I am Simphiwe Kanelo. I am a Xhosa. I am a South African. But foremost, i am a Cyclist. This is my story.
Growing Up
I was born in a small town in the Cape Region of South Africa, called Pearly Beach. I had the childhood you could expect for a black South African – we didn't have much money, but I was always happy. Until one day, a man came to our school.
He said he was sent by a charity, to promote cycling as a form of transport. That day, we all got cheap new bikes. From then on, I spent nearly all my time on my bike. First I rode to the beach and back. Then I rode a few kilometres along the coastal road and back. Eventually, when I was sixteen, I was riding to Cape Agulhas, the Southernmost point of Africa and back, some 140 kilometres.
Soon I realized, that I was getting really good at it. I could easily beat any of my mates, over any given distance. So I decided to take my life in to my own hands, and set of for Stellenbosch. I went there with nothing but my bike, a spare set of clothes, and my modest savings.
It was tough at first, but I managed to get a night time job in a supermarket, so I had the whole day to ride my bike. Well, and to sleep. I joined a club, and started not just riding my bike, but actually learning some sort of tactical skills on it. So I started entering races for the club, still with my old and heavy bike, but I still did well. First it was just staying in the pack. Then I got a few Top 10 results. Then Top 5.
Then one day the "chef" of the club approached me, with a second hand racing bike. It was such a step up, and suddenly everything was easier. At my first race with my new bike, i got my first podium placing. After that, podiums were getting normal, but i still couldn't reach that very top level. But at last, at a hilly criterium, I managed to get my first win.
The wins started getting more and more the norm, until one day, finally, after two years in Stellenbosch, I got approached by a scout from MTN. That's how my dream came true, how the boy from Pearly Beach became a Pro Cyclist.
Man Grown
Of course things were a bit harder at Pro level, so results weren't coming as fast. To be honest, there were points at which I was really thinking about quitting. But if there's on thing I've learned along the way, it's that winners never quit, and quitters never win. So I stuck to it.
And eventually, it started paying off. After a slow start to the season, I managed to grab my first pro win that August: Stage 2 of the Volta a Portugal, after a great lead-out from my team-mate Reinardt JvR. After that, I kept my good form, taking wins at Ljubljana-Zagreb and, more importantly, at the Memorial of Marco Pantani.
In the second year of my contract, I at last prove that I could compete on home soil too. I took a Stage at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo, as well as two stages and the points jersey at the Mzansi Tour. But I have to say, the real highlight of the season for me wasn't a victory of my own: It was being on the team for Milan – San Remo, where our own rider, Gerald Ciolek, got the first monument victory for an African team.
Since this day, I have a dream: I want to be the first African to win a monument. I definitely upped my chances for that as I won my second-ever cobbled race later that spring, the Zuid Oost Drenthe Classic I. After that, I took a long break, but returned again for the autumn, defending my title at Ljubljana-Zagreb, as well as taking wins at the Sparkassen Münsterland Giro and Binche-Tournai-Binche.
Now I've reached the end of my two year deal with MTN, and my success so far hasn't gone unnoticed. Scouts of several world tour teams have contacted me, and I've finally made me decision. Who will I ride for in 2014? Well, that might be a story for another day.
Style
Well, I don't find this the easiest question, to be honest. I'm somewhere between a puncher and a sprinter, or so I think. I'm quite all right on cobbles too, no doubt a result of the rough roads I was training on before I turned pro. My victories so far have all come after an attack on the hills, or a sprint after a tough hilly/cobbled stage, with the exception of Münsterland, where I just had great sprint legs.
Of course at my age it's not easy to tell how my future progression will be, but personally, I see myself as a rider like Degenkolb. Actually, I think I'm very like Degenkolb. So that's how I hope to turn out when I'm older.
I don't really have a full set of goals written down, but the one thing I really want to accomplish is win a monument. I know it's ambitious, and I know that 95% of the guys that say stuff like this never manage, but I somehow feel it's possible.
One of my dreams is also winning the green jersey of Le Tour, which might be possible at some point, if I do it like Sagan and snatch points on hilly stages and in the breakaway. And there's also one goal I will almost certainly not achieve: winning the world road race championships.
