@sutty68: yes, I've been surprised by Oliphant's consistency this month. Hope he can keep it up!
Giro della Valle d'Aosta: Stages 1 & 2
21.08 - 26.08
Holohan got straight into the action on stage 1, joining a break of five riders.
Holohan makes the break on stage 1
He was feeling particularly good and decided to set a fierce pace up the final climb. This put the other escapees into trouble, who were quickly dropped.
Holohan drops his breakaway companions
The peloton split behind as it upped the pace. With 20km to go, Holohan had a lead of over 2 minutes, while the other escapees had bitten the bullet. An Post chased hard, however, and caught Holohan with a little over 5km left. As Holohan was caught, Hampton decided to try a counter attack.
Hampton counters as Holohan is reeled in
Would the bunch have anything left to chase him down? It appeared not. The teams all looked at each other to lead the chase but no-one was willing to take responsibility. Hampton crossed the line victorious with a huge 1'45" lead over the pack. A great win after an injury-hit season.
Hampton had time to celebrate
Holohan once again broke clear on stage 2, hunting more KOM points.
Holohan goes long
He was joined by another three escapees and they forged a strong working relationship. With 10km remaining they had a lead of around a minute. Holohan meanwhile had done enough to take over the lead in the mountains competition.
The break's lead hung in the balance with 10km to go
Cruelly, the break were caught with under 2km remaining and the pack positioned themselves for the uphill finish. Van Niekerek (MTN) took the win with a convincing sprint, with Horton placing an impressive 6th.
Van Niekerk was peerless in the sprint on Stage 2
Despite having a reputation as a poor climber, Hampton managed to finish in the lead group to maintain his overall lead, thanks to some great team work by Raleigh to protect him through the stage.
Stage 3's mountain-top finish will provide a much stiffer test for Hampton, although Oilphant and Holohan are waiting in the wings to take over team leadership if necessary.
Giro della Valle d'Aosta: Stages 3 & 4
21.08 - 26.08
Stage 3 looked set to be the first real test of Hampton's overall lead. Hampton's ability in the mountains is 'limited' to say the least, so holding on to yellow would be challenge for both him and the team.
No-one could have predicted just how early Hampton's defence of yellow would end however. About half-way through the race, Hampton crashed on one the descents, cruelly ending any hopes he had of clinging on to yellow for another day.
Disaster his Hampton as he crashes on Stage 3
With Hampton out of the picture, Holohan went to the front of the reduced pack with 12km to go, in an attempt to bring back Foliforov, who had a 2 minute lead. Oliphant looked strong in fourth wheel.
Holohan sets the pace
Thanks in part to Holohan's efforts, Foliforov was reeled pack. Van Niekerk jumped clear of a group of 18 riders to take his second win on the trot, taking the overall lead in the process (no picture unfortunately). Oliphant finished safely within the lead group to move up to 5th overall.
Stage 4 provided some respite for the non-climbers. It was a flattish stage with a tricky uphill finish. Schumacher took the win, with Sulzberger Raleigh's best-placed rider in 10th. The GC remained unchanged.
Schumacher wins stage 4
With another mountain-top finish to come on stage 5, followed by stage 6's time trial, the overall classification is all to play for.
Giro della Valle d'Aosta: Stages 5 & 6
21.08 - 26.08
The fifth stage was a colussus stage in the mountains with a tough summit finish. Holohan infiltrated the break and mopped up enough KOM points to seal his victory in the mountains contest.
Holohan secures another KOM win for Raleigh
Holohan and his companions were caught with 12km to go. Up the final climb, a series of sharp attacks were launched but none could stick. So as on stage 3, a select group made it to the top together.
Van Nierkerk was once again the strongest in the sprint to extend his overall lead and ram home his superiority in this race. Oliphant finished in the lead group to remain 5th overall.
Van Niekerk wins his third stage of the race
And so to stage 6's mountain time trial. Oliphant in not a time triallist and was up against it to defend his 5th place overall. He finished 100th on the day, losing 48 seconds to the eventual winner.
Oliphant struggled, despite the support of the crowd
Iker Camano put in a sterling ride to make a strong claim for the overall, coming in second, 15 seconds down on the winner.
