2014 the season so far: Race update #2

Santos Tour Down Under (World Tour)

The 3rd stage was all about Corkscrew Hill and Cadel Evans, as the former World Champion took charge of the race with a fierce attack on the hill, dropping all of his rivals and soloing away to win the stage and take the Ochre Jersey. A four man break went clear at the start of the stage but they weren’t given much leeway and the final two, Jens Voigt (Trek) and Andrei Grivko (Astana), were swept up by the peloton at the bottom of the climb. BMC then hit the front hard, driving the pace, shedding riders and providing the platform for Cadel Evans and Richie Porte to kick clear. That pair opened up a sizable gap but Porte was unable to stay on the wheel of Evans, who crested the climb alone and began the very fast descent to the finish. Porte was joined by Gerrans behind and they gave chase to no avail, being joined by eleven other riders on the flatter final sections and even missing out on the time bonification for the podium places as Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp) impressed finishing 2nd and Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) took 3rd. As a result the race would appear to be between Evans, Gerrans (0:12) and Ulissi (0:15), and at this stage I found it hard to see a way back for either rider unless they could drop Evans on Old Willunga Hill.

However Orica GreenEDGE and Matt White weren’t so short sighted. Identifying the first intermediate sprint point on stage four as a possible target and shutting down the breakaway attempts en route, giving Gerrans the opportunity to take the three bonus seconds on offer and crucially bringing the deficit back under ten seconds. Although a five man break succeeded in escaping after that, the pace behind remained relatively high and picked up again in the cross winds as they approached the Myponga reservoir, splitting the peloton in two and dropping the majority of the sprinters, including Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano). None of the realistic GC contenders missed the move, though it did cost Kenny Elissonde (FDJ.fr) the lead in young rider’s classification. With Orica and Lotto Belisol driving the pace the break was swept up allowing Nathan Haas, Simon Gerrans and Diego Ulissi to take the time bonuses. Lotto Belisol led the peloton into the final kilometre, driving home at high pace to give Andre Greipel a straightforward sprint victory, while Gerrans and Orica finished the day satisfied to have taken back those five seconds on Cadel Evans, really setting up the next day’s showdown on Willunga Hill.

Stage five saw the peloton doing two long laps around McLaren Vale before finishing with a double ascent of Old Willunga Hill, a 3km climb at 7.4% and ramps over 10%, it is slightly gentler towards the top. After a brief flurry of action four strong riders went clear, they were Jens Voigt, Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Mikhail Ignatyev (Katusha) and Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar). At first they were able to open up a significant gap but with relatively strong headwinds, tailwinds and crosswinds, depending upon which part of the lap the race was on, the peloton was often motoring along behind. All in all, the four leaders had to work hard to stay in front and it was significant that they did as they were able to sweep up all the bonus seconds on offer at the intermediate sprints, ensuring that the Ochre Jersey contest would come down to the finish atop Willunga. On the first ascent Lobato was dropped from the front group, while the peloton was led initially by Lotto Belisol, then by Garmin-Sharp who set a strong pace on the climb. Jens Voigt led the race over the climb, though more significant was Adam Hansen (Lotto) taking 5th which ensured he would win the King of the Mountains competition. Orica GreenEDGE took the lead as the peloton began the descent, setting a strong pace, driving the race down towards the second ascent while sweeping up the remaining breakaway riders. Jens Voigt had other ideas however and launched a final attack on the flat, though he would only stay away long enough to reach the base of the climb, where BMC assumed control. Evans team mates immediately set a high tempo, seeking to use the steep early section to dislodge Gerrans, it even worked at first as the small BMC unit broke free with only Porte, Ulissi and Wesley Sulzberger (Drapac) with them. Gerrans was able to bridge over before Porte and Evens launched attacks in a role reversal from the Corkscrew Hill, as this time it was Evans who was unable to follow the attack of Porte, no one could, allowing Porte to stay clear and take a fine victory. Inside the final kilometre Evans was caught by Gerrans and Ulissi, and they immediately went on the offensive with Ulissi finishing 2nd and Gerrans 3r. Evans was hurting, only managing to finish 6th on the day and losing the Ochre Jersey to Gerrans who takes a slender one second advantage into the final stage. I say a slender advantage but it is hard to see anyway that Evans could regain that second on the flat final stage.

