Well, I've had a very strange season so far, only taking part in two races in three months. I started way back in January with the Tour Down Under in Australia, a race where I was hoping to show what I could do but the climbs just weren't really hard enough for me. I did fairly well on the second stage, finishing 22nd but the heat was too much for me as the race went on and Willunga Hill wasn't my sort of climb. Still, I finished just inside the top 50 on my World Tour debut and I'm fairly certain I was the best placed teenager in the race, so a promising start.
Then I had a two month break where I was just training as hard as I could in the Pyrenees to prepare myself for my next race, the Volta a Catalunya. On the start line I was excited to see what I could do in some proper mountains against some of the best climbers in the world. But the race was a disaster for the team and the DS refused to allow me to ride for myself. I had to babysit the sprinters for some reason even though they were nowhere near the win on any stage.
The team told me not to complain as I'm only 19 and shouldn't be expecting leadership roles but I just don't get why I need to ride with the sprinters on the two mountain stages. Of course, I don't mind helping on the flat stages as I can't do anything myself on those stages. But in the mountains? What was I signed for? I really hope this is a one-off because the management lied to me. They said I would have a free-role, so I hope for more support in the next part of the season or else I will have to speak to my agent.
My next race will be the Tour of Turkey at the end of April, which is preparation for my GT debut, the Giro, which I'm so excited about. I hope to get in some breakaways in the big Italian mountains and get myself on the TV. Though my main goal will just be to finish of course, not many 19 year olds get to ride GT's. The sponsors want a stage win and who knows, maybe it could be me...
Josh Burton
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Well, I've had a very strange season so far, only taking part in two races in three months. I started way back in January with the Tour Down Under in Australia, a race where I was hoping to show what I could do but the climbs just weren't really hard enough for me. I did fairly well on the second stage, finishing 22nd but the heat was too much for me as the race went on and Willunga Hill wasn't my sort of climb. Still, I finished just inside the top 50 on my World Tour debut and I'm fairly certain I was the best placed teenager in the race, so a promising start.
Then I had a two month break where I was just training as hard as I could in the Pyrenees to prepare myself for my next race, the Volta a Catalunya. On the start line I was excited to see what I could do in some proper mountains against some of the best climbers in the world. But the race was a disaster for the team and the DS refused to allow me to ride for myself. I had to babysit the sprinters for some reason even though they were nowhere near the win on any stage.
The team told me not to complain as I'm only 19 and shouldn't be expecting leadership roles but I just don't get why I need to ride with the sprinters on the two mountain stages. Of course, I don't mind helping on the flat stages as I can't do anything myself on those stages. But in the mountains? What was I signed for? I really hope this is a one-off because the management lied to me. They said I would have a free-role, so I hope for more support in the next part of the season or else I will have to speak to my agent.
My next race will be the Tour of Turkey at the end of April, which is preparation for my GT debut, the Giro, which I'm so excited about. I hope to get in some breakaways in the big Italian mountains and get myself on the TV. Though my main goal will just be to finish of course, not many 19 year olds get to ride GT's. The sponsors want a stage win and who knows, maybe it could be me...
Josh Burton
We are sorry about the situation in Spain, we made decisions that we thought were best for the team and after how stage 1 panned out we thought we had a chance of a secondary jersey. It was wrong to restrict your abilities the way we did and we understand that you are thoroughly disappointed after not giving you the role we promised. However we believe you raced well in Australia and hope you continue to develop the way you have. We are excited to see what you can do in rest of the season
-Argos-Shimano Team
Edited by nacho63 on 27-01-2014 18:24
End of Part 1 Review and Continental Championships
The end of part 1 sees Argos-Shimano placed 9th in the EPIC Team Rankings, placing in the middle of the world tour teams. The Whole ranking can be found here:
8
Europcar
1346
9
Argos
1300
10
Lotto
1254
Spoiler
1
Omega Pharma
3107
2
Belkin
2695
3
Sky
2445
4
Movistar
2247
5
RadioShack
2082
6
BMC
1532
7
Cannondale
1382
8
Europcar
1346
9
Argos
1300
10
Lotto
1254
11
Saxo-Tinkoff
1247
12
Garmin
1100
13
Euskaltel
1059
14
Astana
677
15
Orica-GreenEdge
675
16
Katusha
671
17
FDJ
645
18
AG2R
571
19
Androni
535
20
MTN
506
21
Lampre
428
22
Colombia
412
23
Cofidis
409
24
Bretagne
334
25
Sojasun
280
26
Vini Fantini
263
27
Bardiani
217
28
IAM
199
29
Topsport
178
30
Crelan
175
31
RusVelo
178
32
Accent Jobs
108
33
NetApp
104
34
CCC
47
35
Novo Nordisk
26
36
UHC
-7
37
Caja Rural
-10
38
Champion System
-230
39
Vacansoleil
-441
Peter Sagan stays firmly at the top of the riders rankings on in front of Milan San-Remo winner Fabian Cancellera and winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 and Dwars door Vlaanderen, Tom Boonen.
