Our plan for the stage was to sit tight, get through the day - and see how Holohan fared in the sprint.
In the early sun, Tom Last attacked first and a break of 13 was to form around him
The weather took a turn for the worse, but the break kept at it, Manx rider Alex Kinvig taking the races first KoM jersey
But it was becoming clear that our plan was going wrong - the break's lead not falling enough - and so Cuming and Smith were sent forward to try to reduce the deficit
The stage will go to the break though - and will the overall race winner come from here aswell? Halfords' Paul Oldham appears to be the most dangerous.
In the sprint for the stage, Tom Last went missing - opening it up for everyone else. Sampson went for a long one, leading it out. The Two Irishmen behind him (Cassidy and Speirs) couldnt match him, but Ashley Finn came from 4th wheel to nip past on the line and take the opening race of the season
In a chaotic peloton sprint, Holohan was able to use Stannard to get near the front and ultimate took 5th in the bunch sprint, 18th place overall.
The break gained 1 minute and 12 seconds, with the lack of in form sprinters perhaps the reason why. Briggs and De Bruin both failed to finish in the peloton, while another casualty was Pendragon's Opie - crashing in the last few kilometres.
1 Ashley Finn CYCLEPREMIER.COM - METALTEK 3h21'52
2 James Sampson MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
3 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
4 Isaac Speirs TEAM IRELAND s.t.
5 Mark Perry WILIER - BIGMAGGYS.COM - PRENDAS s.t.
6 Scott Thwaites ENDURA RACING s.t.
7 Steven Higgins TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
8 James McLaughlin PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO s.t.
9 Paul Oldham HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
10 Robert Orr GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
11 Tom Last SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED s.t.
12 Jack Anderson TEAM SPROCKET s.t.
13 Alex Kinvig TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING s.t.
14 Jon Mozley KUOTA - ROAD.CC + 1'12
15 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
16 Simon Gaywood TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
17 Owain Doull HARGROVES CYCLES RACING TEAM s.t. 18 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
19 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
20 Jeremy Hunt CERVELO - ROCHE s.t. 36 Mike Cuming TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
39 Peter Smith TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
41 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
91 Tom Barras TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
97 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
After Stage 1 the message is clear, get in the break. And Cuming did. Surprisingly one of the succesful riders from yesterday is also here - Jack Anderson, Sprocket's Australian rider.
Wilier's Jon Pain wanted the sole KoM of the day, so he got it. For intermediate sprints, the AI doesnt care, so Ive opted to not go for them either - but today, Cuming just so happened to be at the front when it came by - so a few seconds were gained there.
And with 10km to go theres a chance. A gap of 1 minute is still there over the peloton
But its not the whole peloton - just 53 riders - less than half of what was there at the start of the day. A split occured and amongst others, race leader Ashley Finn was on the wrong side of it. Two Raleigh riders also missed out: Steward and Handley - and it seemed to be more a case of those not having the early season legs, rather than a strong wind or something like that.
Just like yesterday, the break is going to make it. Sebastian Batchelor (Halfords) attacked with 5km to go but has been brought back. Cuming not ideally placed - but better than Chris Opie. In theory, the Cornish rider should win with ease, but he's making it as hard as possible for himself
Batchelor and Sprocket's Aussie Anderson stood no chance, but Cuming could make no impact beyond them. 5th for him, which is at least 1 World Tour ranking point. Opie failed to win the stage - which goes to Rob Sharman of the Giant team
Prendergast is 2nd, Pain 3rd. and Opie 4th in the end. So two days running the break makes it, and two days running the best sprinter in it messes up.
In the peloton the sprint was a mess. Besides Holohan, it only seemed to be Hammond, Gaywood and Dean Downing interested (Stewart unfortunately was in the 2nd group) - and nobody had a leadout man to follow. So in the end Garmin-Lotto's Callaway took the bunch kick, being tracked by team leader Dan Martin - and doing enough to wipe out any gap of the breakaway. Holohan took 15th place on the stage.
Including Jack Anderson, only 6 of the 13 man breakaway from Stage 1 remained in the peloton today. Finn and Sampson are both gone so Irishman Mark Cassidy moves from 3rd overall into the race lead.