That's all from me for now, I'll be back to you as soon as I can announce my team.
Spoiler
So, here we go again. I'm back with a story. This story will be very different to Jack O'Connor though. Instead of short blogs, there will be actualy reports, depending on the importance of the race, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. I will also leave out the personal side of things, and focus this on racing completely.
I've got a big-ish exam coming up on tuesday week, so reports won't be coming to quick until then, but the pace will hopefully pick up drastically after that.
2014: o Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stage 2 o Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stage 3 o Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stage 5 o Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stage 6 o South African NC, Time Trial o South African NC, Road Race
Grand Tours
Giro
Tour
Vuelta
2014
Monuments
MSR
RvV
P-R
L-B-L
Lombardia
SAR NC
Worlds
2014
Team History
2012-2013:MTN - Qhubeka 2014-...:Lotto - Belisol
Records
Velo d'Or
Feel free to post, btw. Edited by Dippofix on 30-05-2014 19:03
PCM.Daily NFL Fantasy Football Champion: 2012 PCM.Daily NHL Prediction Game Champion: 2013 PCM.Daily NFL Prediction Game Champion: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2021
Some of you might have already read it somewhere, but for all those that haven't, this is the team I'll be riding for this season (and the season after, too):
My Role
Contract Length: 2 years Monthly Salary: 5.500€ Role: Young Rider
So, as you can see, I got a two year contract. To me, this is an important part of the contract; it means I can take some time to develop, and don't have the pressure to need to perform right from the start.
Also note that I'm classified as a Young Rider. This might seem trivial, but it's definitely a good thing, because it means I will be given a free role in some of the smaller races. I hope to perform well in the races where this is the case, to maybe even get the opportunity to lead the team in a few smaller races, towards the end of the season.
Other than that, there are various roles that I will have. Because of my three real strengths (Hills, Cobbles, Sprints), I have three big roles to fullfill.
My first (and possibly most important) part to play is in the lead-out trains. The trainers don't think I have the necessary quality and experience to be in the "big" train yet, the one that leads Greipel out, but I will probably be leading out guys like Roelandts, Boeckmans or Henderson out.
Secondly, I will be a big part of our Ardennes campaign this year. I will be riding all major hilly classics this spring, working for Jelle Vanendert. Of course I'm by far not the best puncher on the team, so I won't be a key helper for Jelle, but I'm sure I can be useful to him. If the day's right, I might even try my luck in the breakaway one of the days!
Lastly, I will also be part of our cobbles team, in support of Jürgen Roelandts. Again, I won't be key to the teams success, so I will try to get in to the break a few times, for sure. However, in races with only a few cobbles, most notably Gent-Wevelgem, the team will be working for Andre Greipel. So I might be given the opportunity to be the first lead-out, if I can prove myself more worthy than Jens Debusschere.
Leaders
Andre Greipel
The German Champion will be our most important rider this season, aiming for the points jersey at both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana. He will also ride all the cobbled races, leading the ones where a sprint is likely, supporting Roelandts where a sprint is unlikely. He might not be the youngest anymore, but he still has another few good years left in him.
Jürgen Van den Broeck
Jürgen will be our leader for the mountains this year. His main target will be the GC of the Giro, where we hope he can achieve a Top 5, as well as various smaller stage races throughout the year. He will also be a key lietenant for Jelle in the Ardennes.
Jelle Vanendert
Jelle will be our leader for the Ardennes. He might not be top class, but a Top 10 in each race should be achievable. After that, he will take a break, before targetting the hilly Belgian NC, the GC of the Tour de Pologne, as well as the Vuelta a Espana. There he will both work for Maxime Monfort, as well as try to snatch a stage or two from the break. The mountians jersey could also be a possibility.
Jürgen Roelandts
Jürgen is our leader on the cobbles. He will be riding all the big races, with a special target on his home race, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, where he will try to improve on his third place from last year. In the races with only few cobbles, he will be the last lead-out for Andre. After the cobbles, he will be going to the Giro, as our main sprinter. He won't have great support, but we do hope he can get good results in the sprints, and maybe even a stage win if the stage suits him.
