Lisa Brennauer Interview Stage 2 – Aviva Womens Tour 2015 by Cycling Shorts
Lisa Brennauer of team Velcro SRAM talks post Stage 2 of the Aviva Womens Tour 2015 as she tops the GC podium.
Lisa Brennauer of team Velcro SRAM talks post Stage 2 of the Aviva Womens Tour 2015 as she tops the GC podium.
Read the full stage 2 report, results and view the race gallery here.
Did I find a cheaper way to Japan? ©Cory Wallace – www.fortheplanet.net
After a good 2012 season, racing mostly criterium in the USA, I dediced to make it bigger and I will continue part time with the same structure captained by Emile Abraham and another one in Japan directed by Sebastien Pilotte; Positivi Peugeot cycling team!
Après une bonne saison 2012, à courir principalement des critériums aux USA, j’ai décidé de faire les choses en grand et ainsi, je vais continuer avec la même structure dirigée par Emile Abraham; Predator Cycling en plus d’une autre au Japon dirigée par le québécois Sébastien Pilotte établi au Japon; Positivi Peugeot cycling team!
I started 2013 with the Vuelta Independencia in Dominican Republic. Its my 4th participation in the event so I knew what to expect from it.
J’ai débuté 2013 avec la Vuelta Independencia en République Dominicaine. Il s’agit de ma quatrième participation, alors je savais à quoi m’en tenir.
I prepared as best as I could on the Computrainer and doing cross country skiing workouts, but it is always hard to replicate road trainning in the winter in Quebec city!
Je me suis préparé aussi bien que je l’ai pu en m’entraînant sur Computrainer et en ski de fond, mais c’est toujours un peu difficile de répliquer l’entraînement spécifique de route en hiver au Québec!
I flew to the Dominican Republic on the 14th, so I could at least do one long road ride before the vuelta began on the 20th. Getting to Dominica was a bit of chaos as most guys on the team booked their flight with Jetblue which doesn’t accept bikes only for Dom Rep! Last minute, I had to bring 2 additional bikes with me. Adding to that, my own last minute arrangments, I did not have time to sleep and so was very tired when I finally arrived where I was greeted by Guillermo Juan of Samana Backpackers where I enjoyed the few days before the Vuelta.
J’ai volé vers Saint-Domingue le 14 février, afin de pouvoir réaliser une longue sortie sur route avec le début de la vuelta le 20. Me rendre en République fut un peu compliqué… La plupart des coureurs de l’équipe avaient réserver avec Jetblue et on apprit à la dernière minute que la compagnie n’acceptait pas les vélos à destination de République Dominicaine. J’ai donc du partir avec 2 vélos supplémentaires. Ajoutons à cela mes propres arrangements de dernière minute et je n’ai pu dormir du tout avant mon vol du matin. Je suis donc arrivé quelques peu fatigué à Samana, où j’ai été accueilli par Guillermo Juan de Samana Backpackers où j’allais passé les quelques jours d’entraînement avant la vuelta.
Etappa7 ©Luis Barbosa
My preparation for the Vuelta then consisted of a short 2h road ride on the 15th followed by a solid 4h30 the next day and then recovery rides up to the start of the race. I got my team predator bike the day before the race. I was amazed by it! Predator Cycling specialise in carbon repair. So, I will be racing a Kuota Kom with Di2 shifting and FSA components, a bike previously used by Hilton Clarke. Will I be as fast ? After 8 days of racing, all I can say is it’s a fantastic bike!
Ma préparation pour la vuelta a donc consisté en une petite sortie de 2h le 15 suivi d’un solide 4h30 le jour suivant et des sorties de récupérations jusqu’à ce que la vuelta commence. J’ai reçu mon vélo d’équipe le jour précédent la course. J’ai été tout à fait émerveillé. Predator Cycling se spécialise dans la réparation de vélo carbone. Je courerai donc aux USA sur l’ancien vélo d’Hilton Clarke, un Kuota Kom, réparé et remis à neuf, équipé en shimano Di2 et composantes FSA. Une vraie machine !
