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maltatoday WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 Sport 22 CYCLING FOOTBALL Holdsworth team set for Tour de Yorkshire close to home THE renowned crowds of the Tour de Yorkshire will have something new to cheer for this year - a genuine home team. The Rotherham-based Holdsworth squad will be on the start line in Beverley tomorrow having received a wild-card invitation just sev- en months after forming. They might be brand new to the peloton, but their invite should come as no surprise. Led by the Downing brothers, Russ and Dean, they boast Yorkshire cycling royalty, and in Holdsworth they carry one of the most famous names in the nation's racing history. Only a handful of fans will remember the original Hold- sworth team, but for those of a certain vintage the sight of their orange and blue bikes will recall the 1970s - when they were the UK's most suc- cessful squad. Yorkshire-based business- man Dave Hanney owns the Holdsworth brand and had the idea of relaunching the team late last year. Former Team Sky rider Russ was his first call. "He said to me, 'Wouldn't it be cool to relaunch it just like it was 40 years ago?'" Russ told Press Association Sport. "From there it's just been a whirlwind. Here we are just a few months down the line, we've got a UCI-registered team and we're going to start in the Tour de Yorkshire." The original Holdsworth squad had little to do with Yorkshire, having their roots in the Hemel Hempstead Cy- cling Club from which they took their distinctive colour scheme. But Russ can trace roots back to the original incarna- tion as his first manager as a pro was former Holdsworth rider Keith Lambert. "The more the project went on, the more it felt like it was meant to happen," Russ add- ed. "There's a lot of nostalgia and history. Holdsworth is now owned by a Rotherham company. Myself and Dean are Rotherham boys, so it's nice to be working with a lo- cal company and such a cool brand." There are five Irishmen on the 12-man squad, explaining why they will race under the Irish f lag this year, but the team also boasts German vet- eran Bjorn Thurau and Jake Womersley - himself York- shire cycling royalty as the grandson of Brian Robinson, the first Brit to win a stage of the Tour de France. While Russ, 39, continues to ride as road captain, his elder brother Dean, 43, serves as sporting director. "We're not making any big statements like we're going to win the Tour de France in five years," Dean said, referencing Sir Dave Brailsford's promise when Team Sky launched in 2009. "We've got a quality team that can do the odd European race but we'll concentrate on the UK scene with the aim of qualif ying for the Tour of Britain. "We pushed really hard to get into the Tour de York- shire and now that's hap- pened, that's awesome." For a embryonic team push- ing for brand awareness, the global coverage the Tour de Yorkshire attracts is vital oxygen. "For me, as an event it is one of the best in the world," Dean said. "Yorkshire has got some of the best scenery and some of the best racing roads in the world. For us as a York- shire pro team it's so exciting to get the invite." With six WorldTour squads and seven Pro-Continental level teams heading to York- shire this week, Holdsworth know their place but will not be content with making up the numbers. "We've got the quality to be in the breaks and to be in the sprints," Dean said. "Bjorn has ridden at WorldTour level and so has Russ. When rival teams look over and see those guys, they command respect. "We're not planning to win the Tour de Yorkshire in year one but we'll be there fight- ing with that Yorkshire grit on every single stage." Russ Downing Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos rules out guard of honour for La Liga champions Barcelona REAL Madrid captain Sergio Ra- mos has ruled out the possibility of giving newly-crowned La Liga champions Barcelona a guard of honour on Sunday. Barca sealed the league title with four games to spare after beating Deportivo La Coruna on the weekend, and still har- ness hopes of finishing the sea- son unbeaten. To do so, they must first over- come Real at the Nou Camp - the final El Clasico of the season. And while Barcelona full-back Jordi Alba has suggested their ri- vals should give them a guard of honour before kick-off, Ramos echoed the views of Real boss Zinedine Zidane, who told his side not to respect Barca's do- mestic success. "What Zidane says is gospel. We're making too much fuss out of all this," Ramos said. "They want to enjoy their title and the same for us and ours, we need to eliminate the Germans and to reach another final. Ramos also believes winning the Champions League would top Barcelona's domestic dou- ble, with Ernesto Valverde's side having also won the Copa del Rey. Ramos and his team-mates have endured a difficult league season, although they have the chance to make amends with another European success. "Barca have had a great year, they have won two titles; win- ning the cup has merit and the league even more," said Ramos at his pre-match press confer- ence, according to Marca. Real, winners of the competi- tion in 2014, 2016 and 2017, are firm favourites to make the Kiev final having won 2-1 in Germa- ny last week. Opponents Bayern were the last team to win the competition three years in a row – during the 1970s – and Ramos says he is driven by the chance to make history. "I give importance to every- thing, we are making the impos- sible easy," he added. "IT seems easy that we could win three in a row, that motivates us in the day to day to keep break- ing records. Maybe we give it the value it has tomorrow." They fell behind to Joshua Kimmich's strike at the Allianz Arena before goals from Marce- lo and Marco Asensio gave them the upper hand going back to the Bernabeu.