Not a race we expected to win with the presence of defending champ Miguel Angel Lopez, but officially this was a Win Goal, and if Areruya could somehow upset the top dogs it could be a season-changing result which we wouldn't argue with!
However even if we weren't expecting wins, Stage 1 still disappointed with there being a 10-rider selection that Areruya missed out on, leading home the next group 18 seconds down. On Stage 3 he once again lost time, 29 seconds to Lopez and 19 to the other favourites. Due to consistency this actually rose him to 8th on GC, but with already nearly a minute and a half conceded to Lopez and the best part of a minute to the podium contenders. On Stage 4, another 30 seconds. What was going on?
On the final stage Areruya looked like himself again and was attentive at the front of the peloton when Sicard launched the first attack of the final climb to try and catch the soloing De Bie.
As Sicard lead the peloton past the Belgian, Areruya took over inside the last two kilometres and began to put in the hurt, with many of the riders standing between him and the podium being dropped.
He continued to ride hard until even GC leader Lopez (who had a large enough gap to not be caught by anyone) was off his wheel, as well as 2nd and 3rd on GC Gidich and Beltran...
A very strong stage win was taken for some kind of redemption in this race... but unfortunately the two riders who stuck in behind him until the end were two of the riders still ahead of him on GC, so they slotted into the remaining podium spots leaving our man in a still very solid 4th on GC. A really weak race for five days somewhat redeemed by a huge showing on the final stage to ride the peloton off his wheel and turn the entire GC 2-10 on it's head. Once again this season no depth scoring, I hope this doesn't affect our promotion chances by having no depth behind a Top 3 and 2 Top 25 scorers in the division...
redordead wrote:
Some nice results in flat classics and Areruya showed his class in Balkans. When he'll have 2 or more good days he'll be a real threat to MAL
Think it may take more than two good days to overcome a 3-point HI difference - I almost think MAL is taking it easy mode with his ridiculous stats and when challenged would only rise to it. Maybe one day we get to find out
Our first ever time at the continental Grand Tour in our sixth time of eligibility. Given how many leaders we used to have we never used to need it for the spare race days, but this season we finally decided it was worth entering for one of our leaders - last year Bennett proved he ages through a three-week race like a fine wine and we had high hopes for him in what promised to be an entertaining duel with regular opponent Ki Ho Choi and stage racing star Alexandr Pluchkin.
Our man got off to a decent start by his standards in the prologue, conceding 20 seconds to Pluchkin, the stage winner. A disappointing day for Schomber in fifth. Stage 2 was quiet day in the flat roads of Manhattan, while Stage 3 took in the country and saw the puncheurs fight for the win ahead of the pack, where Bennett was attentive and came in the Top 10 of the stage. Corbin Strong also joined the breakaway, as he would three days later. Similar stories on Stages 4, 5 and 6 where Bennett was 11th, 9th and 13th finishing on the same time as his prospective GC rivals.
Stages 8-10 were for the sprinters, so we pick up halfway through the race for a mountaintop finish in Canada - British Columbia to be exact, where Bennett won the Apex Mountain Classic back in June! He wasn't going to double up just yet though, being the second strongest GC rider and sixth on the day but ceding over half a minute to Pluchkin, putting him now a minute back on the Moldovan.
Stage 12 was a hilly one and local man Hank Tesfaye Harris was in the breakaway (which he'd do again tomorrow) and for a time looked a threat for the stage win, going solo on the penultimate climb and caught at the bottom of the final ascent.
Hoelgaard attacked late on but Bennett passed him with 300m to go, looking for a stage win to give him a boost up the GC rankings.
Heartbreakingly he would be pipped on the line (don't worry, not for the last time this race...) for the stage but the 12 bonuses just for sprinting meant we were under a minute away from Pluchkin going into...
A stage to Apex Mountain itself! And if it ain't broke why the hell try and fix it - much like he did back in June, Bennett attacked hard with 8km to go on the climb. He felt good and wanted a big statement here. He began tearing through the breakaway remnants and established a solid gap.
However today it may have been a bit early, as despite achieving his goal of blowing the race up first Choi and then Faglum Karlsson were able to catch him and get a small gap with 3km to go.
He would never give in and gave a gritty ride to the line, but never quite got back on level pegging, finishing 7 seconds down on the duo, with all three gaining at least half a minute on Pluchkin, enough to give the Swede the GC lead, with Pluchkin at 9 seconds, Bennett and 19 and Choi at 20 - a quartet basically on even ground after the first volley of climbing attacks.