1 Rob Sharman GIANT RACING TEAM 3h16'23
2 Charles Prendergast TEAM IRELAND s.t.
3 Jon Pain WILIER - BIGMAGGYS.COM - PRENDAS s.t.
4 Chris Opie PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO s.t. 5 Mike Cuming TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
6 Jack Anderson TEAM SPROCKET s.t.
7 Sebastian Batchelor HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
8 Justin Callaway GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
9 Daniel Martin GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
10 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
11 Jack Bauer ENDURA RACING s.t.
12 Simon Gaywood TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
13 Paul Esposti GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
14 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t. 15 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
16 Tom Murray SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED s.t.
17 Robert Orr GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
18 Hamish Haynes GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
19 Lee Williams HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
20 Kenny Lisabeth AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t. 22 Peter Smith TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
50 Tom Barras TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
61 Jeremy Hunt CERVELO - ROCHE + 2'06
62 Mark McNally AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
67 David O'Loughlin AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
69 Luke Rowe TEAM 100% ME s.t.
74 Tom Southam RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
77 Ashley Finn CYCLEPREMIER.COM - METALTEK s.t.
83 James McCallum ENDURA RACING s.t. 95 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
123 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH + 5'02
GC
1 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY 6h38'08
2 Alex Kinvig TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING + 4
3 Scott Thwaites ENDURA RACING + 6
4 Jack Anderson TEAM SPROCKET + 7
5 Robert Orr GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
6 Paul Oldham HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
7 Rob Sharman GIANT RACING TEAM + 1'07
8 Charles Prendergast TEAM IRELAND + 1'13
9 Sebastian Batchelor HALFORDS - BIKE HUT + 1'14
10 Jon Pain WILIER - BIGMAGGYS.COM - PRENDAS s.t. 11 Mike Cuming TEAM RALEIGH + 1'16
12 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE + 1'19
13 Simon Gaywood TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t. 14 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
15 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
A bit of a hillier route could again provide a breakaway opportunity. After losing time yesterday, James Stewart is keen to get in the break - and we know that should it stay away, he can be counted on to sprint strongly.
Speaking of sprints, Stewart won both of them today. We've realised that the sprints are oddly overpowered. They offer 6-4-2 points - a stage finish offers 8-6-4-2. The KoM incidentally, went to Pendragon's Lampier.
The stage ends in finishing circuits with the finish - which does have an uphill kick - being crossed at 40km and 20km to go before the finish itself. On this ciruit, we feel that too many riders in the break were sitting on - forcing Stewart to relay too often. So he attacks.
But the rest of the break arent giving up yet, they bring Stewart back with 15km to go - so now its a case of recovery for Stewart to regain some strength ahead of the finish
With 6.5km to go, Davies attacks the group, with Mcdonald following. Initially Steward waits, but seeing the gap grow, and with the peloton almost here, he attacks to follow
He just about gets back in contact with the other attackers
And both Davies and Mcdonald now seem spent - not even trying to follow Stewart
But danger from behind, Dean Downing charging out of the pack
The line is in sight, Stewart desperately trying to cling on
But Downing has the superior speed ...
And the line just isnt close enough. Dean Downing wins the stage, a painful 2nd for Stewart
With Liam Holohan struggling to 15th, its a disapointing result - although Stewart does now lead the Points classification.
1 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP 3h24'53 2 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
3 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
4 Owain Doull HARGROVES CYCLES RACING TEAM s.t.
5 Zakkari Dempster RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
6 Jonathan McEvoy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
7 Jon Mozley KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
8 Tom Murray SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED s.t.
9 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
10 Simon Gaywood TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
11 Scott Thwaites ENDURA RACING s.t.
12 Matt Mcdonald HARGROVES CYCLES RACING TEAM s.t.
13 Mark McNally AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
14 Alexandre Blain ENDURA RACING s.t. 15 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
16 Chris Nicholson TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING s.t.
17 Dan Davies KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
18 Paul Oldham HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
19 Sam Bennett CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
20 David O'Loughlin AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t. 53 Peter Smith TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
86 Tom Barras TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
105 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
110 Mike Cuming TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
GC
1 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY 10h03'01
2 Alex Kinvig TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING + 4
3 Scott Thwaites ENDURA RACING + 6
4 Jack Anderson TEAM SPROCKET + 7
5 Paul Oldham HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
6 Robert Orr GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
7 Rob Sharman GIANT RACING TEAM + 1'07
8 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP + 1'09
9 Charles Prendergast TEAM IRELAND + 1'13
10 Sebastian Batchelor HALFORDS - BIKE HUT + 1'14
11 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA + 1'15 12 Mike Cuming TEAM RALEIGH + 1'16
13 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE + 1'19
14 Simon Gaywood TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t. 15 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
Points 1 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH 18
2 Rob Sharman GIANT RACING TEAM 12
3 Ashley Finn CYCLEPREMIER.COM - METALTEK 12
4 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY 10
5 Sebastian Batchelor HALFORDS - BIKE HUT 10
6 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP 8
7 James Sampson MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA 8
8 Alex Kinvig TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING 6
9 Charles Prendergast TEAM IRELAND 6
10 Jon Pain WILIER - BIGMAGGYS.COM - PRENDAS 6
Our determination for a bunch sprint today meant we didnt go with the break, and Handley and Smith were forced to work hard early on to bring the gap down with little help.
