redordead wrote:
Even if you don't survive in PT you still had a good transfer period with Pidcock and Vermeersch. In hindsight I should've just done what you did and get a top talent, instead I missed out on every target
Xero domination incoming in a few years
Pogacar not enough for you? I definitely know the feeling of failing to go for everything, but I feel like going for points was probably important for both of us, and in the short-term at least you'll be proven right in your approach and I'll probably be proven wrong
I'll settle for just being a good home-built team, but I wouldn't mind domination either Thanks for the kind words
A couple of days before the Xero squad presentation, men and women in Octagon polo shirts usher skinny young men with muscly legs into an electrically colourful room, a few at a time. Some look bemused by the whole act, a couple look nervous, some are mucking around and some are already cheerfully chatting with our cameraman. The background is blue with streaks of red, white, light blue, green and red, just as with their jerseys. The props are there - the bikes, the bouncy balls, the deck of cards, the team caps. This isn't the madhouse it might look like, but it isn't your average team photoshoot either - Octagon have really done their best to show us the happy, playful side of the team which used to carry their name, and, a cynic might say, emphasise the riders' youth and potential since they're hardly big names in the PT. After their photoshoots, we sat down with some of them for interviews. First up, it's George Bennett!
George Bennett 30 | Maxed | 420,000 | Xero since 2017
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
67
81
76
65
75
74
79
58
65
73
55
63
65
Xero Palmarès
- 2x GC Tour of Japan ('19, '20)
- 3rd GC Volta a Portugal ('19)
- Gisborne GP ('17)
- 3rd GC Tour of Romandie ('19)
- 3x Stage Win Tour of Japan ('19, '20)
- 3rd GC Tour of Cyprus ('19)
- 2x Stage Win Tour de Pologne ('20)
- 2x Points Tour of Japan ('19, '20)
- Stage Win Tour of the Middle East ('18)
- 2x KoM Tour of Japan ('19, '20)
- Stage Win Giro del Trentino ('17)
- Points Tour de Pologne ('20)
- 2nd GC Tour de Romandie ('20)
Xero Stats
Best
Rank
Best
Rank
Seasons
4
=4th
Points/€
€308
€239 ('20)
2nd
Points
1949
716 ('20)
1st
Jerseys
5
3 ('20)
1st
Wins
10
5 ('20)
1st
RDs
198
55 ('18)
6th
Wage
€600,000
€175,000 ('20)
4th
RotM
8
3 ('19)
1st
Long-time fans and purveyors of 2016's third tier of cycling may remember a day when George Bennett wasn't synonymous with Xero Racing - but for most in the cycling world, it's hard to imagine this team without it's home hero and star climber. He's their all-time leader in wins total, both GC victories and stage wins, points, jerseys won, second in points-per-wage and first in Rider of the Months win. Winner of the Fan's Rider of the Year award for all of his four seasons, and twice winner of the Rider's Rider of the Year award, Bennett has improved his craft year on year as he assumed the role of the team's star and talisman.
"Couldn't you use a picture from the last four of these?" the smile seems to say
"I really feel at home here now. I had great times and learning experiences at Aegon, Project: Africa and Oz but this team has been so good for me and I really get along with the boys and girls here - it's a super positive environment and we keep challenging ourselves and building year on year." the two-time Tour of Japan winner tells us. And indeed they have - but 2021 promises to be the biggest challenge yet, with the team heavy favourites for the drop. And with this all being part of the team's long-term plan, some are wondering where the 30-year-old Bennett fits into Xero's next phase - will this be his only chance to lead them at the highest level?
"I really hope not - and I'm not sure that's a discussion too worth having at the moment. Obviously right now the focus is just on this season and my goals, doing what I can to get us as much points as I can. We all know we won't be around forever - but I don't feel like I'm slowing down yet, and these young guys will be ready to fight sooner than everyone seems to think."
1/2-9/2
Volta a Portugal
PTHC
11/5-31/5
Vuelta a España
PTM
3/7-23/7
Tour de France
PTM
So, what can he do this season? Bennett will ride just three races this year - three of the longest on the calendar, to be sure, but just three. With his occasional inconsistency this is a move that could backfire, given the increased stakes in each one. He'll first take on a familiar hunting ground at the Volta a Portugal - where he has twice delighted (3rd in 2019, 5th in 2018) and once disappointed (11th last season).
