Roel Paulissen - Official homepage

Belgian Marathon National Championships

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:11:00 +0200

Yesterday's race was hard, really tough. For 90 km and 4h30 we were racing in mud, heavy cold and rain, ice rain to be more precise! With half race to go when sitting in a front group of three, for me it was all about "surviving" and defending my position, while a really strong Massaer was off in front and til the finish unreachable for me.

It was great to race once again in Belgium, a great nice race, with all my people and friends around! I wished, I could come back home more often!

And that's where we rode yesterday:

2nd win of the season!

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:22:00 +0200

Yesterday's Val di Non Bike was a 43km granfondo at our neighbours' province of Trentino. A really nice race!

My partner Hannes led the pack out in the first climb, but later, at half race, we went away with three, me, Degasperi and Hannes' teammate Schweiggl. We stayed together for the second part of the race, but after I crashed in an uphill section, the little adrenaline boost I must have gotten in it ;-), helped me to attack in the nasty steep last climb, made a gap, went away and brought my second season win home.

Result:
1 Paulissen Roel Gs Torpado Surfing Shop Sport Promotion 01:43:56.00;
2 Schweiggl Johannes Silmax Cannondale Racing Team 01:44:44.70;
3 Degasperi Ivan Team Todesco 01:45:16.30;
4 Bonelli Efrem Km Sport Bottecchia 01:45:30.10;
5 Pallhuber Johann Silmax Cannondale Racing Team 01:45:32.80;

Read more about it on pianetamountainbike.it (in Italian).
© photo pianetamountainbike.it / Newspower Canon

3rd place at the GF Città di Garda, Italy

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:29:00 +0200

It was again a great racing day here in Italy for me! I was sitting in the leading group thoughout the entire race, when, towards the end of the race, the later winner Michele Casagrande attacked in a climb and got off. Cuervo, Paez and I were still together on the last km; we sprinted for the remaining podium positions and I eventually "lost" the sprint to Cuervo. He was strong, but I also have committed a real beginner's mistake: the day before the race I didn't have a look at the last km and so today I took the wrong line in a sand passage in the last km, while they knew exactly where they had to go to stay on solid ground. I spent too many grains there to stay with them which I then lacked in the sprint... ;-)

My teammates were even better than me: Serena Calvetti won the women's race, while our other lady Daniela Veronesi finished in third and last but not least, Mr. Yader arrived in 6th!

La Prosecchissima!

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:34:00 +0200

I loved to come back once again and to race the Prosecchissima last weekend, a nice granfondo in the surroundings of Miane (Italy). And... I am really happy that I cound win this race!

Many thanks go to Armando Lana and his helpers around the Miane Bike Team for the great organization of this race. And thank you for the amazing trophy!

Photos © TrevisoMTB.it/Mianebiketeam.it

The Torpado Nearco 27.5" is "Cape Epic approved"!

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:30:00 +0200

Yader Zoli & Roel Paulissen, who have returned from Cape Town about a week ago, are enthusiastic and eager to talk about their extraordinary “Cape Epic” experience.

Michele Leonardi, owner of Leonardi Racing, and Team Torpado technical assistant in this adventure: “It was my first experience in a stage race. We worked from dawn to dusk for the entire 7 days. I assembled and disassembled the bikes, cleaned the sheaths, cables and brakes due to the sand sneaking inside everything. I was surprised by Nearco's frame: it did not move an inch, despite the several kilometers ridden on such harsh terrain, and all the components also performed greatly. In certain contexts the Nearco 27,5” dual suspension had the edge, but the Front, lighter and more responsive, was the best option, especially in fast single tracks”.

Yader Zoli: “All 7 days very really intense, raced at a very high level, where challenges were overcome together. The Cape Epic is a very difficult race, peculiar, extreme in all ways: in Europe we do not have courses with sand, dust, gravel and rocks such as this one. That's why in certain situations a fully would have been perfect, while in others it would have been penalized. It was a choice between a full suspension or hardtail bike. The greatest satisfaction has been bringing my project, the Nearco 27.5”, to Cape Epic and achieving great results. This is a great thing! I thank all my sponsors (Torpado, Surfingshop, Frm, Rubena, Sixs, Leonardi, J-nrg, Formula & Fi'zi:k”), in particular Torpado which for its support and for believing in me: it is demanding for a brand to be present, but Cape Epic is a top appointment of the MTB season”.