Or at least those three may have thought the attacking was over for a day or two - Bennett had other plans! Clearly learning something from his teammate Areruya's constant aggression as a way to make up for ITT deficiencies in Grand Tours, he attacked a hilly transition day, already secured by the breakaway, in the final 10km and established a gap as the other teams scrambled to get a chase on!
To their credit they did get their chase on and Philips managed to keep the gap never over 25 seconds and eventually earn a same time finish, meaning this was a big effort for no gain from our man going into the final week. Lucky he had a rest day before Stage 15, a 100km mountain stage.
A classic Mortirolo-Aprica style combo to finish the stage and with 5km to go on the penultimate climb Bennett was the only major GC contender to respond to Ranaweera's attack, giving him a small gap to his rivals (with Faglum Karlsson and Pluchkin showing momentary weakness and Choi not able to bridge) and two able companions as they caught the breakaway!
However it was a member of the breakaway in Hoelgaard who was the only one able to follow when Bennett countered hard for his daily attack. By the summit of the climb though it was Bennett solo with over half a minute on a rapidly organising peloton and 10km to go.
He wasn't able to pry the gap open further - descending has never been his strength - but 27 seconds were gained on all of his main rivals, and Hoelgaard and Senni soaked up the remaining bonuses, so make it 47 and the GC lead plus the stage.
Faglum Karlsson at +28, Pluchkin at +35 and Choi at +48. We estimated at least two and a half minutes if not more were going to be needed on the latter two in particular by the ITT on stage 20, so much like aggression earned us this lead, we needed aggression to extend it!
Bennett had grabbed the yellow jersey on Stage 15 at the beginning of the final week and with three riders within 50 seconds, all of whom we expected to gain over two minutes in Stage 20's time trial, we had three decisive mountain days to try an extend that lead.
However on Stage 16 - the race's Queen Stage - it was Ki Ho Choi who wanted to be the shining star with a big attack, and the punch to back it up! Bennett has never been a yellow jersey under attack before - he has either dominated once he got it or lost it in a time trial - but you'd never have guessed, as like a consummate pro he kept a steady but high pace at the front of the chase.
The catch was made near the summit of the penultimate climb, but it looked far more like Choi relenting that Bennett shutting him down. That seemed to be proven when Choi did a lot of the work (with Faglum Karlsson and Pluchkin behind losing time) in the resulting front group.
Or was Bennett bluffing to get help? With 800m to go on the final ascent our man surged forward with a big sprint looking for consecutive stage wins.
Choi came back and it went to a photo finish at the line, with Bennett losing out by an inch. Choi drew 8 seconds nearer on GC, with Faglum Karlsson at 55 seconds now - while Pluchkin lost nearly two minutes on the day. Not nice to lose time to Choi but given how strong the Philips man was on the day, this was a good job limiting losses by GB.
Choi and Pluchkin seemed to have a Freaky Friday situation going on between Stages 16 and 17, with the Hongkonger faltering in the MTT and the Moldovan flying, doubling up his time trial wins in the race. Bennett also was strong, missing out on the stage win by just 24 seconds for his third second place in the last week! Choi conceded 56 seconds to Bennett, leaving him 1'36 behind on GC, with Pluchkin now at 1'59 and Faglum Karlsson at 2'06. Still more time needed on Mt. Diablo before the flat ITT, we thought.
While we wanted to open up the gap, many other managers casted doubt on our predictions for the ITT and wanted to try and close it. With 10km to go Kraftwerk and Philips had cracked Fouche and Kipkemboi, leaving Bennett alone in the peloton.
And indeed inside the last 5km the attack from Choi came, and Bennett could not immediately respond. Thankfully, Faglum Karlsson and Pluchkin knew there was no time for mind games and helped out with the chase. Just kidding they left it to the yellow jersey.
Bennett shut the gap with about 3km to go, while up ahead the breakaway took the stage win. No bonuses for the GC favourites, all about stopping the clock on the line!
As the minor GC favourites fought their war, with Vasyliv the strongest pushing the pace, Faglum Karlsson was the first to drop, with Choi right in the wheel of the German up the front and Bennett and Pluchkin at the back of the group.
However Bennett was clearly just waiting for his moment, as outside the final kilometre banner he launched a huge move past Pluchkin and Choi to chase down Vasyliv who had got a small gap himself.
In the end Pluchkin managed to get back on terms but the damage was done to the other two podium contenders, with Choi clocking in at +37 and Faglum Karlsson at a full minute! Thus the GC stood at:
1.
George Bennett
69h12'48"
=
2.
