The season's opener, as always, came at the Australian National Championships, hosted in Ballarat, Victoria. Early season fitness is never a guarantee for the riders, but there is always one or two guys are do work hard over the winter in preparation.

The ITT was up first, and to be honest, Virgin Media would not be in with a shout of the title or any other medal. Both Cantwell and Windsor are not the best testers, and their performance showed. Way down the final standings, in 32nd and 36th respectively, they finished over 3 minutes behind the new Time Trial Champion Cameron Meyer (OGE).

The Road Race offered something more the team. Whilst it maybe favoured a Puncheur or a Sprinter who could get himself over the climbs on each circuit, we wanted to have someone in the break, just in case it made it to the end.




Jonathan Cantwell was best positioned when the attacks happened at the beginning of the stage, and formed a small break of with Anthony Giacoppo (Avanti) which was allowed a maximum of 6 minutes up the road before the chase began. Orica looked keen in bringing back the pair, and the chase was hard. Dean Windsor found the going tough, and with 4 circuits he was blown out the back with some other riders.

Jonathan lasted until the final circuit and about 10km to go. As the gao closed, Cantwell attacked Giacoppo in bid to stay away but it was not enough. Orica's pace was not relenting, so our man went the way of Windsor. Michael Matthews (OGE) took the victory and the Gold & Green Jersey for the new season. Cantwell finished 1'44" down in 14th, whilst Dean finished in over 7 minutes down in 30th.

Whilst, there was clear disappointment in the Virgin Media camp, it was a good start the season. After a small gap, the season would really get underway at the Etoiles des Besseges in February.

The first official races of the season, after the Australian Nationals of course, came in France where the team would tackle the Etoile des Besseges, La Drome Classic and Paris-Troyes. All favour the sprinters in the peleton, so Jonathan Cantwell would need to keep his form from the Nationals in these races.


L’Etoile des Besseges was up first, and the riders would tackle 4 sprint stages before the final ITT. A stellar sprint field came to the race, with Danny van Poppel, Arnaud Demare and Matteo Trentin all present. It would be difficult to secure the Stage Win pre-race sponsor goal.

The first stage looked promising for Virgin Media, as Cantwell started with a Top 10 finish on what was a fast run into the line. He would follow that up with a 4th place on Stage Two, where a small peleton challenged for the victory. Sadly, that would be the high point of the race. Maxime Le Lavandier hit the ground not once, but twice during stage three, and punctured on stage four, losing over 20 minutes of time.


The misfortune for Le Lavandier seemed to spread, as Damien Shaw and Dean Windsor both came down on separate incidents on a rain soaked stage 4. Windsor was in the break at the time, ruining his chance of battling for the stage win, whilst Shaw was hampered by a touch of wheels and wet brakes.

The race ended with the ITT and with no real specialists in the team, there was no chance of contesting the win. Vasil Kiryienka (SKY) stormed the victory, taking the GC win at the same time, ahead of Niki Terpstra (EQS) and Jesse Sergent (TFR). Danny Van Poppel (TFR) came away with the Points Jersey, after dominating the sprints. Cantwell was highest placed on GC in 54th place at + 3’16�.


La Drome Classic followed 3 weeks after L’Etoile, and the same team stayed in France for additional training and preparation. As a one-day classic, the result can go either way, and we wanted to make sure we had a guy in the break. Maxime Le Lavandier wanted to make up for a disappointing debut on home soil, and attacked from the flag drop to form a group with Marc Soler (MOV). Their lead built to around 5 minutes before the peleton brought them back, despite a late attack from Soler.

The final climbs on the run into the line caused a considerable amount of damage to the race, and Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ) managed to get away for a solo win ahead of Jan Bakelants (ALM) and Heinrich Haussler (IAM), who won the bunch sprint. Cantwell was again our highest finisher, coming in alone in 68th place (+ 2’32�)


Final race in France, and we headed to the Paris-Troyes Classic. Just like La Drome, we aimed for the break, and Alex Coutts did well to get away with a break of four others. The lead built to 7 minutes, as the riders worked well together.


Again, though it would become a sprinter’s day, as the break pulled everyone back together with over 20km remaining. Cantwell was suffering with illness, so Philip Lavery stepped up to be the man at the end. He fought hard, and just missed out on a Top 10 place that he certainly deserved.

The USA, Great Britain and France would be the location for the next few races, as we looked to strengthen in the start of the second quarter of the season. The opening races had been good, but we wanted to improve and show ourselves at the front, especially when on UK soil.


The Tour of Battenkill in New York State was our first race outside of Europe (excluding the Aussie Nationals) and it was very different to racing in France. The pace was hard, fast and a great experience for the younger guys.

Jonathan Cantwell lead the line for the victory, hoping to head into his early season break on a high note. The uphill climb in the end was just too much for him... Sprinting home to 11th place, Jakob Rathe (JBC) took the victory ahead of Daniele Ratto (UHC) and Guillaume Boivin (OPM).


Back to the Europe, and our first race on home soil. The Tour of Reservoir was up and a race we felt we could do well in. Philip Lavery was looking good in the sprints, and we had a raft of experience on the UK circuit in the squad.

James Moss was in the early break, along with Thomas Stewart (MGT) and Paulius Siskevicius (SKT), and it looked very strong over the opening half of the race. The trio were riding hard, and the likes of NFTO and Wiggins looked happy to let them go.


Entering the last 10km, it was looking like a tight finish. The gap was just over 1'00", and the leading trio were beginning to attack each other and not work together. Watching accelerations by Siskevicius and Stewart, Moss just held the wheel, matching their pace and countering any moves. With 5km to go, it would be a day for the break.

James led out the sprint, banking on the hope that the other pair had left too much on the road with their attacks. Stewart tried to come around but there was no chance - Moss was claiming our first win of the season! It was a great ride from him, and a day we will never forget! Lavery would also finish high in 5th, following the bunch sprint behind.



Final race before the UK races dominate our calendar was the GP de Denain in France. A flat route, it will favour the sprinters, and Lavery was the man for the finish. He was clearly in some form with his result in Tour of Reservoir.


Matt Jones found himself in a break of 3, partnering Julien El Fares (M13) and Baptiste Planckaert (RLM) off the front from the first kilometres of the race.

IAM Cycling, FDJ and AG2R controlled the pace of the peleton, and it was clear that this would end in a bunch sprint. With no real assist in the sprint, Lavery latched himself onto the end of the IAM train. The Australian was the strongest, taking a comfortable win, ahead of Roy Jans (WGG) and Michael Kolar (TCS). Lavery would do well to finish in 5th, and in front of some big named sprinters.