Roel Paulissen (who won the Cape Epic in 2008 and 2005, 2nd in 2007): “Compared to the previous editions, this year's course was more rocky, rough and bumpy, with several single tracks dug up by hand. The Nearco performed great: we won two intermediate sprints also thanks to this bike's features: it has better sprinting capabilities than the 29”. Even when riding up hard and steep climbs the 27.5”'s advantages were evident. I am quite satisfied with the result: we reached our objective, also taking into account that in the first stages Yader was not feeling very well, but was then able to recover. Next year I would not make any changes for what regards the partner or the bike”.

PR Torpado

The countdown for the Absa Cape Epic will be over soon!

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 11:38:00 +0100

After having taken part in the Absa Cape Epic in 2005, 2007 and 2008 by winning it twice, once with Bart Brentjens, once with Jakob Fuglsang, and arriving once on second spot, Roel will be returning to South Africa next week, to again become part of the great adventure that the Absa Cape Epic is, the world's greatest and biggest mountain bike stage race!

Roel will race together with his teammate Yader Zoli, the first Absa Cape Epic participation for the Italian. The entire Torpado Surfing Shop Team can't wait to be in this adventure together!

You can follow Roel and Yader's Absa Cape Epic adventure on their Torpado Surfing Shop team's Twitter account or become a fan of Torpado's facebook page.

Check out this video and see what they say about the Absa Cape Epic [in Italian].

Back to racing - a comeback on the podium

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:38:00 +0100

In his first appearance for the Torpado Surfing Shop team, after returning to racing after almost three years, Roel achieves the 3rd spot on the podium at the 4th MTB Valle Zignago - Laguna di Caorla, Italy. It is a highly satisfactory result for the flag bearer of the alate horse: "I am happy with this third place. It's been a really long time since I've been racing and so I had no idea where I stood or if I actually could still cope with the racing pace. In addition to that, I'm just coming out of an intense training camp in Spain. I'll try to work on my explosiveness until we leave for South Africa. Yesterday's race was really fast on a mostly flat race track. All in all I am satisfied with my actual shape, I need to be patient, returning to racing is not so easy after such a long time."

Podium:
1. Tiziano Carraro UC FPT 1:53:23
2. Gianfranco Mariuzzo UC FPT + 16"
3. Roel Paulissen Torpado Surfing Shop + 1'04"

mountains spring 2012 from Roel Paulissen on Vimeo.

Torpado Surfing Shop at the start line of the Valle Zignago

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 08:39:00 +0100

Everything is clear for Paulissen's debut with Team Torpado Surfing, together with Serena Calvetti Roel will take part in the 4th edition of the Valle Zignago - Lugana di Caorle a Concordia Sagittaria, Italy, on Sunday Febrary 24th, 2013. The 50 km race track, mostly flat, is a good opportunity for both athletes to get to know their shape after coming out of a long winter and different training camps abroad.

Roel will debut on the Torpado Nearco 27,5" he was testing the last weeks in his training camp in Spain. "Yes, I tried out the Nearco here in Spain for the first time and put it at the acid test. I have to admit, at the beginning I was a bit sceptic about the 27,5ers, but now... I really like the bike and I am really enthusiastic about the Nearco. It feels great on all kind of surfaces and I am convinced of its superiority. I can't wait to race it!"

A presentation covered in snow: a good omen for the Torpado Surfingshop Team

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:36:00 +0100

Snow welcomed Torpado Surfingshop Team's official 2013 presentation, held in Teolo in the province of Padua. The heads of the FCI (Italian Cycling Federation) were present, including the National Team's head coach Hubert Pallhuber and the National council member Renato Riedmuller. Maurizio Fondriest also participated, linked to Cicli Esperia since 2006 with the high-end road bike brand carrying his name.

