General Information: I'll try to keep this short. After trying out some new things, I decided to go back to what I enjoy most and (I think) what I do best. A more traditional one-rider story.
A Day in the Life? Know your classics. It's the title of a beautiful song from The Beatles. This story will be about one rider's blog, Henry Vergnaud. So I find it a suitable title!
Henry Who? Henry Vergnaud is the name of a fictional French cyclist I once scouted in a PCM 11 career. He was the subject of my first attempt at a story, which failed because of Cyanide updates. I decided to re-use him.
Story Information: I use the Realname Database from PCM.Daily (edited lightly, added a couple of riders). Development set to 0.2, difficulty Hard. No random potential.
Hi,
Remember me? I've been here before! A long time ago, when I was still a young cycling fanatic, I started a story on this here forum, putting myself at the Lotto team in 2012, which was the future then. Now 2012 is the present.
And now my dream has come true. After fantasizing about it and writing stories about it, I can now blog about real life cycling, with me in the lead! How all of this happened, I will explain momentarily!
Oh - and about the title of my blog: I'm a huge Beatles fan, can't be helped!
Rider Information Name: Henry Vergnaud Country (region): France (Brittany) Date of Birth: 14/07/1991 Height: 177cm Weight: 61kg
History - Part I
I got my first bike when I was about 2 years old. At that time, it was easier to sit on a bike and get pushed around than to walk. I had some good times on that bike. That's when it hit me: I want to be a cyclist!
No, I'm just kidding, how can a 2 year old think that? The next decade I did some growing up. The bike was used to get to school, but nothing more. Of course, this was a different bike from the one I had when I was 2. Bigger model, only 2 wheels.
The first real impulse came when I broke my foot when I was 14. While all my friends were at the fair in town, I was stuck at home with my dad. He turned on the television real early that day. What the hell was going on? It was Paris - Roubaix. I was fascinated by this. The power those guys produced, the stamina they needed, the tactics, I was so impressed I asked my dad for a racing bike. After my foot healed, I started training.
First, 5 rounds around town, which came to about 30 kilometers. Later, 15 rounds. When I was 16, I could get up to more than 25 rounds at a weekend day. More than that, I got good! I joined a club...
History - Part II
My first races were pretty good. I won the 4th race I entered, escaping from the start. I spend some years in the amateur league, unable to decide between going for college or going for a career in cycling. Only last year, I made the decision. I was 19 and had won the national championships for amateurs (U23). I got offered a contract with a development team and needn't think about it twice.
I got picked up by an even larger team in August this year. I will race for the team starting 2013, but more about that in my next post!
Style of Rider
A tough question to answer when you're just about to enter the world of professional cycling, but I will try to nonetheless! To start, I ride pretty well on the flat. I have a big enough engine and can ride at decent speeds for a long period. I owe the laps around my town for that.
As much as I love Paris - Roubaix, it ain't my thing. To be honest, riding on cobblestones hurts my behind (and front) too damn much. I don't enjoy it.
I'm pretty explosive, but then again, most young riders are. I've won in several sprints, though most were tactical sprints, no mass sprints. But I've got a decent power output, so that helps!
However, I fear I should put any sprinting ambitions I might have behind me. I'm way better on longer exertions than on short ones. I top out at about 40 minutes, even longer. Combined with my weight and my dedication to the highlands of this earth, I'm a climber mostly.
Lastly, the beautiful discipline, some even call it an art, of time trialing. In the amateur league, time trialing isn't really of the order. But I have high hopes that I can pick it up over the years. I'm of the opinion that time trialing is a discipline of experience.
2013
In 2013, I will ride for a professional cycling team. I will tell you all the details in the next blog, don't worry! I will be 21 when I take my first steps (or pedal strokes) into the cycling world. I think that's a nice age to get into it. I'm still young enough to learn everything I need to learn and I'm old enough to appreciate the chance I'm given. I have 100% dedication.
So, I guess that's my introduction. The next blog will introduce the team that was kind enough to offer me the chance of a lifetime!
Yours truly,
Henry
Palmares
Grand Tour History
Giro d'Italia
Tour de France
Vuelta a España
2013
18th (1)
2014
2nd (2)*
2015
1st (3)**
* Also conquered the Young Jersey and the Points Jersey
** Also conquered the Young Jersey and the Mountain Jersey
Championships
French National Championships
Road Race
Time Trial
2013
1st
26th
2014
World Championships
Road Race
Time Trial
2014
Career
Number of Victories
2013: 10
2014: 6
2015: 15
2016: 3 Total: 34
Nice! I like that you're back to a one-rider story, I'll try to challenge you soon as you know Though I doubt that I'll stand a chance, if you can pick where you left off with the Double Feature
cunego59 wrote:
Nice! I like that you're back to a one-rider story, I'll try to challenge you soon as you know Though I doubt that I'll stand a chance, if you can pick where you left off with the Double Feature
Love the background story, the writing is quite good! It will be interesting to see where he will end up! I'd guess for Europcar, since I know you love them and made a comment about it in my Veilleux thread. However there really are a couple options I could see you going for
cunego59 - Luckily this isn't a competition every story is different, and I know everyone loves your stories! I hope to get another 'Double Feature' here
sutty68 - Thanks! I hope you'll like the story, since you will probably be following it anyway
valverde321 - Really glad you liked that! I wanted to provide with a decent background but make it too detailed and long, I hope I succeeded in that. Europcar will always have a special place in my heart, that's correct
Jesleyh - Thanks FDJ is also a pretty cool team, yeah.
