by Jean-Michel Lachance | Mar 12, 2013
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
by Anna Magrath | Nov 15, 2012
New riders Lauryn Theryn and Joanne Blakeley will join current riders Eve Dixon, Frankie White, Melissa Bury and Nicola Soden for the 2013 season.
Lauryn joins the team with a wealth of sporting experience and success. Athletics was her main sport up until the age of 20. She was a thrower who competed in the Javelin and Discus at World Youth Games and Commonwealth Games standard. She finished her athletics career in 2006 in order to focus on Bobsleigh where she competed for Great Britain on the Europa Cup Circuit, World Cup Circuit and at the World Championships. She finished Bobsleigh in 2008 ranked 6th in the World, the best result for a British Women’s team in over a decade.
Lauryn Theryn Bobsleigh
Lauryn took up cycling in 2011 after attending a talent transfer programme run by UK Sport called Girls 4 Gold. She joined the Cardiff Jif Cycling Cluband raced for them on the road and track winning Welsh National medals in both disciplines. During the winter she took up playing Rugby and was selected for the England 7’s Development Squad.
After sustaining three serious injuries early in her rugby career she took up cycling again to keep fit. She moved to Manchester in April this year to work for British Cycling setting herself the goal of competing in the British Track Championships and won a silver medal in the Team Sprint.
Champion Systems Maxgear
Lauryn commented “I am really excited to be given the opportunity to race for a local team and am really looking forward to racing with the other girls. My goal for next season is to be a reliable rider who works hard for the team and isn’t afraid of pushing my own physical boundaries in order to rise to any challenge.”
Jo is relatively new to cycling after coming from a running background. She was shortlisted for the Girls 4 Gold programme along with Lauryn. She joins the team after a year of riding with local club Seamons CC in which she achieved a great deal. She won the TLI National Road Race Championship and has produced some solid top twenty placings in National Road Race Series Races. She is also a very strong time triallist with several wins and podium places and 5th at the National Hill Climb Championships this year.
Jo wants to build on her road racing experience next year and is “eager to start racing with and learning from my new team – who love cycling as much as me! I’m particularly excited about racing in Belgium with them next year and gaining more experience on the track and in other areas.”
Ian Bury, team manager, said “Lauryn has had a spectacular sporting career so far both on and off the bike. She is a very driven individual and has much to offer to the team with vast sporting experience and a strong team ethic. Jo is also an exciting new addition to the team with a lot of raw talent. She can do a strong time-trial and is super enthusiastic to work hard with the team. We are very excited about 2013.“
The team have worked well as a unit this year with top tens and podiums in the National Women’s Road Race Series, National Women’s Team Series and races in Belgium and Holland. There has also been top National Championship performances, with Nicola placing 10th in the National Scratch Race Championship, Melissa winning Rollapoluza National Championship and second in the Grass Track 800m National Championship and most recently hill climbs with Eve winning the National Junior Women’s title for the second year running.
2013 line up:
Eve Dixon
Frankie White
Joanne Blakeley
Lauryn Therin
Melissa Bury
Nicola Soden
Follow the riders progress at maxgearettes.blogspot.com or on twitter @Maxgearettes
Pictures kindly supplied by Ed Rollason: www.edrollasonphotography.co.uk
by Anna Magrath | Oct 29, 2012
[flagallery gid=17 name=Gallery]
Click SL (slideshow) or FS (fullscreen)
All Images ©AEhotos
Knog Muddy Hell
Herne Hill Velodrome
Saturday, October 27th, 2012.
Knog Muddy Hell earns it’s name. Nick Craig dominates in tough conditions.
Finally, after three years with dry conditions Knog Muddy Hell truely was a mud-fest. Plenty of rain leading up to the event, plus downpours on the night and the action of over 700 wheels, churning up the course created difficult conditions for competitors but great entertainment for spectators.
Course designer Phil Glowinski, created a smooth, flowing course, whilst maintaining the popular features of wall-ride, bridge, whoops, muddy corner and hurdles but it was the conditions which had the greatest effect on the results. A confident Nick Craig knew that his years of experience at top level off-road riding would stand him in good stead. Fresh from his recent win at the (slighly warmer) Mountain Bike Tour of Langkawi Nick indeed provided a master class in technique, though he was distanced in the sprint from the start, his superior bike handling soon saw him opening up a big gap with National Junior champion Hugo Robinson chasing. Hugo however suffered a mechanical as did many others, Ed McParland made a valiant effort to catch the veteran, but it was never going to happen and Nick took the £400 from Knog with a huge gap.