Aleksandr Pluchkin
+ 1'59"
1
3.
Ki Ho Choi
+ 2'13"
1
4.
Marcus Faglum Karlsson
+ 3'06"
=
5.
Suranga Ranaweera
+ 4'15"
=
Not the gaps we wanted to either of Pluchkin or Choi and even Faglum Karlsson had a chance to knock us off the podium completely. It would need to be a great ride in an uncomfortable setting from Mr. Xero to secure the GC win.
At the first time check, less than a third into the stage, Bennett had lost around half a minute to all the other podium contenders.
At the second check it was looking disastrous, though - Pluchkin at virtual +30 seconds, Choi at +31! A heroic effort would be required from here - it was uphill to the end but momentum was not on Bennett's side.
Throughout the whole time trial Bennett was losing time. Even on the final climb, flatter and more power-based as it was, he lost time. But he never looked uncomfortable, never panicked - and never lost more time than he could afford. He lost just seven seconds to Choi on the final climb and just five to Pluchkin - enough to secure the GC victory by 24 and 25 seconds respectively!
And so all that was left to do was cruise around San Francisco (while Jams got a stage Top 10) and soak up the sixth and sweetest day in yellow, and take the team's first three-week stage race win, Bennett's third career GC victory, the team's fifth, and perhaps its sweetest. 31 years old, six seasons with the team, from CT leader to constant improvement and training in the PCT, to winning on La Toussuire at Le Tour to now Tour of America champion. George Bennett is Mr. Xero for a reason - what a legend! One of the best moments in team history, that's for sure, and making sure that even if this season does little for the Xero rankings narrative it will contain one of the great moments in our story.
A great effort from Bennett, who needed to overcome a serious weakness in the time trials and did so with ultra-consistent strength and aggression, gaining time in some way on every climbing stage. Credit also to the team, who didn't have a Spilak or an Eenkhorn but all contributed, particularly a breakthrough race for Salim Kipkemboi who was constantly working, even if he faded by the end after three tough weeks. Very special to have the other two New Zealanders on the team in young climbers Fouche and Strong, as well as Bennett's longest-serving teammates Novardianto and Schomber in the squad with him.
26th of September | Breakaway + Points Race Goal | PTHC
The team manager had already got his early birthday present in America, but on the day itself could we spring some surprises like in Omloop and give him another?
Jams in the breakaway will surely have made him happy to see - and the last survivor before being swept up by the attack of van Lerberghe with 50km to go. Meanwhile Stannard actually showed up for once - he can't score points in a PCT hilly classic, but he'll scrape together 2 from a PTHC cobbled race.
A race we'd never quite nailed (an understatement - 20th and 30th in two attempts!) but one that suits Hugo Houle to a T - a win is the only outcome for us really.
Tesfaye Huber did some great work preventing attacks over the final climb with great domestique work on the front of the peloton.
However as he was finally spent after over 10km on the front, Serrano spotted an attack followed by a Kraftwerk duo, and nobody had any teammates to answer. Houle just had to go for himself.
He couldn't catch them by himself but did hold off the rest of the pack to take a solid but unspectacular fourth place. Tesfaye again providing the depth in 14th to the delight of his home crowds.
Tesfaye again providing the depth in 14th to the delight of his home crowds.
1
Gonzalo Serrano
Caja Rural Cycling Team
4h38'52
2
Nikias Arndt
Kraftwerk Man Machine
s.t.
3
Pello Bilbao
Kraftwerk Man Machine
s.t.
4
Hugo Houle
Xero Racing
s.t.
14
Hugo Tesfaye Huber
Xero Racing
s.t.
Well, Hugo Huber isn't exactly a typical name in Lugano, which is in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland But I still like how he changes his name in every race he does
Jokes aside, big congrats on your ToA win! I definitely didn't see GB as the #1 favorite, given that I supposed (like you) that he'd probably lose around 2 minutes on stage 20. But unlike every other GC rider, he simply never had a bad day in the mountains - on the contrary, even crushing Choi in the MTT. I have to admit that it feels great when an ever attacking rider gets rewarded for this strategy from time to time, and so George's ride to glory was fun to follow
As you already said elsewhere, you were just lacking depth to be in promotion contention in the end. But I don't doubt that Areruya will lead you back to PT eventually, and next year you should have a great shot with GB still maxed - and likely up to 8 teams promoting this year.
