The month began with the two Australian National Championships. Cameron Wurf was able to compete for Spidertech, but was not on form and could not get a good result. Gerrans wins the RR title and Durbridge will have the Aussie TT title!
The only PT race of the month was the Santos Tour Down Under, who did not want Spidertech at their race! The eventual winner was Van Avermaet of Omega - Quickstep! Spidertech did get into two other stage races this month, the Tour de Langkawi which was won by Javier Moreno and the Tour de San Luis which was won by Thomas Dekker for Cofidis! The final classic was the GP de Marseillaise which Dumoulin won easily in a sprint!
Rider Standings
World Tour
With only one race giving out WT points this month, the obvious leader in this category is Van Avermaet. After him comes a surprising Finetto and Ostergaard, who both had courageous months!
Continental Tour
Anthony Ravard is the surprise leader in the Conti Tour as he took a few stage wins over the course of the month! Thomas Dekker's ride also gives him a great position at the end of the month, something he will no doubt be happy about. And Kai Reus who came back from injuries only a season or two ago has also performed well!
CQ Ranking
With more weight going into the PT results, than the CT results, its not a shock to see Van Avermaet atop the leaderboard again! Ravard takes a very respectable place behind him, and of course its mainly PT riders filling out the Top 20.
Team Rankings
World Tour
Thanks to Van Avermaets performances, Omega Quickstep lead all other PT teams, and most importantly get a crucial lead! If you can get a lot of points now, you can worry less about getting points later, and thus not have to worry about being one of the bottom two teams! Liquigas and Red Bull follow closely, and even some CT score some PT points although they dont count in the race. And you must not forget that some teams haven't scored yet, so that is why they are missing!
Continental Tour
Finally a ranking where Spidertech are represented! Thanks to superb rides from Keven Lacombe and David Veilleux the team was able to celebrate the month ending, inside the Top 15. However we will want even more results if we're to get any significant wildcards this season!
CQ Rankings
What a great result for United Healthcare. They sure have a healthy lead in the CQ rankings already..... And with Ravard's results AG2R are also in a great spot. Same can be said for Movistar with Moreno's Langkawi win! It was sure a good month for CT teams!
Rider Awards
Matt Goss gets the Pro rider mention from Cyclesport magazine, with his 3 stage wins at the Tour Down Under! Durbridge gets the U23 award for his amazing TT ride to get the Australian TT title, despite being one of the underdogs!
Spidertech February Team Goals
06.02 - 11.02
Tour of Qatar
Get a Stage win
09.02 - 13.02
Tour Mediteraneen
Win the KoM Jersey
The upcoming month will be a little more busy for Spidertech, but I think that these goals will be very possible. Lacombe or Boivin will likely rider Qatar to get the stage win goal, and someone like Cattaneo could go to France to achieve the KoM goal
No comments.... Its alright its probably hard to find this underneath all the other "stories"....
Anyway, I'm loving this atm. Expect a few more updates this week, and most likely another Blog tonight!
I'm also thinking of making some more graphics like in Cunego's story as I like the look of them over the quote things I do. Distinguishes the story from the others. So I'll ask him.
Well, it's hard to say anything actually meaningful to a january review Especially when your team didn't do much.
Great to hear that you're having fun at the moment. I'm looking forward to more updates and you can be sure that the comments will come
About the headline-graphics: Do it, but make sure to make everyone a link to my story Nah, just kidding. I'm always happy when I inspire others, so really, go ahead
Hello all and welcome to my new look site! My graphical team was able to make these headings and I think they look pretty nice!
This gives my blog a new look, which I am excited for! But now on to the important stuff, that you read my blog for!
Theres not much racing here for me this month, but I like the race personally and I want to see how I will fare as a climber for once! I have always had the goal of being the best all-rounder in the peloton right now, a modern day Merckx, so this will help me judge where I am!
09.02-13.02
Tour Mediteraneen
2.1
5 Stages
Total Race Days (2014): 6
This month I will only be participating in one race, buts its an important one for the team! It seems I will be the team leader for this race, as the top climber going to the race, but I dont know if I will lead because I have a hunch Mattio Cattaneo will be coming too!
My month has a perfect amount of race days! I know I forgot to mention it before, but this season I'd love to race the Canadian PT Classics, Japan Cup and the Tour of California. Those would be my biggest races! Of course if the team gets a spot at the Giro, which I genuinely hope for, then I would most likely be selected to ride there, which would be a big moment in my carrer!
Get a Top 5 Stage Result at the Tour Mediteraneen
Assist a teammate in winning the KoM Jersey
This month I have two goals I'd love to fulfill. One is a personal goal while the other is assisting a teammate into winning a jersey!
My goal is to try and get a Top 5 stage finish. My form should be slightly better than last month, and the field should be about the same!
