Briton moves ahead in second lap for crushing lone victory 12 months on Backstedt was simply unstoppable breaking away early and crossing the finish line a full 34 seconds clear of her closest rival Already the current British National Cyclo-cross champion and former Junior World Champion in the same discipline Bäckstedt’s latest European triumph comes after taking the U23 Time Trial Euro’ title earlier this autumn.  an early move of four containing Schreiber Lucia Bramati (Italy) and Dutch rider Léonie Bentveld quickly shrank to a duo of the top two podium finishers.  Schreiber then made a lone bid for freedom on the second lap but she was quickly superceded by Bäckstedt Such was her dominance that the Briton was clearly en route to the win with the only issue to be resolved who would be joining her on the podium and the last lap becoming a victory lap of honour for Bäckstedt in all but name.  Results powered by FirstCycling Alasdair FotheringhamSocial Links NavigationAlasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991 He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain he has also written for The Independent,  The Guardian,  ProCycling Instagram or YouTube Shorts – and use #whatsyourtour to show us what the Tour de France means to you… explore the countryside or just cruise down the road in a zen-like state Follow the Tour with general updates and become the best version of Peter Sagan you can be How to successfully explain that you need a new bike Factual reports on all the latest health trends and nutritional methods We’ll help you get the most out of your training sessions Veer off the main road and explore nature first-hand Learn to navigate the jungle that is city cycling For a sense of adventure that knows no bounds Guide your relatives toward the one thing that actually matters WeLoveCycling.com is an online magazine that brings you original stories fresh videos and special reports from the wide world of cycling Fem van Empel of the Netherlands and Belgium’s Michael Vanthourenhout defied rain and lots of mud to win their second UEC European Cyclo-cross Championships in succession on Sunday which was held in the western French commune of Pontchâteau was disrupted by an unusually intense storm cutting power and killing at least seven people in Italy all races that had been scheduled for Saturday were postponed for one day Another consequence was that by the time the last scheduled race which continued intermittently on race day and the effect of six races held on the same course on one day – Junior Men and Women U 23 Men and Women and Elite Men and Women – much of the course had been transformed into a muddy swamp with ankle-deep ruts filled with water in some places It is a testimony to the skills of the riders that there were not more crashes or more DNFs (did not finish) The 29-year-old Vanthourenhout took to the course like He took a clear lead early on the second of the eight laps stretching it to 0:21 at the beginning of lap 3 it never fell below 0:14 until the final 100 meters Vanthourenhout won the U 23 world championship in 2015 but has had few major victories since he has now become the first rider since Mathieu van der Poel to win two European championships in succession who won the UCI world cyclocross championship in February took three European titles between 2017 and 2019 so I’m happy for this win,” Vanthourenhout said after the race “I felt from the beginning that I had good legs today and it was enough.” 2021) Lars van der Haar another 0:10 behind in third The 21-year-old cyclocross phenom van Empel who also won the UCI world championship in February took control of the Elite Women’s race at the start of the second of six laps and never looked like losing fellow Dutch rider and 2020 European champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado was 0:59 at the end of stage 3 and 1:35 at the finish line Italy’s Sara Casasola used a late run to finish third Asked what her near-term plans were, van Empel told Eurosport, “It is mentally very hard to be a top favorite at the start line. I feel good physically, but I’m going to rest.” She may be resting up for next year’s road racing season. Van Empel joined Jumbo-Visma this year and won a stage of the Tour de l’Avenir and finished eighth in the UEC European Under-23 Championships after finishing third in that race in 2022 with Célia Gery winning the women’s division and Aubin Sparfell the men’s Jane Zoe Backstead won the women’s U 23 European title and Jente Michels of Belgium won the men’s U 23 championship It's going to be so great to have you with us We just need your email address to keep in touch WeLoveCycling.com is an online magazine that brings you original stories Wout Van Aert won his first 2018-2019 World Cup on Sunday in a thrilling wide open race of incessant attacking in Pont-Château Van Aert nipped series leader Toon Aerts at the line to take over the series lead with one race left Van Aert had been runner-up to Mathieu van der Poel four times this World Cup season and runner-up to Aerts twice With Mathieu van der Poel taking off the round to train it would be the first time someone else won a World Cup elite men’s race since Toon Aerts triumphed at Jinglecross on September 29 Aerts didn’t have to worry about van der Poel usurping his World Cup lead