Stage 4: Khalifa Stadium – Al Khor Corniche (139.5km)
More flat, more wind, more bunch sprinting. Matti Breschel held off Viviani to take the win and the race lead, whilst Hilton could only manage 13th. Somehow, Hilton still has his points jersey. The gap is 10 points to Robbie Hunter, who failed to score today. I had a very boring day, as none of our riders made it into the 9 man break. Always tomorrow though.
Stage 5: Al Khor Academy – Al Khor Corniche (135.2km)
A massive mountain stage greeted us today. No, wait, pancake flat again. Yes, that's the one. 14 guys in the break, including David McCann, but no luck for them, as the peloton chased them down, more easily today as the winds were small. We set up a good strong chain (which Breschel tried to hijack, but Hilton gave him a little shove to remind of some manners), but Gerald Ciolek took the stage, whilst Hilton was solid in 9th. And still, somehow, impossibly, Hilton has that points jersey. The gap is just 3 points down to Ciolek. Can he hold on?
Lonely road - David McCann has to battle the elements all alone to join the breakaway
Stage 6: Al Wakra – Doha Corniche (143km)
Nice humid rain was the order of the day, and the points jersey was our focus. We set a tough pace to begin with, so no break would form, and Hilton could take the intermediate sprint. He came 4th. Cue massive groans from our team car. That didn't go well.
The bunch sprint came, and it was Viviani of Liquigas who took a surprise win, but our eye was on the points jersey. Hilton had finished 9th, and after a few minutes calculating, we realised he'd managed to hold it! The champagne flowed rather freely that night, and the whole team woke up with some whoppers of headaches.
Tour du Haut Var
Tough terrain on both stages, and some tough competition with the likes of Nicolas Roche and Pierrick Fedrigo here. We've brought along a very strong team, led by Glen Chadwick and Rory Sutherland, with support from Marc De Maar.
Stage 1: Le Croix Valmer - Grimaud (162km)
The easier of the 2 stages, but still a tough hill finish to contend with. We tried to slip someone into the break, but had no luck. It came down to the tough uphill finish, with all the bunch together, and with gradients of 6%, it was left to the puncheurs to fight it out, with Geslin (Francaise des Jeux) turning out to be the strongest. It was a great ride by Karl Menzies though, who rode strongly to take 5th place – a fantastic ride.
Stage 2: Draguignan - Montauroux (198km)
A tough stage was in store, with 5 classified cols, and some hard percentages.
Karl Menzies was our man in the break, and he found himself all alone, so hoovered up the mountain points to earn himself the mountain jersey. So already a successful trip for us!
All alone, but bagging us another jersey!
On the last climb of the day, all our riders lost touch with the front group of 20, and despite frantic chasing, couldn't rejoin them. But Karl was the hero of the day again, getting caught then holding on until near the end to only lose 1'11 on stage winner Nicolas Roche, who finished 2nd behind Anthony Geslin. Karl finished 19th overall, 1'21 down
Caterpillar Cycling February Review Posted online at www.cat-cycling.com direct from Director Sportif Jonny Clayton
Welcome to the first of my monthly news updates! This is the place for all you fans to keep up to date on all things Caterpillar Cycling, and hear about how the bright yellow army are taking over the cycling world!
The first two months of being a team have been hectic, but very, very rewarding. The team's structure has been set-up, and all the riders and staff have settled into the routine of training and racing under the guidance of our guvnor, Rupert Evergreen. We started off against the ProTour big boys in the Tour Down Under, and put most of them to shame, coming away with not 1, but 2 jerseys. We carried on this trend in Qatar and France, with more jerseys and more great results. It's been a truly fantastic month, let's hope (heck, I know it will) continue.
Results:
-- Australian Championships: Karl Menzies 1st (RR); Rory Sutherland 8th (RR); Ben Day 10th (TT).
-- Tour Down Under: Karl Menzies 19th in GC, 2nd (Stage 2, Stage 3); David Veilleux 1st in Points Classification; Ben Day 1st in Climbers Classification.