I also want to help out a teammate. Boily or Cattaneo will probably be riding alongside me, and I dont really have any serious GC ambitions, so I will let my top helper go on the attack at times, and hopefully win the team the KoM jersey!
Once again good results will help the team be selected as the Wildcard team to PT races, and that would really help the team promote, which is our goal, within the next two years!
Rules
Spoiler
- Only the first two question directed to David will be answered after each blog that includes the Ask David segment.
- The questions must be related to cycling, or David.
- If you consistently get your questions answered, try to let others have a chance.
- Questions will be answered in the next Blog entry, so be patient.
johannes-w wrote:
So david,
i hope i havent overlooked it in your blog and i know your calendar is not completly planned yet but which races will be your main target this year?
(i personally hope you will shine in the canadian classics and japan again )
Hello, first of all, thank you and congratulations on being the first fan to ask a question this year!
I had completely forgotten about this, as I was just worried about the one month in my previous blog! I hope you will be able to spot my season goals within this months blog, but if not, I want to target the Tour of California the Canadian PT classics and Japan Cup!
cunego59 wrote:
Hi David,
my question is: Where do you see yourself in, say, two years? I reckon you are strong enough for a World Tour team. But I also guess you enjoy your role as a team leader. So do you want to help developing SpiderTech on the long run or do you plan to join a WT team soon?
Hello, and thank you for taking part!
Good question! I think in two years time, I would like to be in the Pro Tour! Of course I cherish my time with Sky, but long term I dont think they were the team for me. Many riders were as good or better than me at TTing, my strongest discipline. They were just too crowded.
With Spidertech, realistically I'd love to stay with them, and take them up to the PT with my help. But it also depends on where I am in two years. If I make significant improvements, I may be ready to lead a weaker team like Team Type 1 or BMC.
One thing is for sure, I dont think I'm ready for a PT team, and I am perfectly happy riding for the only Canadian team in the peloton!
-----------
Thanks again for reading this month! First two to ask a question will get their questions answered again in the next blog!
You have always said you want to become the "Next Canadian Legend." What results/requirements do you have complete in your mind to be a Canadian Legend?
nice to see you so motivated at the moment i didnt comment on the monthly review because honestly i dont think they are that interesting (in any story) - dont know what to write about those BUT i really like the new blog entry a lot!!!
i think the new style with the captions is quite fancy with david s face on it and also the new blog entry seems to have more content i think especially the monthly outlook and the goals are a cool idea i hope you keep giving yourself goals in the next months as well because its more interesting to see "special" goals for david than only the general ones for your team
oh and yes i spotted your goals in the text and as you could already see in my question i like them a lot
so best of luck in franceEdited by johannes-w on 24-05-2012 18:12
The team we have brought here is actually a really strong team! I am the leader, as I have the most experience in the hills, but Boily and Salerno will be our two guys to go and get KoM points! Boivin is also here, so I really think that as a team we have a great shot of getting a stage win, which would be our first of the season!
The plan is to play it safe and work for Boivin the first few days, while getting someone into the break. Then later on, as the route becomes hillier I will become the man our team is working for! I am excited for the opportunity, and most importantly I think the team can do very well here!
Spoiler
AG2R La Mondiale
1. N.Roche
2. G.Bonnafond
3. M.Bouet
4. S.Chainel
5. J.Peraud
6. M.Perget
7. A.Ravard
8. A.Zargari
This race has a lot of strong riders competing, so the competition will be fierce for the overall win with a lot of CT points at stake. Fothen and many of the French riders will be extra motivated on the climbs, and Ravard looks like the overwhelming favourite for the sprints with his great results last year, and now returning in about the same form this season. If we want to get any good results, Veilleux, and his teammates will have to put out good showings on all the climbs, and maybe get a stage win!
Its really nice to be racing in France so much again! Today looks like a day for the sprinters I think, so not a day for me. But we will work for our sprinter Boivin. There are also a few KoM sprints so we will also try and get a rider in the break I think!
We already achieved one of our goals for the day, as Salerno is in the break for us today! He starts his attack for the first KoM sprint with the other breakaway riders.
But Salerno is too tired from getting up to the break, so he cant get any points!
At the second sprint, Salerno is able to get 2nd and pick up a few points! Of course its not enough to lead, but its a start if he can up points every day.
But as the break gets closer to the finish, it becomes more clear that the breakaway will survive, thanks in large part to Salerno's effort in the last 30km. But then the rest of the riders seem to slow their pace, so Salerno makes an attack with 5km to go.
But Salerno is caught by the others just before the line and gets 12th on the stage. It could have been so much better for him! Gautier with the win!
The peloton comes in about 2 minutes down, so the gap isn't too big to handle!
Especially when your team didn't do much. 