It would be David van der Poel claiming the hole shot on the fast A large bunch hit the finish line for the first time Toon’s brother Thijs Aerts led the pack but it would be Sieben Wouters and Jens Adams leading over the line Van der Haar’s crash on Lap 4’s planks created a gap in the leading group Sweeck and Corné van Kessel were the main chasers 14-seconds behind The members of the leading quartet kept attacking each other to no avail Let us introduce a new @UCI_cycling discipline: Synchronised Cyclocross This trio looked in control but Seeeck and van der Haar have bridged across and we now have a lead group of 6. #TelenetUCICXWC pic.twitter.com/mAJaMCNTCg — UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) January 20, 2019 Adams and Vanthourenhout were most often seen at the front but van der Haar was at the business end on Lap 8 Aerts made a move at the planks and only Van Aert and Vanthourenhout were able to go with him Adams and van der Haar were able to latch back on at the start of Lap 9 closest chaser Van Aert made an error but was able to come back The two heard the bell with a 14-second lead the duo allowed the sextet to re-form on the last lap Van Aert led out the sprint and Aerts couldn’t come around him the Netherlands round left to race on January 27 Van Aert’s series lead is a mere three points Vanthourenhout earned his third 2018-2019 World Cup podium Get the digital edition of Canadian Cycling Magazine Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Some are necessary and we can’t switch them off Others help us to provide you with the best possible service We use cookies to personalise content and ads to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic We also share anonymous information about your use of our site with our social media By accepting cookies you will be helping us to continue to provide you with the best possible service Pontchâteau plant manager; Mickael Coutard and Michel Coutard of Manuco; Benoit Pion The 20,000th Bobcat telehandler rolled off the production line at the manufacturer’s Pontchâteau plant in Loire Atlantique in France earlier this month The landmark unit was welcomed by an official ceremony attended by the site’s 200-strong workforce presented the keys of the new Bobcat T40180 to its purchaser the Manuco dealership from the suburbs of Rouen Bobcat said production at Pontchâteau continued to go from strength to strength The manufacturer forecast sales growth of 15% and a 17% increase in turnover for 2014 It added that around 51% of revenues came from the rental and construction sectors Bobcat said it planned to make improvements to the Pontchâteau site in 2014 to boost production and take advantage of strong demand for Bobcat’s French-made telehandlers we have a strong presence in Eastern Europe The manufacturer said the Pontchâteau site produced 12 different Bobcat telehandler models It said it planned to introduce a new generation of machines continuing the trend set by the TL360 and TL470 models with Stage IIIB engines and T40140 and T40180 construction industry models launched last year Be one of the first to try our new activity feed Belgium’s Danny De Bie bunny hops a wooden barrier just ahead of Dutch legend Adri van der Poel during the 1989 UCI world cyclocross championships in Pontchâteau The bunny hop proved to be De Bie’s secret weapon on the fast and bumpy course and the maneuver sprung him to victory at the race’s midpoint De Bie came into the race as a second-tier favorite behind reigning champion Pascal Richard of Switzerland and van der Poel who was in the early stages of what would become a storied career Nobody predicted a De Bie victory on that cold day in February however the course’s design and the early dynamics of the race advanced him to the front An early crash took Richard out of the front the course design played into De Bie’s bike handling Organizers placed 18-inch wooden barriers just after a sharp left-hand turn which came at the bottom of a grinding hill Another set of barriers was set up at the top of the hill as one final fitness test for the riders De Bie was an early specialist in bunny hopping he was the only rider to successfully bunny hop the barriers during the previous week’s World Cup in Switzerland and then carried their bikes up the hill to the second set of barriers hopped the first barriers and rode up the hill only to hop over the second barriers again and each time it yielded a gap to van der Poel and the other riders behind van der Poel was simply too tired to close the gap His final margin of victory was 24 seconds Decades later, Adri van der Poel’s son, Mathieu, would channel De Bie’s spirit during his own world championship victories. Mathieu van der Poel is perhaps the most successful bunny hopper of the current generation SPIE is the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications Our 55,000 employees are committed to achieving the energy transition and responsible digital transformation alongside our customers SPIE aims to contribute to a more sustainable Do you want to use your skills to contribute to projects that help society a key player in the energy transition and digital transformation We are committed to the fight against climate change and mobilised for a responsible digital transformation intall and maintain energy-efficient