Predator Cycling Kuota ©Cory Wallace – www.fortheplanet.net
The Vuelta was a good preparation for the season. 8 days of fast racing, 1000km with flat and mountainous terrain. We raced under Ekoi.ca / 1% for the Planet colours and the team consisted of myself, Cory Wallace, Etienne Samson, Louis-Charles Lacroix, Adam Andersen and Jordan Brochu.
La Vuelta constitue la préparation idéale pour entamer la saison. 8 jour de courses rythmées, 1000km de plat et terrain montagneux. Nous avons couru sous les couleurs d’ Ekoi.ca / 1% for the Planet et l’équipe consistait de moi même, Cory Wallace, Etienne Samson, Louis-Charles Lacroix, Adam Andersen et Jordan Brochu.
We missed out on stage 1 as the main breakaway went after only 5km into the 146km race. In the end we lost 11min and all GC hopes. Anyway, the first stage was still tough for us as we tried hard to establish a counter attack to limit the time losses. As the vuelta continued, our form was also improving. On stage 5, I got myself in a breakaway before we hit the real mountains. Tough that I did not push myself very hard to follow the leaders when they passed me in fear of bonking later, but maybe I should have, as I completed the whole race alone without getting caught by a single rider.
Nous avons manqué de chance à la première étape alors que LA bonne échappée est partie après seulement 5km de course sur la première étape de 146km. Au final, je perd plus de 11min et toute chance de classement général. Quoi qu’il en soit, cette première étape aura été difficile puisque je n’ai pas ménagé mes efforts afin d’établir un groupe de contre pour limiter les écarts. Nous n’avions aucun splits de temps durant la course… Plus les étapes évoluait, plus je me sentais en jambe. Lors de l’étape 5, je me suis retrouvé dans le premier groupe au pied de l’ascension. Je n’ai pas poussé lorsque les leaders m’ont passés, par peur d’exploser plus tard, mais peut-être aurais-je du puisque j’ai par la suite complété toute l’étape solo sans me faire reprendre par un seul coureur.
Etappa6b ©Luis Barbosa
The next day, I did a good time trial averaging 47,5km/h on my first lap and fading a little on the second lap to finish 10th, a minute and 11 sec behind the winner Bruno Langlois, not bad for someone who trained inside and skiing in Quebec.
Le lendemain, j’ai fait un bon contre-la-montre complétant le premier tour en 47,5km/h de moyenne. J’ai faiblit lors du deuxième tour pour finalement terminer à 1min11 de Bruno Langlois en 10ème position. Plutôt satisfaisant pour l’entraînement hivernal.
On stage 7, the next day, I was feeling even better and made the early breakaway of 6 after only 10km of racing. We averaged 48km/h in the first hour of racing before the peloton let us increase our gap more signigicantly. By mid race, some GC riders bridged up to us to make it a group of around 10. Meanwhile, some riders from the early break were fading off. A little while later, a crash happened in the group and we got down to 5 riders of which two were strong riders from Inteja; Diego Milan and Augusto Sanchez. In the end, I played my cards right except for the final sprint in which I led into the last corner but first to get passed by the lead out of Augusto Sanchez, to finish just outside the podium in 4th.
Lors de l’étape 7, le jour suivant, je me sentais encore mieux et j’ai décidé de joindre l’échappée du début après seulement 10km de course. Nous éti.ons 6 et le rythme était assez rapide à en témoigner la moyenne de 48km/h pour la première heure. À la mi-course, quelques coureurs nous ont rejoint alors que d’autres ont faiblit et rejoint le peloton. Quelques instants plus tard, une chute réduisit notre groupe à 5 coureurs, emportant Pablo Mudarra virtuel 2ème du général, alors que notre avance était de 3min30. En somme, j’ai bien joué mes cartes tout au long de la course, à l’exception du sprint final, lequel comportait un virage dangereux que j’ai entammé en premier pour me voir dépassé immédiatement par Augusto Sanchez qui lança le sprint pour son coéquipier Diego Milan. Je termine donc au pied du podium.
After the last race in Santo Domingo, I headed to Samana Backpackers again to rest a bit in Samana and explore some of the area. I am now heading to Tucson where I will be racing March with Team Predator before heading to Japan in early April for solid races in Asia. Funny fact, I’ve started learning Japanese with audio courses and it’s easier than I thought!
