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Rapha Condor JLT | The 3 Year Plan | On a break due to illness
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 13:33
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Edition: Pro Cycling Manager 2012
Database: PCM Daily 2013Db
Race difficulty: Hard
Financial Difficulty: Normal
Development of attributes: 0.3
Welcome all to the home of all things Rapha. I'm Mike Pye, the new Director Sportif for the strongest English Continental team, and i've been brought in with one specific job. "The 3 year plan"
Before we get that far though, it's time I took you through the teams financial support, those guys who make the day to day possible here at Rapha Condor JLT.
More famously known for there recent partnership with British Team Sky, Rapha specialise in the finest quality cycling clothing and will be one of our headline sponsors for the coming season.
Condor bicycles have been ridden to World Championship gold medals, ridden in the Tour de France, and have been the choice of many figures in the public limelight, ranging from judges to rock stars. Few brands can claim to have their bikes ridden by cycling household names including Tom Simpson and Bradley Wiggins. This year we will be the ones riding on there bikes, and we hope for many success upon them!
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group is a Risk & Insurance Specialist and an Employee Benefits consultant. The company is represented in 135 countries employing in excess of 7,000 employees. They will provide the bulk of the team funds with which we pay the riders, having come on board with Rapha-Condor after the departure of Sharp to Garmin at the end of last year.
Few jerseys can claim to be better looking than the ever style pink on black of Rapha Condor. The new sponsor agreed and saw no reason to change the oh-so pleasing on the eye jersey. The riders will i'm sure be proud to show it to the world as they cross the line this season!
Edited by baggieboys32 on 05-06-2013 14:51
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 13:33
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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You've met the sponsors, now it's time to go through the calendar. The team will focus mostly upon English and American races, though we have a few days outside of these regions as well. The full outline is below...
| January | | | | Race | Country | Length | | New Zealand Cycle Classic |  | 5 Days |
A Quiet start to the season with just one race in January. The team will travel down under with a strong squad, as it's the only time this year we'll compete in the southern hemisphere.
| February | | | | Race | Country | Length | | Valley of Sun SR |  | 3 Days |
The Quiet theme continues through the winter months. Never the less the team will be working on building form up towards the late spring, when most of our sponsor goals are set.
| March | | | | Race | Country | Length | | GP Ville De Lillers |  | 1 Day | | Kattekoers |  | 1 Day | | Istrian Spring Trophy |  | 4 Days | | Volto ao Alentejo |  | 4 Days |
Our season truly kicks in the beginning of Spring. 4 International races for the squad who will continue to build form. Never the less, when you only visit a country for one race per season, it's worth making a good impression!
| April | | | | Race | Country | Length | | Maldon Dengie Tour |  | 1 Day | | Tour Doon Hame | | 2 Days | | Presbyterian Hospital Crit | | Criterium | | Tour of the Battenkill | | 1 Day | | Sea otter Classic | | 4 Days | | Rutlan Melton Cicle Classic | | 1 Day |
From there the focus begins to shift towards the true targets of the year. In April the riders will only compete in the USA and UK, where we see the first of our sponsor goals starting to crop up.
| May | | | | Race | Country | Length | | Memorial Oleg Dyachenko |  | 1 Day | | GP Moscow | | 1 Day | | Tour of the Reservoir | | 1 Day | | Lincoln GP | | 1 Day | | Halfords Tour Series 1-7 | | Criterium Series |
2 Important trips to Russia kick off May, followed by the British Tour Series and Halfords Tour. This is a big month for the team seeing many important races. The sponsors want us to podium the overall Halfords Tour.
| June | | | | Race | Country | Length | | American Cycle Challenge | | 1 Day | | Halfords Tour Series 8-11 | | Criterium Series | | Dairyland Tour | | 4 Days | | Britsh TT NC | | 1 Day | | British RR NC | | 1 Day |
Our calendar for June follows the style laid out by the 2 previous months. The conclusion of the Halfords Tour Series, along with the British National Championships make June arguably our most important month, we'll have several riders peaking here.
| July | | | | Race | Country | Length | | Beaumont Trophy | | 1 Day | | Stockton GP | | 1 Day | | GP Wales | | 1 Day | | Ryedale GP | | 1 Day |
Only 4 race days for the Rapha Squad in July. That being said, there are 2 sponsor goals in there, and considering all 4 are on the British Calendar, they're still important stages in our bid to win the British league, and even work towards promotion.
| August | | | | Race | Country | Length | | GP Kraje |  | 1 Day | | Giro Dell Aosto |  | 6 Days |
Back on the international scene with 2 of the last 3 races we'll ride this year. The italian Giro Dell Aosto will be used by our Tour of Britain team as a warmup for the real thing, whilst the GP Krage could be a good opportunity to test the legs in a longer distance race.
| September | | | | Race | Country | Length | | Tour of Britain | | 8 Days |
Last but by no means least. It's the big one, the pinnacle of our season, The Tour of Britain! Already with confirmed entries of Team Sky, and Garmin, this is an opportunity to mix it against the best of the best and our biggest opportunity to gain the team some TV time!