duxili - I'll try to put more Beatles in it, shouldn't be a problem since I listen to them all the time Good to see you connect to the story
Today is a pretty busy day, but hard to calculate how long some things will take to do.
So I'll try to do the team presentation either today somewhere, otherwise it'll probably be tomorrow
Ian Butler wrote: cunego59 - Luckily this isn't a competition every story is different, and I know everyone loves your stories! I hope to get another 'Double Feature' here
Just to clarify, you know I didn't mean it like that, right? I only wanted to make a compliment
Today I can finally present you the team. Since my new employer was still pretty active on the transfer market, I decided to wait until the squad was complete to present it. Now I heard the budget has been spend and all the riders have been signed, so nothing will change for 2013 anymore. So now I can finally present you my new team for 2013: Citigroup Pro Cycling
TEAM PRESENTATION
Citigroup Pro Cycling
Citigroup is a new project, set up by an international coalition of ex-riders, doctors, coaches and businessmen. Sponsor Citigroup is an American bank, so our team's license (which was approved only a few days ago) comes from the USA. However, the team (both riders and staff) is very international.
For 2013, our team will be in the ProContinental League. We have a great team but we're not ready for the World Tour yet. The average age of our team is quite young, so the potential is almost unlimited.
Contract: The team has a contract until 2014. Then there will be an evaluation about how the team has been doing. Most likely the team will continue, though. The team managers are positive about this project and see it as a long-term engagement. License: approved - USA Team Manager: Ex-rider and arguably greatest climber in history Lucien Van Impe will be taking the lead of the team for the first year. Staff: Our staff is very international, but limited. Our team doctor is an honorable man. Ethics: Citigroup Pro Cycling is an American team. After the recent scandals, it wasn't an easy choice to start up a new American team. Citigroup is very anti-doping. The team wants to let the past rest, but wants to start cycling again with a clean sheet. Upon signing my contract, I accepted to an immediate resign if I was to test positive (B-sample). Ambitions: Citigroup Pro Cycling is hoping to eventually find its way into the World Tour Rankings. With a large young force in the squad, Citigroup hopes to develop those young riders into world class sportsmen. The promotion to the World Tour could happen, depending on many factors, in 2014 or 2015. Direction: Citigroup wants to focus on stage races in our first year. With a team of climbers, time-trialists and sprinters, we plan to take on all classifications in all kinds of tours. But in the long run, Citigroup wishes to be a team that fights well on all terrains. Kit: Our team kit has been designed by the famous artist AndersPCM.
SQUAD PRESENTATION
Team Leaders
Marco Pinotti is our most experienced rider. He's had a beautiful career already and has an excellent reputation. He's well liked in the peloton. A time-trialist, he has a lot to offer to our young team. He wishes to end his career at our team, passing on his knowledge to the next generation.
Warren Barguil is a French talent. He's my age and is also a climber. We should be competitors, but we get along extremely well. I've known him for 3 years now, and we're good friends. We're very anxious to race in the same team next year.
Rick Zabel, son of the legendary Erik Zabel. Just like his father, Rick is very much a sprinter pur sang. He's very young, but oh so fast. At Citigroup he gets a chance to lead the team in the sprints.
Henry Vergnaud, yes that's me! Based on my results from last year, I've been offered a kind-of-leader/free role contract. I'm not a leader like Pinotti is, but I will enjoy a leading role in most races. However, lacking real experience in a professional team, the management has the option to chance my contract (status, not length or wage) during the season. I will have to prove I'm worthy if I want to keep my free status!
This is our squad for 2013. Like I said, a lot of talent. If we can all develop during the coming season, I see no reason why we shouldn't promote to World Tour within 2 years! I'm an optimist.
I'll be getting my schedule for the first part of 2013 fairly soon, and we're leaving for a training camp in a couple of days. Will report back then!
Yours truly,
Henry
Nice team, well balanced. I hope Warren wil progress as fast as you
Great shirt as well, by chance US colors and French ones are similar
Just 1 point though you can't seriously claim CitiGroup to be antidoping: they have dopped (and I suspect them to go on) their results with financial schemes, trading, etc for so many years
Though I doubt that I'll stand a chance, if you can pick where you left off with the Double Feature 
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