Individual Rankings:
21st Konstantin Siutsou 663 points
48th Yuki Arashiro 485 points
59th JL Augustyn 389 points
113th Roman Kilun 240 points
162nd Adam Hansen 158 points
170th Julian Rodas 148 points
198th Jose Chacon 115 points
202nd CJ Sutton 111 points
205th Edwin Parra Bustamante 109 points
223rd Ahmed Haider Anuawar 94 points
11 wins
Konstantin Siutsou: Japan Cup, Stage 7 Volta a Portugal
CJ Sutton: Stage 5 Vuelta Castille y Leon, Stage 3 Jayco Sun Tour
Yuki Arashiro: Stage 2 and 5 Tour Down Under
JL Augustyn: Stage 1 Giro del Capo
A Hansen: Stage 5 Vuelta a Burgos
A Haider: Stage 2 Vuelta a Tachira
J Chacon: Stage 4 Vuelta a Columbia
V Orozco: Stage 11 Vuelta a Columbia
Team Trial: Stage 2 Tour of Japan
Full results:
Spoiler
Bloemfontain Classic[HC]: 10th John Lee Augustyn, 26th Adam Hansen Winner: Filipo Pozzato (Mercedes Benz)
Vuelta a Tachira [c1]
4th Julian Rodas, 5th Jose Chacon, 13th Franklin Chacon, 14th Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez Winner: Richard Ochoa Quintero (Youtube-Twitter)
Stage 1: 6th Ahmad Haider Anauwar Winner: Damien Martinez (Quiksilver)
Stage 2: 1st Ahmad Haider Anauwar, 2nd Franklin Chacon, 3rd Arthur Garcia Rincon
Stage 3: 4th Ahmad Haider Anauwar Winner: Alexander Gottfried (Bbox)
Stage 4: 4th Julian Rodas Winner: Yeison Delgado (Quiksilver)
Stage 5: 6th Luis Felipe Laverde Winner: Laurent Didier(Bbox)
Stage 6: 3rd Julian Rodas Winner: Oliver Zaugg (Youtube)
Stage 7: 3rd Jose Chacon Winner: Richard Ochoa (Youtube)
Stage 8: 6th Jose Chacon Winner: Francisco Colorado(Sport Lisboa)
Stage 9: 4th Arthur Garcia Rincon Winner Damien Martinez (Quiksilver)
Stage 10: 3rd Julian Rodas Winner: Egoitz Murgoitio (Sport Lisboa)
Stage 11: 4th Julian Rodas Winner: Mikel Asterloza (Bbox)
Stage 12: 9th Ahmad Haider Anauwar Winner: Kevin Barclay (Youtube)
Tour Down Under [HC] 1st Yukiya Arashiro 21st Adam Hansen, 22nd John-Lee Augustyn, 31st Jamie Ball
Stage 1: 10th Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Mark Cavendish (100% Me)
Stage 2: 1st Yukiya Arashiro
Stage 3: 42nd Yukiya Arashiro takes leaders jerseyWinner: Alex Flugal (Ikea)
Stage 4: 3rd Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Luke Rowe (Wiggle)
Stage 5: 1st Yukiya Arashiro
Stage 6: 36th Jamie Ball Winner: Jimmy Casper (Milka) Tour de San Luis [HC]
7th John Lee Augustyn, 34th Edwin Parra, 35th Roman Kilun, 39th Julian Rodas Winner: Rein Taaramae (IKEA)
Stage 1: 4th Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Max Richeze (UBS)
Stage 2: 7th JL Augustyn Winner: Florentino Marquez (Sport Lisboa)
Stage 3: 19th JL Augustyn Winner: Dimitri Grabovski (Intesa)
Stage 4: 6th Julian Rodas Winner: Jose Serpa (Pirelli)
Stage 5: 3rd JL Augustyn Winner: Rein Taaramae (IKEA)
Stage 6: 19th Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Max Richeze (UBS)
Stage 7: 8th Adil Jelloul Winner: Rui Costa (Sport Lisboa)
Volta a Catalunya [ProTour]
7th Konstantin Siutsou, 27th Edwin Parra, 34th Victor Orozco, 37th Jianhau Ji Winner: Alejandro Valverde (Cafe du Columbia)
Stage 1: 30th Konstantin Siutsou Winner: Martijn Keizer (Nespresso)
Stage 2: 28th Victor Hugo Orozco Winner: Sam Bewley (Festina)
Stage 3: 5th Konstantin Siutsou Winner: Alejandro Valverde (Columbia)
Stage 4: 9th Konstantin Siutsou Winner: Alejandro Valverde (Columbia)
Stage 5: 67th Carlos Manarelli Winner: Jesus Tendero (Energie Diesal)
Stage 6: 13th Carlos Manarelli Winner: Hector Duenes (Domina Vacanze)
Stage 7: 4th Fumiyaki Beppu Winner: Rafael Rodriguez(La Gazzetta)
Mt Hood Cycling Classic [c1]
3rd JL Augustyn. 17th Roman Kilun Winner: Jose Alarcon (IKEA)
Stage 1: 15th Roman Kilun Winner: David Abal (Santander)
Stage 2: 4th Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Robert Forster (UBS)
Stage 3: 5th JL Augustyn Winner Jose Alarcon (IKEA)
Stage 4: 4th Red Bull Winners: IKEA
Stage 5: 3rd JL Augustyn Winner: Jose Alarcon (IKEA)
Stage 6: 3rd Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Tomas Viatkus (Telenor)
Giro de Capo [c1]
4th JL Augustyn, 15th Adil Jelloul, 16th Yukiya Arashiro, 20th Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez Winner: Hassan Ben Nasser (Cillit Bang)
Stage 1:1st JL Augustyn
Stage 2: 3rd JL Augustyn Winner: Hassan Ben Nasser(Cillit Bang)
Stage 3: 2nd JL Augustyn Winner: David Abal (Santander)
Stage 4: 2nd Adil Jelloul Winner: Taylor Tolleson (Mercedes)
Stage 5: 9th JL Augustyn Winner: Ignas Konovalinos (El Al)
Tour de Langkawi [HC]
19th Konstantin Siutsou Winner: Bernard Kohl (UBS)
Stage 1: 15th Ahmad Haider Anuawar Winner: Juan Jose Haedo (Mercedes)
Stage 2: 16th Christopher Sutton Winner: Danilo Napilitano (Unicredit)
Stage 3: 3rd Ahmad Haider Anuawar Winner: Greg Van Avermart(Bimbo Nutella)
Stage 4: 7th Ahmad Haider Anuawar Winner: Danilo Napilitano (Unicredit)
Stage 5: 25th KOnstantin Siutsou Winner: Bernard Kohl (UBS)
Stage 6: 8th Ahmad Haider Anauwar Winner: Oscar Guereo (Santander)
Stage 7: 11th Ahmad Haider Anauwar Winner: Oscar Guereo (Santander)
Cape Argus Cycle Tour (c1): 2nd Yukiya Arashiro, 5th Adil Jelloul, 7th CJ Sutton Winner: Lasse Bochmann (Telenor)
Vuelta Castille y Leon (c1)
3rd Konstantin Siutsou, 9th Roman Kilun, 25th Adil Jelloul Winner: Kim Kirchen (Bacardi)
Stage 1: 12th Konstantin Siutsou Winner: Rui Costa (Sport Lisboa)
Stage 2: 8th Roman Kilun Winner: Kim Kirchen (Bacardi)
Stage 3: 2nd Konstantin Siutsou Winner: Kim Kirchen (Bacardi)
Stage 4: 2nd Konstantin Siutsou Winner: Kim Kirchen (Bacardi) Stage 5: 1st Christopher Sutton
Worlds View Challenge(HC)
