OOC: Just setting up a prelude for the actual story to begin. Hoping to be able to include pics (if I ever get the snapshot thing to work and my fantasy shirt gets made lol). Hope this doesn't put to many people to sleep. lol. Hoping I'm succesfull enough to make it last through several seasons.

The Beginning

Crazy…insane….foolish and foolhardy…..an idiotic American ….across the continent and around the globe, those had to many of the words and thoughts that crossed the minds of well known cyclists and team owners at the announcement that a new team was coming to cycling. Team Martenson Racing. The old saying a fool and his money soon parted surely had to come to mind. After all what did Americans truly know about cycling. They knew NASCAR… Demolition Derby’s….Football and Basketball. NOT cycling. It was an elitist sport…understood by few Americans….. How could a country with the attention span of a child with A.D.D understand something as complex as the world of cycling. Much less what it took to manage one. Yet here he was…the crazy American from Hannibal Mo….hometown of Samuel Clemmons aka Mark Twain…. Not only Owner of the team but managing it as well, up on the podium announcing their arrival into the cycling world. Truth been known….. Crazy had been a word he had used many times when facing himself in the mirror since first thinking about the venture. After all his knowledge of the sport was limited to watching Lance earn jersey 6 and 7. Crazy…yes…… But was it crazy insanity…or crazy like a fox? After all…having not been around the cycling world…he wouldn’t find himself confined by ways of traditional thinking. He wouldn’t have to adhere to traditional patterns of thought…instead be able to think out of the box. Would Lee’s free thinking ways bring his team years of success….or would TMR become the laughing stock of the circuit….only time will tell.

Next up: Sponsor and Team member announcments:

OOC : I hope....that was a positve remark made in jest ....lol. Hate to think I'm already hated...when I just got here lmao.

Press Release

TRM is pleased to announce having signed the following riders to the TMR team.

Levi Leipheimer
Allesandro Ballon
Lance Armstrong
Jerome Pineau
Cameron Meyer
Cheng Ji
Yasuka Hatanka
Andre Del Biaggo
Morgan Chedhomme
Ivan Gilmartin
Fillipo Scarponi
Cheyne Hoag
Michek Wadswort
Aggrey Otter
Baboa Dawson
Kennedy Stalker
Alex Lighbody

Sponsorship signings

Financial

AEG
Kelloggs

Equipment

Trek: Medone Armstrong Bike frames
Hed Jet : Alps Tires
Giro: Livestrong helmets


Signed Trainers

Eric Falkemayer
Emanual Figueras
Bjorn Dizio

Released Trainers

Douglas Dawson
Freddy Heydens

Special thanks : PCM Daily for providing the contacts needed for sponsorships and data base info on riders for TMR to do their research.

Coming up next……. Press Conference and the Gauntlet gets dropped….

Press Conference.

How little did I know…that walking into that press conference, that my mouth would soon write a check that I hoped I could cash. Maybe it was the choking feeling of the tie…the heat of the moment…awww to heck with it…it was my damn pride that got the better of me, lets face it. American raised yet Italian born (Vichenza to be exact)…and my hot headedness got the better of me. I could have ignored the question…just walked away from it….but I didn’t. Question was ….did my team have the ability in themselves that I thought they did.

//Flashback//

Scene : Crowded small conference room. The room already having a stuffy feeling due to the large amount of bodies crammed into such confines. Lee stands behind a wooden podium wearing a blue suit that surely has seen better days…. Not that it is raggedy by any means…just doesn’t have that fresh new appearance one would expect from a team owner. Various reporters rattle off their questions.

Reporter: What philosophy did you use when choosing your team?

Lee: (Shrugging slightly) I wanted a team that would work together. Lance and Levi have done that for some time. Pineau is a great rider. Alessandro is also. Cameron, Chenge and Yasuke show great promise in the trials I ran. Basically I chose talent I felt would work together for the good of the team. As well as have some longevity for a few years to come.

Reporter: How’d you manage to sign them?

