This is a blog that I wasn't going to write but there are a couple of things to tell you about, plus it's this or spend another thirty minutes with my "lovely" roommate JMac!
To the news I wanted to tell you about. Rene Mandri, Paul Voss and Jonny McEvoy have all signed new contracts to stay with the team for the near future which is fantastic news for the team. Both Jonny and Paul are really talented and will hope to become stars here, whilst Mandri is secured for the prime of his career. It looks like Camano wants to go back home though as he approaches the end of his career, as he won't sign a new contract. It's a shame but hopefully it will give me the opportunity to replace him as a stage race leader. There are a few others who are out of contract in October and it's up to them to show that they deserve a new contract. I have another year so will definitely be here til the end of 2013.
See you in the mountains ,
Ian Bibby
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Ian: "This could be classed as the first proper race of the season for everyone, never mind me! This is going to hurt like hell, but hey, everyone's in the same situation. There are six classified climbs before the brutal Col de l'Ospedale which will almost certainly decide who wins this race overall."
Ian: "The team is, as usual, all behind JTL today, because despite the final climb being a bit too long for him really, he's still our best shot. Me and Camano are his main helpers whilst Partridge and Voss are free to attack."
Ian: "I am still a team mate here and my plan today is to hang on for as long as possible up these climbs as I need to be able to help Jon on the final climb if I can. I will be saving energy in the peloton until the time comes for me to sacrifice myself."
The climbing, and the attacking, started straight away and an early group of five riders, including Partridge, got away from the bunch. However, there were lots of attacks and they knew they had to keep the pace high to stay away.
Eventually, the breakaway had swelled to fourteen riders with Partridge picking up regular KoM points to ensure he would wear the polka dot jersey tomorrow. Great work by the Brit.
On the final descent of the Col de Bacinu, disaster struck for Endura as Camano hit the deck hard. He got back to the front but was clearly in a lot of pain and could not give any help to Tiernan-Locke. It was up to Bibby alone now.
But with 7km to go, Ian could no longer hang on either and Jon was left isolated in the lead group. Unfortunately, Bibby just doesn't have the shape yet but he did his job today.
Further back, Tiernan-Locke finished just behind Di Gregorio in a fantastic eighth place. A great ride but it leaves a top ten finish in the balance with a time trial to come. Bibby, meanwhile finished just under eight minutes down in 39th.
"Wow, that was absolutlely horrendous. However, I got to the end and I did everything I'd hoped I would but got dropped a little bit earlier. Never mind, JTL was brilliant again and climbed better than Chris Horner, Dan Martin and JC Peraud, unbelievable stuff from the little man. Also, great stuff from Robbie P who got into the break and has got a nice spotty jersey to wear tomorrow. It's not all good though, Camano crashed on his first raceday of the season and he won't be in great shape for the remaining stages as he hurt his arm pretty bad."Edited by brewers90 on 20-04-2012 01:04
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Ian: "A very short stage which is purely so that the sprinters can have a bit of fun and the GC contenders can have a rest."
Ian: "Today we'll be keeping JTL out of trouble and protecting Cronshaw for the sprint. The one climb here could enable Delaroziere to claim the climber's jersey, so we have to watch out there. No point in the breakaway today, it's just too short."
Ian: "I have gained a lot of fitness with yesterday's nasty stage but today will be about chilling in the peloton and then helping Cronshaw at the end."
Race Report
With the final climb of the race out the way and Delaroziere not scoring any points, Partridge could celebrate winning the polka dot jersey here. Good stuff.
With the breakaway caught way before the finish and the late attackers also brought back, thoughts turned to the sprint. Our leadout was dominant with four kilometres to go with Voss and Bibby driving it along. Could Cronshaw finish it off?
Unfortunately not today as Ravard of AG2R proved too strong. Commeyne and Nizzolo rounded out the podium and incredibly, the yellow jersey sprinted to sixth ahead of Cronshaw who faded to eighth. There was a huge crash on the run-in but no big names were involved.
"Nothing to say really, today was an easy day for us. Our leadout was perfect but Cronshaw isn't quick enough to challenge the top sprinters here and also got beaten by a climber. He won't be living that down for a while! Also, congratulations to Robbie P who clinched the polka dot today, so at least we won't go home empty handed, whatever happens in the TT."
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Ian: "A short time trial which won't see any changes at the top because the gaps are too big. But the battle for the top ten is intense, with JTL right in the middle of it."
Ian: "Paul Voss has targeted this stage from the start of the season and will hope to perform on the day. The first few guys will be riding for JTL and relaying back the info. Everybody else can go as hard as they want."
