First attempt at story. Special thanks to our great jersey makers here on PCM.Daily (I'll be using an original jersey from Raz).
No offense is intended towards anyone or any group of people in the following story (translation if I tend to use stereotypes and make fun of both Irish and French people/culture its ok because I'm Irish and French Canadian and its all in good fun!
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Today like most saturdays Paddy could be found at some sort of track gambling and drinking away his already meager weekly paycheck. For years he had fallen into the rut of menial jobs, booze, chasing women, and his addiction to gambling. Lost in this vicious cycle was Paddy's natural way with people, his love of anything to do with racing, and his astute ability as a mechanic. Paddy could fix anything and if wasn't for his vices he probably could be earning top dollar as a race car, motorcycle, or bike mechanic.
But yet there Paddy sat clutching his lot of tickets on a dreary Dublin evening. It was the last horse race of the night. So far Paddy had managed to win enough to get sufficiently blitzed but was going to take a loss on the night if he didn't win in this last race. He had asked the attractive cashier (was she attractive or was that the Jameson and Guinness??) to just randomly pick three horses for a box trifecta. One trip to the bar for one more shot and one more beer and it was post time. Paddy noticed he had two of the favorites and the biggest long shot in the race for his three and the two favorites were right on the front but where was the other horse...........not in 3rd, not 4th, 5th or 6th no, 7th Paddy wished, not 8th 9th or 10th, dead last. Paddy chugged his beer and decided to get a headstart on the crowd and headed for the exit. A growing noise began from the far grandstands as the horses turned for home, wait could it be, no way, the longshot was charging down the stretch. Maybe Paddy's luck was changing??? The longshot had won!!! But wait there was a photo finish for 3rd........Paddy's other horses had come in 2nd and 4th. "Typical", thought Paddy and wandered off into the misty night.
4 pubs and numerous drinks later, Paddy had wandered into a touristy part of town. Seeing a line of decent looking lasses Paddy decided to give it a go and try to end the night on a high note. Thinking of his best line Paddy sauntered (stumbled) over, opened his mouth and had the instant urge to vomit. Turning his head at the last second, Paddy puked all over the side of a shiny, stylish, sports car.
"My Daddy's custom Renault, What are you doing you stupid Mick", screeched some girl.
If she wasn't so damn hot Paddy would have finished vomiting on her. Before Paddy could respond and the girl could think of another insult (she was hot, not a rocket scientist) a young, dark haired lad stepped between the two.
"Sophie, go into the club, I'll take care of the car and this drunk idiot", proclaimed the young man.
"Fine, but kick his ass Brian and make sure the puke comes off"
Sophie and her entourage of fine looking females walked into the club while the young man watched. "Ok they're gone", he said. "This is going to sound weird but thanks for puking on my girls car. I hate clubs and so didn't want to get dragged into another. Anywhere I can get this washed, asked the man? Paddy, astonished answered with a series of burps and grunts but eventually nodded his head and pointed. "Ok I don't speak drunk Limey so how bout you ride with and show me. Can you keep the chunks down though, I don't want to mess up the old man's interior"
After riding for a few minutes Paddy's remarkable tolerance for alcohol kicked in again and he started sobering up. "Who was that sexy frog you were with back there?, asked Paddy."
"That was Sophie Renault, heiress to the Renault family car fortune"
"Damn so she's incredibly hot and has money. Sounds perfect. So what's the angle?
"What do you mean, angle?
"Your trying to get some money for something right?"
"Well, started Brian, I moved from the states to France to follow my dream of being a professional cyclist. I technically have French citizenship through my father's side of the family and thought there were more opportunities over there. I won some under 23 races and Sophie was the prize. I want to turn pro and ride for some big teams but all the French teams want me to wait. Old man Renault has spoke before about sponsoring a pro team but I don't know if that was just too much vino. I know he would need a partner. What's the story with you, what's the name?
"Well, I like to fix things, I like going fast, so I became a mechanic. The name is Paddy O'Peloton"
"Wait, what did you say your name was?"
"Paddy O'Peloton, weird name right? Never figured out where our last name came from"
"Dude this is like a sign or something, remarked Brian"
"A sign for what?"
"I was supposed to meet you, I think youre supposed to help me form this team"
"Now that you say it, I know this guy who works at RTE (Radio Telefis Eireann). I fix all his cars and motorcycles. Guy is a bigwig, he was saying RTE wants to sponsor something big. Football club, auto racing, why not cycling team." "Think you can find me someone who looks like Sophie if we work together?"
"Paddy I think you're going to like France. Maybe too much."