Three previous winners of the Women’s event took to the line, and Louise Mahe took her second Knog Muddy Hell title with Claire Beaumont second, National track champion Corinne Hall did not repeat her podium finish instead Leona Kadir took third spot.
Supported by Vulpine cycle clothing the vets category saw a very competitive field, multiple Knog Muddy Hell winner Mick Bell could not repeat his usual top spot due to mud-induced mechanical issues and relinquished the top step of the podium to Kevin Knox of Vicious Velo.
Racing at the same time as the women and vets, 2012 saw the largest junior field in the history of the event with Chris McGovern the clear winner finishing up amongst the first few vets.
The ever popular Novice race had over 100 entries, the best fancy dress, two tandems (one pantomime horse) and the worst weather, this is when the rain hit and there were more than a few retirements. James Flury was best male and Lise Sorenson best female, both taking prizes from Cycelab.
The youth categories saw record levels of entries, organisers Rollapaluza claim that over 70 entry enquiries were received for the U12 event alone, because of the high level of interest they will look to accomodate more youngsters in 2013. In all over 350 racers took part with, despite the rain, hundreds of cheering spectators enjoying the racing, atmosphere, food, mulled cider, “Off-Road” Rollapaluza competition and bike polo skills try out.
AEphotos full galleries of all races: http://aephotos.co.uk/muddyhell2012
RESULTS:
Seniors:
1. Nick Craig
2. Ed McParland
3. Darren Barclay
4. Chris Metcalfe
5. William Thomson
6. Bruce Dalton
7. Richard Mardle
8. Jack Finch
9. Will Fooks
10. Uldis Karklins
Women:
1. Lousie Mahe
2. Claire Beaumont
3. Leona Kadir
Vets:
1. Kevin Knox
2. John Lyons
3. Nick Walsh
Juniors:
1. Chris McGovern
2. James Wood
3. Ashley Dennis
Novice Male:
1. James Flury
1. Keith Brewster
3. John Coolahan
Novice Female:
1. Lise Sorensen
2. Lesley Auchterlonie
3. Hester Polak
U16
1. Sam Titmarsh
2. Matt Clements
3. Thomas Finch
U14
1. Luke Mitchie
2. George Finch
3. Freddie Argent
U12
1. Noah Charlton
2. Charlie Craig
3. Aaron Freeman
Sponsors:
Knog
Cyclelab
Vulpine
Bonvelo
by Christina Kelkel | Aug 30, 2012
Para-Cycling Track at London 2012 Paralympic Games – Mark Colbourne 1k TT C1-2-3 © Christina Kelkel
Mark Colbourne wins Great Britain’s first Paralympic medal as he takes Silver in the 1Km Time Trial on Day 1 of London Paralympic Games!
Mark Colbourne has achieved what would have been thought impossible three years ago after breaking his back in a paragliding accident; winning a silver medal in the 1km Time Trial, setting a new personal best time and gaining Great Britain’s first medal of the London 2012 Paralympic Games!
Mark was the penultimate rider to take to the boards for the C1-C3 1km time trial, and despite the pressure of it being his first Paralympic event he looked every inch the focussed, determined athlete ready to give it his all. He looked the epitome of calm as he took to the starting block and didn’t disappoint the crowd as he rode a very fast kilometre, finishing with a factored time of 1.08.471 in second place. Li Zhang Yu of China won gold with a C1 world record of 1.05.021.
Despite knowing he was guaranteed a place on the podium, he still had the nerve-wracking wait for final rider Rodrigo Fernandez Lopez from Argentina to race before he’d know whether he had won a silver or a bronze Paralympic medal on home soil.
Lopez started well but finished with a time of 1.10.689 seconds, confirming Mark’s hopes of securing his first ever Paralympic silver medal in front of a home crowd. His elation didn’t stop there, as shortly after finishing he was told he’d not only beaten his personal best time for the kilometre, but he had also won Great Britain’s first Paralympic medal of the games so far!
Speaking after his silver-medal win, Mark recalls how he felt after his paragliding accident in 2009, “I didn’t even know if I would ever walk again due to the damage that had been caused to my spine. It was a very slow and worrying time for me and my family”
“We have worked for the last eight months towards this and big thanks to all the coaches who got me in the best shape possible. I’m very happy”
The silver medal has certainly given him the belief that he can go for gold in C1 3k Pursuit tomorrow.
