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Last week, Cycling Weekly revealed the possibility of new British Continental team Rapha - Rouleur adding to their 2013 roster, by signing a further 3 riders to increase the squad to 21 before the curtain drops.
After a week of 'no comment' from many people connected with Rapha - Rouleur, Jaguar and Rapha Clothing, Cycling Weekly this week came across some fuel that will most likely keep the rumours burning bright. 4 emails, sent between Phil Hoyle, Simon Mottram and the Jaguar Academy CEO Tim Lawler have miraculously on a cycling forum for the world's eyes to see.
Spoiler
These emails clearly show that there are going to be 3 more riders being added to the team, with hints towards a British climber coming through the Jaguar Academy.
Expect frantic phone calls from cycling press over the next few days, trying to get answers to this leak.
Phil Hoyle has finally revealed that he will break the silence on the rumours concerning the team and leaked emails between bosses on a cycling forum.
The Rapha - Rouleur manager has agreed to an exclusive interview with Cycling Weekly, with fernando97 taking the lead in the questioning in a live message chat.
The interview has been scheduled for this evening, with the full question and answer session being publised over the coming weekend.
Well the interview has been done. Great thanks to fernando97 for helping me with that. All the questions were his own (with the odd addition from baia), so the answers were not pre-answered and no preparation at all. He asked me them one at a time over pm, so it is like a proper live interview like we wanted (again that element was fernando's idea)
The interview will be posted over the weekend, and with the patch now released, I hope the pcm expansion pack will soon follow and we will get under way.
I have one more final idea for the story but it might not work out, so we will see. I don't want to say, in case it does not work Edited by the_hoyle on 27-09-2013 23:17
After weeks of speculation and rumours in the British Cycling Press, Rapha-Rouleur Team Manager Phil Hoyle have agreed to sit down with Cycling Weekly and explain it all. Fernando97 was the man with the question.
*****
Fernando97: I'm sitting here with the Rapha - Rouleur manager, Phil Hoyle who is here to clarify all the crazy infos we were hearing about this week, new riders, leaked e-mails and lots more.
Hello Mr. Hoyle! How is it going? Are you ready to explain the rumors about the team?
Phil Hoyle: Hi fernando, I'm very well thank you, looking forward to the start of the season! Yes, it is about time we reveal all with this. The new riders are now all signed and confirmed with the management. And please, call me Phil.
F97: Sure, Phil. Let's get right into it, could you tell us a bit more about the scholarship system? How does it work, how do you pick from the youngsters? Also, what is the first thing you look at when you see a rider for the first time?
PH: The scholarship is something that has been set up Jaguar, and we are delighted to have them as part of the team. It works a bit like an apprenticeship, providing sportsmen and women with mentoring and funding to help them break into their sport. Sporting greats from all disciplines; athletics, cycling, football, swimming, are all part of the scheme.
In terms of selection, Jaguar and their mentors come to myself with recommended riders who they think are ready for breaking into the professional world of cycling. I then sit down with the main management team here, along with Simon Mottram and see who stands out to us.
We look for someone who we feel can add something to the team and play a key role. It is always not about their current stats, but their potential. That is the whole point of the program. We want to have someone who has passion for what they do, and where they see their career going, because without that, what is the point really.
F97: That sound like a really well thought-out program, I hope we'll see many young cyclists coming through the ranks in the next coming years.
Could you please tell us more or even better, introduce the young welsh guy, you were talking about in the leaked e-mails? According to reports, he seems to be a stud, but is he ready to contribute right away?
PH: Well in fact it is 3 Welsh riders that will be coming into the team. The first two are up and coming on the British scene. Owain Doull is the first, and the second is Jon Mould.
The final Welsh man, the one mentioned in those emails, is a young rider called Gary Sutton [managed by sutty68]. He was part of the application for the first position in the team, which went to Pieter de Vries, but when we were refused to Pro Continental licence, and see how other teams aiming for promotion were recruiting, we looked to Gary to step in. He, along with 2 other riders, was offered to join the team in August, so we thought we would turn to him. He will learn his trade with the team, and will add depth to the team when the route goes up.