and environmentaly-friendly facilities Find in this section all the useful information you can access SPIE's profile and key figures Would you like to interview an SPIE spokesperson 30 June 2022 – SPIE ICS and the Industrie division of SPIE Industrie & Tertiaire the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications are advising Bobcat on its project to upgrade the synthetic output rates of the production chains at its factory based in Pontchâteau a subsidiary of the South Korean group Doosan is a manufacturer of farm and construction equipment with two production sites in Europe: one in Pontchâteau and the other in the Czech Republic In order to accelerate the digital transformation of its 18 industrial sites throughout the world the Group has chosen to implement PTC technology via the Thingworx platform structure and enhance the value of its data Decision-making dashboards are provided to the operational teams to enable them to optimise production the screens positioned on the production chains at the Pontchâteau factory enable the teams to monitor their key performance indicators in real time,” says Laurent Maille Global Service Manager Smart Data & IoT at SPIE ICS  “This information are sent to the Doosan Group’s Thingworx platform secure and adaptive system structured built around a single repository This convergence of the company’s Information Systems brings greater convenience to the employees in their activities.”  Next raceMay 8 Amandine claims bac her title and Clément wins a 7th title at the French CX NationalsRace reportJan 12 World Team TeamWomen TeamDevelopment TeamChampionnats de France - Pontchateau (CX) The eagerly-awaited 2025 French Cyclo-cross Championships lived up to their promise Amandine Fouquenet and Clément Venturini won on the Coët-Roz circuit in Ponchâteau This 7th success in a French Cyclo-cross Championship paradoxical though it may seem given the number I've already won and the title was contested on Breton soil which is also that of Emmanuel Hubert's team This year I haven't had the results I'd hoped for in the last few cyclo-crosses ARKEA-B&B HOTELS puts a lot of faith in the cyclo-cross discipline This success is a just reward for our partners and Emmanuel Hubert I thought about my wife and my soon-to-be-born son and the last few laps were a bit for her and for him Cyclo-cross is a discipline that offers a great media showcase during the winter period for a professional cycling team and when the French Championships come around it gives the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team the opportunity to aim for the best performances in the elite women's and men's events with Clément Venturini and Amandine Fouquenet Pontchâteau 2025 and this magnificent French Championship has fulfilled our wildest dreams with two titles for our partners This is a very happy moment for all of us and it also allows us to start the 2025 season under the best possible auspices for both men and women The cyclo-crossmen and our cyclo-crosswoman have opened the 2025 season in the best possible way now it's up to the road racers to take over Cristiàn Rodriguez 11th overall The Vuelta Femenina, a special jersey Cristián Rodríguez 6th in the queen stage Clémence Latimier joins the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team Van Empel goes solo as Dutch dominate Elite Women's Race Second at the finish line was Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado but such was Van Empel's superiority that only one rider really counted on Sunday the defending champion took off on the first lap of the muddy waterlogged course at Pont Château to go solo and then continued unopposed all the way to the line to finish well over a minute ahead "The first lap I made too many mistakes so it was quite hard to get my rhythm," Van Empel said afterwards "Luckily the plan was to attack on the first uphill part and that succeeded so I could improve my time and get a bigger gap." Van Empel was already putting the power down on the first lap's climbs moving ahead of 2020 Euro champion and 2022 runner-up Alvarado and their teammate Inge van der Heijden to reach the end of the first lap with a handful of seconds advantage the Netherlands already had five riders in the top five and were clearly dominating the race but Van Empel was once again a level above the rest the gap had yawned to a whopping 26 seconds for Van Empel over her closest pursuer with the first of what proved to be multiple pitstops barely delaying her and while Van de Heijden was able to catch her Van Empel simply forged on with no problems at all The sun finally put in an appearance mid-way through the race but there was no change in the state of affairs was able to take advantage of her solo ride to pick ideal lines on the extremely difficult and push out her advantage even higher to over a minute Although Alvarado was still solid in second was suffering and had been overtaken by Italian rider Sara Casasola Echoing Zoe Bäckstedt's route to her U23 victory earlier in the day the last lap became a virtual lap of honour for Van Empel one specialist website claimed before the event but not even the rain that returned with a vengeance in the closing moments of the race could stop her Van Empel's rivals will surely be relieved to hear that she is now going to take