January 2nd, 2007 by William Robins, Cycling America Gazette
Gateway Computers Enters Continental Cycling Scene
Gateway Computers has announced their intention to sponsor a new cycling team on the international circuit this season, much to the suprise of the cycling community. Kurt Smith, a newcomer to professional cycling management, will be putting the team together and managing things this season.
At the moment the team which will be known as Gateway Racing hasn't signed any riders, but is in negotiations with many currently usigned individuals. Sources indicate that Gateway has made a significant financial investment in the team, to the tune of seven million US Dollars (about 5 million euros). Secondary sponsorship agreements may have already been made with Toyota (to supply team vehicles) and Nike.
In the press release announcing the formation of the team, Gateway has indicated that the team will be focused on non-European riders. Gateway hopes to spread their brand to the growing Asian, African, Pacific Island and South American markets, as well as increase their visibility in North America. Rumors seem to indicate Gateway is not pursuing any European riders for the coming season.
Well, I decided to post a text only story... I'm going to try to keep everything in a "newspaper-ish" format, with interviews, press releases and such.
Basically this is a newly created PCM-Spain team with no riders. The entire team will be made up of free agents, and I'm going to try to keep it to non-europeans. We'll see how it goes... this is my first shot at a story.
You can make like one picture a race, when you see the winnre cross the line or something like that. It both does the diary more fun to read and more similar to real life where it's usually pictures in articles
January 7th, 2007 by William Robins, Cycling America Gazette
Gateway Racing Announces Squad
Gateway Racing has announced their team for the 2007 cycling season. Team manager Kurt Smith has put together a diverse squad with racers hailing from Venezuela, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, the United States, Canada, Australia, Iran, South Africa and even Namibia.
Leading the team will be veteral South American riders Manuel Medina from Venezuela and Hernan Duenahora of Columbia. Medina won the Vuelta al Tachira last year and over his career has won stages in the Vuelta a Venezuela, Vuelta a Columbia, Classico Cyclisto Banfoandes and Vuelto Cyclisto Aragua. Buehahora at 39 is an elder statesman of the sport and has experience at the highest level having compted in the Tour de France. He's still competitive though, having won the Classico Ciclisto Banfoandes last season as well as a stage in the Vuelta a Columbia.
The primary sprint threats will be Daryl Impey of South Africa, a youngster who's had some podium finishes in the Qinghai Lake race and the Tour of Egypt, and Anuar Manam of Malaysia. It doesn't look like the team has a true Northern Classics threat, but best guess is Juan Van Heerden of South Africa would be their best option.
Below is a full list of the 24 team members and their nationalities:
Jonathon Clark, Australia
Jai Crawford, Australia
Mark Jamieson, Australia
Hayden Josefski, Australia
Juan Van Heerden, South Africa
Daryl Impey, South Africa - Sprinter
David George, South Africa
Malcolm Lange, South Africa
Hernan Buenahora, Columbia - Team Leader
Mauricio Ortega, Columbia
Alex Ardila, Columbia
Jonathon Page, USA
Brad Armstrong, USA
Taylor Phinney, USA
Manuel Medina, Venezuela - Team Leader
Tomas Gil, Venezuela
January 9th, 2007 by William Robins, Cycling America Gazette
Interview with Gateway Racing Manager Kurt Smith
I was able to sit down today with Gateway Racing manager Kurt Smith and ask him a few questions about the new Continental Tour team.
Q: Mr. Smith, tell us a little about your experiences getting Gateway Racing started.
KS: Well, it's been a bit of a whirlwind. We didn't have a ton of lead time before this season to get a team put together, but I'm enjoying the challenge. For the past two weeks I've been in almost constant negotiations with riders, sponsors, trainers, scouts, doctors, race directors, and equipment suppliers trying to get everything set up in time for this season. I'm only now getting a chance to catch my breath.
Q: You mentioned sponsors. We know gateway is your primary sponsor, Nike is providing apparrell and Toyota is providing team vehicles... are any other sponsors on board?
KS: Yes, as a matter of fact there are. We've had very generous sponsorships from American Express, Berry Floor and Esso... which in the states is more commonly known as Exxon/Mobil. Our financial situation will allow us to do everything we would like in terms of training, equipment and travel. We are extremely fortunate.
Q: What are your goals for this season?