Lee (smiling slightly) Simple. I told them they could either remain part of the same old grind…or could be part of something fresh and new. They have the chance to set up a new legacy…one for years to come. With TMR they are in on the ground floor.

Reporter: Is it true you are currently operating with a $88,000 deficit?

Lee: Yes but I still have yet to sign a third sponsor.

Reporter: But you’ll still be operating at a deficit

Lee: Yes.

Reporter: You think that that’s wise?

Lee: Consider us the XFL team of Cycling….

Reporter: Are you and idiot.

Lee ignores the remark and continues to address the previous reporter

Lee: What I mean is… When the XFL concept came out…it was brilliant. You only got paid if you won. Well…. I figure even after sponsorship….with us being in the hole… it gives us more reason to work harder to win. Our riders future with the team…relies upon their production. Plus it isn’t a huge amount when looking over the long run when you look at the monthly race breakdown.

Reporter: You are a moron

Again Lee ignores the comment

Reporter: I said you are a moron. So tell me how it feels to know you’re a team filled of hopelessness and absolutely NO chance!

Lee glares at the reporter

Lee: No CHANCE?!?! Let me tell you something you jerk…you pay close attention come Tour Down Under. Team Martenson Racing is going to make a statement…Loud and clear….something that even a simple minded idiot jerk like yourself can understand!!!! You can take THAT to the Bank!!!!

Lee storms out…

//Present//

And that was how I came to find myself pacing the owner’s box……wondering….hoping….praying …..that I hadn’t just put my foot in my mouth…..

Next up…… Tour Down Under …..

Tour Down Under

Day one

The Day didn’t begin well….. Not when thinking that I had listed Ballan on the roster….only to discover that I had chosen Morgan Chedomne instead. I had intended on Ballan being my ace in the hole regarding proving my point. I had figured that Ballan’s speed would do in a pinch if my other main hitters were found lacking. I intended on using all my heavy hitters race…not only to make a statement….but to give me a chance to evaluate their strengths and weakness’s. My line up for this series of races

Pineau
Meyer
Leipheimer
Morgan Chedhome
Lance Armstrong
Cheng Ji
Yasuke Hatanka

My philosophy was simple….Hit the first Sprint and Mountian hard since they were near the starting line. Cruise with the Pelaton the remainder…then hit it hard at the end.

The race began exactly as planned. Pineau, Lepheimer and Armstrong taking the first Sprint and Pineau, Meyer and Chedhomne taking the first mountian. I sat and watched as Belletti, Gardeyn, Rick Flens and Asson Bazayev made the breakawy. At one point as they had built up a 4 ½ minute lead I found myself contemplating exactly how much of a lead I would allow them to have before I forced myself taking action. Luckily the pelaton began to speed up and I didn’t have to take any action. Having caught up with the breakaway… As we hit the 20 km mark team TMR begins working its way towards the front. This proves to be a wise action as 9.3 km out, 13 riders behind us fall. 4.9 km out….Pineau, Lepheimer, Armstrong make a breakaway. 2.3 KM they begin the Sprint…. Was it to early…to late….. The Paton was right there….nipping at their heels…Obviously not as TMR scores a double with Pineau coming in first followed by Armstrong…..

Cheers come loudly from the TMR owners box……. That ought to shut a few people up….. True…TMR could still fall flat upon it’s face…but for today…today we celebrated !!!!

Finish Line

1) Pineau
2) Armstrong
3) F. Pozzatto
4) T. Boonen
5) R. McEwen
6) B. Cooke
7) M. Elinger
8) Leipheiner
9) W. Suzlbuerger
10) N. Roche

Standings

1) Pineau
2) Armstrong 3�
3) M. Belletti 6�
4) F. Pozzatto 7�
5) A. Bazayer 7�
6) Leipheimer 8�
7) R. Flens 8�
8) T. Boonen 9�
9) R. McEwen 9�
10) B. Cooke 9�

Total Team results

1) Pineau
2) Armstrong
6) Leipheimer
16) Meyer
158) Chedhomme
160) Cheng Ji
161) Yusuke Hatanka

Day 2

Needless to say…it would be a day of nerviousness. We had the yellow Jersey, but only 6� separated us from the difference between keeping it and losing it. One thing was clear during the morning team meeting….we had to at least take the first sprint…I had enough faith in Armstrong, Pineau and Leipheimer to accomplish that. After that….I hoped the could manage to hang in there and pull their weight in the final moments when it counted.