a break for a while it's mentally quite hard to be at the start line as a top favourite." "Physically I'm in very good shape but mentally it's quite hard to motivate myself each time the European title is safely in the bag for a second year running for Van Empel and as a springboard to try to defend her rainbow jersey next February in Tabor Vanthourenhout battled through torrential rain showers and deep mud to claim his title ahead of outsider Cameron Mason (Great Britain) Lars van der Haar (Netherlands) clinched bronze The Belgian took off early on the technical rendered even more difficult by the terrible weather But despite coming under notable pressure from Mason in the final lap Vanthourenhout successfully stayed away to claim Belgium's second gold medal in the 2023 Europeans by just seven seconds but after the [mid-week] Koppenbergcross race I felt very storm and it was enough to take the victory," the 29-year-old Belgian said afterwards "I'm very happy with this [jersey] unfortunately I'm also Belgian [cyclocross] champion so it's a little bit difficult But being European Champion for a second time in a row is also very good." The eight-man Belgian team made their intentions clear very early on the rain-drenched course pushing hard from the get-go and trying to limit the options of their arch-rivals First Laurens Sweeck made the running in the opening segments of the first lap before former winner Eli Iserbyt moved to the front and then Vanthourenhout made his notably early challenge The defending champion slowly eked open a gap on a 15-strong group where the Dutch and Spanish attempted to keep the Belgian's margin from increasing too far Vanthourenhout's teammates Iserbyt and Witse Meussen were blocking beautifully at the front of the chasing pack and by the end of the second lap of eight their combined efforts meant his gap had increased to over 20 seconds unexpected counter-attack by Mason on lap 3 that the gap slowly reduced and the strongest chasers emerged yet more rain mid-race rendered a hard event even harder Dutchman Pim Ronhaar and double former Euro champion Van der Haar closed in on Mason in his lone pursuit of Vanthourenhout The gap decreased briefly as Vanthourenhout encountered some difficulty negotiating some of the deeper 16 seconds ahead and his options remained intact Van der Haar then opted to pile on the pressure instantly putting Iserbyt in difficulties and prompting Belgian trainer Sven Nys to shout at his rider to try and hold the wheel  reportedly because of an untimely puncture and the alarm bells began ringing in the Belgian camp as Van der Haar's powerful lone pursuit began a near-crash for the Dutchman saw Mason overtake him and made it harder to predict if any of the chasers could actually bridge across to the lone leader Mud and torrential rain rendered the riders increasingly unrecognizable and made staying upright as much of a challenge as actual racing Perhaps as a result of such tough conditions with Vanthourenhout maintaining his gap of 18 seconds on Mason and 21 on Van der Haar with two laps to go did not improve matters for the Dutchman and as the bell rang A bronze medallist in the U23 Euros a few years back with the Dutch in difficulties it was up to a relatively new contender like Mason to try to put Belgium under pressure The Scot made one last effort to regain contact on the last lap but Vanthourenhout was able to maintain his winning margin all the way to the line Mason powered on towards the first elite men's podium finish for a non-Belgian or Dutch rider in the European Championships -  defeated but nonetheless visibly satisfied at going the distance on a very tough day of racing and with a landmark result to celebrate at the end of it Storm Ciaran delivers wild winds and rain as favourites start heading toward Pont-Château for title race Wild weather is sweeping through the north-west of France, with strong winds and downpours across the region as organisers try to get set for the UCI Cyclo-Cross European Championships in Pont-Château from Friday Nov 3 to Sunday November 5 Storm Ciaran is delivering wind gusts which Meteo France warns could reach up to up to 170 kph in some coastal areas and up to 120 kph inland in the Loire-Atlantique departement Other sporting events in the region have been cancelled and the storm is also threatening to cause transport chaos in the north-west of France and beyond as riders try to make their way to the event Organisers confirmed on Thursday the races would go ahead but cancelled Friday's training session Many of the top names will be heading over straight from Wednesday's muddy Koppenbergcross – nearly 700km away by road – which was won by World Champion Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma) and Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions) We have a meeting with the organising committee on Thursday Then we have to decide whether the match can take place.” which hosted the World Cyclocross Championships in 1989 and 2004 is delivering a circuit that is three kilometres long with three stair sections allows for some recovery in the second part as it heads toward the low point of the course and then climbs toward the finish line The race in the Pays de la Loire region of France is scheduled to start with a mixed relay on Friday afternoon U23 