KS: The sponsors and I sat down at the very beginning and decided what the key races would be this season and what kind of results we are looking for. We've targeted several races... the Vuelta a Columbia, Tour of Ireland and Tour de Georgia where we'd like at least top 10's, the Tour of Missouri and Tour of Britain where we'd like stage wins, and we'd also like good results from the Tour de Suisse, Tour de Bretagne Cycliste and the Philadelphia International Championships. All that aside, my main goal is to get us promoted to the Pro Tour next season.
Q: CAG is extremely interested in what races you'll be entering early this season. Can you give us an schedule?
KS: Unfortunately, many of the early races didn't feel like we had given them enough lead time before sending in our application. We actually sent them in plenty early enough, but the races wouldn't accept them until we had a team roster. We won't race in January excepth for the Australian time trial and road race championships with our riders from down under. We're hoping for a full schedule in February though. We'll announce our official February schedule at the end of the month.
Q: What are you hoping for in terms of early season results.
KS: Despite having to build team chemistry from such a diverse group of riders, I have very high expectations in the early races this year. I'd really like to make a splash in the Tour of California, as that is an event that always attracts a fair number of Pro Tour teams. A stage win or top 10 finish there might get us a wild card in one of the March pro events.
Q: I've heard stories about your jerseys... can you give me a preview?
KS: Well, they're not done yet... our guys in the Australian championships will be wearing a simple jersey instead. But they're wonderful! Our colors are black and white... and if you've followed Gateway's advertising I think you'll have a pretty good idea of what they'll look like. We'll definitely stand out in the pelaton!
Q: Thank you Kurt, I really appreciate your time.
KS: No problem William. Look for our boys down under, hopefully they can suprise some people!
January 15th, 2007 by William Robins, Cycling America Gazette
Australian Championships
Both the time trial and road race Australian championships have been completed and we now know who will be wearing that distinctive jersey this season.
In the individual time trial, CSC rider Loke Roberts took the win, beating out Milram rider Brett Lancaster by two seconds. Nathan O'Neil of the US team Healthnet took a suprising third place to round out the podium.
In the road race, veteran racer Stuart O'Grady won the race, edging out Bradley McGee of Francaise Des Jeux. Allan Davis of Discovery took third, outsprinting others in a group of 8 behind the leaders.
The recently created Gateway Racing team sent four riders to both events. In the time trial the team's best finisher was Jonathon Clarke, who finished two minutes and thirty-two seconds back from the leader in 15th place. Hayden Josefski was seconds behind in 16th, Jai Crawford was 19th and Mark Jamieson finished a disappointing 22nd. The team fared better in the road race, with Jai Crawford able to hang on to finish 8th place in the second group of finishers. Mark Jamieson was near the front of the pelaton and managed a solid 14th place finish. Jonathon Clarke was 28th and Hayden Josefski 36th.
Gateway manager Kurt Smith was reached for comment. "It was a solid outing for us. Our racers really haven't had time to get into any kind of form with our late start this season, but they all competed very well, in particular Jai. That top 10 in the road race was unexpected, but not totally suprising. We knew Jai had that kind of talent, we just didn't expect him to be able to show it until later in the year."
Edited by KurtinSC on 25-10-2007 14:00
I had already done these two races and one in February before I decided to post the story, so no exported results. I'll have better reports as the season goes on.
January 20th, 2007 by William Robins, Cycling America Gazette
Gateway Racing: February Schedule Released
Gateway Racing has released a race schedule for the month of February. The team was unable to schedule any January races due to a late start on the season, but they seem to be diving in head first in the second month of the year.
The team will begin their schedule on 2/6, competing in the GP d'Overture la Marseillaise. They will then race the Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca from 2/11 to 2/15, the Tour Mediterranean from 2/13-2/18 and a race singled out by manager Kurt Smith, the Amgen Tour of California from 2/18-2/25. They'll finish out the month with the Volta a la Comunitat Valencia from 2/27-3/3.
Manager Kurt Smith took some time to talk about the schedule: "There were a few more races we'd like to get into, but many race directors weren't willing ot give us a chance yet. We're just going to have to put up good results and prove that we belong. We'll be using the Vuelta a Mallorca to prepare some of our top riders for the Tour of California. We're going to get some of our younger riders some experience in the Tour Mediterranean, but we'll still send a couple of riders to compete for the overall and sprint classifications. I expect a great month out of our guys. Some of our guys are starting to come into decent form and we'll be racing very aggressively."
January 25th, 2007 by William Robins, Cycling America Gazette
Gateway Racing: Crawford Disappoints
Gateway Racing team member Jai Crawford has been suspended for 3 months from racing due to a blood test performed after the Australian Time Trial championships that showed he had recieved a blood transfusion.