11th Yukiya Arashiro 21st Adam Hansen, 23rd Jamie Ball Winner: Simon Gerrans (Petronas)
Stage 1: 4th Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Thomas Ziegler (Yamaha)
Stage 2: 4th CJ Sutton Winner: Galdos (Santander)
Stage 3: 6th Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Max Richeze(UBS)
Stage 4: 20th Adam Hansen Winner: Simon Gerrans (Petronas)
Stage 5: 11th Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Stefan Schumacher (UBS)
Jelejah Malaysia (c1)
8th Julian Rodas 15th Kin-San Wu Winner: David Lopez Garcia (Santander)
Stage 1: 3rd CJ Sutton Winner: Greg Van Avermart (Bimbo Nutella)
Stage 2: 7th CJ Sutton Winner: Lars Crocket (Petronas)
Stage 3: 2nd Haider Anuawar Winner:Max Richeze(UBS)
Stage 4: 11th Haider Anauwar Winner: Greg Van Avermart (Bimbo Nutella)
Stage 5: 4th Haider Anauwar Winner: Eric Mohs (Pokerstars)
Stage 6: 7th Julian Rodas Winner: Jose Alarcon (Ikea)
Stage 7: 4th Haider Anauwar Winner: Borghesi (Unicredit)
Tour of Japan (c1)
5th Adam Hansen, 7th Arashiro, 16th Kilun, 24th Beppu, 25th Parra B Winner: Sylvian Chavenal (El Al)
Stage 1: 4th Fumi Beppu Winner: Priamo (Yamaha) Stage 2: 1st Red Bull Cycling
Stage 3: 4th Hansen Winner: Van de Velde (Petronas)
Stage 4: 7th Hansen Winner: Hesjedal (Pirelli)
Stage 5: 8th Kilun Winner: Nazaret (Benfica)
Stage 6: 2nd Hansen Winner: Chavenal (El Al)
Stage 7: 2nd Kilun Winner: Chavenal (El Al)
Vuelta a Columbia (c1)
5th Parra Bustamante 12th Jose Chacon 16th Victor Orozco 18th Luis Laverde Winner: Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Sport Lisboa)
Stage 1: 3rd Parra Bustamante Winner: Krasnoperov (Benfica)
Stage 2: 14th Parra Bustamante Winner: Mayo (Pirelli)
Stage 3: 15th Parra Bustamante Winner: Rui Costa (Benfica) Stage 4: 1st Jose Chacon
Stage 5: 11th Orozco Winner: Carduso (Yamaha)
Stage 6: 4th Manarelli Winner: Bajadali (Yamaha)
Stage 7: 6th Parra Bustamante Winner: Gil (Lego)
Stage 8: 8th Parra Bustamante Winner: Betencourt (Quiksilver)
Stage 9: 5th Parra Bustamante Winner: Van den Broeck (Benfica)
Stage 10: 6th Parra Bustamante Winner: Rodrigues (Bimbo Nut) Stage 11: 1st Victor Orozco
Stage 12: 5th Jose Chacon Winner: Gil (Lego)
Stage 13: 2nd Parra Bustamante Winner: Beraud (Bimbo Nut)
Stage 14: 7th Manarelli Winner: Grau (Unicredit)
Stage 15: 5th Manarelli Winner: Van den Broeck
Urkola Igoera (HC)
11th Konstantin Siutsou 28th Julian Rodas 36th Edwin Parra Bustamante 41st Luis Felipe Laverde 48th Victor Hugo Orozco Winner: Riccardo Ricco (Bacardi-Colt)
Vuelta a Burgos (HC)
13th John-Lee Augustyn 20th Victor Hugo Orozco Winner: Rein Taaramae (IKEA)
Stage 1: 13th Fumi Beppu Winner: Jean-Patrick Nazon (Bacardi)
Stage 2: 13th JL Augustyn Winner:Ruben Elvira Lobato (Bimbo)
Stage 3: 13th Adam Hansen Winner: Gustav Larsson (IKEA)
Stage 4: 9th JL Augustyn Winner: Rein Taaramae (IKEA) Stage 5: 1st Adam Hansen, 4th Jamie Ball
Volta a Portugal (HC)
4th Konstantin Siutsou 27th Edwin Parra B 33rd Luis Felipe Laverde 34th Kin San Wu 50th Adil Jelloul Winner: Franco Pellizotti (Youtube)
Stage 1: 9th Adil Jelloul Winner: Miles Olman (Bimbo Nutella)
Stage 2: 4th CJ Sutton Winner:Jordi Grau(Unicredit)
Stage 3: 7th Adil Jelloul Winner:Franco Pellizotti (Youtube)
Stage 4: 16th Adil Jelloul Winner:Franco Pellizotti (Youtube)
Stage 5:3rd Konstantin SiutsouWinner: Jose Serpa (Pirelli)
Stage 6: 10th Adil Jelloul Winner: Theo Eltink (Falcon) Stage 7: 1st Konstantin Siutsou
Stage 8: 13th Adil Jelloul Winner: Cieran Cassidy (Vespa)
Stage 9: 19th Adil Jelloul Winner: Paulo Bettini (Vespa)
Stage 10: 3rd Konstantin Siutsou Winner: Bernhard Kohl (UBS)
Stage 11: 10th KOnstantin Siutsou Winner: Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Benfica)
Tour of Missouri (HC)
13th Roman Kilun 28th Adil Jelloul 30th John-Lee Augustyn 32nd Scot Zwizanski Winner: Mikhial Ignatiev (Wiggle)
Stage 1: 3rd Yukiya Arishiro Winner: Peter Kennaugh (100% Me)
Stage 2: 20th Adil Jelloul Winner:Vasili Kirylenka (Tinkoff)
Stage 3: 15th Roman Kilun Winner: Ian Stannard (100% Me)
Stage 4: 11th Roman Kilun Winner: Thor Hushovd (Milka)
Stage 5: 13th Roman Kilun Winner:Enrico Gasparotto (Intesa)
Vattenfalls Classic (HC)
45th Yukiya Arashiro Winner: Matthew Goss (Bacardi)
2011:
Top 10 of the team standings - FAIL - 15th
Win at least 15 stages - FAIL - 11 wins
Win in the Tour of Langkawi- FAIL - 19th
Top 5 in the Worlds view challenge - FAIL - 11th
Top 10 at Volta Portugal - SUCCESS
2012:
Win Asian Tour
Top 5 overall team standings
Win Tour of Southland
Top 5 Tour of South Africa
Top 10 Down Under Classic - ENTRY CONFIRMED
Target Races:
Tour Down Under
Tour of Wellington
Tour de Beuace
Tour of Taiwan
Vuelta a Mallorca
Edited by Smowz on 04-07-2011 06:13
Broncos - Squad complete 16 riders
Konstantin Siutsou (Belerus)
Carlos Alexander Manarelli (Brazil)
Arthur Garcia Rincon (Venuzuala)
Jose Chacon (Venuzuala)
Franklin Chacon (Venuzuala)
Fredy Montana (Columbia)
Victor Hugo Orozco (Columbia)
Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Columbia)
Edwin Parra Bustamante (Columbia)
Winner Anacona (Columbia)
Julian Rodas (Columbia)
Pablo Pedro Perez Marquez (Cuba)
Scott Zwizanski (USA)
Roman Kilan (USA)
Henry Raabe (Costa Rica)
Yamil Montana (Bolivia)
Wings - Squad complete 14 riders
Christopher Sutton (Australia)
Michael Matthews (Australia)
Adam Hanson (Australia)
Adam Semple (Australia)
Adil Jelloul (Morocco)
Yukiya Arashiro (Japan)
Fumiyaki Beppu (Japan)
Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (Malaysia)
Mohd Che Shahrulnizam (Malaysia)