The race started off exactly as planned. We broke away from the start and managed to secure the first Sprint

1) Armstrong
2) Pineau
3) Meyer.

Unfortunatly not everything went as planned as I found myself leading the pelaton. With was much to my surprise because the game plan had been to lay back. I watched as Sentjens and Burghardt broke away. Again I began to wonder about when to catch them…luckily the entire pelaton speeded up and 22.9 km out we had caught up with them. I again found myself leading the pack… and began wondering if the team was pushing itself to hard. This fear was only added upon as we broke away at well over 5 kms out…. 1.7 kms out we hit the sprint and as we rounded the corner and I saw riders closing in. However in the end….our efforts were rewarded as we took first, second and third…. Team Owner Lee Smiles widley….but inwardly he wonders if his team pushed to hard….after all there are several days remaining.

Finish Line

1) Pineau
2) Armstrong
3) Lepheimer
4) M. Elinger
5) C. Horner
6) S. Chavanel
7) F. Cancellera
8) M. Maaskant
9) Man Mori
10) F. Pozzatto

Standings

1) Pineau
2) Armstrong 4�
3) Lepheimer 14�
4) F. Pozzato 15�
5) T. Boonen 15�
6) A. Bazayer 15�
7) C. Meyer 16�
8) R. McEwen 16�
9) R. Flens 16�
10) M. Elminger 17�

Total team results.

1) Pineau
2) Armstrong
3) Lepheimer
7) C. Meyer
137) Chedhomme
145) Hatanaka
161) Ji

OOC: Still haven't figured pics out.... which is sort of ok I guess since still don't have their actual jersey lol

Day Three

There is something to be said about NOT wearing the yellow. At least when you don’t hold it…you can sit back…observe, study, plot and plan. It is totally another when you are the wearer. You become the hunted. A simple mistake can make you tumble and fall…. Push yourself too hard…can cost you. Break away to early can cost you….Those were the thoughts upon my mind as I a prepared the team for the days race. True we had a 15� lead….but that could be quickly wiped away by the simplest of errors….And the last two endings hadn’t been the coziest of leads. The wolves had been nipping upon our heels the final 5 k. A good portion of our lead had come thanks to the sprints…..but you can’t always take the sprint…. And this surely would be a day where the sprint and the mountain would not be part of our game plan. They were located too far out from the starting line and I didn’t want to have our riders risk themselves by taking it…. That meant one thing….as a team we had to hope that Pineau could continue to get the job done…. And if he didn’t, that Levi or Lance would be there to protect us…Nervousness had set in…had we paid too much a cost to prove our point so early on? After all with 4 days remaining…anything could happen….

While it was nice to see Pineau in yellow, Lance in green and Meyer in white….it was clear to me that it had come with a cost. Already Hatanaka, Chedhomme, Meyer and Ji were showing fatigue. I knew and advised the team that they would seriously have to take it as easy as possible as long as possible. With a heat index of 93.2 f/ 34 c….. it would surely come into play and hinder the already tiring team. The wind being 30 with gusts up to 42 would also surely factor in. Since we were in Australia I chose to send our scout N. Mendez out to look at the local Sprinting talent.

And as is often the case when tempting the fates…. The best laid plans of men….quickly go south. Such was the case as the race began and I watched my game plan quickly crumble….

