Okay, so since you present it as the last signing, it's probably your best, which would mean he's better than Jonathan Hivert, but not as good as Roche or Martin (which would have been my first guesses as well). Also, you say his mother tongue is English but you don't say he's from Great Britain so he's probably not British. So I'm going for someone like maybe Michael Matthews or Jack Bobridge.
I never said he was the best signing, just that I wasn't expecting to sign anyone else but this guy just appeared in front of me! As I said, he's in a big team, but he may not necessarily be a big rider!
To be honest, I wasn't expecting such a response so I will end the suffering for you at some point today!
ps. baggieboys, no more clues!
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Yeah, I wasn't sure about that "best rider" thing. You said it was a surprise signing, and Hivert already has been your star signing so... Anyway, I'm looking forward to it^^
Edited by cunego59 on 07-05-2012 16:56
Endura Racing have been in action in the United States this week, taking part in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in the high altitude of Colorado. With the race taking in plenty of climbs, it would certainly prove a tough challenge for the whole team, but one man absolutely savoured it. Young Thomas Faiers was in superb form all week, taking the fight to Sky right down to the last stage. The opening time trial was a great day for stagiaire Brad Smith, who was only beaten by Mads Christensen to score a brilliant second place. The second stage was the first challenge with a tough uphill finish. After excellent work by Tiernan-Locke, Faiers jumped away from everyone to take his first ever win.
Faiers finally got his first ever win, after numerous near misses, with a superb ride on the second stage in Colorado. The yellow jersey followed.
With the team now defending the race lead heading into the two toughest stages and not having any other climbers in the team, it was a really hard race for everyone, JTL reverting to the role of super-domestique for Tom. Unfortunately, Kanstantsin Siutsou left everyone behind in the mountain TT on stage four to take the lead by over thirty seconds. Faiers was a super third in the race in Vail, with Smith an astonishng fourth. Another strong performance on stage six saw Faiers finish second in an uphill sprint, only Gatto able to beat the Brit. This gained him some time back on Siutsou, but not enough, and the Belarussian took the win. Faiers' consolation prize is, of course, the white jersey. Fantastic ride by him, and by Tiernan-Locke, who avoided a mass crash on the final stage to move up to eighth overall.
USA Pro Cycling Challenge- Final Overall Classification
1
Kanstantsin Siutsou
Sky Procycling
20h25'07
2
Thomas Faiers
Endura Racing
+ 23
3
Rubens Bertogliati
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 1'07
4
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 1'46
5
Philip Deignan
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'50
6
Marc De Maar
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'08
7
Andy Cappelle
Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's
+ 2'12
8
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
Endura Racing
+ 2'34
9
Christian Meier
GreenEdge Cycling Team
+ 2'35
10
Alfredo Balloni
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 2'39
...
38
Bradley Smith
Endura Racing
+ 5'12
106
Matt Cronshaw
Endura Racing
+ 14'51
113
Zakkari Dempster
Endura Racing
+ 15'54
131
Ian Wilkinson
Endura Racing
+ 22'03
132
Scott Thwaites
Endura Racing
+ 27'19
134
Jack Anderson
Endura Racing
+ 31'27
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Hi guys, I'm back after my three week break, which was filled with sunbathing.
Not entirely, I should say! I got some good training in but nothing too strenuous as my season is almost over. Just enough to allow me to ride the biggest race in the world, The Tour of Britain! I have the National ITT Championships in a couple of days and then the ToB kicks off next week. I haven't got a chance of winning the Nationals, not even if I was in top shape! Wiggo and Cav are at the Vuelta but every other British rider should be there so it should be between Millar, Thomas and Froome, but again, shape is key at this stage of the season, so a complete outsider could surprise. Our leader, wait for this, is Brad Smith! He's only just joined us but he's so good, he could get a good result already!
Here's some great news for you, I've made more improvements! Mainly caused by my performance in Portugal, I feel much stronger in the uphill stuff and my recovery has also gone up after an eleven-stage race. Even my ability on the flat has increased. Here's the overview:
I have to say I'm not the only one to have improved though. The whole team from top to bottom seem to be getting a hell of a lot stronger after this brilliant season. Top of whom is Faiers, he's been incredible recently.