And that's how it began. Team RTE-Renault was formed shortly after that chance encounter. With RTE of Ireland and Renault of France a unique Irish French sporting relationship has begun. Riders, Secondary Sponsors, and Goals to come
Secondary Sponsors
Riders: (to be somewhat competive I have slightly bumped up some stats, creating one custom rider and making Sam Bennett into an solid sprinting prospect)
Team Manager: Paddy O'Peloton (he might not know much about cycling strategy but those bikes will be tuned perfectly and he will have to absorb from knowledge from the French trainers and the team leaders)
Main Riders (We contacted Nick Roche and Dan Martin but they didnt want to take a chance on a unproven team. We were lucky to convince Deignan. Paddy took him out to the casino and he signed the next day)
Brian Rangere (custom rider, stats under) GC Leader, Threat in Stage Races
Phillip Deignan, Team Captain, solid in the hills and mountains
Sam Bennett , sprinter young and quick but raw
Protected Riders
Ian Bibby, rising English prospect, solid everywhere, leadout man?
Yoann Le Boulanger, some experience solid French climber
Connor McConvey, interesting Irish rising pro, decent cobbler, solid
Matt Cronshaw, English workhorse in the flats, leadout man?
Rodger Aiken, Irish domestique help in the hills
Stephen Gallagher, Irish workhorse
Yoann Barbas, French stage races young gun, watch out in 2 years
Rhys Lloyd, promising young pro from Wales
Paidi O'Brien, Irish domestique, solid time trialer
David Veilleaux, French Canadian rider, decent potential, solid TT
Young Riders
Boris Verbecke (solid in hills)
Germain Durant (future great), time trialer eventually stage races
Goals (besides those of the secondary sponsors)
Win promotion to UCI tour
Win Criterium International
Win Tour of Britain
Tour de France Wild Card
Stage Win Tour de France
Pretty lofty goals, but were aiming high
Training Camp: La Londe France (10 days)
Paddy really wanted to go to Monaco, but our budget is kind of tight early on so I convinced him there might be nude beaches and casinos around La Londe as well.
We only really saw Paddy for the first day. Well the only time we saw him conscious. He really doesn't know much about cycling so the trainers, Rangere, and Deignan handle most of the training. Paddy claims he has to have a buzz on to work on the bikes (when he does his best work he claims) so he's taken to passing out in the bike hauler. The riders are coming together, but we have a really young team
First Race: Grand Prix de Marseille
We decided, or rather I (Brian Rangere) and Phillip (Deignan) decided that we would put Sammy (Bennett) and a few flat guys in the Marseille race but the rest of us would wait and train for the Tour Meditterean and the Vuelta Andulucia.
Goal for Race: Top 5 (sponsor goals, hoping to lead Sammy to a victory)
Race summary: No interest in the early break. Helped to chase the break down and wanted to set Bennett up for the sprint
Bennett sprints to 4th
Not a bad result. Satisfied the sponsors. Didn't have my best sprint lineup but Sammy put in a valiant effort
Next Race: Tour Mediterrean (Sponsors want Top 10 finish), I'll start exporting results
Edited by branger1012 on 30-07-2010 03:21
Pleased with the 4th place finish by Bennett, the modest team of RTE-Renault went out on the town to celebrate. From the way Paddy boasted you'd have thought he had rode instead of Sam. Sam doesn't like it when we call him Sammy. He says he's an old 19 but he looks like he's twelve. Paddy set a mean drinking pace for the team and most of us turned in after a few rounds. I (Brian Rangere) switched to water to partly keep an eye on Paddy and partly to absorb the journey this team is going to embark on. I decided to head back to the hotel but Paddy wasn't ready to turn in, I went the other way but heard Paddy say to the cabdriver "Did you know prostitution is legal here?". I just crossed my fingers and hoped he'd be back at the hotel in the morning.
Tour Mediterrean (Goals: Top 10 GC Deignan, Climbers Jersey Le Boulanger, Stage Win)
Paddy managed to find his way back in Marseille and has the team here ready to go. Some big sponsors are here. Strategy is to get Le Boulanger into the break and win some mt points. Bennett will be ready if it comes to the sprint
Le Boulanger gets into the break and wins some mountain points
Le Boulanger wins the first 4 climbs and gets some serious points. He'll wear the climbers jersey manana
The break was caught and we set up Bennett for the end. Got a decent train going but came a little unorganized and were slow to react. Bennett finishes 6th. Bibby came in 8th
Not a bad finish. We'll try and improve for tomorrow and then focus on the serious Stage 3 with some decent climbs
One climb and a long downhill to a straightaway the team is not going to do much but spin the wheels and save some energy for tomorrow. Might see how Sam is feeling at the end and try and string a sprint together.