Other teams did fortunately become interested and the break would be caught with 6km to go. Unfortunately we lost Cuming's 12th place in GC though - unlucky to be dropped when going back for bottles.
It didnt get much better as Stewart and Holohan were unable to get anyway near the front of the peloton for the sprint.
Into the final kilometre, Dempster leads - Clancy very well placed on his wheel
But Clancy just sits there - and while Hammond is fast, he came from too far back and is not quite fast enough - so the stage goes to an Aussie - Zakkari Dempster
Stewart battled to 13th, and keeps the points jersey. Holohan a dissapointing 24th
1 Zakkari Dempster RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP 3h34'49
2 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
3 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
4 Jon Mozley KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
5 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
6 Tom Murray SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED s.t.
7 Sam Bennett CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
8 Owain Doull HARGROVES CYCLES RACING TEAM s.t.
9 Jonathan McEvoy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
10 Jason White CYCLEPREMIER.COM - METALTEK s.t.
11 Scott Thwaites ENDURA RACING s.t.
12 Ian Stannard SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM s.t. 13 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
14 Mark McNally AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
15 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
16 Paul Oldham HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
17 Daniel Martin GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
18 David O'Loughlin AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
19 Hamish Haynes GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
20 Fredrik Johansson TEAM SPROCKET s.t.
21 Tomas Swift Metcalfe GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
22 Richard Tanguy PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO s.t.
23 Paul Esposti GIANT RACING TEAM s.t. 24 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
25 Graeme Hatcher TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING s.t. 88 Peter Smith TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
93 Tom Barras TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
126 Mike Cuming TEAM RALEIGH + 3'11
127 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
GC
1 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY 13h37'50
2 Alex Kinvig TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING + 4
3 Scott Thwaites ENDURA RACING + 6
4 Jack Anderson TEAM SPROCKET + 7
5 Paul Oldham HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
6 Robert Orr GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
7 Rob Sharman GIANT RACING TEAM + 1'07
8 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP + 1'09
9 Zakkari Dempster RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
10 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA + 1'11 19 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH + 1'19
35 Peter Smith TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
48 Tom Barras TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
Points 1 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH 18
2 Rob Sharman GIANT RACING TEAM 12
3 Ashley Finn CYCLEPREMIER.COM - METALTEK 12
The stage with Willunga. Two ascents of it even. Such an anticlimax. Nothing happened. The break went away, and stayed away. There was no serious chase behind, only the race leader's team An Post setting the pace. Oh, there was a chase at one point - when I tried to attack with Barras - so no luck for me there.
Of the break, Tom Southam was strongest on Willunga and kept his gap to the finish - a 3rd consecutive stage for Rapha. Peter Dibben 2nd
From the 12 of the break who stayed away, 5 began the day on the peloton's time 1'19 behind Cassidy. The best of them today, Rob Hayles, only managed 4th - and so the race lead goes to Sigma Sport's James Williamson, who won an intermediate sprint. Or rather, was leading when an intermediate sprint came.
I only hope that racing improves when riders reach a level of form, later in the season, but PCM10 really hasnt given off a good impression so far.