Handily enough for Gerrans Evans couldn’t see a way to do that either, he just isn’t built to compete for the bonus seconds on a flat stage like this. Instead the race passed off without incident for the Jersey wearers, Simon Gerrans would win the Tour Down Under and the Points Jersey, making for a terrific Australia Day celebration for the Australian Champion. Adam Hansen won the King of the Mountains Jersey and Jack Haig (UniSA-Australia and Avanti Racing) took the Young Riders Classification, he will certainly have options if, as seems likely he chooses to go professional next year. The stage itself featured 18 laps of a 4.7km circuit, the break swept up the intermediate sprint points before being caught themselves. It ended in another one-sided sprint victory for Andre Greipel as the Lotto Belisol train was dominant, giving Greipel the perfect platform to improve his Santos Tour Down Under record to sixteen stage victories.

Tour de San Luis (2.1)

Stage three finished with a sprint on a slight uphill drag, Giacomo Nizzolo took a second successive victory for Trek Factory Racing with an impressive show of speed. Francisco Ventoso (Movistar) finished second while Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) showed he is coming into form with his 3rd place finish.

The following day saw the race return to the mountains with the most significant climb of the race, the Alto el Amago. The peloton reached the foot of the climb together but had no answer to a blistering attack from Nairo Quintana (Movistar). Quintana won the stage and took back 4:15 on the race leader Phillip Gaimon, leaving Quintana a mere 0:04 behind, despite Gaimon doing well enough to finish 18th on the stage.

Stage five featured a 19.km individual time trial and an anticipated dual between Taylor Phinney (BMC) and Adriano Malori (Movistar), from which the Italian Malori emerged triumphant. Gaimon had hoped to use it to increase his lead over Quintana. However the Colombian finished 16th on the stage and 30 seconds ahead of Gaimon, taking the race lead for the first time with a 26 second lead over the American, it has been a valiant effort from Gaimon in his first race as a professional; however Quintana has simply been too good for him to hold off.

Stage six ended with the third and final summit finish of the race, the Mirador del Sol, the scene of the third win of the week for Trek Factory Racing and the second for Julian Arredondo. Arredondo burst away from Nairo Quintana and Sergio Godoy (San Luis Somos Todos) atop the climb, to seal victory. Gaimon finished 8th on the stage, 14 seconds down but defending his second place in the General Classification, and crediting the support of Tom Danielson with helping him remain so competitive in the race.

The final finish would be another sprint on an uphill drag, and just as they had done on stage three, Lampre-Merida came to the fore. They did so with more success this time though, leaving their charge late, as Maximiliano Richeze’s strong lead out gave Sacha Modolo the perfect platform to take victory, with Richeze finishing in 3rd place. The peloton had been brought to the finish by the Cannondale team who were trying to set up Peter Sagan for his first victory of the season, Sagan feel short and finished 2nd, but he had shown he was finding form with a solid time trial in stage five. Nairo Quintana won the overall race and the King of the Mountains classification, he was simply too strong on the climbs. There was also an early reward for Adam Yates (Orica GreenEDGE) who finished 11th overall and won the Young Riders classification, climbing well throughout.

2014 rider watch focus

TDU

Matt Goss: Strong work on the front for Simon Gerrans, leading him out for an intermediate sprint on stage four, helping to close the gap to Evans. This wasn’t a race where Goss would be able to chase his own ambitions but he was a strong support rider throughout.

Jens Voigt: A strong rider as always, in the break on stage three and repeated the feat in more impressive fashion on stage five, entertaining the crowds in the process.

Diego Ulissi: Remained firmly in the contest to win the Santos Tour Down Under, finishing 3rd on stage three and 2nd on stage five and ultimately finishing 3rd overall, five seconds behind Simon Gerrans. His star continues to rise.

Tour de San Luis

Taylor Phinney: fell just short on stage five, with the ITT being an early season target of his. Losing by two seconds to fellow time trial specialist Adriano Malori of Movistar, Phinney reckoned he got the gearing options wrong prior to the race which meant he couldn’t use his maximum power output on the fast downhill sections. However Malori is a fantastic time triallist in his own right, their next dual against the clock should take place in the opening stage of the Tour of Dubai, where Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin will join them. Finishing 10th in the sprint on the final stage does show he has good early season form and he can build on that as the spring classics approach.