Camano came second on stage 6
Jackson Rodriguez gave the performance of the day to win the time trial in convincing fashion. He started the day just 54 seconds down on Van Niekerk. Would this victory be enough to take the overall win?
Rodriguez was dominant in the stage 6 time trial
All eyes turned to Van Niekerk. He put in yet another strong ride, finishing 4th on the day. Importantly, he crossed the line just 21 seconds down on Rodriguez, enough to claim the overall victory.
Van Niekerk rode strongly to defend yellow
Meanwhile, Oliphant managed to remain in the top 10 despite his time losses, finishing 10th overall. Another solid ride from the Scotsman.
With hills the order of the day, puncheurs like Fothen, Dennis, Blanco and Steenson looked set to shine.
Raleigh team
We fielded a strong team for this terrain. Oliphant and Holohan were both capable of challenging, although Oliphant's slight dip in fitness is a concern ahead of the Tour of Britain. Have we been over-working him this season?
Race report
We sent young Matthew Holmes out into the day's break today to save our team having to do any of the chasing.
The break enjoyed some beautiful riverside scenery today
The break was duly caught with 12km left. Raleigh set a fierce pace as the race headed to the base of the finishing summit to give Oliphant and Holohan the best possible positioning.
Raleigh looked to tee up Oliphant and Holohan ahead of the final climb
The ploy worked well, and with 1km to go, three Raleigh riders were in the top 10: Oliphant, Holohan and Hampton. However, it was Efapel's Blanco who was at the head of affairs, closely marked by Olejnik (Veranda Rideau).
Blanco leads under the red kite
Olejnik timed his sprint to perfection to come round Blanco and take an unexpected win. Blanco and Steensen rounded out the podium. Raleigh held their top positions: Oliphant came in 6th, with Holohan 8th and Hampton 10th.
@Ian Butler: yep, a very solid showing from the team
August News
The team came into this month aiming to use a solid month of racing to build up its fitness ahead of Raleigh's main goal of the season, the Tour of Britain. All the riders are now in decent shape, which is good news.
Raleigh were also hoping to pick up more CQ points in a push to achieve promotion to the Pro Continental level next season. The team certainly put in a solid showing. Hampton's victory on stage 1 of the Giro della Valle d'Aosta also saw him wear the race leader's jersey for two days before a crash on stage 3 cruelly dashed his GC hopes. He also picked up a top 10 in the Ljubljana-Zagreb race. Holohan was another strong performer, winning the mountains competition in the Giro della Valle d'Aosta and achieving a top 10 in Zagreb.
For the second month in a row though, the team's undoubted star was Oliphant. He picked up a superb solo victory from the break on stage 3 of the Tour de Pyrenees, bagging the overall mountains prize too. He then secured 5th overall at the Vuelta Ciclista a Leon, 10th overall at the Giro della Valle d'Aosta and 6th in Zagreb. Consitency personified.
Evan Oliphant: August rider of the month
Results
Vuelta a Burgos
Steven Kruijswijk
Paris - Correze
Pim Ligthart
Tour des Pyrenees
David Moncoutie
Tour of Elk Grove
Robert Hunter
Trofeo Internazionale Bastianelli
Fabio Felline
Tour de l'Ain
Joacquim Rodriguez
Eneco Tour
Fabian Cancellara
Vuelta Ciclista a Leon
Jonas Ljungblad
Tour of Utah
Ryder Hesjedal
G.P. Camaiore
Robert Hunter
Clasica San Sebastian
Maxim Iglinskiy
Tour de Limousin
Mickael Buffaz
Tre Valli Varesine
Daniele Bennati
Coppi Agostini
Lieuwe Westra
Coppa Bernocchi
Daniele Bennati
Volta a Portugal
Josue Moyano
Dutch Food Valley Classic
Daniele Bennati
Vuelta a Espana
In progress
Trofeo Melinda
Peter Velits
GP Kralovehradeckeho Kraje
Gediminas Bagdonas
Vattenfall Cyclassics
Tom Boonen
USA Procycling Challenge
Chris Horner
Giro della Valle d'Aosta
Dennis Van Niekerk
Tour du Poitou Charentes
Chris Sutton
Post Danmark Rundt
Alexandre Vinoukorov
Druivenkoers Overijse
Martijn Maaskant
Giro del Veneto
Oscar Gatto
GP Ouest France - Plouay
Lieuwe Westra
Ronde van Midden-Nederland
Rene Mandri
Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda by Bergamasca
Peter Velits
Ljubljana - Zagreb
Michal Olejnik
World Ports Classic
In progress
Continental Rankings - Individual
1
Elia Favilli
498
2
Nico Eeckhout
493
3
Denis Flahaut
443
4
Gediminas Bagdonas
437
5
Samuel Dumoulin
340
…
53
Graham Briggs
151
Briggs remains Raleigh's best rider in the Continental rankings, despite Oliphants strong performances.