The race began with a cat and mouse game regarding breakaways. They’d leave…we’d reel them in. Unfortunately our plan of sitting back quickly evaporated as TMR found itself several times at the front of the Pelaton. This came with a price as 30 k into the race, TMR found itself refilling their water bottles. With 79 k left to go we watched as the latest breakaway of 15 riders gained a 3’50� advantage. When the distance reached 4’01�, as team owner I radioed the riders and told them they needed to shorten the gap. So much for the laid back approach. TMR riders would shorten the gap to 2’22�…but it would build again to 3’14 before the Peleton would take the initiative to close the distance for good. With 39k left…the team replenished it’s water for a final time. We found ourselves hoping it would be enough to last. At 20k we began to move forward…once again to the front of the pack. At the 5k mark TMR finds itself distracted as somewhere behind them 39 riders fall…. The fall would include TMR team member Cheng Ji. At the end of the race we would later discover that the fall had claimed one victim. Saxo Bank’s Fabian Cancellera would be forced to withdraw due to a sprained wrist that would keep him out till the beginning of March. Because of the distraction TMR found itself breaking late…only 3.8 k remaining. And as they hit the sprint at 2.4 k…it was clear that total domination would not be theirs this day…..

Finish line

1) S. Marinageli
2) T. Boonen.
3) Pineau
4) M. Ignatier
5) M Ijallingii
6)M. Iglinskiy
7) B. Shpilevski
8) Leipheimer
9) S. Debolder
10) M. Fischer

Standings

1) Pineau
2) Armstrong 6�
3) T. Boonen 13�
4) S. Marnageli 13�
5) Leipheimer 16�
6) M. Ljungquist 16�
7) E. Franzoi 16�
8) A Bazayer 16�
9) F. Pozzato 17�
10) B Lancaster 17�

Total Team Results

3) Pineau
8) Leipheimer
11) Armstrong
67) Meyer
116) Chedhomme
119) Hatanaka
160) Ji

Day Four

Nervousness now was in full swing. We were to a point now that we knew…the attacks would be coming very soon. Moves would be made by others to take away the yellow jersey which had so importantly been a part of the team since day one. Now was not the time for mistakes or rash actions. Slow and steady was the game plan of the day. We knew now and discussed during the team meeting that the threat would likely come from Boonen, Pazzato or Bazzayer. The three had been strong and constant since the beginning. We still held the White, Green and Yellow Jersey’s. The goal now was not to push ourselves to hard. My main fear was how would the previous days fall affect Ji. Chedhomme and Hatanaka also were showing slight wear upon their bodies.

For the third day straight we found our game plan thrown out the window. This time by Lee’s decision with the first sprint being only 40k out and close to 100k left to race afterwards… By the end of the sprint, two things were apparent. Pinea, Leipheimer and Armstrong had been successful, and Cheng Ji….was in trouble. Only 40k into the race, Ji was a surprising 8 minutes behind. Obviously the fall the previous day took more out of him then first thought. I radioed him and told him to take a slow steady pace.

Meanwhile, we continued to take a steady pace. I wasn’t to worried as the third portion of the breakaway group was easily caught and the second only 40� ahead of us. 76k remaining we went to the back and retrieved water. As we neared the mountain stage I wondered if I should have the riders refill their water, but chose not to. 20 k out, their bottles were looking low, and I found myself praying that I wouldn’t regret the earlier decision of not filling. At 13.7 k TMR began moving forward…and as we overtook the first of three breakaway groups…we found our worst fears realized. The second portion was further ahead of us then we had anticipated. Team owner Lee Martenson took drastic action at 6k, ordering the ground to make a charge. A desperate action to give the forward group little lead time, made even worse when he ordered the group to sprint at 3 k out. And while Team Martenson Racing would find the action successfully….the would not walk away with the win.

Finish Line

1) D. Miller
2) Pineau
3) G. Smukulis
4) J. Gutierrez
5) M. Burghadt
6) Armstrong
7) S. Marginangeli
8) F. Pazzato
9) G. Bosisio
10) G Lowik

Current Standings

1) Pineau
2) Armstrong 12�
3) S. Marginangeli 20�
4) T. Boonen 20�
5) Leipheimer 21�
6) M. Ljungquist 23�
7) E. Frazoi 23�
8) A. Bazayer 23�
9) T Pazzato 24�
10) M. Burghardt 24�

Team Results

1) Pineau
6) Armstrong
24) Meyer
30) Chedhomme
34) Leipheimer
147) Hatanaka
160) Ji

Being 10 minutes back and apparently feeling the affects of yesterdays crash, Ji withdraws…

Day Five.