Le Boulanger in climbers jersey
Major winds played a factor on the downhill into the sprint. The Peloton picked up pace and some team members werent ready and had to pick up the pace leaving little gas for the sprint. Terrible organization and perhaps poor planning. Better get some redemption tomorrow. Le Boulanger still in climbers. Mondory wins the stage again, Geslin takes second (I'll start getting better with actual results, keep forgetting).
Team is excited for today's stage. Well as excited as you can get for a 200 km suffer fest. Serious climbs and we are going up in elevation today. Le Boulanger needs to only grab a few pts and he'll lock up the climbers jersey for the whole tour. The team is excited, Paddy only had two Irish coffees to wake up and is somewhat coherant and were ready to see what Deignan can do.
Le Boulanger steals some more mountain points. He will remember this Tour forever, great showing in his home country
Things were going well, until the last climb. Le Boulanger wasn't much help shepherding Deignan up because of his earlier climbing exploits and the other teammates (Aiken and McConvey) seemed to be on a different page than Deignan. The result being three riders riding hard on their own instead of three climbers working together for the GC leader. We looked green today. All that boasting and good times in Marseille certainly looks foolish now. Needless to say old man Renault and the rest of the sponsors were not happy, I've heard they've cancelled their after party (after stage 5). Paddy was MIA after the stage. The only quote the press got for him as he was leaving was "It wasn't the bloody bikes fault. We rode like garbage today. To many people out for their own. I need a drink"
(I got so mad at the end here, my own dumb tactics. that I didn't take a shot of the end. Joly won the stage, Nocentini is the overall leader. Here was the top 10 from the stage)
are my screen shots working? i can see them on my computer but on my blackberry they don't load up. i took out one shot, i didnt realize you couldnt delete the pics on photobucket. makes sense though
Low spirits and a spirit of negativity is surrounding the team after the disastrous stage 3. Stages 4 and 5 will be for the sprinters and Mondory looks like the man to beat. Bennett really struggled to get up those climbs and I'm not sure he has the gas to really beat Mondory or Geslin. Our leadout will have to be perfect. Paddy was MIA until about an hour before race time. One of the trainers found him passed out (wrench in hand), empty bottle of what looks like Absinthe next him, however the bikes were tuned and ready to go. He is an odd fellow. He acts like he doesn't care much but you can tell the poor effort really bothered him.
Nobody really felt good enough to want to join the break and we thought it be better to conserve energy to set up Sam if possible
Decent leadout but not enough in the tank. Bennett finished 8th. Mondory was the man again.
Stage 5 was the ultimate going through the motions stage. Team morale is reaching a critical stage. There appears to be little motivation. AG2R will do the work today to keep Nocentini from losing to a breakaway.
Decent shot of kit. (Ian Bibby and young David Veileaux still have positive attitudes and they both seem to have good potential)
Le Boulanger wins the Climbers Jersey
Ag2R Makes sure Nocentini leaves in yellow
Mondory won the stage again. The team finished off the front and didnt really get a glimse of the Frenchman. He won 4 of the 5 stages. Ag2R won every stage. Very impressive for them.
Some of the riders will stay behind in France for the Tour du Hut Vaur (2 day featuring a flat stage and a hilly one with a hill/climb finish). The French trainers will stay behind and watch over those riders. Deignan and Bennett will ride here and then rest for a few days. Paddy will accompany the rest of the riders to Spain for the Vuelta Andulucia. The much anticipated debut of French-Canadian and Team GC leader Brian Rangere. He needs to step up and get this team back on track. Sophie and her dad are going to Spain to cheer him on and host a Renault sponsor party (he's always looking to promote his company and doesn't want this team to be a black eye. He figures poor cycling performance might have consumers thinking twice about his products).
Old man Renault accompained us on the high speed train. I (Brian Rangere), asked Paddy to join me in one of the cars so we could have a heart to heart). It turns out Paddy was originally from Northern Ireland but his mother and him had fled to Dublin during some of the worst of the Troubles. He never knew his father as his father had spent most of his adult life in the British internment camps. Expected of being involved in the IRA his father was killed in a barfight with some men who are believed to have been members of a violent sectarian group called the Shankill Butchers. Paddy's mom side of the family were also Catholic Republicans and encouraged Paddy's mom to flee to the south to raise her son. Paddy actually said he was very wary of me with my last name. There's a football rivalry played out every year in Scotland "The Old Firm" where the team Rangers (mostly Protestant supporters) battles Celtic (Catholic supporters). I assured him I too was Catholic and the last name was just an unfortunate coincidence. Apparently Paddy's mother died from cancer when he was only 12. He spent the next few years bouncing in and out of foster homes. Eventually dropping out of school and running with a tough crowd. Drinking, drugs, fights, brushes with the law. In between there Paddy would find the odd mechanic job, he always loved fixing things.