1 Tom Southam RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP 3h31'42
2 Peter Dibben GARMIN - LOTTO + 15
3 Michael Barry SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM + 1'00
4 Robert Hayles ENDURA RACING s.t.
5 Martin Smith KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
6 James McLaughlin PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO s.t.
7 James Sampson MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
8 Ian Franklin CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
9 Steven Higgins TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
10 Matt Bailey KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
11 Jamie Newall TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
12 James Williamson SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED s.t.
13 Jon Mozley KUOTA - ROAD.CC + 2'23
14 Simon Holt GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
15 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
16 Daniel Martin GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
17 Zakkari Dempster RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
18 Jeremy Hunt CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
19 Ian Stannard SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM s.t.
20 Paul Esposti GIANT RACING TEAM s.t. 23 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
30 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
46 Tom Barras TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
101 Peter Smith TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
104 Mike Cuming TEAM RALEIGH + 3'10
118 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH + 5'18
GC
1 James Williamson SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED 17h11'49
2 Jamie Newall TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
3 Robert Hayles ENDURA RACING + 2
4 Matt Bailey KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
5 Ian Franklin CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
6 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY + 6
7 Alex Kinvig TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING + 10
8 Scott Thwaites ENDURA RACING + 12
9 Jack Anderson TEAM SPROCKET + 13
10 Paul Oldham HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
11 Robert Orr GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
12 James Sampson MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA + 49
13 James McLaughlin PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO + 55
14 Steven Higgins TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
15 Tom Southam RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP + 58
16 Rob Sharman GIANT RACING TEAM + 1'13
17 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP + 1'15
18 Zakkari Dempster RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
19 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA + 1'17
20 Peter Dibben GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
21 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE + 1'19
22 Charles Prendergast TEAM IRELAND s.t.
23 Sebastian Batchelor HALFORDS - BIKE HUT + 1'20
24 Jon Mozley KUOTA - ROAD.CC + 1'25
25 Tom Murray SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED s.t. 26 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
27 Daniel Martin GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
28 Paul Esposti GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
29 Jonathan McEvoy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
30 Ian Stannard SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM s.t.
We eagerly await the flight home from this waste of a tour, but first, the final stage.
Stage 6
Determined to give it one last go, Tom Barras got in the break. They didnt work with him, he attacked. Halfords' Williams followed, but only worked when a KoM was near.
Barras took the 2 sprints before sitting up, not worth the effort to keep going. Williams took the 2 KoMs, and as they gave the same points as Willunga, it means he wins the KoM jersey. Im not even sure I noticed a climb at all, but there we go (And for once not PCMs fault - its actually the same scales in real life)
So to a sprint. We avoided the odd rider crashing down, and Stewart leads the way for Holohan
But Stewart's energy was spent getting there, so Holohan quickly had to move to track Bauer - but now into the final kilometre Blain has made his move - with Downing and Hammond moving from behind Holohan
Holohan passes Blain, but wearing what I can only assume is meant to be the ProTour leaders jersey, Dean Downing again shows he has the speed to win
4 stages in a row for Rapha Condor, and a fine 2nd place on the stage for us.
And thats that. James Williamson of Sigma Sport somehow wins the Tour Down Under, bring on the European races! Not that we're leaving here empty handed - James Stewart takes the points jersey! Consistency? Who needs it, 1 stages effort is enough.
1 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP 2h13'48 2 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