Suprisingly, his bloodwork following the road race championships showed no evidence of blood tampering. He rode suprisingly well in that race and finished 8th, while he struggled to a 19th place finish in the time trial. The Australian Cycling federation decided to allow the road race result to stand based on the clean bloodwork, but disqualified him from the time trial.
Crawford was extremely upset when interviewed. "Something is off with those tests. I know I didn't do anything, but I'm sure I'm already guilty in the publics eyes. But let me ask you this: Why would I ride a poor time trial while doped, then ride a great road race clean? It doesn't make any sense even if I were a doper... WHICH I'M NOT!"
Manager Kurt Smith made some statements as well. "It's very disappointing this happened, but the results are screwy enough that we aren't going to throw Jai under the bus. The claim is it was a transfusion of his own blood, but we believe some sort of error may have been made during the test. We're sure Jai will come back in may and not have any more problems."
Gateway Computers reps were unavailable for comment. Having just started the team a month ago and poured a significant financial investment into the club, it remains to be seen how this will affect the backing for the team in the long run. There have been rumors of several sponsors getting out of cycling due to issues with drugs and doping, Gateway being a noteable exception to the exodus trend.
February 7th, 2007 by William Robins, Cycling America Gazette
The GP d'Overture la Marseillaise
This race had an interesting route, with softly sloping hills throughout and a final four degree climb followed by a 5 km downhill to the finish.
An early breakaway developed with six riders. None of them serious threats for the race, so they were let away by the pack. A suprising breakaway member was Gateway's Taylor Phinney, a 16 year old talent who is just getting his feet wet on the cycling scene.
Phinney fell off the back of the breakaway and was caught just before the final climb leading up to the finish. As Phinney was being passed by the pack, a group of 5 riders attacked at the front of the pelaton: Recardo Serrano of Tinkoff, Staf Scheirlinckx of Cofidis, Wim Van Huffel of Predictor-Lotto and two Gateway riders, Mauricio Ortega and David George.
The five passed the remaining breakaway members who were quickly absorbed by the pack. The five crested the hill with about 45 seconds on the pelaton, which immediately began closing. The Gateway riders attacked on the downhill, George leading Ortega but were answered by the other three in the group. The 5 sprinted for the finish just as the pack closed the gap... but couldn't pass any of the five leaders. Van Huffel won an exciting finish followed by Scheirlinckx and Ortega.
Results:
1. Wim Van Huffel - Predictor-Lotto 3h21'30"
2. Staf Scheirlinckx - Cofidis st 3. Mauricio Ortega - GATEWAY st
4. Ricardo Serrano - Tinkoff st 5. David George - GATEWAY st
24. Daryl Impey - GATEWAY st
33. Tomas Gil - GATEWAY st
59. Alex Ardila - GATEWAY st
129. Anuar Manan - GATEWAY +2'27"
130. Brad Armstrong - GATEWAY st
133. Taylor Phinney - GATEWAY +6'03"
February 9th, 2007 by William Robins, Cycling America Gazette
Interview with Gateway Racing manager Kurt Smith
I was able to sit down and ask some questions of Kurt Smith of Gateway Racing.
Q: Mr. Smith, it's great to talk to you again. Can you tell us a bit about how your season is going so far.
KS: Well we're extremely excited. We were chomping at the bit after not being able to do much in January, and our guys came out and performed wonderfully in the GP d'Overture la Marseillaise. While you can't compliment Mauricio Ortege and David George enough for their attacks on the final climb that earned them third and fifth place finishes, it might have been lost how Tomas Gil and Alex Ardila launched the two of them into their attacks. Their effor was likely what kept them from being caught at the end of the race. They then went and got Daryl Impey safely over the climb as well... though Daryl was unable to make it all the way back to the front in time for the sprint. Gil and Ardila were super helpers in that race.
Q: You've earned a podium in your first team race... what are your expectations for the Vuelta a Mallorca?
KS: We're going to put the squad we plan on using in the Tour of California in this one as preparation. Right now I know that Ortega, George, Pedro Nicacio, Alex Ardila and Anuar Manan are definitely going to be in the race barring injury. Tomas Gil and Daryl Impey will definitely be in the Tour Mediterranean. Other than that the squads are pretty open at this point. With that crew in the Vuelta a Mallorca I think we can compete for a top 5 overall... maybe even a top 3.
Q: Any chance Medina or Buenahora participate in these races?
