cunego59 wrote:
Glad to see you going here again Very nice concept, should give you all the flexibility you want and need, really good idea!
Thanks a lot, hope you'll like it
DiCyc wrote:
It will be interesting to see what Arthur can do on his birthday
Find out soon!
I also want to thank TiemenD a lot for making the Career Explorer, which I'm using constantly now! Helps a lot Will be using screenshots from it eventually, probably!
Edited by Ian Butler on 29-03-2016 15:09
I hope you all watched it, either on the television or via a live stream. Personally I thought we got two great races.
But what I think about it, is not relevant. What matters is how Arthur did and what he thinks about it. So let's recap what he did.
RACE RECAP
The Omloop on the 27th of February, meaning on Arthur's birthday. He obviously had the motivation to make something of this race. For us it was an important moment, to finally see if and how our work during the winter will unfold.
The Omloop was a very open race. The finale started already at 80 km from the finish, under an impulse of Etixx and Kutasha. Europcar was not taken by surprise and all its 8 riders were in the front group.
As the group continued to thin out, Arthur kept in the top 10 constantly. I wasn't there myself but I was watching the race on tv and I saw he was pretty good.
And then he attacked. I asked him if it was a team order or not, he said he saw a chance and it would help Stuyven, who could sit up and wait for the sprint that way.
But the headwind made it almost impossible to get away. He kept his attack up for a few hundredth meters, but then had to accept it wasn't happening.
Others took up the chance to avoid the sprint, but because of the strong head wind, nobody got away.
I got Arthur on a phone only minutes after he finished. He sounded quite pleased, he finished 10th in the end. He told me his legs felt good and he tried to get away, but the wind made it impossible.
In Kuurne, Arthur played no major role and finished 31th. Coquard took his second consecutive win and we like to see that. Arthur did his share of the work, relaying for tens of kilometers in the second half of the race, riding for the French sprinter.
About Kuurne, Arthur had even less to say. It was too hot, he said. But he was happy Coquard won.
MARCH - Part 1
Team Europcar needed a big result in March, to put all the non-believers in their place. Romain Bardet didn't start too well in Paris - Nice, but struck back with a stage win in stage 5, just like last year. In the last stage, he was in a 15-men late attack and won 26 valuable seconds. Team Europcar took Paris - Nice with 3 seconds to spare. One of the closest editions ever and a French winner! Sicard was the second man in the top 10, on an 8th spot.
Tirreno - Adriatico was a different story. It also was a fight for seconds, but Europcar played a more modest role. Amador kept a low profile but managed to finish 7th, which is a creditable result nonetheless.
Tirreno - Adriatico: stage by stage
Spoiler
stage
winner
general leader
points leader
mountain leaders
young leader
1
Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador
Michael Valgren
2
Mark Cavendish
Peter Sagan
Mark Cavendish
Pirmin Lang
Michael Valgren
3
Marcel Kittel
Peter Sagan
Marcel Kittel
Pirmin Lang
Michael Valgren
4
Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert
Marcel Kittel
Pirmin Lang
Tiesj Benoot
5
Julian Alaphilippe
Mikel Nieve
Marcel Kittel
Moreno Moser
Tiesj Benoot
6
Daniel Martin
Daniel Martin
Daniel Martin
Daniel Martin
Tiesj Benoot
7
Rohan Dennis
Sergio Luis Henao
Daniel Martin
Daniel Martin
Tiesj Benoot
Tirreno - Adriatico: overall classification
Spoiler
1
Sergio Luis Henao
Team Sky
+00:00
2
Daniel Martin
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+00:09
3
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
+00:17
4
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
+00:22
5
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
+00:38
6
Chris Froome
Team Sky
+00:47
7
Andrey Amador
Team Europcar
+00:51
8
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
+00:53
9
Mikel Nieve
Team Sky
+01:02
10
Alberto Contador
Tinkoff-Saxo
+01:15
And then there was Milan - Sanremo. It came down to a mass sprint, with the largest peloton arriving on the Via Rome in decades, maybe ever. Coquard fell out of the top 10, so no success story for Europcar. But Kristoff took his third consecutive victory there, worth mentioning.
DiCyc wrote:
Nice win for Bardet
And it will be excited, what Lucas can do in the cobble classics
Cheers!
Though it's Lucas (Dujardin) who'll be riding Crit Int.