Spoiler
1
P. Sagan
1220
2
F. Cancellara
980
3
T. Boonen
874
4
N. Quintana
755
5
A. Greipel
709
6
W. Brouwer
695
7
A. Valverde
662
8
J. Rodriguez
535
9
J. Degenkolb
518
10
A. Contador
517
11
M. Cavendish
505
12
R. Porte
504
13
S. Vanmarcke
487
14
C. Froome
484
15
P. Kim
442
16
G. Meersman
426
17
G. Van Avermaet
416
18
M. Kittel
397
19
S. Sanchez
357
T. Phinney
357
21
A. Kristoff
350
22
S. Chavanel
337
23
S. Spilak
330
24
V. Nibali
322
25
I. Izagirre
318
26
C. Horner
316
D. Moreno
316
28
M. Kwiatkowski
305
29
G. Ciolek
304
30
T. Peeters
301
31
L. Khamphan
283
O. Ghita
283
33
M. De Maar
276
34
E. Boasson Hagen
274
35
R. Hesjedal
265
36
B. Wiggins
250
37
T. Hinault
242
38
E. McDermott
235
L. Boom
235
40
T. Kangert
229
41
F. Gavazzi
227
42
M. Scarponi
221
43
B. Jungels
220
M. Ignlinskiy
220
45
F. Pellizotti
217
46
B. Mollema
216
47
I. Anton
208
48
A. Hanzen
206
49
R. Costa
205
F. Duarte
205
P. Gilbert
204
J. Cristobal Riquelme
188
G. Lequatre
186
M. Wynants
183
J. Fuglsang
173
R. Kreuziger
167
M. Goss
165
D. Bennati
165
J. Roelandts
169
T. Van Garderen
161
R. Navardauskas
158
S. Henao
153
F. Brookes
153
J. Van den Broeck
149
C. Betancur
149
T. De Gendt
141
H. Zubeldia
137
T. Sithembile
138
D. Gaudin
136
A. Talansky
136
O. Gatto
135
T. Hushovd
134
P. Weening
134
B. Intxausti
129
M. Hayman
128
G. Nizzolo
126
A. Dyachenko
120
V. Karpets
120
Z. Stybar
120
D. Martin
118
J. Vanendert
112
M. Montaguti
110
D. Ulissi
108
D. Cervero
107
E. Sella
106
D. Navarro
105
S. Firsanov
102
T. Martin
100
M. Tosatto
100
N. Nuyens
100
Y. Offredo
100
F. Wegmann
98
E. Gasparotto
96
M. Vantomme
94
A. Amador
93
J. Hintermuller
93
R. Andrews
90
A. Ballan
86
N. Edet
84
A. Guardini
84
B. Leukemans
83
K. Boeckmans
82
F. Felline
82
J. Flecha
80
L. Ten Dam
80
N. Terpstra
79
F. Kessiakoff
77
L. Howard
75
G. Rast
75
J. Bideau
70
M. Albasini
70
E. Chaves
70
J. Lobato
69
P. Martens
66
L. Westra
66
D. Van Poppel
66
J. Venter
63
N. Alinejad
63
P. Jacobs
63
B. Markus
62
M. Tjallingi
62
J. Stromberg
62
H. Haussler
61
F. Reda
60
M. Mederel
60
J. Brajkovic
60
T. Jones
60
C. Riblon
60
N. Bouhanni
60
S. Geschke
60
K. Hulsmans
60
L. Konig
60
J. Garate
60
A. Kruopis
58
J. Castroviejo
57
L. Bak
57
C. Evans
57
A. Demare
56
N. Stromberg
56
S. Gerrans
55
G. Thomas
54
R. Gesink
54
D. Napolitano
53
L. Sanchez
53
P. De la Montagne
52
T. Slagter
52
J. Coppel
50
D. Di Silvestro
50
V. Gusev
50
L. De Vreese
48
L. Paolini
48
T. Pinot
45
T. Lofkvist
45
W. Kelderman
45
K. Vandewalle
45
J. Vermote
45
T. Gallopin
44
J. Wallays
42
A. Porsev
42
I. Stannard
42
P. Pal
42
M. Matthews
41
G. Steegmans
40
A. Petacchi
40
A. Vichot
40
D. Oss
40
R. Plaza
40
B. Van Poppel
39
D. Rosa
38
B. Coquard
37
W. Bonnet
36
S. Turgot
36
J. El Fares
36
D. Walker
36
A. Gerard
36
J. Birtles
35
I. Kovalev
35
F. Pozzato
35
M. Hofland
32
H. Hagg
31
S. Delfosse
30
A. Tsatevitch
30
M. Daniel
30
E. Tortelier
30
J. Dombrowski
30
S. Vandenbergh
30
B. Bozic
30
F. Mourey
30
M. Morkov
30
G. Bille
30
S. Devolder
30
M. Fischer
29
L. Duque
28
K. Dehaes
28
J. Rojas
28
M. Brammeier
28
M. Renshaw
28
A. Cardoso
28
J. Drucker
28
D. Millar
