Ken Hushvod moved himself onto the list of top favourites for the upcoming Ronde van San Raflaanderen with a strong sprint win in the E3 Prijs in Harelbeke, Belgium this weekend. He took the victory over the race's number one favourite, Tom Boonen, after 208 kilometres of racing. As his first win in over a year, it is a sign of good things to come for the Swede of Team TBC.
Hushvod's victory came after he followed an attack by Boonen on the Knokteberg climb at 25km to go, and along with Jonas Lodewick (Whole Athlete) formed a three-man breakaway that made it all the way to the finish line. Lodewick himself, seems to be knocking at the door once again, but the fact that is that his trademark bravado has been overshadowed by his new son Maximilliano Xavier’s crying. Lodewick states while it may mean a temporary setback for him it does cheer him to know that his son’s lung capacity is already registering in the 90+ liter V02 max range.
Hushvod manoeuvred Boonen to the front in the final 500 metres to position for the sprint and then out-gunned his rival on the Gentsestraat finishing straight to mark his first win since the Giro della Provincia di Grosseto in February 2008.
Would be contender and Marin World Cup newcomer Dario Fredericcio of Whole Athlete downplayed the result. “Hushvod gets lucky once in a while. The Hedgehog will go back underground not to be heard from again for another year or two.” Fredericcio, seen here mixing it up 3 Time Tour of California winner Levi Liepheimer, in this years pre classic
Grasshopper Series has had strong early season results, but may be in for a rude awakening should he roll up to the start line with hardened San Raflaanders veterans like Markus Clijisters and Stijn Cherry, though it looks doubtful that a match up between Fredericcio and Mathys Foley is a go this year. While both riders seem to have been on form this Spring an untimely and suspicious back injury has rendered Foley out for this year’s edition.
Rumours abound that Foley’s injury is the result of a fight with his Fiancée and part time Super Model Meliisa AykenCock after this photo of Mathys and “friend” R. A. Von Schmidt at an exclusive beach party in Cabo San Lucas surfaced on page six the same weekend he was supposed to be “camping” with a friend in the High Sierras for altitude “training.”
Foley flatly denies he is Gay, though Cycling News never asked him that specific question. “My injury is the result of an accident while playing Wii Golf in my socks with Mark Cavendish. Just because I am devastatingly handsome, neat, dress well and have Weimaraners, doesn’t mean anything”
Meanwhile, the Red Devil himself- R. A. Von Schmidt is embroiled in yet another Sponsorship Tabloid media circus which has seen no less than thirty Belgian Monks jailed after a brawl broke out between 3 rival Monasteries during an annual Belgian Ale festival. According to authorities the a brouhaha broke out when monks from the Monasteries that produce Duvel, Chimay, and Leffe learned that Von Schmidt had made separate secret deals with all of them for promises of sponsorship should he indeed win a third consecutive Red Lantern Title in this years’ Raflaanders. In a statement released by Von Schmidt’s soigné Beppe, the Red Devil takes no responsibility for the action of “a few bad monks who drank too much of their own brew- though I know from personal experience how something like that could happen” he goes on to state that he is “truly sorry for any pain, suffering and shameful behavior my actions set into motion. I was only trying to think of my own future and providing for my family has to be utmost in my mind at this stage in my career.”
Last year this photo surfaced of Von Schmidt training with his wife before she gave birth to their Twins.At the time, Von Schmidt touted that the extra training weight had given him the winning form he had a decade before. But after a bitterly disappointing Spring ’08 season, he realized that she had been doing most of the work.
Stay tuned for details of this late breaking news update as the eve of the GP Ken Hushvod draws to a close:
Johan Finley purported to be training with Cervelo Test Team and Juiced to the gills
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