Despite the loss of Ji yesterday, I couldn’t be too disappointed. Meyer had continued to show me he would be a valuable asset in years to come by his previous performance. Even Chedhomme, who’s performance had been dismal up to that point, had managed to step up his game finishing in 30th. However we were far from being home free. Boonen had been nipping at our teams heels since they very beginning, and now he was joined by Marginangeli. Gone was the safety net of Leipheimer. Their were just too many big names, following us to closely in the top ten standings and still too many races to go. Despite our dominating the first two days of competition… I hadn’t been exactly thrilled with the last two. The team was struggling hard . Struggling hard to back up those hasty words I had said during the press conference. I just hoped we hadn’t given too much…..

The pace began fast and furiously….something that would continue through the race. I decided we needed to get the only sprint and ordered the riders to hold back until they were 20 km’s away or so…then to charge for it. Despite their efforts, Meyer, Armstrong, Leipheimer and Pineau were unsuccessful. Instead Acosta, Furlan and De Maar went away with the days only sprint points. Despite our attempts to continually move in….the breakaways continued and I found myself contemplating when would be the best time to make our move. My decision was that of after climbing the final mountain stage. There would be plenty of km’s left to move forward. We watched as 5, then 6 then seven breakaways got ahead of us. It was hard to be patient…. Figuring the riders would wear themselves out and be easy pickings for us. The decision to hold would prove to be a fatal error…. Suddenly there was the top of the mountain. Levi, Lance and Pineau burst forward….E7.…E6.….E5.…. E 4.….

Suddenly the groups ahead of us split….

E5.…E6.…E7.….E8...

Suddenly it was apparent….we had gambled….and Lost

Finish Line

1) G. Hincapie
2) M. Fathen
3) M. De Maar
4) T. Bertolini
5) W. Miholjevic
6) M. Marcato
7) Y. Krivstove
8) D Millar
9) Accosta
10) GI Landaluze

Current Standings

1) Y. Krivstove
2) T. Bertolini 0�
3) T Pazzato 2’04�
4) M. Elminger 2’06�
5) D. Millar 2’24�
6) Leipheimer 2’39�
7) S Devolder 2’44�
8) G Gardyn 2’44�
9) G. Hincapie 2’49�
10) M. Marcato 2’55�

Team Results

22) Leipheimer
31) Armstrong
37) Pineau
87) Meyer
121) Chedhomme
122) Hatanaka

Team owner Lee stood looking at the result board crestfallen. His team had indeed been dealt a very crushing blow. With only the 90km straightaway stage remaining… It would be up to Levi to bring the yellow jersey home….and chances didn’t look good.

Final Day Tour Down Under

It was hard to step into the team meeting and not be down. After all Day 5 had not been good to us. In the blink of an eye we had watched as a event we had worked so hard at, had been taken from us. We would take home the points jersey, but not the yellow we had worked so hard for. We weren’t going to fool ourselves into thinking a miracle would make that happen. With only 90k of street course left and a 2’39� deficit to make up…we knew where our chances stood. The only thing we could try to do was end with a good race. I did share with the riders a bit of good news prior to race time though. We had signed up with our third sponsor…Esso. This would allow us to be less in the red….and less at risk of running out of funds during the season. The race itself was predictable. There weren’t any large breakaways, the group pretty much stayed together. In the end our group made a charge in attempts to gain valuable spots…not to much success considering apparently all the other teams had the same idea.