28
I. Tamouridis
28
C. Lemoine
28
R. Bardet
28
M. Breschel
28
J. Krizan
28
S. Langeveld
28
A. Palini
28
A. Mironov
26
R. Perez
25
J. Guarnieri
25
T. Voeckler
24
M. Delage
24
M. Ignatiev
24
F. Veuchelen
24
D. Impey
24
F. Vachon
24
J. Morajko
24
S. Locatelli
24
L. Giordani
24
D. Wyss
24
E. Teruel
24
E. Battaglin
24
A. Bazzana
24
A. Roux
24
M. Finetto
24
G. Caruso
24
A. Pliuschin
24
A. Lutsenko
24
L. Mate
24
S. Denifl
24
R. Verboven
23
P. Lixandru
22
J. Suarez
21
J. Pantano
21
B. Swift
21
A. Richeze
20
B. Traksel
20
R. Hardy
20
L. Nordhaug
20
P. Velits
20
M. Reimer
20
L. Mezgec
20
J. Voigt
20
S. Casar
20
M. Moser
18
D. Cunego
18
A. Grivko
18
R. Wagner
18
L. Meintjes
18
G. Boivin
18
M. Rubiano
18
J. Valencia
18
P. Tiralongo
18
Y. Arashiro
17
L. Durbridge
17
E. Viviani
16
M. Rogers
16
F. Amorison
16
B. Eisel
16
J. Cobo
16
A. Madrazo
16
D. Cimolai
16
M. Nowak
15
C. Benedetti
15
V. Kuznetsov
15
J. McEvoy
15
D. Cornu
15
K. De Mesmaeker
15
K. Hovelynck
15
C. Sarmiento
15
J. Keough
15
F. Schnaidt
15
C. Beyer
13
P. Furan
12
C. Meyer
12
N. Arndt
12
F. Chicchi
12
G. Visconti
12
M. Nieve
12
M. Oget
12
J. Bakelants
12
A. De Marchi
12
B. Vaugrenard
12
V. Kiryienka
12
G. Izagirre
12
F. Bongiorno
12
S. Clement
12
C. Totti
12
S. Puccio
12
J. Van Emden
12
J. Vansummeren
12
J. Bol
12
M. Belletti
12
B. Lancaster
12
K. Reza
12
A. Vicioso
12
T. O'Callaghan
12
E. Vorganov
12
J. Atapuma
12
T. De Troyer
12
J. Cantwell
12
S. Thwaites
12
T. Bos
12
A. Balloni
12
M. Graziato
12
A. Davis
11
R. Roth
11
R. Sinkeldam
10
I. Santaromita
10
C. Muriel
10
P. Urtasun
10
D. Quintero
10
W. Kreder
10
S. Klimov
10
W. Mol
10
S. Vandousselaere
10
G. Rast
10
R. Zingle
10
G. Malacarne
10
S. Pauwels
8
E. Martinez
8
F. Ventoso
8
R. Hunter
8
S. Nys
8
J. Delpeche
8
L. Euser
8
J. Hivert
8
P. Fedrigo
8
R. Andriato
8
C. Schroder
8
J. Louder
8
A. Kolobnev
8
P. Voss
8
R. Selig
8
M. Kump
8
O. Bertazzo
8
M. Elmiger
8
K. Goddaert
8
P. Ligthart
8
T. Leezer
8
K. De Kort
8
T. Kiendys
8
R. Taaramae
8
A. Blythe
8
T. Miyazawa
8
D. Pietropolli
8
D. Pozzovivo
8
M. Monfort
8
F. Aru
8
G. Soupe
8
A. Fenn
8
H. Dupont
8
R. Chiarini
6
L. Pichon
6
B. Planckaert
6
R. Vrecer
6
J. Galland
6
A. Petit
6
A. Courteille
6
P. Jiao
6
K. Barbe
6
D. Lozano
6
M. Docker
6
S. Ponzi
6
R. Tleubayev
6
E. Siskevicius
6
S. Pardilla
6
D. Gruzdev
6
M. Shaqif
6
M. Boaro
6
B. King
6
Y. Talabardon
6
J. Thomson
6
S. Kruijswijk
6
D. De la Cruz
6
L. Haedo
6
L. Rowe
6
M. Guido
5
G. Rasch
5
X. Florencio
5
A. Malori
5
A. Geslin
5
A. Dowsett
5
S. Pennarossa
5
J. Roy
5
J. Herrada
5
I. Basso
5
C. De las Campos
5
M. Favre
5
S. Colbrelli
5
S. Mijosevic
5
A. Cappelle
5
M. Selvaggi
5
K. Mendiez
5
P. Bilbao
5
D. Le Lay
5
C. Lewis
5
J. Gilbert
5
R. Pauriol
5
M. Minguez
5
D. Van Niekerk
5
J. McNutt
5
J. Jorgensen
5
B. Day
5
A. Peron
5
The first part of the season started down under with all the world tour teams starting here, Argos sent a team featuring John Degenkolb and Josh Burton, Degenkolb produced two 2nd placed finishes the duo were unable to muster a stage win. Gianni Meersman takes the overall, the same time as second place Moreno.
Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico shall 3 stage wins for Argos, Kittel takes stage 2 of Paris - Nice and wears the jersey into the first mountain stage. Degenkolb jumped the sprint trains with 1km to go in stage 2 to take the win. A great win for Simon Geschke came from the break of the day on stage 6 while there was relative GC success for Ghita, riding his first stage race of his pro career coming 2nd.
The clobbed races saw no success for Argos, only Degenkolb's top 10 in E3 is anything of note, Boonen took 3 races but couldn't make it a fourth at Gent-Wevelgem as Sagan took the win. The team also went unnoticed in Catalunya due to poor race tactics but Mezgec couldn't tip Bennati who was in fine form taking 3 stages.
Cancellara won solo in Italy for the first monument of the year and only one in this part, it was surprise to many when Sagan did follow his wheel who would have surely out sprinted him. After failing to position, Degenkolb managed to get into the top 10, Kittel finishing in 16th.
Finally Oman, Ghita came second on the 4th stage and holding that GC position until the end and also taking the points jersey on stage 6 which is a great result for Argos and exciting to see what he can do in the rest of the season.
Conti Championships Line-up
Team Name: Argos-Shimano
European Time Trial Tom Dumoulin Simon Geschke Patrick Gretsch Tobias Ludvigsson
European Road Race John Degenkolb Josh Burton Oreste Ghita Tom Dumoulin Simon Geschke Warren Barguil Tom Veelers Tobias Ludvigsson Thierry Huspoud
American Time Trial
N/a
American Road Race Francois Parisien Tom Peterson
Aufrazian Time Trial William Clarke
Aufrazian Road Race William Clarke Cheng Ji Jan Dong Xing
There will be confirmation of wildcards and calender schedule soon, check back to the HQ to find out.
The first half of the championships is already over but the 3 Time Trials contested among Europe, America and Aufrazian provided plenty excitement and 3 worthy winners. The 3 races shared the same circuit, a 44km flat course with some bumps, the very route used in the 2012 World Champions in Valkenberg.
Of course Argos-Shimano were in action in the Europe and Aufrazian races and were hoping to put on a good show.
European Time Trial Tom Dumoulin Simon Geschke Patrick Gretsch Tobias Ludvigsson
American Time Trial
n/a
Aufrazian Time Trial William Clarke
The first event was the Aufrazian Time Trial, Po-ding Kim of North Korea was a massive favorite here, he has already taken two time trials this year in San Luis and then Volta ao Algarve which sealed overall victory in Portugal. Without the doubt Australia are the biggest cycling nation in this bracket but far and they would have Durbridge and Cameron Mayer of Orica-GreenEdge and more, Cadel Evans (BMC), Porte of Sky, Dennis (GRS) and Michael Rodgers of Saxo-Bank Tinkoff as well as our own William Clarke although not a favorite. Special mention goes out to Moroccan Shaqif of MTN racing and will be placed somewhere in the top 10.
After Dennis holding the leaders spot for a long time, Po-Ding Kim comes in with a unbeatable time, and will challenge for the best over the 3 time trials, He takes gold for Europar and North Korea
Will Clarke puts in a solid ride of 14th +2'43 off the winning time.
Results
1
Po-ding Kim
Team Europcar
1h02'01
2
Rohan Dennis
Garmin - Sharp
+ 49
3
Michael Rogers
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
+ 1'05
4
Cameron Meyer
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 1'10
5
Richie Porte
Sky Procycling
+ 1'14
6
Marouane Shaqif
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 1'20
7
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'33
8
Luke Durbridge
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 1'52
9
Brett Lancaster
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 2'14
10
Jack Bauer
Garmin - Sharp
+ 2'19
...