John-Lee Augustyn (South Africa)
Jamie Ball (South Africa)
Abdelkader Belmokhtar (Algeria)
Jianjua Ji (China)
Kin-San Wu (Hong Kong)
2012 Pre-transfers
Konstantin Siutsou (Belerus)
Carlos Alexander Manarelli (Brazil)
Victor Hugo Orozco (Columbia)
Edwin Parra Bustamante (Columbia)
Julian Rodas (Columbia)
Roman Kilan (USA)
Christopher Sutton (Australia)
Michael Matthews (Australia)
Adam Hanson (Australia)
Adam Semple (Australia)
Adil Jelloul (Morocco)
Yukiya Arashiro (Japan)
Fumiyaki Beppu (Japan)
Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (Malaysia)
John-Lee Augustyn (South Africa)
Jianjua Ji (China)
Kin-San Wu (Hong Kong)
Edited by Smowz on 18-06-2011 18:09
Welcome to the second team base for Red Bull Cycling, here in Abu Dhabi we shall be talking about the Wings portion of our squad.
We have cast the net across Africa, Asia and Australia to search for budding talents to race in these regions. We are pleased to announce that we have completed signings for 14 riders for this group and now are busy confirming the schedule for those riders this season.
Let me introduce the riders that we have signed from Africa:
John Lee Augustyn from Kimberly South Africa.
John will be one of the leaders of the Wings squad, a useful all rounder who has recently been racing as part of the White Bear franchise. John has Pro Tour experience, however has jumped at the chance of being a team leader. Whilst John is a useful punchaer, he is likely to more used as a stage race specialist this year and has indicated he would like to hit the top 5 regularly in low level races.
Jamie Ball from Durban South Africa
32 year old Jamie has been signed for his intimate knowledge of the African racing scene. In particular in South Africa. Jamie has been highly successful there, he has a decent knack for being in the right place at the right time for a sprint. Jamie is also capable of instigating a break away and we hope marshalling leaders on flatter days in stage races.
Adil Jelloul, the Moroccon Time Trial Champion
Adil is a talented all rounder, whom we are delighted to bring in to the Red Bull Cycling team. Adil has been transferred in from Team Nespresso, so has some experience of high level racing. But Adil also has crucial experience in racing in Africa and we hope to put that to good use.
Abdelkader Belmokhtar, the Algerian Road Race and Time Trial Champion
Another huge star of cycling in North Africa. Clearly at home in the kind of countries we plan to race in Abdelkader is a useful rider on the flats and in the hills.
This morning we introduced our African riders, this afternoon I would like to introduce our Asian riders. The riders from the far east have shown great enthusiasm in the world of cycling and races like the Japan Cup and the Tour of Langkawi are building up a fine reputation. We are delighted to announce the leader of our Asian contingent....
Japanese superstar, Yukiya Arishiro.
Yuki has a strong sprint and has good capabilities up climbs. Yuki knows how to handle himself in stage races, but has said to us that he would like to do well in the Japan Cup. We also have him pencilled in for the Philly International. He knows our second rider well....
Japanese Road and TT champion Fumiyaki Beppu.
Fumi has a strong sprint and also has experience over European cobbles that may prove useful at times this season. Fumiyaki is delighted to show off his Japanese champions jersey around the Continental peloton this year. Fumi told of us of only one wish to avoid large mountains (Genting Highland case in point!), so we crossed over to China and ....
Its Chinese former mountain biker Jianhua Ji.
Jianhua is once again a rider full of climbing ability, we look forward to seeing what he can do in the professional road racing peloton. This includes raising awareness of cycling as an established sport in China! Jianhua will be complemented by....
Is Hong Kong Champion rider Kin-San Wu.
Much like Jianhua, Kin-San is a useful rider on climbs. Kin-San can handle himself in a sprint and we are hoping that he can rider aggressively this year.
Bearing in mind our teams goal to perform well in the Tour of Langkawi and possibly in the Jelejah Malaysia, we decided to hire in some local expertise in...
It is Malaysian sprinter Ahmad Haider Anuawar. Ahmad is a strong sprinter who will be an important rider in Malaysian races but more than that will be looking to contribute stage wins towards the teams goals. Ahmad also pointed us in the direction of a local young talent in Mohd Che Shahrulnizam, who could also develop into a useful sprinter
Welcome back this evening as we introduce the final riders that are part of the Wings section of the Red Bull Cycling team. In addition to our African and Asian riders we also looked at Australia for some talent. Australia have provided a variety of top talents over the years, including Sprinters and Stage race talents. Often however mid level racers and some of the younger talents are overlooked in favour understandably of some other domestic based talents. We are delighted to give the oppurtunity to 4 riders with our team.
The Australians are led by ....
Christopher Sutton
Christ is an excellent sprinter who does especially well in long stage races. Chris is hoping to lead the line in races like the Tour Down Under and the Jacob Sun Tour. He also will mentor the up and coming young sprinter
Michael Matthews
In addition to Chris and Michael we have also managed to sign ....