Ian: "I can feel myself getting stronger everyday but I'm still not fit enough to challenge yet. My GC position means I'll be going quite late so, hopefully, I can use the info provided by my team mates that go before me."
Race Report
The first time triallist of note was Endura's very own Rob Partridge in his polka dot jersey. He went comfortably quickest at that point with a time of 10'50.
His time didn't last long as Rabobank's Coen Vermeltfoort went seven seconds quicker than Rob.
Paul Voss was right behind Vermeltfoort and smashed his time by ten whole seconds. It looked good for a top result for the German in an event he was hoping to excel in.
Next up was Dave Zabriskie and, as is usual with the American TT champ, he was one of the favourites for the stage. He knocked just one second of Voss' time, proving that Paul's time was competitive.
Ian Bibby set off hoping to get somewhere near the top times. He likes a good time trial, but with his form still questionable, it would be interesting to see what he could achieve. He was eight seconds down on DZ at the intermediate checkpoint.
Bibby finished his run in 10'49, one second quicker than Partridge, but 16 seconds behind Zabriskie. A top twenty was just about still possible though. Good effort from Ian.
Next up was Tiernan-Locke, still in his special white jersey. He was ten seconds down on Zabriskie at the checkpoint, but as he finished, he was, crucially, four seconds quicker than Talabardon, meaning a top ten was in the bag. Job done.
Focus now switched to the stage win. Could Zabriskie hang on? No. Jensie destroyed his time by ten seconds, causing a massive shockwave behind the scenes. Incredible time.
Unbelievably, Voigt's time lasted only three minutes, before team mate and compatriot Kloden knocked another six seconds off the best time. It was looking good for Germany and Radioshack.
While all of this was going on, Hesjedal was enjoying a pedal in the sun. With the yellow jersey certain unless he crashed, he was able to enjoy himself. However, he still went third, six seconds quicker than Zabriskie. A dominant performance by the Canadian.
"I have to be pleased with that, just outside the top 20 with my relatively low fitness is a good result. What a great result for Vossie though, a top five with the level of competition here is amazing. Also, great work by JTL as this is by no means his strongest discipline but he went quick enough to get tenth spot on GC. Job done, home for a 'rest' now"Edited by brewers90 on 20-04-2012 18:36
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Endura had a very quiet few days in De Panne as the riders struggled to deal with the quality of the World Tour specialists over the tough Flandrian roads. The race opened with a stage touching 200km over some of the toughest cobbled sections the region has to offer. The day did not go well, with only Ian Wilkinson finishing within twelve minutes of the winner, Thor Hushovd. The next two stages were both flat and the main challenge was the weather. Despite getting people in the breakaway, it never happened for us, but Downing did manage a great seventh place in stage 3's bunch finish. The final time trial saw a 20th place finish for Andrew Tennant, whilst Hushovd won to clinch the overall victory. A tough old race with Ian Wilkinson our highest finisher in 49th.
KBC Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde - Final Overall Classification
1
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
10h20'43
2
Martijn Maaskant
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 1'07
3
Matti Breschel
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'11
4
Tom Boonen
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 1'13
5
Sep Vanmarcke
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 1'57
6
Lars Boom
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'59
7
Stijn Devolder
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'04
8
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'15
9
Johan Vansummeren
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 2'16
10
Jürgen Roelandts
Lotto Belisol Team
+ 2'17
...
49
Ian Wilkinson
Endura Racing
+ 6'13
89
Matt Cronshaw
Endura Racing
+ 13'31
90
Scott Thwaites
Endura Racing
+ 14'05
97
Russell Downing
Endura Racing
+ 17'21
102
Andrew Tennant
Endura Racing
+ 17'59
140
Dean Windsor
Endura Racing
+ 24'05
145
Erick Rowsell
Endura Racing
+ 24'31
151
Jack Anderson
Endura Racing
+ 25'58
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
So my next race is this one day hilly race and it looks very tough. It's up and down all day and the constant climbing is going to wear people down until only the strongest remain. Hopefully JTL will be one of the strongest. This type of race is not my cup of tea at all so I'll be looking to either get in the breakaway or help JTL early on. I am rooming with McEvoy again tonight, oh the joy, so a delightful evening is in store no doubt.
It's that time again, the end of the month, so I will tell you what has been happening in the world of cycling in March:
Paris-Nice saw a dominant win by Philippe Gilbert, whilst Ardennes rival Rodriguez won Tirreno-Adriatico. Cav won MSR, with Boonen and Cancellara sharing the two cobbled classics at the end of the month. Vinokourov took the win in Catalunya, proving he's still got it, incredibly. Vicioso keeps on winning while the big Conti races were taken by Hesjedal and Hushovd.
