From my WorldTour debut in the Flèche Wallonne, I head into the 'Baptism of Fire' at the Tour de Romandie. A lot of big names will be present at the race, as many riders finalise their preparation before the Giro d'Italia in 2 weeks.
Tommy Voeckler leads the team, as he hopes to continue his fine form that earned him some great results in the Ardennes Classics. I will ride in a free role, whilst also riding as a Domestique in the bigger stages. The climb to Verbier on Stage 5 will most likely be where the GC will be decided.
Race Report
The Prologue was one of the stages that I would have to target, knowing that the course would not really suit my strengths on a whole. I performed well, and finishing 9" down on Stage Winner Taylor Phonney (BMC) and beating British National Champion Bradley Wiggins (Sky) in the process.
Stage 2 was nice and flat, allowing the few sprinters in the peleton to grab the headlines before the route went up for the rest of the race. Michal Kwiatkowski (OmegaPharma) attacked late in the stage to catch the sprinters flat footed and take the stage win, as Yohann Gène sprinted for 2nd place.
Voeckler was the man for the GC in the team, and he showed his intent as the stage neared its conclusion. Over the final climb, he attacked, taking Froome (Sky), Valverde (Movistar) and Kreuziger (Tinkoff) with him.
In the sprint for the win, Froome opened a gap, as Tommy finished 4th. Somehow, the organisers didn't give a time gap for the lead group, and going into the two big Mountain Stages, he sat in 29th on GC.
Pity to see Martijn being dropped so quickly, but Romandie is just a tough field. Still excited to see him in Luxembourg and Route du Sud later this season.
If Stage 3 was too much for my legs, I was going to really struggle to get over the big Mountains of Stages 4 & 5. I just had to keep telling myself 'just keep the pedals turning.'
With only 33" separating the Top 26 riders, the next two Mountain stages would be the GC deciders. Voeckler was sat in 22nd on GC, and he was looking to forward to testing his legs before he entered his mid-season break.
Race Report
Stage 4 was a quiet stage for me. I sat in the bunch, working mainly for the team as a domestique. I lasted until the final climb of the day, as Tommy made his move along with the other race favourites. The stage would be won by Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R), who attacked in the final 5km. Voeckler finished in the group behind, moving up to 20th in the Overall Standings.
Stage 5, the Queen Stage, would be where I wanted to make a name for myself. Not be the man who sat in the peleton, riding just for the sake of it. I have never raced like that before, and I wasn't going to start now. I had started to two Mountain stages just hoping to hang in there and keep the pedals turning over, but that was soon thrown out the window.
Kessiakoff (Astana), Bardet (AG2R), Petrov (Tinkoff) and Ten Dam (Belkin) joined me in the break, as we slowly built a lead of over 7'32" at one point. On the climbs, I just had to hang on to the wheels, losing contact at the top to gain the time back on the descent. My legs hurt, but I felt happy to finally have the chance to get into a WorldTour breakaway on a Queen Stage.
I lasted until the final climb of the day before I finally let go. I had nothing left, and lost the back wheel of Bardet. The peleton was close behind, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to do any more on the road today. Another late attack from Pozzovivo would be enough to make it two wins from two stages, with Voeckler doing enough to consolidate his Top 20 position.
Romandie finished with a ITT, where Pozzovivo did enough to secure the Overall Victory, ahead of Froome (Sky) and Kreuziger (Tinkoff). Tommy finished 20th Overall, after a poor TT performance dropped him down two positions. I finished a respectable 48th position on the stage, only losing 1'38" to stage winner Tony Martin (OmegaPharma).
I ended my first ever WorldTour stage race in 64th place Overall. I was proud of my day in the break on Stage 5, I was sore and aching from quicker paces, but I was also delighted with my result. Looking down the standings, I was the best placed Europcar behind Voeckler. Before the race, I didn't expect anything like that.
@sutty: Martijn is never going to be a GT contender. Small Tours, like Paris Nice maybe, but not a race with big mountains. He enjoyed his day in the break.
@fernando: Martijn's job was working on the flat and targeting the ITTs. The route never suited him perfectly, but it was a good test for him
@mvh: the rest of his calendar should work more towards his strengths
Following a nice short break after the hard ride in Romandie, I head to Luxembourg for a race that should really suit my strengths. The main criticism of my performance in Romandie was that Mountains just aren't for me, and it was clear that I really struggled to make the sort of impact that I would have liked.
Race Report
The race started with a 4km Prologue, and I knew a good ride here could really put him in a good place on GC for the rest of the race. The route was fast, and just like at at Circuit Sarthe, attacked the course, coming home in 7th place, and only 6" down on Taylor Phinney (BMC).