3 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
4 Alexandre Blain ENDURA RACING s.t.
5 Simon Gaywood TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
6 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
7 Jon Mozley KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
8 Tom Murray SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED s.t.
9 Jack Bauer ENDURA RACING s.t.
10 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
11 Chris Nicholson TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING s.t.
12 Sam Bennett CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
13 Robert Hayles ENDURA RACING s.t.
14 Paul Oldham HALFORDS - BIKE HUT s.t.
15 Jamie Newall TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
16 Ian Stannard SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM s.t.
17 Dan McLay HARGROVES CYCLES RACING TEAM s.t.
18 Paul Esposti GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
19 Fredrik Johansson TEAM SPROCKET s.t.
20 Jason White CYCLEPREMIER.COM - METALTEK s.t. 34 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
46 Tom Barras TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
56 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
75 Peter Smith TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
86 Mike Cuming TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
GC
1 James Williamson SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED 19h25'37
2 Jamie Newall TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
3 Robert Hayles ENDURA RACING + 2
4 Matt Bailey KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
5 Ian Franklin CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
6 Mark Cassidy AN POST - SEAN KELLY + 6
7 Alex Kinvig TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING + 10
8 Scott Thwaites ENDURA RACING + 12
9 Paul Oldham HALFORDS - BIKE HUT + 13
10 Jack Anderson TEAM SPROCKET s.t.
11 Robert Orr GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
12 James Sampson MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA + 49
13 James McLaughlin PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO + 55
14 Tom Southam RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP + 58
15 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP + 1'05
16 Rob Sharman GIANT RACING TEAM + 1'13
17 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE + 1'15
18 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA + 1'17
19 Peter Dibben GARMIN - LOTTO s.t. 20 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH + 1'19
22 Tom Barras TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
45 Peter Smith TEAM RALEIGH + 2'04
55 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH + 3'19
81 Mike Cuming TEAM RALEIGH + 5'20
116 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH + 12'33
Points 1 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH 18
2 Dean Downing RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP 16
3 Michael Barry SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM 16
4 Rob Sharman GIANT RACING TEAM 12
5 Ashley Finn CYCLEPREMIER.COM - METALTEK 12 6 Tom Barras TEAM RALEIGH 12
18 Liam Holohan TEAM RALEIGH 6Edited by SportingNonsense on 11-08-2010 22:11
The UCI have announced their monthly awards, and we at Raleigh disagree with them for sure.
James Williamson is the rider of the month - but it was a rather lucky stage race win as far as we were concerned, Dean Downing probably deserved it more.
The young rider of the month was Kuota's Matt Bailey. Apparantely he came 4th in GC and won the young riders jersey - I hadnt noticed him, no doubt he made one of those annoying breaks that stuck.
World Tour - Team
You have to feel sorry for the Rapha Condor team. 4 stage wins out of 6 - and 8th place.
1
Sigma Sport - Specialized
100
2
Endura Racing
92
3
Corley Cycles
81
4
Kuota Road CC
62
5
Cervelo - Roche
56
6
An Post - Sean Kelly
42
7
Isle of Man - Microgaming
30
8
Rapha Condor
26
9
Halfords Bike Hut
10
10
Team Raleigh
9
18
Sky
2
The two teams in the relegation zone at current are Pendragon (1 point) and 100% Me (0 points)
Continental Update
No continental races, but that no longer matters! The best two CT teams on the Superprestige will promote - and although ranked bottom (technically 20th) there, the Hargroves Cycle team are by default, in a promotion position, thanks to a stage 3 position of 4th for Owain Doull
February has been and almost gone, with no action from the Raleigh team, but here's a summary of some of the races.
The stats for the continental teams are far from complete, many lie at 55 in all stats, and there are some races still where only 1 team shows up (thus skewing the continental rankings) - suggesting a need for even more teams to be included in the database. But not all races are uncompetitive.
Mark Cassidy, who led the TDU at one point, won the hilly stage of the Giro della Calabria - but the GC went to Welshmen James Griffiths, who won Stage 2 from .. you guessed it .. a breakaway.
Rapha Condor, Endura, Giant, Kuota, Garmin and Wilier were amongst the 20 teams to show up at the Vuelta Mallorca and Dan Martin - fairly anonymous in the Tour Down Under - took a dominant victory. 2 stage wins led him to a 1'52 advantage over Chris Newton and 2'15 over Zakkari Dempster and Jack Bauer in 3rd and 4th. In his season debut, David Millar was 11th.
9 ProTour teams meanwhile showed up in Qatar. Garmin-Lotto took the TTT, but then it became a Cervelo show. Hammond winning 4 stages and the GC, with Hunt 3rd overall, Dan Lloyd in 10th. Geraint Thomas began his season with 2 stage podiums, but Sky only brought 4 riders so the TTT wiped them out of contention for overall.
Jon Mozley won the Giro del Sardegna from John-Lee Augustyn and Alaistair Kay. James McCallum took 2 stages.
February also saw the debut of our feeder team, you can see their stats below.
In Giro della Calabria, Sam Lowe took 12th on Stage 1, with Conan Mayman 30th overall, Matt Gee 36th. Mallorca was tougher though for the 3 riding there, Charles Rees the best, but well down in 67th overall.
Also in action in the Giro del Sardegna, Sam Lowe finished 47th.
If their Tour of Qatar performance was not acknowledged, their ominous showings in Omloop Het Nieuwblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne certainly were - Cervelo are sure to be the team to beat on cobbles, with a dominant display.
There was also Cervelo success over in Switzerland, with Nicholas Roche beating Kristian House in a 2-man sprint for the GP di Lugano. Russell Hampton, Zakkari Dempster and Jack Bauer rounding out the Top 5.
UCI's monthly awards for February shone the spotlight on some of the displays in races with weaker fields during the month.
Maxgear's Simon Yates took the GC in both Etoile de Besseges and the Tour of Oman. At 17, the future looks bright for him - aswell as his twin bother Adam, who was 2nd in Oman and 5th in Besseges.