"Well, I chatted to the Tour of Japan and they said they wouldn't move up with me - so I guess Portugal will have to do!" laughs Bennett. "But in all seriousness despite that final time trial it's a race I think really suits me and I've had a lot of good times at - and I'd love to put things right after last season! I guess like all PTHC races it really depends who turns up, because you can end up with basically a Pro Tour start list or one weaker than most HC races."
Showing some fighting spirit in his last Vuelta outing
However, the two other races on his calendar are less of a known quantity for the Kiwi - leading Grand Tours. He has actually ridden both La Vuelta and Le Tour once before - in 2016 in service of Aegon's GC leaders Olivier and Keizer. In Spain, he managed a respectable 24th on GC with one stage Top 10 from a breakaway, in France it was 23rd with no such individual moment. While these experiences riding for 21 days will help him prepare physically, Bennett expects having the burden of the team's expectations on him for these prestigious stage races to be something quite different.
"It's going to be a big challenge for sure but it's one I think I'm up for. I coped well with the length then and I think I'm only stronger now. The level of focus and grit it takes to be on top of my game for the GC over three weeks isn't lost on me - but I'm not scared of the task either."
The other side of such a focused calendar is that for the first time, it means Bennett won't have one of his most trusted teammates by his side - as Joseph Areruya's impressive solo outings last season has seen him handed the keys to full-time leadership as the Rwandan continues to improve. The older of Xero's climbers is full of nothing but praise for his young teammate, and laughs off any suggestion that they can't fit on the same team.
"I mean especially in PT that's not true - I don't think even the both of us filled up every race day we would have been happy to ride. I think it's a really good match - even if people would categorise us as the same type of climber I think he's got even more strength in the hilly stuff as well as the longer climbs, it's incredible and it means we're always going to be able to share the fun. I'm going to miss riding with him but he's still a mate and I can't wait to see him as a top leader for us."
One of Bennett's most memorable victories - in front of a home crowd at the 2017 Gisborne GP
And so although commentators, both armchair and professional, can wonder how long those feelings will last, from every word said by George Bennett and his managers at Xero it seems like they're all too happy to continue like this for eternity. It's a sometimes rare and always beautiful thing to see such a perfect marriage of a team and their home star. In a year where many PT teams had to say goodbye to their beloved regional talismans, it's a pleasure to know that George Bennett will be filling New Zealanders and Xero fans worldwide with pride and joy for another season to come.
redordead wrote:
Even if you don't survive in PT you still had a good transfer period with Pidcock and Vermeersch. In hindsight I should've just done what you did and get a top talent, instead I missed out on every target
Xero domination incoming in a few years
Pogacar not enough for you? I definitely know the feeling of failing to go for everything, but I feel like going for points was probably important for both of us, and in the short-term at least you'll be proven right in your approach and I'll probably be proven wrong
I'll settle for just being a good home-built team, but I wouldn't mind domination either Thanks for the kind words
Pogacar is more than enough In fact I planed on signing (x)zero talents this year. I was just trying to say I'd rather have another top talent and relegate than not having that and ending up relegating the same.
So your decision making was better than mine
Not that it takes much to do better than me of course
redordead wrote:
Pogacar is more than enough In fact I planed on signing (x)zero talents this year. I was just trying to say I'd rather have another top talent and relegate than not having that and ending up relegating the same.
So your decision making was better than mine
Not that it takes much to do better than me of course
You better not be signing any Xero talents!
And well... we'll see. Long season and way too early to say you'll relegate.
A couple of days before the Xero squad presentation, men and women in Octagon polo shirts usher skinny young men with muscly legs into an electrically colourful room, a few at a time. Some look bemused by the whole act, a couple look nervous, some are mucking around and some are already cheerfully chatting with our cameraman. The background is blue with streaks of red, white, light blue, green and red, just as with their jerseys. The props are there - the bikes, the bouncy balls, the deck of cards, the team caps. This isn't the madhouse it might look like, but it isn't your average team photoshoot either - Octagon have really done their best to show us the happy, playful side of the team which used to carry their name, and, a cynic might say, emphasise the riders' youth and potential since they're hardly big names in the PT. After their photoshoots, we sat down with some of them for interviews. We've met George Bennett, time for the team's other mountain leader - Joseph Areruya!