Silver; Mark Colbourne (GBR) – Gold; Li Zhang Yu (China)- Bronze; Tobias Graf (GER) – Men’s C1-2-3 1km Time Trial – TT © Christina Kelkel
by paulfranciscooper | Aug 29, 2012
Lucy Martin Reaching Summit of Shayley Brow Training for 2012 Lotto-Decca Tour – © Paul Francis Cooper
On the first Sunday of the London Olympic Games, years of anticipation, hope and preparation came to fruition for Lucy Martin. As a member of Great Britain’s Women’s Olympic Road Race team, with Emma Pooley and Nicole Cooke, she gave her all on a treacherous, rain soaked, Box Hill Circuit, delivering a well orchestrated plan to help the team’s fourth member, Lizzie Armitstead, to take silver on the Mall and Great Britain’s first medal of the Games.
In so doing, she became the second cycling Olympian from her hometown of Widnes, Cheshire, since John Geddes secured bronze on the Melbourne track as part of a GB team pursuit team, which included Mike Gambrill, Don Burgess and nineteen-year old Tom Simpson in the 1956 Olympics.
Representing her country in the home Olympics marks the highest point so far in Martin’s cycling career, which started when she was fifteen years old, her potential spotted by British Cycling’s talent identification team on a visit to her secondary school. Although she had competed as a club swimmer and school runner, she had never before been involved in cycling, and, doubting that she could meet British Cycling requirements, almost missed the vital assessment session because of a timetable clash with another subject.
Recruited into the junior talent development team, she joined the Olympic Development Programme after winning the National Junior Road Race Championship in 2008.
Now an established professional women’s road racer based in Girona, Spain, with what she describes as the dream-like experience of taking part in the home Olympics behind her, she is very aware that the time is right to focus on new athletic and career targets.
Image © Paul Francis Cooper
I joined her on Lancashire’s lanes whilst she was out on a training ride in preparation for last weekend’s Belgian three-day stage race, the Lotto-Decca Tour. And she told me. “My three-weeks in the Olympic village were amazing – I had to pinch myself as I rubbed shoulders with the world’s greatest, like Usain Bolt. The crowds and excitement of the road race, and Lizzie winning the medal will stay with me forever. But coming home to my family in Widnes has been a really welcome chance to calm down and plan for the future.”
The third stage of the Lotto-Decca Tour involves two ascents of the Kapelmur Cobble, infamous as a regular feature in the Tour of Flanders. And Lucy’s training session took in an impressively fast ascent of Billinge’s Shayley Brow, which, with its 14% maximum gradient, is also a regular lung-tester for St Helens pro-rider Jonny McEvoy (Endura Racing) and Liverpool’s Mark McNally (An Post Sean-Kelly), regular winter training partners of Lucy when the three friends are home from racing and training abroad.
And her work on Shayley Brow went to good use in the tough final stage of the Lotto-Decca on Monday. Chasing an early break, she pulled hard at the front of the bunch for much of the stage, providing strong support for her team’s sprinter, Holland’s Kirsten Wild, who narrowly missed a podium placing with a bravely contested, but frustrating, fourth general classification position.
In career terms, Lucy’s next major target is to negotiate a new professional contract, having learned recently that her current team, AA Drinks-Leontein.nl, (which also includes Lizzie Armitstead, Emma Pooley and GB National Road Race winner, Sharon Laws on its team-list) will lose its sponsor at the end of the season.
Eyeing a number of options for 2013, she is hoping for greater interest in women’s cycling and the personal opportunity to switch from her current, mainly support, position to a team role in which she will be able to chase her own podium places more regularly.
by Cristi Ruhlman | Feb 22, 2011
This month at CyclingShorts.uk.com I’m bringing you an exclusive, we’re excited to feature a great article by my friend Fitzalan Gorman from www.usprocyclingnews.com She caught up with the riders of BMC Racing to get their thoughts on teammates and how that will play a part in their continued success on the world circuits of the UCI Pro-Tour.
Cristi.
American Riders on BMC Racing: Larry Warbasse, Taylor Phinney, John Murphy, George Hincapie show off 2011 team colors at Spain Press day - Image ©Copyright Fitzalan Gorman/ usprocyclingnews.com
Training camp is often the only time of the year that all riders, directeur sportifs and staff are all together in the same place. While officially it is work, these few weeks are the calm before the storm that is the long professional cycling season. At the end of January, BMC Racing held its training camp along the Spanish coastline near Denia. This area has fairly quiet roads with lots of options including flats and undulating, hilly terrain. While here, I got a chance to talk with various members of BMC Racing to find out a little more about the teammate side of cycling.
Cadel Evans and Tim Roe at Press Day in Spain 2011 - Image ©Copyright Fitzalan Gorman/ usprocyclingnews.com
So what do you think of your new teammates?