Stage two began in a very frantic manner, and that seemed to set the trend for the rest of the route. BMC kept the pace high at the front all day, as the break was only given a maximum gap of 3'34" all stage.
The team worked for Coquard as the lead-out trains formed, but with the slight incline to the finish, the DS suggested that I should see what I could do in the finish, and try and challenge for the win.
Everything seemed to be going well, the team was organised perfectly and the pace was good. Suddenly, Albert Timmer (Giant) touched wheels Coquard and the pair came down. The rest was like a domino effect, as I also hit the ground. I landed hard, but felt ok. My first fear was my shoulder, but I made sure I rolled as I landed.
Sadly, I didn't anticipate being hit by another rider as I lay on my ground. The wheel of Josh Edmundson (Sky) hit the square of my back, taking him down, and leaving me in a lot of pain. To be fair on him, he had nowhere to go, and the had no chance of stopping in time. I slowly got back on my bike, and finished with the rest of the riders who suffered from the crash. I had lost 2'24" on stage winner Marcel Kittel (Giant).
I woke the next day and struggled to get myself out of bed. My back was tight, and I was unable to bend or twist. A quick assess from the Doctor's confirmed that I was out of the race.
@fernando: Another crash, and surely there are only so many times he can keep coming back stronger...
@schleckfan: That's one way of putting it...
@sutty: He was strong in the TT, and maybe the decision to go for the stage win was a bad idea. Lessons learnt that the leader should stay out of the action on a stage for the sprinters
@Leone: Now that would need a lot more crashes he is on a par with Froome at the minute
After being discharged from the hospital following further checks, I was given the news that I would not be riding in the Route du Sud. To be honest, I was glad and really pleased Europcar cared more about me than anything else. Other riders could fill my spot, and my well being and health was more important in their eyes. Stark contrast to British Cycling, who made me ride in the Beaumont Trophy after my crash on the Velodrome last year when I was not fit to do so.
If rest is what was ordered, rest is what I did! I watched the Criterium du Dauphine on TV, as Tommy took a fantastic 5th place on GC. He is looking in great form for the National Championships and Tour de France. I am going to head back to the UK for the Tour, and watch the race at the roadside in Yorkshire. Even as a professional, I am still a fan at heart.
National Championships, Le Tour and Transfer Season
My mid-season coincided with a hectic period for the Europcar Team. The end of June was the time for the National Championships for a lot of the riders, before the team headed to the UK for the Tour de France, starting in Yorkshire. July began the contract talks for next season, with the big announcements coming on the 1st August.
So far this season, I was the only one who had the pleasure of wearing the National Champions Jersey in the team, but by the end of June, the number of Champions had grew to three. It started with Yukiya Arashiro becoming the Double National Champion of Japan, comfortably taking the Road Race and Time Trial crown in the Far East.
The biggest result came for Tommy Voeckler, who finished off a day of great teamwork and effort to win the French National Road Race Title for the third time in his career. It was a fantastic result for the Veteran rider, who will wear the Tricolour for the next 12 months.
With the team morale on high, they headed off to the Tour de France, hoping for at least a Top 10 GC finish from Pierre Rolland, a stage win and with hope, the emergence of Bryan Coquard on the big stage.
It would be a Tour of mixed fortunes for the team. Rolland crashed out of the race in the Mountains on Stage 14 to Risoul, after he had fought so hard a few days previous to reinforce his 6th place on GC, and take a great stage win in Oyonnax on Stage 11. Meanwhile, Coquard struggled against the top-end sprinters, with his best placed finish coming Riems on Stage 6, where he finished 4th.
The one shining light from the 2014 Tour was Tommy Voeckler. He tirelessly worked for Pierre in the Mountains before the crash, and as the team turned to Plan B, he showed great courage to win the KoM Classification and finish 18th in the Overall Classification. The celebrations in Paris were well worth all the effort put in over the 3 weeks.
The team has strengthened in the Sprints / Classics department with the signing of the French riders Adrien Petit (Cofidis) and Sebastian Turgot (AG2R), and considerably added to the GC ambitions in the form of another Frenchman, Maxime Bouet (AG2R), Belgian Stage Racer Maxime Monfort (Lotto-Belisol), my fellow countryman Louis Meintjes (MTN) and the young Australian Rohan Dennis (Garmin).
Safe to say, there are exciting times ahead for the team.
Chris Froome
Michal Kwiatkowski
Alejandro Valverde
Roman Kreuziger
Tejay Van Garderen
Domenico Pozzovivo
Jean-Christophe Péraud
Robert Kiserlovski
Dries Devenyns
Carlos Betancur Gómez
Wilco Kelderman
Astana Pro Team