Après la course, je me suis dirigé vers Samana à nouveau pour me reposer de la course et découvrir un peu les attraits de cette région. Je me dirige maintenant pour Tucson en Arizona, où je rejoindrai mes coéquipied de Team Predator pour le Old Pueblo Grand Prix et d’autres critériums aux USA par la suite. J’irai ensuite au Japon à la fin du mois pour courrir avec Positivi Peugeot cycling team. Petite annectode, j’ai commencé les cours audio de japonais et c’est pas mal plus facile qu’on pourrait le penser!
positivi
Thanks for reading ! Sayonara!
Merci de me lire ! Sayonara!
Jean-Michel
Nancy Back in Mexico for the Nationals
My sister had a little break from her training camp in Mallorca to do the Mexican Track Nationals. I was so excited because the last time I saw her was back in March at the Track Worlds in the Netherlands. Our schedules are so different I hardly get to see her.
We had some catch up time, we went to all our favorite restaurants (Mexican food of course!) and had a really good time before going to Aguascalientes for the track Nationals. We did a road trip two days before the competition, it was only six hours drive so it wasn’t that bad and it was a good opportunity to talk and get updates on what we’d both been doing in our lives.
When we arrived and did our first training session at the track we knew it was the moment of truth, we were going for all or nothing. All the training and the hard work was going to be tested and we had to compete one more time for that gorgeous Mexican jersey.
Unfortunately my competition was soon over due to a back injury that has been holding me back since the start of this year. On the other hand my sister did an awesome job, she won the individual pursuit on the first day and showed a superior level of skill at the rest of the competition, I guess training with the World Champion [Sarah Hammer] helps a bit!
Sofi in her "AH" Team Colours
Her coach Andy [Sparks] was very happy with her results, “Great first day of racing at the Champs of Mexico for Sofia, getting the fiesta started with a win in the individual pursuit”.
We started the omnium the second day. Sofi and my younger sister Chely raced with our local team “AH” and I raced with my team Horizon Fitness-Prendas Ciclismo RT, so we were rivals for the first time! It was weird, we always race together but this time it was completely different it added more fun to the competition.
Sofia won the flying lap and then I lapped the bunch 3 times to win the points race, the classification was very close and Sofia was beating me in the overall classification by one point. Then it was time for the elimination race, my back was in so much pain. Sofia won again and I finished in 4thplace, at the end of the day Sofia was leading the overall classification and I was still in
Sofi Arreola going for the win
contention for medals but my coach and I decided that it was better if I quit the competition because I didn’t want to have more damage done to my back.
Very disappointing news as I won two gold medals at the Nationals last year and was hoping to at least defend my titles but my health comes first.
The second day of the omnium started, Sofia was leading with a comfortable advantage and she did her best to keep the lead. She won the individual pursuit of the omnium and then it was time for the scratch race, I have to say that it was a very chaotic race!
There were several attacks as the 2nd, 3rd and 4thplace were very close in the GC [General Classification], then Chely made an attack and got away, in the final lap Sofi was way ahead in the sprint and everyone crashed behind her. One of the riders touched Sofia’s wheel by accident and that caused the crash. Some of the riders were in a very bad way and had to go to hospital, even one of the race’s commissaries was injured!
Accident At the Mexican Nationals
There were broken bones, blood and many, many scars! Only my two sisters were fine… it was devastating, so the judges decided to end the race right there and they didn’t do the omnium’s final event (500 metres).
So that meant that Sofia won another National Jersey to add to her big collection, she showed again she was the strongest in the competition but still she was very sad because her rivals crashed, “I can’t even think about the victory, I just hope the rest of the girls are ok…”.
Sofi Arreola racing at the Nationals
One of the biggest surprises of the championships was the comeback of Belem Guerrero (former Olympic silver medalist) and Nancy Contreras (former Jr World Champ of 500 metres). Belem retired after a bad season before the Beijing Olympics’ and Nancy just had a baby four months ago!