Joseph Areruya 25 | Maxed | 540,000 | Xero since 2018
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
72
79
79
65
76
78
79
53
68
76
75
60
65
Xero Palmarès
- Stage Win Tour of Norway ('19)
- 2nd U25 Hong Kong Challenge ('20)
- Stage Win Tour de l'Avenir ('19)
- 2nd U25 Tour of Lithuania ('20)
- 5th GC Hong Kong Challenge ('20)
- 2nd U25 Tour of Pologne ('20)
- 5th GC Tour of Lithuania ('20)
- 2nd U25 Tour of Japan ('20)
- 6th GC Tour of the Middle East ('20)
- 3rd U25 Tour of Cyprus ('20)
- U25 Int. Österreich-Rundfahrt ('20)
- 3rd U25 Volta a Portugal ('20)
- 2nd KoM Tour of Norway ('19)
- 3rd U25 Tour of Beijing ('19)
- 2nd KoM Tour de San Luis ('18)
- 3rd U25 Tour of California ('20)
- 2nd U25 Tour of Norway ('19)
Xero Stats
Rank
Best
Rank
Best
Seasons
3
=7th
€/point
€839
15th
€338 ('20)
Points
679
6th
473 ('20)
Breaks
16
2nd
11 ('18)
Wins
1
=8th
1 ('19)
RDs
211
5th
90 ('18)
Wage
€570,000
4th
€260,000 ('18)
RotM
1
=12th
1 ('19)
Jerseys
1
=3rd
1 ('20)
Despite the shadow of Merhawi Kudus (who, despite feeling like a veteran, is only two years his senior) looming large over Africa's newest up-and-coming climber, Joseph Areruya has still managed to be one of cycling's most talked-about prospects for the newer generation, even collecting notable superfans online.
It's an interesting time to be a young climber - Bernal, Pogacar, Padun, Oomen and Areruya himself are all proving their quality as they slowly but surely rise towards the top. However, of their classes, nobody has shown anything to suggest they'll match who we normally think of as the "new generation", who in fact have been around for quite a while: namely, Kudus, Herklotz, and Lecuisinier, all of whom they will have to share the stage with for their entire careers due to those riders entering pro cycling earlier than is now allowed. Does Xero's card in the deck think he can measure up to those riders - as indeed he may well be asked to do?
"I'm not thinking about Herklotz or Merhawi at the moment. I think I'm still improving, but I haven't even had a season in the Pro Tour yet. This year I don't think there's any pressure to be fighting at the top - I'm still learning and I'm grateful to have this experience of leading at the top level, and seeing those guys up close." he says, calmly. Of course, with the attention their fans and others are paying to the youngster, it's likely this is a verse well-rehearsed with one of the PR managers standing around us - but Areruya has a certain earnestness as he speaks to make you believe he's really has got himself grounded.
Areruya has been a noted name on Xero's roster each season (the team putting the effort in to ensure he never had to be loaned out) since his fan-pleasing free agent signing in 2018. He lead the team in breakaways in 2018, scoring a decent amount of points for a neo-pro, then in 2019 provided great domestique performances and already provided GC depth himself. His Ride of the Year breakaway victory on Stage 4 of the Tour of Norway (below) being a particular highlight, as he went solo to chase down the leader Pichon on the final climb, overhauled him, and kept the charging former world champion Simone Ponzi at bay to take a heroic stage victory. In the end he just missed out on the top 100 of the rankings with a credible 168 points.
However 2020 provided something of a breakthrough for the Rwandan - he was never particularly flashy, but when provided with his own leading opportunities he rode with maturity beyond his two years' professional experience. His improvement provided a key cog in the team's charge to promotion. He put in some strong GC finishes ahead of much more favoured opposition, and scored a fantastic 473 points, his team's fourth scorer in the rankings, ahead of both Houle and Meurisse. This year he's improved again, enough to earn full-time independence from George Bennett but then again, the competition is much stiffer as he makes his PT debut.