men and elite women on Saturday and onto the junior men The worst of the weather associated with Storm Ciaran was set to hit the region on Wednesday evening with an orange warning – the second-most severe – in place across the Loire-Atlantique Conditions then are expected to have eased by Friday but then strengthening winds – with gusts of up to 80 kph – and rain are forecast by Meteo France again on Saturday which is when the elite women's race is scheduled With her run-in victory in Oudenaarde it looks like defending champion Van Empel will be hard to beat in the muddy and wet conditions Anna Kay (Cyclocross Reds) also put her strong form on display with a podium spot in Belgium and last year's runner-up Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has been ever present near the top of the results table so far this season Turning to Sunday's elite men's race, when the wind is expected to ease a little and rain turn to occasional showers, Nys drew the spotlight by taking victory at Koppenbergcross Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and Maasmechelen World Cup winner Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) will also be among the riders to watch along with Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads) and defending champion Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal) She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor Previously she worked as a freelance writer Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999 and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling Great Britain takes silver and Belgium bronze France won the Mixed Team Relay at the 2023 UEC European Cyclo-cross Championships in Pont-Château on Friday afternoon Great Britain finished 33 seconds off the winning time of 42:47 to earn silver and Belgium stopped the clock another 34 seconds back for bronze.  From the lineup of five nations at the inaugural event Czech Republic finished two seconds ahead of Italy to round out the final results the mixed team relay was introduced as a medal category at the Cyclocross World Championships in Hoogerheide and was won by the Netherlands Great Britain and Belgium took the same medals as Friday had solid performances in the six-lap race by their junior and U23 riders to shut down the competition.  The 21-year-old Rémi Lelandais put France into second place riding the second lap after men’s junior rider Aubin Sparfel and 17-year-old Célia Gery continued the pressure with her lap Hélène Clauzel and Joshua Dubau - combined to give France the gold a sports marketing and public relations agency which managed projects for Tour de Georgia a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast) Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France) Rémi Lelandais takes bronze for France After early domination by the French on the 7-lap course by the end of the third Michels emerged ahead of compatriot Emiel Verstrynge with Rémi Lelandais (France) just 14 seconds back and closing the gap However the duo’s advantage increased again to almost double that total The question of who would win was only resolved early in the last lap as Verstrynge started to struggle A podium finisher in the Euro’s in 2019 in the Junior category with each uphill Michels simply increased his gap finally crossing the line with a 25 second advantage on Verstrynge.  While it was later reported that Verstrynge had punctured during the race Lelandais briefly crashed on a sharp left-hander but fortunately could remount in time to claim bronze 20-year-old prodigy skips Dendermonde World Cup race to stay fresh and competitive The 20-year-old Belgian won the Koppenbergcross last Wednesday in spectacular style and was a favourite for the European championships in France but was soon distanced in the muddy conditions and eventually quit the race after a puncture.  "The European Championships was a big off day," Nys admitted to the Flemish media in Pontchâteau I felt that there was almost nothing in my legs He suffered a puncture during the race and decided to quit Cameron Mason: European Cyclocross championship podium 'feels amazing' 2023 European Cyclo-cross Championships: Fem van Empel destroys field to defend title 2023 European Cyclo-cross Championships: Michael Vanthourenhout wins elite men's race "I wanted to finish but that suddenly turned out to be impossible I think the Koppenberg was still in my legs and the succession of races also took its toll "It's a shame because this race should have suited me I'm not going to say that I regret riding the Koppenbergcross."    Nys has electrified the cyclocross season in recent weeks, producing some entertaining and daring racing against Eli Iserbyt, Michael Vanthourenhout and Baloise Trek Lions teammate Lars van der Haar before the return of Mathieu van der Poel Nys won the opening round of the World Cup series in the USA and finished fourth in the Overijse Superprestige race after a daring later attack that ended with a crash.  Nys’ father has tried to manage the hype about his talented young son as manager of the Baloise Trek Lions team but the Flemish media have quickly made comparisons about their career paths and Thibau Nys' potential.  