Continental Rankings - Team
1
Cofidis
1406
2
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
1191
3
Team Argos - Shimano
1152
4
Acqua e Sapone
1146
5
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
1107
…
14
Raleigh - GAC
658
Raleigh remain 14th in the Conti team rankings.
CQ Rankings - Individual
1
Tom Boonen
2707
2
Andre Greipel
2181
3
Vincenzo Nibali
2103
4
Joaquim Rodriguez
2073
5
Matthew Goss
1890
…
456
Evan Oliphant
91
Oliphant is our best placed rider in the CQ rankings after a great month.
CQ Rankings - Team
1
Sky Procycling
7446
2
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
6568
3
BMC Racing Team
6280
4
Radioshack - Nissan
5596
5
Katusha Team
4728
…
44
Raleigh - GAC
454
Despite a solid month, Raleigh dropped 3 places in the CQ rankings. They are going to need an exceptional performance at the Tour of Britain if they are to challenge for Pro Conti status.
September Schedule
09.09 - 16.09
2.1
Tour of Britain
17.09
1.2
Univest Grand Prix
30.09
1.2
Giro del Lazio
Our last three races of the year come this month. The Tour of Britain is the team's main goal of the year, so a strong performance is anticipated.
The signing of Mark McNally adds another a British rider to the squad, important for a British-based team. He's a strong cobbles rider with the potential to improve further. One to watch, the team hopes.
Guillaume Boivin
When Oakley joined the Raleigh project this year, they wanted a 'marquee' signing for 2013. The team searched hard for a top US rider to sign but couldn't quite pull a deal off.
With the signing of Boivin, however, the team will have an exceptional North American talent for 2013. Boivin will spearhead the team's already strong sprint attack. With Boivin, Briggs and co, Raleigh should be sprint force to reckoned with next season.
For Raleigh, the Tour of Britain is the big one. It's the biggest race on the domestic calendar and the only .1 stage race that the team are entered into this season. In other words. it's the team's Tour de France and the whole season has been building towards this. The riders and sponsors alike are hoping for big things!
The route
The route features eight stages. The first four are fairly flat affairs. Then, on the stage to Stoke, things begin to get hillier, building towards the tough Queen stage over Dartmoor to Dartmouth on stage 7. The race ends in Surrey in the South-East of the country.
Startlist
This is undoubtedly the toughest field Raleigh has faced all season.
The startlist includes a long list of familiar sprint rivals including Eeckhout (An Post), Von Hoff (Chipotle), Furlan (Christina Watches), Rodriguez (Exergy), Obst (NSP) and Downing (Endura). But it also includes a number of top class sprinters that will provide much stiffer competition that Raleigh is used to: Boasson Hagen (Sky), Farrar (Garmin), Kruopis (Orica), Blythe (BMC) and Henderson (Lotto).
In the race for the overall classification, there can be no bigger name on the favourites list than home boy Bradley Wiggins (Sky). Cadel Evans (BMC) is another formidable challenger, as is Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) who could be well suited to the hilly stages at the end of the race. Perhaps the best GC bet, however, is Boasson Hagen, who has the ability to pick up vital bonus seconds on the early flat stages and also challenge in the hills. It all depends on how the very strong Sky squad decides how to play it.
Raleigh team
Unsurprisingly Raleigh fields its strongest riders in this race. Briggs and Sulzberger arrive in good shape and will be hoping to make a mark against some of the bigger names in sprinting.
A key concern for our GC hopes is Oliphant's dip in fitness. He was looking jaded in his last race, the Giro della Valle d'Aosta, suggesting perhaps he is fatigued after a long season. The team hope he can regain some form and fitness by the team the race hits the serious hills on stage 6.
Edited by lennybernstein on 08-11-2012 15:33