"I've learned so much from George in particular on this team so in a way it's sad to not be riding with him this year, but I'm so thankful to the team for their faith in giving me all my own races this season. Now I get to cheer for him from the couch instead of needing to find out where he finished after I'm done with the stage!" he laughs. A more stubborn veteran or arrogant youngster would probably be feuding over race choices and star status, but no doubt to the delight of the Xero manager, these don't seem to be those guys - especially after they opted to give Areruya both of the non-ITT stage races on their calendar.
"Of course there is competition though - but I don't think either of us would be where we are if we weren't competitive. But I think we both came out of the scheduling meetings happy."
Although many in and outside of the Xero set-up may have liked Areruya to ride exclusively stage races in order to maximise his points from U25 classifications, the team decided otherwise - using 8RDs on four hilly to medium mountain classics instead of attending, say, the Criterium du Dauphine. As well as doing this for reasons of suitability - given Dauphine includes a TTT and an ITT, the team and Areruya himself were also keen to see what he could do in hilly classics after he found some success in hilly stage races last season, particularly as he lines up future training camps.
12/2-18/2
Tirreno-Adriatico
PT
3/4-23/4
Giro d'Italia
PTM
3/5
Fleche Wallone
PT
7/5
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
PTM
8/8
Clasica San Sebastian
PTHC
1/10-8/10
Tour du Maroc
PTHC
18/10
Giro di Lombardia
PTM
"I do enjoy the mini-competition of fighting for a white jersey and I know it's where a lot of my points can come from, but me and the bosses both really wanted to ride some classics - it's not something I've done much of yet but it's good for variety and testing my skills there. I'm not expecting much but it will teach me a lot." he says.
However, the big headline grabber, of course, is his quest for white at his (and the team's) first Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia. With its hills and no long ITT it surely must have been a hotly contested spot between him and Bennett, but the young Rwandan has been chosen to spearhead the squad in Italy, backed by a very young squad around him in support (only two riders above 26, with five eligible for the U25 competition). However, their youth could be a blessing in disguise, says Areruya.
"Daniel, Jordan, James, Nils, Morne - we've grown up together in a lot of ways the last few years and we all know each other very well on and off the bike. I have total faith in them to support me in any race, but especially this one. I'm really really looking forward to the Giro." he says, unable to contain his grin. Is the white jersey a reasonable expectation? "I don't know about expectation, but it's definitely the goal."
A confident but cool head, and even if he's not the next Gesink, Herklotz or indeed Kudus, you get the sense that's alright: much like Bennett before him, both team and rider seem to think they've found their perfect match.
I am loving these interviews! The writing is excellent, and the passion is evident. Certainly some very nice palmarès for Bennet, although one hopes they will be surpassed by young Areruya. I, for one, believe in his ability to grow to challenge Superman as the current generation of puncheurs fades out.
Some great effort translated into even greater texts and interviews indeed! Very interested to see how a maxed Areruya will do in PT, as he is definitely one of the riders that (already) was very present last year in my reports, while still being an unmaxed rider.
Love to see the Vermeersch signing. Was thinking about him as well as a half Belgian team, but decided to go for cheap talents only. So it's nice to see him in a nice team such as yours. Pidcock is not too bad either I suppose
@Mre - Wow, that means so much coming from you, thank you!
@liefwarrior - Thank you man! And yes, with his extra years we all hope Areruya can kick on past Bennett's record for the team in due time - but for now he's still got a way to catch him and Bennett isn't slowing down! Catching MAL will take a lot (if that is the way we choose to take him if we train ) given the former had a 3HI headstart and now a 5 point one, it's not looking likely. Plus the TT and DH advantages would do the Colombian a lot of good there. So much like he said about Herklotz and Kudus, I'm not sure Lopez is really on his radar But thanks for the faith at any rate!
@Nemo - Well it's natural for Areruya to come up in your reports when you've been spying on me and cunego's Macca's conversations as I remember Hope we can do you and the Belgian founds with Vermeersch, thank you! And yeah he's alright but it's like whatever you know?
@Croatia - Thanks a lot buddy
@knockout - Thank you, we do as well - even if we're not under any illusion they can stave off relegation, I just really want them to be visible and create some memories for the next time I do such a profile on them
Xero have never been ones to fulfill more than 2 or 3 of their goals. In 2016 the choices were poor. In 2017 their leaders crashed to a ridiculous degree all season, particularly honing in on goal races. In 2018 they picked all cobbles goals then signed nobody above 75COB. In 2019 and 2020 they did a little better but their leaders still seemed to underperform a little bit when the spotlight is on them. This year is their lowest-aiming year ever in terms of goals - but some would argue they're all still uphill battles.