14
William Clarke
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 2'43
Day two saw the American TT, the region consists of all north and south american countries but its the USA where the favourites lie, the favorites Taylor Phinney and Tejay van Garderen of BMC and the two didn't disappoint, TJ comes first with a time of 1h02'29 while Phinney produces a second best time, 49 seconds slower. Armador of Movister is a proven TTer and rounded out the podium. Argos didn't have any riders on show here today.
Results
1
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
1h02'29
2
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 49
3
Andrey Amador
Movistar Team
+ 1'13
4
Svein Tuft
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 1'15
5
Andrew Talansky
Garmin - Sharp
+ 1'19
6
Jordan Lewis
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'23
7
David Zabriskie
Garmin - Sharp
+ 1'26
8
Jaxton McNutt
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 1'32
9
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin - Sharp
+ 1'36
10
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
+ 1'44
The biggest in terms of number of riders, the European race was always going to be the most competitive too. Tony Martin, current World Champion, former World Champion Fabian Cancellara and Olympic Time Trial Champion Bradley Wiggins.
It would be Sky's day as Wiggo takes it, his teammate and countryman Chris Froome is second to complete a 1-2 for the British outfit with Tony Martin 3rd and Cancellara in 4th. Eddie Boss comes in 5th for Sky, you would fancy them for the any TTT this year. Argos' fastest man was Tom Dumoulin with a time of +3'03 on Bradley Wiggins, William Clarke is the fastest on the course between our squad.
Results
1
Bradley Wiggins
Sky Procycling
1h02'17
2
Chris Froome
Sky Procycling
+ 1'16
3
Tony Martin
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 1'19
4
Fabian Cancellara
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 1'31
5
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Procycling
+ 1'52
6
Sylvain Chavanel
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 2'02
7
Peter Velits
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 2'03
8
Jonathan Castroviejo
Movistar Team
+ 2'04
9
Luis León Sánchez
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'30
10
Michał Kwiatkowski
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 2'35
...
20
Tom Dumoulin
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 3'03
53
Simon Geschke
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 3'41
56
Patrick Gretsch
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
64
Tobias Ludvigsson
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 3'58
The Ultimate Crowd is awarded to Po-Ding Kim the time he set on day 1 is fastest on the course this championship with a time of 1h02'01". American champion TJ is third while, European winner Bradley Wiggins comes second.
Ronde van Vlaanderen
Pais Vasco
Paris-Roubaix
Amstel Gold Race
La Fleche Wallone
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Tour de Romandie
Giro d'Italia
Criterium du Dauphine
Tour de Suisse
Scheldeprijs
Trentino
Turkey
Finanzplatz
Koln
WT.1 Ronde van Vlaanderen [31 March]
WT.4 Pais Vasco [1-6 April]
CT.4 Scheldeprijs [3 April]
WT.1 Paris-Roubaix [7 April]
WT.2 Amstel Gold Race [14 April]
CT.6 Giro del Trentino [16-19 April]
WT.2 La Fleche Wallone [17 April]
WT.1 Liege-Bastogne-Liege [20 April]
CT.5 Tour of Turkey [21-28 April]
WT.4 Tour de Romandie [23-28 April]
CT.5 Rund um den Finanzplatz [1 May]
WT.2 Giro d'Italia [4-26 May]
CT.6 Rund um Koln [12 May]
WT.3 Criterium du Dauphine [2-9 June]
WT.3 Tour de Suisse [8-16 June]
Argos-Shimano are happy to announce the schedule for the second part of the first EPIC season, we were successful for all 5 of our wildcards and will allow lots of different riders in our team to step up and a statement. This part of the season sees the first grand tour of the year and you should expect an exciting line up from us!
Continental Championship Round-up - The Road Races
With the Time Trials out the way and 3 goal medals one it was now the time of the 3 road races, all hotly contested, their was plenty of great of riding and exciting including action from our riders. The course for the road race was like the TTs, the Valkenburg route of the 2012 WC.
Argos line ups
European Road Race John Degenkolb Josh Burton Oreste Ghita Tom Dumoulin Simon Geschke Warren Barguil Tom Veelers Tobias Ludvigsson Thierry Huspoud
American Road Race Francois Parisien Tom Peterson
Aufrazian Road Race William Clarke Cheng Ji Jan Dong Xing
Aufrazian Road Race
Simon Gerrans took a great win for Orica-GreenEdge after attacks from most of the leaders of teams after they realised the peloton were not going to bring back the break consisting of one of our own, Clarke. Gerrans attacked on the final lap leaving behind Porte and Sithembile of Sky, Kim (EUC), Rodgers (TST) and Dennis (GRS). Gerrans rode solo through the line with Sky duo rounding out the podium. Clarke finishes with a good top 10 from the break for Argos.