Finish Line

1) T. Boonen
2) F Pozzato
3) S. Marinangeli
4) M. Elringer
5) F. Chicchi
6) W. Sulzberger
7) J. Pineau
8) A. Furian
9) G. Lowik
10) Y Krivstov

Final Standings

1) Y. Krivstov
2) T. Bertolini
3) T Pazzato
4) M. Elminger
5) D. Millar
6) Leipheimer
7) S Devolder
8) G Gardyn
9) G. Hincapie
10) T Boonen

Team Results

7) Pineau
12) Armstrong
13) Leipheimer
36) Meyer
69) Chedhomme
73) Hatanaka

Final Team Standings

6) Leipheimer
15) Pineau
20) Armstrong
26) Meyer
131) Chedhomme
156) Hatanaka

Not exactly how I had planned on leave Tour Down Under…But then again not totally awful either. Definitely something to build upon during the season. As I was leaving the race I once again found myself confronted by the reporter whom had enjoyed harassing me. He was doing so again. Giving me a hard time about my claim of making a statement. I almost made a statement loud and clear then….of my fist to his face….but instead walked away…..we’d see who was laughing come the end of the season….

Next up…… In the office

Office Work

The coming of the month can only mean one thing….time to return to the office and pay the bills. Thanks to the efforts of our riders, we had walked away from the Tour down under with $109, 566. Making our current bank balance just over $237,000. The current outlook was good. Budget wise currently we were looking at only being -$168,521 come Oct. I was sure we could make more then enough during the season to cover that. We received word that Pineau had received the rider of the month award… Good news indeed. However not all was good, as I received word upon my arrival that Misheck Wadsworth would be out until Mid February with Bronchitis. I also received word that for whatever reason My request to participate in the Tour Of Qatar did not go through ( Probably my fault…thought I wild carded for it but apparently not….realizing it didn‘t take till too late) , and we would be out longer then I first thought. Our riders would not race again until Costa delgi Etruschi. This would then be followed up by participating in both Le Tour de Langkawi and the Amgen Tour of California. Met with the team Sponsors and riders and we set the goals for the year.

Win Eneco Tour
Top 3 Tour de France
Win Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
Top ten Classica San Sebastian- San Sebastian
Top Ten Vattenfall Cy Classics
Top Ten Oust France-Plouay

During the course of the meeting I was informed that the team was currently ranked 50th for the CTT. Though the team was ranked #1 in the Super Prestige. As the meeting broke up I received a disturbing phone call.

Lee: TMR.

Lance: Lee, this is Lance

Lee: What can I do for you Mr. Armstrong?

Lance: I just wanted to inform you… This will be my last season…

Lee (voice visibly shaken) You’re Joking…right..

Lance: Sorry…but no. I’m serious.

Lee: But…but Lance, You know I was planning on building this entire team around you for the next few years…especially when it came to the Big Three…

Lance: I know…. But after getting back on at Tour Down Under…I realized that this needs to be my last year….Sorry. I just felt you needed to hear it from me first.

Lee: (Still Shaken) : Is it the money…is there anyway I can change your mind???

Lance: No… sorry. I do promise you though to work very closely with the team and try to help them be prepared for next year…but I have other projects and things I want to do next year….

I thanked him for informing me and shakingly set the phone back onto the receiver… No…this couldn’t be…. My future plans had all revolved around him and the other FEW key hitters I had upon the team…being upon the team for a few more years. Quickly I rummaged through my files …pulling out all of the riders contracts. Luckily Lance was the only major star not locked into next season….however there was a problem. 9 of my 17 riders contracts ended this year. Quickly my eyes ran down the list…finding three I knew I had to sign as soon as possible. Three that I had seen perform and felt had potential to develop. Quickly I made the appropriate phone calls and by the time we headed to GP Costa delgi Etruschi I had Chedhome and Hatanaka locked into 2 more years and Meyer into 3. And I had actually reduced their salaries a total of 2,100 over the time frame. I decided I would watch the performances of the remaining 6.… And if I saw a glimmer of potential, would sign them immediately. Though as we headed toward our next event, I found myself still slightly disillusioned. The man I had Idolized for years. The one that first got me interested in the sport.. and whose book had helped me in dealing with my own health problems… was going to be gone. He had been my inspiration during my trials and tribulations….. And now was just someone who I had to replace. So much for my hopes of seeing him hit double didgets regarding the Tour de France. Question was…whom to replace him with next year. That was a question I decided to put off for now as we headed towards our next event.

