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In The Pursuit of Glory | Thank You!
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 03-10-2014 17:47
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@mvh: The end of the season was very quick, so it was posted within 2 days  Europcar had a good end to the season, and it was enough to escape relegation. Before the Vuelta and Canadian WT races, the team looked certain to drop to ProConti. Oman was added to WT because I prefer it over the others in February as a stage race. The WT status is a trial period though 
@sutty: The pressure is on to perform even better next season...
@ollfard: Thanks It was an obvious addition to the WT calendar
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| HuDCC |
Posted on 03-10-2014 18:02
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Domestique
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Can't wait for the next season with Martijn!
Thank you Andy for everything!
Thanks to the_hoyle for banner! |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 03-10-2014 23:18
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@HuDCC: You don't have to wait much longer
Edited by the_hoyle on 03-10-2014 23:19
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 03-10-2014 23:44
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After a good session of Winter Training in South Africa and Switzerland, it was time to meet up with the team for the new season. The Team Presentation was a good place to catch up with the others, and meet the new guys who had joined at the end of season.
Just like last season, first came the Press Pictures, then the interviews and finally my sit-down with Jean-René to go over my plan for the forthcoming year.
As with my two previous seasons as a cyclist, I would look to first peak for the March races, with the main races being the South African National Championships followed by Tirreno-Adriatico. The Ardennes Classics will be focus running through April, before I tackle my first ever Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia. My mid-season break will come again in July, before I end my season focusing on the Canadian WT Classics and Il Lombardia.
| Date | Race | Country | | 5-8 Feb | Dubai Tour |  United Arab Emirates | | 12-16 Feb | Tour Méditerranéen |  France | | 1 Mar | Classic Sud Ardèche | France | | 5 Mar | National TT Championships |  South Africa | | 9 Mar | National RR Championships | South Africa | | 12-18 Mar | Tirreno-Adriatico |  Italy | | 28-30 | Critérium International | France | | 7-11 Apr | Circuit Sarthe-Pays de la Loire | France | | 20 Apr | Amstel Gold Race |  Netherlands | | 23 Apr | La Flèche Wallonne |  Belgium | | 29 Apr-4 May | Tour de Romandie |  Switerland | | 9 May-1 Jun | Giro d'Italia | Italy | | 8-15 Jun | Critérium du Dauphiné | France | | 19-22 Jun | Route du Sud | France | | 31 Aug | GP Ouest France-Plouay | France | | 6 Sep | Brussels Cycling Classic | Belgium | | 12 Sep | GP de Québec |  Canada | | 14 Sep | GP de Montréal | Canada | | 24 Sep | World TT Championships | Canada | | 5 Oct | Il Lombardia | Italy | | 12 Oct | Paris-Tours | France |
My schedule looked very daunting on paper, but Jean-René reinstated his faith in me. Last season had proved that I was developing into a fine cyclist. This year, I wanted to show that I could be a Future Great in the sport.
Edited by the_hoyle on 18-11-2014 22:33
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| Roextro |
Posted on 05-10-2014 07:22
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Let's see what Martjin can do in his grand tour Debut! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 05-10-2014 12:54
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A good looking schedule for Martijn |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 05-10-2014 14:39
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@hardy: The Giro will be fun and Martijn looks set to be riding a free role with the provisional selection I have made
@sutty: Thanks
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Posted on 22-11-2024 01:10
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| HuDCC |
Posted on 05-10-2014 14:40
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Domestique
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Good luck with the season! I hope Martijn will deliver some decent results! and of course I'm looking forward to his first GT
Thank you Andy for everything!
Thanks to the_hoyle for banner! |
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| fernando97 |
Posted on 05-10-2014 14:55
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Wow, this year Martijn will be racing in really huge races! Can't wait to see him compete against the big guns! In Canada he showed that he is capable of winning in WT fields, so I have high hopes ahead of this season. |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 05-10-2014 16:43
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@HuDCC: Thanks Looking forward to the season ahead
@fernando: Exciting year ahead, and I think the races reflect where he is as a rider, and how I want him to progress
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 05-10-2014 17:31
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My 2015 account opens at the Dubai Tour, where I will be hoping to start as strongly as I finished 2014. My winter had been good, and I felt like I was at my strongest despite zero miles in my legs.
All the stages, apart from opening prologue, in Dubai seemed to be tailored towards a sprinter, so it will be difficult to force my influence on the race. The more difficult stage 3 will be where I hope to have an impact, using the climb before the finish as my launch pad.
Stage 2 was flat and the team's focus was on Coquard in search of the stage win. I helped with the lead-out duties, just like the end of last season, and he finished well to take 4th.
The third stage was where I needed to put my plan into action. I just had to stay calm over a majority of the stage, and play the waiting game. The attacks came over the final third of the race, but Malacarne and Monfort did a great job to neutralise the threats. On the final climb, I made my move.