American Road Race
It was Carlos Bentacur of AG2R who took this race, like the first race it came down to very small numbers who would be in the position to win the race, he out sprinted Sky's Henao to win with Talansky coming in 3rd 1'16" later.
European Road Race
Cancellara defeats current world champion, the man who won on this course 6 months Gilbert (BMC) in a sprint finish with Valverde coming in third. The 3 break away from a big pack of favourites never to be brought back.
So, we have hit April now and the cycling world is getting excited about the spring classics, though I have only a passing interest in them. They will never be high on my personal agenda but maybe I will take part in LBL one day - that's a race that might suit me.
A few of the guys are busy in the Basque Country at the moment and it looks like Ghita is being forced to help the sprinter, just like I was in Catalunya. Not entirely sure what the DS is doing but I won't talk about it anymore or I'll be looking for a new contract! He's a big talent, Ghita, and I'm sure I'll get a chance to help him at some point but for now we're being kept apart so I get my own chances, which is a great idea by the management.
Currently, I'm busy training in the mountains again for my big goal of the season, the Giro d'Italia. I certainly feel like my body has got better at recovering from a hard day since the start of the season, which I will definitely need with 21 days of hell approaching! But you have to learn to embrace the pain and I hope that the experience of doing a really hard Grand Tour at the age of 19 will help me a lot in the future.
Before that though, I have the Tour of Turkey in three weeks time. The race has a couple of uphill finishes, so I will be trying to (and hoping the team let me) show what I can do there. Looking at all of the press releases though, there appears to be an incredible interest in the race this year and loads of teams are going out there to win, which is not good news for me. I would like to think that a top ten would be possible though.
Finally, just a quick word on the Continental Championships, which I took part in last week. It was a hard race but a great experience, proving that I wouldn't be much use in the Ardennes right now! Ludvigsson was our best finisher in 19th but the rest of us failed badly. Eventually, I finished 139th in a little group nearly six minutes back. There were a lot of youngsters in this group though, which made me feel slightly better. De La Montagne, Schwabe, Andrews, Dimitriou, Krizan, Fischer, Lixandru and Favre were all in there with me, so not so bad.
See you soon.
Josh Burton
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
We have started the racing for part 2 of EPIC and Argos-Shimano are in the thick of it, we have reports from France and Belgium bringing you the cobbles as well. First race was the second monument of the year, the Tour of Flanders or Ronde van Vlaanderen in dutch.
Ronde van Vlaanderen
Argos Lineup John Degenkolb Tom Veelers Koen de Kort Ramon Sinkeldam Bert de Backer Albert Timmer Tom Stamsnijder Yann Huguet
De Kort got him self in the break of the day, and stayed in the leaders group for quite some time.
Greg van Avermaet took the win for BMC from a solo attack 12km out. Tom Boonen the favourite was unable to bring him back himself and comes 2nd +51 behind. Argos' best placed rider was Degenkolb finishing in 16th place.
SCHELDEPRIJS
Argos Lineup Marcel Kittel Luka Mezgec Nikias Arndt Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg Roy Curvers Koen de Kort Albert Timmer Tom Stamsnijder
Disappointment for the team here were Andre Griepel is first to the line-up. A race hyped up to be a Griepel vs Cav vs Kittel shoot out wasn't as expect as Kittel comes in 5th after a poor lead out he was left straggling and overtaken by Viviani and Goss.
Argos Lineup John Degenkolb Tom Veelers Koen de Kort Ramon Sinkeldam Bert de Backer Albert Timmer Tom Stamsnijder Yann Huguet
There was another less likely winner in the biggest one day race of the year, Sep Vanmarcke of Belkin is so fried at the end he couldn't even celebrate. Langveld beats Boonen to the line up for second and RvV winner Van Avermaet came 4th. Argos' best place finisher was again Degenkolb, showing consistency in the terrain he is specialised in.
Since the last Argos-Shimano round up we have seen racing in Spain, the Ardennes and Germany. We bring you Argos' highs and lows in action during part 2.
Pais Vasco Oreste Ghita Thomas Damuseau Tom Peterson Tom Dumoulin Simon Geschke Johannes Fröhlinger Roy Curvers Ramon Sinkeldam
The race started terribly for Argos, leader and a good placing in GC hopeful Ghita finished the stage 119th 5'17" back from stage winner Michał Kwiatkowski (OPQ) for unknown reasons. Immediately the possibility of reaching our top 5 goal had vanished. Stage 2 was the only flat stage of the stage race and marginal gains certainly had it's outcome today, Sinkledam failed to stay Gescke's wheel with 200 metres left who surely would have undoubtedly won with no other sprinters near the front, Michał Kwiatkowski in the leaders jersey took a second stage win in as many days.
