You probably don't know me, but that's all right, you'll get to know me soon enough.
As this is my first blog entry, allow me to introduce me.
Profile Name: Henry Vergnaud Nationality: French Date of Birth: 21/05/1991 Place of Birth: Saint-Lary-Soulan Weight: 63kg Height: 172cm Rider Type: Climber / Puncheur
History
- Raised near Pla d'Adet with Bagnères-de-Luchon within 50km radius.
- Scouted by and signed a one-year contract with Dalkia Cycling (a small climbing-based French team) in 2010.
- Raced for continental team Dalkia Cycling in 2011.
Spoiler
This is Pla d'Adet, where I grew up, right at the foot of it. I used climb it every day before dinner when I was a kid.
Results
Although I've only been racing for one year, I managed to get some pretty good results. The team had a good year overall and as usually, everyone, including me, benefits from a strong team. Because of our good results, we were able to compete in some beautiful races, such as Tour of Mediterranean, Brabantse Prijs and even in Tour of Britain.
My personal results (season 2011):
- Mountain Jersey in Tour of Mediterranean
- 4th in prologue of Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
- 5th overall in Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
- 8th in Brabantse Prijs
- 7th overall in Tour du Sud
- Young Jersey in Paris-Corrèze
- 3th in Chrono des Nations
So overall it's been an amazing season for me, how many (neopro) riders can say they have the mountain jersey of Tour de Mediterranean hanging on their wall? Not a lot, that's how many!
Spoiler
Me and my first jersey, best day of my life!
Racing Style
I say you only know about a rider when you know his style.
When I was at the juniors, I was a very aggressive rider. There weren't many races in which I wasn't in the breakaway. This has its positive effects, but this kind of racing has also cost me many GC places in the past, when I blew my legs and came in much too late.
However, last year, since I suddenly was a neopro and a youngster in the peloton, I've been racing a bit smarter and less aggressive in the stage races, though the urge to break away is always there (and I have a mountain jersey to prove it).
I'm mostly an uphill rider, how big the mountain is doesn't matter (I can climb anything from a speed bump to Col de la Madeleine). I feel most at home in the mountains and hills. Going downhill isn't my greatest feature, but that hasn't brought me in problems before. Of course, I can ride pretty decently on the flat, too. My podium place in Chrono des Nations proves that I have what it takes to ride against time.
I have a pretty good acceleration in my legs, since I compete for a lot of mountain sprints. On the flat I'm pretty useless in the sprint (considering my height, weight), but going uphill I can pull of a nice sprint.
Unfortunately, whenever there's cobbles on my way, I'm one of the latest to finish in the race. It's the one thing I can't do. Only way I can get a top 50 place in such a race is by attacking from far out and hoping to get some time before the cobbles come.
So I guess you could say I'm a bit of an all-rounder. Though most of my racing is pretty much restricted to the mountains and the hills.
2012
"What now?" is the big question. My (ex-)manager and dear friend Anthony told me these results should get me in a pretty decent team. In fact, he refuses to resign me, as he says I have to go out there and get into a much better team, where I can grow even better.
I must say I was amazed to have found myself facing contract offers from Team Europcar, Cofidis, Farnese Vini and Saur-Sojasun. However, I didn't want to rush into anything, so I took a couple of months, examining my options.
It is now December 2011, and I have been negotiating with one hell of a team for the past weeks. Tomorrow I'll go and sign my contract. You won't believe what team it is! Unfortunately I can't say anything until I've signed the contract. So make sure to read tomorrow's blog!
Yours truly,
H.
Edited by Ian Butler on 22-06-2012 22:44
Teddy The Creator wrote:
A nice start Ian. Is this guy a real rider? Hope you join either Cofidis or FDJ.
Thanks
No, it's actually the name of a rider I scouted with Team Europcar on PCM 2011 The rest I just made up, that's why I haven't got a picture, only a drawing of him, which I made on some face-drawing site Edited by Ian Butler on 21-06-2012 10:24
lol that is great Iain I still remember the name of the best rider i ever scouted and signed, Bruno Cremaschini.. that kid won everything for me.. looking forward to see how this 1 plays out.
finally the start of your story you already had me interested with the signature you had why did you delete the picture from it?
anyways the best of luck with your first story - curious to see his stats
i hope he signs for one of the french teams as i think it would be a great decision for a young french and i 'd like to see a story about one of them
but that for sure is completely henrys decision
@ PCM rulezz, Alakagom, Duckman, Sutty & Miguel: Thanks a lot! @ johannes: I deleted the picture because I thought it might be annoying to some people. In some forums I post a lot so they would see the picture too much
As I'm trying to get this blog as "realistic" as possible, there won't be any stats, though It's something I want to try out. In real life, there aren't any stats either, right?