-- Tour of Qatar: Hilton Clarke 7th in GC, 1st in Points Classification, 1st (Stage 2); Ed Clancy 2nd (Stage 2); Karl Menzies 3rd (Stage 2).
-- Tour du Haut Var: Karl Menzies 19th in GC, 1st in Climbers Classification, 5th (Stage 1).
Rankings:
Continental Tour Individual Rankings:
1. Thomas Voeckler
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
177
2. Karsten Kroon
BMC Racing Team
152
3. Pierrick Fedrigo
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
149
9. Karl Menzies
Caterpillar
90
32. Hilton Clarke
Caterpillar
33
59. Ed Clancy
Caterpillar
11
64. Rory Sutherland
Caterpillar
8
94. Ben Day
Caterpillar
4
Continental Tour Team Rankings:
1. Bbox Bougues Telecom
536
2. Cofidis
322
3. ISD – Neri
298
10. Caterpillar
148
Rider of the Month: Karl Menzies
No doubt in my mind at all that Karl is the rider of not just January, but February too. He's given us the start we only dreamed of, with an incredible win in Australia to have the honour of wearing the green and gold of Australia for the next year. He then wore that jersey with pride in the Tour Down Under, and was our best rider there with two trips on the second step of the podium, and a fantastic top 20. He also performed fantastically in February, working hard to deliver Hilton Clarke into prime positions in Qatar, and followed that up at the Tour du Haut Var with a great sprint into the top 5 on stage 1, then a fantastic breakaway on stage 2 to definitely earn the climbers jersey. He's also been a great rock for the team, helping everyone integrate as the team works out the kinks that have occurred as we've set-up. Chapeau!
Next Month:
We'll be in France the whole of next month, starting with 2 classics, then peaking for the prestigious Criterium International, so there will be 5 days of racing for the team. This may not seem much, but we aim to always be active in every race we do!
Ciao for now!
Jonny Clayton DS for Caterpillar CyclingEdited by Crommy on 18-09-2010 22:51
Classic Loire Atlantique
This French classic features a short hilly lap, completed multiple times. Rory Sutherland and Glen Chadwick are our leaders.
We managed to slip David McCann into the break of 13, in the midst of some truly miserable weather, but the pack brought them in. The route profile given to us was very deceptive, as the climbs were nowhere near as bad as we first thought, so it came down to a bunch sprint. We set up a great train for Karl Menzies, and he nearly won. Nearly doesn't cut it though, as he got beaten on the line by Cyril Gautier having perhaps gone from too far out, but second is still a great result.
So close!
1
Cyril Gautier
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
4h21'09
2
Karl Menzies
Caterpillar
s.t.
3
Yury Trofimov
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
s.t.
4
Tomasz Kiendyś
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
5
Glen Alan Chadwick
Caterpillar
s.t.
10
Rory Sutherland
Caterpillar
s.t.
Cholet – Pays de Loire
A flatter classic, it went terribly, with Karl our best rider in 19th, behind winner Jean-Eudes Demaret (Cofidis)
So clooosee..... great to see the Caterpillar is still alive, you must had a rough period not being eaten by other insects Edited by Alakagom on 15-01-2011 16:39
Criterium International
This is one of our biggest races of the season, and we've been brought our strongest team, led jointly by Marc De Maar, Rory Sutherland and Glen Chadwick, with the mountain on stage 1 (the fearsome Col de l'Ospedale) picking our leader. We're up against some of the best: Sanchez, Nibali, Rodriguez, Uran – this is going to be very, very tough.
Stage 1
This would be the toughest stage, with 5 cols culminating with a mountain top finish up the Col de l'Ospedale, a 14km drag averaging at 6%.
14 riders formed the breakaway, including our very own Marc de Maar. His goal was therefore to pick up as many KOM sprints as he could, and out of the 4 cols preceeding the final climb, he managed to lead over 2 and came second in another one. Enough points to take the jersey!