Arthur (Dierickx) will be riding a full cobbled campaign. As a neopro he already rode DvV, E3, RvV and PR so new is G-W
While the world is excited about the cobbled classics, the team managers are hard at work, making sure they get the best results they can, wondering about team line-up, tactics and whatnot.
Luckily, I don't have to concern myself with all that. I'm focused solely on the riders and how they are doing, that's my job. I have all confidence in Arthur for the cobbled races. Any personal result is a victory for him this season, as he's still very young, especially for these kind of races.
His ride at Dwars Door Vlaanderen was good, and his debut in Gent-Wevelgem especially, but I'll get back to that when the cobbled season is finished. Still the Ronde and Roubaix on the program.
NAME: Lucas Dujardin NATIONALITY: French DATE OF BIRTH: 12/08/1993
CRITÉRIUM INTERNATIONAL: Lucas went into the race with a fine form. He'd used Tirreno-Adriatico as a final big training for this race. The opening stage was all about staying upright. In the time trial, he finished 9th, thus giving himself an excellent position for the final stage, up the Ospedale.
Team Europcar had a weaker climbing line-up than last year, but this meant Lucas was free to go his own chance. On the final climb of the day, Gautier went at the foot of the climb. When the competition reacted, Lucas could limit his exploits to following. Halfway the climb, he accelerated past Gautier and the rest of the field. His wattage levels were incredible, he rode the race of his life, and won by minutes, literally.
LEARNING CURVE: I wasn't there, since I was at Gent-Wevelgem with Arthur, but I called Lucas and we had a chat about his ride. I'm very happy for him, obviously. When a rider you coach wins, it feels like you win yourself.
However, I always remind the athletes I work with that there's always work to be done, so a win is nice, but the learning curve is the bigger picture. His 9th place in the time trial tells me more than his win up the Ospedale. I knew he could climb, that was no surprise. His top 10 in a time trial is much more telling. It means our work is paying off, and it's a big step in the right direction of riding for the general classification in one week races and grand tours.
Lucas is riding the Tour of the Basque Country next, as a build-up for the Giro d'Italia. I'm happy he managed to get this confidence boost and his first professional victory with his debut Grand Tour in sight.
With Lucas preparing for his first Grand Tour, Arthur has just finished his cobbled campaign. We can safely say it's been a big success. Arthur, now 21 years old, conquered the hearts of the Belgian cycling fans in the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. But leading up to that, we saw him do well in Gent - Wevelgem.
GENT - WEVELGEM
For Arthur, it was his first Gent - Wevelgem. Last year he wasn't on the team sheet. This time, he was scheduled for all cobbled classics.
Arthur was at the front, very attentive. 40 kilometers from the finish, he decided to shake the tree and see what happens.
He managed to get away with Terpstra, Boasson Hagen and Vanmarcke. Belgian cycling fans were pleasantly surprised by this young rider from Team Europcar. I was pleasantly surprised by his gusto. He has this unrelentless desire to race.
But in Gent - Wevelgem, an attack 40 km from the finish rarely lasts. Arthur finished 14th in the end. Not bad at all, and a good final result with the eye on the Ronde.
RONDE VAN VLAANDEREN
The Ronde is a special race, especially for a man from Flanders. I noticed Arthur felt a bit uneasy on the start podium in Bruges. He had been here before, last year, but this time Michel Wuyts asked him two or three questions in front of an immense crowd.
Luckily his nerves calmed when the race started. When Degenkolb and Terpstra upped the pace, again 40 km from the finish, Arthur tried to hang on.
23 km from the finish and we had an 8-man group. The names: Degenkolb, Terpstra, Van Avermaet, Vanmarcke, Sagan, Kristoff, Boonen... And Arthur. I was in the team car, telling Arthur to remain calm, while having a nervous breakdown myself.
A strong Benoot was the only one who could still make the jump to these 8 leaders.
When the cohesion in the breakaway group ceased to exist, Arthur snuck away, 4 km from the finish. My heart was racing. He got 8 seconds.
3 km to go, his gap was 6 seconds.
2 km to go, his gap was still 6 seconds. Kristoff and Benoot took major turns now.
Only under the red flag, he got caught. He was close to a major upset, but the favorites had things under control!
Obviously, he had no sprint left. Still, he managed a 7th place. Flanders had a new exciting prospect.
Result
1
John Degenkolb
Team Giant-Alpecin
6h09'44
2
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
3
Greg Van Avermaet
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
4
Tom Boonen
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
5
Niki Terpstra
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
6
Sep Vanmarcke
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
7
Arthur Dierickx
Team Europcar
s.t.
