Cricket Web Cycling Team

Just an advanced warning I will not have access to the internet from Thursday until Thursday week as I am in Central Europe. Obviously the pace this is going it probably won't makle any difference but if I am selected for a race during this week I will not be able to comment on it. As a Zimbo I'd like to race Tour of the Cape if possible, and the Tirreno-Adriatico as a warmup for Milan- San Remo. Well done everybody.

Tour of Wellington, Stages 1 through 3

A 7-stage race in New Zealand over 5 days, from January 24 to 28; UCI classification 2.2 (2 for stage race, 2 for second tier, behind 1, HC (hors categorie), and protour), so not really very important.

January 24 and 25

Stage 1, Lower Hutt, 9.1km flat ITT.

Cricket Web team:

Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis
Zac Gelman
---
Julian Dean
Chris Hoy
Geraint Thomas


Zac Gelman taking the lead

Though Gelman beat the newly crowned Australian time trial champion, Michael Ford, who clocked in a second behind, Hungary's finest, Crédit Agricole's László Bodrogi, put him in his place with a stunning ride.

Results:
1 László Bodrogi CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 12'03
2 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 6
3 Michael Ford SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS + 7
4 Benoît Vaugrenard FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 14
5 Zakkari Dempster SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS + 21
34 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 52
39 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 56
56 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'08
65 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'25
65 riders participating

Stage 2, Featherston - Masterton, 117 km - mostly flat but a small climb 6 km from the finish

After a first attack was caught, a second began with just 10km to the final sprint. Heath Davis wanted the intermediate points and joined it to earn 6 points, but the break was doomed, caught with 12km to go.


Casson Dairy dominating

Davis, who had barely pulled in the break, easily settled in the main bunch, behind Julian Dean, and with three km to go Docker looked stuck in the pack.


However, the familar foe came back to haunt Casson Dairy, winning by a bike's length.

Stage results:
1 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 2h44'03
2 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
3 Sébastien Chavanel FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
4 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
5 Henk Vogels TOYOTA UNITED PRO CYCLING TEAM s.t.
10 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
21 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
29 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
59 riders in same time.

General classification:

Bonus seconds means Mitch Docker advanced to 4th, 11 seconds behind Bodrogi, and Heath Davis to 49th. No significant changes otherwise.

Points classification:

1 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY 26
2 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 25
3 Sébastien Chavanel FRANÇAISE DES JEUX 16
4 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY 14
10 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 6

Stage 3 - held immediately after stage 2, a 50 km criterium race in Masterton.

A masss crash with 6 km to go, involving, among others, Dean and Bodrogi, turned the general classification on its head.


A reduced field gets ready for the sprint

It evidently scared Docker, because he was several yards adrift of Davis, who secured Casson Dairy's first sprint win of the season.


The delighted winner

Overall leader Bodrogi lost 1'49", yet Gelman didn't take over the lead, due to Docker's bonus seconds.

Stage results:
1 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY 1h07'02
2 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t.
3 Josh Smith SAVINGS & LOANS CYCLING TEAM s.t.
4 Henk Vogels TOYOTA UNITED PRO CYCLING TEAM s.t.
5 Eric Baumann T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
10 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
17 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
30 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
32 riders in same time.
34 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'49

General classification:
1 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 4h03'07
2 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 7
3 Zakkari Dempster SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS + 22
4 Tom Southam DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM + 31
5 Anthony Colby COLAVITA - SUTTER HOME PRESENTED BY COOKING LIGHT + 35
14 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 48
18 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 53
20 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 57
50 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 2'58

Points classification:

1 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY 51
2 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 45
3 Henk Vogels TOYOTA UNITED PRO CYCLING TEAM 26
8 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY 14
9 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 12

Very satisfied with that, awesome work as usual Hakon.

Woot! A sprint victory for Heath. As expected, I must say. I'll probably struggle a bit when there's an uphill or two though!

Interesting stages so far. Lower Hutt, Featherston-Masterton, Masterton. Not really much in Wellington so far. If there's a stage back over the Rimutakas; Featherston to Lower Hutt for example... that'd be a killer. Flat - mountain - flat.... Ooooh

HeathDavisSpeed said:

Interesting stages so far. Lower Hutt, Featherston-Masterton, Masterton. Not really much in Wellington so far. If there's a stage back over the Rimutakas; Featherston to Lower Hutt for example... that'd be a killer. Flat - mountain - flat.... Ooooh

Click to expand...

There's one stage with a climb in it - from Masterton to Admiral Hill. Otherwise mostly flat, though there's three short climbs in the stage from Masterton to Pahiatua. Another time trial, too.