Giro d'Italia - Top 10
The Giro d'Italia won't only be team and leader Joseph Areruya's first ever Grand Tour, it will also be the first goal race of the year for the team. Obviously this one will have a lot to do with the strength of the startlist, but given it's easily the least ITT-heavy Grand Tour we expect a lot of strong climbers to come here to give Areruya a hell of a fight to try and achieve this goal. Even in a normal Grand Tour field this will be a tough one, but we look forward to the fight!
Tour de France - Top 10
We could almost copy and paste what we said about the Giro for Le Tour - this time it's George Bennett taking on the task of breaking into the Top 10 of a Grand Tour. The ITT kilometres will hurt his chances compared to some of his rivals but we hope he can use the hilly and mountain stages to make some of that time back up.
GP Moscow - Win
There's an argument that this is the race where we are likely to come furthest away from our goals - in a straight sprint then our leader here Luke Rowe could easily finish outside the top 20 on an off day. However, we believe that it's not the worst choice for our mandatory win goal, given a) his ability with a late attack or in the wind to outwit better sprinters and b) the fact that he is actually a former winner here! In 2014 (at just 24 years old) he didn't even need a late attack, just finding the right wheel, launching ahead of some legendary sprinters and holding them off for a surprise victory! We don't really care how he does it, but we'd love a repeat!
Stage Wins in the Season - 10
A surprising target for us perhaps given we don't have anyone who'd really be favoured to win a stage all season, but perhaps it gives a hint as to our hopes for breakaway success and targeting some individual moments of glory with our leaders to create some memories for the season - and now to try and fulfill a goal as well.
Team Standings - Avoid Relegation
Well, we don't really need to have this one as a goal to know that we'd love to do this. Maybe the toughest one on here but we're going to give this season all we have.
A quiet start to life in the Pro Tour, with a race Down Under in Tasmania before the Tour of Qatar. Two races that do not suit us at all but apparently in the Pro Tour you don't get a choice? Gee it would be a darn shame if we set ourselves up to relegate back to a more fun division...
The Tour of Tasmania was nothing. I just rewatched the highlights and already i don't remember it. The Tour of Qatar, on the other hand, proved surprisingly memorable for a race with only sprint stages and a time trial.
Nils Schomber has finally blossomed into the prologue gun we knew he could be and immediately proved the haters wrong and begin to vindicate the team's faith in his progression with a strong ride in the opening stage, putting himself third on the day and on the GC, a ride which would eventually help him to 11th on GC. However his breakthrough race was outshone by Luke Rowe, who showed his previous PT experience by matching Schomber's feat of a stage podium twice, good for 6th on GC to boot.
Rider of the Month
It was an obvious choice, with a big overperformance to start the season well...
Defending his jersey with pride - Tour Down Under, Stage 5
Luke Rowe Total RoTM Wins | 6 RoTM Wins This Season | 1
Guys, we're going to level with you. Doing all this season reviewing at the end of the season we really just want to focus on the positives. So let's pretend the Volta a Portugal was two stages long, and Tirreno-Adriatico was the only other race in February.
In Portugal, Nils Schomber did what many thought was impossible, and after his great outing in Qatar really proved that the team's long-term faith in him was well founded. With a storming performance, he grabbed his first career victory and GC lead of his career, with hopefully many more to come. With the race being PTHC we stiull had to wait for our first PT victory, but it is still the first win of the season!
Joseph Areruya's arrival in the Pro Tour looked like it would be a show of inexperience, as on the innocuous flats of Stage 3 he, alongside a couple of other GC contenders, lost a minute and a half and seemingly tumbled out of the race after already losing a good chunk in the opening time trial. However he showed a flash of form on Stage 4, taking 8th in the pack after a hilly finish, with teammate Sergio Higuita impressive in 5th.