A small group tried to follow my acceleration, but over the top of the climb, the gap was 40" back to the peleton. Just like in Limousin last year, I used the descent to my advantage. Under the flamme rouge, I had 32" over the chase group, and there was no catching me. All I needed to do now was zip up the jersey and enjoy the moment.
The 35" time gap, plus 20" bonus for my victory, had put me in the Overall Lead heading into the last stage. The final stage was a short 100km stage around the centre of Dubai. It was fast, and I needed to be careful. Attacks were neutralised by the sprinter's teams, and in the end, Coquard managed to finish 5th, after a strong sprint. I finished safely in the pack, and was pleased to take a victory so early in the season. Sadly though, the feeling of pleasure felt less than mutual from the Europcar bosses...
| 1 | Martijn North | Team Europcar | 8h41'13 | | 2 |  Bob Jungels | Trek Factory Racing | + 19 | | 3 | Julien Vermote | OmegaPharma - Quick Step | + 23 | | 4 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg | Giant-Shimano | + 28 | | 5 |  Thomas Löfkvist | IAM Cycling | + 29 |
| 1 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg | Giant-Shimano | 62 | | 2 | William Bonnet | FDJ.fr | 54 | | 3 |  Gerald Ciolek | MTN - Qhubeka | 50 | | 4 | Bob Jungels | Trek Factory Racing | 41 | | 5 | Bryan Coquard | Team Europcar | 35 |
| 1 | Martijn North | Team Europcar | 6 | | 2 |  Aleksejs Saramotins | Bridgestone - Anchor | 6 | | 3 | Jacques Janse Van Rensburg | MTN - Qhubeka | 4 | | 4 | Rinaldo Nocentini | Ag2r - La Mondiale | 4 | | 5 | Bob Jungels | Trek Factory Racing | 2 |
| 1 | Martijn North | Team Europcar | 8h41'13 | | 2 | Bob Jungels | Trek Factory Racing | + 19 | | 3 | Dylan Van Baarle | Garmin-Sharp | + 2'12 | | 4 |  Jani Tewelde Weldegaber | MTN - Qhubeka | + 2'21 | | 5 | Stefan Küng | IAM Cycling | + 2'25 |
| 1 | IAM Cycling | 26h05'52 | | 2 | Team Europcar | + 19 | | 3 |  Trek Factory Racing | + 1'15 | | 4 | MTN - Qhubeka | + 1'41 | | 5 | FDJ.fr | + 1'45 |
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| Roextro |
Posted on 05-10-2014 17:36
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Excellent start of the season for Martijn!!!!!!!
Edited by Roextro on 05-10-2014 17:37
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| HuDCC |
Posted on 05-10-2014 18:56
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Domestique
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oh my god, awesome start of the season! 
Thank you Andy for everything!
Thanks to the_hoyle for banner! |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 06-10-2014 13:20
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@hardy & HuDCC: Thanks! some big news to come tonight though...
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 06-10-2014 17:19
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Martijn has certainly started the season very strongly |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 06-10-2014 18:16
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@sutty: South African NC come early in the year, so Martijn will always be strong in February to peak in March
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 06-10-2014 20:15
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'Don't Believe What You Read In The Papers...' 
Sadly though, there is always one person who wants to bring you crashing back to ground. And opening the newspapers one morning, I was brought back to earth with a loud bang. Looking through the L'Equipe newspaper, like I do every morning before setting out on a training ride, I read a full page article about how an 'unnamed' French rider was getting annoyed for being overlooked on the team, and I was named, amongst others, for receiving preferential treatment due my 'foreigner' status.
To the say that I was angry was an understatement. The more I read, the angrier I got. The article continued to say that there were others on the team who felt the same, but there were too scared to speak up. It was made out to sound like some sort of special club.
Of course, I needed to call Jean-René. He had also read the article that morning, and was trying to get answers about what had been written. All he could say to me was 'calm down' and 'don't believe what you read in the papers.' It is difficult to do either of those when you are the focus of the attack.
I ended the call with Bernaudeau asking me not to do anything stupid. We both agreed to not ride in the Tour Méditerranéen, and instead, and I would sit down with him in person in a couple of days time to discuss the matter further.
Edited by the_hoyle on 06-10-2014 20:16
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| HuDCC |
Posted on 06-10-2014 20:25
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Domestique
Posts: 515
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oh man, you are awesome in making the story line!
I'm curious how this "cause" will go on!
Thank you Andy for everything!
Thanks to the_hoyle for banner! |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 06-10-2014 20:26
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@HuDCC: Thanks! In my head, I am already a year ahead with Martijn, so I know where the story is going The rest just falls into place
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| mvhoogdalem |
Posted on 06-10-2014 20:29
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Great victory for Martijn in Dubai, too bad those Frenchies can't stand it when someone else is succesful. |
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