Sweet. Masterton to Pahiatua. Cycle past Mount Bruce - that's probably the small climb (the road passes through a cutting made in a saddle around Mt. Bruce which isn't that big a mountain anyway).

Its very interesting to me that the Tour of Wellington seems to go nowhere near Wellington (Lower Hutt being only 20km away, mind) whilst the majority of the action seems to be in the Wairarapa.

For those who are interested, there's only one direct road between the Wairarapa and Wellington. I went there on the weekend and that one road was closed due to high winds. I had to go the 'alternative route' - up route 1 to Palmy and back down through Pahiatua to Masterton. An extra three hours. They should just blast a tunnel through the Rimutakas - it must lose the Wairarapa sso much money every time that road's closed.

Back on topic - looking decent for a points placing here. The Masterton - Admiral Hill stage could be crucial for me. Hoping the climb won't wipe me out. What's my fitness level like... hopefully fairly solid still.

HeathDavisSpeed said:

Back on topic - looking decent for a points placing here. The Masterton - Admiral Hill stage could be crucial for me. Hoping the climb won't wipe me out. What's my fitness level like... hopefully fairly solid still.

Click to expand...

Still at "very good" - the only higher level is "excellent".

Samuel_Vimes said:

Still at "very good" - the only higher level is "excellent".

Click to expand...

Well, as long as my well known mental frailties don't shine through then I'm looking to at least place on the points table. Given that Docker suffered mentally in the last stage, I'm feeling fairly confident. Hopefully that confidence is not misplaced!!

well done guys. good ride heathy

Good stuff Heath (Y)

Tour of Wellington, Stages 4 and 5

January 26 to 27

Stage 4, Masterton - Pahiatua, 158 km

The stage is flat except for three short climbs, the last two 5 % of about 1km; the longest stage of the tour. The length evidently scared any would-be attackers, because the first attack was delayed until 27 km. Casson Dairy let them go, but the 5 % climbs tired out our helpers.


Davis rallying, bottom left, but the gap is too big

Thus the breakaway just about got home despite a top sprint leadout by T-Mobile. Davis did, however, gain four places and six points on Docker in the fight for the points classification.

Stage results:
1 Gert Vanderaerden DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 3h47'40
2 Jasper Melis WIELERGROEP BEVEREN 2000 s.t.
3 Alejandro Acton COLAVITA - SUTTER HOME PRESENTED BY COOKING LIGHT s.t.
4 Walker Ferguson TOYOTA UNITED PRO CYCLING TEAM s.t.
5 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
28 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
30 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
47 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
49 riders in same time
52 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 4'25

No change in general classification.

Points classification:
1 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY 63
2 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 52
3 Henk Vogels TOYOTA UNITED PRO CYCLING TEAM 32
13 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY 14
14 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 12

Stage 5, Masterton - Admiral Hill, 125 km

After a small, but steep, ascent to 103 km and the rapid descent, a 9 % climb of about 3.5 km leads up to 118 km. Then, a bit of flat before the final sprint is up a hill. The two climbs means this is potentially the decisive stage for the general classification.

A rather weak breakaway, with only Gérard (FDJ) and de Weerdt (DFL - Cyclingnews) as any real threats, got away after 15 km, and got a lead of at most five minutes.

However, the two 9 percent climbs were way too difficult for our riders; Axel Merckx of T-Mobile got a 30 second lead at the top, with 7 km to spare, followed by Sandy Casar (FDJeux) and Lorenzo Bernucci (T-Mobile). Bernucci caught and left Casar on the flat, while further back in the field Guerini too attacked for fourth place, ensuring a dominant day for T-Mobile. Docker finished eighth, in the fourth group to pass goal, while Dean pulled Davis in to 21st place, 3'45" behind the leader. Gelman was left even further down, eventually clamoring for 38th place.

The stage leaves us without realistic hope of a GC win; Gelman is four minutes down, while Davis will surely lose another minute in the time trial. However, Davis clings on to a three-point lead in the points classification.

1 Axel Merckx T-MOBILE TEAM 3h18'19
2 Lorenzo Bernucci T-MOBILE TEAM + 26
3 Sandy Casar FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 44
4 Giuseppe Guerini T-MOBILE TEAM + 1'43
5 Chris Froome TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 1'51
8 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t.
20 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 3'45
21 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
38 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 6'03
59 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 9'15
62 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 12'19

General classification:
1 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 11h10'57
2 Axel Merckx T-MOBILE TEAM + 21
3 Giuseppe Guerini T-MOBILE TEAM + 28
4 Chris Froome TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 45
5 Anthony Colby COLAVITA - SUTTER HOME PRESENTED BY COOKING LIGHT + 52
13 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 2'42
23 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 4'19
26 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 4'52
48 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 8'21
59 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 15'46

Points classification:

1 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY 63
2 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 60
3 Henk Vogels TOYOTA UNITED PRO CYCLING TEAM 32
=15 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY 14
=18 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 12

Damn. Exactly what I feared would happen. Its gonna be tough to hang on to that points lead with the stage that remains...