In the last 20 kilometres of Stage 3, Mourey of FDJ attacked and the peloton could not bring him back, he won the stage 12 seconds in front of Wout Poels. Who took over the leaders jersey with Keldermen and Kwiatkowski on the podium. Their was no Argos interest on this stage. Stage 4 was the supposedly the queen stage and it lived up to that. Kiserlovski (RLT) took the stage infront of the other leaders, Moreno & Spilak (KAT), Porte (Sky) and Contador (SAX). Apart from Moreno the 4 lined up 1 to 4 in GC on the same time.
Stage 5 saw Costa and Moreno break away and contested the stage, Costa took it and to add more disappointment for Moreno, Contador and Kiserlovski closed a gap to took the same time on the stage, Moreno did take the leader jersey through time bonuses. Stage 6 was the final stage, a hilly time trial that would plus Moreno to his limit if he was to win the race. It wasn't to be, Rui Costa won the TT and took second. Contador's second was good enough for the win with 7th place. Moreno however did hold onto a podium placing, knocking off Kiserlovski by 2 seconds.
Amstel Race Barguil Preidler Sprick Huguet Cheng Ji Simon Geschke Patrick Gretsch Parisien
The first major of Ardennes classic of the year was taken by Katusha rider Joaquím Rodriguez. He beat compatriot in the sprint of a very demanding race with world champion and 2 time winner Gilbert (BMC).
With 10 kilometers to go Valverde, Rodriguez, Gilbert and Betancur were in the lead. Just behind were Spilak, Kwiatkowski, Uran, Martin, Sanchez and Henao. With 5 kilometers to go Betancur is dropped by his fellow leaders. The final descent before the Cauberg started. With 3.7kms to go they reached the Cauberg. Kwiatkowski and Spilak were catching the leaders. With 3 kilometers to go we had 11 leaders, although those in the back seem to be suffering. With 2.5kms to go 4 of them have survived. Henao had reached Rodriguez, Valverde and Gilbert. With 2 kilometers to go Gilbert and Henao were dropped, while Valverde also seems to be suffering. 1 kilometer to go, Valverde was hanging on, while Gilbert also seemed to come back. With 200 meters to go it was pretty clear though!
Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
6h18'48
2
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
s.t.
3
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
+ 20
4
Sergio Henao
Sky Procycling
s.t.
5
Simon Spilak
Katusha Team
+ 36
6
Daniel Martin
Garmin - Sharp
s.t.
7
Michał Kwiatkowski
Omega Pharma - Quick•Step Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Carlos Betancur
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
9
Nicolas Roche
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
s.t.
10
Rigoberto Urán
Sky Procycling
s.t.
11
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
+ 1'11
12
Simon Gerrans
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
13
Bauke Mollema
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
14
Luis León Sánchez
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
15
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
s.t.
16
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
s.t.
17
Thabo Jango Sithembile
Sky Procycling
+ 1'39
18
Delfi Cervero
FDJ.fr
+ 2'04
19
Francesco Ronaldo
IAM Cycling
+ 2'55
20
Andrea Palini
Lampre - Merida
s.t.
Rund um den Finanzplatz Marcel Kittel John Degenkolb Tom Stamsnijder Tom Veelers Tom Dumoulin Nikias Arndt Thierry Hupond Yann Huguet
Rund um den Finanzplatz saw Kittel, Degenkolb and Arndt racing in their home country, it was quite obvious here that Argos were going for a win and only the win. However so was Griepel and his Lotto team mates. Every seemed set up for a sprint, it was unorganised but with the chasing being done all by us in the final stages, Griepel and co were the fresher bunch and he took the stage in front of a disappointed Kittel and Degenkolb in 2nd and 3rd. You have to be happy with 2 podiums right?
Warren Barguil Ludvigsson Cheng Ji Janse Van Rensburg Patrick Gretsch Jonas Ahlstrand Yann Huguet Thierry Hupond
The Argos team come to the Giro del Trentino with a strong time trial riders to help elevate leader Barguil into the best possible position for a good GC placing during the one day classics in Belgium.
Koen de Kort Preidler Sprick Will Clarke Degenkolb Simon Geschke Parisien Tom Stamsnijder
Warren Barguil Preidler Sprick Yann Huguet Cheng Ji Simon Geschke Patrick Gretsch Parisien
Matthieu Sprick Tom Stamsnijder Albert Timmer Cheng Ji Janse Van Rensburg Georg Preidler Johannes Fröhlinger
Our goal was a Top 10 GC in Turkey at the start of the season however we and many other teams did not anticipate the strength of the field that will be lining up in Alanya in April. This does not change our ambitions however and the decision to go without a big sprinter tells you why we are there. Josh will be looking to impress a head of the Giro d'Italia when he will make his grand tour debut in his neo-pro year.