Marc climbs well in the breakaway
The break hit the final climb 3 minutes ahead of the bunch, which was now down to just 56 riders. We had only Karl Menzies and Glen Chadwick in there, and it then became a bitter fight just to hang tough, as the ProTour guys battled up front. The victor up the top was Vinokourov, who outsprinted Samuel Sanchez and Evgeni Petrov in the front group of 3. Marc and Glen managed to stay in the pack, finishing 43rd and 35th, 1'47 down on the victor, but with the same time as 7th place.
But Marc had picked up time bonuses, and that gave him 10th in the GC, a great achievement to go with the climber's jersey.
1
Alexandre Vinokourov
Astana
5h16'38
2
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
3
Evgeni Petrov
Team Katusha
s.t.
4
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Doimo
s.t.
5
Damien Monier
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 22
6
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 36
7
Andrea Tonti
CarmioOro NGC
+ 1'47
35
Glen Alan Chadwick
Caterpillar
s.t.
43
Marc De Maar
Caterpillar
s.t.
Stage 2
Just 75km in length, this stage made for fast racing, and we managed to slip Rory Sutherland in the 11 man break, but it never really got going. The sprint saw Samuel Dumoulin win by an inch from Sanchez, whilst Karl Menzies finished well for us in 14th.
Edited by Crommy on 18-01-2011 15:30
Stage 3
A 10km long time trial, and another unpleasant result as Vinkourov took the stage, 18 seconds ahead of Sanchex, who'd finished 2nd on every single stage, and in the GC, and on points! Marc de Maar rode the time trial of his life to take a fantastic 13th, giving him 13th in the GC, whilst Glen Chadwick finished 15th on the stage to give himself 16th overall.
Marc in stunning form
Final GC:
1
Alexandre Vinokourov
Astana
7h09'27
2
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 22
3
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Doimo
+ 49
4
Evgeni Petrov
Team Katusha
+ 56
5
Damien Monier
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 1'19
13
Marc De Maar
Caterpillar
+ 2'56
16
Glen Alan Chadwick
Caterpillar
+ 3'03
In what was a very important race for us, a very good result came through – the KOM jersey was great to get, and a good GC position added to that left me going home very happy – well, it would have done, except I got accosted by a rather belligerent reporter who asked me what my views on Vinokourov were after his dominating display. I may have heavily insinuated he was still doping – something along the lines of, “if he comes back just as strong as he was when he was doping, it's quite clear he's doped up to eyeballs – you'd have to be as doped as he is not to get that!” Waiting for trouble to blossom once that is promised.
March ProTour round-up
The ProTour season has got well under way, and there's already been some very exciting racing. In the Race to the Sun, us Brits started off incredibly, with Geraint Thomas edging out Bradley Wiggins for the prologue. But it proved to be a very Belgian affair, with Johan Van Summeren beating Stijn Devolder to the overall. Lloyd Mondory and Pozzato were in impressive form, taking two stages apiece.
At the same time, the Tirreno – Adriatico stage race was taking place. And sadly, it was Vinokourov who won by just 5 seconds over Rinaldo Nocentini. But a big battle was brewing in preparation for Milano-Sanremo, as Mark Cavendish and Alessandro Ptacchi each took a stage win in two closely fought sprints.
And thus it was time for Milano – Sanremo. And what a great race it was. The coastal hills saw some punishing attacks, but somehow the sprinters managed to bring it to a bunch kick. Cavendish was ideally positioned, a foregone conclusion, obviously? No! Ale-Jet was there to snatch it on the line from the Manx man, who looked devastated. Bennati held off McEwen then Farrar to round off the podium.
The month ended with Gent – Wevelgem, where Tom Boonen held off Juan Antonio Flecha to take the win.
Caterpillar Cycling March Review Posted online at www.catcycling.com direct from Director Sportif Jonny Clayton
Has it already been another month? Time has flown by, but we've had lots of action, and the Caterpillar team has been strong throughout. We've been in France the whole month, and I do fear I'm getting overly fond of French wine – maybe time I got out of the car and trained with the team!