Anyway, here are the results from August, minus the Vuelta, which is still going. I won't be spoiling too much by telling you that Anton is slaying everyone again, having already won the Giro. Evans, LL Sanchez and Voeckler have all crashed out and have ended their seasons earlier.
Victory in Poland went to Breschel, brilliantly, whilst Eneco saw a dominant performance from Cancellara, seeing off Bak. Andy Schleck actually won a race after July , with the two big one day races at the end of the month being won by Kittel and Albasini. The Tour du Limousin and Dutch Food Valley Classics were just form builders for the team and absolutely no results were gained for us there.
Let's go time trialling,
Ian Bibby
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
It was another memorable day for Endura Racing in France as Jon Tiernan-Locke took a great win in the Tour du Doubs - Conseil General. On a tough hilly parcours, it was a small group which contested the sprint finish. Before that, a group of 12 had gone away, including Smith for Endura. Smith dropped all of the others one by one on the climbs towards the end and went solo. Sadly, Brad was caught just eight kilometres from the end but that wasn't the end for Endura. With Tom Faiers doing a super leadout job, Tiernan-Locke could leave it to the last moment to jump out and take the win ahead of Nicki Sorensen and Marino, with Faiers in fourth.
Tiernan-Locke was unbeatable as Faiers repaid him for the hard work in America, by leading him out to the victory in France.
Well, nobody guessed it right and nobody really got close. But Endura Racing are proud to announce their final signing for next season. A chance encounter with him led to us having a chat with his agent and the rest is history. Hope you like him.
Rider In
Spoiler
The second New Zealander in the team and one of Sam Bewley's old pursuit team mates, Jesse Sergent joins from big boys Radioshack Nissan. A superb rider against the clock, he will also be a great rouleur for the team and will be very useful in flat races and lead out trains. Another sign of how far this team has come and how far we want to go.
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
September 4, 2012 - British National Championships, Individual Time Trial
Race Preview
Ian: "A fifty-plus kilometre time trial in Llandeilo, Wales will decide who gets to wear the white, red and blue skinsuit for twelve months. It's mostly flat with a short, steep climb that has to be tackled twice."
Ian: "Our team is based around Smith and Tennant. Bradley is in top shape and should be our best rider here. The rest of us are just here to do our best, although myself and Robbie P should go alright,"
Ian: "My fitness is low as I gradually wind down to the end of the season but I want a good performance in the Tour of Britain and this is a good place to start. A top ten is a must and a top five could be if I have an absolute stormer."
An Post
41. J.Bellis
42. M.Christian
43. M.McNally
44. J.Mould
BMC
51. A.Blythe
Ian: "Just 22 riders take to the start ramp, and nine of them ride for Endura! The last two winners, Wiggins and Dowsett aren't here, so we'll have a new ITT champion. It should come down to Millar vs Thomas vs Froome."
Race Report
The first rider off the ramp was Ian Wilkinson, who was just here to enjoy a ride in the Welsh "sun"! The first four riders off were all Endura's before Ben Swift decided that other teams would like a go.
Tennant was having a very good day with absolutely superb legs. He soon caught and passed Tiernan-Locke and crossed the line with a time of 1h14'41. It probably wouldn't be enough for a win but it wouldn't be bettered for a while.
Ian Bibby was back from his holiday today and a decent ride got him up into second, but he was over a minute down on Tennant, showing how quick his time was. Bibby wouldn't make the top five today.
Chris Froome is already the road race champion and he started behind the man he narrowly beat in that race in June, Bibby. The Sky man was flying and eventually caught Ian. Bibby got back past him at the end but Froome beat Tennant by forty seconds. Could he do the double?
Bradley Smith has had a phenomenal start to his career and he was leading Endura here. Despite being almost half the age of Millar, Smith gave it a good go and wasn't intimidated by the level of competition. He managed to beat Tennant but was 22 seconds slower than Froome.
Geraint Thomas would have loved to have taken the crown on Welsh soil but he hasn't raced since the Tour de France and could only manage provisional fourth, behind both Smith and Tennant but nearly a minute ahead of Bibby.