I felt really honored that he would share that personal story with me. I felt like we bonded and got closer on the train. Perhaps this was important to starting a better friendship and working relationship. Next stop Spain (we'll hear about how the boys in France due here shortly as Stage 1 starts today. I hope Sam can shake off the last tour and win this stage)
I have one more stage in the Vuelta Andalucia (its been interesting so far) and I'll post the whole thing. We were not thrilled but not disappointed in Deignan's Top 10 finish at the Tour du Hut Var but we need to start picking up some more points
McCann (older rider but very strong in the TT and is a decent fighter)
Le Boulanger (older French rider, solid climber, won mountain jersey at Tour Mediterranean)
Ian Bibby (not particulary amazing in any area but solid in almost all areas and is still very young. Former track rider (I think???).
Matt Cronshaw (another youngster, sprinter future decent lead out man for bennett if we can keep him)
Rodger Aiken (Irish domestique but won Mountain jersey at Tour du Hut Var)
The next three guys are all young and look promising. Young Welshman Rhys Lloyd, intriguing French all rounder Yoann Barbas, and the young French-Canadian David Veilleux
oh yeah. i've been hitting up some training camps in between races here and there so the stats are a little higher, not that its helped me in the results so far (mostly hill camps)
One could get used to living here. What a great lifestyle. Sleep in (nobody seems to start work earlier than 9 here), go home eat a huge lunch then take a nap (what a great idea!), then its a late dinner and drinks into the night. The beaches and scenery are almost as stunning as the women. I (Brian Rangere) am not here to enjoy any of that (Sophie is in town with her father); I'm here to do one thing perform well in front of the sponsors. Paddy's still being Paddy but even he seems to be preoccupied with the upcoming race. Our goals are to definitely try and win a stage, and secure at minimum a Top 10 but hoping for a podium GC finish for myself.
Stage 1
Astana and Radioshack doing a lot of work today. Both teams are looking to do well this tour (Popovych, Kloden, and Horner seem to be top guys for the Shack with Popo being their main guy. Astana I'm guessing looks like they are riding for Pereiro)
Le Boulanger and Ranger were the only ones to keep up with the leaders. Not in good enough form yet to win. Finish 6th and 7th respectively, limited our losses (probably should have limited it to fewer), and will try and win some back in stage 3 or the TT in stage 4
Here's the shot that was on the front cover of today's newspaper from Pereiro's stage win. Definitely motivated by being in his home country
Stage 2 (flat stage, and I hate to say it, i'm ashamed to say it, i simmed it)
We really didn't have a sprinter. Freire won the stage. Astana wasn't going to allow any breakaway to succeed. Were looking to stage 3 and maybe stealing some seconds
Stage 3
Rangere sits 7th overall (Pereiro in lead) but wears the white jersey as the best young rider
The final climb seperated the leaders from the rest of the peloton. Rangere, McConvey, and Le Boulanger managed to stay with the top group. The latter two did a fantastic job of shepherding Rangere down the descent and setting him up with a chance to win the stage.
Here were his words when asked about the stage finish.
"I managed to grab the wheel of Popo with about 2-3 km left"
"I followed him and planned to let loose with all I had right at the 1 km mark"
"Popo kept looking over his shoulder and finally he took off right before we got to the final km. I followed suit and tried to get to top speed right away. I just felt like I ran out of room. A few more hundred meters, heck maybe not even that and I think I had it. That comes from experience. I should have scouted the final sprint a little better, it was a winnable stage. Hats off to Popo and the Shack for a great ride today."
What an exciting stage! Disappointing to not get the stage win but a great ride by Rangere. Didn't really pick up time but will hope to do so tomorrow in the TT. Sophie and her father were very pleased with the result today and she was like stunning as usual (pic included)
(Sophie is based on a fictional character, picture courtesy of the attractive ladies featured on pezcyclingnews.com)
(Time Trial and Stage 5 to come tomorrow.) McCann is itching to go tomorrow. The team has a few other decent TT guys so we'll see.
Stage 5 (hilly stage with a slight hill finish)
We should barring a major disaster leave with the white jersey for Rangere, but we would love to be able to jump up a spot and land on the podium. We'll try and look for a chance to grab some seconds.
There was a break that managed to get pretty far ahead (Muravyev and Garate).
Astana and Radioshack didn't do as much as I thought they would
Rangere tried to bridge the gap after it was clear the peloton wasnt going to catch the break but he couldnt do it and finished in the same time as the peloton. (over a minute behind Muravyev and 3 other riders). Rangere actually will end up dropping to 8th place after the stage. A disappointing finish to a intriguing debut. Makes you wonder if the tactics and strategy of the team had been better. Still going to have the after party but it won't be quite the celebration.