KS: That's not currently in the plan. Right now I plan on starting Buenahora in some of the April races, where Medina won't begin serious competition until late June. I'm counting on those two to turn in superior performances in events like the Tour of Missouri, Tour de Georgia and the Vuelta a Colombia... I don't want them peaking too early.
Q: Can you talk some about the situation with Jai Crawford.
KS: It's a bit dissappointing for everyone, including Jai. The test results were very odd and while we know it sounds bad... we really think there was some sort of problem with the test. Still, they let him keep his 8th in the road race which was an excellent result for us. That shows that there is some question of his guilt... along with the suspension being relatively short. We really could have used Crawford in California, but I still think we can do well.
Q: You mentioned a stage win or a top 10 in California... do you still think these goals are reachable?
KS: With how Mauricio and David raced in Marseillaise, absolutely! We think we can keep the two of them near the front in the mountain stages and whichever has the legs can be helped by the other to a victory. Manan is also going to be in the field for the sprint stages... he's still a bit rocky in the hills but we'll have some help for him there.
Q: I saw the uniformes at Marseillaise. A cow pattern, huh?
KS: Makes you want to go "MOOO" as they go by doesn't it. We got a lot of comments after the race from fans about the jerseys, many were asking if they could purchase some. I hear some other riders are referring to our team as the "Moo Crew". You have to love that kind of publicity!
Q: Thanks again for your time Mr. Smith. Is there anything else you'd like to say before I let you go?
KS: Just to look for the Moo Crew in California. We're going to put on a show!
Well, I haven't actually gotten it in the game yet to use in the race, and by no means am I a graphics expert, but here is my rough draft that I'll be using until I can "spiff it up" a bit.
February 11th, 2007 by William Robins, Cycling America Gazette
Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca: Stage 1
The Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca has a fairly stout field this year, so it should be an exciting race. Oscar Friere, Tom Boonen and Fran Ventoso have all entered this year's race so the sprinting should be intense.
The newly formed Gateway Racing team has entered the race as well. This will be their first stage race, so it will be interesting to see how well the team has gelled.
The first stage was a flat sprinter stage, perfectly set up for Boonen and Freire. A 12 man break escaped early on in the perfectly flat stage, but it was quite clear early on that Freire and Boonen were going to have their teams bring the break back.
The group was caught about 10 km from the finish line. Just as the break was caught, Pedro Nicacio of Gateway Racing broke away in an attack that seemed to take the pelaton by suprise a bit. The sprint teams quickly took control, and Nicacio was caught with 2KM to go. At this point Freire burst out from behind Uros Murn and Murilo Fischer and began sprinting for the line, with Gateway racer Anuar Manan on his wheel. Manan couldn't keep up though, and faded in the last kilometer. Friere opened up a gap and won handily. Murn took second and Fischer third, just ahead of a group led by a charging Boonen and Ventoso that almost caught the second two.
All but two riders finished with the same time in the stage, so the race is still wide open.
1 Óscar Freire RABOBANK 2h17'27
2 Uros Murn DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
3 Murilo Fischer LIQUIGAS s.t.
4 Tom Boonen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
5 Fran Ventoso SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
6 Tomas Vaitkus DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
7 Carlos Torrent VIÑA MAGNA - CROPU s.t.
8 Elia Rigotto TEAM MILRAM s.t. 9 Anuar Manan GATEWAY RACING s.t.
10 Igor Astarloa TEAM MILRAM s.t.
11 Alberto Ongarato TEAM MILRAM s.t.
12 Hans Dekkers AGRITUBEL s.t.
13 Vicente Reynès CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
14 Carlo ScognamiglioTEAM MILRAM s.t.
15 André Korff T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
16 Benoit Sinner AGRITUBEL s.t.
17 Jesús Tendero VIÑA MAGNA - CROPU s.t.
18 Xabat Otxotorena ORBEA - OREKA S.D.A. s.t.
19 Rubén Pérez EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t. 20 Pedro Nicacio GATEWAY RACING s.t.
50 Martin Gilbert GATEWAY RACING s.t.
54 Jonathon Clarke GATEWAY RACING s.t.
55 Brad Armstrong GATEWAY RACING s.t.
57 David George GATEWAY RACING s.t.
67 Álex Ardila GATEWAY RACING s.t.
82 Mauricio Ortega GATEWAY RACING s.t.
140 Dan Craven GATEWAY RACING s.t. Edited by KurtinSC on 26-10-2007 15:46
