You can imagine our disappointment after stage 10. Kudus was so close to a stage victory.
Well, then. Let me tell you about stage 12. Last mountain stage in the Pyrenees. MTN wanted to make something of it.
And Olujimi was off! Inspired by the good performance from Kudus, he decided to go his chance before the peloton left the Pyrenees behind.
He got in a breakaway of 8 men, including Voeckler, Dumoulin, De Marchi, Machado, Tony Martin...
A first shock came in the descent of the first climb, when Olujimi (who came over the top 3rd!) went down!
But he got back in the main group safe and sound. In fact, on the 2nd climb of the day, he crossed the KoM first!
On the 3rd of 4 climbs of stage 12, he dictated the pace and only De Marchi was able to follow now!
Voeckler managed to regain contact just before the top of the mountain, though.
And so they reached the final climb of the day. At this moment, Olujimi, and myself most of all, got very nervous. In contention for a victory in the Tour de France. His first TDF!
I wanted to get rid of Voeckler and De Marchi. Don't trust these two, they'll only get stronger!
And it worked!
I was going good, going strong. Olujimi quickly took a minute!
And then, a most terrible deja-vu. At the foot of the climb I had almost 6 minutes. But with 2 km to go, I suddenly saw a yellow jersey on my screen.
[img][/img]
Olujimi's world crumbled beneath him when Quintana and Froome left him with under a kilometer to go.
Result? A podium in a TDF mountain stage. The world has met Farai Olujimi, South African daring climber. Talented young man. Before the Tour, he would've signed immediately for such a result. But coming this close... Mostly another big disappointment.
Magnificant, beautiful day yet such a tragedy for Olujimi.
We're heading towards the Alpes now. Sekibo is not doing so well and can't get to the head of the peloton in the flat stages. He is still too young and inexperienced to do anything in the Tour, so we just want him to finish the race. That'll be good for him at this point. Not every 21 year old can do that, mind you!
Olujimi is another case. Clearly he's got talent, gusto. With the Alpes left, maybe he's got one more chance in him. He's already tasted defeat, maybe he can taste victory as well?
And we've still got Pauwels tucked away, ready for action! MTN wants that stage win!
from left to right: Mandla Sekibo, Farai Olujimi, Merhawi Kudus
The youngest members of our squad. All three of them are only 21. They all finished this Tour.
Kudus was close to victory, was only 5 points short of wearing the Mountain Jersey on stage 12 and ended on a very creditable 23th place.
Olujimi was even closer to a win and scored a podium spot on stage 12. After the disappointment of being so close, he found his great legs and spirit again in the Alpes and was active a few times. He showed our colors on prime time, attacking at the foot of the Alpe d'Huez.
Sekibo perhaps even made the greatest achievement. This very young sprinter conquered mountains higher than he could imagine, fought very hard to bring bottles, suffered for three weeks to finally make it to Paris. His journey was the toughest, as the mountains showed him no mercy. But he made it. He showed the heart of a lion.
We're very proud of the entire team, every single one of them made it to Paris. We leave France without a stage win, without a jersey, without a top GC spot, but with our heads raised high, our morale higher than ever and with pride.
See you next year, France!
I'm a little surprised that you didn't take Cummings after his real life heroics at le tour but it looks like you tried to take as many Africans as you could.
Is this going to be like all Ian Butler stories, where we never get to know the riders stats?
katulen wrote:
This is SO enjoyable to read
Keep it up ! Amazing.
Thanks so much
sammyt93 wrote:
I'm a little surprised that you didn't take Cummings after his real life heroics at le tour but it looks like you tried to take as many Africans as you could.
Is this going to be like all Ian Butler stories, where we never get to know the riders stats?
I'm not sure yet this isn't a real story, but I might have an idea how to convey stats/progress
I just feel stats take away some of the magic in stories. And even if this isn't a traditional, real story, it still has a narrative element.
Tamijo wrote:
A very good tour with some fine options to take a stage win. The young men is getting their fleets wet and learning.