However Areruya would truly make his grit shown on the following day's mountaintop finish, where he beat names such as Dombrowski, Olivier, Morton, Yates, even his long-time rival Padun to take 4th on the stage, moving him to the white jersey lead and 11th on GC - which would have been 6th were it not for the earlier time loss. Also impressive again was Higuita, who had a fantastic day in the breakaway, moving into the KoM lead and vaulting himself into 24th on GC.
The team had a plan for the tough hills of Stage 6, and controlled tempo in the pack before action-man Sergio Higuita, drawing rave praise from the commentators, put the hurt in as the final series of climbs began. With 20km to go, Areruya put in a serious attack, taking Roglic along with him and setting off in pursuit of the final breakaway members while looking to put time between himself and his GC rivals. His first PT race but already on the front foot and animating the race. Exactly what we dreamed of this year.
After 20km in the wind receiving little assistance from Roglic or the riders they mopped up from the breakaway, Areruya celebrated a fantastic stage win, bringing the team its first taste of Pro Tour victory and announcing himself to the world with a show of his aggression, spirit but most importantly just how good a climber he is. More importantly, he vaulted himself to a brilliant 3rd on GC, an putting a satisfying five-minute gap into Padun in the white jersey competition.
Stage 7 was back into the mountains and Higuita, still not tired after all his work this race, impressed the commentators once again by going back into the breakaway and reclaiming his KoM lead which he lost yesterday after helping Areruya rather than chasing points. His ride today was good to secure a credible 27th on GC as well as the KoM lead and surely a contender for MVP of the race.
However the plaudits would all go to our main man Joseph Areruya, with a gritty ride on the stage to shock the odds and hang onto his GC podium against much favoured climbing opposition, limiting losses to beat names such as Pluchkin and Morton to the final podium spot. An absolutely unbelievable race for his PT debut, especially given the early time losses.
Rider of the Month
Three of our long-term youngsters made their names known to the world, but with our first ever PT victory and GC podium it has to be...
Victory! - Tirreno-Adriatico, Stage 6
Joseph Areruya Total RoTM Wins | 2 RoTM Wins This Season | 1
In Paris-Roubaix Luke Rowe finished a credible 22nd. That's all you need to know about our April outside of the Giro d'Italia, our team's Grand Tour debut with Joseph Areruya as our leader, looking to fight for the white jersey and see how far into the Top 10 he can go.
The race started positively with Nils Schomber finding his way into the morning breakaway and collecting bonus seconds at the intermediate sprints to put him 4th on GC. Areruya looked attentive with a 13th-placed finish on the day. Schomber tried it again on Stage 2, but after the catch he lost contact with the peloton and tumbled down the GC order.
On Stage 3's hilltop finish Areruya kicked off festivities with an attack 3km from the line. He took Eislers and a regular foe, Simon Yates, with him ahead of the peloton and against faster finishers could only manage third - hardly a bad result but with no final gap to the peloton being awarded he expended far more energy than his GC rivals for only 8 bonus seconds. However it was definitely worth the chance of more and his aggression and good feeling was great to see as he moved to 5th on GC and the white jersey lead.
Yates would deny him for a second straight day on Stage 4's uphill sprint, our man in white just pipped to the stage victory but claiming another 12 bonifications and sitting as the best GC favourite with 20 seconds back to his rivals. Showing how his skills over shorter climbs can serve him in GC races.
The team time trial has never been a strength of the team's but in recent years there has been definite improvement and the team showed great mettle to get 9th on the day and limit Areruya's losses, managing to hang onto the white jersey and end the day just 23 seconds down on GC, still as the third best climber behind Sicard and Herklotz.
The team continued our very active opening week with Johann van Zyl in the breakaway on Stage 6, a flat-rated day but with a category 2 climb early on which he won, earning him the maglia azzurra for the KoM lead.
However the great run ended on Stage 7 as Areruya had a tough day out on the Terminillo, losing 3'20 and tumbling to 16th on GC, even surrendering the maglia bianca to Bernal. A quiet four transitional stages followed, with one stage top 10 and one place gained, but no time loss as the GC contenders prepared for the high mountains. Stage 12's mountaintop finish saw another four minutes lost as Areruya once again struggled on the long climbs, but did see him pass Bernal for the U25 lead and 14th on GC.