GP Costa degli Estuschi

I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea that TMR offices had entered us into this race. After all we were a stage racing team, not a single day event one. However I decided we should go ahead and try to make the best of the situation. It would give me a chance to watch the younger talent anyways. I immediately looked at the roster and chose to go against the coaches advice, and quickly removed Pineau from the line up. I instead replaced him with Ballon. I figured this would give me a chance to see what sort of condition he was in, while he would still have several days to rest up for Amgen Tour of California. I had given thought to allowing Meyer to lead out the rookies…but chose to wait till next time we had a single race for him to get that experience. I did however keep him on the list. The lineup was ….

Meyer
Ballon
Hatanaka
Lightbody
Del Biaggio
Scarponi
Otter
Gilmarton

I was worried before the race even started by Gilmarton’s fitness. According to his training reports, he was nowhere near where I had hoped he would be. I decided however to wait and see how he faired during the course of the race. Our game plan was simple…..cruise control until the end. There would be no reason to chase any immediate breakaway’s. Not with 177 k worth of distance before us. Our goal was to make the pelaton do most of our work for us. As the race started… I was immediately worried by the way Lightbody and Otter took the first and only hill. It seemed to take an extreme affect upon them both..and it shouldn’t have…it was after all just a hill. However before the race was even half over…I found myself adding Del Biaggio and Scarponi to that list also. They were showing way more wear and tear upon themselves then they should have…after all they hadn’t raced all season. I wondered if maybe I hadn’t made a huge mistake in hiring these individuals. After all it was a long season. I made a mental note to check upon their contract status when I returned to TMR headquarters. To see how long they were to be with us. I wouldn’t be continuing any of their contracts if their performances didn’t improve. Sure…I was still in a foul mood after losing Lance… but the mood was added to by these individuals being well paid…and having a hard time only ¼ of the way into the race wasn’t my idea of a sound investment/ Several breakaway happened and were all realed in …but one. With 106.6 left in the race, the riders were given the order to breakaway.



This was done for two reasons. Firstly to resupply their water and secondly, the breakaway group had gained 4’08 on the Pelaton and I wanted to force the Pelaton to reel them in a bit. After getting water, I watched as Hatanaka, Lightbody, Del Biaggo and Gilmarton broke away from our break away group. The received no order to return. Instead I allowed the Pelaton to catch up with the first breakaway group…and watched as they were forced to continue to catch the second. However the plan wasn’t as successful as I had first hoped. The first breakaway we had originally gone after still had 3’53� on the Pelaton. It was however continuing to move quickly…and I had faith they would catch up in no time. It wa at this point…. 72.5 k left to go, that the riders found nothing but silence upon their earpieces. Being of course that the Team Owner had chosen that moment to leave his live feed in the owners box, and take a bathroom break. While some would call this foolish, he had enough faith in the team and rate of the pelatyon to let things be. When Lee returned their was 60.2 k remaining and the distance had been reduced to 2’58�. At 40k Lee found the fear of misjudging like before with the group split in two before him and the distance being to great a lead. He however stood strong and allowed his riders to do their job and by 27k was rewarded with the satisfaction of having caught up to both groups. At 7.3 k, The group charges….but only Ballon succeeds in breaking away



However the wolves are soon on his heels



He tries to hold on….



But in the end doesn’t quiet succeed.