We're having a good season. 1st PCT team in CQ and WT Ranking, 4th in Continental League.
We're definitely up for promotion, although I fear it's too soon and we'll struggle hard next season. Still, we're doing great now.
Yet besides Kudus winning Crit Int and the mountain stage there, we didn't win anything.
That is, until now!
The later part of the season is bringing us some nice late successes.
Theo Bos won a stage in the Vuelta of Burgos, a mass sprint. Ciolek took stages 3 and 4 in the Czech Cycling Tour (Cummings got 2nd overal)
And the best was yet to come!
USA Pro Challenge
This stage race in the United States was a huge success for us, on multiple fronts.
First, Sekibo finally had a minor breakthrough, finishing 2nd in stage 5, losing the mass sprint against Ratto but finishing 2nd, meaning a first podium this season! (picture above)
In stage 7, he finished 4th (3rd in mass sprint; solo victory). Two sprints, two top 5 places. Not bad at all.
Moreover, his sprint speed and apparent late season form has gotten him a pre-selection for the South African national team at the UCI World Championships. The 21 year old is finally earning his stripes! And it's far from over!
Olujimi was played out as lieutenant to Meintjes and it got him an 11th place in the GC as a reward. Another nice result for his palmares, which is getting to be quite impressive as a first year professional of 21 years old.
But the best of all:
Meintjes, with the help of the entire team, but specifically Olujimi, won the Queen's stage of this USA Pro Challenge. He took it by enough seconds to secure the Overall victory as well! AND the Points Jersey!
GC:
1
Louis Meintjes
MTN-Qhubeka
+00:00
2
Esteban Cháves
Orica-GreenEDGE
+00:39
3
Manuele Boaro
Tinkoff-Saxo
+01:12
4
Alessandro De Marchi
BMC Racing Team
+01:16
5
Janier Acevedo
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+01:31
6
Egor Silin
Team Katusha
+01:33
7
Serghei Tvetcov
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+01:34
8
Stefano Pirazzi
Bardiani CSF
+02:12
9
Tom Danielson
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+02:29
10
Chris Anker Sørensen
Tinkoff-Saxo
+02:43
From here on out it's straight towards the World Championships and perhaps a spot at Il Lombardia for Olujimi. Sekibo might finish his season at Paris - Tours.
Sekibo has an outside shot at riding the World Championships. So keeping our fingers crossed for the young African! However, with Impey and Van Rensburg in contention, they have seniority, experience and honestly they're just much better than Sekibo at the moment. But form and injuries can still change everything!
And so the season is nearing an end. But it isn't all over, just yet!
Tour of Alberta
In the Tour of Alberta, in Canada, Sekibo managed to put the icing on the cake of his debut season by getting his first professional victory!In a sprint against Ratto (who beat him to the win in USA Pro Challenge), he was the fastest!
Stage 5:
1
Mandla Sekibo
MTN-Qhubeka
3h04'05
2
Daniele Ratto
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
3
Juan Jose Lobato
Movistar Team
s.t.
4
Sam Bennett
Bora - Argon 18
s.t.
5
Francesco Lasca
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
6
Klaas Lodewyck
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
7
Kristian Sbaragli
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
8
Edward Theuns
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
9
William Bonnet
FDJ
s.t.
10
Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
He couldn't quite believe it himself. To take his first victory, this far from home, in the cold and distant Canada. But where didn't matter, against who didn't matter. All that mattered was that he did it.
