Andrew Mclean Fan Club

[Pickled]

Happy Brithday Andrew.

 

Have a good one.

[Guest colonel]

my daughter is on the 4th 

 

My dad is on the 10th

[jmaccelari]

Happy birthday Andrew!

[Zaskar]

I have tremendous respect for Andrew.

Andrew McLean and Graham Cronje won the Panorama Tour an a Tandem this year...

 

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Wishing you many blessed and happy cycling years!

 

They didnt ride tandem at the tour this year...

 

But nevertheless, Happy Birthday Andrew! Wish you all the best for the future!

[IanJ]

Andrew hope you have a great Birthday and all the best for the year.

Maybe you can slow down a bit now you are getting older and give the rest of us old toppies a break

 

 

[Pocketbikes]

Happy birthday Andrew. Hope the wife spoils you !

[Jules]

Never mind the toppies, he gives the elite riders a hard time too. He dropped most of us up Hekpoort at last year's Satellite race. Not to mention the damage he does at MTB races. Jules2008-10-03 01:14:42

[Andrew mclean]

Hello Guys and Girls,<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes,

I really do appreciate it!

This is best post I have had on the HUB

I just moved up an age cat, and no doubt down a few steps on the podium!

[decibach db]

Happy birthday Andrew

 

 

 

Thanks for all the wonderful tandem tips.

 

 

 

You are a inspiration for many cyclists out there.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

db

[Pickled]

I just moved up an age cat' date=' and no doubt down a few steps on the podiumo:p></o:p>[/quote']

 

 

 

Hmmmmmm, I will wait to see that

[GFishy]

Happy belated b'day Andrew

[dfm1]

I just moved up an age cat' date=' and no doubt down a few steps on the podium!

[/quote']

 

And then people tell me they dont believe in miricales, no please stop pissing MM off cause that leads to serious suffering for the rest on weekend's.

[ColiHoff]

Interesting post.

I was involved in cycling (sports journalist) for 19 years. Beeld, Rapport and Die Burger. It's amazing, but five incidents will always stand out. Three of them involved AM. In no particular order.
His first victory in the Il Campione when the venue was moved to CBD in Randburg. Cutting and breaking up the field from an initial break of 19 riders until there were two left. McLean and McIntosh. The last climb on the last lap had the Mac on the back-burner and AM won this gruelling event. Awesome. The second and most probably the most heartbreaking of the lot, when he was called back by team Southern Sun (Vaughn Krause and Johan Engelbrecht at that stage made the call) with a lead of 4:51 and in the yellow jersey at that stage (20 km's from the finish) by more than 3 minutes you were ordered to go back and assist Willie. Three days later Willie copped after Mac basically murdered him and you in tears went over a climb shouting at us (the media): "What more do you want?". Obviously and justifiably frustrated. He had it in the bag. The team made the wrong desicion and Lourens Smith at 21 became the youngest winner of a Rapport Tour.

His biggest and most significant (in my book rated as one of the two most courageous rides) ride followed the next year when he started the stage in Pietersburg. Four km's after the stage (it was a kakka day on the bike with swirling winds and lots of dust) he broke the bunch in half and rode away from the peleton on the flats. One problem. A Portuguese rider jumped onto his wheel and sat there for 151 km's and never did a thing (as in absolutely f*ckall) to assist the "Badger". In the end, sadly, the Portuguese rider went for the line and claimed the stage over the last 30 metres. Andrew was so desperate to do justice to his effort that he flung himself forward and tried to grab him as he went past. But to no avail. If ever the saying of "no guts no glory" was turned around it was on that day. The Portuguese ride got a mention as the winner of the stage in all the newspapers and on TV. We (the journalists) even wanted to clobber the Porra into a Sunripe Fruit for what he did. Even to us that was not the way a true sportman should react. Luckilly the true hero was AM in everything that was written and broadcasted. Close to tears on the podium Andrew even gathered the courage to shake the hand of a broad-smiling stagewinner. A gentleman to the end. And that to me sum up the man behind the effort. He has done well for himself and give him his due. If it was'nt for Andrew the sport of cycling especially in South Africa would've been much poorer. We're not the greatest of friends, but I salute his performances. You were one of the best I've seen in difficult circumstances. And I'm not saying this to "kruip gat". I've been all over the word watching cycling/golf and rugby. In cycling I was fortunate enough to spend time and watch the TdF, Giro, Malaysia, TdUnder. The day Casertelli died in the Alps in 1995 I was there when Lance for instance won the following stage in commemoration of his Motorola-teammate. But your efforts will never be forgotten. Not in my book. Thinking back. Some of your rides in the Eastern Transvaal were as commemorable. Good Lord, you were actually an awesome rider in the wrong era. Unfortunately. And to think you started of as a tri-athlete!

[wisecrack]

Thanks for your post it made for interesting reading!

 

I'm sure for many who do not actually know AM(me included) this gives a little glimpse of the great rider he was at the peak of his career and still continues to be today.

 

[David #7]

Thanks Colihoff, made for good reading.

 

Also explains a lot about Andrews performance yesterday, he knows how to suffer.

[Yang]

What happened yesterday?