Edited by nacho63 on 13-03-2014 21:12
Peter Sagan took another win this season by out sprinting, Gilbert, Dan Martin, Valverde and Uran in the final 200. The group broke from a 21 man group just outside the flamme rouge and stayed away. There was ony going to be one winner.
Sagan took another fabulous win after winning at La Fleche Wallonia. Sagan attacked 25km out and solo'd all the way to the finish. Despite Betancur's and Valverde's best efforts they could only come in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Gilbert beat Dan Martin to 4th similarly to earlier in the week.
I've just got back home from Turkey, which was a chance for me to prove myself as a team leader. The management kept reassuring me that they had belief in me after what had been a tough Volta a Catalunya last month, so I knew I had to go out there and deliver.
Unfortunately for me, and a lot of other riders and teams, the organisers seemed to have been throwing money around at most teams, asking them to send their top riders, so the startlist was ridiculous. Nevertheless, I got down to it and the team kept me out of trouble on the first couple of stages, keeping to their word that they wouldn't make me do any work for anyone.
Then came the mountains, stage 3 wasn't the hardest test ever but a few of the big guys like Navarro and Gesink got away from me at the end and I finished in the main group of favourites just outside the top ten. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep it up on the next summit finish on stage six. I just had an awful day and finished right at the back of a group well over two minutes down on the winner, Niemiec.
That all meant that I finished 19th overall, 3'19 down on Niemiec. With the great competition here, I'm not too disappointed with the result but I think I could have been closer to the top ten with better legs. But there's no way I can compete with the likes of Niemiec, Navarro and Rolland yet.
Next up for me is the Giro d'Italia where I'm tasked with getting some sort of success in the mountains. There's no pressure on any of the team here but of course we all want to show our faces. A stage win is going to be unlikely but you have to dream big.
See you soon.
Josh Burton
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Eight days of racing in Turkey attracted a field of many qualities for this years edition. Argos had 8 guys in action. The designated leader for the race was the young Josh Burton and we had a sent a team in full commitment for him after a disappointing Tour of Catalunya. Josh managed a decent result, a Top 20 in GC, we may had hoped for a top 10 but we aren't disappointed. Josh may has expected better but we saw potential for the Giro and for the rest of his career. A top 20 in the field present is no shame at all.
There was other Argos action away from the GC, Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg mixed it up in the sprints and managed a few top 10s. Tom Stamsnijder managed 6th in a breakaway that made it all the ways to the end, a nice effort from him. Overall we may have hoped for more success but in the big picture we are happy with the progress we are making at this current period of time. Our next racng comes from the Giro d'italia!
See what the experts have to see about our chances at the Giro d'italia!
Preview - Argos
The Team
Josh Burton
Tom Dumoulin
Nikias Arndt
Luka Mezgec
Simon Geschke
Patrick Gretsch
François Parisien
Bert De Backer
Tom Peterson
Arguably not the strongest team, they do have the squad required to produce some good results.
GC
Never a team for climbing, they have made a few additions to their squad which can give some good results. With Burton and Geschke here, they can compete for stage wins but they shouldn't get a good GC result.
Sprints
Ever the sprint team, Argos have Mezgec here and with the lack of stars here he could certainly achieve results.
Other
With maybe not much to fight for, we could see Argos go for the KoM classification, with a lot of inconspicuous domestiques.
The day started off with Arndt from Argos getting in the break with O’Callaghan and Dennis Vanendert. It was a day for the sprinters in Napoli, Cavendish will be looking to take pink.
Goss however opened up his sprint early and held on to take the first stage and the pink jersey. Nikias Arndt was our best finisher in 20th.
Stage Two
Stage two was a team time trial, 17.4km in length. Our history in the TTT isn't very strong but today the boys put in a cohesive performance finishing 10th, 29 seconds back from Team Sky who put Adrien Hanzen in pink 1 second ahead of Brouwer. Argos had put a strong time down at the intermediate in the early stages and only Radioshack could match it, crossing milliseconds before us, they went on to finish 3rd.
Edited by nacho63 on 16-04-2014 21:18
Top 10 Tour of Turkey*
Giro stage win(s)
Top 5 Pais Vasco
Tom Dumoulin
Simon Geschke 
Tobias Ludvigsson
Josh Burton
Oreste Ghita
Warren Barguil
Francois Parisien 
Tom Peterson
William Clarke
Cheng Ji
San Luis and then 
Volta ao Algarve which sealed overall victory in Portugal. Without the doubt 
Moroccan Shaqif of MTN racing and will be placed somewhere in the top 10. 
Armador of Movister is a proven TTer and rounded out the podium. Argos didn't have any riders on show here today.
Fabian Cancellara and Olympic Time Trial Champion 
Bert de Backer 
Luka Mezgec
Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg
Preidler