Experienced All rounder Adam Hansen
Adam like Chris will be mentoring another young hopeful ....
It is punchy young rider Adam Semple
This concludes our round up of riders in the Wings squad. Tomorrow in Miami we shall introduce the members of our 16 strong Broncos squad.
Welcome as we kick off the presentation for the Broncos portion of Red Bull Cycling. The Broncos are mainly riders from the Americas with one exception that we shall get to this evening.
We would like to start this morning by introducing three experienced racers from the North American circuit. We were in the main looking for Veterans who knew the roads well in particular strong men for the Philidelphia International and the Tour of America later on this year.
With that in mind we would like to introduce our first rider....
Its Roman Kilun
Roman has been around the American circuit for a while and is known to be a gritty competitor, particularly on hilly stages. Roman favours small stage races but will be hoping to line up in the Tour of America later this year. He will be joined by the forever young ...
Scott Zwizanski
Scott much like Roman was signed for his experience more than anything. A strong rider in the Hilly stuff and good against the clock. Along with these we raided some useful riders from Central America...
Henry Raabe
Pedro Pablo Perez Marquez
Both Henry and the immensely popular Pedro Pablo have been hugely successful in their home tours. We recognize their all round talents and hope they can be put to good use in American races.
These four experienced riders have indicated their hunger for global success on the continental tour more than anything. The oppurtunity to travel a little further afield whilst the extra challenge of performing on home turf for a multinational team has motivated them. This afternoon we shall begin to introduce some of the 12 riders we have signed from South America.
When we analysed the possible races that we wished to race over the year - Red Bull Cycling was aware that there are a number of strong stage races in the Americas. We also noted that whilst there was a number of teams looking to draw talent from the United States, often raids on a hugely talented South American pool was limited to a small selection of riders.
We looked hard at the talent pool of riders from South America and came up with 6 strong Columbians which we shall introduce later. We also found some great talents from some of the less established nations in cycling terms.
Perhaps the star signing first from Brazil....
Its young sprinter Carlos Alexander Manarelli
Brazilian Champion fastman, continues to develop and now will look to contribute stage victories particular on flatter stages in small stage races. Carlos was one of the first riders we looked to transfer in and we thank his previous team boss for giving us and Carlos the oppurtunity to work together. In addition to Carlos we signed...
Bolivian Time Trial champ Yamil Montano
Yamil is a good all round rider who will show himself in breakaways as well as supporting other riders.
Venezuala, like columbia is beginning to produce a number of talented riders, particular when the road goes up. We have managed to secure the signitures of three riders from Venezuala....
Fastman Arthur Garcia Rincon
Veteren Climber Jose Chacon
and his namesake fellow climber Franklin Chacon
Franklin and Jose have huge experience in South American stage racing and will look for stage wins in these races in particular. Arthur is more the sprinting type who has shown in the past an ability to get up medium hills and the occasional breakaway.
In our last rider presentation we will break this up into two parts. Later we shall talk to you about a rider that will lead our most important races, but first I wish to introduce six riders that will look to animate mountain stages in races that involve Red Bull Cycling.
The six riders are from Columbia and are all currently deep in training for the first stage race this year in Venezuala. The names of these riders are:
Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez, Edwin Parra Bustamante, Julian Rodas, Fredy Montana, Victor Hugo Orozco and Winner Anacona.
Expect to see some or all of this squadron of climbers in races that involve Red Bull Cycling. Their purpose is clear to attack in the more mountainous terrian.
And to our second part may I introduce
Belerussian Konstantin Siutsou
Midway through the transfer season, it was becoming apparent that we were going to need a rider capable of leading the team in tough European races. We were unable to sign riders of American pedigree and so we decided to look at a rider from Europe but perhaps Eastern Europe.
We are absolutely delighted to bring in Siutsou to lead the team and gives the team a realistic chance of placing a rider in the top 10 placings of stage races.
After much discussion with our sponsers it has been decided that we shall change one of the team goals for this season. Whilst we are still committed to racing in all of the Premier races in the United States - we have switched our goal to a more realistic top 5 finish in the European Volta a Portugal.
This was very much a race that our top rider, Konstantin Siutsou said he would favour and prepare for this season.
Filipo Pozzato of Mercedes Benz sprinted from a group of 16 to win the season opening Bloemfontain Classic. In a highly active race, the Italian certainly did not have it all his own way though Pozzato is the type of rider for this finish to suit him.
The early breakaway built a huge lead and proved very difficult to close down in the final stages. Indeed some members of the early breakaway managed to survive in the final selection to cause some surprising results. Pozzato instigated the attacks with an early probe with about 45 klicks to go.
Pozzato's attack was eventually nuetralised as Simone Ponzi of Wiggle followed this up and he was joined by a powerful group including Monfort (Lego), Calzati (El-Al), Martin (100% Me) and Caruso (also Wiggle). These riders joined the original break and it was beginning to look like Wiggle were holding all the cards. Big favourite Schumacher carried over Kolobnev of Tinkoff, Roche of 100% Me and our very own John Lee Augustyn.
At this point Pipo Pozzato was looking in trouble as he was desperately trying to get back up to this select group whom it was clear as we entered the final 18 km circuit the winner was going to come from. Pipo showed his strength as he and Gregory Rast bridged up. Once he was there, Roche attempted to launch a desperate attack against what was to be an inevitable Pozzato sprint victory but to no avail.
Pozzato was perhaps not as convincing after is last ditch effort to get back on terms, but nethertheless sealed an important victory. He was followed by Monfort (Lego) in second and Ponzi (Wiggle) in 3rd.
It was a good day for Red Bull Cycling with John-Lee Augustyn making the select lead group and coming a highly credable 10th place. JL commented at the finish " I tried to go with Pozzato to begin with but he timed his attack well though it was a bit early". He added "Once Schumacher went I knew I had to join that one, as we saw last year you have to get away before the last lap starts". John-Lee felt the break could have eliminated Pozzato from the finish however. "It got cagey in the last 10km, a couple of teams had more than one rider Wiggle and 100% Me in particular were looking at each other". Our man did not quite have the legs to launch an attack as Kolobnev of Tinkoff and later Roche of 100%Me did, but was delighted nethertheless with 10th place. "Hey I was there with some of the big punchaers of world cycling, I pushed as hard as i could and a top 10 is a great result and gives me confidence for the season to come."