The young rider of the month was Andy Coupe from Teamwallis - CHH. Despite the whole team having 55 in all stats, they currently top the Superprestige team standings. Why? Because they entered Tour Mediterraneen, Trofeo Laugeglia, Vuelta a Andalucia and GP dell'Insubria - and no other team did.
Not wanting Fleeman to go into Paris-Nice with 0 race days, and interested to have a go at Strade Bianche - Fleeman therefore led a 4 man team in the race.
Thankfully some other teams did show up, but predictably, there was no real competition - so an easy win.
Handley, Rammler and Smith all finished in the Top 10, as did Tom Lowe of our feeder squad - who came 4th
1 Dan Fleeman TEAM RALEIGH 4h38'32
2 Jonathan Knox HERBALIFE / WHEELBASE.CO.UK + 40
3 Aaron Bailey GUERNSEY VELO s.t.
4 Tom Lowe RALEIGH RACING TEAM s.t. 5 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
6 Damian Smith HERBALIFE / WHEELBASE.CO.UK s.t.
7 Simon Willis VC MONTPELLIER s.t. 8 Julian Rammler TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
9 Peter Smith TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
10 Jack Pullar HERBALIFE / WHEELBASE.CO.UK s.t.
In other news, Team Sky+ HD and Hargroves Cycles have been given wildcards to Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan San Remo. I rather suspect theyll end up entering all ProTour races at this rate.
The sponsors want us to win Paris-Nice. Looking at the startlist, that won't be easy
CERVELO
1. N. Roche
2. S. Bennett
3. T. Copeland
4. R. Hammond
5. J. Hunt
6. M. Kipling
TEAM SKY
11. G. Thomas
12. J-L. Augustyn
13. M. Barry
14. C. Froome
15. N. Portal
16. I. Stannard
GARMIN
21. D. Martin
22. J. Callaway
23. A. Dowsett
24. D. Patten
25. S. Thomas
RAPHA CONDOR
31. C. Newton
32. B. Greenwood
33. K. House
34. T. Southam
35. D. Windsor
RALEIGH
41. D. Fleeman
42. R. Handley
43. J. Rammler
44. D. Shand
45. J. Stewart
GIANT
51. D. McCann
52. R. Connor
53. A. Coutts
54. P. Esposti
55. H. Haynes
56. A. Kay
HALFORDS
61. L. Killeen
62. S. Batchelor
63. O. Beckinsale
64. D. Henderson
65. P. Oldham
66. B. Thomas
ENDURA
71. R. Partridge
72. R. Creber
73. S. King
74. J. Moss
75. E. Oliphant
76. C. Wilkinson
MOTORPOINT
81. M. Elliott
82. S. Burke
83. E. Clancy
84. J. Edmondson
85. A. Roche
86. J. Sampson
ISLE OF MAN
91. J. Bellis
92. J. Cregeen
93. W. Flynn
94. M. Kelly
95. C. Nicholson
96. C. O'Shea
KUOTA
101. J. Mozley
102. T. Martin
103. D. McGowan
104. M. Smith
105. A. Tinsley
106. J. de Bruin
SIGMA SPORT
111. W. Sybrandy
112. S. Adams
113. D. Duguid
114. S. Gallagher
115. T. Snape
116. P. Sykes
AN POST
121. D. O'Loughlin
122. M. Brammeier
123. B. Brems
124. P. Ghyllebert
125. S. Minne
126. P. O'Brien
CYCLEPREMIER.COM
131. J. White
132. R. Deinhardt
133. T. Gibb
134. A. Magnier
135. B. Price
136. R. Smail
PENDRAGON
141. R. Tanguy
142. J. Adams
143. S. Lampier
144. J. McLaughlin
145. C. Munro
146. J. Williams
WILIER
151. B. Luckwell
152. G. Bayton
153. J. Pain
154. M. Perry
155. C. Spence
156. B-J. Whenman
IRELAND
161. C. McAllister
162. D. Clifford
163. J. Cole
164. N. Kelly
165. S. Lacey
166. A. Petrie-Armstrong
HARGROVES
171. D. McLay
172. S. Bowers
173. M. Groves
174. M. Hargroves
175. M. Mcdonald
176. M. Warner
CORLEY
181. S. Gaywood
182. M. Higgins
183. S. Higgins
184. C. McNamara
185. J. Newall
186. M. Smith
100ME
191. M. Christian
192. G. Atkins
193. D. Fletcher
194. T. Kennaugh
195. J. Mould
196. C. Whorrall
SPROCKET
201. F. Johansson
202. J. Anderson
203. N. Gustavsson
204. R. Larsen
205. C. Parrett
206. F. Rudenstam
SKY HD
211. J. Kenny
212. M. Crampton
213. C. Lyte
214. M. Partridge
215. J. Paul
216. C. Pritchard
Geraint Thomas destroyed the field in the 8km prologue, taking Sky's first win of the season
Dan Fleeman rode in a very satisfting 23rd. While he did lose 29 seconds to Geraint Thomas, it's worth bearing in mind that the closest rider to Geraint Thomas was Chris Newton, 15 seconds down.