Jurgen Van den Broeck: Glad to be back racing, the Belgian was never going to win here (24th overall) but coming 13th in the ITT was a positive sign.

Moreno Moser: Evidently using the Tour de San Luis as training with his most notable performance being his 19th place finish in the ITT

2014 the season so far: Race update #1

Santos Tour Down Under (World Tour)

The first World Tour race of the season started with a bang as the recently crowned Australian National Champion, Simon Gerrans (Orica GreenEDGE) took the win and the race lead on home soil. The stage began in a predictable manner, with the two wild card teams getting a rider into a break, they were Will Clarke of Drapac Professional Cycling and Neil van der Ploeg of the Avanti Racing Team but here representing the UniSA-Australia team. Behind the break Team Sky controlled the pace for much of the day, as is their wont though there was no real reason for them to do so. The only flurries of activity came at the two intermediate sprint points where 3rd place and a one second time bonification were up for grabs, Simon Geschke (Giant-Shimano) took the first while Gerrans nabbed the second. The two leaders were caught before the race reached Menglers Hill and the peloton then hit the hill with speed, with Sky and then Garmin-Sharp setting a strong pace throughout, many riders were dropped as a result, including most of the sprinters. Towards the top a few riders tried to attack to take the KoM points, but they would go to Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol) who had been brought to the front by Andre Greipel, Hansen then continued his attack on the descent down to the finish, but was brought back. Further attacks ensued but they were all back together when the race reached the ramp up to the finish line. Andre Greipel, who had surprisingly stayed in the front group, launched his sprint first but victory went to Gerrans who had taken Greipel’s wheel and beat him to the line. Gerrans wouldn’t normally be able to out sprint a rider like Greipel, but the tough run-in and a difficult uphill drag of a sprint gave him the chance, a chance that he took superbly.

Stage two followed a similar pattern as Will Clarke, Boy Van Poppel (Trek) and Campbell Flakemore (UniSA-Australia, though really from Avanti Racing) got themselves into the break. Clarke was seemingly chasing the KoM Jersey as he picked up maximum points and now sits level with Adam Hansen in the competition. The peloton were largely led by Orica GreenEDGE as they sought to protect the race leader Simon Gerrans, however they did receive some assistance from the Lotto Belisol team. The stage finished with two laps of a lumpy circuit around Stirling, and as the peloton swept up the break several riders tried to launch attacks, though none managed to stay clear for long. Numerous teams hit the front at pace in the run-in but it was Orica who were in charge in the final 500 metres with Daryl Impey leading out Simon Gerrans, that finishing stretch featured a couple of short but steep ramps to make it difficult for the sprinters. Gerrans was keeping an eye on Cadel Evans (BMC) to his right, and had another fast finisher to his left in Francesco Gavazzi (Astana), but he never saw the dangerous Diego Ulissi lurking behind him. Ulissi launched himself as soon as Impey pulled over, using the short ramp to get the most out of his explosive climbing skills and jumping clear of the others. It was a fine win for the Italian climber and the time bonification puts him 2nd in the GC and very much in contention.

Tour de San Luis (2.1)

The opening stage did not go at all to plan, the small teams, extreme heat and a stomach bug which has been making its way through the teams, all combined to create an opportunity for a break to succeed. Early in the race the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team found themselves with sole charge of controlling the peloton and trying to keep the five man break in check. It was tough for OPQS, but no others teams were willing to help bring Mark Cavendish to the finish since they lacked any confidence in their ability to beat him once there. When Alessandro Petacchi had to withdraw through illness, the OPQS team was reduced to five riders and simply stopped chasing, waiting until other teams came forward to assist with the chase, that took some time to happen and allowed the break to establish too much of an advantage. An unfortunate crash reduced the lead group to two, and Phillip Gaimon of Garmin-Sharp was able to break away from Emiliano Contreras in the run-in, winning his first race as a professional cyclist and taking a very healthy 4:35 advantage over the prerace favourites.