Further down Adam Hansen also finished well coming in 26th a minute and a half down. "I enjoyed working for John-Lee, it was an unpredictable race and I feel in good form for the Tour Down Under" the Aussie said. The rest of our riders finished in the main pack Five minutes back satisfied with a days work. Adam Semple was delighted to be a part of the pro peloton "It was a nice workout, we talked this morning about showing ourselves at the front of the peloton but we were not really looking for breakaways. Jamie Ball and John Augustyn felt it was best to wait it out, it proved a bit nailbiting at the end and the pace in the last half was incredible, bring on the Tour Down Under now"
Team Boss Simon Moss had the final word "I think this was a really good test and I have to say we feel we overachived picking up the result we did". "John-Lee was right in the mix at the end and that was an incredible rush" the Red Bull boss crowed. "We looked long and hard at whether to do this or the flat, short Down Under Classic and I think this one was a wise decision. The Down Under Classic will no doubt have some dynamite sprinters and is frankly a less prestegious race than this. The field here was good but not perhaps as great as some of the later European classics and so we had more oppurtunity."
Squad for Bloemfontain Classic:
John Lee Augustyn, Jamie Ball, Adam Hansen, Adil Jelloul, Jianhua Ji, Kin-San Wu, Michael Matthews, Adam Semple
John Lee Augustyn: 10th
Adam Hansen: 26thEdited by Smowz on 24-04-2010 07:11
After a successful start to the season, we have a 7 man squad competing today and in the next couple of weeks in the Vuelta a Tachira in South America.
We take a mainly South American team here with three Venezualans hoping to go well in their home tour. Its a 12 stage marathon with plenty of mountian stages to make the difference. One also has to beware the tight criterium circuits which caused some nasty crashes last year.
In last years race Sport Lisboa's Marquez dominated proceedings and took a well deserved victory, his team had to work hard on a hilly stage 9 when he was attacked by the next most impressive rider Evgeni Petrov who now rides for Tinkoff this year so is unlikely to be here. Marquez started his campaign for the victory on stage 6 and again this will be the first major rendezvous in the mountains. He took more time in stage 7 and also won stage 10 after dominating. This year Youtube, Lego, Bbox and Quiksilver will be providing the main competition for the Portuguese team. We are particularly interested to see how Yeison Delgado will go a rider we came very close to signing.
Our team will have two leaders for the General classification Columbian Julian Rodas and hometown Jose Chacon. Other home boys Arthur Garcia Rincon and Franklin Chacon will provide support whilst we have two cards for the sprints in Carlos Manarelli and we have decided to send Malaysian Ahmad Haider Anuawar in for the experience. Finally Columbian climbing all rounder Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez adds hilly muscle to the team.
The full break down of stages are as follows:
5 short flat criterium style stages
1 flat road stage
2 hilly stages
3 mountain stages
1 short mountain Time Trial
Roster:
Julian Rodas
Jose Chacon
Carlos Alexander Manarelli
Ahmad Haider Anuawar
Arthur Garcia Rincon
Franklin Chacon
Luis Felipe Laverde Jiminez
Target: Top 5 in GC (possibly two in the top 10) and four stage wins.
This sprinter friendly HC six stage race is one the team a pleased to be taking part in, although we go in with no great expectations. We have three riders earmarked as team leaders, though sprinter Christopher Sutton is probably best placed to gain consistent results from his home tour.
All four Australians from our team will be present, Adam Hansen has said that he may go for a breakaway on one of the tougher days, whilst Michael Matthews and Adam Semple will be here for experience. John Lee Augustyn and Yukiya Arashiro have year schedules that often coincide and we are looking forward to seeing what our dual leaders can do in this stage race of high quality.
Last year Wes Sulzberger surprised many with one strong attack, we can but hope one of our riders does the same here. Adam Hansen showed that he was in some form in the Bloemfontain Classic and is keen to do well in his home tour. Meanwhile John-Lee Augustyn showed that he can live with the very best at this race and is hoping to do well here also.
This years start list is littered with some very fine sprinters, Gert Steegmanns, Allan Davis, Mark Cavendish, Juan Van Heerden, Gerald Ciolek and Greame Brown to name a a few. We also note that a number of top class punchaers are here, including La Tropicale winner and runner up Jonathan Bellis and Leanardo Bertognolli.
There are six stages which are profiled as follows:
Stage 1 - a 140 km flat stage with a little KOM dig 27km from the end which may unsettle some of the sprinters. Out on the course there are two hotspot sprints that should be absorbed by a breakaway. Not the easiest of stages to control but should end in a sprint nonetheless - we shall be all in for Chris Sutton, but perhaps Adam Semple or Michael Matthews will look for a breakaway.
Stage 2 - a 134 flat stage, slightly easier than stage 1 but not completely trivial. Interestingly there is an early hotspot sprint which may help a GC rider move up a few places and one towards the end of the stage which again could be a target of a GC rider, if they have enough strength for the sprint at the end also. Christopher Sutton again will look to do well here.
Stage 3 - 133 km rated as flat but has quite a lumpy last 50 km and ends on what can be described as an uphill drag. The kind of stage that may suit Yukiya Arashiro's sprint skills, though John-Lee Augustyn will be watching long range attacks. Will also suit a breakaway so we shall be watching that also
Stage 4 - 149 km flat stage, just the longest of the race, but with a long flat finish will probably prove the simplest to control. Odds on to end in a sprint and one that suits Chris Sutton once more. That being said a breakaway rider should be able to hang on and finish in the peleton and gain some time in the hotspot sprints.
Stage 5 - 148 km Willunga Hill stage. Beginning to become known as the early stage to watch in the year, the pattern is becoming well established with a strong team setting a blistering tempo up the first ascent and all hell breaking looses on the second leading to a battle between the punchaers and the strong sprinter squads on the descent and short flat section. A stage for John-Lee Augustyn or Adam Hansen who will look to cover the attacks, whilst Arashiro or Sutton will look to defend a potential GC position in the main pack.
Stage 6 - 90 km criterium flat stage through Adelaide. The end of tour procession which suits the real fast men with a good sprint train. Chris Sutton will look to pick the right wheel to follow.
John Lee Augustyn
Yukiya Arashiro
Christopher Sutton
Kin-San Wu
Jamie Ball
Adam Hansen
Adam Semple
Michael Matthews
Edited by Smowz on 26-04-2010 21:58
As we head off on the first stage I have been e-mailed a riders diary from the team in the Vuelta a Tachira. I must confess I am a little embarressed at some of the opinions here but I will not edit it. Suffice to say, we will have to have a chat after the race:
Franklin Chacon's 2011 Vuelta a Tachira diary.
Frankie goes to Tachira.
Prologue:
The ink was still wet on my contract when I was told Tachira. My one season goal was to race well in my home tour in support of a couple of climbers and a decent sprinter. I had been training to be a loyal domestique in the Vesuvio ProTour team so the sudden change of plans was a little unsettling. However I was happy enough to go back and spend more time with my family. I began to train with Jose Chacon (no relation) in some of the nearby mountains, specifically some of the roads scheduled for the race, Jose would often toy with me on the tougher climbs before sprinting off on his own about 2km from the top. We were joined a little later by another Venezualan Arthur Garcia Rincon and Brazilian sprinter Carlos Alexander Manarelli. Carlos and Arthur had come in from the French based Auber 93 team and had ideas of forming sprint trains something that I had not often been part of. We worked hard with even Jose (who is an out and out climber) and formed a pretty decent little unit that certainly should suffice for Tachira.