Hello guys, it's me again. I've just come home from a meeting with the team staff, and we have come up with a nice calendar for me, with 71 race days, plus worlds, if I get selected. The main focus is on two big blocks: The early season, with 40 race days, highlights being all four early season monuments, as helper all four times. After Liege, I will take a long break, until the Tour de Pologne. From then on, I will try and build form for the Eneco Tour, the four WT classics, possibly the Worlds, and Il Lombardia. In all those races I will be a helper, of course.
Then in February, I will tackle both SA NC's. First the hilly TT, where I might have a chance depending on the difficulty of the hill and the form of Van Rensburg and Impey. After that we have a hilly road race, where tactics will be key, given the low amount of UCI registered pros. Then I'm heading off to Oman, where I will be a lead-out, before taking part at the Belgian Opening Weekend, and Le Samyn.
Then it's more cobbles, in the Three Days of West-Flanders, followed by my first WT event, Tirreno-Adriatico. This is all in preparation of my first monument of the season: Milano - San Remo, where I will try and help Greipel get us a win, which is what the sponsor wants. From there, it's right back to Belgium for the trio of Dwars Door Vlaanderen, E3 Prijs and Gent-Wevelgem, important races in our home country. I end the month with another monument, the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
I have a little break from the cobbles after that, riding the Scheldeprijs in support of Greipel. Then we're right back to the cobbles though, with the GP Pino Cerami followed by the big one, Paris - Roubaix. After that, the cobbled season ends with the Brabantse Pijl. I finish my first block of races shortly after with the three big Ardennes classics: Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallone and Liege - Bastogne – Liege.
After nearly three months of resting and recovering, part of it at home in South Africa hopefully, I will get back in to racing at the Tour de Pologne, where I will try to gain back my form. After that, I've got more events, with the Eneco Tour and the four WT classics Vattenfall Cyclassics, GP Ouest France - Plouay, GP Quebec and GP Montreal, which are all races i want to be back in form for, so maybe I'll have to add another race or two in before, just to gain some form.
Then I've got three CT classics where I hope to have a free role at least some of the time: GP de Wallonie, the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen and the GP Impanis - Van Petegem. So a hilly, a cobbled and a flat race - I wonder which I can do best on? After those, I hope to be flying to Spain, to participate at the Worlds. The route doesn't really suit me however, so I could cope with missing out too.
October will be another busy month, with Milano - Torino and Giro del Piemonte as build up for the last monument of the season, Il Lombardia. After that I return to the North to ride two classics: Binche - Tournai - Binche and Paris - Bourges, before heading off to China for the season ending Tour of Beijing.
So all in all a nice way to start my first season at WT level. No GT this year, the team feel after such a long spring campaign I deserve a bit of rest, so Giro and Tour are out of it. After that, the Vuelta would be a possibility, but it clashes with the for us important classics, where I'm needed. Maybe next year, when I might have a realistic chance to achieve something.
So that's it from me, I'll get back to you soon with a quick resume of the Oceanic NCs.
@Ollfardh The more comments, the better.
And I hope you like the team choice, too?
@Ian Well, he's no neo-pro really, since he was at MTN for two years before. And there's lots of rest between the two parts, so hopefully it should be fine.
Hansen close, but couldn't quite reach Gerrans and Haas, who had attacked earlier
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Simon Gerrans
Orica GreenEdge
4h33'48
2
Nathan Haas
Garmin Sharp
s.t.
3
Adam Hansen
Lotto Belisol
+ 10
4
Simon Clarke
Orica GreenEdge
+ 19
5
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
6
Mark Renshaw
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
7
Cameron Wurf
Cannondale
s.t.
8
Zakkari Dempster
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
9
Darren Lapthorne
Drapac Pro Cycling
s.t.
10
Richie Porte
Team Sky
+ 1'00
Kiwi RR
A farce. Breakaway won, then peleton outsprinted Henderson, who had burnt himself up trying to catch break. Nobody helped chasing, but they brought him back quickly when he attacked.
Will follow closely and seems like an interesting story. I like the realistic twist to it