The second stage featured the first of three summit finishes in the race, the Mirador de Potrero de los Funes. This time the peloton refused to let the race slip from their grasp as Garmin-Sharp kept the breakaway under control to defend Gaimon’s lead. As a result the final members of the break were swept up before the climb, and the GC contenders could have their first skirmish, a skirmish which would be won by Julian Arredondo of Trek Factory Racing, who beat Peter Stetina (BMC) to the line to claim the first win for the new team. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) showed he was getting over his stomach problems by finishing 3rd, just ahead of John Darwin Atapuma (BMC). However none of them were able to make much of a dent into Phil Gaimon’s lead as he finished 15th, just 19 seconds down on Arredondo. I confess that I don’t know a huge amount about him, but I had seen that he had some good performances on stages full of climbing, such as coming 4th in the Monster of the Gila stage of the Tour of the Gila, so his advantage looks very healthy. One person who knows a lot more about Gaimon is Neal Rogers of Velonews and this is what he had to say about Gaimon yesterday.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/01/commentary/gaimons-win-the-culmination-of-unconventional-road-to-the-big-show_314180

The race has proven quite difficult to follow online, coverage mainly coming from some camera’s placed along the route, and tweets from teams who get information from the race. Follow @katushacycling and in Follow @Lotto_Belisol particular have proven to be very helpful with their tweeting of the latest news during the race.

2014 rider watch focus

While I have cover Ulissi’s success here, he isn’t the only member of my watch list in action in Australia. Both Matthew Goss (Orica) and Jens Voigt (Trek) have been stretching their legs as well, though that does appear to be the height of their personal ambitions thus far. Goss has been doing some work protecting Simon Gerrans and his Ochre Jersey, while Voigt’s most noticeable effort came in the People’s Choice Classic, prior to the race proper, where he closed down an early attack by an FDJ rider, shortly after frightening Richie Porte.

This means pain.. Jens getting another coffee before a crit start! #feeltherush #tdu http://t.co/5BDzZgqLyQ

— Richie Porte (@richie_porte) January 19, 2014

GCN have included Jens Voigt in their rider diaries for the Tour Down Under, you can see the first instalment below.

Meanwhile in Argentina Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol), Taylor Phinney (BMC) and Moreno Moser (Cannondale)are all getting their season underway and using the race to get some racing in their legs. Van den Broeck was 22nd on the first mountain top finish, a respectable performance for a rider who hasn’t raced in over six months, while Moser hasn’t shown anything so far. Phinney’s 14th place finish on the opening stage, the 7th finisher from the main peloton, shows he is here with some decent form, we will learn just how decent that form is during the ITT on Friday. It does make sense that Phinney will be a little ahead of the fitness curve as he has his mind on some early season targets, including the spring classics as you can see in this interview http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/01/news/after-an-illness-phinney-eyeing-tt-win-in-argentina_314207

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2014 Team Preview – Garmin-Sharp

The Garmin-Sharp transformation project, from stage hunting underdogs into a General Classification team continues apace. With that in mind they have acquired another haul of climbing and time-trial talent, to assimilate and develop alongside their increasingly established stars. The team have earned a reputation for attacking riding and giving young riders their chance. They have been willing to roll the dice in a race and sometimes it pays off big. One such occasion was the 9th stage of the 2013 Tour de France where they caused chaos in the early part of the day, blowing the race wide open and ultimately taking the win through Daniel Martin. In the past two seasons they have made great strides through Ryder Hesjedal (2012 Giro winner) and Martin (2013 Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner, 2013 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya winner) and both are set to play prominent roles again in 2014. While Hesjedal struggled to replicate his 2012 success, he did demonstrate the confidence to attack when he felt good; playing a key role in Dan Martins’ LBL victory and animating the early stages of the 2013 Giro, before his form tailed off and suffered with illness. He has also endured a difficult off-season with the revelations of past drug use, I’d expect that Hesjedal will face further questions about that as the season goes on which could become distraction. Fair or not, those questions will arise because some remain sceptical about the date he stopped using the drugs. I’ve not seen any reports about his race schedule for 2014 but I’d expect him to skip the Giro and focus on the Tour de France, where the less strenuous climbs and longer ITT suit his skill set. Dan Martin was the team’s undoubted star in 2013. He will hope to take that momentum into the Giro, where he will be the team’s sole leader and one of the top contenders. With the race starting in Ireland and featuring plenty of steep climbs he should relish it, though his time trialing will be his biggest limitation and will have been the major focus of his winter training. He is always a stage win threat, showing tactical nous when he out foxed Jakob Fuglsang to win the Tour de France stage, and impressive stamina to hold on for a terrific solo win in the 2013 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. His greatest triumph came in Liege-Bastogne-Liege,where he caught Purito in the final 1km then kicked away to seal a great victory.