F97: Gary seems like a nice acquisition! What about Owain and Jon then? Also, with these 3 riders revealed, can we except more additions, such as N. Oliveira, to the team?
PH: Owain has been riding for the Great Britain Development Team, and has shown his potential at under 23 level. He has a good track background as well, where he is a fantastic Madison rider.
As for Jon, he came to the British Road scene last year, with Team UK Youth, and he was a shining light in the Tour Series rounds. We hope he can show the same sort of form, plus more, for Rapha.
Oliveira? I'm sorry not heard much about him. But to be honest, so many people have come to me saying they have seen the next Wiggo or a future Cavendish in a junior race in a random country.
F97: Haha, I can certainly imagine that. Now we got the new signings out of the way, allow me please to ask you about the leaks. Did you find the source of them? How did you react when you saw your e-mails on the news?
PH: The source has been found! Our IT department is outsource through an agency, and it appears one them saw his chance to be 'the hero' on a new forum he had joined recently. Because of his authorisation and access to our systems, it was easy pickings for him to see it all, screenshot them and post on the forum.
He has been reported to the agency, and he is being dealt with accordingly. The emails have now been removed from the forum, but sadly the world has seen it all now.
As for my reaction, I was fine. Disappointed, yes, but not angry. Simon, on the other hand, hit the roof! He blamed the team and management for letting this happen, and he even tried to put blame on Jaguar, as well as myself, for it, as they were the ones who 'revealed' the most.
F97: It must have been a strange situation for you to be in. How did riders react? Did it affect their moral or they just accepted it and moved on?
PH: The riders did take it well to be honest. With a lot of the lads coming from the British scene, they were well aware of Owain and Jon. As for Gary, Pieter met him in the Academy, and I hear they have a good respect for each other and seem to have stuck together.
To be honest, the refusal of Pro Continental licence from the UCI hit the moral of the riders more than the email leakage.
F97: So we've been through our main topics of the interview, we slowly approach the last few questions. Looking at the upcoming season, could you give us a bit of an insight of the races the team will attend? Which country will you be racing the most?
PH: Well, when we launched a month or so ago, I said the UK races and Northern European races, France, Belgium, Netherlands, etc, would be our main aim and that is still the case, but we may branch out to Africa as well. Tour of South Africa, Qatar, Oman etc, would be some nice races to participate in, as well as some of the Asian races. I think the USA might be too much for us, but now with a larger team, who knows.
F97: Now lastly, what are your plans for the future? Where do you see the team 5 years from now?
PH: Where do I see the team in 5 years? Wow, that is a question to finish with. I think WorldTour status could be too high to aim for, but that is the ultimate goal. I would say a team who is similar to Europcar or Cofidis would be a great target. A team on the verge of WorldTour status, but can comfortably gain Wildcards for the big races.
Overall though, the main target is to create the next big thing in cycling. Originally, it was going to be a British rider, but I don't think you can really single out one nation with the riders being produced these days. Would it be a big problem if the rider was from Netherlands or Belgium? Not in my eyes anyway!
F97: Thank you for the interview Phil, good luck in the coming season!
The start of the story is sooo close! I can feel it now!
Just a quick update really, and revealing of some news concerning the story
Update first - the rider profiles have been updated with the latest recruits My intro is just missing the complete team roster and calendar, which will be added when the expansion pack is released
Now the news about the story - Inspired by brewers90 I am going to make this a video story! It will run more like a highlights reel showing key parts of the stage, rather than just the final parts of the stage like Brewers, but I want to try this to be a little different Hoping that I can make it work
Edited by the_hoyle on 04-10-2013 18:40
Just a post to let everyone know that I am holiday from tomorrow until Friday. I am off to visit the hometown of fernando97 - Budapest!
The expansion pack is due on Tuesday, so the story will have to wait til I am back on Friday, with next weekend looking like it will the official start of the Rapha - Rouleur season
Well... as the title now suggests, things are getting underway. Despite being on holiday, I brought my laptop with me (to pass the time in airports and in the hotel at night etc), so the db is downloading as we speak, slowly but surely
Tomorrow if I have time at the airport before catching the plane home, I will get the team together, and fill the blanks on the introduction posts (full roster, calendar etc) and then hopefully on Saturday evening, the first video will be posted