Edited by baggieboys32 on 18-05-2013 15:01
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 13:33
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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You've all been thinking it, well now you'll find out just what we mean by this. The sponsors came to me at the start of the year with this proposal. "You've got 3 years to get to the Pro-Continental Division."
The target is to do it in stages, spread out over each of the 3 years, in order to achieve promotion at the end of our 3rd season.
Season 1 - Keep the squad entirely British Isles, look to add another key man to lead the squad, and recruit a collection of Backroom Staff who can best advise our riders on how to improve.
Season 2 - The squad must be entirely english speaking, but any commonwealth country can be used as a recruitment location. We must be the best british team at the end of year 2, winning the Halfords Tour Series being an absolute must.
Season 3 - If the team succeed with the 2014 goals, then the funding will increase by 50%, allowing us to bring in some stronger names (Still English Speaking) In order to compete at a higher level. The squad should have grown to a minimum of 20 riders by this point, and the aim is to finish in the top 10 of the Continental Tour (The Promotion Places.)
The Board and I have agreed a collection of goals for this season which fit into the plan for Season 1. They are as follows, in order of Importance.
| Team Goals | | | | Race | Objective | Achieved | | Halford Tour Series | Top 3 | | | Tour of Britain | Stage Win | | | Tour of Britain | KotM Top 3 | | | 1 International Race | Win | | | American Races | 2 Wins(Stage or Classification) | |
Edited by baggieboys32 on 18-05-2013 15:01
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 13:33
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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With my appointment there was initially a question over the future of John Herety. However he will not be leaving the ranks of Rapha, but rather joining my side and will be doing DS'ing work mostly for the teams races on the other side of the pond, leading our side through the American Races on our calendar.
Peter 'Spike' Taylor will continue working with the team as our Bike mechanic for the 2013 season. His knowledge of bikes is second to none, and he will surely be an important part of our backroom staff for the coming season.
Former Rapha Condor Sharp rider Tom Southam retired from full time racing in October of 2011, the end of what was his third season with the Rapha Condor Sharp team. He'll be an important part of the teams rise, and absolutely essential to getting us into more international races as we work through our 3 year plan.
Edited by baggieboys32 on 18-05-2013 15:20
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 13:33
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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We feel like there's something missing from this introduction... Oh yes! The Riders! Here we are now with our official presentation of the 2013 Rapha-Condor JLT squad...
The teams number one name. Ed Clancy is turning his attention back towards the road after a hugely successful summer at the Olympics. He will be our leader of several Tour Series races, as well as the early part of our Calendar.
Season Targets: Halfords Tour Series, Early Season Stage Races
Kristian packs the uphill punch that Clancy lacks, and in the hillier races on the calendar, it will be him that we turn to. Kristian showed his ability last year during the tour of Britain, successfully defending the teams KotM jersey from the year before, and it will be his biggest target of the season to defend that jersey.
Season Goals: Tour of Britain KotM, NC Road Race.
One of the youngest and most exciting riders in the Squad, 19 year old Luke Grivell-Mellor is already the teams best rider on the cobbles, and one of our more powerful all round riders.
Season Goals: Cobbled Events - East Midlands CiCle, Maldon-Dengie.
James is the teams second fastest sprinter. He lacks the ability to ride for long periods at a sustained pace, meaning the team will have to be more vigilant in protecting him before a sprint, however over short periods he's deadly so expect the odd win for him this year.
Season Goals: British Tour Series
Felix is in his second season with us here at Rapha-Condor. The youngster is one of the teams 2 Irishmen, and is an up and coming sprinter within the squad. Mostly he will be used as a leadout man this year, though he's set his eye on a few opportunities including the Irish Nationals.
Season Goals: Irish NC's (TT + RR)
Edited by baggieboys32 on 18-05-2013 16:39
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 13:46
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World Champion
Posts: 10497
Joined: 23-06-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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I guess it's okay to post. Good luck. |
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| admirschleck |
Posted on 18-05-2013 13:50
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Team Leader
Posts: 6690
Joined: 11-10-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck!
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| krisa |
Posted on 18-05-2013 13:55
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3962
Joined: 12-04-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck
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| holmed |
Posted on 18-05-2013 13:58
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Junior Rider
Posts: 46
Joined: 26-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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I am currently 5 years into a game with Rapha Condor JLT (well it was, now it is HTC Virgin) so will be interested to read someone else's experiences with the team.
You are right, the jersey is awesome which made it hard to take the big money from HTC. |
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| Selwink |
Posted on 18-05-2013 15:10
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8856
Joined: 17-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 10:59
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 18-05-2013 15:31
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
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Best of luck  |
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 16:41
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Cheers Guys Should start this afternoon, first though we have a team announcement to make
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| MrUfo87 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 16:44
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2803
Joined: 06-01-2012
PCM$: 700.00
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Good luck!