I hope that isn't some kind of a turn-off for you Edited by Ian Butler on 21-06-2012 15:59
oh no the exact opposite its a great idea not to give out any stats plus you described him quite well
annoying? i thought the picture looks quite nice and it would be a great advertisement if you post often
Yeah, thanks to you
I took your advice and I'm trying to make as much advertisement as possible
I'll have a few more blog-posts before the actual racing, such as the team, calendar etc.
I'll spread them out a bit, because the game only arrives on Tuesday or Wednesday here
So, as promised, the team presentation later today (as it is officially past midnight)
Today was D-day for me and my future team. After weeks of negotiating I've finally signed the contract which hopefully will launch my career.
As you can see, the team I've signed with is Lotto-Belisol, the Belgian ProTour team. I have to admit I was very surprised when I was contacted by their scout. I still can't believe I'll be racing in the World Tour in a couple of months, it's so unbelievable!
Motivation
Most people wonder why I went to ride with Lotto-Belisol, and not a French team. According to some, I could've gotten into FDJ or AG2R, and if not, I should've joined Team Europcar or Cofidis. Yet I chose the Belgian Lotto, and I'll tell you why. First of all: Lotto-Belisol is an important ProTour team, which allows me to gain a lot of experience, being a domestique in most ProTour races I'll ride. Better still, I've even negotiated some races in which I'll start as a Free Agent. Giro d'Italia is one of those races. We agreed I can go to the Giro and learn about GTs, since we lack a leader for the Giro anyway. That was my biggest motivation. I’m not as chauvinistic as most riders, I want to be in the best place for my career, and that’s Lotto-Belisol. Secondly: I can spend my first years as a domestique for J. Van Den Broeck and J. Vanendert, learning the trade from the best. By the time Vdb will retire, hopefully I'll be ready to take his place. Final motivation: Lotto-Belisol has offered me years of security in this harsh milieu of contracts. If I keep performing well, I shouldn't have any troubles prolonging my contract.
The downside: I'm the only Frenchman on the team. But in my opinion it shouldn't be too much of a problem, since the Belgians are supposed to speak French fluently (let's hope they do!).
Luckily, almost everyone speaks English nowadays. I've already talked to two of my (future) teammates, Jonas Van Genechten and Tosh Van Der Sande (also both new at the team) and we understood each other perfectly. Friendly guys, I might add.
Let me introduce you to the rest of the team!
TEAM PRESENTATION
The Team
Lotto-Belisol is a young team, with an average age of 27.6 years. They even have a special program for their youngest riders (which includes me), where they get the chance to prove themselves in various races (from low-key races to this years Giro). The team has existed since 1985 and is one of the longest-lasting teams in cycling history. That can only work in our advantage.
Our team manager is Marc Sergeant, a real bright man. He's given the team a makeover since the leave of P. Gilbert. Luckily for me, he speaks French quite fluently. He's the man who's giving me the chance to grow (I get one of the best trainers in the branch) and to prove myself worthy.
The Team Leaders Jurgen Van Den Broeck will be our leader for Tour De France. He's the best GC contender from Belgium and he is a potential winner in TDF. I won't be riding TDF this year (I wanted to start in a less-crowded race, the Giro), but there's a good chance I'll be serving him in many TDFs to come. I haven't met him yet, as he's on a training camp, but I'm sure he'll be able to teach me all he knows about conquering those 21 days.
Jelle Vanendert will be our leading man for the Ardennes as he's an excellent puncheur. He also proved he can climb in last year's TDF. I heard from Tosh Van Der Sande that he's a very professional yet friendly man.
Jurgen Roelandts is a promising Belgian rider. This year he gets his first chance as a leader on the cobbled races. He'll be competing in RvV and PR against legends such as Cancellara and Boonen. I won't be seeing him a lot since I won't be racing (much) cobbled races. But I wish him the best of luck!
Well, seems like there are lots of giants on the team. Or maybe that's just because I'm quite short myself. (1m72)
Anyway, it's a very interesting teams with all kinds of riders, I can't wait to get to know them! Especially on the road!
Me and Mr. Sergeant are sitting down in a couple of days to discuss my calendar. Only thing I'm sure off (it's even in my contract) is that I'll be racing Giro d'Italia. Other than that, I'm hoping to work for Jurgen or Jelle in their races. Maybe I could assist Jelle at Ardennes classics. I'll keep you posted!
Yours truly,
H.
Edited by Ian Butler on 22-06-2012 08:23