Behind those two Garmin have a lot of climbing options and a third Grand Tour leader in Andrew Talansky, who also had a memorable 2013. Talansky was a stage winner and 2nd overall in Paris-Nice, losing out to Richie Porte on the 5th stage after aggressively attacking the peloton while in the Leader’s Jersey. He took some criticism for being a bit over exuberant, but he will learn from that day. I certainly prefer a rider whose natural inclination is to do too much, rather than playing it safe and losing by not doing enough. He followed that up with a 10th overall finish in the Tour de France, despite struggling on a couple of stages. Talansky is a strong climber and good against the clock, he should take another step forward as a GC contender in 2o14 when a return to the Tour is on the cards. Tom-Jelte Slagter, who joins from Belkin, is a punchy Dutch rider who won the Tour Down Under in 2013 and looks tailor-made for the Ardennes Classics. Colombian climber Janier Acevedo joins after looking terrific during the American season, an attacking rider and a magnificent descender, he may need a little time to adjust to the World Tour but he should impress in 2014. Rohan Dennis impressed in the Criterium du Dauphine, while Lachlan Morton was highly entertaining to watch in the Tour of Utah, a climber to keep an eye on. The team has maintained their commitment to feature American riders, the veteran Tom Danielson returns as does Alex Howes, a punchy climber who is settling into the pro peloton, they also have new faces Phillip Gaimon, Ben King who joins from RadioShack and Nathan Brown, a promising 22 year old TT specialist. Tyler Farrar returns again, he has struggled to replicate the success he enjoyed a couple of seasons ago but remains the teams best sprinter and seems to be hopeful that he is getting back to his best. Farrar isn’t their only stage win threat. Ramunas Navardauskas won a stage in the Giro and showed he could survive in the hills and contest the finish from a more select group, while Steel Von Hoff was solid in the sprints but needs to show a little more burst if he wants to take wins at this level. The team has lost some valuable experience with the retirements of David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde, however they do still have the wise old head of David Millar for one final season.

A reconfigured Cobbles squad

Despite the progression to a team of climbers, the Cobbled Classics have always been a major target for the team and this year will be no different. They will be particularly motivated after failing to make any impression on the cobbles during 2013. Each year it seems they add another rider who has shown some aptitude there in the past, but too often they then sink without a trace, as Martin Maaskant and Sebastien Rosseler have done. Their only success on the cobbles came when Johan Vansummeren won Paris-Roubaix in 2011, Sep Vanmarcke (Belkin nowadays) was also 2nd in the 2010 Gent-Wevelgem, where Tyler Farrar came 3rd in the 2011 edition. For this year the cobbles unit will again feature Farrar and Vansummeren, alongside a hopefully fit Nick Nuyens and the newly signed Sebastian Langeveld. Nuyens won the 2011 Ronde van Vlaanderen but his career was derailed by a fractured hip early in 2012 and he hasn’t shown the same form since. Langeveld is an experienced cobbles rider who finished 5th, 10th and 7th in E3 Harelbeke, Ronde van Vlanderen and Paris-Roubaix respectively in 2013, he is likely to be given a joint leadership role in the spring and should be able to do even better in 2014.

2014 season outlook

It’s hard to know what would constitute a successful season for Garmin in 2014, improved GC showings wouldn’t automatically result in overall wins. Success at the Giro is certainly possible but Dan Martin won’t start as the favourite, not with Nairo Quintana targeting the victory. A strong showing from Talansky and Hesjedal at the Tour would be great but with Froome and Nibali looking likely to contest the win, getting onto the podium is going to be difficult. Instead I’d look for greater success in the week long stage races and more race wins overall, they will return to the Ardennes with some strong options but those races are so hard to control that it is difficult to predict success there.

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Related articles

• Team Garmin-Sharp Reveals 2014 Roster

• 2013 Report Card: Garmin-Sharp (cyclingnews.com)
• Dan Martin video interview part II: Targeting GC in the Giro could mean missing the Tour (velonation.com)
• Dan Martin video interview part I: Garmin-Sharp leader speaks at length about best ever year, concussion issues and more (velonation.com)
• 25 Riders to Watch in 2014 – Janier Acevedo (cyclingmole.com)