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 17:36
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Big news at Rapha-Condor JLT this afternoon, as New manager Mike Pye called a press conference after just 4 days in charge of the British Squad.
Speaking in an interview, Pye said to the gathered press "I'm very pleased to announce that we've been able to come to terms with 2 new riders ahead of the coming season. The first of these 2 names is Daniel Lloyd."
Daniel is a great rider who has had spells in some of the top cycling teams from all over the world! He spent 3 seasons riding for the Cérvelo Test team, which then became Garmin Cérvelo, and we're ecstatic to announce that he's agreed to join us ahead of the 2013 calendar season.
He's put pen to paper on a £2,500 a month contract, riding as a super Doméstique, and will be a key rider to the squad wherever he finds himself racing. Welcome Daniel!
Our second signing is the now 38year old, Roger Hammond. Roger is in the twilight of a brilliant career, consisting of several superb results in the cobbled classics, most notably 4th in the 2010 Paris-Roubaix.
Despite his age we see no reason why he can't become a key part of the squad, with particular targets of the cobbled events on the calendar, such as the East Midlands CiCle, and the Maldon-Dengie Tour. He's put pen to paper on a 1 year contract worth £36,000 with an option to extend for a further year should both parties agree.
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 17:42
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
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Aww I like listening to Dan Lloyd on Eurosport 
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 17:44
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World Champion
Posts: 10497
Joined: 23-06-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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36.000?  |
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 17:52
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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36,000 a year  In other words, a £3k per month contract
Sorry @Valverde, we need him Perhaps we'll share if they agree to pay part of the wage, a co-ownership deal could be arranged
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 18-05-2013 17:55
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15274
Joined: 21-07-2012
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Nice team presentation.
Team looks really strong as well(though Clancy is massively overrated in the DB, not that I mind )
Good luck, will try to follow...
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
PCMdaily Awards: 12x nomination, 9x runner-up, 0x win.
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 20:17
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Racing
| Race | Country | Length | | New Zealand Cycle Classic | | 5 Days |
Just one race for us this month, The 4 Stage New Zealand Cycle Classic. Despite the riders not being in perfect shape we've got quite high hopes for this event, where we will be lead by Ed Clancy.
Squad:
Ed Clancy
Daniel Lloyd
Luke Grivell-Mellor
Roger Hammond
Richard Handley
Elliot Porter
 Felix English
Aaron Porter
Aside from racing there's very little to tell you about from January. We will as always give you a roundup of the previous months WT Events, but there are for obvious reasons, none of those yet!
The team have been working hard in training, and our Press officer Tom Southam has been taking a few photos for you all to enjoy...
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 18-05-2013 22:27
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Stage 1 of the New Zealand Cycle Classic is a short 6.5km prologue. Ed was one of the pre-stage favourites, but in the end he found himself miss out on the top spot by just 1" to Efapel-Glasdrive's Filipe Cardozo.
Considered by the bookies as the favourite for todays race, Tom Zirbel found himself lacking towards the end of the stage and had to make do with 6th place, 7" down.
Lawson Craddock put in an excellent time, and was unlucky to lose the top spot right at the end of the stage, falling from 1st to 4th as 3 riders consecutively beat his time of 8'54
Our man for the day was Ed Clancy. The distance was about ideal for him but he couldn't quite pip the Portuguese Sprinters time.
Stage honours go to Efapel-Glassdrive and their lead sprinter Filipe Cardozo. However Ed sits just 1" behind and is in prime position to steal the jersey in the coming stages.
| 1 | Filipe Cardoso | Efapel - Glassdrive | 8'47 | | 2 | Ed Clancy | Rapha Condor - JLT | + 1 | | 3 | Lluis Guillermo Mas | Burgos BH - Castilla y León | + 6 | | 4 | Lawson Craddock | Bontrager Cycling Team | + 7 | | 5 | Stefan Schumacher | Christina Watches - Onfone | s.t. | | 6 | Tom Zirbel | Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | s.t. | | 7 | Shane Archbold | An Post - Chainreaction | + 9 | | 8 | Nico Eeckhout | An Post - Chainreaction | s.t. | | 9 | Sérgio Sousa | Efapel - Glassdrive | + 10 | | 10 | Nathan Brown | Bontrager Cycling Team | s.t. | | 17 | Richard Handley | Rapha Condor - JLT | + 14 | | 31 | Felix English | Rapha Condor - JLT | + 15 | | 54 | Aaron Buggle | Rapha Condor - JLT | + 18 | | 60 | Roger Hammond | Rapha Condor - JLT | + 18 | | 72 | Luke Grivell-Mellor | Rapha Condor - JLT | + 20 | | 128 | Hugh Carthy | Rapha Condor - JLT | + 25 | | 135 | Daniel Lloyd | Rapha Condor - JLT | + 26 |
Edited by baggieboys32 on 18-05-2013 22:29
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