HeathDavisSpeed said:

Damn. Exactly what I feared would happen. Its gonna be tough to hang on to that points lead with the stage that remains...

Click to expand...

stay positive buddy you can do it

Tour of Wellington, Conclusion

Stage 6, Wellington City, 13.4 km flat ITT

The final day began with another flat time trial, a chance for Gelman to advance in the standings and for Davis to fall down. Kristof Vandewalle set an early pace, clocking in at exactly 18 minutes, a time which would later be beaten by the Australian ITT champion Ford by two seconds.

Gelman was tied with Ford on the first split, but a superb finish gained him 20 seconds and a clear lead in goal. Bodrogi was his only challenger for the stage win; the Hungarian led by five seconds at the first split, but Gelman's late finish meant that tensions were high in Wellington as Bodrogi was clocked in. A dramatic countdown saw Bodrogi cross the line with two seconds to go on Gelman; meanwhile Docker took seventh place for another few points to take a six-point lead over Davis in the points classification.

Stage results:
1 László Bodrogi CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 17'37
2 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 2
3 Michael Ford SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS + 21
4 Kristof Vandewalle WIELERGROEP BEVEREN 2000 + 23
5 Zakkari Dempster SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS + 35
7 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM + 36
26 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'10
28 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'11
58 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'46
61 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'58

General classification:

1 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 11h29'10
2 Giuseppe Guerini T-MOBILE TEAM + 27
3 Axel Merckx T-MOBILE TEAM + 49
4 Sandy Casar FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 1'07
5 Anthony Colby COLAVITA - SUTTER HOME PRESENTED BY COOKING LIGHT + 1'09
14 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 3'45
16 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 4'04
32 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 6'02
47 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 8'55
58 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 16'21

Points classification:

1 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 69
2 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY 63
3 László Bodrogi CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 32
=16 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY 20
=19 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY 14
=23 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 12

Stage 7, Petome, 50 km criterium.

Another short criterium race, and the aim: a win for Davis and a second place for Dean, in order to take the points classification. The ritual break got two and a half minutes before Drapac started working them in; however, a strong group of three broke loose with 22 km to go. They were quickly reeled in as Casson Dairy saw the danger, and the group was together with 15 km to go. Having three men in the top four as the riders turned the second-to-last curve, things looked good.



However, disaster struck through the curve, as Davis failed to stay on the bike, leaving Chris Hoy and Dean to challenge Docker.


Dean, bottom left, defending the home nation's honour

This went exceptionally well, as the two Casson Dairy riders got first and second, saving a disappointing day.

Stage results:
1 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 1h07'22
2 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
3 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t.
4 Henk Vogels TOYOTA UNITED PRO CYCLING TEAM s.t.
5 Robert McLachlan DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t.
25 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
26 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
47 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
61 riders in same time.

Final general classification:
1 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 12h36'24
2 Giuseppe Guerini T-MOBILE TEAM + 35
3 Axel Merckx T-MOBILE TEAM + 57
4 Sandy Casar FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 1'15
5 Anthony Colby COLAVITA - SUTTER HOME PRESENTED BY COOKING LIGHT + 1'17
13 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 3'53
15 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 4'12
29 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 5'58
46 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 9'03
57 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 16'09

Final points classification:

1 Mitch Docker DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 85
2 Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi Davis TEAM CASSON DAIRY 63
3 Henk Vogels TOYOTA UNITED PRO CYCLING TEAM 46
5 Chris Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 37
=6 Julian Dean TEAM CASSON DAIRY 34
18 Zac Gelman TEAM CASSON DAIRY 20

Chris Wherry (Toyota United) won the mountain classification.

Team classification:

1 T-MOBILE TEAM 37'50'39
2 FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 1'40
3 DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM + 2'29
6 TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 9'29

Well done Heath.

As for Chris Froome, isn't he Kenyan?

Indeed, Froome is Kenyan - white Kenyan at that. Got a South African flag here but that's just poor coding.

That concludes the month of January. February is usually a very quiet month for cyclists, but we do have a number of races on the cards, including a number of colliding ones.