8
Tiesj Benoot
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
9
Alexander Kristoff
Team Katusha
s.t.
10
Jürgen Roelandts
Lotto Soudal
+ 3'15
11
Yves Lampaert
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
PARIS - ROUBAIX
In the week between the Ronde and Roubaix, Arthur had some problems with a cough. It was nothing major but in these stressful weeks, it wasn't an ideal preperation for Roubaix.
The Belgian media was now writing about Arthur, too, making my job harder. Arthur needs media training. I'm afraid he's not good at all, talking to the press. So far we've managed to shield him from the press as good as we can, though.
As nervous as he seemed before the race, as good he seemed in the race. He launched an attack some 20 km from the finish line.
When a big group got back together, he remained a big engine in the group. Via his earpiece he told me it'd be impossible to get away today, especially with this (fine) weather. With Stuyven in the group, he'd be an idiot not to work for him.
Arthur worked like a horse and a group of 17 turned on the velodrome together, the biggest group in years, perhaps even decades, to sprint for the win in Roubaix.
NAME: Arthur Dierickx NATIONALITY: Belgian DATE OF BIRTH: 27/02/1995
CONCLUSION (SEASON PART I): Arthur is a very interesting man to work with. He's a dying breed, a strong, silent type. Yet as silent he is off the bike, the more noise he makes on the bike. His performances from Wevelgem all through Roubaix were very hopeful, and given his young age, showing a lot of talent.
Yet as a coach I'm also bound to look at what can still improve. His finishing is just not enough to win a classic soon. He's not a sprinter, but maybe we can work on his finishing speed.
And then I'd have to get through to him that he shouldn't be so wasteful with his powers during the race. He takes a lot of turns and attacks often. But for example you hardly saw Demare in Roubaix until the final 100 meters. A race is won at the finish line, not 40 km from the finish line.
Arthur will be taking up team duties for the next few months. I'll be focusing on his training, working on that sprint speed and his time trial abilities. Now that the cobbled focus is gone, I'll get him on a time trial bike, finally! With his power, that can only turn out positive!
DiCyc wrote:
Arthur is really doing well!
He has a very promising future like Lucas
That's the hope thanks man!
Just finished riding the Giro, but will probably keep the post until tomorrow since I'm not sure I'll have any play time tomorrow.
It's been one hell of a Giro, though. Was a lot of fun to get most out of it with a non-OP rider like I usually have. Dujardin only has like 74 hill and 77 mo, so if you take Quintana, Nibali (84 and 83 MO) and others (Pinot 83 MO) into the equation, you're in for a tough time.
It's been a long time since I was so involved, though, with the riders in my team in this game. Having a lot of fun both with the cobbled classics and in the tours. Hope it lasts!
sutty68 wrote:
The team are certainly making great strides and have achieved some great results too, long may the consistency last
Thanks, sutty. We've got a great core, so I hope to keep it all together and then we can do some amazing things!
@all: I'm always open to suggestions, too, on how you think I could improve this story. I have a lot of freedom with this approach to a story, so feel free to tell me what you want to hear more about. Right now I'm concentrating on the 2 main riders mostly, but if you want I could also bring the team more into play.
Am planning to get more told about 2 other talents soon, though. Niels Erik Lindhard has done interesting things (a Dane cobbler), as well as Diego Gonzalez Avila (Spanish cobbler and hard rider)
I'm sure you have all followed the Giro d'Italia closely. Those who did, couldn't have missed our protege Lucas Dujardin in his debut Grand Tour. His final week was remarkable, to say the least. A jump from 19th to 5th in the GC, a stage win, the KoM Jersey. It's an incredible achievement in its own, let alone for a 22-year old in his first Grand Tour. We couldn't be more proud of him. We knew he had a lot to offer, but this much this early? Never.
And that's where the trouble begins. The article suggests it; the French won't be leaving him alone any time soon. And Lucas is easily seduced, we need to keep him from floating, or this can go very wrong.
Where the French can't stop praising him, others are pointing fingers. Doping, they are saying. This, too, affects Lucas. He's an emotional man, despite what you might think, and these accusations get to him.
It's good Lucas is taking some time off the bike now, we're going to get him to Mallorca, where he can concentrate on his training and where we can shield him from the reporters as best as we can.
Exciting days. But it's all part of our job. And as you can see, Lucas is giving us back so much, so soon. We couldn't be happier!
Make La France great again! But if he doesn't win the Tour next year, he'll be dead to us!