Sven Nys quickly announced a change to his son's expected race programme saying on social media that Thibau will ride Saturday's Superprestige Niel Jaarmarktcross but not Sunday's Dendermonde World Cup race Nys is second in the World Cup rankings after his win in the USA but rest and just one race a weekend is the strategy to build consistency and avoid over-racing "I think I have to put the World Cup rankings out of my mind," Nys admitted on Sunday.  "I now have to reset and see how I will approach the coming races This is part of the learning process I’m undergoing as a rider." Stephen FarrandSocial Links NavigationHead of NewsStephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team having reported on professional cycling since 1994 He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022 before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters Clément Venturini: ‘I'm going to have a full winter season’.NewsNov 15 Clément Venturini will be competing in most of the rounds of the Cyclo-cross World Cup with a view to the World Championship in Liévin in early February what's your cyclo-cross programme this winter Clément Venturini: "My cyclo-cross season kicks off on 17 November It's organised by former professional Hubert Dupont who was my training partner for many years I'll then follow that up with the French Cup rounds in Troyes and an international programme with most of the World Cup rounds from Dublin (1 December) to Hooghereide (26 January)." And what are your objectives for the winter season "My priority will be to retain my French Championship title on the Coët Roz circuit in Pontchâteau on 12 January I also hope to finish on the podium in a World Cup round There will also be the World Championships in France and the terrain can also be different depending on the weather conditions so we'll see on the day if I'm called up by the national coach to compete in this World Championship A good result in Liévin would only be a bonus but if I do the whole international season it's in the hope of performing well at the next Cyclo-cross World Championships in a region that also loves our sport’." What does the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team offer you in terms of cyclo-cross and that's also why I want to do another winter season Without the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team around me so I realise how lucky we cyclo-cross riders are in the team to be able to benefit from this kind of support with a staff and people who are 100% dedicated and professional These are excellent conditions in which to ride cyclo-cross and they are bound to push us to the top." Joshua Heath finds contemporary resonances in two early 20th-century Russian works two Russian writers — a novelist and a theologian — composed extraordinary reimaginings of the last days of Jesus Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita contains a re-telling of the trial of Jesus (called “Ieshua” in the novel) and his conversation with Pontius Pilate Sergei Bulgakov’s Judas Iscariot: Apostle and traitor imagines its way into Judas’s decision to betray Jesus ultimately finding the cause in his longing for a messiah who would inaugurate a new political order These Easter works are each a profound statement of the difference between the power of Christ and the power of Caesar But they are also unflinching explorations of the ways in which this distinctiveness is lost on those who claim to be disciples of the crucified Lord They dramatise the way in which even the closest “followers” of Jesus are seduced by worldly power into perverting the truth of his words Both Bulgakovs thus speak a word from the Russian tradition which exposes and undermines Patriarch Kirill’s abhorrent endorsement of the invasion of Ukraine as a religious crusade Yet they also warn us that such a confusion of Christ and Caesar is a perennial temptation with which every Christian community must contend the encounter between Pilate and Ieshua is the confrontation of two very different kinds of word His job is to ascertain exactly what Ieshua said and to enforce the consequences of Ieshua’s words about the transience of Caesar’s power His words are final: they bring about the death of Ieshua and thus the elimination of a message that threatened the security of the empire Yet Pilate’s words also bring about his own isolation Pilate deprives himself of an interlocutor — someone who truly knows Pilate Mikhail Bulgakov presents this in his dazzling re-telling of Pilate’s question “What is truth?” Ieshua answers: “The truth is that you’re having fainthearted thoughts about death The trouble is that you are too isolated and have lost all faith in people Ieshua’s humility is linked to a different kind of power whereas the imperious words of Pilate bring death for others and endless isolation for himself Ieshua’s words reject such closure for himself and his interlocutors Ieshua’s offer of dialogue is thus an intimation of eternity But Pilate is not the only one who fails to receive Ieshua’s words follows me around everywhere,” Ieshua complains Absolutely nothing that was written there did I ever say.” It was this disciple who took Ieshua’s prophecy “that the temple of the old faith will fall” as an incitement to destroy the Temple in Jerusalem likewise can understand Ieshua’s words only as the promise of yet another wordly power the same kind of misunderstanding characterises Judas is in fact to