-England footballer Geoff Thomas.