Looking forward to the Euskal Bizikleta review, I heard it was another pretty decent race for your team
Fabianski wrote:
Big congrats on your ToA win! I definitely didn't see GB as the #1 favorite, given that I supposed (like you) that he'd probably lose around 2 minutes on stage 20. But unlike every other GC rider, he simply never had a bad day in the mountains - on the contrary, even crushing Choi in the MTT. I have to admit that it feels great when an ever attacking rider gets rewarded for this strategy from time to time, and so George's ride to glory was fun to follow
As you already said elsewhere, you were just lacking depth to be in promotion contention in the end. But I don't doubt that Areruya will lead you back to PT eventually, and next year you should have a great shot with GB still maxed - and likely up to 8 teams promoting this year.
Absolutely, me neither - and I was especially down when the hilly stages didn't provide any gaps (just 12 seconds gained through bonuses in total from them), but he was just so strong through the mountain days in a surprising way when you compare the favourites on paper - of course the HI and ACC playing a role in those days too now which I suppose was the difference aside from his aggression. Thanks for the comments, glad you enjoyed bringing his victory to life and thanks again for your awesome reporting!
Yeah will break down our season in full after the final race recaps but yep it's pretty obvious what went wrong. Does hurt that 8th was still in play before Emilia and that may well be the number that promotes but if my grandmother had wheels etc.
September Review | Wake Me Up Before It Ends or I'll Have Missed Bennett Winning America
All three leaders were in action in very suiting races, plus a couple of filler ones which could have gone worse but will be forgotten quickly. Areruya and Houle did well, Bennett did outstanding.
Rider of the Month
So it's no surprise that the first rider in Xero history to 10 Rider of the Month wins is
King of North America - Tour of America, Stage 20
George Bennett Total RoTM Wins | 10 RoTM Wins This Season | 2
Congrats on the great ToA though and really happy we could get the top 2 spots. That rarely ever happens, even when we have had top favourites in the same race before (which in itself is uncommon)!
Congrats on the great ToA though and really happy we could get the top 2 spots. That rarely ever happens, even when we have had top favourites in the same race before (which in itself is uncommon)!
Was a great duel which went down to the wire! Awful to be rooting against you but also so awesome to be doing it and as you say to pull out the top 2 spots in the end
For everyone else - we did the research and our sole previous 1-2 in a GC or classic was the 2018 Kenya Mountain Classic where Henao Montoya (Philips) won just ahead of Velits (Xero). So a long time in the making this new one
1-6th of October | Top 3 + Stage Win Race Goal | HC
A race which leans a little more towards the mountains than the hills but we still have high hopes for Areruya's last stage race of the season to see if we can create some late season momentum. He decided to stunt a little bit by coming 9th on the opening day's sprint.
Kipkemboi and Nikiema entered Stage 2's breakaway, but they were caught slightly earlier than we expected. Areruya followed the attacks on the third-to-last climb and then near the summit put in his own strong counter, holding an 8 second leader over the top. However much like with Bennett, Areruya is no descending champion and we was brought back, and went over the penultimate ascent and up to the final climb in the front group.
He didn't have the best positioning going into the final uphill sprint.
Our guy was perhaps the quickest but he couldn't quite catch Monsalve and showed the importance of attentive positioning! He moved to second place on GC, 8 seconds down on the Venezuelan and the group was two minutes ahead of 9th.
Areruya struggled on Stage 4's mountaintop finish and conceded a minute and a half, slipping to seventh on GC. He also disappointed on Stage 5 - Tesfaye and Nikiema looked to pull him clear with about 15km to go but they were caught with the breakaway remnants and Areruya finished outside the Top 10 in the uphill sprint. A Tesfaye breakaway on Stage 6 completed a vaguely disappointing race.
3rd of October | Top 25 + Breakaway Race Goal | PTHC
Stannard has struggled this season and is really looking forward to another off-season of working on his skills to be able to compete. However with the strength we already know he has he should be able to compete for decent points on this route.
We got not one but two riders into the morning breakaway in the shape of Yacine Hamza and Regan Gough - part one of our goal accomplished. However Stannard didn't have it today and was only 71st, leaving this a 0-pointer for us.
12-15th of October | Top 5 + Stage Win Race Goal | C1
Our last stage race for the season was also Hugo Houle's last race at the peak of his powers before his natural decline begins next season. He's been a great rider for us in these easier hilly stage races but never got a GC win - he's been 2nd twice in the Tour Down Under (by 4s and 23s), 2nd (by 32s) and 4th in the Tour of South Africa, and various other Top 10s. This was perhaps his final shot at glory and redemption for those near misses. Bonuses on the first two stages would be key - and as the top sprinter on paper we were hopeful of plenty.