We are still leading the Continental Tour but Landbouwkrediet are right behind us. Tiernan-Locke still leads the individual rankings by a considerable margin so he'll be looking to stay ahead for as long as possible.
Ian: "A hilly race just under 200 kilometres. The main factor here is to position your leader well before the final ascent and to use as little energy over the forty climbs. This is as close as we're going to get to the Ardennes classics this season!"
Ian: "The leader is JTL as usual and he should have a good shot here, providing we look after him well. He's not the quickest sprinter but the finish is uphill so that shouldn't matter. Voss and Faiers, who has improved a lot already this season, are free elements, whilst Blain will be trying to get into the break."
Ian: "With every race I'm getting stronger but this is not to my strengths at all. I will be working for JTL at the start and seeing how long I can stay with the leaders."
Ian: "Bert De Waele starts as the obvious favourite with a strong team and a lot of experience. Roux, Dupont, Vichot, Rolland, Gautier, Coppel, Jeanneson and Kadri are the main French hopes here."
Race Report
As you would expect, there were lots of attacks as the race got underway in terrible weather. The pace was kept high as a maximum of nineteen riders tried to escape to no avail.
Eventually, a group of seven succeeded in getting away from the bunch. Blain did his job and got in there, where he was being dwarved by the huge frame of Arnaud Molmy! They built up a maximum gap of five minutes.
As soon as the gap hit five minutes, Landbouwkrediet, FDJ and Europcar got on the front and started to bring it back. The gap came down slowly at first but as the front group began to run out of legs, they were soon brought back.
On the penultimate lap, the first attackers showed themselves. They were De Waele and Ravard. They didn't get anywhere but Vichot, Jacobs and Pinot continued the attacking.
On to the final lap now and Roux gave it one last try to stay away. Tiernan-Locke was well placed just behind De Waele at the head of the peloton. Roux did not succeed and we would have a bunch finish.
Tiernan-Locke was perfectly placed on De Waele's wheel but he just couldn't get past him on the drag up to the finish. The Belgian took an expected victory, with JTL second and Rolland third. Voss was Endura's next finisher in 22nd.
"So close! It's always difficult when you finish second but to be honest, De Waele is a top rider at this level so we have to be happy with that. Voss placed him perfectly at the end and that was all we could really do. For me, I did alright. I was able to help out JTL and Voss and then stayed with the peloton until the end, but I got dropped on the very last climb. Never mind, the legs are coming, I can feel it."Edited by brewers90 on 21-04-2012 19:13
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
For those very observant amongst you, you may be wondering "hang on, shouldn't you be racing today?!" Well, yes, I should be in the middle of Stage 1 of the Circuit Sarthe race but the management decided to change the team at the last minute. It was a bit short notice but I wouldn't be in this job if I couldn't cope with things like this. It's not a big deal as it just means my next race will be the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon next week. It won't affect my season plan and I should still be able to peak for the Vuelta Asturias and definitely will be fine for the Tour of Cali. My next race in France will be the Route du Sud in mid-June. I get to go home for a couple of days at least, but I'll be training very hard to keep my shape. Good luck to all of the boys in France anyway.
Next time I speak to you I'll be in sunny Spain, I can't wait!
The Circuit Sarthe - Pays de la Loire race in France saw Endura Racing put their nightmare in De Panne behind them with an aggressive performance. With three flat stages and a very short time trial in the middle, the result was always likely to be decided by time bonuses. Downing managed a strong fifth place on the opening stage behind Dumoulin. Tennant was our best finisher in the time trial in 15th. The third stage was where Endura really made the difference though, as Wilkinson got in to the break of the day and won all of the intermediate sprints and KoM's to clinch the polka dot jersey and move up to seventh on GC.
A brilliant attacking ride by Ian Wilkinson saw him win the polka dot jersey as well as finishing in third overall.
On the final stage, Wilkinson won all three intermediate sprints again which moved him up to second overall. However, when Dumoulin won the stage, it dropped Ian back to third. Downing came home seventh in the bunch sprint, but it was Wilkinson who took two trips up to the podium to claim the polka dot jersey and third place overall behind Dumoulin and the winner Jimmy Casper. That wasn't all either, as young Andrew Tennant's strong time trial gave him the white jersey ahead of the misfiring Sacha Modolo. Great performance by the promising Brit. It wasn't all positive though as Dempster crashed very hard on stage three and will be out until the end of May with a fractured hip.
Circuit Sarthe - Pays de la Loire - Final Overall Classification
,
