Sports Poets Society

"When Marianne Vos started cycling she had little to gain from it. I think she’s wicked and she achieved everything she did in cross, track, road, everything, with nothing to gain then, no financial rewards. She did it just for winning. What was her drive? Was it that she’s just a racer? That’s what I want to know."     - Mark Cavendish Writer: Sophie Hurcom Procycling magazine, January 2019 Marianne Vos hardly has to pause to think of an answer. “It was just for the love of the sport ,” she replies instantly, when Procycling calls and asks what her motivation was when she first started in cycling, as our guest editor instructed. “As a kid I started cycling; my dad was in cycling, my older brother, and I continued doing so. As a junior, I found out I was probably quite talented, more talented than average...well, I wanted to make the most of it. I just wanted to enjoy racing and try my best. There has never been a motivation or objective to make it my oc...

Rod Ellingworth is one of the least recognised but one of the most important people in British cycling and in my career. I wanted to interview him to let you know what makes him tick. MCInterview: Mark Cavendish Procycling magazine, January 2019 Rod Ellingworth is a rider turned coach, who launched the British Cycling Academy for U23 riders in 2004, in which a young Mark Cavendish was one of his first students. He helped launch Team Sky in 2010 and is today its head of performance Mark Cavendish: We’ve known each other for a long time and we’re mates, though it didn’t start like that. You’re one of the most influential characters in British Cycling. You’re one of the hardest working, but one of the least recognised and publicly applauded. Is that something you want? What drives you to put everything in that you do?  Rod Ellingworth: A little example. We’re here on a camp in Mallorca. The riders don’t get here until Monday; I’ve been here since Wednesday. ...

Chi gioca a Capodanno, gioca tutto l'anno. E per rispettare il proverbio quale campionato migliore della Premier, che per tradizione proprio sotto le feste dà il meglio di sé per qualità e quantità di partite così ravvicinate e anche per questo sempre emozionanti e spesso imprevedibili. Il big-match della 21esima sarà lo scontro al vertice del 3 gennaio all'Etihad, dove il Manchester City secondo a -7 ospiterà il Liverpool capolista solitario. Quello però sarà il dolce di un'abbuffata lunga tre giorni, e aperta da tre antipasti ottimi e abbondanti. Al Goodison Park, l'Everton che viene da 3 sconfitte nelle ultime 4 non può fallire contro un Leicester City che arriva dal KO col Cardiff City. Entrambe, ma per motivi opposti, si aggrappano alla cabala: i Toffeemen han battuto le Foxes in 4 delle ultime 5 di Premier; stesse cifre per il Leicester City, con 15 gol fatti nelle 5 gare giocate il primo gennaio; e con il talismano Vardy che con 4 gole 2 assist ha fi...

by MARK CAVENDISH Procycling magazine, January 2019 Everything I do, I’m hands-on. I do my own social media, and I never pretend to be somebody I’m not. So when the editorial team of Procycling got in touch to invite me to be guest editor, I didn’t want to just have my face on the cover and then let them get on with it. I wanted to edit the magazine. The first thing I did was red-ink the feature ideas I was sent and come up with my own list. I wanted to talk about the riders, races and issues I’m interested in. One rider I really wanted to be in the mag was Marianne Vos . She’s the epitome of what empowerment is, and why you shouldn’t have limitations because of your sex. She was dominating the women’s scene before there was anything to gain from it financially. I wanted a feature about Milan-Sanremo . Like me, Sanremo is misunderstood by people who don’t get it! These days, some people think racing is just doing a fast sportive. Look at the cover of the magazine –...