Final Results

1) D. Bennati
2) A Petacchi
3) L. Paolini
4) A. Ballon
5) B. Traksel
6) E Rigotto
7) M. Marcato
8) A. Loddo
9) Chicchi
10) S. Marinangeli

Team Results

4) Ballon
47) Meyer
89) Hatanaka
90) Scarponi
126) Gilmarton
141) Del Biaggio
154) Otter
157) Lightbody

Le Tour de Langkawi

Day one

Needless to say as we headed towards the tour…I wasn’t the happiest of campers. After all was said at Costa Degli Estuschi, we walked away with only $1600 after expenses. I spent the day between the two races going over the reports from the trainers…and that news didn’t hold any rays of sunshine for me either. Several were not showing the progress I had hoped for. Between this and the recent race results…I wondered exactly what it was we were doing wrong. I figured Down Under had been a simple matter of pushing too hard too soon. But I honestly felt that Ballon should have done better at Estuschi. After all he had been the fresh man. Our rookie’s statistics and finish’s hadn’t been much better. Luckily of the 5 that I felt were extremely bad, I was only locked into two contracts beyond this year. Unfortunately the rider I felt had done the worst…. Was locked in solid until 2011. I sat in the office behind the dust black desk until well into the night going over the statistics and reports. There were only 4 events left in the month and of my roster… 1 was sick and 6 were looking dismal when it came to their fitness levels. I basically found myself throwing out the suggestions from the trainers and staff regarding who should race. The line up was changed at least half a dozen times. I knew that Amgen Tour of California would begin while Langkavii was going on….I also knew there would be two time trials during that tour…and without decent times during those events…we’d be hard pressed. I seriously wanted to win that event. After all it was the first event in our country this season. I felt if we could at least take California, we’d have redeemed ourselves for our loss in Australia. Yet I also wanted to have at least a chance of taking Langavii. For that reason I left the only suggestion I kept from the trainers and left Pineau as leader. His recent time trial tests hadn’t been the greatest. We had several other riders with greater times then him. The other riders were all of my choosing, and thus if we failed at Langkavii…… only I would be to be the blame. I read over the list one last time before handing it to the officials.

Pineau
Del Biaggio
Gilmarton
Hoag
Cheddhomme
Dawson.

I’d decided to only run this event with the minimum of riders allowed. The fitness reports that had crossed my desk didn’t look good and I felt that every body I could keep in training was my best bet. Come race time, weather was certainly going to be a factor. With a temperature of 104F,40C, I swear you could hear the cornfields wilting and withering away, even above the winds of 7 to 20 kph. As the race started 3 groups broke off early, but all were quickly caught by the pelaton. However as the race progressed, another group of 4 broke off. We managed to reduce their lead from 4 minutes to 1’03�. I found myself surprised that While many had fell away from Pineau as he made the charge, Hoag had managed to keep up with him.



With 70k remaining, I once again had the riders increase their rate. With the distance slowly dwindling, I began to wonder exactly when to have the TMR riders make a charge. The obvious choice I felt, and the one I decided to stay with was at the top of the second mountain stage. With 14km and a Mountain stage remaining my hope was to charge down the mountain, overtake the leaders and be up and over the mountain before they knew what was going on. My hope was to be charging down the mountainside of the final Mountain stage, before they knew what was happening. And while this seemed like it was a smart plan. As the riders took action… not everything worked out as foreseen. Pineau and the pelaton surged forward overtaking the forward group. However Pineau’s charge never managed to pull away from the group as I had foreseen in my mind. He found himself even during the charge surrounded by other riders.



And even as the other riders in the team fell back, not even Pineau could help Team Martenson Racing salvage a top ten finish.


Stage Results

1) M Biondo
2) B. Traksel
3) R. Hollenstien
4) U. Murin
5) M. Hobergh
6) D. De Backer
7) E. Vona
8) G. Lowik
9) M. Paderson
10) Aldo Ino llesiclo

Current Standings

1) M. Biondo
2) B. Traksel 8�
3) M. Gnezda 10�
4) R. Hollenstien 12�
5) A. Gufler 14�
6) Van den Eynde 16�
7) M. Ojavee 18�
8) U. Murin 20�
9) M. Hoburgh 20�
10) D. De Backer 20�

Team Results

28) Pineau
135) Chedhomme
142) Del Biaggo
143) Gilmarton
144) Dawson
145) Hoag