Reporting will be swift, I hope. Probably less detail than for the Oceanian races.

A short presentation of the upcoming races:

Tour de Langkawi - Malaysia - 10 stages - February 2 to 11 - UCI category: HC

A mostly flat race, but with two insane climbs - to Cameron Highlands, a short 83 km stage, and to Genting Highlands - which will likely determine the outcome of the general and mountain classifications. Of the sprinters, Pares and Read will begin their season here.

GP d'Ouverture la Marseillaise - France - 1-day race, 126.7 km - UCI category: 1

The name means Opening Grand Prix of Marseille - though Marseille is on the coast, they have managed to squeeze some quite long climbs into an otherwise short race. Probably one for our hilly riders.

Etoile de Bessèges - France - 5 stages - February 7 to 11 - UCI category: 1

Lit. "Star of Bessèges", a race in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in the Southern part of France. Mostly flat and all the stages are likely to end in mass sprints, though a couple of hilly stages might throw off the weakest sprinters. Pickup likely to begin the season here.

A week's break and recuperation, and then:

Tour of California - USA - 8 stages - February 18 to 25 - UCI category: HC

Most likely the team from Malaysia will continue here, a reasonably important race with a good start field. Two time trials will likely shatter most of our good climbers. Most likely Xavier Rose will get a start here to test his overall mettle.

Vuelta a Andalucia (also known as Ruta del Sol) - Spain - 5 stages - February 18 to 22 - UCI category: 1

A hilly Spanish race, touring the province of Andalucia. 5 stages, all mass stat, and only one of them categorised as flat (and that one has a nice 14 km ascent shortly before the finish) - I aim to debut here, good practice for the hilly Ardennes classics in April.

Trofeo Laigueglia - Italy - One-day race, 183 km - February 20 - UCI category: 1

A mountainous race with three difficult climbs, though the last 20 km is flat and easy, which could lead to a bunch of 10-15 riders finishing together in Laigueglia, on the coast of Liguria in North East Italy.

Tour du Haut Var - France - One-day race, 192.4 km - February 25 - UCI category: 1

Another mountainous one-day race, though most climbs are before the finish. Riders with adventure will likely be sought out by a raging bunch on the reasonably flat finish. The race takes place around Draguignan in Provence, in the South East close to the border with France.

Samuel_Vimes said:

However, disaster struck through the curve, as Davis failed to stay on the bike, leaving Chris Hoy and Dean to challenge Docker.

Click to expand...

NooooooooO! And on my home stage too! I probably crashed outside my ****ing house! I blame the missus for winking at me. Sorry guys... I let the team down on the banker. Should have romped home in Petone.

Etoile de Bessèges sounds good for Heath. Less climbs to shatter the confidence.

Ahh never mind Heath, congrats on the points win thou . And well done Bugs on his tour down under win. Hopefully i'll be able to get some racing this month before the cobbles season

Samuel_Vimes said:

Tour de Langkawi - Malaysia - 10 stages - February 2 to 11 - UCI category: HC

A mostly flat race, but with two insane climbs - to Cameron Highlands, a short 83 km stage, and to Genting Highlands - which will likely determine the outcome of the general and mountain classifications. Of the sprinters, Pares and Read will begin their season here.

Click to expand...

looking forward to it cheers for organising this looks like theres a fair bit of work involved

Tour de Langkawi



Stage 1

Hot, humid, and nearly totally flat, 84 km from Dataran Lang to Underwater World. The chosen eight for Casson Dairy:



Forner got loose in an 11-man group despite hard work from the peloton, and it looked like touch and go for the group with 13 km left. As the group began a tiny ascent of 2 %, Forner saw his chance, and attempted an early sprint:



Worn out group members could only stare at each other and a rapidly disappearing Forner, and the peloton overtook them, but Forner won by a 40 second margin and leads all classifications. As an added bonus, David Pares took the mass sprint.


Another win!

Stage results:
1 Josh Forner TEAM CASSON DAIRY 1h56'30
2 David Pares TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 40
3 Sébastien Chavanel FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
4 Alberto Loddo SERRAMENTI PVC DIQUIGIOVANNI - SELLE ITALIA s.t.
5 Simon Clarke SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS s.t.
6 Ben Read TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
49 David Millar TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
62 David Arroyo TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
83 David Kennett TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
96 George Roberts TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
116 riders in same time

Other classifications: Forner leads the lot.

By the way, I think I'm going to do a slight stats adjustment. At present we have six world class sprinters, for example - I think it might be better if we're just under world-class level, capable of winning in top form but without expecting to win. Points removed from the best ability will be reassembled to other disciplines though.