Unfortunately then information came in from up on high that came as a bit of a hammer blow to us four, firstly two columbians Luis Felipe Laverde and Julian Rodas would be joining us. Not such a problem, we are professionals and had all worked with Columbians before as I am sure they are. The problem was this, it was made quite clear that Rodas was to be the unquestioned team leader. It felt like a cold hard slap in the face, espicially when Rodas turned up having done little local training. Nonetheless he looked in shape, at least we had our sprint train although we knew that one other rider was still to join us.
It was not until a couple of days before the race when a stocky little Malaysian rider was revealed to us as the seventh member. We were now told that this unfamiliar rider was to be the teams sprinter. This knocked us for six, we had practiced our sprint train rigorously and now had to accommodate a new leader. I was surprised to see Carlos take it in his stride, he later revealed to me that he was happy as he knew other opportunities would come. For me Tachira was my oppurtunity and I had to work with this rider I had never met.
Reluctantly we went out with this new rider Ahmad Haider Anawaur and tried out the trains. It was clear that Haider had a nice turn of speed, though we were more than a little concerned at his ability over the slightest incline. This was going to be difficult as several of the flatter stages had numerous little bumps that are not always obvious on published race profiles. Still we were professionals and when the jerseys arrived we were beginning to make the best of it, Ahmad seemed to be joining in with the banter. The Columbians of course were a little aloof, preferring to go on long training runs together without myself or Jose.
The night before the race we were brought together to talk tactics and what not. Our sprint train was given the thumbs-up, we were bound to have the chance to give it a try as it appeared as if a team neutral agreement had been reached over the danger of some of the stages. As a Venezuelan I find it awkward to say the least at the blatant slur for our home tour, but I had to confess the race organization had been guilty of dangerous riding conditions in the past. In reality however it would probably be more to do with the weak field entered in the race concerned about later stages.
Stage 1:
It hit the fan today in a big way, the simmering animosity between the squad hit boiling point, when Rodas punctured some way through the opening stage. We didn't go back for him, Luis Felipe Laverde didn't either though made it more than clear that Arthur and myself should have gone. Both of us were too busy shepherding Ahmad through the unfamiliar roads, we knew he'd crash if left alone. Besides we consoled ourselves the pack is neutralised, he'll get back. Get back he did and he stormed up and started remonstrating with Jose about who the team leader was before the speed picked up. I am sure we would have heard nothing of it if we didn't make such a hash of the sprint.
Ahmad did unleash a bit of a kick but it was way too late to prevent a Quiksilver rider from taking a win. Quiksilver had been ruled as a bit of a one man band with Yeison Delgado the out and out leader, they proved everyone wrong today. We got a rollicking when we got back to the team coach, most specifically about the Rodas incident. Ahmad took much of the blame on his shoulders, poor guy beginning to take a shine to him.
Stage 2:
Today we moved away from the circuits for a proper road stage and out on the flattish route we decided to make immediate amends as Arthur took out the opening sprint point. He also nabbed third in the next one, which meant morale was high for the finish.
The finale was memorable, I cannot remember a celebration feeling so good for a long time, Carlos set a stunning pace and Ahmad followed with me protecting his wheel. We pulled further clear as Manarelli dropped off Haider sprinted and I went with him and came pretty close to nabbing the win! Arthur followed through with a third place and Carlos held on for fifth! Just an amazing day and treats were waiting for us on the bus.
Stage 3:
Sadly we could not repeat the heroics of the previous day, one of the European teams Bbox got their act together and formed a super train of their own and romped down the finishing hill. Ahmad was right there behind though in 4th, I have got to give the Malaysian credit he is doing great. I am really surprising myself, I hold his wheel for 5th, protecting Ahmads points jersey.
Stage 4:
Its hills time, and in the early going we didn't really go for the points all concentration was going to be in riding well at the business end. Just after the second sprint a rider launched an attack and Carlos went with him and as we went up our first real climb of the day we heard that Carlos was really struggling so Arthur went off too.
The climb was seeing a lot of action as Ahmad was sliding out of the peleton lots of attacks were going off the front. Rodas went, which pretty much meant me and Jose were left in the main bunch. The main bunch did not ease off that much so we caught glimpes of the breakaway, and towards the end Arthur slid back to us. Rodas stayed out there and whilst he didn't win the stage he came a credible 4th on the same time as the winner Delgado.
Stage 5:
An irratating day, I think Ahmad is getting tired he struggled every time we came to the hill on the circuit. It was obvious he was going to get dropped when the pace picked up at the end and with no Carlos either we were disorganised as a Bbox rider won the stage. The team meeting after the stage quickly moved on to tomorrow, Jose was told that he could look after his own interests which rattled Rodas a bit. But looking at the fairly limited field the management have an idea of getting 2 riders high on GC which cheered us Venezualans up a bit.
Stage 6:
We played it cool early on as some good climbers got away on the first mountain sprint Arthur went on the attack again, but this time Laverde went with him. This was predermined Laverde was to go away and put pressure on the leaders team to chase. Another good Venezualan climber Ochoa from the Youtube team was also attacking today as Sport lisboa and Quiksilver were having to work really hard to keep the time down. Soon we had done our job and Delgado was on his own, in desperation he attacked Rodas countered and launched a really good move.
Alas, Delgado closed it down in the final, but we came very close to snatching the GC on the first mountain day. Lavarde was caught in the last 4km also as another Bbox man took the stage win. I struggled slightly in the last 5km and could not quite stay with the Sport Lisboa boys at the end who themselves had been attacked by Jose. He had done his usual trick of toying with me until the finale!
Stage 7:
The longest day of the race, I am doing okay on the classification and yesterday evening the team boss phoned in to congratulate us on the performance so far. He is now hoping for three guys in the top 10 of GC and I am the closest to getting there. I talk with Jose and we feel we need to push his case a little so we come up with a plan.
The early climb is too early to go and all riders bar one Asian nut agree. By the time we get to another climb its plan time as I mark a Quiksilver ride, its still a bit early for the rest and we get a nice lead. The bugger doesn't work well with me then again why would he his mate Delgado is the GC leader and he is working his team like dogs to catch little old me. Rodas attacks hard with 18 klicks to go, we talked to him last night and he wanted to go for a long one meanwhile Jose responded when the big guns went.