They were both in good form, Nancy was looking super fit even after having a baby! It seems like she’s worked really hard to get her fitness back to win two national titles. Belem was also looking very good, she was winning the points race after lapping the bunch once and just when she was getting ready to make another attack she crashed! It was again a bad crash… she broke three ribs and couldn’t keep on racing, such a shame! She is such a talented rider and an icon of Mexican Cycling.
This Championships had a lot of surprises, crashes and emotional moments. It was really nice to be there and have the whole experience (even if I had to end my race sooner than expected…).
With this results Sofia has secured her place in the PanAm Games [Pan-American Games] this October, this event is very important for Mexico because it’s a big competition, a huge test before the Olympic Games in 2012 and also because it will be held in Mexico this time! What a better feeling that racing for the National Team in your own country!
Sofia is now in an altitude camp in Colorado and will return to Mexico to ride the team pursuit and the omnium in the PanAm Games and after that she will be more than ready to start the World Cup season!
Let’s get this party started!
Nancy
All images ©Copyright Nancy Arreola
Jay Thomson & Ben Day at Wind Tunnel Mooresville, NC Image ©Copyright CristiRuhlman
I caught up with Ben Day of Pegasus Racing and Fly V Australia to get his take on just how “mateship” and teammates played a part in their successful 2010 season. As the team is in the process of applying for a UCI ProTour license, I also wanted to know how that philosophy will play out as the team moves over to Europe to compete in the 2011 season.
When we think of a cycling domestique, we usually think of individuals. Those cyclists who ride in the peloton giving shelter to their GC rider, bringing food and water and pretty much being the unknown force behind the pro-peloton.
But… what if an entire team could be that way–sharing the responsibilities and promoting a culture of just that: TEAMWORK. Might it not be a driving force on the cycling scene, one with a very special team solidarity?
There is a team that has done just that, and done it successfully. That team is Pegasus Racing’s FlyVAustralia. In fact, during their time on the US domestic scene, they’ve ridden together so successfully, this year alone they have scored 84 wins; that they have now made application to the UCI to head to Europe and ride there, hopefully as a ProTour team.
Tell us about “mateship” on FlyV and how its actually helped you and the guys be so successful this season? And also how you see it working as Pegasus Racing takes it to the next level?
Ben Day: The whole mateship ideology, we kind of garnered out of how in Australia we call each other “mate” all the time. It lends itself for us to be a lot more friendly to each other, I guess you could say it’s teamwork Aussie style. But in this context with the team, it just reinforced the importance of what it means to work together as a team and sacrificing yourself for the sake of the team. It’s teamwork with no personal agendas, as is often the case in other systems. I believe we have 84 wins so far for 2010 with one more tour to go, so you have to say its working really, really well. The challenge will be going into next year with the new ProTour team. For us going in there and bringing in some foreign riders and staff, we’ll be trying to teach this method to them as well, and see if they can take up where we’ve left off.
FlyV Australia team Image ©Copyright FlyVAustralia.com
You guys have had such great success here in the USA. With the team dynamic that we’ve seen, you all have something special. How do you think that’s going to translate to the new team? Tell us a bit more about that.
Ben: It’s going to be a bit of a challenge in itself. You know, these guys we’ve hired, we’ve hired them with the intention and foresight that these are going to be great people to have involved with the team. It’s a process, not one that just happens naturally though. In the beginnings of 2010, we did some helicopter crash training to help bring the group together and to be in some stressful situations together and learn more about each other. And that helped us with the rest of the season, where we had a lot of success.
But we kind of operate on a very honest platform. And when someone’s done a good job, like when someone wins a race, they’ve done a great job and they don’t really need a lot more pats on the back. But guys who’ve sacrificed themselves for somebody else to win the race, those moments, they’re the ones that are the most important to say, “really good job, well done, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have won.” You really need to appreciate that kind of thing.
We have a very honest and open communication with everybody on the team. But at the same time, if somebody doesn’t do their job we also hold them accountable. So I think having that is… to put it bluntly… a no bullshit platform to work on, people are held accountable. If they’re good, they get congratulated; and if they don’t, then we sit down and talk about it. It’s not just left for people to figure over or for people to talk behind other people’s back. We’re open and honest with each other and we genuinely care about the bloke next to us. When we celebrate, we celebrate together. When we lose, we rally together to support each other for the next feat.