On the transitional Stage 14 no GC fireworks were expected, but behind the breakaway's fight for the stage win Areruya attacked hard with 20km to go on the final climb, seeing other Top 10 contenders out of position. He was caught again but saw he was putting the hurt in and attacked once again on the flat run-in to the finish, marked by Chiarello. The pair looked to have about 20 seconds in hand to the next finishers over the finish line but the race judges controversially ruled a same time finish for the next 25 riders. However Areruya gained another GC position as well as making a couple of contenders ahead of him lose some time.
Once again Areruya was not one to sit up, and continued his aggression from the drop of the flag on the race's Queen Stage - Stage 15 in the Dolemites. He spearheaded the morning breakaway and moved himself into the KoM lead after some duels with Carboni. He even took the valued prize of the Cima Coppi as he was first over the race's highest point, the Passo Giau.
However his eyes were more focused on bigger prizes - putting time into his GC foes and a shot at a memorable stage win.
After gradually riding the rest of the breakaway off his wheel, Areruya finally went solo on the Passo Fedaia, cracking Carboni with around 30km to go. However on the descent he was joined by Dombrowski, leading the charge of the GC favourites from the peloton.
The duo worked well together on the final climb, fending off the rest of the GC favourites and a resilient Carboni to arrive at the finish together, where heartbreakingly Areruya couldn't finish the day with a stage victory. However he was justly rewarded on the GC table, where he rose six spots to 7th overall.
Expectedly he suffered slightly for his mammoth effort the next day, surrendering 3'02 and one GC spot to Berhane on the mountaintop finish, but keeping his snazzy new blue jersey as well as the U25 lead he now had well in hand, with 8'13 to Bernal.
Once again Areruya showed his lionhearted spirit, with an attack from mid-range on Stage 17, going after the breakaway for the stage win and looking for more GC time. Kudus and Chiarello followed him but on the final run-in Areruya attacked them with the catch not far away.
Areruya came home third ahead of the peloton, but for what must be certainly personal reasons at this point our day was ruined again by Simon Yates, who sprinted hard to finish in the sizeable gap between our man and the pack, and once again Areruya was controversially denied a time gain by the race judges, with only his 8 bonus seconds and retaking his 7th place on GC as reward for his aggressive riding.
As many hearts he wins and opportunities he does create, perhaps Areruya learned a lesson about being too aggressive, with a true shocker on Stage 18's mountain time trial, coming home 50th and tumbling back outside of the Top 10 on GC. On Stage 19 he came home 5th in a reduced bunch sprint as Carboni took his blue jersey from him from the breakaway.
There was some discussion of trying to repeat his Stage 15 heroics with an attempt at entering the morning breakaway at the team meetings the night before and morning of Stage 20's final mountain stage, but ultimately the team opted to wait and see. With 50km to go though, Areruya surprised his rivals with a long-range attack on the penultimate climb, quickly picking up breakaway riders and gaining 1'30 on the next GC contender by the top of the climb.
Ultimately he got stranded, never quite catching the front group of breakaway riders, and was caught soon after the final climb started. However he clearly had not laid it all out in his first attempt, and rode a mature ride in the GC group to come home 13th and overtake a struggling Berhane and Formolo to secure 9th on GC and third in the KoM standing.
9th on GC wouldn't have sounded astonishing at the start of the race, but with some shocking stages in there, it was the manner in which he not once but twice recovered from sizeable deficits to gain the Top 10 that made us so proud of our man Areruya. He had a great PCT season last year, and a stunning Tirreno-Adriatico, but this was the race that truly made him a man, even if he didn't reach the heights of those other races. He was one of the race's true animators and won many hearts with his daring rides and aggressive styles, and was voted 2nd in the Combativity prize as well as gaining 3rd in the KoM to go with his white jersey. Lots of lessons learned from his and the team's first Grand Tour, but right now we can't say enough to praise this man's fighting spirit and character. Gutted to end with five stage podiums and no stage win, but there's plenty of time in the next decade for all of that.
Rider of the Month
Hmmm...
Our star on the move - Giro d'Italia, Stage 16
Joseph Areruya Total RoTM Wins | 3 RoTM Wins This Season | 2
George Bennett
Volta a Portugal
Vuelta a España
Tour de France
Joseph Areruya
Tirreno-Adriatico
Fleche Wallone
Clasica San Sebastian
Tour du Maroc
GP Moscow - Win