I was left with the Sport Lisboa boys who were trying to make their numbers count, they were pushing a harsh pace but I managed to cling on for some time. I limited my losses passing a few riders and nearly catching a broken Asterloza at the end. I learned that Ochoa dropped Delgado at the end, which was not a huge surprise. Jose had a great day and finished with Delgado, whereas Rodas faded slightly in the finale but still finished 5th not bad.
After I finish I am ushered onto the podium and a shirt is stuffed over my head. I am the new points leader apparently. I expect my team boss will be giving me a call to defend this somehow! We all were in high but tired spirits tonight. I am not looking forward to tomorrow to be honest, the climbs are a little too punchy for my liking it could be a hard day.
As we look to defend our race lead here in Australia, I have recieved the second and last installment of Franklin Chacons Tachira diary. I would like to pay tribute to Franklin and Arthur Garcia Rincon who will sadly recieve limited race exposure this year. They will be scouting in South America for the next generation of riders for much of the season. Anyway without further ado here is the rest of the diary.
Franklin Chacon's 2011 Vuelta a Tachira diary.
Stage 8:
Everyone was nervous today, we had a bit of a team bonding session with the Columbians last night and talked long and hard about the best strategy for today. The first real action of the day happened towards the first mountains sprint, the LEGO guy who crashed in an early stage got more points towards that competition and I went for points in the sprint classification but was beaten to the line by quiksilvers Martinez. The climb continued after this and we were all feeling it a bit when Youtubes Ochoa attacked near the top. It was a bit early to go but when a Sport Lisboa guy joined him the race was on.
The peleton didn't seem to be able to shut the move down and Bbox's big hitter Asterloza launched a move with race leader Delgado. Rodas and Jose were not able to respond and us Red Bull boys were beginning to feel under pressure. The LEGO KoM guy went across also and we were just hanging on as Sport Lisboa seeing their marker struggling upped the gas. They were reeling the others in, apart from the impressive Ochoa who still seemed to be able to maintain a minute on the rest of us.
Rodas was feeling a bit better as the next wave of attacks took him away from us, and Jose was determined not to be outdone as he went with another group of attackers. The big news was the race leader was still amongst the main pack with us and beginning to pull faces, Ochoa was making Delgado suffer!
Two young Quiksilver riders were unable to help Delgado catch the gap, we heard that a Sport Lisboa man had managed to win putting himself up on the podium on GC and taking my points jersey away from me. It was a hard day out there today, but Jose and Julian would have taken it before the day had started. At one point they were really struggling. You have got to hand it to Ochoa from Youtube, he dared a long attack and it came off putting Delgado's team and stamina to the test. Still a couple more decisive stages left.
Stage 9:
No team meetings, today did not look particularly appetising for any of the main peloton. It was yet another dangerous criterium course and again there were crashes. We kept ourselves near the front and it was Arthurs turn to go for a sprint and he was looking good for a podium at one stage before Quiksilvers Martinez went clear for his second stage win of the race and importantly snatching the green jersey to boot. Perhaps the decisive stage in that competition for me, I just don't have much left anymore to fight for that.
Stage 10:
Everyone is completely spent, everyone that is apart from one Sport Lisboa guy who went away early. It was one of those days when you just knew looking around the peleton that we were not going to see him again. Youtube were not going to waste time chasing him and neither was anyone else. Chapeau I say to Eqoitz Murgoitio!
The rest of us slowly accelerated toward the last climb of the day, we finally saw the attack of a resurgent Delgado, of course Ochoa and Colorado countered as did Rodas and a surprise green jersey Martinez. Quiksilver were well and truly up for this one, More guys went the LEGO KoM guy again with Asterloza and a couple of others. Jose who up to this point had been struggling a little just managed to latch on to a small group with Asterloza who was looking calm today.
It was all getting a little splintered around me and I was really not able to follow any attacks me and laverde rode a good tempo mopping up a few guys, but finishing well below a number of Sport Lisboa guys who were well and truly the strongest team in the race.
Stage 11:
The last thing a lot of the guys wanted was a Time Trial, myself and my roommate Jose have given everything and neither of us looked forward to a 10km TT even if it was uphill. In the past I have done well on this sort of test, but today I could not even manage a top 10. Rodas had a much better day finishing 4th 8 seconds behind the stage winner Asterloza. Delgado finished second but was never going to make up for the time lost the other day. Therefore we all congratulated Richard Ochoa of Youtube at the end for a great ride. Our team has got to be happy with 4th and 5th, Julian Rodas for one has ridden amazingly well and aggressively over the last two weeks and certainly won my respect. Jose had one of his best races in his professional career at the age of 34 years old and showed that he is still a climber to be reckoned with. Myself today proved to me something I knew for some time, I am not as hungry as I once was for success. I spoke to the boss tonight, we had talked after the initial submission of my first section of this diary, we settled that I was to stay in Venezuela with Arthur to seek out new Venezuelan talent for next year.
Initially there was blind panic at the proposal, this was not what I had been preparing for this year. The more I thought about it (my wife and kids were delighted) the better it seemed to be. I spoke to Jose about it little realising my retirement would spread around the peleton by the next day!
Stage 12:
For what would probably be the last professional race of my career, there was a strange feeling. I didn't tell any of the boys and I could tell they were focussed on giving Ahmad one last lead-out. I decided to do some early work on this as today we had a breakaway to bring back. Arthur took things up with Ahmad but sadly was not able to contest the sprint. I went through at the back with the yellow and polkadot jersey who'd had some kind words to say to me. It was a nice gesture, one that I will not forget! For the record I finished in 13th overall some 8 minutes behind Ochoa and 6 minutes behind Jose (who finished 5th).
Vuelta a Tachira results:
4th Julian Rodas
5th Jose Chacon
13th Franklin Chacon
14th Luis Felipe Laverde Jiminez
1 stage win for Ahmad Haider Anuawar
Managers note: We are very pleased with two high GC positions, Franklin and Arthur can take huge credit for the stage win on stage 2. Rodas and Chacon shall be back in numerous climbing races over the year and Ahmad will of course ride the two Malaysian stage races. All three will have benefitted from the hard yards here.
The Japanese Rocket Yukiya Arashiro wins Down Under
Our Japanese sprint star Yukiya Arashiro stunned a strong all round line up to win the two stages and the Overall in the Tour Down Under. Yuki snatched the second stage surprising the best sprinters and also the queen Willunga Hill stage to comfortably take a win that few could have predicted even inside the team.
The opening stage very much went as expected with Mark Cavendish of 100% Me taking the victory from a bunch sprint from Highroad's Vantomme and Pendletons Van Heerden. Vespa's race favourite Gert Steegmanns, La Tropicale winner Jonathan Bellis and Milka's Jimmy Casper finished within a classy looking top 7. Arashiro showed he was in good condition with a tenth place.