Emanuele Zanaga, manager of Torpado, expressed satisfaction for the results achieved in 2012 and has welcomed the Team's newcomers for the upcoming season: Roel Paulissen and Alberto Rossi for Cross Country and Nicola Casadei for Enduro. Maurizion Fondriest then told about his relationship with the mountain bike.

Coach Hubert Pallhuber focused his attention on the young talents Serena Calvetti and Alberto Rossi: "I am sure that in 2013 these two athletes will give us much satisfaction with the National Team. In the previous season Serena displayed great maturity by winning national titles and performing well internationally. The same thing applies for Alberto Rossi, along with all the Team's athletes, who have shown what they are made of and will certainly be able to make Team Torpado proud in 2013"

Yader Zoli, in the dual role of athlete and product development manager, presented the Belgian two-time World Champion Roel Paulissen and all the Team's athletes present at the event: Alberto Rossi, Marco Decol, Nicola Casadei, Serena Calvetti e Daniela Veronesi.

Yader, four-time Italian National Champion and Olympic athlete, proudly talked about "his" Nearco 27,5", designed with Torpado's Research & Development team. He also underlined how, thanks to Esperia's investments, Torpado can now compete with the top brands in the international market.

The event, with the Colli Euganei completely covered in snow, had its conclusion with the presentation of the Vittorio Veneto youth team: Torpado Victoria Bike. This team can be considered a breeding ground for Torpado.

In the 2013 season the Team Torpado Surfingshop athletes will race with the Nearco Carbon 27,5" and the Torpado Ribot 29" bikes.

The next important race for Torpado Team, is the Cape Epic - South Africa, March 17 to 24.

PR Torpado Surfing Shop Team

Press Release Torpado Surfingshop Team

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 23:51:00 +0100

Roel Paulissen and Torpado team up for a great project

In 2013, the strong Belgian mountain biker, twice World Champion Marathon, will be riding for the Italian Torpado Surfingshop team.

Today Roel Paulissen has been welcomed enthusiastically - with the enthusiasm that distinguishes great teams like Torpado Surfingshop! “Heart and sympathy”, those were the ingredients that affected Roel and led him to become part of the Torpado family: “Yes indeed, I’m touched by the sympathy and the enthusiasm of this team, and by the friendship linking me with Yader Zoli and Marco Bui. Furthermore, this is a team acting in a serious and professional way, allowing me to race with easiness and without pressure, which are crucial for me in this comeback. Fundamental is the backing of Yader and his Nearco 27,5er project I’ll support. “

Emanuele Zanaga, head of Torpado, and his staff have celebrated Roel with the delivery of the bikes the Belgian champion will ride in 2013, the Nearco 27,5er and the Ribot 29er together with the team jersey: “The arrival of such a great champion to our team”, Mr. Zanaga emphasizes, “is part of our project of launching the brand Torpado in Europe and of consolidating it in Italy with the new Impudent series fitted with the latest technology. We’re convinced Roel can contribute a lot to this project as the great champion he is”.

Yader Zoli, advocate of the initiative, is really satisfied with the new collaboration: “I’ve believed in Roel right from the beginning, we were opponents for a long time with loads of respect for each other and this, I’m sure, will lead us to achieve great things together”.

Roel Paulissen will race for Torpado in the Italian major classic races, the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon Series, National and World Championships, the Cape Epic and other big international events, the Roc d’Azur and the Internazionali d’Italia.
We would like to mention that Roel Paulissen won two Marathon World Champion titles in 2008 and 2009, took part in four Olympic Games by finishing in fourth place in Athens 2008, won three World Cups along with numerous podiums, won more times the Roc d’Azur and the Cape Epic twice.

The brand Torpado look back on an ancient history and tradition; founded in Padova (Italy) in 1895, Torpado has been taking part in eleven editions of the Giro d'Italia and gained numerous stage wins. Today Torpado distinguishes itself with a wide range of different kind of bicycles and the expansion on the European market, as well as with its construction accuracy and quality. In the last three years, Torpado has been an official UCI Mountain Bike Team with national and international athletes competing internationally. The athletes are part of the Italian National Team.

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