I'm interested to see how you incorporate that. Personally, I'd like to hear a bit more from the team, maybe there's a nice rivalry developing between Arthur and his fellow cobble talents. Could be nice to get a better feel for the environment the two are developing in.
Wow Lucas
Good for Arthur to get some hype too, as Cunego said these two must be close to buckling perhaps?
And Ian, I know you must have lotsa updates stored up, but I think I speak for most people when I say: Slow the hell down (and a significantly less amount of people when I question whether you remember CX is a thing )
Seriously though good writing, loving it!
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Make La France great again! But if he doesn't win the Tour next year, he'll be dead to us!
I'm interested to see how you incorporate that. Personally, I'd like to hear a bit more from the team, maybe there's a nice rivalry developing between Arthur and his fellow cobble talents. Could be nice to get a better feel for the environment the two are developing in.
Thanks for the tip. Had an idea concerning this. Expect something like this for the next upcoming season!
Thought it was interesting to hype up the French climber in the French media. Makes sense and it has "destroyed" many real life talents before
jandal7 wrote:
Wow Lucas
Good for Arthur to get some hype too, as Cunego said these two must be close to buckling perhaps?
And Ian, I know you must have lotsa updates stored up, but I think I speak for most people when I say: Slow the hell down (and a significantly less amount of people when I question whether you remember CX is a thing )
Seriously though good writing, loving it!
Thanks jandal. Well the early rush of a new story, there's nothing like it
DiCyc wrote:
What a Giro
I hope not that the hype and doping questions affect him too much
They're bound to impact him, but hopefully not in a negative way! That's why the mental coach is there
the_hoyle wrote:
Fantastic story so far and great to see you doing well with the results. Nice signings to Europcar as well
After our first half year on the paycheck for Team Europcar, our practice has been given a larger role in the Team Europcar team. We're now the main doctors of the entire team and provide training advice to almost half the team, in cooperation with some external coaches.
The first few stages were all about survival for the men of the General Classification. We also had new National Champion Coquard here sprinting for the win, but he was never in the position to do his sprint like he wants to so far. The Tour is hectic, and I'm learning that every day. It's my first time in this circus called the Tour de France.
Day 4 was the most important day in the Tour. Well, that's arguable, but a cobbled stage is always dangerous for GC riders in a Tour.
Some 50 km from the finish, Bardet had a rather bad fall, leading up to a cobbled section with the peloton. I was with him quickly. He was clutching his shoulder and I immediately knew it wasn't good news. He wanted to keep riding, but I had to take him out of the race. He was especially displeased with me at the time, but he soon realized there was no other option.
So we have 2 and a half weeks left in the Tour and our main contender has been brutally taken out of the race. Let's try to make most of the race, but it won't be easy now. Bardet has been really strong this year and we'll miss him going to Paris.
NAME: Arthur Dierickx NATIONALITY: Belgian DATE OF BIRTH: 27/02/1995
TRAINING: Now I'm in the Tour de France, but my job as trainer doesn't stop by being away. I've been working with Arthur heavily these last few weeks. Unfortunately, the results from the time trial tests were rather unsatisfactory. His aerodynamic position isn't very good and he doesn't give the same wattage as on a regular bike. I don't know yet how that is, exactly. But it seems to be motivation, too. Arthur doesn't seem to like the time trial bike too much.
It's a shame, really. The wattages numbers he clocks are most impressive, but it doesn't translate into time trialing results. I'm not giving up, though.
NAME: Lucas Dujardin NATIONALITY: French DATE OF BIRTH: 12/08/1993
INJURY: Lucas has been ill for a few days in July, and now he's taken up an injury. It's getting hard to keeping him motivated to train hard at this moment, when things aren't going right. He's been taken up on several media offers, appearing on the radio and whatnot.
His injury is keeping him off the bike and he's discovering another world, in the spotlight. I'm here at the Tour so I can't do a lot about it, though I'm calling him every few days, now, checking up on his injury.
He should be ready to get back to training in a week, and then I expect him to go for it fully. His 5th place in the Giro was fantastic, but I see it as a beginning, not a goal, and we have to keep working very hard. After the Tour, I'm taking him to the United States, to keep him away from the media, to train hard and to prepare for the USA Pro Challenge, his last goal of the season.
Oh and you saw the article, but I wanted to include the results from the Giro here, because I forgot last time.
(and a significantly less amount of people when I question whether you remember CX is a thing 