In the second stage there was less organisation and Yuki pounced on this to take a then surprise stage victory over the main sprinters who could not quite get up to Yuki's initial jump. The main sprinters were all there Van Heerden, Steegmans, Davis, Cavendish, Vantomme but they all were left frustrated by the Japanese Rocket. South African Jaan Van Heerden took the lead for Pendleton's into the next day.
Stage 3 was going to be more difficult with a hilly ending and a tricky uphill finish. It was not one for the sprinters today as they were just going to try their best to hang on to the main field. Time gaps were created as 68 of the 158 riders lost touch towards the back end of the race. While Alexander Flugel took Ikea's first win of the season from Alessandro Proni of Vespa and Johan Coenan of Cillit Bang there was a mini battle for the Yellow jersey. Yukiya Arashiro moved into the leaders jersey by countback as there was now a 4 way tie with Flugel, Cavendish and Van Heerden for the jersey.
Stage 4 returned to the flatter terrain with Wiggle's Luke Rowe being watchful of a second surprise attack this time by Yamaha's Dainus Kairelis who took second. Meanwhile Yukiya Arashiro took the 3rd place time bonus and moved away to an outright lead. Our riders were very much on the front of the peleton all day watching the breakaways.
The queen stage on stage 5 saw all out action from a very early stage. Despite numerous attacks from the hilly riders Willunga Hill whilst difficult had not been completely decisive. The finale proved choatic as a rider near the front went down and took a lot of struggling riders with him. After our endless hard work, Yuki went on the attack in the last 5 km and stormed to an impressive win over Yamaha's Daryl Impey and Quiksilvers Schierlinckx and 45 strong bunch.
The last stage should have been a routine criterium stage, but after yesterdays crashes had left a lot of riders frustrated and others nervous we again saw attacks and crashes as the order of the day. Only 60 riders would finish together, luckily Arashiro was one of them and he held on to his hard earned win. Jimmy Casper of Milka took the win after he had been up there in most of the sprints from Ciolek of LEGO and Croket of Petronas.
A great win then for Red Bull with Yukiya a rank outsider at the start of the race taking by far the best win of his career. Team Boss Simon Moss was predictably jubiliant "I am so proud of Yukiya and the team" he crowed "We have pulled off a huge upset here and this really sets as up nicely for the rest of the season". "Our expectations were low to tell you the truth, we realised after stage 1 that Yuki was just in great form, though it was after stage 3 where we based our whole team around him". He moved on to quash presses 'lucky' musings "It may be a cliche but I am a firm believer that in this Yukiya and our lads made their own luck. I am not doubting there were faster sprinters here but on stage 2 Yuki was in a better position and then on the Willunga Hill stage we worked hard to bring it together". On the crashes Simon said "They made my heart race and the stages could do with looking at. It is difficult when a rider at the front goes down though, again if you are in front of the crash it helps. Personally I think it is early on in the season so riders were tired after some really hard racing here."
Not many found it tougher than young Adam Semple himself a faller here. Adam however was delighted to have got through to finish. "One thing that you learn as rider for a professional team is to ride as a team, at the beginning of the race I had some ambitions." Semple then added "But it was clear quickly that Yuki was on a roll so I rode at the front a lot to chase breaks. I gained probably the most satisifaction of my career helping for the win." On his crash "I was totally zonked just trying to coast the the finish when I lost concentration. The roads were a little hot and I am not sure I would have avoided a crash even fresh"
Adam Hansen was another who put aside any individual ambitions but still finished highly on the GC and rued being held back on the last stage like so many. "Yesterday's stage pah at least it didn't cost us the win. A lot of guys went down hard so I count myself lucky, bit worried for the organisation as this was a cracking race." "The race itself was huge, myself and John-Lee Augustyn were certainly waiting for the Willunga stage to try anything but we knew Chris Sutton or Yukiya Arashiro could have been in a postion to go well. When we saw Yukiya in training before the race we knew he was going great much better than Chris, so I wasn't surprised when he grabbed the early stage. Sure with so many great sprinters it was unimaginable that we would be in Yellow on Willunga. Yuki was following comfortably up the climb and the pace was as high as its ever been - no way was anyone getting away easy."
So what next for the Red Bull Cycling team, after totting up the points from the opening of the season they sensationally lead the Continental Tour standings with Yukiya Arashiro leading the individual riders. Team Boss Moss said "It's great publicity by very early days, we are highly placed due to racing in more race days more than anything. Pendletons and Mercedes for example have a better points to race ratio." "Nethertheless we have done fantastic to score the points we have and I am fairly confident we can continue to pick up points in our races. Our next race is the Tour de San Luis where Yukiya will be present as well, but he will probably be working for John-Lee Augustyn this time and our South American climbers. After this and another tour in the US, Yuki and John-Lee will go to South Africa and compete in a number of races there. Later in the year Yuki will have the chance to ride in Japan also"
Tour Down Under results:
Overall
1st Yukiya Arashiro (Winner: Points competition)
21st Adam Hansen
22nd John Lee Augustyn
31st Jamie Ball (joint 3rd KOM)
Pokerstars' put some early race disappointments behind them as they dominated the first ever Criterium series race. Their strong five man team chased with Carmeuse the endless breakaway attempts and organised themselves well at the end. Roger Kluge took the win ahead of teammate Dan Holloway, with John Degenkolb finishing 4th.
At 75 km, this was a fairly lengthy race for a criterium and encouraged many breakaway attempts with teams slightly handicapped by having a maximum of 5 riders per team. Early on Adam Semple went with an early attack which formed the break of the day. This held possibilities but ProTour team Carmuese and Pokerstars shut the break down and the catch was a little early at 16km to go.
Feeling that the sprint was not going to be good for us, Malaysian Mohd Che Shalrulnizam who will be riding exclusively in the Crit series went with the late attacks. This was a dangerous move that worked well together as Pokerstars again looked to chase with Vesuvio. The last 10km proved a dangerous game of cat and mouse but Pokerstars shut the move down and set themselves perfectly for the finale.
Unfortunatly Red Bull could not place a rider in the top 10 and leave China with a pointless tally.
Adam Semple was happy enough with his ride "It was nice to get the oppurtunity to ride at the front, I think a break will stick in one of these crits but today there was forces in the pack who were strong enough us. After the break was caught we could see that Ikea were determined to make the finish choatic and Mohd went with the second break which I thought was going to make it."
Michael Matthews was frustrated with his performance however "We should do, hell have to do better in Turkey. Adam and Mohd got in breakaways, but we knew a sprint was the most likely outcome and I didn't get much support in the race at all. Abdulkader and Jianhua kind of rode on their own, so I was pretty tired by the time we got to the last 10km. That's pretty rubbish tactics from us really, I think in Turkey we should look helping for a sprint too."
Team:
Abdalkader Belmokhtar
Jianhua Ji
Michael Matthews
Adam Semple
Mohd Che Shalralnizam