World Championships
Time Trial:
1
Tony Martin
Etixx - Quick-step
+00:00
2
Bradley Wiggins
Team Sky
+00:21
3
Tom Dumoulin
Team Giant-Alpecin
+00:52
4
Fabian Cancellara
Trek Factory Racing
+00:56
5
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+01:05
6
Rohan Dennis
BMC Racing Team
+01:18
7
Alberto Contador
Tinkoff-Saxo
+01:30
8
Adriano Malori
Movistar Team
+01:39
9
Luis León Sánchez
Astana Pro Team
+01:47
10
Lars Boom
Astana Pro Team
+01:56
Road Race:
1
Sep Vanmarcke
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+00:00
2
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
+03:32
3
Michal Kwiatkowski
Etixx - Quick-step
+03:34
4
Tiesj Benoot
Lotto Soudal
+03:38
5
Geraint Thomas
Team Sky
+03:38
6
Luca Paolini
Team Katusha
+03:38
7
Fabian Cancellara
Trek Factory Racing
+03:38
8
Giacomo Nizzolo
Trek Factory Racing
+09:54
9
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
+09:54
10
Simon Gerrans
Orica-GreenEDGE
+09:54
Sekibo was selected to assist Impey in the road race. He did it by going in the breakaway of the day.
He and his breakaway companions were caught with 60 kilometers to go. They were caught by an incredible display of Belgium, who seemed very, very confident in their leader(s).
And as well as they should. Vanmarcke tried to take the World Title with a 20 km solo and succeeded.
Sekibo finished 42th, 12 minutes down on the race winner. Daryl Impey didn't even finish the race.
And now the season is really coming to a close. Sekibo was getting rather tired after this long season and was sent home early. His season is now over.
Olujimi is slightly ill so maybe it's unwise to send him to his first monument, Lombardia, ill. So potentially he already rode his last race of 2015, too.
I'll do one more 2015 post, discussing the past season with some statistics, too, about the big races and the team and, of course, Olujimi and Sekibo.
The 2015 season was a special one for us. We've had some big ups, and some downs. But overall it was a positive balans and it resulted in our promotion to World Tour level!
Farai Olujimi
Oluijmi had a big debut season. He's already showed great promise and I believe he'll continue to do even better. We'll have to see what goals we'll set for him next season. Maybe the Giro would be a nice race for him to compete in!
That Tour de France podium in stage 12 is definitely the highlight of his season. This begs for more.
Mandla Sekibo
Sekibo's neopro season has gone more under the radar. He struggled hard in the Tour, and managed to get only a handful of top 10s in the most part of the season. But the Tour did make him better. After the Tour, he came back stronger and it ended in his first professional victory in the Tour of Alberta.
We still believe 100% in him and next season he might actually do way better. Looking forward to seeing him in action again, a new and improved Sekibo!
2016 season
So we're World Tour now. We'll have a hard time but we do want to stay WT, we'll fight for it. Most of this comes down to good planning. Counting on EBH, Van Rensburg, Ciolek, Atapuma and especially Meintjes to score us enough points to keep our WT license.
But, of course, mostly I want these 2 to bring home the bacon more and more:
Olujimi
It couldn't be more clear, this man is one for stage races. His third week in the Tour was phenominal for a neopro. His recovery seems extraordinaire. So in 2016 I'm sending him to the Giro d'Italia. Not the pressure of the Tour, but a Grand Tour. He'll have a complete free role to do whatever he wants. No objectives. He can go for GC if he wants, or go in long range attacks hoping for a stage win or just get publicity. Though I expect a little more from Olujimi than just publicity. I believe in him!
Besides that, USA Pro Challenge is back on for him. And some World Tour races like Catalunya and Romandie to warm up for the Giro but why not go for a prize there, too? Young Jersey? Stage win? It's all open for grabs. Olujimi will enjoy a season of being a free role, a wildcard, wherever he wants. Our faith is high.
Sekibo
He's growing into being a sprinter quicker, but he's much more versatile than that. And we want to bring it out more. No Grand Tour for him this time around. It was a suffering for him and I want to give him more time to develop before sending him back to war again.
So more minor races and stage races. Some World Tour, like Eneco Tour, others .HC or .1, try to set up a few more victories.
Coming up to the Giro and we're getting in trouble a bit with the team.
But first, the good news!
Sbaragli won stage 2 of the Herald Sun Tour. An early season victory. Bennett won Vuelta a Rioja, with Sekibo part of his lead-out. A close victory.
Milan - Sanremo: Ciolek crashed with 20 km to go. EBH went down, too. Farrar crashed a bit later.