The team has continued to gel fantastically, and the results have been coming, and it's been against some truly great riders, which makes it all the better!
Results:
-- Classic Loire Atlantique: Karl Menzies 2nd; Glen A. Chadwick 5th; Rory Sutherland 10th.
-- Cholet – Pays de Loire: Karl Menzies 19th.
-- Criterium International: Marc de Maar 1st in KOM, 13th in GC; Glen A. Chadwick 16th in GC.
Rankings:
Continental Tour Individual Rankings:
1. Karsten Kroon BMC Racing Team 192
2. Thomas Voeckler Bbox Bouygues Telecom 177
3. Yury Trofimov Bbox Bouygues Telecom 167
6. Karl Menzies Caterpillar 146
53. Hilton Clarke Caterpillar 33
81. Glen Alan Chadwick Caterpillar 20
92. Rory Sutherland Caterpillar 14
104. Ed Clancy Caterpillar 11
146. Marc de Maar Caterpillar 5
150. Ben Day Caterpillar 4
170. David McCann Caterpillar 2
Continental Tour Team Rankings:
1. Bbox Bougues Telecom 815
2. Cofidis 490
3. ISD – Neri 451
10. Caterpillar 235
Rider of the Month: Marc de Maar
The Criterium International is a hugely prestigious event, and one of the key races of our year. And it was Marc who rose above and beyond to put in a fantastic performance for the team. He broke away on the tough mountain stage and made sure he stayed up front to take the climber's jersey, then hung tough to stay near the front and bag a great GC position. Then, in the time trial, he rode out of his skin to get a great GC position. Chapeau!
Next Month:
We're spending the whole month in France again! We've got several one day classics lined up, as well as the 4 day Circuit Sarthe – Pays de Loire, giving us a total of 10 days of racing.
Route Adélie de Vitré
A tough course, but a large bunch sprint. Samuel Dumoulin took the win, Glen Chadwick was our best rider in 16th.
Grand Prix de Rennes
Rinaldo Nocentini was far too good for everyone, and powered away to win solo by 52 seconds. Ed Clancy sprinted to 34th for us.
Circuit Sarthe – Pays de Loire Preview
We head to France for this 4 day stage race. A mix of hills, flat and time trial, it's a course well suited to our riders. Our team is led by Marc de Maar after his excellent performance at the Criterium International, and our sprinter is Dean Downing.
Also – an update on the Vinokourov comments – they weren't even published! Seems nobody wants to hear about some small time DS, an this time, I'm quite glad of it – could have got me in some big trouble!
Circuit Sarthe – Pays de Loire
Stage 1: St Hilaire de Riez - Varades
A fine spring day, and with 184km of flat cycling in front of us, the team was in good spirits. I gave David Veilleux the order to try and get into the break, and when the opportunity arose, he took it, joining 8 others. With the sprinter's teams likely to be working hard today, I told David to just sit tight, and aim for the 3 KOM climbs, rather than focus on the break's inevitably doomed attempt at a stage win. He didn't disappoint, taking all 3 sprints to earn himself the KOM jersey.
David excelled in the breakaway
The break was swallowed up perfectly with 12km to go, and it was time for Dean Downing to take over and go for the sprint. However, I also told the team to take care of David – he now had enough bonus seconds that he could be well up in the GC, but only if he stayed in the peloton.
The finish was chaotic, every man for himself. Ag2r gave the best lead out, but Paride Grillo managed to hijack it, and timed his final charge well enough to take the stage by half a wheel from Lloyd Mondory. Dean Downing had very little help from our guys, we were a bit too unorganised in forming a sprint chain, but he still managed a solid 9th.
Grillo takes a close fought sprint
BUT!
The great news of the day was from David. He managed to remain in the pack, and boy was he rewarded for his days efforts. He not only took the climber's jersey, but sits third in the GC and he also sits 1st in the U25 rankings! 2 trips up on the podium, a happy rider, a happy team and a very, very happy DS.