1 Geraint Thomas SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM 11'18
2 Chris Newton RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP + 15
3 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA + 18
4 Jeremy Hunt CERVELO - ROCHE + 20
5 Ian Stannard SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM + 22
6 Alex Dowsett GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
7 Daniel Patten GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
8 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE + 23
9 Daniel Martin GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
10 Jon Mozley KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
11 Jonathan Bellis TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING + 24
12 Jason Kenny TEAM SKY+ HD + 25
13 Wouter Sybrandy SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED s.t.
14 David McCann GIANT RACING TEAM + 26
15 Chris Froome SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM + 27
16 Jonny Cole TEAM IRELAND s.t.
17 Tom Southam RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
18 Steve Lampier PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO + 28
19 Fredrik Johansson TEAM SPROCKET s.t.
20 Mark Christian TEAM 100% ME s.t. 23 Dan Fleeman TEAM RALEIGH + 29
30 Julian Rammler TEAM RALEIGH + 32
55 Daniel Shand TEAM RALEIGH + 37
61 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH + 39
129 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH + 2'46
Stage 2
A bunch sprint, and James Stewart got himself very well placed on the wheel of Jeremy Hunt. But he just couldnt keep the pace, and began to slip back
This also affected Hammond and Thomas, who were both behind Stewart, and Hunt pounced on the opportunity and won the stage
Hammond made it a Cervelo 1-2, with Thomas gaining some important bonus seconds for 3rd - the Welshman looking set to be the man to beat in this race.
At the other end of the scale, a horrible day for Julian Rammler. Puncturing with 90km to go, exactly the wrong time it turned out - the chase of the break had just started. He lost a lot of time, but battled through to survive the day.
1 Jeremy Hunt CERVELO - ROCHE 4h27'59
2 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE s.t.
3 Geraint Thomas SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM s.t.
4 Jon Mozley KUOTA - ROAD.CC s.t.
5 Steve Lampier PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO s.t.
6 Malcolm Elliott MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
7 Simon Gaywood TEAM CORLEY CYCLES s.t.
8 Matthew Brammeier AN POST - SEAN KELLY s.t.
9 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA s.t.
10 Casey Munro PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO s.t.
11 Daniel Martin GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
12 Richard Tanguy PENDRAGON LE COL COLNAGO s.t.
13 Jason White CYCLEPREMIER.COM - METALTEK s.t.
14 Jonathan Bellis TEAM ISLE OF MAN - MICROGAMING s.t.
15 Tony Gibb CYCLEPREMIER.COM - METALTEK s.t. 16 James Stewart TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
17 Chris Newton RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
18 Mark Christian TEAM 100% ME s.t.
19 Hamish Haynes GIANT RACING TEAM s.t.
20 Stephen Adams SIGMA SPORT - SPECIALIZED s.t. 85 Dan Fleeman TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
109 Richard Handley TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
112 Daniel Shand TEAM RALEIGH s.t.
129 Julian Rammler TEAM RALEIGH + 15'37
GC
1 Geraint Thomas SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM 4h39'12
2 Jeremy Hunt CERVELO - ROCHE + 19
3 Chris Newton RAPHA CONDOR - SHARP s.t.
4 Ed Clancy MOTORPOINT - MARSHALLS PASTA + 21
5 Roger Hammond CERVELO - ROCHE + 24
6 Ian Stannard SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM + 27
7 Daniel Patten GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
8 Alex Dowsett GARMIN - LOTTO s.t.
9 Jon Mozley KUOTA - ROAD.CC + 28
10 Daniel Martin GARMIN - LOTTO s.t. 22 Dan Fleeman TEAM RALEIGH + 34
I just wonder how the scouting is done for the DB, is scouting only enabled for british riders?