You’ve also signed alot of Aussies for 2011. Like you said, you call yourselves “mates”, do you think it’s in the culture and might make it a bit easier to fit into the team?
Ben: Yeah, it’s definitely in the culture. We’re just like that – Australians are very laid back people and don’t get worked up over small things. You know we’ve signed 11 riders, and so far there are also 11 foreign riders with still spaces to fill. So for the moment, and we will always be, an Australian team. I think that Chris White’s spent a lot of time making sure that he finds people who are willing to…….people who have similar mindsets, the personality of working hard, being laid back willing to comeback and do it for the team. They are going to be our mates and we’re all going to have a great year next year I’m sure.
Ben refines TT position - Image ©Copyright Randy Ruhlman
For next year, we’ve heard that you’ve already got Robbie McEwen and Robbie Hunter. They’re both veterans, but they also know how much hard work it is and how much they have to depend on the team. Are you looking for more guys like them, or more all-rounders, GC, or what?
Ben: At the moment we’ve been able to get a really, really good Classics team together. For now we’re a little bit short when it comes to GC guys, people who are capable of performing in three week tours. But you know when you look across the peloton, there aren’t a lot of teams that do have GC contenders in these 3-week tours.
Looks like you have got some nice young riders, and you have some on the roster who are coming with you, like Jai Crawford and Jay Thomson to name a few. So you should have good development on the team then?
Ben: Yeah, we still have a few spots left and we’re going to see who’s left on the marketplace, but then we need to develop as well. We’ve got some young, very talented riders on board, and in a year or two, you never know, these riders might be knocking on the door of the biggest tours in the world.
You mentioned that you had a good Classics team, as well. Do you think you’re going to do a lot of the Classics or focus on development and some of the shorter tours?
Ben: For sure, but the whole process, the ProTour process is still pending. We don’t know, whether we’ll get the license – it gets in there anywhere between Nov 1st and the 15th. But we have some guys who are very, very established in the Classics already. And they are excellent cyclists and they have great reputations. I’m sure we’re going to have starts in a lot of the biggest Classics in the world. So I think that will kind of be the focus in the first year, and where we’re guaranteed to have some people up there getting results.
But then, still as well, there are people who come out of the woodwork and we’ll be at tours and trying for stage wins and just trying to better ourselves all the time. We haven’t been in Europe for a while and we’re going in there with the realisation that it’s not going to be easy. But, you know, doing what we’ve done in the US, we’ve proven we can win races and we’ve got that experience already, so now we’ve got to get over there and amongst it and I’m sure there’s going to be alot of surprises next year.
Ben Day ready for another run on the wind tunnel - Image ©Copyright Cristi Ruhlman
You’ve been a GC guy on the domestic tour here in the US, but these are mainly one week or shorter tours. Are you looking more at the Classics or the shorter tours or straight towards the grand tours?
Ben: The shorter tours. I’ve been in Europe for 6 years previously, so I’ve raced alot of those big tours over there, just haven’t done the 3-week tours. The week-long tours, I’m more than confident that I can handle those and that I will have some good results in those in 2011. But when it comes to the three week tours, I’m humble enough to realise I don’t have the experience yet–there’s alot to learn about recovery… and it’s very rare for a first time Grand Tour rider to come in there and really take the world by storm. It’s happened, but they are really super-talented athletes. I’m just taking it step-by-step and I’ve got quite a few years left in my career and hoping by the end of things, maybe we’re having a different conversation. But let’s wait and see.
Anything else you think you might want to share with us about the new additions and larger Pegasus Racing and “mateship”?
Ben: It should be a good fit, but it’s not going just happen naturally–we’re going to have make sure we put some emphasis on it, as well. We’re planning a training camp in Outback Australia in November. It’s where we’re all going to get together for the first time. I’m sure we’re going to have some “interesting” little activities out there – get to know each other better, be at one together. It’s like a bit of a different concept to Saxo Bank’s survival camp. We do other things, but this is more to bring each other together, to learn more about each other, and it’s worked really, really well so far.
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