Now it was a straight fight between Froome and Millar. David may be getting towards the end of his career but he would still love to get the TT jersey one last time. And he did just that, beating Froome by 18 seconds to take the win. Bradley Smith took a trip up to the podium as a stagiaire, not a bad effort!
Race Result
1
David Millar
Garmin - Barracuda
1h13'44
2
Chris Froome
Sky Procycling
+ 18
3
Bradley Smith
Endura Racing
+ 40
4
Andrew Tennant
Endura Racing
+ 57
5
Geraint Thomas
Sky Procycling
+ 1'16
6
Ian Bibby
Endura Racing
+ 2'14
7
Robert Partridge
Endura Racing
+ 2'38
8
Thomas Faiers
Endura Racing
+ 2'52
9
Jonathan Bellis
An Post - Sean Kelly
+ 2'56
10
Peter Kennaugh
Sky Procycling
+ 2'58
11
Luke Rowe
Sky Procycling
+ 3'32
12
Daniel Fleeman
Endura Racing
+ 3'41
13
Mark McNally
An Post - Sean Kelly
+ 3'45
14
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
Endura Racing
+ 3'49
15
Jeremy Hunt
Sky Procycling
+ 3'55
16
Ian Wilkinson
Endura Racing
+ 3'58
17
Erick Rowsell
Endura Racing
+ 4'06
18
Jonathan Mould
An Post - Sean Kelly
+ 4'19
19
Tomas Swift Metcalfe
Carmim - Prio
s.t.
20
Mark Christian
An Post - Sean Kelly
s.t.
21
Ben Swift
Sky Procycling
+ 4'29
22
Adam Blythe
BMC Racing Team
+ 5'29
Ian's View
"Not too bad but the gap between me and the top five is astonishing. A superb effort from Smith and Tennant to get in amongst the big boys but congrats to Dave, a popular winner today. Another week of training at home with my team mates before heading to Paris-Bruxelles and then the ToB start."
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Ian: "A predominantly flat race but with a few hills that offer launchpads for attacks. A true hardman will win this race with the bad weather due today and the long distance. It should be a sprint but somebody could "do a Cancellara" of course!"
Ian: "Our team here is all behind Russell Downing, but myself and Smith are free to try something near the end if we feel up to it. The rest of the team are domestiques today."
Ian: "I'm here just to get a little bit fitter for the Tour of Britain and to fill up my race days! I would love to have a go at trying to get away but I'm not sure my legs will allow me after 200km. Might be leadout duty for me today."
Ian: "Wow, this year's Mr Win, Marcel Kittel graces us with his presence, which should make the sprint a one-horse race. Having said that, Henderson, van Hummel and Chicchi will push him hard."
Race Report
Eventually, once everything had calmed down in the peloton, thirteen riders were allowed away in the damp, windy conditions. American Champ, Tom Danielson was the biggest name in there along with Mahdi Sohrabi of Lotto Belisol. They had a maximum advantage of nine minutes but it would be very tough for them to stay away.
A whole load of different teams were trying to bring them back, chief among which were Project 1t4i. Landbouwkrediet, Sky, Lotto, Vacansoleil, Cofidis and GreenEdge all spent time on the front as the gap quickly deteriorated.
With just over twenty kilometres to go, there were numerous attack out of the peloton. Smith, who felt great today, countered them and then went past them all. Coenen of Differdange was the only rider who went with him but he didn't last long and Smith went into time trialling mode.
And what a performance! Not even Kittel's trademark speed could catch Bradley, and he took his first win. As a trainee. If Cancellara had been here, he would have applauded that one, no doubt. What an exciting talent. Downing just missed out on a top ten with Bibby inside the top twenty aswell.
"Wow, what a ride by Brad!! There were a lot of people in the peloton who didn't know who he was and to ride away from them all at the end of a tough race like this makes everybody terribly excited/nervous for the future. We can't wait til next spring! Russell just missed out on a top ten aswell, I managed to position him alright but he just left his sprint a little bit too late. But just look at the top ten and you'll realise how difficult that race was and yet a 21 year old stagiaire trounced them all. Incredible."
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
, with the two big one day races at the end of the month being won by Kittel and Albasini. The Tour du Limousin and Dutch Food Valley Classics were just form builders for the team and absolutely no results were gained for us there.