insult Jesus himself: “We cannot ascribe such an error to the one who searches the heart.” No: Judas loved and served Jesus But Judas was increasingly disturbed by Jesus’s proclamations concerning his own death Having witnessed miracles of healing and preaching to immense crowds Judas was more and more convinced that Jesus was the one who would liberate the Jewish people and rule as their king was he suddenly announcing his impeding execution Judas engineers a confrontation between the secular authorities and Jesus in the hope that Jesus will have no choice but to reveal his power entrusted to him alone and sanctioned by Jesus the devil “enters” Judas in this moment of self-deception political order become the horizon for understanding Jesus’s promises THIS is a daring — and difficult — imaginative exercise it ascribes to him a process of thinking and decision-making a set of hopes and anxieties about the wellbeing of his community Sergei Bulgakov thus makes Judas’s betrayal of Jesus something we can more readily imagine ourselves doing And coming to see ourselves in this way is a fundamental part of the discipline of Lent and Holy Week as we see the invasion of Ukraine receive the endorsement of the Russian religious authorities Our two Bulgakovs warn us not to think of the collusion between Church and Caesar as a peculiar sickness of the Russian Church It is our duty to see the ways in which it is already unfolding in our midst also.Joshua Heath is a Junior Research Fellow in Russian Studies at Trinity College are part of these wartime children’s memories We are a partnership of six diverse and welcoming congregations in the northern districts of Milton Keynes offering a rich tapestry of worshipping traditions – Anglican and live God’s love in our community" Bro Gwendraeth Local Ministry Area comprises churches in the post-industrial towns and villages of the Carmarthenshire Gwendraeth Valley either side of the M4 at Crosshands The Bishop of Lincoln seeks an ordained colleague to lead in vocational discernment within the Diocese Brenchley are seeking an experienced Youth and Children’s Worker starting September 2025 or beforehand A central element of the role is being Chaplain to our Brenchley& Matfield C of E Primary School - a part time role for 3.5 days a week (with flexibility to extend the hours) Read reports from issues stretching back to 1863 search for your parish or see if any of the clergy you know get a mention Explore the archive run jointly by Sarum College and The Church Times tickets available This online seminar, run jointly by Modern Church and The Church Times discusses the theology underpinning the drive for growth tickets available Non-subscribers can read four articles for free each month You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Construction Week Online Home » Products and Services » French plant produces 20,000th Bobcat telehandler Bobcat’s Pontchâteau plant has celebrated the production of its 20,000th telehandler The facility, which is located in Loire Atlantique, France, produces all Bobcat telehandlers sold on the global market and sales orchestration are all conducted from the Pontchâteau command centre “We foresee growth of around 15% in sales and 17% in turnover this year compared to 2013,” commented Laurent Gicquel “This growth is largely due to good results from the agricultural sector which represents some 49% of Bobcat telehandler sales The remaining 51% of our sales come from the rental and construction sectors and general industry,” he added The plant’s 200-strong workforce attended an official ceremony to mark the telehandler production milestone Gicquel and his team were joined by Xavier Larroque This has been a record-breaking year for the compact equipment manufacturer. The millionth Bobcat loader rolled off the production line in July 2014 The company now intends to take advantage of the momentum built up by its French plant with an array of investments to boost production at the Pontchâteau facility and to capitalise on the high levels of demand for its French-manufactured telehandlers “80% of our production is exported,” revealed Larroque At present, the Pontchâteau plant produces 12 Bobcat telehandler models, with lifting heights ranging from 5m to 18m. The firm’s telehandler portfolio is to be expanded with the introduction of a new generation of machines, which will join the T40140 and T40180 units launched earlier this year Home » Products and Services » Bobcat launches 11 new telehandlers in Middle East Bobcat has launched an 11-strong range of rigid-frame telehandlers with capacities ranging from 2.6 tonnes to 4.1t and lift heights of 6m to 8m Bobcat’s latest-generation telehandlers are designated according to their respective capacities and lift heights The range includes the TL26.60 and TL30.60 compact telescopic loaders; the TL35.70 and T36.120SL middle-lift telehandlers; the T35.130S and T35.140S rental industry-oriented telehandlers; and the T35.130SLP The models will be available in versions designed for markets such as the Middle East and Africa which are powered by Perkins Stage IIIA/Tier 3 diesel engines Optional extras include air dual suspension seats and auto fan inversion and cushion retract on the three TL models All 11 models will be manufactured at Bobcat’s plant in Pontchâteau