Suddenly, Sekibo was the only MTN rider still at the front, along with Youcef Reguigui. So Sekibo was suddenly our main man.
He did his utmost best and got a 7th place in the sprint on the Via Roma. An amazing result for Sekibo!
And then, the not so good news...
Meintjes has not been performing very well. Atapuma had a top 10 in Catalunya in the GC, but that's about it.
Olujimi has not been on the level so far this season. 36th in Tirreno, 38th in Catalunya and 41th in Romandie. Of course, he wasn't going 100% for the GC. He's been focused heavily on the Giro and these races have suffered.
A bit disappointed as I at least hoped he'd shape up for Romandie, so close to the Giro. But don't undersell him either, because of his disappointing results, he's been working for his team mates. So these results can mislead you.
I guess all he can do is let his legs do the talking in the Giro. Come on, man. Now's the time to get back on the right track!
Great to see you back in the story department!
And a nice report until now, I don't have anything against long detailed story, but imo such a report-type of story was the one missing in this section.
Yes, I'm riding the Giro, now.
Olujimi with quite some time loss in first hilly stages so I wonder what's still possible in the GC and if it's still smart to go for it (Meintjes in top 15 now, though, so Olujimi might do his domestique duties and go for a breakaway in a mountain stage later on)
Sekibo has been out of shape and that's too bad since he was one of the faster sprinters in 5-jours de Dunkerque and in Picardie but his low form means he couldn't cash his speed in. A 4th place was his best, NOT what I expected of him.
So after a great debut season for both, they're a year older and I've come to expect a bit more from them. They've still to show me they can do it (besides Sekibo 7th at Sanremo, of course!)
just want to point out that you said Sekibo has been the weaker of the 2 but the career explorer shows he got the only win out of the 2 of them so he has that as a one up even if he suffered more in the big races.
Am I being blind or did Europcar not score any World Tour points before the Giro? and Giant Alpecin are going really well for a PCT team, this might be the AI not signing guys based on which division they are likely to be in but on which division they are currently be in taking an effect on their squad strengths though.
Maybe Olujimi should go KOM jersey hunting at Le Tour and ignore GC and Young Rider Standings there as I'm sure that could bring a good few points in for you if he can get it. Especially if you allow him to be totally free and not having to worry about how teammates are doing, you could build the side around the sprints and hills to allow him the freedom to do so in the mountains instead of taking other climbers/ GC men.
sammyt93 wrote:
just want to point out that you said Sekibo has been the weaker of the 2 but the career explorer shows he got the only win out of the 2 of them so he has that as a one up even if he suffered more in the big races.
Yes. Sekibo has been the weaker one, despite being the only one with a victory. But that's just because Sekibo is a sprinter, so he's bound to win more races. Doesn't mean he's been the better rider. Take Olujimi's top 10 places in Herald Sun Tour, San Luis, 11th in USA Pro Cycling and 3rd in stage 12 of Tour de France in account and I think he's had the superior season.
But, it's true, Sekibo has had a victory, something Olujimi lacked. Since Olujimi is a climber, though, he'll always have a harder time winning, but shouldn't mean he's not riding as well or better
Am I being blind or did Europcar not score any World Tour points before the Giro? and Giant Alpecin are going really well for a PCT team, this might be the AI not signing guys based on which division they are likely to be in but on which division they are currently be in taking an effect on their squad strengths though.
Yes, that seems to have been the case. Europcar will drop right back to PCT most likely, and I'm afraid we'll do the same, too.
Maybe Olujimi should go KOM jersey hunting at Le Tour and ignore GC and Young Rider Standings there as I'm sure that could bring a good few points in for you if he can get it. Especially if you allow him to be totally free and not having to worry about how teammates are doing, you could build the side around the sprints and hills to allow him the freedom to do so in the mountains instead of taking other climbers/ GC men.
Actually a very good idea. Could be a huge thing for him. May go 100% for it. Thanks for the input and thanks for following/commenting!
this isn't a real story, but I might have an idea how to convey stats/progress 