Brent Bookwalter: “These guys add a certain level of class and experience to the team. Many of the new guys have serious Grand Tour experience and are veterans at the pro tour level in both age and experience. I’m rooming with Ivan Santaromita. We are the same age, he was born in 1984, but he has been racing in the pro tour longer than I’ve been racing road bikes. Guys like that, guys who have been around the block, are very capable, classy and accomplished riders and there is a lot of depth there.”
Cadel Evans: “I’m rooming with Yannick Eijssen. He has so many questions and is so motivated. I can only hope that I am giving him good advice. Along with Tim Roe, I hope that I can help develop these young riders better. I’m also excited about having Manuel Quinziato for the Tour de France. He will probably have the biggest influence on my results.”
What do you think of your mentorship with Chris Butler?
George Hincapie: “I have a bit more mentorship role with Chris than with the other riders because I train with him all the time. He has a ton of potential. He had one of the highest watts per kilo at camp for this time of year, which I was excited about. He needs to learn how to ride in the peloton and how to ride on the flats, but when it comes to his climbing, he is definitely world class.”
George Hincapie at BMC Press Day interview in Spain - Image ©Copyright Fitzalan Gorman/ usprocyclingnews.com
As a rookie, how do you take advantage of the wealth of experience offered from your veteran teammates?
Chris Butler: “I definitely try to soak it all up. I live 2 kilometers away from George in Greenville, so I am definitely biased towards him but there are so many resources on this team. I feel like Karsten Kroon can ride a bike better than anyone else in the peloton. I just want to follow him around and learn all of that information.”
BMC Racing feels different from so many other pro tour teams: There is no other agenda here other than racing. Do you feel this way?
Brent Bookwalter: “Obviously the objective here is to win and to get results but I think we are really fortunate that our head sponsor, Andy Rihs, the head management, Jim Ochowicz, and the heads of this team are not “win at any cost” kind of guys. They place a lot of value in creating a team more than just bodies pursuing results. They are creating a real family with the hopes that true results will arise from that. I feel that we are fortunate to be in this type of environment over one that demands winning.”
John Murphy: “I feel that if you took the same group of guys, and put them first in a situation that demanded they win, and then you put them in a situation where the team provided everything they needed in terms of products and support, 9 times out 10, the supportive environment is where the riders will succeed. I think it is the best approach to anything competitive. Demanding winning isn’t the right psychology.”
Many hours are spent riding for someone else. Tell me a little bit about the mental side of riding in support of one of your teammates.
Brent Bookwalter: “Whether it is George, Karsten, Cadel or anyone else on this team, you step up. I think anytime you care about a person, on a personal level–more than just a coworker level – there is a greater incentive; there is more at stake than career success. There is personal success because you can honestly be happy about that person stepping up on the podium at the end of the race instead of yourself.”
How hard is it to put your personal agenda aside to support your teammates?
John Murphy in Spain at BMC Press Day - Image ©Copyright Fitzalan Gorman/ usprocyclingnews.com
John Murphy: “You work for the team and know that you will get your time. It has to go both ways and it is a constantly revolving circle. As much as you want to be the one winning and putting your arms up in the air, nobody does that by himself. If you are lucky enough to be that person, then you have to appreciate everything that everyone else is doing for you.”
Brent Bookwalter: “At this point, we are all professionals. You create longevity and professional success in this sport by fulfilling that role. To some extent, you can have satisfaction in it. You can think, it is not my job to win at the end of the race but it is my job to cover the pack for the first 100 km and I am going to turn myself inside out to do that. It definitely isn’t a thankless job.”
Final Impressions on Teamwork and BMC Racing:
While here in Denia for the BMC training camp and press day, I was impressed by the individual strength of each rider, but it was the overall spirit of cooperation amongst the team that left a lasting impact with me.Cadel Evans explained the uniqueness of BMC Racing perfectly when he said; “I am allowed to be myself on this team”. This team just feels different; the respect and attitude between the staff, riders and coaches can be seen in every interaction they have with one another. While everyone’s goal is for BMC to win races, it feels like they are working towards this goal collectively, much like a family.
BMC riders: Jeff Louder, Chris Butler, Brent Bookwalter, Chad Beyer, Chris Barton at Press Day 2011 - Image ©Copyright Fitzalan Gorman/ usprocyclingnews.com
Many thanks to John Murphy, Brent Bookwalter, Chris Butler, George Hincapie and Cadel Evans for taking a few moments to talk with me about the team and for giving us an inside look into how teamwork plays into the fabric of BMC Racing. Best of luck to BMC Racing with all their goals in this upcoming season!
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