We tried to set up a makeshift leadout of Nikiema and Vermeersch for Houle who managed to lose their leader outside the 1km to go banner as Nikiema peeled off to let Vermeersch take the lead.
They still couldn't find Houle but Vermeersch was actually looking really good!
And indeed he held on for his first career podium, third on the stage after a long sprint and Nikiema came home fifth after an even longer one! Houle was ninth and no bonuses, so mixed feelings for us - a great result for our second-year Belgian but not good for our GC aspirations.
On the second stage there would be no such leadout mishaps as our Burkinabe champion delivered his Canadian counterpart into the lead under the red kite!
Which was perhaps a little too early, as Houle was overhauled by Barbier and Raim for a disappointing third. To only get 8 seconds out of 40 in a weak sprinting field didn't bode well for his GC hopes over the next two days.
Xero fan favourite Meurisse has been finding a new level over at HelloFresh this year and he put in a powerful attack in the descent from the final climb and Houle, who had looked great on the climbs and was sitting pretty in a reduced bunch waiting for the sprint, wasn't going to lose his moment and followed the move along with five others!
They would stay away and contest the finish themselves, but as the only one in the group who isn't a top puncheur Houle seemed a bit tired and found himself in a bad position, several bike lengths behind Kinoshita who launched his sprint early and strung out the group!
Or maybe he was just trying to get the top hills riders to forget they brought the top sprinter in the race to the finish with them, as when he launched his sprint he quickly overhauled every one of his companions to hit the front with 500m to go!
Enough time to sit up and enjoy his first win of the season (in fact his first win in two years) in style after a powerhouse performance! He took the yellow jersey with a 20 second lead over Meurisse - however controversially the group behind were given a same time finish, so he had 25 riders within 32 seconds of his lead heading into tomorrow's tough day with a nasty uphill finish. It was going to be, and I really do have want of a better phrase here, an uphill battle to keep his lead. He also inherited the points classification lead which he would keep to the end of the race given his advantage over the puncheurs.
Over the top of the third-to-last climb the peloton was down to 39 riders, with Houle (and just Nikiema left in support) near the back, surviving but looking to be struggling (for real this time).
Over the penultimate climb it was down to 26 and no more Nikiema and Houle still at the back of the group, and powerless to go after Kinoshita, the top puncheur in the race who attacked and quickly gained a 20 second gap - 8 seconds more than he'd need if he got a stage win and Houle couldn't get on the podium. Given our man looked more like getting dropped than coming to the front of the group on the final uphill, we really needed that to come down!
And while it wasn't growing thankfully, it also wasn't coming down as they approached the final uphill. However good news for us as somehow Houle had mustered some strength and came towards the front of the group, so it didn't look like he'd be dropped!
His gap was still at 20 seconds with 500m to go, as Houle came to the front row of a peloton which was not speeding up! Houle couldn't wait for a sprint here as the gap could open up - if it went to 25 seconds it wouldn't matter even if Houle came second!
Phenomenal stuff as Houle went from the back of the peloton on the preceding two climbs to hit the front here in the final kilometre to try desperately to save his jersey - save what was maybe his last chance at his first career GC win!
A shocking show of strength from our sprinter as he held off all the puncheurs to second and so would only lose 8 of his 32 second cushion to Kinoshita in bonuses. And he stopped the clock at... 16 seconds, earning a magnificent GC win! Not only holding the gap to Kinoshita but bringing it back on the last uphill, looking like one of the strongest riders among the PCT's best puncheurs. An absolutely unbelievable effort from our guy for his first ever GC win after so much trying, one of our team's undisputed greatest days. Three stage podiums (with Vermeersch on Stage 1 combining for our first race ever with a podium on every stage), the points jersey, the GC win - Hugo Houle, what a man, what a rider, what a win!!!
Congrats again on the ToA victory. Tbh I didn't think Bennett had it in him to win it all, but he rode aggressively and was rewarded for that
Areruya in Maroc was a gamble that didn't payoff, I guess. Kinoshita gave Houle a good scare on that final stage of Euskal, but it would've been quite a surprise if Hugo didn't come out on top.
Nemolito wrote:
I hope Bennett can get some revenge in ToA, and still give you a positive feeling about his season
Guess that hope became reality! Was glad for you to see him doing so well over there, and also loved to relive Houle's victory in Euskal through your eyes/words. Looking forward to finally race against you in the same division next year, unless you promote of course.
Balkans International
Bayern Rundfahrt
Tour of America
GP Lugano
But I still like how he changes his name in every race he does 
Tour du Maroc
Japan Cup
Euskal Bizikleta
